Spiritual Psychology: The Fourth Intellectual Journey in Transcendent Philosophy

Occasion for presenting this book:

10^th September: World Suicide Prevention Day

Book Bibliographic Details:

Author: Mulla Sadra Shirazi

Translator: Latimah-Pervin Peerwani

Publisher: ICAS Press

Length: 748 Pages

Language: English

ISBN: 978 1 904063 32 2

Publication Date: May 7, 2026

About the Book:

Spiritual Psychology: The Fourth Intellectual Journey in Transcendent Philosophy presents the English translation of Volumes VIII and IX of Mulla Sadra’s magnum opus, al-Asfar al-Arba‘ah (The Four Intellectual Journeys). This foundational text offers a multidisciplinary synthesis of Islamic philosophical psychology, systematically exploring the nature, origin, faculties, and ultimate destiny of the human soul. Grounded in his principle of “substantial motion” (al-harakat al-jawhariyyah), Sadra details how the soul originates as a corporeal entity and dynamically evolves through ontological levels into a spiritual reality, addressing self-knowledge, psychosomatic unity, and the soul’s post-mortem return to the Divine.

About the Author:

The author, Mulla Sadra Shirazi (c. 1571–1640), was a Persian philosopher, mystic, and theologian widely regarded as the founder of Transcendent Philosophy (al-Hikmah al-Muta‘aliyah). Born in Shiraz during the Safavid period, Sadra spent fifteen years in contemplative retreat in the village of Kahak, where he synthesized Avicennian rationalism, Suhrawardi’s Illuminationist wisdom, Islamic mysticism (‘irfan), and scriptural revelation. His seminal doctrines – most notably the primacy of existence over essence (asalat al-wujud) and the dynamic motion of substances – fundamentally transformed Islamic metaphysics and remain a cornerstone of Islamic philosophical thought.

About the Translator:

The translator, Professor Latimah-Parvin Peerwani, is a scholar of Islamic philosophy who earned her PhD in Islamic Philosophy and Persian Studies from Tehran University. Over her academic career, she has taught at institutions including The Islamic College in London, the Institute of Ismaili Studies, McGill University, and the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies in Rome. Peerwani specializes in the translation and critical annotation of complex classical Arabic and Persian texts, making primary works of Islamic mysticism and transcendent philosophy accessible to English-language scholarship.

Where to find it:

You can find the book at one of the online bookstores below:

• ICAS Press
• AbeBooks
• Waterstones
• Amazon