The Philosophy of Plants in Islamic Thought: A Comparative Study of Avicenna and Mulla Sadra

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Engliah Language and Literature, Faculty of Persian Literature and Foriegn Languages, University of Tabriz.

2 MA of English Kiterature, Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University, Tabriz, Iran.

Abstract

This study is an attempt to study the position of plants among other beings based on Islamic philosophy and to analyze it in the context of posthuman thought, in relation to plant ontology, agency and ethics Exploring the metaphysical architecture of botanical life in Islamic philosophy requires a systematic comparison between the systems of Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna) and Mulla Sadrā. This study problematizes how the transition from Avicenna’s essentialist ontology to Sadrā’s existential paradigm fundamentally redefines the plant’s ontological status and its teleological trajectory. While the Peripatetic tradition—rooted in the Aristotelian De Anima—provided a biological taxonomy based on fixed essences, Avicenna embedded the vegetative soul within a stable, intellectual cosmology. Centuries later, Mulla Sadrā’s doctrine of al-ḥaraka al-jawhariyya (substantial motion) initiated a radical departure, pivoting from static forms to the dynamic intensification of wujūd (existence). Through a comparative analysis of primary sources, the paper demonstrates that while Avicenna treats the plant as a fixed mirror of divine intelligence, Sadrā transfigures it into a rhythmic 'happening' of being. Ultimately, the research finds that in Sadrā’s synthesis, the plant ceases to be a mere biological prerequisite and emerges as a microcosmic signifier of perpetual motion—a living bridge in the soul’s cosmic return to its Divine Source. Moreover, plants are agential beings that are in a never-ending process of becoming in union with the other parts of universe, but this is all under God’s will. Ethically, the natural realm including plants as the representation of the divine logic should be respected.

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Journal of Philosophical Investigations

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 20 June 2026

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