Encyclopedia of Islamic Philosophy PDF

i
The Biographical Encyclopedia

of Islamic Philosophy
Also available from Bloomsbury
Biographical Encyclopedia of British Idealism, edited by William Sweet
Dictionary of Early American Philosophers, edited by John R. Shook
Dictionary of Eighteenth-Century German Philosophers,
edited by Heiner F. Klemme and Manfred Kuehn
Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers,
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Dictionary of Seventeenth-Century British Philosophers,
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Dictionary of Seventeenth and Eighteenth-Century Dutch Philosophers,
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Paul Schuurman, and Michiel Wielema
Dictionary of Seventeenth-Century French Philosophers,
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Encyclopedia of the American Enlightenment,
edited by Mark G. Spencer
The Bloomsbury Companion to Islamic Studies,
edited by Clinton Bennett
The Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Utilitarianism,
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The Quran: A Philosophical Guide, Oliver Leaman
The Biographical Encyclopedia
of Islamic Philosophy
Edited by
Oliver Leaman
Bloomsbury Academic
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Contents
Preface to the Paperback Editionvii
Introduction ix
Islamic History Timeline xvii
How to Use The Encyclopedia xxiii
General Bibliographyxxv
List of Contributorsxxxvii
List of Biographical Entries and Authors xli
Entries AZ 1
Glossary 501
Index 503
v
vi
Preface to the Paperback Edition
I was pleased when the publishers approached me about a paperback edition for this volume,
since the first edition was well received but also very expensive, and so only limited to librar-
ies and research institutes. Now the book is available at a much more bearable price and so
accessible more generally. The various authors have sought to bring out in their work the
lives and works of the major thinkers in the Islamic philosophical world, broadly interpreted,
and the paperback edition has presented me with the opportunity to add a new entry on
Muhammad Arkoun, who alas has died in the interim and who could not have been dealt
with in the first edition, since I decided not to include living thinkers.
This is very much a book about books, the emphasis throughout is providing the reader
with bibliographical resources to explore the topic more deeply. It has been possible to cor-
rect some errors that existed in the first edition, but I am sure others exist, hopefully not too
egregious ones. The contributors have also often moved on to other positions and this has
been noted in the list of contributors where it has been possible to contact them and receive
a reply.
Oliver Leaman
Lexington May 2014
vii
viii
Introduction
It is the aim of this volume to include entries on Islamic philosophers and to constitute a
comprehensive list of all those who could be given that description. Philosophy flourished in
the Islamic world for many centuries, and continues to be a significant feature of cultural life
today. The compilation of biographical dictionaries has long been a tradition within Islamic
culture, and it would be helpful to have a modern version of such dictionaries. We are only
including thinkers who are no longer alive.
The issue of the definition of Islamic philosophy has been controversial, and it probably
should be classified as an essentially contested concept. There is nothing specifically Islamic
about this issue, it occurs in all systems of philosophy which are classified under the label of a
particular religion. Religion is a matter of faith and often seems to be opposed to philosophy,
which is a system of ideas built on a foundation of reason. Yet much of the work which goes
on under the label of Islamic philosophy has nothing to do with religion at all, or at least
makes no direct link with religion. One thinks in particular of logic here, and the other more
technical aspects of philosophy. Then there is the fact that philosophy itself as a technical
term had a range of meanings within the Islamic world. It is sometimes translated as falsafa,
itself a neologism stemming from the Greek, where this term referred largely to philosophy
within the Peripatetic tradition. Sometimes philosophy is translated as hikma, or more gener-
ally wisdom, and that is the sense in which we are going to take it here, since this will include
all kinds of theoretical enquiry which were in their time regarded as philosophy or philo-
sophical. It was not only those who were formally philosophers who discussed philosophy,
and scientists, theologians, jurisprudents, and physicians all made important contributions
to the topic.
Of course the idea of philosophy as a technical profession is quite modern and Socrates
would himself have been horrified at the prospect of philosophers being paid for their ser-
vices. He argued that the philosopher should be able to earn his living doing something else,
thus leaving him free to say what he likes when doing philosophy. Most of the Islamic phi-
losophers earned their livings doing a variety of occupations, and philosophy itself was often
a sideline or minor interest in a far more extensive career as something else. Nonetheless, the
resulting work is often of major significance, and it will be represented here.
So we are taking a wide notion of philosophy here, and we are regarding it as any intel-
lectual enquiry which directly or indirectly raises issues of primary philosophical significance.
So we shall include some of the major thinkers within the Islamic sciences, those who wrote
on grammar, theology, law, and the Traditions of the Prophet, since these areas of work
clearly came to form part of the context of the philosophical curriculum of the time. This is
not to say that they were all philosophers or regarded themselves as philosophers, but their
ideas and arguments became part and parcel of what philosophers worked on. On the other
ix
Introduction
hand, it would be a mistake to include in this volume every Muslim who was interested in any
theoretical issue whatsoever. Many of these thinkers and their ideas do not figure in the argu-
ments of the philosophers, however philosophy is understood, and it is important to make
a distinction between philosophy as an intellectual enquiry from other types of theoretical
activity. Critics of philosophy will be included, provided that they argue philosophically in
their critique.
Most entries are short, giving details as far as they are known of the life of the thinker, the
main works, their main ideas, those influential on them, and those they influenced. At the
end of each entry we will have some references to the main works, and secondary material
as appropriate. Readers should be aware that many Islamic philosophers wrote a very large
number of books and no attempt will be made here to refer to them all, but appropriate bib-
liographical information will be given. There will often be information in the bibliographies
of such general works as:
Brockelmann, Geschichte der arabischen Literatur, Leiden: Brill, 18981902,

Supplementband 193742; revised edn 19439.
Encyclopedia of Philosophy, London: Routledge, 1998.
Encyclopedia of Philosophy, New York: Macmillan, 2006.
Encyclopedia of Islam, Leiden: Brill, 191316; 2nd edn, 1960.
Encyclopedia Iranica.
Sezgin, Geschichte des arabischen Schrifttums, Leiden: Brill, 196798.
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
The Quran: An Encyclopedia, ed. O. Leaman, London: Routledge, 2006.
TDV Islam Ansiklopedisi, Istanbul.
All these works will have a good deal of relevant material in them and may be usefully
consulted by the reader.
Islamic philosophy
What date represents the start of interest in philosophy in the Islamic world? It is really not
possible to answer this question, since theoretical questions were raised right from the begin-
ning of Islam, questions which often look specifically religious since they can be answered
by reference to Islamic texts such as the Quran, the practices of the Islamic community, and
the traditional sayings of the Prophet and his Companions. On this initial basis emerged
the Islamic sciences, and these consisted largely of religious law, the study of the language
in which God transmitted the Quran (Arabic), and schools of theology which represented
differing understandings of Islam. Added to this were the ahadith (hadith in singular), the
traditional sayings of the Prophet and his family, and there was a specific science of hadith
which determined how reliable the line of transmission was.
Other disciplines came to be added later, although they had a looser relationship with
education than the more religious disciplines, and these came to include history and general
information on culture, a broad label represented by the Arabic term adab or belles-lettres.
It is difficult to distinguish between theological and philosophical topics, since often a philo-
sophical issue would be dealt with using theological language, and vice versa. For example,
there was a general issue about Gods knowledge. That form of knowledge is perfect and
x
Introduction
complete, but does it include knowledge of the everyday events of the world of generation
and corruption? The Quran suggests it does since it refers to Gods knowledge encompass-
ing every leaf that falls. If God does not know what we as individuals do, how can he judge
us on the Day of Judgment? Yet Aristotelian philosophers had difficulties with the notion
of God knowing particulars, since he is without sensory equipment, and that seems to be a
necessary aspect of such knowledge. Even from a theological point of view there are problems
with Gods knowledge being like ours, but more so, and so right from the start of Islam these
theoretical questions were much debated and progressively refined.
This refinement had a lot to do with growing contact with centers of civilization that were
in one way or another permeated by Greek culture. This led to a fierce reaction by many
Muslims, rejecting that foreign and unbelieving culture for the familiar Islamic sciences. Yet
the very real material advances of Greek culture, in particular in medicine and science, must
have made a lasting impact on many intellectuals, and there was evidently much enthusiasm
for what could be learned from the developed cultures that were rapidly incorporated in the
Islamic empire. The caliph al-Mamun who reigned from 813 to 833 was a determined sup-
porter of Greek thought, and founded an institution in Baghdad whose main purpose was
translating Greek texts into Arabic. Often these translations came about through translation
of a Greek text into Syriac, and then into Arabic. Some important texts came to be trans-
lated several times, and the skill of translators progressively improved with their experience.
Early translations included works of Aristotle, commentaries on him, summaries of many
of Platos dialogues, and later Greek elaborations of their work, and many works in the
standard Neoplatonic curriculum which at that time dominated the pursuit of philosophy.
There was a degree of confusion about who precisely wrote what, and a tendency to link
Plato and Aristotle in ways that today would be thought surprising, but this was a reflection
of Neoplatonism.
There are three main schools of thought in Islamic philosophy. Peripateticism or mashshai
philosophy is very much based on Greek thought, and in particular Neoplatonism. This
started around the time of al-Kindi and is said to have come to an end with Ibn Rushd who
represented the height of Peripatetic thought in al-Andalus, the Islamic empire in the Iberian
Peninsula.
Ibn Rushd (112698) (Averroes) was unusual for two reasons. One was his rejection of
mysticism, which by contrast was something that was adopted enthusiastically by most of the
other Peripatetic thinkers. The other line he followed that was untypical is his disavowal of
Neoplatonism and his attempt at establishing a more genuine form of Aristotelianism. But he
had few followers in the West of the Islamic world. The attack on his style of philosophy had
suffered a reverse at the hands of al-Ghazali, and his attacks had swung intellectual debate
away from philosophy in the style of the Peripatetics toward a more theologically centered
form of work. Or so it is often argued. It is difficult to know whether al-Ghazalis work was
really so influential, because it certainly did not have that much effect on Peripateticism in the
Persian world, where it continued to play an important part in the philosophical curriculum,
especially in combination with mystical philosophy.
Mysticism in Islamic philosophy is an almost constant topic of interest. Some went to the
lengths of arguing that philosophy that was analytical could not be of value since reality is
one, and dividing it up to examine it is to misunderstand it profoundly. Of course, this itself is
an analytical argument. The mystical thinker Ibn al-Arabi (11651240) pursued this line and
represented himself as burying the old Peripatetic form of thought when he carried the bones
of Ibn Rushd back to al-Andalus on the back of a donkey. But many philosophers combined
xi
Introduction
mysticism with Peripatetic philosophy, arguing that these are just two different philosophical
methodologies, with mysticism going deeper into the nature of reality.
Illuminationist (ishraqi) thought comes from the term ishraq, which is linked with the idea
of the East, and really is hostile to the Peripatetic system of knowledge. The Ishraqis argued
against the principle that reasoning starts with definition in terms of genus and differentia,
a process of explaining something by breaking it down into its smaller parts that is the basis
of Peripatetic thought. Illuminationist thinkers such as al-Suhrawardi (115491) argue that
this is to explain the unknown in terms of something even less known. They also seek to
demote deductive knowledge, the sort of knowledge we get from using the principles of syl-
logistic reasoning, with knowledge by presence, which is knowledge so immediate that it
cannot be doubted. Light itself comes into the picture since the idea is that such knowledge is
lit up in a way which makes it impossible to doubt or ignore, and this is because light flows
through the universe and brings to existence and awareness a range of levels of being. The
differences between things can be described in degrees of luminosity or light, not in terms of
their essences. God is often linked with the Light of Lights, the light that is the source of all
other light and that does not itself receive light, rather like Aristotles unmoved mover, that
other things move around but does not itself move. This form of philosophy was particularly
popular in the Persian world, where it was combined in varying degrees with aspects of
mysticism and even Peripateticism. Mulla Sadra (15721640), whose thought has dominated
the Persian philosophical curriculum since his time, used all three forms of philosophy in his
writings, as became very much the style of much Persian philosophy.
Islamic philosophy and Islam have always had a close relationship, even thinkers who
oppose the use of philosophy tend to use it to oppose it, like al- Ghazali arguing that it is full
of contradictions even if its own principles are followed. Even when no explicit philosophy is
used at all, it still does enter when the question of how to interpret texts arises, as it does all the
time in Islam. How far should independent reason be used, or how far should one stay close
to the precise reasoning of the individual Islamic sciences such as theology, law, hadith, gram-
mar, and so on? Even trying to stay close to the precise rules does use logic, and logic could
be regarded as part of philosophy. This itself was a controversial topic, with some arguing
that logic was only a tool employed by philosophy, and in fact is independent of metaphysi-
cal assumptions altogether. Other thinkers hostile to philosophy argue that logic is inevitably
contaminated with it and so should not be used. There was also a controversy about whether
logic is independent of language, obviously a not unrelated issue. Right at the start of Islamic
philosophy there was a celebrated debate between al-Sirafi and Ibn Bishr Matta on whether
knowing grammar of a particular language is more useful than knowing logic that takes itself
to underpin all language itself. By the nineteenth century Peripatetic philosophy had become
part of the Arabic Nahda or Renaissance, often seen as a symbol of modernity and the grow-
ing identification with the non-Islamic world. After all, the philosophical thought of Islam
was introduced and enthusiastically taken up by Europe in the medieval period, and is often
argued to have played an important part in the European explosion of science and intellec-
tual thought in general. The works of Ibn Rushd and Ibn Sina were in the curriculum of the
Christian and Jewish worlds for many centuries; there were many translations that played a
significant role in the development of philosophy in Europe as a whole.
What were the leading issues of Islamic philosophy? The whole range of general philo-
sophical topics was explored, but some topics were of more interest than others. There was
a protracted debate about the objectivity or subjectivity of ethical rules, over the issue of
whether an action is just if and only if God says that it is just, or whether it is just in itself,
xii
Introduction
both issues that arise in similar forms in Islamic theology. How to reconcile the social virtues
that arise through living in a community and the intellectual virtues that tend to involve a
more solitary lifestyle was a deeply felt issue, since so many philosophers had difficulties in
being accepted by their local communities, especially the political authorities. Why should
the philosophical thinker who can grasp the truth through the use of reason involve himself
in the social and religious activities of the community? They often argued that philosophy
represents the truth in an unvarnished form, whereas religion was a shaping of that truth in
a way that makes it palatable and comprehensible to the community in general. During a
period when religious and social identity were so closely connected, this gave rise to questions
about the real religious beliefs of the philosophers, and their sincerity was often questioned.
Although the philosophers were keen for prudential reasons to link up with the practices of
the community, this is clearly a different form of attachment than was normal, and gave rise
to some suspicion.
Political philosophy looked to Greek thinkers for ways of discussing the nature of the state,
and often combined Aristotelian and Platonic political ideas with Quranic notions. This
was not difficult to do since it enabled them to argue that the state ought to be concerned
with both the material and the spiritual welfare of its inhabitants. The philosopher would be
the best ruler because he can understand what is in the general interest, and he can ensure
that religion is used to teach the community in general how to behave so that its welfare is
enhanced. This sort of elitism was common across the range of philosophies, even Sufi and
Illuminationist thinkers were largely of the opinion that only a limited group of people could
understand precisely how the state operated, and that traditional religion was an important
source of information for the people as a whole.
The nature of the soul, the thinking part of human beings, was a particularly important
issue. Many Peripatetic thinkers followed Aristotle in regarding the soul as the form of a
person, which implies that once the body or matter dies, the soul or form of the matter no
longer exists. Yet Islam has a strong notion of an afterlife, indeed a physical afterlife, and the
soul and body would in some sense be regarded as eternal. Some philosophers suggested that
the Quranic view is largely allegorical, so that our actions in this life have consequences,
which extend farther than this life, and a good way of talking about this is through talking
about us as having eternal souls. Other thinkers tended to use a Platonic account of the soul
as something eternal and immaterial, and this also seems to contradict the Quranic account
of the afterlife as a decidedly physical sort of place. Of course it could be that the religious
account is in terms of the physical because for most people that is what is important in their
lives. It is a way of explaining to them why it is important for us to behave well, whereas a
more spiritual grasp of the links between this world and the next one is achievable only by
a few intellectuals or spiritually advanced adepts, and should not be made into a standard
religious doctrine for everyone.
We have already seen that the role of logic, if any, in the Islamic sciences was a contro-
versial one. Some enthusiasts for logic saw it as having a role everywhere. Even poetry was
taken to have some sort of a logical structure, since poetry is writing that is expected to have a
conclusion, perhaps the eliciting of an emotion, and it sets out to achieve this conclusion by a
careful shaping of language. In fact, each type of writing has a logical structure that describes
how it is supposed to operate, and what the appropriate rules are. The logic of theology is
dialectical, for example, and takes a particular proposition as true, because it occurs in a text
in which it is reasonable to believe, and works out what the logical implications of that text
are. But since the text could be wrong, the standard of conclusion that one derives is always
xiii
Introduction
a bit dubious. Law and many of the other Islamic sciences are dialectical in this sense, and
philosophers often have an account of knowledge that does not include those sciences as
representing the very highest type of knowledge. The main difference between philosophers
and ordinary people is that philosophers are capable of understanding the structure of these
arguments better than their less advanced peers. Ordinary believers tend to be very influenced
by imagination and their senses, emotional and reliant on tradition, so they are not really that
good at understanding arguments that come from those who are able to see behind ordinary
experience to what exists at a deeper level, either analytically or spiritually, or indeed both.
It should not be thought that the thinkers in this book are an alienated bunch of outsiders,
holding heterodox views and setting out to reinterpret Islam radically. Most of them were
pillars of the community and important members of the local social hierarchy. Some did fall
foul of the religious authorities, but by contrast some were the creators of specific religious
schools of thought, and their followers have gone on to use their works to develop a particu-
lar theoretical model of Islam. The very difficult political situations that have existed during
quite extended periods of Islamic history certainly ensured that philosophy along with other
intellectual pursuits often had to adapt to local conditions. Some thinkers who could not
adapt paid the ultimate price, and the example of Socrates and his fate at the hands of the
Athenians had more than a historical resonance for many in the Islamic world.
The biography in Islamic intellectual culture
The sources of information are many and various. Books like this book, although usually
much wittier, were often written in the past, and they are a great help to our authors now.
For example, al-Sakhawi wrote Daw al-Lami in which he described in some detail the vari-
ous thinkers in the Sufi tradition who had been important to him and why. To a degree this
established the credentials of the writer, it explains his background, and that gives us a reason
to think highly of him. This is really something of a presentation of his credentials, his formal
license to teach (the ijaza) being conferred on him by someone of great eminence, and his
pupils also being mentioned in the hope that they would in time bring credit to their teacher
and broadcast his ideas and approaches. The language is often rather elevated in the earlier
biographies. Teachers are referred to in very complimentary terms, and enemies damned
unreservedly. Does this mean that they are not objective? They are no more subjective than a
letter of reference by a US college professor on behalf of a student, for example. There were
many accounts of biographies, especially in the Sufi tradition, and biographies are always
popular in any literature. Both in the past and the present Sufis have been enthusiastic collec-
tors of stories about those whom they seek to emulate.
The sources of information about the thinkers in this book are various. We are fortunate
that there has been a tradition in Islamic culture of producing biographical dictionaries. For
example, Ibn al-Qifti (d. 1249) and heresiographers are also interesting sources of informa-
tion. On the other hand, we are often here acquiring information either from the enemies of
Islamic thinkers, or from their admirers, and one might well wonder at the reliability of much
of what we are told. Surely the huge number of such biographical dictionaries is a unique
feature of Islamic culture, one which has yet to be satisfactorily explained. To a degree these
dictionaries represented the history of particular periods in ways that made the history acces-
sible, since it was linked with particular individuals. To a degree they mimicked the isnad
tradition of hadith, the ways in which the Traditions of the Prophet and those close to him
xiv
Introduction
came down to later generations by the lines of transmission of those who repeated the say-
ings. These chains of communication were early on formalized and became an Islamic science
all of their own, since the aim was to ensure that the reports that were being relied on were
indeed reliably linked with the Prophet and his Companions in the first place. So the idea of
investing attention to biography is very much part and parcel of the Islamic sciences. Then
there is the fascination that was so prevalent in Islamic culture for classification, for organiz-
ing ideas and people into categories, and subcategories and so on, in that way producing a
perspicuous grasp of a whole area of thought and culture.
Some dictionaries concentrate on a particular city or region, and that adds stature to it as
a cultural center, presumably. Some concentrate on particular professions, and thus commu-
nicate the idea of the significance of that profession and its practitioners. The different sects
and legal schools in Islam could well figure in specific doctrinal biographies, and this again
plays a part in defining and registering the significance of a certain ideology. Finally, there is
the fact that biographies are often fun, they may elevate or they may ridicule their figures, but
in many cases they do illustrate in a comparatively light way the life story of an interesting
thinker who may well have lived through tumultuous times. In that way they encourage later
followers to persist through obstacles and remain close to the scholarly path. These works
were generally part of the adab tradition, the attempt to formulate the entire culture of the
Islamic world.
There is an excellent bibliography of biographical dictionaries in Islamic culture in Wadad
al-Qadi, Biographical Dictionaries: Inner Structure and Cultural Significance, in G. Atiyeh
(ed.), The Book in the Islamic World: The Written Word and Communication in the Middle
East, Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1995. There is a very full account of
the bibliographical encyclopedia genre in Islamic philosophy, and more widely, in several
of the chapters of Endress Organizing Knowledge (2006) and especially Wadad al-Qadis
Biographical dictionaries as the scholars alternative history of the Muslim community pp.
2375. The bibliography throughout the volume has been selected to be useful for anyone
interested in exploring this type of writing.
Dates and transliteration
The Muslim calendar begins with the migration (hijra) of Muhammad and his earliest fol-
lowers to Medina from Mecca in 622. The Muslim calendar is a lunar calendar with twelve
months: Muharram, Safar, Rabi al-Awwal, Rabi al-Thani, Jumada al-Awwal, Jumada al-
Thani, Rajab, Shaban, Ramadan, Shawwal, Dhul-Qadah, and Dhul-Hijja.
The text avoids the use of macrons and diacritics for Arabic and Persian, and includes ayn
and hamza. Transliteration is not always consistent since it was decided to use more familiar
spellings in English for some names and terms.
Islamic names
We do not on the whole give the full name of any of our thinkers, since these are very long.
For example, the full name of the sixth/twelfth century Ibn al-Jawzi is Abd al- Rahman ibn
Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Ubayd Allah ibn Abd Allah ibn Hammadi ibn Ahmad ibn
Muhammad ibn Jafar ibn Abd Allah ibn al-Qasim ibn al-Nadr ibn al-Qasim ibn Muham-
mad ibn Abd Allah ibn al-Faqih Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Faqih al-Qasim ibn Muhammad
xv
Introduction
ibn Khalifat Rasul Allah Abi Bakr al-Siddiq Abu al-Faraj ibn al-Jawzi al-Qurashi al-Taymi
al-Bakri al- Baghdadi al-Hanbali al-Ashari. This is not the place to write on Islamic names,
which are often long and complicated, but a few details are worth noting. The ism is the
first part of the name by which the individual is familiarly known, the laqab is his nickname,
and many thinkers are known generally by a combination of the two. Some Arabic names
acquired Latinized names such as Averroes, from Ibn Rushd; Avicenna from Ibn Sina; Saladin
from Salah al-Din; Rhases from Razi; and Avenzoar from Ibn Zuhr. Abu alis frequently
transliterated as Abul- to concur with pronunciation; and the Arabic the (al), when
used in a name is always hyphenated to l before the word following it, as in Abul-
Hasan. Ibn is often shortened as b. or represented as bin.
These are different parts to the name:
An ism, a personal, proper name given shortly after birth. Examples of such names are
Muhammad, Ibrahim, Ahmad, and so on.
A kunya, an honorific name or surname, as the father or mother of someone; e.g., Abu
Salim (the father of Salim), Umm Ali (the mother of Ali). In a persons full name, the
kunya precedes the personal name: Abu Yusuf Ali (the father of Yusuf, Ali), Umm
Ibrahim Amina (the mother of Ibrahim, Amina).
A nasab refers to a pedigree, as the son or daughter of someone; e.g., Ibn Ahmad (the son
of Ahmad), bint Musa (the daughter of Musa). The nasab follows the ism in usage: Hasan
ibn Muhammad (Hasan the son of Muhammad). Many of the thinkers in this volume are
better known through their nasab than by their ism: e.g., Ibn Khaldun, Ibn Rushd (Aver-
roes), Ibn Sina (Avicenna). When the parent in a nasab is referred to by his kunya, the
word abu becomes abi, the well-known example being the Prophets son-in-law is called
Ali ibn Abi Talib, Ali the son of Abu Talib, or Ali, the son of the father of Talib.
A laqab, a descriptive term, relating to some important and prestigious feature that the
person has e.g., al-Arif (the knowledgeable), al-Rashid (the rightly guided). Laqabs fol-
low the ism. One particularly popular form of laqab is formed on the pattern of Abd
(servant of) plus one of the ninety-nine names of God; e.g., Abd Allah (Abdullah), the
servant of God, Abd al-Aziz (servant of the Almighty), Abd al-Rahman (servant of the
Merciful). Such a laqab is used as an ism or first name.
A nisba is a byname. Nisbas follow the ism or, if the name contains a nasab, it generally
follows the nasab. The three primary types of nisba are: (1) occupational, referring to
a persons trade or profession; e.g., Muhammad al-Hallaj (Muhammad, the dresser of
cotton); (2) descent, derived from the name of a persons tribe of birth or family lineage:
Mughira al-Jufi (Mughira of the tribe of Jufi); Yusuf al-Ayyubi (Joseph the Ayyubid,
Joseph of the family line of Ayyub); and (3) geographical, derived from the place of
residence or birth: Yaqub al-Dimashqi (Jacob of Damascus). As is the case with nas-
abs, some persons in history are known to us primarily by their nisba: Muhammad ibn
Ismail al-Bukhari, the author of an early collection of hadith (sayings of the Prophet
Muhammad and his Companions) is better known from his place of birth, Bukhara, sim-
ply as al-Bukhari. Where more than one nisba is used, as a general rule the geographic
nisba comes last, preceded by either the occupational nisba or the tribal nisba.
Oliver Leaman
xvi
Islamic History Timeline
Many of the early dates are approximate

