Ma`rifat Falsafi

There are many similarities between the faculty of imagination and Satan. Indeed, one may consider the imagination as the Satan of the minor world (i.e. human being), and consider Satan as the imagination of the major world (i.e. the universe). Thus, knowing each of these two (imagination and Satan) helps us knowing the other. This is just what Mullā Sadrā has done in his works. The role of imagination in Satan's existence is a basic role and Mullā Sadrā, in his works, maintains that imaginative perception is the highest point of Satan's perceptions and the ultimate level of knowledge he can acquire, and that he is unable to reach purely rational understanding. Thus, Satan is in the zenith of compound ignorance. On the other hand, the only way through which Satan can penetrate man's soul is the faculty of imagination, and he has no other way to mislead man. Accordingly, from this and other aspects, Satan and the faculty of imagination are closely related to one another. The more one of them is known, the more the other would be known as well. This article is seeking to better identify and delineate Satan and imagination by comparing them and explaining their relationship; this would result in motivating one to seek knowledge, preventing Satan's penetration, and moving towards human perfection.