An Investigation Into The Relationship Between Essay of Love by Avicenna And Mulla Sadra’s Theory of Love

The two concepts of Love and Beauty are amongst most important issues touched in the writings of theosophists and sages. The current research would be an attempt to shed light on the definition of these concepts in two theses – Essay of Love by Avicenna and some sections of the seventh volume of Asfar-e Arbaeh by Mulla Sadra (Also known as the essay of love of Beautifuls and youths). Then, the present study investigates the relations between concepts in these two writings. Avicenna, in his essay on love, has defined love and its different facets and proved the existence of love in material world, plants, and animals and on top of that in the Eternal Being of Allah. According to Avicenna, Love is the result of beauty and connected to it, therefore Love is a relative concept. Considering the validity of existence (existentialism), unity of existence and analogicity of existence, Mullah Sadra has thought of Love and Existence as mutually the same and both of them as nothing but beauty. He also believes in the existence of love and beauty in every single aspects of the world with a hierarchy of grades from intense to meager. However, according to Mulla Sadra, beauty is an existential concept and analogical, so, not unlike other features related to existence, love is in company with beauty but as a hierarchy of grades. Sadra’s commentary on love and beauty seems more delicate and more accurate since it provides love a more concrete meaning and discerns the inferior grades of love from its lofty ones. For that reason, Mulla Sadra distinguishes true love from its false counterpart and interprets love more clearly and more spiritually.