610 Adhering to a polytheistic system of belief, Muhammad has a religious experi-
ence, he hears a divine voice, identified with the angel Gabriel/Jibril, and is told
to convert the Quaraysh to return to an earlier form of monotheism.
622 The Quaraysh are distinctly unenthusiastic. Muhammad and his small band of
followers migrate to the town of Yathrib in the north, where he receives a more
sympathetic reception. The Hijra of 622, the migration, marks the beginning of
the Muslim era. After making himself ruler, Muhammad changes the name of
the town to Medina or City, and Medina becomes the seat of the caliphate.
630 Muhammad and his followers capture Mecca. The Kaba, the neutral place of
worship for Arabian tribes during the jahiliya or pre-Islamic period of igno-
rance, becomes the main shrine of Islam.
632 With the death of Muhammad, his father-in-law, Abu-Bakr, and Umar devise a
system in which Islam can sustain religious and political stability. Accepting the
name of caliph, Abu-Bakr begins a military exhibition to enforce the caliphs
authority over Arabian followers of Muhammad. Then he moves north and
attacks the Byzantines and Persians. Abu-Bakr dies two years following his suc-
cession of Muhammad. Umar succeeds him as the second caliph and initiates a
campaign against the neighboring empires.
637 The Arabs occupy the Persian capital of Ctesiphon. By 651, the entire Persian
world is conquered by Islam as it continues its westward expansion.
638 The Romans are defeated at the Battle of Yarmouk and the Muslims enter Pal-
estine. The Muslims continue their conquest of Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq, which
is completed in 641.
641 Islam spreads into Egypt.
644 Umar dies and is succeeded by Caliph Uthman, a member of the Umayyad
family. He is met by opposition from the supporters of Ali, Muhammads
cousin and son-in-law, who want the latter installed as caliph.
654 Islam spreads into all of North Africa.
656 Caliph Uthman is murdered, and Ali becomes the new caliph.
xvii
661 Uthmans followers murder Ali. One of Uthmans relations takes the title of
caliph, and Damascus replaces Medina as the seat of the caliphate. The Umayyad
family rules Islam until 750. Alis followers form a religious party, the shiat Ali,
the party of Ali, based on the principle that only descendants of Ali deserve the
title of caliph or deserve any authority over Muslims. The opposing party, the
Sunnis, accept by contrast the custom (Sunna) or authority of the historical evo-
lution of the caliphate rather than a hereditary descent of spiritual authority.
662 Egypt falls under the control of the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates until 868.
A year earlier, the Fertile Crescent and Persia come under the Umayyad and
Abbasid caliphates, whose reigns last until 1258 and 820, respectively.
669 The Muslim conquest reaches to Morocco in North Africa. The region is open
to the rule of the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates until 800.
710 Tariq ibn Malik crosses the straight separating Africa and Europe with a group
of Muslims and enters Spain. A year later, 7,000 Muslim men invade Gibraltar.
Almost the entire Iberian Peninsula is under Islamic control by 718.
711 With the further conquest of Egypt, Spain, and North Africa, Islam includes all
of the Persian Empire and most of the old Roman world is under Islamic rule.
711 Muslims begin the conquest of Sind in Afghanistan. Until 962, Afghanistan
witnesses different regional rulers, periodically controlled by the Umayyad and
the Abbasid caliphates and other locally based rulers.
717 The Umayyads attempt to conquer the Byzantine capital and fail.
732 At the Battle of Poitiers, Islamic expansion is halted in France but continues
into parts of Asia and Africa.
750 The Abbasids take over the Islamic world (except for Spain which falls under
the rule of a descendant of the Umayyad family) and move the capital to Bagh-
dad in Iraq. Abd al-Rahman of the Umayyad dynasty flees to Spain to escape
the Abbasids.
789 During the reign of the Idrisid dynasty of Morocco, which lasts until 985, local
rulers begin to control North Africa.
800 North Africa falls under the rule of the Aghlabi dynasty of Tunis, which lasts
until 909.
819 Persian unity begins to disintegrate with the Samanid rulers in northern Persia,
whose rule in this region lasts until 1055. One year later, the Tharid dynasty
begins to control Khorasan (lasting until 874), and in 864, the Alid dynasty
begins rule over Tabaristan (lasting until 1032).
827 Aghlabi rulers of Tunis begin conquests of Sicily which last until 878.
857 The Sufi Al-Muhasibi dies.
865 Rhazes discovers the difference between measles and smallpox. Rhazes dies in
925.
xviii
868 The Sattarid dynasty, whose rule continues until 930, extends control through-
out most of Persia. In Egypt, the Abbasid and Umayyad caliphates end and
rule turns to Egyptian-based control with the beginning of the Tulunid dynasty
(lasting until 904).
877 Syria and the different sects of Lebanon are ruled periodically by the Tulunid,
the Ikhidid, the Fatimid, and the Ayyubid dynasties of Egypt until 1250.
879 The Seljuk Empire unites Mesopotamia and a large portion of Persia.
900 The Fatimids of Egypt overrun North Africa and include the territory as an
extension of Egypt until 972.
909 Sicily falls under the control of the Fatimids rule of North Africa and Egypt
until 1071. From 878 until 909, the rule of Sicily is shaky.
935969 Egypt is under the control of the Ikhidid dynasty.
945 A Shiite group invades Baghdad, and the Abbasid Empire becomes a powerless
symbol of unity and legitimate government to the Muslim community. For the
next centuries, rule of Islamic civilization is decentralized and different sects are
ruled by different rulers.
962 Afghanistan is stabilized by the rule of the Ghaznavid dynasty which lasts until
1186.
972 North Africa is under the control of the Zayri rulers in Tunis. Their control lasts
until 1148, much longer than the Aghlabi rulers were able to sustain control.
969 The Fatimid dynasty assumes the title of caliphate in Egypt until 1171.
997 Mahmud, ruler of a Turkish dynasty in Gujarat, conducts seventeen raids into
northwestern India before his death in 1030.
1037 A region of Persia, Azerbaijan, falls under the rule of the Sajid dynasty. Azer-
baijan is periodically ruled by different rulers from the end of the Seljuk Empire
until 1502.
1056 The al-Moravi rulers of Morocco begin control over North Africa (lasting until
1147).
1077 The Seljuk, a Turkish dynasty, attacks the political and social world of the
Abbasids. The Seljuks extend their control over most of the Arab and Persian
regions.
1100 Islamic rule is strained due to power struggles among Islamic leaders and the
Christian crusades.
1100 Afghanistan falls under the control of Ghorid rulers until 1215.
1130 Until 1269, the Al-Mohad dynasty rules North Africa.
1168 The Ayyubid dynasty rules Egypt until 1250.
1187 Muslim general Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi, in Egypt, ends the Christian crusades.
xix
1228 The Haysi rulers of Tunis in North Africa assume control.

1248 Muslim control of Spain is reduced to the Kingdom of Granada, which survives
for more than two centuries more.
1251 The last of the Egyptian-based dynasties, the Mamluk dynasty, takes the caliph-
ate until 1517 when Egypt falls under the control of the Ottoman Turkish
Empire.
1258 The Abbasid period is finished with the sack of Baghdad by the Mongols.
1327 With the disintegration of the Seljuk Empire, the Arab and Persian regions are
fragmented into several military kingdoms until 1500. The Ottoman Turkish
Empire establishes its capital at Bursa.
1453 The Ottomans defeat the Byzantine Empire and continue expanding into the
Balkans. The Ottoman Turkish Empire moves its capital from Bursa to Istan-
bul (Constantinople). After 1500, the Moguls (15261857) and the Safavids
(15201736) also create two new empires.
1492 Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile finally end Muslim rule in Spain.
502 Ismail seizes Tabriz and establishes the Safavid dynasty in Persia. Shiism is
established as the state religion.
1514 The Battle of Chaldiran. The Ottomans defeat the Safavids and gain eastern
Anatolia, thus allowing Ottoman expansion and halting Safavid advances.
151617 The Mamluks lose Syria and Egypt to the Ottomans. Although formally under
Ottoman rule, the Mamluks still retain most of their power and influence.
152066 Reign of Suleyman the Magnificent over the Ottoman Empire.
1526 First Battle of Paniput. Babur, a descendant of Tamburlaine, defeats the Delhi
Sultanate and establishes the Mughal Empire.
1543 Hungary is conquered by the Ottomans.
1560 Akbar becomes emperor of the Mughal Empire.
1571 The Ottomans defeat the Venetians and conquer Cyprus.
1588 Abbas becomes Shah of Persia and moves the capital to Isfahan.
1602 The Dutch East India Company is established. The Dutch monopolize trade
with India and Indonesia. Bahrain falls to the Safavids.
1627 Shah Jahan becomes emperor of the Mughal Empire.
16581707 Under emperor Aurangzeb, the Mughal Empire is at its peak. Sikhs and Rajputs
revolt against his proposed Islamization of India.
1669 Crete falls to the Ottomans.
167681 First Russo-Ottoman War. The Ottomans surrender Kiev in a peace treaty with
Russia.
xx
1683 The Ottomans recapture Iraq from the Safavids.

1699 The Ottomans cede Hungary to Austria in the Treaty of Karlowitz; the begin-
ning of the Ottoman retreat from Europe.
1722 Isfahan is captured by Afghan rebels.
172325 The Ottomans and Russia exploit the chaos caused by the Afghan rebellion and
seize Persian territories.
172636 Military leader Nadir Khan defeats the Afghans in a series of battles.
173035 The Afghans are driven out of Persia. Nadir Khan ends the Safavid dynasty
and becomes Shah of Persia. He restores the territories lost to Russia and the
Ottomans.
1739 Nadir Khan raids Delhi; the dissolution of the Mughal Empire.
1748 Nadir Khan is assassinated and his dynasty ends.
1760 Karim Khan establishes the Zand dynasty in Persia.
1774 Ottoman war with Russia ends in the Treaty of Kuchuk Kaynarja. The Otto-
mans cede Crimea.
17981801 Egypt is conquered by Napoleon.
180311 Followers of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, the Wahhabis, occupy Mecca
and Medina.
1805 Governor of Egypt, Muhammad Ali, institutes reform and begins the modern-
ization of Egypt.
1812 Islamic teacher Usumanu dan Fodio establishes the Sokoto Caliphate in Nigeria.
1813 The Russo-Persian War ends with the Treaty of Gulistan. Persia cedes Azerbai-
jan to Russia.
1817 The Ottomans allow Serbians limited self-government after revolt.
1818 Ibrahim Pasha, son of Muhammad Ali, leads campaign against Wahhabis.
182130 The Greek War of Independence; Greece, France, and Britain oppose Turkey.
The Ottomans are defeated and Greece gains full independence.
1830 Algeria is occupied by France.
183141 Ottoman Syria is conquered by Muhammad Ali.
1835 Abd al-Qadir revolts against French occupation of Algeria and has some success.
183942 The Afghans defeat the British in the first Anglo-Afghan War.
1839 The port city of Aden, Yemen, is occupied by the British.
183961 Sultan Abdulhamid reforms and modernizes the institutions of the Ottoman
Empire.
xxi
185356 The Crimean War. European powers fear Russian expansion. The allied forces
of England, France, the Ottomans, and Sardinia defeat Russia.
185969 The Suez Canal, connecting the Mediterranean and Red Sea, is constructed in
Egypt.
1857 The first railroad in Africa, the Alexandria-Cairo railroad, is completed.
185758 Indian Mutiny. The British crush the rebellion and the last Mughal emperor is
exiled.
186061 Civil war between the Christians and Druze in Lebanon. Lebanon becomes an
autonomous province governed by France.
187179 Al-Afghani establishes a group of Egyptian reformers while residing in Egypt.
1873 The Dutch invade the Muslim kingdom of Aceh in northern Sumatra.
1875 The sale of the Suez Canal to the British, resulting in foreign control over the
finances of Egypt.
1876 Abdul Hamid II becomes sultan of the Ottoman Empire. He institutes major
reforms and improvements, including the proclamation of the Ottoman Con-
stitution, but it is later deferred.
187879 The Second Anglo Afghan War. Afghanistans foreign affairs are under the
authority of the British.
1879 Ismail Pasha, governor of Egypt, is deposed by France and Britain.
1881 The invasion and occupation of Tunisia by France.
1882 The British occupation of Egypt.
1889 The British occupation of Sudan.
1901 Abdul-Aziz al-Saud captures Riyadh.
1908 The nationalist group, the Young Turks, revolt. Sultan Abdul Hamid II is forced
to reinstate the Ottoman Constitution of 1876.
191418 World War I.
1919 Kemal Atatrk leads the Turkish War of Independence against Western occupy-
ing forces. He establishes an independent Turkey.
1921 Reza Khan leads a coup against the Qajar dynasty in Iran.
1923 Atatrk is elected president of Turkey. He institutes modernizing reforms and
begins the secularization of Turkey.
1928 The Muslim Brotherhood is founded by Hasan al-Banna in Egypt. The group
is opposed to secular policies and believes that Muslim nations should govern
according to the principles of the Quran.
1932 Abdul Aziz al-Saud founds the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
xxii
How to use the Encyclopedia
The Encyclopedia contains entries on approximately 300 important thinkers and key con-
cepts in Islamic philosophy. For biographical entries, the title of each entry gives the sub-
jects name and dates of birth and death, where known. Further biographical details, again
where known, are given in the opening paragraph or paragraphs of each entry. The remain-
der of each entry discusses the subjects work, writings, ideas, and contribution to Islamic
philosophy.
Bibliographies have been included with each entry. These should not be taken as full and
complete bibliographies, which in some cases would take up many pages. We have tried to
restrict bibliographies to the most important and relevant works to the subject at hand. We
have in most cases included only published works; only rarely, where there is an unpublished
work of major importance, have we given manuscript details.
Within the body of the entries there is a cross-referencing system referring to other name
entries. Names which appear in small capitals (e.g. IBN SINA) are themselves the subjects
of entries in the Encyclopedia, and the reader may refer to these entries for more informa-
tion. In some cases, where there are entries on more than one person with the same name or
surname (e.g. AL-RAZI, AL-SUHRAWARDI) we have tried to provide identifying informa-
tion; in other cases, the context should be sufficient to identify the subject.
An index is also provided, which lists each person who is the subject of an entry and lists
the page numbers on which cross-references can be found. The use of small capitals for cross-
references allows users of the index to spot references easily on the page.
xxiii
xxiv
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graphical Guide (1986-1989), Bulletin de Philosophie mdivale, 32 (1990), pp. 10635.
with Michael E. Marmura, Medieval Islamic Philosophy and Theology: Bibliographical
Guide (1989-1992), Bulletin de Philosophie mdivale, 35 (1993), pp. 181219.
with Michael E. Marmura, Medieval Islamic Philosophy and Theology: Bibliographical
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Medieval Islamic Philosophy and Theology Bibliographical Guide (1994-1996), Bulletin
de Philosophie mdivale, 39 (1997), pp. 175202.
Medieval Islamic Philosophy and Theology Bibliographical Guide (1996-1998), MIDEO,
24 (2000 [in fact 2001]): 381414.
Index Islamicus on-line
Oxford Bibliographies Online www.oxfordbibliographies.com
Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World
xxxiv
Oxford Encylopedia of Philosophy, Science and Technology in Islam

