In this volme, Part One of one of the most significant and truly philosophical texts of the post classical period in Persian and Arabic philosophy, is published for the first time in a critical edition. The text, "Addenda on The Commentary on The Philosophy of Illumination: Part One on The Rules of Thought (al-Ta‘liqat ‘ala Sharh Hikmat al-Ishraq: al-Qism al-Awwal fi Zawabit al-Fikr)", is an exemplum work in the revivalist scholastic tradition in Iran known as the “School of Isfahan.” This text represents the apogee of philosophical analysis of post classical Persian and Arabic philosophy, and in many ways it is the most innovative composition by the renowned Persian philosopher Muhammad b. Ibrahim Shirazi best known as “Molla Sadra.” This work continues the illuminationist tradition that was founded by Sohravardi, and is distinct from the text-book genre where philosophy is limited by predetermined doctrine and is reduced to “handmaiden of theology.” The text demonstrates that rationalist philosophy did not end in the East after the classical period, and many creative Persian thinkers continued the philosophical endeavor at a high level of creativity.

Professor Hossein Ziai has established the critical edition of this text based on several manuscripts and other published texts and adds a glossary of technical terms plus an index. This work is part of Ziai’s research and publications on post Avicennan and illuminationist philosophy in Iran.