The Precedence of Mohammad Dehdar in Proposing and Proving Theory of the Originality of Existence

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Ph.D. student of Transcendental Wisdom, Department of Islamic Philosophy and Theology, Faculty of Theology and Ahl-al-Bayt (Prophet's Descendants) Studies, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.

2 Associate Professor, Department of Islamic Philosophy and Theology, Faculty of Theology and Ahl-al-Bayt (Prophet's Descendants) Studies, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran .

3 Assistant Professor, Department of Islamic Studies, Faculty of Theology and Ahl-al-Bayt (Prophet's Descendants) Studies, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.

Abstract

The Primacy of Existence is among the most significant philosophical subjects in recent centuries. As is widely acknowledged, Mullā sadrā was the first to rationally and demonstratively establish this doctrine. Through library research and a descriptive-analytical as well as comparative approach, this article examines the priority of addressing the issue of the Primacy of Existence in the thought of ʿAllāmah Muḥammad Dahdār. The findings indicate that this issue was argued demonstratively in Dahdār's works prior to Ṣadrā. Dahdār explicitly states: “Whatever exists, exists through Existence, and Existence exists in itself”. He unequivocally declares that quiddity (Māhiyyah) is non-existential [or: negative in nature] while existence (Wujūd) is contingent (Majʿūl). He identifies Existence as Pure Good (Khayr-i Maḥḍ) and quiddity as the source of evils (Mabdaʾ-i Shurūr). It appears that mystical ontological foundations, the concurrent application of philosophical, theological (kalāmī), and mystical methodologies, alongside engagement with intellectual traditions such as the Shiraz School (Maktab-i Shīrāz) and the Peripatetic School (Maktab-i Mashshāʾ), influenced the formulation and demonstration of the Primacy of Existence in Dahdār's thought. Furthermore, the results reveal that while Dahdār and Ṣadrā share methodological and foundational similarities—such as the Primacy of Existence, the Gradation of Existence (Tashkīk-i Wujūd), and the Goodness of Existence—they differ on issues like the modality of the soul's origination (Hudūth-i Nafs). Their modes of expression, linguistic styles, number of arguments, and textual coherence are distinctly different.

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