Oxford Islamic Studies online
The Philosophers Index
Socit Internationale pour ltude de la Philosophie Mdivale:
SIEPM Bibliography, http://www.siepm.uni-freiburg.de/
For specific thinkers
Janssens, J. (1991), An Annotated Bibliography on Ibn Sn (1970-1989): Including Arabic
and Persian Publications and Turkish and Russian References, Leuven: Leuven University
Press.
(1999), An Annotated Bibliography on Ibn Sn: First Supplement (1990-1994), Louvain-
la-Neuve: Fdration internationalse des instituts dtudes mdivales.
Averroes Database, by David Wirmer et al. at the Thomas Institut, Cologne: http://www.
thomasinstitut.uni-koeln.de/averroes_db/
Islamic Philosophy Online: http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/
xxxv
xxxvi
List of Contributors
Zaid Ahmad is professor of philosophy and civilisation and dean of the Faculty of Human
Ecology, Universiti Putra Malaysia. He is the author of The Epistemology of Ibn Khaldun.
Imran Aijaz is an assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Michigan-Dearborn,

where he teaches Islamic philosophy and philosophy of religion.
Muhsin Akba is the professor of philosophy of religion and the head of philosophy and
religious sciences in the Faculty of Islamic Sciences at zmir Katip elebi University, zmir,
Turkey. He has written on the philosophy of religion.
Ahmed Alwishah is assistant professor of philosophy, Pitzer College. He is the co-author

of Ibn Kammuna Al-Tanqihat: A Thirteenth Century Text on Natural Philosophy and
Psychology.
Mehdi Aminrazavi is professor of philosophy and religion and co-director of the Center for
Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Mary Washington. He specializes in
Islamic philosophy and theology, medieval philosophy, and philosophy of religion.
Adnan Aslan is dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Sleyman ah
University, Istanbul.
Rifat Atay is associate professor of philosophy of religion, Theology Faculty, Akdeniz

University, Antalya, Turkey.
Mehmet Ali Buyukkara teaches Islamic theology and denominations at the School of Islamic
Studies, Istanbul Sehir University.
Michael Cooperson teaches Arabic at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is the
author of Classical Arabic Biography: The Heirs of the Prophet in the Age of al-Mamun and
other works in the area of Arabic biography and autobiography.
Farhad Daftary is currently director and head of the Department of Academic Research and
Publications at the Institute of Ismaili Studies, London. He is the author and editor of a dozen
books on Ismaili and Islamic history.
xxxvii
M. Golam Dastagir is senior research fellow, Centre for Civilisational Dialogue, University of
Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Nader El-Bizri is associate professor in the Civilization Sequence Program at the American
University of Beirut, where he also serves as the director of the Anis Makdisi Program in
Literature and as coordinator of Islamic studies at the Center for Arab and Middle Eastern
Studies. He is also affiliated with the Institute of Ismaili Studies in London and the Centre
National de la Recherche Scientifique in Paris.
Maha El-Kaisy teaches Islamic studies at Erlangen University, Germany, and researches on
Islamic philosophy, theology, and interreligious dialogue.
Ibrahim Kalin is the author of a number of books and articles on Islamic philosophy and a
research affiliate at Georgetown University.
Bilal Gkkr teaches in the Department of Islamic Studies, Sleyman Demirel University, in
Isparta, Turkey. His main academic interests are Islamic and Quranic studies, interpretation
of the Quran, Islam in western academia, interfaith and intercultural dialogues, and the
comparative study of Biblical and Quranic issues.
Necmettn Gkkr teaches in the Department of Islamic Studies, Istanbul University, Turkey,
and is interested in modern theology.
S. Leyla Grkan is a research fellow at the Centre for Islamic Studies (ISAM), Istanbul. She
is the author of The Jews as a Chosen People: Tradition and Transformation and Yahudilik.
She is also the editor of the Turkish Journal of Islamic Studies.
Stephen Hirtenstein is a senior editor of Encyclopedia Islamica, senior research fellow and
journal editor for the Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi Society, and director of Anqa Publishing.
Verity Hughes is a writer and translator based in London, UK, who writes on interfaith and
intercultural exchanges.
Ibrahim Hakk nal teaches at the University of 19 Mayis, Samsun, Turkey.
Muammar skenderolu teaches theology at Sakarya University, Turkey.
Ibrahim Kalin is the author of a number of books and articles on Islamic philosophy and a
research affiliate at Georgetown University.
Kiki Kennedy-Day is the author of Books of Definition in Islamic Philosophy: The Limit of
Words.
Yusuf Keskin teaches in the divinity faculty at Harran University, Turkey.
xxxviii
Muharrem Kl teaches in the philosophy faculty at Sakarya University in Turkey. He is

interested in Islamic mysticism.
Bilal Kupnar is professor & chair of the Department of Philosophy and director of the Inter-
national Rumi Center for the Study of Civilizations, Konya Necmettin Erbakan University,
Turkey.
Arzina Lalani is a research associate at the Institute of Ismaili Studies, London. A specialist
in early and medieval Arabic Literature, she focuses on multi-dimensional aspects of Shii
thought.
Hermann Landolt is senior research fellow at the Institute of Ismaili Studies, London, and
emeritus professor at McGill University, Toronto. His current research interests include
classical Ismaili thought and Sufism.
Oliver Leaman is at the University of Kentucky, USA, and writes on Islamic philosophy.
Leonard Lewisohn is senior lecturer in Persian and Iran Heritage Foundation Fellow in Clas-
sical Persian and Sufi Literature, Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter.
Zailan Moris teaches philosophy at the School of Humanities in Universiti Sains Malaysia,
Penang, Malaysia. Her main interests are Islamic philosophy and Sufism, and comparative
religion.
Patrick ODonnell teaches in the Department of Philosophy, Santa Barbara City College. He
is interested in Islamic and Asian philosophies, philosophy of law and legal theory, and politi-
cal philosophy and ethics.
Harun Sahin teaches at Harran University, Turkey, and is interested in Quranic Studies,
hermeneutics, semantics, and the Arabic Language.
Mustafa Sinanolu is at the Centre for Islamic Studies, Istanbul, Turkey.
Andreas Soler is at the University of London, UK.
Lise Storm is at the University of Exeter in the UK.
Ibrahim Sumer teaches Comparative Religious Studies at the University of Houston, Texas,
USA.
Brian Thomas works in the computer industry in Cincinnati, USA, and is interested in Islamic
and Eastern philosophy.
xxxix
xl
List of Biographical Entries
and Authors
A
Abadi Ibrahim Kalin 1
Abd al-Jabbar, Qadi Muammer skenderolu 1
Abdu Oliver Leaman 3
Abu Hanifa Muharrem Kl 4
Abu Jafar al-Ahwal M. Ali Buyukkara 6
Advar S. Leyla Grkan 8
Afdal al-Din Oliver Leaman 9
al-Afghani Oliver Leaman 10
al-Ahsai Oliver Leaman 12
Mehmet Akf Ersoy Ibrahim Kalin 12
al-Aksaray Ibrahim Kalin 13
Akemseddin S. Leyla Grkan 14
Al-e Ahmad Oliver Leaman 15
Ali ibn Abi Talib Oliver Leaman 16
al-Amidi Oliver Leaman 17
al-Amili Ibrahim Kalin 18
Amin, Ahmad Oliver Leaman 20
al-Amiri Oliver Leaman 21
al-Amuli Brian Thomas 21
Ankarav Oliver Leaman 23
Ansari Oliver Leaman 24
al-Aqqad Oliver Leaman 25
Arkoun Oliver Leaman 26
ARISTOTELIAN PHILOSOPHY Andreas Soler 27
Asad Afandi Adnan Aslan 29
al-Asamm Maha el-Kaisy 29
al-Ashari Mummar skenderolu 31
Ashariyya Oliver Leaman 33
Ashkiwari Ibrahim Kalin 33
Mirza Mahdi Ashtiyani Oliver Leaman 34
al-Askari Oliver Leaman 34
Assar Oliver Leaman 35
Athir al-Din al-Abhari Brian Thomas 35
Atf Efendi Ibrahim Kalin 36
xli
List of Biographical Entries and Authors
Atomism Oliver Leaman 37

Attar Mehdi Aminrazavi 37
Averroism Oliver Leaman 38
Azraf Golam Dastagir 39
B
Babanzade Adnan Aslan 41
Badakshani Farhad Daftary 42
Badawi Oliver Leaman 43
al-Baghdadi, Abd al-Latif Oliver Leaman 44
al-Baghdadi, Abu Mansur Ibrahim Hakk nal 45
Bahmanyar Ibrahim Kalin and Mehdi Aminrazavi 46
al-Balkhi, Abu al-Qasim Oliver Leaman 48
al-Balkhi, Abu Zayd Oliver Leaman 48
al-Banjari Zaid Ahmad 50
al-Banna Patrick S. ODonnell 51
al-Basri Muammar skenderolu 54
Bedreddin Ibrahim Kalin 55
Birgivi Ibrahim Kalin 57
al-Biruni S. Leyla Grkan 58
Bishr ibn Mutamir Maha El-Kaisy 61
al-Bistami Rifat Atay 62
Bosnevi Adnan Aslan 63
Bostanzade S. Leyla Grkan 64
Bursevi Ibrahim Kalin 64
C
elebi S. Leyla Grkan 67
Cevdet Ibrahim Kalin 68
Creation Oliver Leaman 69
D
al-Dabbagh Oliver Leaman 71
al-Dashtaki Oliver Leaman 71
Davud Ibrahim Sumer 72
al-Dawwani Oliver Leaman 73
Dhul nun Patrick ODonnell 74
Djozo Adnan Aslan 76
E
Ebussuud Efendi Ibrahim Kalin 78
Enayetpuri Golam Dastagir 79
Epistemology in
Islamic Philosophy Oliver Leaman 80
Erturul Ibrahim Kalin 87
Esat Efendi Ibrahim Kalin 88
xlii
F
al-Falimbani Zaid Ahmad 89
Falsafa Oliver Leaman 90
Fanzuri Zailan Moris 91
al-Farabi Sevkut Yavuz 92
al-Farghani, Ahmad Oliver Leaman 97
al-Farghani, Said Oliver Leaman 98
al-Farisi Nader El-Bizri 99
al-Fatani Zaid Ahmad 101
Fenari Ibrahim Kalin 103
al-Firuzabadi Bilal Gkkr 104
Fundamentalism Lise Storm 106
al-Fuwati Oliver Leaman 113
G
Gaspral Ibrahim Kalin 115
Gelenbevi S. Leyla Grkan 116
al-Ghazali Sevket Yavuz 117
Gkalp Ibrahim Kalin 124
Glpnarl Adnan Aslan 126
Gunon Ibrahim Kalin 127
Gnaltay Ibrahim Kalin 129
H
Haci Paa Adnan Aslan 131
Hadith Oliver Leaman 132
Hairi-YAZDI Oliver Leaman 132
al-Hallaj Maha El-Kaisy 133
al-Hamadani Ibrahim Kalin 136
al-Hamadhani Oliver Leaman 136
Hamka Zaid Ahmad 137
al-Harawi Oliver Leaman 139
Harputi Mustafa Sinanolu 141
Hayreddin Ibrahim Kalin 142
Hayrullah Efendi Ibrahim Kalin 143
al-Helmy Zaid Ahmad 144
Hidaji Ibrahim Kalin 147
Hikma Oliver Leaman 147
Hilli, Allama Oliver Leaman 148
al-Hindi Ibrahim Sumer 148
Hisham al-Hakam Ali Buyukkara 149
Hocazade Muslihuddin
Mustafa Ibrahim Kalin 151
Hdayi Ibrahim Kalin 152
al-Hudhayl Muammer skenderolu 153
Taha Husayn Oliver Leaman 154
Husayni Farhad Daftary 155
xliii
I
Ibn Abd al-Wahhab Oliver Leaman 157
Ibn Abi Usaybia Oliver Leaman 158
Ibn Abidin Muharrem Kl 158
Ibn Abil Khayr Patrick ODonnell 159
Ibn Abjiba Oliver Leaman 162
Ibn al-Arabi Stephen Hirtenstein 162
Ibn al-Arif Oliver Leaman 170
Ibn al-Athir Oliver Leaman 171
Ibn Ata, Wasil Maha El-Kaisy 171
Ibn Bajja Muhsin Akba 173
Ibn Barrajan Oliver Leaman 176
Ibn Battuta Oliver Leaman 177
Ibn al-Daya Oliver Leaman 177
Ibn Farid Patrick ODonnell 178
Ibn Faris Bilal Gkkr and Oliver Leaman 180
Ibn Furak Muammar skenderolu 181
Ibn Hanbal Muharrem Kl 182
Ibn al-Haytham Nader El-Bizri 183
Ibn Hazm Muharrem Kl 189
Ibn al-Jawzi Oliver Leaman 192
Ibn Juljul Oliver Leaman 193
Ibn Kammuna Ahmad Alwisha 193
Ibn Karram Ibrahim Hakk nal 197
Ibn Kemal Ibrahim Kalin 198
Ibn Khaldun Zaid Ahmad 199
Ibn Khallikan Oliver Leaman 204
Ibn Masarra Oliver Leaman 204
Ibn Maytham Ali Buyyukara 205
Ibn al-Muqaffa Michael Cooperson 207
Ibn al-Nafis Oliver Leaman 211
Ibn Qayyim Muharrem Kl 212
Ibn al-Qifti Oliver Leaman 213
Ibn Qurra Nader El-Bizry 213
Ibn al-Rawandi Oliver Leaman 218
Ibn Rushd Oliver Leaman 219
Ibn Sabin Muammar skenderolu 222
Ibn Sina Kiki Kennedy-Day 224
Ibn Taymiyya Muharrem Kili 229
Ibn Tufayl Oliver Leaman 232
Ibn Turka Oliver Leaman 234
Idris Imad al-Din Farhad Daftary 234
al-Idrisi Oliver Leaman 236
al-Iji Oliver Leaman 237
Ikhwan al-Safa Nader El-Bizri 237
leri S. Leyla Grkan 243
Iqbal Oliver Leaman 245
xliv
Iranshahri Mendi Aminrazavi 246

al-Isfahani, Abu Nuaym Yusuf Keskin 248
al-Isfahani, al-Raghib Harun Sahin 249
Ishraq Oliver Leaman 250
zzet Ibrahim Kalin 251
J
Jabr Oliver Leaman 253
Jahiliya Oliver Leaman 253
al-Jahiz Oliver Leaman 254
Jahm ibn Safwan Maha El-Kaisy 255
al-Jawaliqi M. Ali Buyukkara 258
al-Jilani Patrick ODonnell 260
al-Jili Ibrahim Kalin 261
Jilwah Ibrahim Kalin 262
al-Junayd Maha El-Kaisy 263
Junpuri Oliver Leaman 266
al-Jurjani, Abd al-Qahir Sevket Yavuz and Oliver Leaman 266
al-Jurjani, Mir Sayyid Mehdi Aminrazavi 268
Juwayni Muammar skenderolu 269
K
Kalam Oliver Leaman 271
Kam S. Leyla Grkan 271
al-Kashani Oliver Leaman 272
al-Kayseri Adnan Aslan 273
Omar Khayyam Mehdi Aminrazavi 274
al-Kharakani Oliver Leaman 276
al-Khoi Oliver Leaman 277
al-Khwarazmi Oliver Leaman 278
al-Kindi Maha El-Kaisy 278
Kirmanshahi Ibrahim Kalin 282
Konuk Ibrahim Kalin 283
al-Kubra Patrick ODonnell 284
Kuu S. Leyla Grkan 285
L
Lahbabi Ibrahim Kalin 287
Lahiji Ibrahim Kalin 288
Larijani Oliver Leaman 289
Lawkari Ibrahim Kalin 289
Logic Oliver Leaman 290
M
al-Maari Muhsin Akba 303
al-Malati Ibrahim Hakk nal 306
al-Maqassari Zailan Moris 306
xlv
al-Mardini Adnan Aslan 308

al-Marwazi Oliver Leaman 308
al-Masudi Oliver Leaman 309
Maturidi Muammar skenderolu 310
al-Mawardi Muammar skenderolu 311
al-Mawdudi Oliver Leaman 313
al-Mawsili Oliver Leaman 314
Meaning Oliver Leaman 314
Mir Damad Oliver Leaman 321
Mir Fath Oliver Leaman 323
Miskawayh Oliver Leaman 323
Modern PHILOSOPHY Oliver Leaman 327
Muammar Oliver Leaman 341
Muayyad Mehdi Aminrazavi 341
al-Mubarrad Oliver Leaman 342
al-Mubashshir Oliver Leaman 342
Mudarris Ibrahim Kalin 343
al-Muhasibi Maha El-Kaisy 344
Mulla Abd Allah
Zunuzi Tabrizi Ibrahim Kalin 346
Mulla Grani Ibrahim Kalin 348
MUlla Sadra Ibrahim Kalin 349
Mnif Paa Ibrahim Kalin 357
Mustafa Ali Adnan Aslan 358
Mutahhari Oliver Leaman 359
Mutazila Oliver Leaman 360
Mystical PHILOSOPHY Saria Abbas 361
N
al-NabulUsi Oliver Leaman 364
al-Nadim Oliver Leaman 365
al-Najjar Ibrahim Hakk nal 366
Nasafi Muammar skenderolu 367
Nasir i-Khusraw Ibrahim Kalin 368
al-Naysaburi Arzina Lalani 369
Nazzam Maha El-Kaisy 370
Neoplatonist PHILOSOPHY Andreas Soler 372
al-Nisaburi M. Ali Buyukkara 373
al-Numan, al-Qadi Farhad Daftary 375
Nursi Adnan Aslan 376
P
Platonic PHILOSOPHY Andreas Soler 381
Political PHILOSOPHY Andreas Soler 382
xlvi
Q
Qashqai Ibrahim Kalin 384
Qazwini Oliver Leaman 384
Quhistani, Abu Farhad Daftary 385
Quhistani, Hakim Oliver Leaman 386
Qumshai Ibrahim Kalin 386
Qunawi Ibrahim Kalin 387
Qushayri Bilal Kupnar 389
Qutb Kiki Kennedy-Day 392
R
Rabia Patrick S. ODonnell 394
Raghib Pasha Bilal Kupnar 395
Rahman Necmettn Gkkr 397
al-Raniri Zailan Moris 401
al-Razi, Abu Bakr Oliver Leaman 402
al-Razi, Abu Hatim Mehdi Aminrazavi 404
al-Razi, Fakhr al-Din Oliver Leaman 405
Religion Imran Aijaz 406
Rida Oliver Leaman 424
Rumi Rifat Atay 425
S
Sabahattin S. Leyla Grkan 433
Sabbah Farhad Daftary 434
Sabri Efendi Ibrahim Kalin 435
Sabuni Muammar skenderolu 437
SabzAwari Oliver Leaman 438
Said Halim Paa Ibrahim Kalin 438
Sanai Patrick S. ODonnell 440
al-Sarakhsi Muharrem Kl 442
Semnani Hermann Landolt 443
Shaarani Oliver Leaman 445
Shabistari Leonard Lewisohn 446
al-Shadhili Oliver Leaman 448
Shafii Muharrem Kl 449
Shah Abd al-Rahim Oliver Leaman 450
Shah Muhammad Oliver Leaman 450
al-Shahrastani Muammar skenderolu 451
Shahrazuri Ibrahim Kalin 452
Shariati Oliver Leaman 453
Shaykh Mufid Oliver Leaman 454
al-Shirazi, Qutb al-Din Oliver Leaman 455
Sijistani, Abu Sulayman Ibrahim Kalin 456
xlvii
Sijistani, Abu Yaqub Mendi Aminrazavi 458

