Analysis of the Theory of the Objectivity of Reward and Punishment in Light of the Unity of the Soul and Action within the Islamic Eschatological System Based on Ṣadrā’s Transcendent Philosophy

Among the fundamental issues of Islamic eschatology, the relationship between human action and its recompense is one of the most intricate philosophical subjects. The theory of the objectivity of reward and punishment emphasizing an ontological relation between the soul and its acts seeks to explain divine reward and punishment through the unity of the soul and action. While grounded in Qurʾanic and hadith sources, the theory faces philosophical challenges, such as distinguishing between “objectivity through unity” and “objectivity through the embodiment of celestial forms.” Using a descriptive analytical method and based on the principles of Ṣadrā’s Transcendent Philosophy, particularly substantial motion and the unity of agent and act, this study seeks a philosophical explanation of that relation within Islamic eschatology. The findings demonstrate that objectivity between action and recompense can be coherently interpreted only through Ṣadrian metaphysics: through substantial motion, the soul unites with its acts and internalizes them as dispositions. Accordingly, the Hereafter’s reward or punishment is nothing external or conventional but the manifestation of those inner dispositions in the soul’s imaginal and resurrected levels. Comparative analysis of Qurʾanic, hadith, and rational evidence reveals that resurrection, in Ṣadrian thought, is the soul’s full self disclosure—Heaven and Hell being two modes of its unveiling. Thus, the theory clarifies the unity of ethics, human ontology, and eschatology within the Islamic philosophical system and reconciles reason and revelation in explaining divine recompense.