The Death of Angels according to Mullā Ṣadrā

Mullā Ṣadrā (d. 1050/1640) is the first Muslim philosopher to have discussed the death of angels. Ṣadrā's philosophy is influenced by the Qur'an and Hadith, and the mystics preceding him. Without a precise understanding of the Major Resurrection, it would be impossible to analyse the concept of the 'death of angels' in Ṣadrā's work. He analyses the nature of the Major Resurrection through mystical fundamentals, on the basis of which he considers the 'death of angels' to be justifiable. He has elaborated on how the death of angels can occur from two perspectives: Firstly, with the annihilation of God's Names, which occurs through the manifestation of God's essence at the time of the Major Resurrection. In this analysis, the idea of which was presented by Dāwūd al-Qayṣarī (d. 751/1350), the angels are also annihilated (in God) upon the manifestation of God's essence at the time of the Major Resurrection. Secondly, 'the swooning death' (i.e., death by first falling into an unconscious state), which represents the return to the non-existence within the divine essence. This type of death occurs at the time of the Major Resurrection and Ṣadrā has in various instances considered it to include the angels. The second explanation is Ṣadrā's invention.