al-Singkili Zailan Moris 460
al-Sirafi Bilal Gkkr 461
Sirhindi Oliver Leaman 462
Siyalkoti Oliver Leaman 463
Suhrawardi, Abu Hafs Oliver Leaman 464
Suhrawardi, Abul-Najib Oliver Leaman 464
Suhrawardi, Shihab al-Din Oliver Leaman 465
al-Sulami Patrick S. ODonnell 467
al-Suyuti Oliver Leaman 470
T
Tabari Oliver Leaman 471
Tabatabai Brian Thomas 472
Taftazani Muammar skenderolu 473
Tahawi Muammar skenderolu 474
Tahtawi Oliver Leaman 475
Takprzade Ibrahim Kalin 476
Tawhidi Muhsin Akba 476
Topu S. Leyla Grkan 479
Transmission Verity Hughes 480
Tusi Mehdi Aminrazavi 482
U
Ubeydullah Efendi Ibrahim Kalin 485
lken Muhsin Akba 486
W
Wali Allah Sevket Yavuz 491
Y
Yaln Adnan Aslan 495
Yesevi Ibrahim Kalin 496
Yunus Ali Buyukkara 497
Z
Zurara Ali Buyukkara 499
xlviii
A
Akhund Mulla Fath Ali Sultan ABD AL-JABBAR, Qadi
ABADI (1235 or 12401318/1819 or (c. 325415/c. 9371025)
18241901)
Abd al-Jabbar b. Ahmad b. Khalil was born
Akhund Mulla Fath Ali Sultan Abadi in Asadabad, a town in the southwest of
was an influential teacher of philosophy Hamadan, probably around 325/937 and
and jurisprudence of his time. Very little is died in Rayy in 415/1025. He was one of the
known of his life. He studied religious and last great thinkers of the Mutazilite school.
intellectual sciences in Iraq. He traveled to Abd al-Jabbars father was a peasant in
Najaf and Mashhad. He is reported to have Asadabad. He began his education in his
led a very pious life. His lectures on classi- hometown where, in the traditional way,
cal metaphysics and theology also included he first learned to recite the Quran. Then
sections on ethics and spirituality. A number he learned hadith from Zubayr b. Abd al-
of miracles (karamat) have been attributed Wahid, a well-known muhaddith in Asada-
to him. bad, and from Ali b. Ibrahim al-Qattan in
As a man of spirituality, Sultan Abadi Qazwin. In 339/951 he went to Mecca to
traveled to the major Shiite religious cen- perform the hajj. Upon his return, Abd al-
ters, including Karbala and the tomb of the Jabbar continued his studies in Hamadan
Shiite Imam Rida in Mashhad. He died in with Abd al-Rahman b. Hamdan al-Jallab
1318 and was buried in Najaf. To the best and in Isfahan with Abdallah b. Jafar b.
of our knowledge, no written works of his Faris. All of these scholars were followers
have been discovered. He is known mostly of Ashari kalam and Shafii fiqh. This was
for the students he trained, many of whom probably the reason behind the report that
became established scholars and teachers of early in his life Abd al-Jabbar was a fol-
their time. lower of Asharite theology.
Whatever the truth of this report, it is
certain that unlike most of the Mutazilite
Further Reading scholars who were the followers of Hanafi
Saduqi Soha, M., Tarikh-i hukama fiqh, Abd al-Jabbar was a follower of
wa urafa-yi mutaakhkhir, Shafii fiqh. In 346/958 he went to Basra
Tehran: Intisharati Hikmat, 2002. to continue his studies there. He first stud-
ied hadith with Abu Bakr al-Anbari. Then
ibrahim kalin he joined the circle of Ibrahim b. Ayyash,
1
ABD AL-JABBAR
a student of Abu Hashim al-Jubbai, and of the Mutazila, namely, divine unity, divine
studied Mutazilite kalam with him. Later he justice, the promise and the threat, the inter-
moved to Baghdad where he joined the circle mediate position, and commanding the
of Abu Abd Allah Husayn b. Ali al-Basri, good and prohibiting evil. The first principle
another student of Abu Hashim. He studied expresses the uniqueness of God and includes
with Abu Abdallah for a long time, and dur- discussions of the createdness of the world,
ing this time he produced his first works. In its Creator and his attributes. The attributes
360/970 Abd al-Jabbar went to Ramahur- are classified as essential and active, the first
muz. There he joined the circle of Abdallah group being eternal and the latter temporal.
b. Abbas Ramahurmuzi, a student of Abu Divine justice expresses the knowledge that
Ali al-Jubbai, and had lively discussions God is free from all that is morally wrong.
with the Mutazilite scholars. He also began Hence, God does not impose upon man that
working on his summa theologica, the Kitab which is unbearable; he does not will disobe-
al-Mughni, which he completed twenty years dience; he causes illness in order to turn it to
later when he was in Rayy. human advantage; he does the best for his
During his stay in Ramahurmuz, Abd al- creatures. His sending a prophet is incum-
Jabbars reputation gradually spread, and bent upon him, because it is of benefit to
he became a prominent theologian of his humanity. Although human reason can find
time. As a result, he received an invitation what is good and bad in principle, reason
from Sahib b. Abbad, an advisor of the cannot determine the details. The principle
Buyid Muayyid al-Dawla. When Ibn Abbad of the promise and the threat expresses the
became a vizier of Muayyid al-Dawla in idea that God promised reward to the obedi-
367/977, he appointed Abd al-Jabbar as qadi ent and punishment to the disobedient and
al-qudat (chief judge) of Rayy. He continued that he cannot go against his promise. The
to hold this office until the death of the vizier intermediate position says that a grave sin-
in 385/995. Then he was dismissed by Fakhr ner is neither a believer nor an unbeliever.
al-Dawla and his property was confiscated. Abd al-Jabbar says that commanding the
Apart from a trip to Mecca in 389/999 and good is obligatory if it is a religious duty,
a short stay in Qazwin in 409/1018, Abd otherwise it is supererogatory, while prohib-
al-Jabbar lived the rest of his life in Rayy. iting evil is obligatory without qualification.
Besides his official duties, Abd al-Jabbar In explaining the Mutazilite doctrines, Abd
taught students throughout his life. Among al-Jabbar corrects the views that are wrongly
his famous students, Abul Qasim al-Busti, attributed to his school by rival schools.
Abu Rashid al-Nisaburi, Abul Husayn al- Most of Abd al-Jabbars works are not
Basri, Abu Muhammad al-Labbad, Abu extant. In the Bayan mutashabih al-quran
Yusuf al-Qazwini, Abu Muhammad b. Mat- (Exposition of the Unclear Verses of the
tawayh, Manekdim, and Sharif al-Murtaza Quran), he discusses the verses which are
are worth mentioning here. difficult to understand literally and explains
Although he compiled many works in dif- them in the light of clear verses and of reason.
ferent branches of Islamic sciences, Abd al- In the Fadl al-itizal wa tabaqat al-mutazila
Jabbar is particularly important in the field (Virtue of Separation and the Generations of
of theology. He was one of the last great the Mutazilites), he responds to criticisms
thinkers of the Mutazilite school. His works that were directed at the Mutazila and gives
are among the few Mutazilite sources which the biographies of the earlier representatives
come directly from a member of the school. In of the school. In the Al-Mukhtasar fi usul
accordance with the views of the early think- al-din (A Summary on the Principles of Reli-
ers, Abd al-Jabbar accepts the five principles gion), Abd al-Jabbar gives a summary of the
2
ABDU
topics of his masterpiece, the Al-Mughni fi Martin, Richard C., Mark R. Woodward,
abwab al-tawhid wal-adl (Compendium on and Dwi S. Atmaja, Defenders of Reason
the Principles of [Divine] Unity and Justice), in Islam, Mutazilism from Medieval
which is partially available. School to Modern Symbol, Oxford:
Abd al-Jabbar lived in an age in which the Oneworld, 1997.
Mutazilite school was in decline. However, Peters, J. R., Gods Created Speech:
he became one of the great thinkers not only A Study in the Speculative Theology of
within the Mutazilite school but also within the Mutazili Qadi l-Qudat Abu l-Hasan
Islamic thought in general. His influence con- Abd al-Jabbar Ibn Ahmad al-Hamadani,
tinued in the following generations through Leiden: Brill, 1976.
a number of students whom he taught and
through a number of Mutazilite classics that muammer skenderolu
he produced. His works are among the most
important sources of our knowledge of the
Mutazila.
BIBLIOGRAPHY Abd al-Qadir ibn Abi Salih

Al-Mughni fi abwab al-tawhid wal adl Jangidost,see al-Jilani
(Compendium on the Principles of
[Divine] Unity and Justice), ed. Taha
Husayn, Cairo: Dar al-misriyya,
196172.
Tathbit dalail al-nubuwwa (Establishing Abd al-Qahir,see al-Jurjani
the Evidences of Prophecy), ed.
Abd al-Karim Uthman, Beirut: Dar
al-arabiyya, 1966.
Bayan mutashabih al-quran (Exposition
of the Obscurities of the Quran), ed. ABDU, Muhammad (18491905)
Adnan Muhammad Zarzur, Cairo:
Dar al-turath, 1969. Muhammad Abdu was born in 1849 in
Fadl al-itizal wa tabaqat al-mutazila Lower Egypt and received a traditional
(Virtue of Separation and the Generations religious education at home, in Tanta, and
of the Mutazilites), ed. Fuad Sayyid, finally at al-Azhar in Cairo, starting in 1866.
Tunis: Dar al-tunisiyya, 1986. In his early years of higher education he was
Al-Mukhtasar fi usul al-din (A Summary attracted to mysticism, but contact with al-
of the Principles of Religion), ed. Afghani changed his mind radically, and he
Muhammad Amara, Cairo: Dar then took on a much more public and politi-
al-shuruq, 1988. cal role. His nationalism led to his expulsion
from Egypt in 1882 and he worked in Beirut
Further Reading for some years until his return in 1889. In
Heemskerk, Margaretha T., Suffering in 1882 he joined al-Afghani in Paris from
the Mutazilite theology: Abd al-Jabbars where they published the influential jour-
Teaching on Pain and Divine Justice, nal al-Urwa al-wuthqa (Strong Grasp)
Leiden: Brill, 2000. that advocated resistance to imperialism
Hourani, G. F., Islamic Rationalism: and Islamic unity. He became a judge and
The Ethics of Abd al-Jabbar, Oxford: then returned to education, where he could
Clarendon Press, 1971. continue with his reformist mission. Like
3
ABU HANIFA
al-Tahtawi he served often in administra- Abdul Rauf Singkel,see al-Singkili

tive roles in order to try to reform Egyptian
institutions and, in particular, the Arabic lan-
guage, the education of girls, and the whole
legal and educational structure of the state.
Like so many of the modernizers, his chief Abdullah Ansari of Herat,see al-Harawi
problem was to find a path between taqlid
(blind obedience) to tradition and abandon-
ing Islam for a Western form of modernity. He
argued that there are plenty of indications in
the Quran itself that point to the possibility Abdulghani, Ahmad b.,see Ibn Abidin
of adapting Islam to modern circumstances;
indeed, the Book insists on it, and so a reli-
ance on the past way of doing things is not
acceptable. The Quran was sent to humanity
to help us, and it is capable of being rationally Abenpace,see Ibn Bajja
interrogated and interpreted so that it enables
us to adapt to changing circumstances. This
does not apply to every aspect of the Book;
some things may not be challenged or even
doubted. But to rely on a traditional inter- Abu al-Ala,see al-Maarri
pretation of every aspect of Islam is a failure
to accept the plausibility of the Book to our
developing history and needs.
Abu Bakr b. Bajja,see Ibn Bajja
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Amal al-kamila (Complete Works), ed. M.
Imara, Beirut: Muassat al-arabiyya li al
dirasat wa al nashr, 1972.
The Theology of Unity (Risalat al-tawhid), Abu Bakr, al-Asamm,see al-Asamm
trans. I. Masaad and K. Cragg, London:
Allen & Unwin, 1966.
ABU HANIFA, Numan b. Sabit

Further Reading (80150/699767)
Keddie, N., Sayyid Jamaluddin Afghani:
A Political Biography, Berkeley: Numan b. Sabit b. Zuta b. Mah, known as
University of California Press, 1972. Imam al-Azam (the Greatest Imam), was
Kedourie, E., Afghani and Abduh: An born in Kufa in 80/699 and died in Bagh-
Essay in Religious Unbelief, London: dad on Shaban 150/September 767. He was
Frank Cass, 1966. a founder of the Hanafite school, one of the
Kerr, M., Islamic Reform: The Political four mainstream legal schools in Islam.
and Legal Theories of Muhammad Abu Hanifas family was probably of
Abduh and Rashid Rida, Berkeley: Persian or Turkish origin. His grandfather
University of California Press, 1966. Zuta is said to have come to Kufa from Kabul
during the reign of the caliph Ali. There is
oliver leaman not much information about his life. He was
4
ABU HANIFA
a manufacturer and a merchant of a kind of Amr Shabi, Masruk b. Ajda, Qadi Shurayh,
silk material in Kufa. Abu Hanifas inter- Abdullah b. Masud, the caliph Ali, and the
est in the Islamic sciences started from an caliph Umar. This chain of transmitters (sil-
early age. He first memorized the Quran, sila) had a powerful effect on his fiqh educa-
then studied Qiraat. He also studied other tion. Abu Hanifa received hadith from Ata
branches of Islamic sciences. Abu Hanifa b. Abi Raba, Ikrima and Nafi in Mecca and
joined theological debates in Kufa and Basra, Medina and also became acquainted with
the two intellectual centers of the region, their fiqh works. He taught a number of stu-
where a number of theological groups, such dents, among whom Muhammad b. Hasan
as the Jahmiyya, Qadariyya, and Mutazila, al-Shaybani, Asad b. Amr, and Hasan b.
were active. His theological approach con- Ziyad are worth mentioning here.
tributed to the construction of the main basis Abu Hanifa produced a number of
of Sunni theology. works, some of which are extant. In al-
Abu Hanifas main theological views can Fiqh al-akbar (The Great Book of Fiqh), he
be summarized as follows. For him, reason summarized the theological views of Sunni
is a source of human knowledge in com- orthodoxy. Al-Fiqh al-absat (The Compre-
prehending the existence of God. In accor- hensive Book of Fiqh), which was edited by
dance with his epistemological approach his son and disciples Abu Yusuf and Abu
in the field of theology, he used reason or Muti, al-Alim wal mutaallim (The Scholar
personal opinion (ray) and analogy (qiyas) and the Literate), and al-Wasiyya (A Writ-
in his legal reasoning. As a result, he was ten Will) also dealt with theological issues.
severely criticized by his traditionist oppo- Musnad Abu Hanifa, a collection of tradi-
nents. For him, Gods names and attributes tions, has been attributed to him by his dis-
are eternal. The nature of Gods attributes, ciples. Although he is a prominent founder
such as his face and hand, cannot be known. of the Hanafite school of law, Abu Hanifa
For him, faith consists of knowledge, accep- did not compose any works on Islamic law.
tance, and outward expression. Although However, he dictated his legal opinions to
the sinner is liable to punishment, he or his disciples after discussing the opinions
she remains counted as a believer. Accord- with them. His legal views were reported
ing to him, human actions are created by by Muhammad al-Shaybani in some of his
God but willed and performed by us. His works such as al-Asl (The Foundation) and
theological views were further developed by al-Siyar al-kabir (The Compendium of the
Abu Mansur al-Maturidi. Because of his Regulations).
opinion about faith, he has been considered
by some classical theologians such as Abu BIBLIOGRAPHY
al-Hasan al-Ash ari and some traditionists al-Alim wal mutaallim (The Scholar and
such as Bukhari as a member of the Murjia, the Literate), ed. M. Zahid al-Kawthari,
the theological school which left it to God to Cairo: al-Maktaba al-azhariyya li
decide who was a believer or otherwise. al-turath, 2001.
Abu Hanifas interest in fiqh was deeper al-Fiqh al-akbar (The Great Book of
than his interest in theology. He attended Fiqh), ed. M. Zahid al-Kawthari, Cairo:
the lectures of Hammad b. Abi Sulayman al-Maktaba al-azhariyya li al-turath,
(d. 120/738), who was a prominent religious 2001.
faqih of Kufa, for eighteen years. When his al-Fiqh al-absat (The Comprehensive Book
teacher died, Abu Hanifa took his post of Fiqh), ed. M. Zahid al-Kawthari,
and started teaching fiqh. His teacher had Cairo: al-Maktaba al-azhariyya li
learned fiqh from Ibrahim al-Nahai, Abu al-turath, 2001.
5
ABU JAFAR AL-AHWAL
al-Wasiyya (A Written Will), ed. M. categorically asserted the death of the

Zahid al-Kawthari, Cairo: al-Maktaba Imam al-Kazim, if this was the case, clearly
al-azhariyya li al-turath, 2001. indicates that he survived al-Kazim, who
died in 183/799.
Further Reading Being a mawla of the Bajila tribe, Abu
Numani, M. Shibli, Abu Hanifah Life and Jafar resided in Kufa. His nickname was
Work, trans. M. Hadi Hussain, New al-Ahwal (squint-eyed). He was also called
Delhi: Kitab Bhavan, 1988. Shaytan al-Taq (Devil of the Archway). He
Watt, Montgomery, The Formative Period owned a shop in Kufa under an arch known
of Islamic Thought, Oxford: Oneworld, as Taq al-Mahamil, earning his living as a
1988. money-changer (al-sayrafi). Because of his
Wensinck, A. J., The Muslim Creed: Its expertise at distinguishing counterfeit from
Genesis and Historical Development, real money, his colleagues gave this nick-
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, name to him. Later Shiis, or, according to
1932. one account, the theologian Hisham b. al-
Hakam, changed it into the less abusive
muharrem kl Mumin al-Taq (Believer of the Archway).
Since Abu Jafar al-Ahwal seems to have
been a proficient controversialist, Shii books
of tradition include many stories showing
how al-Ahwal successfully overcame his
Abu Hanifa al-Numan, al-Qadi,see rivals in debate. In one narrative, he appears
al-Numan to have defended the legitimacy of al-Baqirs
imamate against Zayd b. Ali, the leader of the
revolt in 122/740 against the Umayyads. He
also worsted in debates al-Dahhaq b. Qays,
the Khariji leader, and Ibn Abi al-Awja, the
Abu Hayyan,see al-Tawhidi famous zindiq. However, it is highly doubt-
ful that these narrations are true. Especially
ludicrous stories about al-Ahwals conversa-
tions with his counterpart Abu Hanifa, the
well-known Sunni jurist, seem to have been
Abu Hudhayl,see al-Hudhayl designed later to disgrace the latter.
Abu Jafar al-Ahwal was a zealous adher-
ent of the imams al-Baqir, al-Sadiq, al-Kazim
and al-Rida. He was regarded as one of the
four apostles (arkan) of the Imami group,
ABU JAFAR AL-AHWAL, in favor of whom al-Sadiq is reported to
Muhammad b. al-Numan have said that they were the most beloved
(d. after 183/799) to me whether they were alive or dead.
He used to frequent al-Sadiq in Medina.
Abu Jafar Muhammad (b. Ali) b. al-Numan Although al-Sadiq forbade his followers in
al-Bajali al-Kufi al-Sayrafi, an Imami theolo- Medina from speaking out, he exempted
gian, was probably born in the first quarter al-Ahwal from this interdiction. He carried
of the second century/71843. The date on Imami propaganda. When the Imami
and place of his death are unknown. How- group lived through a crisis of leadership
ever, an account informing us that al-Ahwal after the death of al-Sadiq, he, with Hisham
6
ABU JAFAR AL-AHWAL
al-Jawaliqi, secured the followers accep- forward on the grounds that a thing (shay)
tance of al-Kazim, declaring that al-Kazims does not become the thing it is without
knowledge was adequate for the imamate. the decree and will of God, so he knew the
He also immediately recognized al-Ridas thing when he decreed and willed it. On
imamate. He did not side with the Waqifis account of these ideas attributed to him,
who denied al-Kazims death and declared Sunni heresiographers ascribed to al-Ahwal
that he was the mahdi (the messiah). a circle of philosophy called the Numaniyya
Abu Jafar al-Ahwal was one of the or the Shaytaniyya.
pioneer theologians promoting the imamate
doctrine. His nonextant writings include trea Further Reading
tises defending the wasiyya, Muhammads tes- al-Kashshi, Abu Amr Muhammad
tamentary appointment of Ali b. Abi Talib b. Umar, Ikhtiyar marifat al-rijal
to the imamate, and the legitimate rights of (Selections with information on
the specific imams from among the descen- important personalities), ed. H.
dants of Ali to undertake Muslim leadership. al-Mustafawi, Mashhad: Danishgah-i
He wrote a refutation against the Mutazilis Mashhad, 1969.
on the necessity of the imamate of al-afdal al-Khui, Abu al-Qasim al-Musawi, Mujam
(the most excellent one). There was another rijal al-hadith (Biographical Dictionary
book, Kitab al-Jamal fi amr Aisha wa Talha of the Hadith Narrators), Beirut:
wa al-Zubayr, in which he probably dis- al-marashi, 1989.
cussed the status of Ali b. Abi Talibs oppo- al-Nashshar, Ali Sami, Nashat al-fikr
nents in the Battle of Jamal. al-falsafi fil-islam (Formation of
Al-Ahwal was initially attracted to anthro- Philosophical Thought in Islam), 3 vols,
pomorphic language. He described God as a Cairo: Dar al-maarif, 19778.
light (nur) in the form of man, not likening al-Shahrastani, Abu al-Fath Muhammad
him to bodies (ajsam). However, al-Shah- b. Abd al-Karim, al-Milal wa al-nihal
rastani interestingly reports, on the author- (Religions and Sects), ed. A. A. Mahna and
ity of the Mutazili al-Warraq, that al-Ahwal A. H. Faur, Beirut: Dar al-maarif, 1988.
gave up these ideas and adopted a Salafi line Watt, Montgomery, The Formative
by remaining silent on theological issues. Period of Islamic Thought, Edinburgh:
According to al-Ahwal, all that existed in the Edinburgh University Press, 1973.
universe, including human acts, are bodies
(ajsam) which exist through Gods will. His m. ali buyukkara
will is his act. Accidents (arad) have no real
existence. Al-Ahwal maintained that ability
to act (istitaa) does not mean humanitys
freedom to act. It is simply health (sihha). Abu Mansur,see Maturidi
Every healthy person has the ability to act.
On the other hand, he said that human
knowledge concerning God is not possible
through our own act of reasoning. It is con-
strainedly (idtirari) composed. It was also Abu Mihriz,see Jahm ibn Safwan
possible for God to restrain this knowledge
from some of his creatures.
Al-Ahwal held that though God is omni-
scient, he does not know things before
they come into existence. He put this thesis Abu Qasim,see al-Junayd
7
ADIVAR
Abu Said ibn Abil-Khayr,see Ibn in 1905, he went to Germany. There he

