The Triumph of Mercy: Philosophy and Scripture in Mulla Sadra

Discusses philosopher Mullā Ṣadrā’s commentary on the opening chapter of the Qur'ān.


This book investigates the convergence of philosophy, scriptural exegesis, and mysticism in the thought of the celebrated Islamic philosopher Mullā Ṣadrā (d. 1050/1640). Through a careful presentation of the theoretical and practical dimensions of Ṣadrā’s Qur'ānic hermeneutics, Mohammed Rustom highlights the manner in which Ṣadrā offers a penetrating metaphysical commentary upon the Fātiḥa, the chapter of the Qur'ān that occupies central importance in Muslim daily life. Engaging such medieval intellectual giants as Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (d. 606/1210) and Ibn 'Arabī (d. 638/1240) on the one hand, and the wider disciplines of philosophy, theology, Sufism, and Qur'ānic exegesis on the other, Ṣadrā’s commentary upon the Fātiḥa provides him with the opportunity to modify and recast many of his philosophical positions within a scripture-based framework. He thereby reveals himself to be a profound religious thinker who, among other things, argues for the salvation of all human beings in the afterlife.


“…this book is an excellent introduction to Mullā Ṣadrā’s mystic thought as it appears in his commentary of al-Fātiḥah. Above all, the author explains clearly Mullā Ṣadrā’s concept of being in relation to scripture … this book is a fine philological work.” — Journal of Shiʽa Islamic Studies


“…Rustom’s study will both generate and provide the ground for increased scholarly attention to Ṣadrā’s religious writings.” — Journal of Islamic Studies


“…Rustom reminds us how Ṣadrā ‘is able to successfully recast his sophisticated ontology of the fundamentality of being into a theological and scripture-based framework’ (p. 118), thereby recommending his work to anyone seeking articulate access to Islamic theology.” — Modern Theology


“Informed, informative, and a superb example of seminal scholarship, The Triumph of Mercy is a highly recommended and core addition to academic library Islamic Studies and Philosophy Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists.” — Midwest Book Review


“By focusing on Ṣadrā’s commentary on the Qur'ān’s opening chapter, Rustom shows how the great Iranian thinker created an original Qur'ānic hermeneutics as well as a new ontology of the Qur'ān. Rustom’s book is a groundbreaking and richly detailed study of the way that Ṣadrā both appropriated and transcended the Islamic traditions of theology, mysticism, philosophy, and scriptural exegesis.” — Robert Wisnovsky, author of Avicenna’s Metaphysics in Context


“Mohammed Rustom has opened the door to a remarkable philosophical exegesis of the Qur'ān in this pathbreaking study of the outstanding Iranian thinker of the seventeenth century, Mullā Ṣadrā. In the process, he clarifies the profound connections between philosophy, Sufism, and Islamic theology in Ṣadrā’s work. This absorbing study will be welcomed by anyone interested in the fundamental question of how reason interacts with revelation.” — Carl W. Ernst, author of How to Read the Qur'ān: A New Guide, with Select Translations

Mohammed Rustom is Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies at Carleton University. He is the coeditor (with Atif Khalil and Kazuyo Murata) of In Search of the Lost Heart: Explorations in Islamic Thought by William C. Chittick, also published by SUNY Press.