Abil-Khayr attended lessons of Friedrich Kraus, a well-
known professor of internal diseases, and
later became his assistant. After the Second
Constitutional Revolution he returned to
Turkey (1909) and worked as the head of
Abu Yusuf Yaqub,see al-Kindi a clinic at the Faculty of Medicine. During
the War of Tripoli (191112) he served on
the battlefield as an inspector of the Hilal-i
Ahmer (Red Crescent). On his return he was
appointed as the secretary-general at the
Abul Fath,see al-Shahrastani Hilal-i Ahmer. Later he became the general
director of health. In 1917 he was married
to Halide Edip, a Turkish writer and novel-
ist. He was also elected a member of the last
Ottoman Parliament (Meclis-i Mebusan).
Abul Hasan,see al-Ashari During the First World War, Adivar, toge
ther with Mehmet Emin and Yusuf Akura,
founded Milli Trk Frkas (National Turkish
Party). After the invasion of Istanbul he and
his wife traveled to Anadolu (Anatolia) to
Abul Maali,see al-Juwayni join the national resistance (1920). Later he
was appointed as the deputy of public health
and assistance at the first Grand National
Parliament of Turkey (Trkiye Byk Millet
Meclisi) in Ankara, and he served as a deputy
Abunaser,see al-Farabi
at the Ministry of Internal Affairs for a year in
1921. The same year he sat as a second chair-
man at the Turkish Parliament. In 1922, after
the victory of the Turkish Army, he was sent
back to Istanbul as a delegate for the Ministry
ADIVAR, Abdlhak Adnan of Foreign Affairs. He was one of the found-
(18821955) ers of the Terakkiperver Cumhuriyet Frkas
(Progressive Republican Party, 1924). When
Adnan Advar was born in Gallipoli (Geli- the party was closed down due to its criticism
bolu) in 1882 and died in Istanbul on of the government, he and his wife went to
July 1, 1955. His lineage is traced back to Europe (1925). In 1926 he was accused of
Aziz Mahmut Hdayi, a late sixteenth- and having participated in what is known as the
early seventeenth-century Sufi. His father Izmir assassination and was tried by default.
Mektubizade Ahmet Bahai Efendi was a Although he was later absolved, he was not
regent at the sancak (sanjak or administra- allowed to go back to Turkey until Mustafa
tive district) of Gelibolu. Adivar, who came Kemal Atatrk, the founder and the first pres-
of a well-educated family, was brought up ident of the Turkish Republic, died in 1938.
and educated in Istanbul. He attended Der- From 1929 to 1939 Advar taught at the
saadet Mekteb-i dadisi. Due to his dissent Ecole des Langues Orientales Vivantes in
with the regime, after his graduation from Paris. During his stay in France he became
Tbbiye Mlkiyesi (the Faculty of Medicine) involved in scientific research. In 1939 he
8
AFDAL AL-DIN
returned to Istanbul and the following year Further Reading

was appointed as the head of the Commission Sarkavak, K., Yanyal Esad Efendi,
set up for the translation of Encyclopdie de Ankara: T.C. Kltr Bakanl Yaynlar,
lIslam into Turkish. From 1946 to 1950 he 1997.
also served as a member of parliament. Bursal, M., Osmanl Mellifleri (The
Advar wrote for several journals and Ottoman Authors), ed. A. Fikri Yavuz
newspapers. Later he published some of and smail zen, vol. 1, Istanbul: Meral
his articles in books such as Bilgi Cumhu- Yaynlar, 1992, pp. 30810.
riyeti Haberleri (News of the Republic of
Knowledge) (1945), Dur Dn (Stop and s. leyla grkan
Think) (1950), and Hakikat Peinde Eme-
klemeler (Creeping Towards Truth) (1954).
Especially after his return from Europe he
did some important works on philosophy AFDAL AL-DIN (d. 610/1213)
and on the understanding of science in the
Ottoman Empire such as Fausta Dair Bir Afdal al-Din Muhammad ibn Hasan Kashani
Tahlil Tecrbesi (An Analysis on Faust) is familiarly known in Iran as Baba Afdal, or
(1940), Farabi (al- Farabi) (1947), Osmanl Papa Afdal, a name that gives an indica-
Trklerinde lim (Science Among the Otto- tion of the warmth in which he is held, and
man Turks) (1971), first published in Paris the accessibility of his works to a fairly wide
in 1939 with the title La Science chez les readership. He lived in Iran, presumably
Turc Ottomans; Tarih Boyunca lim ve Din for some time in Kashan given his name,
(Science and Religion Throughout History) and died nearby in Maraq where his tomb
(1969), and Bizansta Yksek Mektepler is found today. According to his letters he
(High Schools in Byzantium) (1954). was about seventy when he died, and had
spent some time in prison falsely accused of
BIBLIOGRAPHY sorcery.
Fausta Dair Bir Tahlil Tecrbesi (An As a thinker Afdal al-Din is not prolific,
Analysis on Faust), Istanbul: Muallim but his works have had a considerable
Ahmet Hacit Kitabevi, 1940. impact. He has a very personal style and is
Bilgi Cumhuriyeti Haberleri (News of the clearly not interested at all in philosophy as
Republic of Knowledge), Istanbul: Tasvir a purely technical discipline. He is intent on
Neriyat, 1945. exploring the hidden nature of existence,
Farabi (al- Farabi), Istanbul: Milli Eitim and discovering how we ought to live. This
Basmevi, 1947. makes him sound like a Sufi, but he does not
Bizansta Yksek Mektepler (High Schools in appear to have had a formal training in that
Byzantium), Istanbul: Tarih Dergisi, 1954. discipline, rather applying mystical catego-
Hakikat Peinde Emeklemeler (Creeping ries to his writings which certainly have a
Towards Truth), Istanbul: Doan Karde Sufi pedigree. His main focus is on the nature
Yaynlar, 1954. of knowledge, in particular, knowledge of
Doktor Abdlhak Adnan Advar, Istanbul: the self, and how we can use knowledge to
Ahmet Halit Yaarolu Kitaplk, 1956. make ourselves acquainted with what would
Tarih Boyunca lim ve Din (Science and otherwise remain hidden and forgotten.
Religion Throughout History), Istanbul: One reason for his popularity is his trans-
Remzi Kitabevi, 1969. lation of some of his technical works from
Osmanl Trklerinde lim (Science Among the scholarly language of the time, Arabic,
the Ottoman Turks), Istanbul: Remi, 1971. into Persian, and his writing of other works
9
AFGHANI
in Persian. His prose has a directness and political sentiments and social reforms in
simplicity that won him many admiring read- India, Persia, Afghanistan, Egypt, and the
ers, especially when it works on an abstract Ottoman Empire. Others criticize his role
subject matter that is generally expressed in in the destruction of Islamic institutions,
rather vague and flowery ways. Afdal trans- including the Sultanate of Persia and the
lated several works into Persian from Ara- Ottoman Caliphate, and suspect that he was
bic, such as the Yanbu al-hayat (Fountain of working in collusion with one European
Life), which purports to be by Hermes and power or the other. It is much easier to make
deals with the relationship of the soul and a case that while he fervently believed in his
the intellect throughout the passage of life. grand pan-Islamic vision, he was caught in
Among his main works is the Risala-yi the whirlwinds of the times like so many
ilm wa nutq (Treatise on Knowledge and Muslims of that era and became a partner in
Rational Discourse), which looks at the the demise of political institutions that had
rules of logical thinking involved in both provided stability to the Islamic world for
thought and speech. His Madarif al-kamal 500 years.
(Rungs of Perfection) discusses the nature of Seyyed Jamaluddin was born in 1838 at
the soul, a constant topic of interest for him, Asadabad near the Afghan-Persian border.
and his Jawidan-nama (Book of the Eternal) He was called a Seyyed because his fam-
provides a breakdown of the different sci- ily claimed descent from the family of the
ences and how they can be understood using Prophet through Imam Husayn. The title of
some of the technical language of Islam Afghani refers to his Afghan-Persian heri-
and contemporary science. The Ard-nama tage, and served usefully to identify him more
(Book of Displays) is an extensive discus- broadly than as a Persian. This would have
sion of the different kinds of knowledge identified him with the Shia and limited his
and soul that exist in the universe and how influence in the Islamic world. As a youth,
they mirror both each other and the nature Seyyed Jamaluddin studied the Quran, fiqh,
of reality. Excellent translations of passages Arabic grammar, philosophy, tasawwuf,
from Afdal al-Dins corpus may be found in logic, mathematics, and medicine, disci-
Chittick (2001). plines that were the backbone of an Islamic
curriculum at that time. In 1856, at the age
Further Reading of eighteen, he spent a year in Delhi and felt
Chittick, W., The Heart of Islamic the rising political pulse of the subcontinent,
Philosophy: The quest for self-knowledge which was soon to erupt in the Sepoy Upris-
in the teachings of Afdal al-Din Kashani, ing of 1857.
New York: Oxford University Press, From India, Seyyed Jamaluddin vis-
2001. ited Arabia where he performed his hajj.
Returning to Afghanistan in 1858, he was
oliver leaman employed by Amir Dost Muhammed. His
talents propelled him to the forefront of the
Afghan hierarchy. When Dost Muhammed
died and his brother Mohammed Azam
AFGHANI, Seyyed Jamaluddin (183896) became the amir, Jamaluddin was appointed
prime minister.
Seyyed Jamaluddin Afghani was undoubt- In 1869, Seyyed Jamaluddin fell out of
edly one of the most influential Muslims of favor with the amir and left Kabul for India.
the twentieth century. Some consider him to In Delhi, he was welcomed by the British
be the principal figure in awakening Islamic who nonetheless did their best to isolate him
10
AFGHANI
from the local Islamic community. That same subsequent turbulent events in Persia, includ-
year he visited Cairo on his way to Istanbul ing the assassination of Nasiruddin Shah.
where his fame had preceded him and he was The Shah, furious at Seyyed Jamaluddins
elected to the Turkish Academy. However, tirades, banished him from Persia in 1891.
his rational interpretation of the Quran The Seyyed arrived in Istanbul and was
and the Sunna of the Prophet was deeply sus- warmly received by Sultan Abdul Hamid II
pect in the eyes of the Turkish ulema and he who nonetheless kept a close watch on his
was expelled from Istanbul in 1871. activities. Jamaluddin Afghani spent the rest
Back in Cairo, Jamaluddin had a major of his life in Istanbul, and died of cancer
role in the events that led to the overthrow in 1896.
of Khedive Ismail Pasha who had brought Two principal themes run through the life
Egypt to its knees through his extravagance. and work of Seyyed Jamaluddin Afghani.
European influence increased, and Jamalud- First, his proclaimed goal was to unite the
din was at the head of the Young Egyptian Islamic world under a single caliph resident
Movement and the nationalist uprising in Istanbul. Toward this end, he sought
under Torabi Pasha (1881) that sought to a rapprochement between the Ottoman
expel the Europeans from Egypt. The Brit- Empire and Persia, working to have the Shah
ish, suspicious of his motives, sent him back recognize the Ottoman sultan as the caliph
to India just before their occupation of Cairo of all Muslims, while the caliph recognized
in 1882. the Shah as the sovereign of all Shiis. He
From India, Seyyed Jamaluddin embarked wrote to the leading theologians of Karbala,
on a journey through Europe and resided for Tabriz, and Tehran, passionately arguing his
various lengths of time in London, Paris, and case and was partially successful in bring-
St Petersburg. In Paris he met and influenced ing them to his point of view. However, the
the Egyptian modernist Muhammed Abdu. rapprochement did not take place due to
Together, the two started a political organi- the political turbulence in Persia. Second,
zation Urwa al Wuthqa (The Unbreakable he sought to modernize Islam to make it
Bond) whose avowed purpose was to mod- responsive, as he saw it, to the needs of the
ernize Islam and protect the Islamic world age. The movement that he started, which
from the greed of foreigners. Its strident was championed by his disciple, Muhammed
anti-European tone annoyed the British who Abdu of Egypt, was called the Salafi move-
engineered to have the organization and its ment. It derives from the word as-Salaf
mouthpiece, the Minaret, shut down. as-salehin (the pious ancestors) and refers
In 1889 Sultan Nasiruddin Shah of Persia to the legal opinions advanced by the first
visited St Petersburg and invited Jamaluddin three generations after the Prophet. It was
to return to Tehran, promising him the post essentially a rationalist and apologist move-
of prime minister. A reluctant Jamaluddin ment, which sought to bring about a Nahda
saw an opportunity to influence events in the (renaissance) of Islamic thought.
Islamic heartland and returned, soon to find Muhammed Abdu sought to replace the
himself out of favor with the monarch. Fear- four schools of Sunni fiqh (Hanafi, Maliki,
ing the wrath of the Shah, Jamaluddin took Shafii, and Hanbali) with a single fiqh. He
refuge in the shrine of Shah Abdul Azeem taught that the laws of the Quran could
and from the sanctuary denounced the Shah be rationalized and if necessary, reinter-
as a tyrant and advocated his overthrow. It preted. The Salafi movement had a major
was while he stayed in the sanctuary that impact on Arab intellectual circles around
Jamaluddin met and influenced the princi- the turn of the twentieth century. It influ-
pal figures who had a major impact on the enced the Aligarh movement of Sir Seyyed
11
AKF ERSOY
in India as well as the Muhammadiya move- his own Kitab Maslik al-afham fiilm al-ka-
ment in Indonesia. The Salafi movement, lam, and is a vast compendium of theology,
however, is often accused by its enemies of law, Ishraqi, Peripatetic, and Sufi thought.
having no roots either in Islamic traditions
or Islamic history. The Nahda was suspected Further Reading
of attempting to secularize Islam, just as the Schmidtke, S., Theologie, Philosophie und
renaissance of the sixteenth century had Mystik im zwlferschiitischen Islam des
secularized the Latin West. As a mass move- 9./15. Jahrhunderts. Die Geschichte
ment, the Salafi movement was a failure and des Ibn Abi Gumhur al-Ahsai (um
was rejected by the Islamic world, although 838/1434-35- nach 906/1501), Leiden:
it is more influential and popular today. Brill, 2000.
Jamaluddin Afghanis one major success
was in paving the way for the tobacco revo- oliver leaman
lution of Persia, a passive resistance move-
ment which contained British influence in
Iran at the turn of the twentieth century. As
a catalyst, though, he was highly influential AKF ERSOY, Mehmet(18731936)
in changing the cultural atmosphere of the
Arab world in particular. The pan-Islamist thinker and the poet of the
Turkish national anthem Mehmet Akif Ersoy
Further Reading was born in Fatih, Istanbul. He received his
Keddie, N., Sayyid Jamaluddin Afghani: early education in Fatih and learned Arabic
A Political Biography, Berkeley: and Persian. In addition to traditional reli-
University of California Press, 1972. gious subjects, he studied classical Persian
Kerr, M., Islamic Reform: The Political and poetry. He received his college degree in polit-
Legal Theories of Muhammad Abduh ical science and veterinary sciences in 1893.
and Rashid Rida, Berkeley: University of He worked as a veterinary surgeon at the
California Press, 1966. Ministry of Agriculture. During his tenure as
a government officer, he traveled extensively
oliver leaman in Anatolia, the Balkans and the Arab world,
and saw the steady decline and eventual dis-
integration of the Ottoman Empire. The Bal-
kan wars of 191213, followed by the World
Ahmad b. Hanbal,see Ibn Hanbal War I, left an indelible mark on Akif and
turned him into a passionate poet of national
independence. His pan-Islamist ideas took
shape during this period. The works of Jamal
al-Din Afghani and Muhammad Abdu also
AL-AHSAI(c. 837after 904/ played a significant role in the formation of
1433after 1499) Akifs social and political ideas.
In 1913, he resigned from his government
Ibn Abi Jumhur al-Ashai came from al-Ahsa position and taught at various schools and
in eastern Arabia, and was educated at first preached at mosques. His first contact with
by his father. He moved to Najaf and subse- Europe came when he was invited to Germany
quently traveled to Syria, Mecca, Baghdad, in 1914 to report on the state of Muslim pris-
Mashhad, and Asterabad. His main work is oners of war. He was sent to Egypt for a short
the Kitab al-Mujli which is a commentary on period of time. Upon his return to Turkey, he
12
AL-AKSARAY
took a position at the office of the shaykh al- and cultural issues from a traditional Islamic
Islam but lost that post in 1919. In 1920, he point of view, and criticized the two rival ide-
was elected to the first Grand National Assem- ologies of his time, i.e., Turkism represented
bly as a representative of the city of Burdur by Ziya Gkalp and Westernism advo-
and held that position until 1923. In 1921, he cated by Abdullah Cevdet and others. Like
was asked to write a national anthem, which Afghani, he saw the national independence
was immediately accepted. movements of Muslim nations as a means
As a devout Muslim and Islamist thinker, toward the unity of the larger Islamic world
Akif watched first with caution and then with rather than as an end in itself. In his book of
contempt the new revolutions introduced by poems Safahat, he addresses the Turkish and
Atatrk including the closing down of the other Muslim nations with a passionate voice.
madrasas and the abolition of the Caliph- His poems combine realist, didactic, and lyri-
ate and the office of the shaykh al-Islam in cal styles with a clear social-political agenda,
1924. He decried the blind imitation of the and span through a wide range of topics from
West and sought to revive pan-Islamist ideals national independence and Islamic values to
after the declaration of the new Republic. He anticolonialism and social ethics.
continued to write poems about the state of
the Islamic world, independence wars, colo- BIBLIOGRAPHY
nialism, and other social justice issues. After Safahat, ed. M. E. Dzda, Ankara: Kltr
losing in the 1923 elections, he left for Egypt ve Turizm Bakanl, 1987.
to stay with his old friend, Prince Abbas Mehmet Akif Ersoyun Makaleleri: Srat-
Halim. Akif lived in Egypt for over ten years. Mustakim ve Sebilur-read, ed.
In Egypt, he taught Turkish at the Misriyya A. Abdulkadirolu, Ankara: Kltr ve
University (192536) and completed his Turizm Bakanl, 1987.
masterpiece Safahat (Phases).
For several years, he worked on a Turk- Further Reading
ish translation of the Quran. But he left Dzda, M., Erturul, Mehmet Akifin
the project and burned his translations. Msr Hayat ve Kuran Meali, stanbul:
Two main reasons have been proposed for ule Yaynlar, 2003.
Akifs change of mind. One is that he firmly ehsuvarolu, Ltf, Mehmet Akif Ersoy,
believed in the untranslatable nature of the Ankara: Alternatif Yaynlar, 2002.
Quran. The other reason was his fear that
his translation would be used by Atatrk to ibrahim kalin
justify his new reforms, which Akif opposed.
In 1936, he returned to Istanbul for medical
treatment and died there.
As an Islamist thinker, Akif was actively
involved in the intellectual and political cur- AL-AKSARAY, Cemeleddin Muhammad
rents of his time. With a group of like-minded (d. 791/1388)
intellectuals and writers, he began to publish
in 1908 a journal called Srat- Mustakim A famous scholar of fourteenth-century
(The Straight Path), probably the first major Ottoman thought, Aksarayi produced a
Islamist newspaper in modern Islamic history. number of works in such traditional fields
The journal, which changed its name later as grammar, kalam, ethics, and hadith. Not
to Sebilur-read (The Way of Guidance) in much is known about his life. He was a pro-
1912, became a platform for the pan-Islamist fessor at a madrasa in Iznik, Turkey. He was
thinkers of the time. Akif wrote on political known for the high quality of his classes and
13
AKEMSEDDIN
as such attracted many students. His most in Gynk in 863/1459. He was a famous
famous student Molla Fenari became the Muslim scholar, Sufi, educator, and phy-
first shaykh al-Islam of the Ottoman Empire. sician. Akemseddin, through his father
His works include a commentary on Suyutis Hamza, was a descendant of Shihab al-Din
Quranic commentary Kashshaf, a collection Suhrawardi (d. 632/1234), the founder of
of forty hadith called Hadith-i arbain (Forty the Ishraqi school. His paternal lineage is
Hadiths), a work on Arabic grammar called also traced back to Abu Bakr (d. 13/634),
Sharh lubab al-musamma bil-kashf al-irab the first caliph (khalifa) of Islam. When
(The Essential Commentary Called the he was a child Akemseddin, together
Unveiling of the Rules of Deflection), and a with his father Shaykh Hamza, moved to
treatise on ethics called Akhlaq-i Jamali (The Amasya (799/1397). He had a traditional
Ethics of Jamal). Aksarayi was also a physi- early education in the Islamic sciences and
cian and wrote a short explanation of Ibn then became a mudarris in the Osmanck
al-Nafis commentary on Ibn Sinas Canon Medresesi. There he had the opportunity
of Medicine. to study the science of medicine as well.
A typical intellectual scholar of his time, Later he traveled to Aleppo in search of
Aksarayi combined traditional madrasa sci- a shaykh. Upon having a dream he came
ences with Sufism within an Asharite context. back to Anatolia and came under the guid-
Aksarayis grandfather Muhammad is reported ance of Hac Bayram Veli (d. 833/1430), a
to have been a descendant of the famous great Turkish wali. After a period of strict
Asharite theologian and exegete Fakhr al-Din self-discipline and solitary life he was given
al-Razi. Aksarayis extensive study and teach- permission by his shaykh to be his suc-
ing of Asharite theology has probably some- cessor. Later on he went to Beypazar and
thing to do with this family tie. Molla Fenari, built a mosque and a mill. To avoid pub-
Aksarayis most celebrated student, studied lic attention he left Beypazar and found
the works of Fakhr al-Din al-Razi and other solitude in a small village near Iskilip. Not
Asharite theologians under him. Aksarayis long afterward he came to Gynk where,
grandson Ali Cemali Efendi, known as Zem- like in Beypazar, he built a mosque and a
billi Ali Efendi, became a famous Ottoman mill. In Goynuk he engaged in a teaching
shaykh al-Islam and Sufi-scholar. and education program for children and
dervishes (Sufi candidates). Meanwhile he
Further Reading went on hajj. After Hac Bayrams death,
Aydn, H., slam Hukuku ve Molla Fenari, he became his successor as a shaykh of the
Istanbul: aret, 1991. Bayramiye school.
Efendi, Tahir, Bursal Mehmed, Osmanl Through his shaykhs relationship with
Mellifleri I-III. Istanbul, 1333 ah. Murat II, the Ottoman Sultan of the time,
Akemseddin made the acquaintance of
ibrahim kalin
young Mehmet II (Fatih), the Sultans son
and successor. During the reign of Mehmet
II, the Conqueror, Akemseddin made a cou-
ple of visits to the Sultans royal residence
in Edirne. In one of those visits he cured the
AKEMSEDDIN, Mehmed emseddin ibn Sultans daughter. Also, at the most intense
Hamza (792863/13901459) moments of the conquest of Constanti-
nople (Istanbul), he greatly helped raise the
Akemseddin, also known as Akeyh, was spiritual atmosphere in the Ottoman army
born in Damascus in 792/1390 and died through his letters to Mehmet II, in which he
14
AL-E AHMAD
foresaw the date of victory and advised the this Work, PhD thesis, Manchester
Sultan to remain patient and strong. This is University, 1997.
why he is regarded as the spiritual conqueror Yurt, Ali hsan, Akemseddin, Istanbul:
of Istanbul. After the conquest (857/1453) IFAV, 1994.
Akemseddin found, with spiritual guid-
ance, the burial place of Abu Ayyub al-An- s. leyla grkan
sari, a companion of the Prophet Muham-
mad, who had fought to take the city and
had been martyred. Akemseddin also gave
the khutba (sermon) during the first Friday
prayer performed in the Ayasofya (Hagia
Al-Allaf,see al-Hudhayl
Sophia) Mosque. He taught for years in the
Zeyrek Camii, which is another church-
turned mosque. When Mehmet II decided
to leave his throne to go under his tutors
full guidance, Akemseddin tried to stop him
but, realizing that he would not be able to AL-E AHMAD, Jalal(192369)
do so, left Istanbul and returned to Gynk.
Despite the Sultans efforts he did not come Jalal Al-e Ahmad had a significant impact
back before his death in 863/1459. His on twentieth-century Iranian thought. He
tomb is still in Gynk. was part of a tradition that tried to define
Alongside his reputation as a Sufi leader, what it was to be Iranian, buffeted as Ira-
teacher, and a tutor and advisor of Sultan nians were by the forces of Islam, the West,
Mehmet II, Akemseddin is also known as an and the Shah, with the Shah trying to impose
important man of medicine. He is even consid- a definition based on Aryanism and linked
ered to be the first discoverer of the microbe. with pre-Islamic history. During the twenti-
Some of his important writings include Risala eth century many Iranians tried to become
al-Nuriya (83841/14348), a treatise in more Western than those living in the West,
which Akemseddin defends Sufism and Sufis something that he criticized sharply in his
against their opponents and gives an account books, and also poked fun at in a very stri-
of Sufi ethics and manners; Hall al-mushkilat dent manner. On the other hand, he also had
or Dafu Metaain al-Sufiyya (856/1452), in little time for the Arab world, and contrasted
which he compares the ideas of Ibn Arabi its semitic nature with what he saw as the
and other great Sufis with those of famous very distinct Iranian entity. He certainly did
Muslim scholars like al-Ghazali and Qushayri not find himself in sympathy with the notion
and shows the similarities between the two; of Aryanicity, and roundly condemned the
and Maqamat al-awliya, another Sufi work Shahs regime for its closeness to the West
on the concept of walaya and its degrees. and, in particular, the United States. He ends
Of his books written on medicine only two, up defining a form of nationalism based on
Maddatu (or Maidatu) al-hayat and Kitab al- Shiism, and a form of Islam based on its
Tib, are available today. Iranian heritage. Since Islam was actually
imposed on Iran, the natural view would
Further Reading have been that it represented an alien system
Keskin, Abdlbaki, A Critical Edition of of ideas, but Al-e Ahmad neatly avoids tak-
Enisis Menakib-i Akemseddin with ing this position by arguing that Islam only
an Account of Akemseddin s Political really became Islam when it was taken up
and Religious Influence as Revealed in and developed by Persians.
15
ALI IBN ABI TALIB
BIBLIOGRAPHY was assassinated in the fitna or civil war that

Gharbzadegi (Plagued by the West), took place over issues like the succession
Tehran: Agah, 1964; trans. P. Sprachman, and the appropriate direction in which Islam
Delmar: Caravan, 1982. should go. His supporters, the party of Ali,
An Anthology of Writings by Jalal Al-e the shiat Ali, became the Shia or Shiites,
Ahmad, ed. M. Hillmann, Costa Mesa: and they argued that he was more than just
Mazda, 1982. the caliph but had an elevated role as imam
or divinely appointed leader and paradigm.
Further Reading The Shiites are committed to holding the
Mottahedeh, R., The Mantle of the family of the Prophet in special regard.
Prophet: Religion and Politics in Iran, Ali certainly was not a philosopher, but he
New York: Pantheon, 1985. is known for his Nahj al-balagha, a collec-
tion of sayings that are held by his followers
oliver leaman to be what the title says they are, the height
of eloquence. This text has been a source for
Shiite contemplation ever since, and their
quality makes them appropriate for this
task, since they do emphasize a variety of
Alfarabius,see al-Farabi interesting ideas, including the importance
of moderation in life.
The Nahj al-balagha relates to theologi-
cal and metaphysical problems and con-
sists of sermons, letters, and aphorisms
Alfraganus,see al-Farghani, Ahmad ibn which often range widely over theological
M. ibn Katir issues. As the name of the book suggests,
it is very eloquent, and displays a form
of Arabic that has become a paradigm of
good style. One aspect worth mentioning is
that it combines great clarity and specific-
Algazel,see al-Ghazali
ity with the ability to be wide-ranging. The
book is all about how to resolve apparent
contradictions, between the absolute sim-
plicity (al-basatat al-mutlaqa) of the Divine
Alhacen,see Ibn al-Haytham Essence and how one reconciles that with
the variety of things that God does. After
all, God is the First while also being the
Last; he is the Manifest and the Hidden;
he has power over time and number; he
Alhazen,see Ibn al-Haytham can know one thing and everything at the
same time; the Divine Word and Act are the
same; the limited capacity of human rea-
son to comprehend his reality; that gnosis
(marifa) is a kind of manifestation (tajalli)
ALI IBN ABI TALIB (d. 40/660) of him upon our intellect, which is different
from conception or cognition by the mind;
Ali was the Prophets first cousin and son- the negation of such attributes as corpo-
in-law, and became caliph in 35/656. He reality, motion, rest, change, place, time,
16
AL-AMIDI
similarity, opposition, partnership, posses- Asharite theologian and Shafii jurispru-

sion of organs or instruments, limitation dent, and representative of a real commit-
and number. ment to Peripatetic philosophy as an essen-
The text, traditionally held to be authored tial aspect of how to undertake the Islamic
by Ali, is a very impressive piece of writing sciences. Born in Amid, where he was first
and thought, and has had a profound effect of all taught the principles of Hanbalism,
on subsequent Islamic thought, especially in he moved on to Baghdad to study with Ibn
the Shii community. Fadlan, there becoming a Shafii jurist. He
also became interested in philosophy in
Further Reading Baghdad, and reports say he was instructed
Madelung, W., The Succession to in this discipline by a Christian. He made
Muhammad: A Study of the Early the acquaintance of Suhrawardi on a visit
Caliphate, Cambridge: Cambridge to Syria, and then in 1196 he moved to
University Press, 1997. Cairo to teach, and then fled to Damascus,
Meir, M., Scripture and Exegesis in Early where he died.
Imami Shiism, Jerusalem: Magnes Press, His life in Damascus was spent largely
1999. restricted to his house, apparently because
Momen, M., An Introduction to Shii Islam, he had so many enemies. His work is
New Haven: Yale University Press, 1985. imbued with philosophical and metaphysi-
Nldeke, T. and F. Schwally, Geschichte des cal speculations and, more importantly,
Qorans, Hildesheim: Georg Olms Verlag, techniques that provide it with a structural
1981. tightness that intimidated many of his con-
Al-Numan (195161), Daaim al-Islam, temporaries and successors. Indeed, the
Cairo: Dar al-Maarif, 195161; trans. as scope of his work Abkar al-afkar, written
The Pillars of Islam, vol. 1, trans. Asaf A. in Egypt, does reflect the work of Ibn Sina
A. Fyzee, revised by I. K. Poonawala, New and the sorts of discussions then current in
Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2002. his predecessors milieu, and this adherence
Al-Qummi, Ali b. Ibrahim, Tafsir to falsafa did not do much to help his career.
al-Qummi, ed. Tayyib al-Musawi However, his huge commentary on law,
al-Jazairi, Beirut: Matbat al-najaf, 1968. al-Ihkam, became very influential and was
Al-Tabari, Abu Jafar Muhammad b. Jarir, much commented on and glossed itself. He
Jamial- bayan an tawil ay al-quran, also wrote a brief work on the same topic,
Cairo: Mustafa al-Babi al-Halabi and Muntaha al-sul fi ilm al-usul. It was pre-
sons, 1954. sumably his theological stance of hostility to
the Hanbalis, a group of which he had once
oliver leaman been a part, that led to such a reaction to
his work. He does in his legal work tend to
have a low opinion of taqlid or conformity
to tradition and seems to regard legal texts
Alpharabius,see al-Farabi as ways of forming ones own independent
judgment on how to act within the context
of Islam.
AL-AMIDI, Sayf ad-Din (d. 621/1233) BIBLIOGRAPHY

Al-Ihkam fi usul al-ahkam (Precision in
Ali ibn Abi Ali ibn Muhammad al- the Basic Methodology of Law), Cairo:
Taghlabi Sayf ad-Din al-Amidi was an al-Matbaat al-maarif, 1914.
17
AL-AMILI
Further Reading by his students, and Mir Findiriski, a rela-

Weiss, B., The Search for Gods Law: tively unknown yet important philosopher
Islamic Jurisprudence in the Writings of the period, should be mentioned. These
of Sayf al-Din al-Amidi, Salt Lake City: three philosophers are considered to be the
University of Utah Press, 1992. founders of the School of Isfahan.
Like Mir Damad, Amili enjoyed the
oliver leaman patronage of Shah Abbas I. Having been the
shaykh al-Islam of Isfahan for some time,
Amili refused to take any further govern-
ment positions despite the persistent requests
of the Shah. We can see in this attitude a
AL-AMILI, Baha al-Din classic example of a traditional man of learn-
(9531030/15471621) ing seeking to distance himself from politi-
cal power and devoting his life to studying,
Scholar, philosopher, poet, judge, mathema- learning, and teaching. It is, however, clear
tician, astronomer, engineer, and architect that Amili did not shy away from making
Muhammad b. Husayin Baha al-Din al- use of Shah Abbas patronage in the best
Amili, known also as Shaykh-i Bahai (no possible way. Having led an extremely pro-
relation to Bahaullah or Bahaism), was born ductive life, he died in 1621 while returning
in Baalbek, Syria. He is said to have hailed from pilgrimage.
from a place called Jabal Amila between As one of the leading jurists and theolo-
southern Lebanon and Galilee, from which gians of his time, Amili trained a number of
numerous other Shiite figures have come. students in the field of transmitted religious
Amilis father Shaykh Izz al-Din Husayn sciences. His most famous student is Mulla
b. Abd al-Samad was a scholar of some Sadra who, in many ways, has become the
repute, having authored several works on most important philosopher of the Safavid
Shiite law as well as a diwan of poetry. It period. It is certain that Amili played a
was Amilis father who, for reasons not direct role in Sadras training in such reli-
known entirely, took his family to Iran, gious sciences as Quranic exegesis and the
which was then becoming a Shiite haven study of hadith.
under Safavid rule. Shaykh Izz al-Din was As a scholar, philosopher, Sufi, and the
appointed by Shah Tahmasp (152476) as a architect of the Shah mosque in Isfahan,
shaykh al-Islam of the Safavid Empire in the Amili was a polymath in the true sense of
city of Qazwin, then the capital city. Having the term. In fact, he played an important role
served under Shah Tahmasp for more than in the planning of the city of Isfahan, under
twenty years, Amilis father died in 1576 in the direct supervision of Shah Abbas I, as
Bahrayn after completing his pilgrimage to a capital city with avenues, palaces, pub-
Mecca. lic offices, mosques and madrasas, bazaars,
When his father died, Amili was thirty and baths, forts and gardens.
had already completed his studies in Qazwin Amili traveled through Egypt, Syria,
and Herat. He then settled in Isfahan, which Hijaz, and Jerusalem as well as several Otto-
Shah Abbas I made the capital city of the man cities between 1583 and 1585. Given
Safavid Empire in 1597, and became one of the political tensions between the Safavids
the most prominent intellectuals of his time. and the Ottomans, it was not always con-
Among his colleagues Mir Damad, called venient for Shiite scholars to travel in Otto-
the third teacher (al-muallim al-thalith) man lands. We do not know for certain what
18
AL-AMILI
Amilis motives were for his journeys. It is, Persian. Considering that his mother tongue
however, clear that he traveled in the gar- was Arabic and he wrote most of his works
ment of a dervish by performing taqiyya in Arabic, it must have been a literary ven-
and hiding his Shiite identity. The details ture for Amili to try his luck in Persian. Be
of Amilis travels have been recorded in a that as it may, Amilis Persian side must
number of classical sources as well as in his have played a role in making him and his
Kashkul. works widely accessible and acceptable to
Amilis life and writings show a strong the learning classes of the time.
predilection toward Sufism. In his poetical Amilis most famous book is Kashkul
works, Amili follows Rumi in content and (The Beggars Bowl), a collection of Arabic
spirit if not in form. In fact, he was once and Persian writings and proverbs on the
criticized rather severely by a contempo- teachings and manners of Sufism. Written
rary Shiite scholar Nimatullah Jazairi of in the adab genre of classical Islamic litera-
Shustar for trying to introduce the mystical ture, the Kashkul is a medley of philosophi-
teachings of Sufism into the Shiite circles of cal, religious, and literary ideas. Instead of
learning. It is perhaps due to this that some focusing on any particular theme, the book
of Amilis poems in Persian attack Aristotle addresses a variety of issues and draws from
and Ibn Sina who represent rational investi- multiple sources. In this regard, Kashkul
gation without a taste for spiritual purifica- goes beyond any of the established categories
tion and realized knowledge. of disciplined scholarship. Amili must have
Close to ninety prose and poetical works wanted his work to speak to a wide audience
have been attributed to Amili. This is not regardless of ones disciplinary background
surprising as Amili was a littrateur par and intellectual preference. In spite of this
excellence and a typical man of letters. Ami- element of literary populism, the Kashkul
lis works combine religious, philosophical, is a work of literary elegance and scholarly
scientific, and literary genres. What emerges erudition.
from Amilis writings is a man of learning Amilis other works include Khulasa fil-
passionately interested in practically every hisab (Summary of the Science of Calcula-
subject matter worth studying. We find this tion), a short treatise on algebra; Fawaid
tendency in the other intellectual figures of al-samadiyya (Eternal Benefits), a work on
the time, and it is indicative of the deliber- Arabic grammar; Tashrih al-aflak (Explana-
ate attempt of the Shiite rulers and scholars tion of the Planets) and Urwat al-wuthqa
of the sixteenth century to create a well-es- (The Solid Rope), two works on astronomy
tablished tradition of learning in Iran under and the astrolabe; and several short com-
Safavid rule. mentaries on the Quran and other Sharia
Among Amilis works, we can mention the sciences.
following. Jami-i Abbasi (The Comprehen-
sive Book Dedicated to Abbas), a work on BIBLIOGRAPHY
Shiite law, is a collection of Amilis fatwas Kulliyati ashar wa athar-i farisi Shaykh
on some legal issues. The fact that the book Bahai, ed. H. Jawahiri, Tehran:
is written in Persian is important in that it Kitabfurushi-yi Mahmudi, 1962.
shows Amilis willingness to become part Miftah al-falah (The Key to Salvation),
of the Persian-Shiite culture of the Safavid Tehran: Hikmat, 1987.
Empire. This attitude is reflected in Amilis Mashriq al-shamshayn wa iksir
other writings where he freely uses various al-saadatayn (The Dawn of the
aphorisms, poems, and wisdom sayings in Two Suns and the Elixir of the Two
19
AMIN
Happiness), Mashhad: Majma Buhuth Empire (991-93/1583-85), Princeton

al-Islamiyya, 1993. Papers in Near Eastern Studies 4 (1996),
Kashkul (The Beggars Bowl), Tehran: pp. 170; repr. in D. Stewart et al. (eds),
Zarrin, 1995. Law and Society in Islam, Princeton, NJ:
al-Habl al-matin fi ihkam ahkam al-din Markus Wiener Publishers, 1996,
(The Reliable Rope in Establishing the pp. 170.
Judgments of the Religion), Beirut: Dar
al-hadi, 2000.
ibrahim kalin
Further Reading
Bosworth, C., Baha al-Din al-Amili and
His Literary Anthologies, Manchester:
Manchester University Press, 1989.
Munshi, Iskandar Beg, Tarikh-i alam- AMIN, Ahmad (18861954)
ara-yi Abbasi, 2 vols., Tehran: Chap-i
Gulshan, 1971; trans. Roger Savory, Ahmad Amin was a highly influential Egyp-
History of Shah Abbas the Great tian thinker whose work covered a wide
Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, gamut of the Islamic sciences such as law,
1978. theology, and grammar. He also wrote on
Nafisi, Said, Ahwal wa ashar-i farisi-yi philosophy. He received a traditional educa-
Shaykh-i Bahai, Tehran: Iqbal Press, tion and this prepared him for a career as
1937. a teacher of law and judge, which was his
Nasr, Seyyed Hossein, Spiritual career from 1911 to 1926. In 1926 he joined
Movements, Philosophy and Theology in the University of Cairo, where he taught
the Safavid Period, in The Cambridge Arabic for twenty years. He was in charge
History of Iran, ed. Peter Jackson of a committee that sponsored the publica-
and Laurence Lockhart, Cambridge: tion of books and translations over a wide
Cambridge University Press, 1986, vol. range of topics, and in this position he was
VI, pp. 65697. able to ensure that its journal, al-Thaqafa,
The School of Isfahan, in The Islamic published important work. He was editor of
Intellectual Tradition in Persia, ed. al-Thaqafa from 1939 to 1953, so his input
Mehdi Amin Razavi, Richmond: Curzon into Egyptian culture was obviously signifi-
Press, 1996, pp. 23970. cant.
Newman, A., Towards a Reconciliation Amins own writings are substantial. His
of the Isfahan School of Philosophy: Fajr al-islam, Duha al-islam, and Zuhr al-is-
Shaykh Bahai and the Role of the lam provide an extensive account of the first
Safavid Ulama, Studia Iranica 15 four centuries of Islam from the very widest
(1986), pp. 16598. disciplinary perspectives.
Savory, R. M., Iran under the Safavids,
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1980. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Stewart, D., A Biographical Notice on My Life: The Autobiography of an
Baha al-Din alAmili (d. 1030/1621), Egyptian Scholar, Writer, and Cultural
Journal of the American Oriental Society Leader, trans. I. Boulata, Leiden: Brill,
111 (1991), pp. 56371. 1978.
Taqiyyah as Performance: The Travels
of Baha al-Din al-Amili in the Ottoman oliver leaman
20
AL-AMULI
AL-AMIRI, Abul Hasan Muhammad ibn to representing his views. He clearly has in
Yusuf (d. 381/992) mind in some of his books a whole variety
of contemporary intellectual targets, ranging
Abul Hasan Muhammad ibn Yusuf al- from Asharism and Mutazilism to Sufism
Amiri came from eastern Iran and was a and the Ismailis.
pupil of al-Kindi. He went to the court at
Rayy where philosophy was officially sup- BIBLIOGRAPHY
ported by the Buyid vizier Ibn al-Amid. Kitab al-Ilam bi-manaqib al-islam
Apparently he made visits to Baghdad but (Declaration of the virtues of Islam), ed.
was not highly regarded there given his A. Ghurab, Cairo, 1967. A translation
provincial background, and he did not stay of most of Chapter 1, The Quiddity of
long. Toward the end of his life he came into Knowledge and the Appurtenances of its
favor in Khurasan and Transoxiania with the Species, appears in F. Rosenthal, The
Samanid regime, and lived in both the capi- Classical Heritage of Islam, Berkeley:
tal city Bukhara, dying in its most important University of California Press, 1973,
city Nishapur. pp. 6370. A translation by F. Rosenthal
Al-Amiri is known to have written at of Chapter 7, The Excellences of Islam
least twenty-five books, for which we have in Relation to Royal Authority, appears
the titles, and six of these survive. Although in State and Religion According to Abu
it is true that al-Kindi did not often write on l-Hasan al-Amiri, Islamic Quarterly 3,
religious topics, it is also true that he argued pp. 4252.
there was no discrepancy between religion
and philosophy. This is a point that his Further Reading
pupil takes up vigorously in his al-Ilam bi- Rowson, E., A Muslim Philosopher on
manaqib al-Islam (Exposition of the Merits the Soul and its Fate: al-Amiris Kitab
of Islam), arguing that Islam is a supremely al-Amad ala l-abad, New Haven:
rational faith, a faith that repays rational American Oriental Society, 1988.
examination. The simplicity of the style and Vadet, J. C., Une Dfense philosophique
the lack of technical language make one sus- de la sunna: les Manaqib al-islam dal-
pect that this book was intended for a wide Amiri, Revue des tudes islamiques 42
audience, by contrast with the other philoso- (1974), pp. 24576 and 43 (1975),
phers in the Baghdad region who seemed to pp. 7796.
wish to keep their philosophical work as far
as possible from their religious lives. This oliver leaman
comes out nicely in al-Amiris account of the
afterlife, which seems to accord with Platos
Phaedo supplemented by the Islamic account
of bodily resurrection. The Greek views on
immortality are all very well as far as they AL-AMULI, Sayyid Haydar
go, he argues, but at their limits we should (719787/13191385)
go to religion to find out how to proceed.
It is clear from examining al-Amiris work Sayyid Haydar al-Amuli was an influential
that he had available to him a remarkable mystical scholar in northern Persia during
amount of Greek material falling within the the eighth/fourteenth century whose chief
Peripatetic and Neoplatonic areas. If one importance consisted of integrating the meta-
has to align him with any theological move- physical and cosmological doctrines of Ibn
ment, it is Maturidism that comes closest al-Arabi with those of Twelver Shiism.
21
AL-AMULI
Born in the Persian city of Amul in famous claim that every true Shiite is a Sufi
719/1319, for the first few decades of his life and every true Sufi is a Shiite.
Sayyid Haydar studied extensively in places Some of Sayyid Haydars other important
throughout Persia. After returning to Amul, works include the Risala al-nafs fi marifat
he became an official of the Bavandi dynasty al-rabb, which is concerned with the relation
and subsequently rose to become a prime between self-knowledge and the knowledge
minister in the government. Despite acquir- of God in light of three hadiths of Prophet
ing much worldly honor and fame, around Muhammad and a verse from the Quran,
the year 749/1348 Sayyid Haydar suffered and the Risala al-ilm, which discusses
a profound spiritual crisis, reminiscent of knowledge from the different viewpoints of
that suffered by al-Ghazali. In the after- philosophers, theologians, and Sufis. Finally,
math of this spiritual crisis, he renounced all mention must also be made of his impor-
worldly ambitions and left his native Persia tant commentary on Ibn al-Arabis Fusus
behind, setting off on a spiritual pilgrimage al-hikam (Bezels of Wisdom). In this com-
that would take him to Mecca, Medina, and mentary, Sayyid Haydar discusses many of
Shia holy sites in Iraq. Eventually he settled the problems that arise in Ibn al-Arabis
in Najaf, where he stayed for over thirty work such as tawhid, prophecy, and imam-
years. The date of his death is uncertain, but ate. This commentary includes the text of
it appears that it occurred sometime after the Fusus, which Sayyid Haydar wrote in
787/1385. red ink, to distinguish it from his own com-
Sayyid Haydar composed over forty mentary, which was in black ink.
works, in both Arabic and Persian. His best-
known work is the Kitab Majma al-asrar wa BIBLIOGRAPHY
manba al-anwar (The Sum of Divine Mys- La Philosophie Shiite, vol. 1, Somme des
teries), which is often referred to simply as doctrines sotriques (Jami al-Asrar);
Jami al-asrar. The central theme of this work vol. 2, Trait de la connaissance de
is his identification of Shiism with Sufism. ltre (Fi marifat al-wujud), textes
Sayyid Haydar sought to overcome the hos- publis avec une double introduction et
tility that existed between Shiites and Sufis. index par Henry Corbin et Osman Yahia,
While many Shiites concentrated on the Tehran and Paris: Bibliotheque Iranienne,
exoteric aspects of religion and saw the Sufi 1969.
path as being at variance with the religious Le texte des texts (Nass al-Nusus),
law, Sayyid Haydar perceived the Sufis as de commentaire des Fusus al-Hikam
facto Shiites who were more concerned with dIbn Arabi, publis avec une double
the esoteric aspects of religion. As a means of et un quintuple index par Henry
demonstrating this, Sayyid Haydar used Ibn Corbin et Osman Yahia, Tehran
al-Arabis concept of sainthood (walaya). and Paris: Bibliotheque Iranienne,
Following Ibn al-Arabi, Sayyid Haydar 1975.
held that sainthood represents the esoteric Asrar al-sharia wa atwar al-tariqa wa
knowledge of prophethood. Whereas Ibn al- anwar al-haqiqa, ed. Muhammad
Arabi identified the seal of sainthood with Khajavi, Tehran: Cultural Studies and
Jesus, Sayyid Haydar identifies it with Imam Research Institute, 1982.
Ali and emphasized that Ali transmitted trans. A. Yate, Inner Secrets of the
this esoteric knowledge of sainthood to the Path, Worcester: Zahra Publications,
very first Sufi shaykhs. Because Shiism and 1989.
Sufism are thus both rooted in the sainthood
of Imam Ali, Sayyid Haydar makes his brian thomas
22
ANSARI
ANKARAV, Ismail b. Ahmad Rusuhiddin quite compatible with al-Suhrawardis appar-

(d. 1041/1631) ent denial of the possibility of such contact.
Ankaravi is said to have written about forty
Ismail b. Ahmad Rusuhiddin Bayrami Mev- books, whose titles and details are given in
levi Ankaravi was born in Ankara, as the name Kupnars book on him, which is mentioned
suggests, around the late tenth/sixteenth cen- below under the Further Reading section.
tury. His father was called Ahmad, and that
is all we know of his family. He was educated Further Reading
in the religious sciences at an early age, and Kupnar, B., Ismail Ankaravi on the
later on progressed to the esoteric disciplines, illuminative philosophy, Kuala Lumpur:
entering the Sufi Bayrami order, and also pos- ISTAC, 1996.
sibly the Khalvetiyya order. Ankaravi was
struck by a severe eye disease, only relieved by oliver leaman
a visit to the tomb of Ibn al-Arabi in Konya.
A descendant of the Sufi saint, Bostan elebi
I (d. 1040/1630), glanced at Ankaravi and
that cured him. He consequently joined the Ansari, Abdullah,see al-Harawi
Mevlevi order after a period of rigorous train-
ing and preparation, and moved to a khanaqa
or convent in Istanbul called Galata Mevlevi,
where he was put in charge in 1019/1610. ANSARI, Murtada bin Muhammad Amin
There are other accounts of these years, (121481/17991864)
some of which has him going to Egypt, and
not being cured in Konya but elsewhere and Shaykh Murtada bin Muhammad Amin
under different circumstances. Ansari was a descendant of the Prophets
Anakaravi stayed in this position in the Companion Jabir bin Abdullah Ansari. He
convent until his death in 1041/1631 and was born on 18th Dhul-Hijja 1214/1799 in
was in charge of teaching and studying Dizful, Iran. He spent twenty years studying
the Mathnawi (Mesnevi). He became well in Iran before leaving for Iraq. After a brief
known for his teaching and ascetic lifestyle, stay there, he returned to Iran. In 1249/1833
and his sermons were apparently often he decided to visit the holy shrines of Iraq, but
well attended. During his time in Istanbul this journey was destined to be final, for once
there were attacks against the orthodoxy established there he started his own classes.
of Sufism and he participated in this heated He studied under Sharif al-Ulama Mazan-
debate, arguing throughout that there is no darani in Karbala, Mulla Ahmad Naraqi in
difficulty in being both a Muslim and a Sufi. Kashan and Shaykh Musa and Shaykh Ali
Most of his works were commentaries on Kashif al-Ghita in Najaf. After the death
the main texts that he taught, and they give of Shaykh Muhammad Hasan Najafi (the
us a good idea of the curriculum at the time. author of Jawahir al-kalam) in 1266/1849,
The Mathnawi is of course in the forefront, Shaykh Ansari emerged as the undisputed
but he also produced a particularly interest- marja (spiritual leader) of the Shiis. He was
ing commentary on al-Suhrawardis Haya- to become the most distinguished jurispru-
kil al-nur (Temples of Light) which displayed dent of the Shiite world in the nineteenth
his ability to work within the boundaries of century. He died in Najaf in 1281/1864.
Ishraqi (illuminationist) philosophy. His Shaykh Ansari was famous for his reten-
purpose here is to show that the accounts of tive memory, speedy resolution of intellectual
coming close to God produced by the Sufis is problems and his innovative teaching methods.
23
ANSARI
He is said to have had a very effective way most important work, al-Rasail (Faraid al-
of resolving legal disputes, setting up various usul), took up an explanation of those cases
prospective solutions and trying them all out where there was a probability of error.
until one succeeded. An ascetic lifestyle and The effect of the developments instituted
modest demeanor helped his career, and at his by Shaykh Ansari was extensive. Previously
deathbed, the sole marja of the time, Shaykh the mujtahhidun (legal decision makers)
Muhammad Hasan Najafi, suggested Shaykh had confined themselves to giving rulings
Ansari as his successor. Modestly, Shaykh where there was the probability or certainty
Ansari invited his former classmate from Kar- of being in accordance with the guidance
bala, Mulla Said Barfurushi Said al-Ulama of the imams. But the rules developed by
(d. 1270/1854), to assume the leadership Shaykh Ansari allowed them to extend their
in Najaf on the grounds that he was more jurisdiction to any matter where there was
knowledgeable in the law. However, the latter even a possibility of being in accordance
declined, arguing that although he had indeed with the guidance of the imams. This effec-
been more knowledgeable during their stud- tively meant that they could issue edicts on
ies, he had subsequently been mostly engaged virtually any subject. Shaykh Ansaris own
in public affairs, while Shaykh Ansari had strict exercise of caution (ihtiyat) severely
been teaching and writing, and was therefore restricted this freedom, but some other muj-
more qualified for the role. tahidun allowed themselves a freer hand.
Shaykh Ansaris success in filling the posi- Toward the end of the lifetime of Shaykh
tion was due not only to his personal quali- Muhammad Hasan Najafi, the major con-
ties but also to his background. Coming from cerns of the ulama were the conclusion of the
Dizful, a mixed environment of Arabs and Usuli-Akhbari conflict, the appearance of the
Persians, he could teach in both languages Shaykhi and Babi movements, and contending
and bridge the ethnic divide between the with Qajar and British rule. The Akhbari school
Arab and Iranian ulama, a rare accomplish- was a part of mainstream Twelver Shiism
ment then as now, but very important given from its earliest days; this school became
the wide dimensions of the Shii world. a separate movement following the writ-
Shaykh Ansari was interested in both usul ings of Mulla Muhammad Amin Astarabadi
and fiqh. He introduced major developments (d. 1033/1623). It achieved its greatest influ-
in the principles of jurisprudence that contin- ence during the late and post-Safavid periods
ued to be significant. He divided legal deci- but was crushed by the Usuli mujtahhidun at
sions into four categories. These include cer- the end of the Qajar era. Essentially the Akhbari
tainty (qat), which represented cases where school accepted Quran and Sunna in matters
clear decisions could be obtained from the of doctrine and law, while rejecting consensus
Quran or reliable traditions (ahadith); valid (ijma) and intellect (aql). The contribution of
conjecture (zann mutabar), which repre- Shaykh Ansari in strengthening the Usuli posi-
sented cases where the probability of correct- tion is widely acknowledged. While the Akh-
ness can be increased by using certain ratio- bari school differed from the Usulis principally
nal principles; and doubt (shakk), which in matters of furu (branches of the law), the
referred to cases where there was no guid- Shaykhi school, founded by Shaykh Ahmad
ance available from the sources and noth- ibn Zaynud-Din al-Ahsai (d. 1241/1826),
ing to indicate the probability of what was differed largely on usul (principles).
the correct answer. It is in relation to these The Babi movement started when Sayyid
doubtful cases that Shaykh Ansari formu- Ali Muhammad Shirazi (d. 1263/1850)
lated four guiding principles which he called took the title bab and in time declared that
usul al-amaliyya (practical principles). His the Sharia was abrogated in favor of a
24
AL-AQQAD
different and new religious book. Shaykh and saw himself very much as the conscience
Ansari reacted by enhancing religious aware- of Egypt, then dominated by the British.
ness in the smaller towns by setting up reli- Al-Aqqad was born on June 28, 1889, in
gious schools. He largely ignored both Qajar Aswan, Upper Egypt. At the age of six he was
and British influences, and appeared apo- sent to the village school to learn the Quran.
litical. Although he reached an agreement in Then he joined an elementary school, where
1852 with the British consul Rawlinson on he spent only four years. This represents the
the distribution of bequest funds in Najaf, he whole of his regular education; he was very
subsequently withdrew from the distribution much a self-taught man.
in 1860, when he suspected that the bequest Al-Aqqad worked as a government
was a British ploy to buy influence among employee until 1906, when he resigned in
the ulama. Shaykh Ansari provided the order to have more time for his work as a jour-
groundwork for the ulama to issue fatawa nalist. He became an editor of al-Dustur (The
(edicts) on virtually any legal problem by Constitution) and al-Bayan newspapers, and
giving a new scope to the application of legal wrote for other papers also, including al-Ah-
theory, especially that of al-usul al-amaliyya, ram. He was a forceful writer, often appealing
the application of law to practice. He also for the introduction of democracy into Egypt,
introduced the notion that it was necessary which led to his imprisonment on one occa-
for the community to follow the opinion of a sion. Something of an innovator, he introduced
mujtahhid. This idea was transformed subse- the interview as a journalistic technique, inter-
quently by Tabatabai Yazdi (d. 1337/1919) viewing the politician Saad Zaghloul in 1908.
into an initial prerequisite for every Shii at His writings are voluminous and cover poetry,
the age of responsibility (taklif). Eventually, biography, one novel, and, of course, an enor-
it became a commonly held view that the mous amount of journalism. In literature he
performance of Islamic duties (such as prayer participated in the current controversy over
and fasting) are void without taqlid (emula- style by siding very much with the innovators
tion) of a marja or ultimate authority. as compared with the traditionalists. He wrote
several works of philosophy, some biographies
Further Reading dealing with Ibn Rushd and Francis Bacon,
Litvak, M., Scholars of Nineteenth-Century for example, and also a few books expressing
Iraq, Cambridge: Cambridge University his own beliefs. These tended to favor liberal-
Press, 1998. ism and common sense.
Momen, M., An Introduction to Shii Islam, Al-Aqqad wrote a number of biographies,
London: Princeton University Press, 1985. and one aspect of his work is to link the
Moussavi, A., Religious Authority in Shiite thinker with the context in which they oper-
Islam, Kuala Lumpur: International ated. He translated a number of English texts
Institute of Islamic Thought, 1996. and certainly was not a parochial thinker,
commenting on and criticizing a whole range
oliver leaman of international, social, and political move-
ments. Not a particularly original thinker, al-
Aqqad had an important effect on Egyptian
culture through his discussions of a range of
AL-AQQAD, Abbas Mahmoud (18891964) thought, in particular Western thought, and
in his championing of values such as liberty
Abbas Mahmoud al-Aqqad was a writer, and nationalism. Although his theoretical
poet, historian, philosopher, journalist, and approach owed more to nineteenth-century
translator. He was an energetic nationalist thinkers such as Hazlitt and Carlyle, the idea
25
ARKOUN Mohammed
of linking individual creativity, personality, as being able to justify its various claims far
and culture was a fairly novel one in the better than competing faiths. He develops this
Arab world of his time, and definitely had an argument in a variety of ways, and displays an
impact. In particular, this made possible an accurate grasp of many of the religions which
objective approach to history, in particular he criticizes by comparison with Islam. Al-
Islamic history, that really changed the atmo- Aqqad is very representative of the thought
sphere in which that discipline was pursued. of his time, wound up in the general problem-
His philosophy of history was influential and atic of wondering how to cope with the onset
established a new methodology in the intel- of Western cultural influence and wanting to
lectual environment of the region. defend the local culture as a form of resistance
The writings of al-Aqqad are ener- to the global power of imperialism.
getic defenses of Islam. In his book on the
Prophet, for example, he praises the accom- Further Reading
plishments of Muhammad and shows how Brugman, J., An Introduction to the
he fitted into the particular context in which History of Modern Arabic Literature in
he emerged. His early efforts were to unite Egypt, Leiden: Brill, 1984, pp. 12138,
the community and defend it against its ene- 2723, 33852.
mies, and later on he developed an excellent Semah, D., Four Egyptian Literary Critics,
legislation to reconcile the differences that Leiden: Brill, 1974, pp. 365.
people had with each other. It is noticeable
that al-Aqqad takes a rather secular line on oliver leaman
the Prophet, attributing to him much of the
virtue of Islamic law whereas others would
see this as coming from God. However, he
sees his work as in defense of religion and ARKOUN Mohammed (19282010)
opposed to those who do not see the neces-
sity for there to be a God. He calls for the Mohammed Arkoun was born on February 1,
retention of mystery in religion, and yet for 1928, and died on September 14, 2010.
the rational study of it, and defends religious He was born in Algeria, in the Berber vil-
culture as far superior to its secular equiva- lage of Taourirt-Mimoun, where he received
lent. Islam in particular is superior to Chris- his primary education. He moved later with
tianity since the former is all-embracing and his family to Oran and, subsequently, after
does not separate religion from the state, studying at the University of Algiers, he went
thus bringing about a harmoniously inte- to the Sorbonne, in Paris, where he was even-
grated form of life. Among his many books tually to stay as a professor of Islamic stud-
are Haqaiq al-Islam (The Truths of Islam) ies. His views did lead to controversy and he
(1962), Allah (1960), and Quranic philoso- was not always easy living and working in
phy al-Falsafa al-quraniya (1947). France given the reaction of a section of the
The leading issue during his time was Muslim community.
whether Islam could cope with modernity, in He is perhaps best known for his Pour
the sense of providing an ideology that would une Critique de la Raison Islamique, which
allow for the growth of science and technology, summarizes a life of commitment to the idea
and also resist the influx of secular ideas from that the European Enlightenment cast a long
the West. Al-Aqqad has no doubts here. Islam shadow on thought in the Islamic world.
is by far the most superior religion, it is entirely Islamic humanism flourished during the
in line with modernity and can provide human- golden age of classical Islam, a period from
ity with excellent guidance in morality as well the eighth to the twelfth centuries that lead to
26
ARISTOTELIAN PHILOSOPHY, INFLUENCE OF
a rich development in the religious and natu- during the period from the ninth to the thir-
ral sciences, literature, the humanities, and the teenth centuries. This period of influence is
arts. Arkoun argued that the concentration on generally held to have begun with al -Kindi
the role of reason by this humanism not only and ended, or at least begun to decline, with
led to the advancement of the natural sciences, Ibn Rushd. Aristotelian influences are partic-
but had an impact on the religious sciences, ularly strong in discussions of form and mat-
providing them with tools of reasoning that ter, though elements of his political philoso-
enabled them to develop into highly sophisti- phy are also included. Islamic commentators
cated systems of thought. This humanism did could be critical of Aristotle, and tended to
not survive long in the Islamic world. plunder his works for ideas to support their
Arkoun followed an approach that blended own theories rather than adopting his ideas
anthropology, philosophy, and linguistics wholesale, but his influence was nonetheless
and resulted in often novel and challeng- profound. Known in Arabic as Aristu, he was
ing interpretations of texts due to his use of generally referred to as the First Teacher and
semiotics and deconstruction as conceptual held to be a wise sage and profound thinker.
models. His 1982 book Lectures du Coran Translations of at least some of Aristo-
laid him open to accusations of heresy due tles works into Arabic were available by
to its thesis that a text is a reflection of a par- the ninth century, and these were used by
ticular historical consciousness. His sharp al-Kindi. His Fi kammiya kutub Aristutalis
distinction between texts and the levels of wa ma yahaj ilahi fi tahsil al-falasifa (The
interpretation and practice to which they led Quantity of Books of Aristotle and What is
did not endear him to religious groups who Required for the Acquisition of Philosophy)
do not recognize that distinction. summarizes a number of works, paying par-
ticular attention to the Categories. Al-Kindi
Further Reading clearly had a deep respect for Aristotle, and
Islam: To Reform or to Subvert? London: did much to popularize his works within the
Saqi Books, 2007. Islamic milieu. Despite this, al-Kindi can-
Lhumanisme arabe au Ive-Xe sicle: not properly be considered an Aristotelian.
Miskawayh philosopher and historien, While he follows Aristotle on areas such as
Paris: Librarie philosophique Vrin, 1982. knowledge and form, he decidedly rejects
Lectures du Coran, Paris: Maisonneuve et Aristotelian cosmology, preferring more
Larose, 1982. orthodox Islamic theories of creation and
Rethinking Islam: Common Questions, volition. Some observers have commented
Uncommon Answers, Boulder, CO: that there is as much of Plato as there is of
Westview Press, 1994. Aristotle in al-Kindis work; in his own writ-
The Unthought in Contemporary Islamic ings on the intellect and the soul, al-Kindi
Thought, London: Saqi Books, 2002. attempts a kind of fusion of Platonic and
Aristotelian ideas. Further, one of his most
oliver leaman important sources, the so-called Theologia
Aristotelis, is not an Aristotelian work at all,
but rather comes from the Neoplatonic tra-
dition, being heavily based on the Enneads
ARISTOTELIAN PHILOSOPHY, of Plotinus. Al-Kindi was also familiar with
INFLUENCE OF other Neoplatonic writers such as Philopo-
nus. Al-Kindis knack of borrowing from all
The influence of Aristotle and his followers the Greek traditions as suited his own needs
on Islamic philosophy was particularly strong would be followed by later Islamic scholars.
27
ARISTOTELIAN PHILOSOPHY, INFLUENCE OF
This borrowing is particularly evident in Al-Ghazali seems to have seen this. In his
the work of al-Farabi, who is usually consid- famous Tahafut al-falasifa (The Incoherence
ered the foremost Aristotelian of the period, of the Philosophers), which is an attack on
to the point where he is referred to as the those like Ibn Sina who held to Aristotelian
Second Teacher (Aristotle himself being the concepts of the intellect, the soul and mat-
first). He wrote a number of commentaries on ter, he condemns not Aristotle himselfor
Aristotle, notably the Kitab al-huruf (Book of Plato, or the Neoplatonistsbut the uses to
Letters), a commentary on the Metaphysics, which their philosophy has been put. This
and Risala fil-aql (Treatise on the Intellect). may have been one of the moving forces that
In these, as in several of his less well-known led Ibn Rushd to revisit Aristotles works,
works, al-Farabi is, if not a slavish follower and produce a series of detailed commentar-
of Aristotle, then at least strongly influenced ies on various elements of the Organon, in
by him in his consideration of the soul and particular On the Heavens, Metaphysics and
the intellect, and also language and logic. Al- De Anima. Sometimes called the last Aristo-
Farabi also produced a notable commentary telian in the Islamic world, Ibn Rushd may
on Aristotles ethics. But Platonic influences also have been the truest. When he sets out
are strong as well. And in his famous al-Ma- to rebut al-Ghazali in his Tahafut al-Tahafut
dina al-fadila (The Virtuous City), although (The Incoherence of the Incoherence), he is
there are obvious influences of Aristotles using Aristotelian tools to make his argu-
Politics, the dominant influences are Pla- ment; but in using these, he also has at times
tonic. As with al-Kindi, al-Farabi seeks to use to rebut Ibn Sina. And because al-Ghazali
the classical philosophers to justify the posi- himself was quite familiar with Aristotelian
tions he advances himself, rather than being concepts, Ibn Rushd finds himself in agree-
concerned to interpret them accurately or to ment with the scholar he has set out to
discover their own original intentions. This is refute.
even more true of other scholars such as Ibn From this point on the study of Aristo-
Sina, whose references to Aristotle are often tle went into a decline, his works and ideas
casual at best; some of the passages to which only being revived by those who wished
Ibn Sina refers in Aristotle are not actually to to attack them, such as Ibn Kammuna or
be found in the latters works. al-Suhrawardi. However, the Islamic
This is important because of the influ- commentators on Aristotle did leave a last-
ence that both al-Farabi and Ibn Sina had ing legacy in their influence on Christian
over subsequent generations of scholars, not Europe, where their works were studied
just in the Islamic world but also, under the by scholars such as Albertus Magnus and
names Alfarabus and Avicenna, in Christian Thomas Aquinas.
Europe. But the Aristotelian tradition that
later scholars would followand that others Further Reading
such as al-Ghazali would criticizeis not Abed, S., Aristotelian Logic and the Arabic
the ideas of Aristotle himself, but the ideas of Language in Alfarabi, Albany: State
these interpreters of him, in which Aristote- University of New York Press, 1991.
lian thought is often inextricably mixed with Atyiyeh, G., Al-Kindi: the Philosopher of
Platonism, Neoplatonism, kalam, and, in the the Arabs, Karachi: al-Karimi, 1996.
case of Ibn Sina, older Persian and Indian Al-Farabi, Abu Nasr, Kitab al-Huruf (The
concepts. The time of al-Farabi and Ibn Sina Book of Letters), ed. M. Mahdi, Beirut:
was an immense melting pot of ideas, and Dar al-Mashriq, 1969.
Greek philosophy was just one of several Gutas, D., Avicenna and the Aristotelian
ingredients in that pot. Tradition, Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1988.
28
AL-ASAMM
Leaman, O., Averroes and His Philosophy, in scholars circles as the third teacher
Oxford: Clarendon, 1988. (muallim al-thalith). His studies on Chris-
Peters, F., Aristoteles Arabus, Leiden: E.J. tianity and Judaism made him quite distinct
Brill, 1968. from his fellow scholars.
Asad Afandi wrote all of his works in
andreas soler Arabic. His most important contribution
to Islamic thought is his work al-Talim al-
Thalith, which is a translation into Arabic
of Ioannis Kottinius Greek commentary and
summary of Aristotles Physics. This work
ASAD AFANDI OF YANYA (d. 1143/1730) has not yet been edited and published; there
are only manuscripts in various Istanbul
Asad Afandi was born in Yanya (Jannina). libraries. His other work is Tarjuma Sharh
His exact birth date is not known. He died al-Enver, which is a translation into Arabic
in Istanbul in 1143/1730. His father was Ali of Kottinius Greek commentary on Aristo-
and his grandfather Osman. He belongs to tles Categories, Peri Hermeneias, Analytica
the generation of Greek-Muslim scholars. In Priora, and Analytica Posteriora. This work
Yanya, he attended the courses of Mehmed also has not yet been edited or published.
Afandi, Mfti of Yanya. He also became His book, al-Risala al-lahutiyya, which
a pupil of brahim Afandi, a well-known has again not yet been published, provides
local scholar. In 1098/1686, Asad Afandi proofs for the existence of God. He also
started medrese education in Istanbul. In wrote marginal commentaries (hashiya) on
the medrese, along with the Islamic sciences al-Ijis Sharh al-hanafiyya, which was named
such as kalam and fiqh, he mastered the al-Hashiya fathiyya ala al-sharh al-hanafiyya
rational sciences such as logic, philosophy, li al-risala al-adudiyya.
mathematics, and astronomy. His native
tongue was Greek, but he was well versed in Further Reading
Turkish, Arabic, Latin, and Persian. Having Advar, A. Adnan, Osmanl Trklerinde
graduated from the medrese, Asad Afandi lim (The Sciences in Ottoman Turkey),
was appointed as a professor (mderris) to Istanbul: Remzi Kitapevi, 1970.
Sleyman Aa Medresesi in 1111/1699. Up Sarkavak, Kazm, Yanyal Esad Efendi,
to 1132/1720 he lectured in various Istanbul Ankara: T.C. Kltr Bakanl Yaynlar,
medreses, and was then appointed a judge 1997.
(kad) of Galata in 1138/1725. He was also
a member of the Naqshibandiya order. adnan aslan
To bring about a renewal of the Ottoman
education system in the eighteenth century,
Damat brahim Paa of Nevehir instituted
three boards of translators of Persian, Ara- AL-ASAMM (d. 2001/81617)
bic, and Greek. Asad Afandi was head of
the board of Greek. He translated some of Abu Bakr Abd al-Rahman b. Kisan, known
Aristotles books from Greek into Arabic. as al-Asamm, the deaf, was a well-known
In his translation of Aristotle, Asad Afandi judge and theologian. The date of his birth
sometimes put forward his own opinion and is unknown but he died in 2001/816
even pointed out some of what he took to be 17. Although he is usually regarded as a
the mistakes of Ibn Rushd. Because of his Mutazilite, the biographers of this school
translation of Aristotle, he became famous hardly mention him and he was not ranked
29
AL-ASAMM
in any of the Mutazilite tabaqat, orders, interpretations and not given an incorrect
or categories of thinkers. It seems that they theological analysis.
considered him an outsider probably because The greatest contribution of al-Asamm,
of his association with the Ibadiya group, a however, seems to be his application of the
Kharijite sect. However, the Ibadiya do not concept of consensus in his political and
mention him among their theologians either. juristic thought. Consensus in the time of
Van Ess (1991) gives some possible reasons al-Asamm did not yet have the juristic state
for his rejection by the Mutazilites. Few of meaning the consensus of the ulama or
details are available on his life. It seems that scholars; it meant the consensus of the Muslim
no source recorded any of his personal details, community. In his theory of the imamate he
beyond the fact that he lived most of his life thinks that the caliph can only be legitimate if
in Basra. Some sources mention his journeys elected by the community and the community
to Madain, Wasit, and even to India. must elect someone who is able and willing to
Nevertheless, al-Asamm was apparently face the entailed responsibility. He also rejects
considered to be an important jurist and the concept of kingship which seemed to be
theologian in his time. Ibn al-Nadim men- the basis of the Abbasids as well as the pre-
tions some twenty-six books which he com- ceding dynasty. Later he modified this theory
posed, while others consider him to have to lay emphasis on the form of government
been the first theologian in Basra to have rather than on the concentration of authority
written at length. Unfortunately, none of his in the person of the caliph. Harun al-Rashid
books have survived, apart from fragments was influenced by this theory when he divided
which have been found in other works. up his empire among his sons. As for his posi-
Some sources report a cosmological theory tion on the issue of the first righteous caliph,
of his which probably caused some conflict al-Asamm considers Ali to have had no right
with the Mutazilites, who believed that the to lead his community into war without a
origin of all things is analyzable by a theory consensus. This position obviously made him
of atoms and accidents; he believed instead unpopular among the Mutazilites, who tend
in the unified nature of things. All material to take a Shii position on this issue.
things consist of solid bodies which are not As a judge, al-Asamm had a recognized
susceptible to change and movement from position; he was a strong supporter of qiyas
any external accident entering into them (reasoning by analogy) and seems to have
and causing them to be active. Instead they made a substantial contribution to this prin-
contain within themselves their change and ciple. His main juristic position, however,
movement; nothing influences them from lies in his placing the basis of judgment on
outside. Abu al-Hudhayl severely criticized the rational opinion of the judge. Truth, for
this theory and considered it absurd, saying him, has its own proof in itself and is clear to
bodies are clearly influenced by the circum- everyone, rather than needing the support of
stances around them: a body feels more pain scripture. A judge who presents a false judg-
when it receives 100 lashes than 80 and ment is one who is not able to perceive the
therefore it is influenced by outside changes. truth or think independently (be a mujtahid),
In regard to this point, however, al-Asamm and therefore should not have qualified as a
considers that humans possess free will as judge. Beside the rationality of the judge, al-
part of their nature which is received from Asamm makes the condition that his judg-
God before the act and not as an accident. ment should be accepted through a consen-
Moreover, al-Jubbai says about his Quran sus of other qualified persons.
interpretation that al-Asamm should have Al-Asamms theories seem to be all based
restricted himself to juristic and linguistic on his cosmological theory which argues that
30
AL-ASHARI
there is a unity in the nature of things. This studied hadith (prophetic traditions) and fiqh
theory supports his juristic and political con- (Islamic law) with different scholars at Basra.
cept of consensus which considers truth to be At around 300/912 when he was a lead-
comprehensible to everyone, for it entails that ing defender of the Mutazilite school and a
the majority will not agree on a false judgment possible successor of Jubbai, Ashari left the
since their nature is rational, with the feature Mutazilite school and declared that he had
of free will. A human being knows through his joined the people of tradition (ahl al-sunna)
nature what is good and what is evil and the and accepted the belief of the salaf (ances-
community will not give their consensus to an tors) represented by such figures as Ahmad b.
evil judgment. Although many of these con- Hanbal and other scholars of the prophetic
cepts are close to Mutazilite rationalism, al- traditions. There are several reports about
Asamm seems not to be concerned about other the reason for this conversion. According to
Mutazilite concepts and composed his theories one report, the Prophet appeared to him sev-
according to his own beliefs. Consequently, this eral times during the month of Ramadan and
brought him beyond the Mutazili school. commanded him to follow the prophetic tra-
ditions and defend the doctrines related in the
Further Reading traditions. According to another report, his
Abd al-Jabbar, Fadl al-itizal wa tabaqat discussion with Jubbai on the fate of three
al-mutazila, Tunis: al-Dar al-tunisiyya brothers, of whom one died as a pious man,
li-nashr, 1974. the other as a wicked man, and the last as a
Van Ess, J., Theologie und Gesellschaft im child, is the reason for his abandonment of
2. und 3. Jahrhundert Hidschra, Berlin the Mutazila. After his conversion, Ashari
and New York: Walter de Gruyter, 1991, went to Baghdad where he spent the rest of his
vol. 2, pp. 398422. life. There he participated in debates with the
Mutazilites, Christians, Jews, and Magians.
maha el-kaisy He also continued writing a number of works
and teaching students. Abul Hasan al-Bahili,
Ibn Mujahid al-Tai, Bundar b. Husayn al-Shi-
razi, and Abu Zayd al-Marwazi were some of
his most important students.
AL-ASHARI, Abul Hasan Although he had a deep knowledge of dif-
(260324/873935) ferent branches of the Islamic sciences, Ashari
became famous in the field of theology. Oppos-
Abul Hasan Ali b. Ismail al-Ashari was ing the rationalism of the Mutazila, Ashari
born at Basra around 260/873 and died in first declared that he followed the fideism of
Baghdad in 324/935. He was a founder of Ahmad b. Hanbal, then he tried to support
one of the main theological schools within his beliefs with rational arguments. Although
Islam which bears his name. Abul Hasan, there were some thinkers in the Sunni tradi-
as he was known, was a descendant of Abu tion who tried to apply rational arguments
Musa al-Ashari, a well-known companion of in defense of religious doctrine before him,
the Prophet. There is not much information Ashari, with the help of his Mutazilite back-
about his life. His father died when al-Ashari ground, used this method in a more success-
was very young. When his mother married ful way. The Quran, which is Gods eternal
Abu Ali al-Jubbai, a well-known Mutazilite speech, is uncreated. Attributes of action such
theologian and head of the school at Basra, as creating and sustaining are not eternal,
Ashari was raised by Jubbai, who intro- otherwise the eternity of the world must be
duced him to Mutazilite theology. He also accepted, which is impossible.
31
AL-ASHARI
For Ashari the nature of Gods face, of his critical discussion of the names and the attri-
hand or of his sitting on the throne cannot butes of God. It was probably written during
be known. Ashari does not interpret these his Mutazilite period and then slightly mod-
expressions, but thinks that they cannot be ified. This work became a model for similar
taken literally, for God is not a corporeal works produced afterward. In the al-Luma
being. Similarly, for him, God will be seen (The Lights), he discusses such issues as Gods
in the world to come, but since he is not cor- attributes, determination (qadar), and other
poreal, the exact nature of this vision cannot dogmatic issues. In the al-Ibana an usul al-
be known. For Ashari, human actions are diyana (The Elucidation of Islamic Founda-
willed and created by God through a power tions), he again discusses theological issues.
created in man before each act. As a result of In the Risala fi istihsan al-hawd fi ilm al-ka-
this power, the human being is responsible lam (Treatise on the Permissibility of Deal-
for his actions. Actions are good or bad not ing with the Science of Kalam), he defends
in themselves but because of the will of God. the use of kalam and its rational methods.
There does not have to be a wise purpose In the Risala ila ahl al-saghr (Treatise to the
behind these actions, for nothing can necessi- People of Saghr), he gives a list of dogmatic
tate Gods acting in that way. Ashari accepts principles that the salaf agreed on.
the atomism of the Mutazilite school. Abul Hasan al-Ashari represented a
Atoms can come together and produce bod- turning point in the history of Sunni Islam.
ies only through the will and power of God. The school that was founded by him became
As a result of Gods grace, he can choose any one of the mainstream theological schools
human being as prophet. For Ashari mira- of Sunni Islam. Although on some issues his
cles are the most important indication of the views were modified, the later representa-
truthfulness of the prophet. tives of the school mainly followed his views
Eschatological issues can only be known and defended their rational basis.
through revelation, though their reality can-
not be rejected rationally. Faith consists of BIBLIOGRAPHY
acceptance and does not include outward Risala fi istihsan al-hawd fi ilm al-kalam
expression. Although a sinner is liable to (Treatise on the Permissibility of Dealing
punishment, he or she remains a believer. with the Science of Kalam), ed. and
Human beings do not receive rewards as trans. R. McCarthy in The Theology of
a result of good action but because of the al-Ashari, Beirut: Imprimerie Catholique,
grace of God. Ashari thinks that the caliph- 1953.
ate is founded on the selection of the com- Al-Luma (The Lights), ed. and trans. R.
munity, not on the determination of author- McCarthy in The Theology of al-Ashari,
ity. Asharis views were developed and in Beirut: Imprimerie Catholique, 1953.
some cases modified by later representatives Maqalat al-islamiyyin (Accounts of the
of his school. Muslims), ed. H. Ritter, Wiesbaden:
Ashari produced a number of works in Franz Steiner, 1963.
different branches of the Islamic sciences, Al-Ibana an usul al-diyana (The Elucidation
though only a few of them have come down of Islamic Foundations), ed. F. H. Mahmud,
to us. His Maqalat al-islamiyyin (Accounts Cairo, 1987; trans. W. Klein, New Haven,
of the Muslims) may be considered his mas- American Oriental Society, 1940.
terpiece. In this work, he first, gives an objec- Risala ila ahl al-saghr (Treatise to the
tive account of the views of the Muslim sects; People of Saghr) (Usul Ahl al-Sunna wal
then he gives the views of non-Muslim sects Jamaa), ed. M. S. al-Jalyand, Cairo:
and of the philosophers; and finally he gives a Kulliyya Dar al-Ulum, 1987.
32
AL-ASHKIWARI
Further Reading commentators and interpreters continued

Watt, W. Montgomery, The Formative to argue over what he meant. Nevertheless,
Period of Islamic Thought, Oxford: Ashariyya quickly rose to become the prom-
Oneworld, 1988. inent school of theology in the Sunni tradi-
tion, and most of the great Sunni thinkers
muammer skenderolu and philosophers of succeeding generations
had some training in Asharite theology.
Further Reading
Ashariyya Gimaret, D., La doctrine dal-Ashari, Paris:
Editions du Cerf, 1990.
The Sunni theological school known as Watt, W. Montgomery, The Formative
Ashariyaa was founded in Basra early in Period of Islamic Thought, Oxford:
the fourth/tenth century by Abul Hasan Oneworld, 1988.
al-Ashari. Al-Ashari had been trained in
the Mutazilite school by his stepfather and oliver leaman
tutor, the leading Mutazilite theologian Abu
Ali al-Jubbai, but shortly before the lat-
ters death in 303/915 he announced that he
had undergone a change of views. He began AL-ASHKIWARI, Aqa Mirza Hashim
teaching his own brand of beliefs, based on a (d. 1332 or 1333/1914 or 1915)
return to hadith and other Islamic traditions,
criticizing the Mutazilites for having moved Mirza Hashim b. Hasan b. Muhammad Ali
away from what he perceived to be their al-Ashkiwari was from the Gilan region of
Islamic roots. In particular, in the debate on Iran. Ashkiwari studied with the famous
revelation and reason that would rumble on philosophers and teachers of his time, Aqa
through Islamic philosophy and theology for Muhammad Rida Qumshai and Abul-Hasan
centuries, al-Ashari insisted on the primacy Jilwah. His major impact came through his
of revelation over reason. teaching.
Al-Ashari and his followers did not differ Al-Ashkiwari has written glosses on the
from the Mutazilites in all areas. There was major texts of traditional philosophy, includ-
common ground over cosmology, for exam- ing Ibn al-Arabis Fusus al-hikam (Bezels
ple, and the Asharites accepted the atomistic of Wisdom), Ibn Turka Isfahanis Tamhid
account of creation given by the Mutazilites. al-qawaid (Arrangement of Principles), and
The primary differences lay in the nature Mulla Sadras Al-Asfar al-arbaa (The Four
of essences and the knowledge of God. Al- Journeys). He has also written a long gloss
Ashari denied that God has a corporeal (taliqa) on Fenaris famous book Misbah al-
body, and lacking this, He cannot be seen or uns. Like many teachers of his time, he trained
known; at least, not in this world. Similarly, a number of famous scholars and teachers.
the will of God cannot be fully understood. Among these, Sayyid Abul-Hasan Qazwini
God is under no obligation to mankind to (d. 1396/1975) should be mentioned.
account for his actions, and although human Al-Ashkiwaris legacy of teaching and
beings are responsible for their actions, it commenting upon the classical texts of tra-
is the will of God that determines whether ditional philosophy has continued with such
these actions are good or bad. figures of contemporary Persia as Muham-
Al-Asharis philosophy and theology are mad Husayn Tabatabai and Sayyid Jalal al-
not always clear, and centuries of succeeding Din Ashtiyani.
33
AL-ASKARI
Further Reading Saduqi Soha, M., Tarikh-i hukama

Saduqi Soha, M., Tarikh-i Hukama wa urafa-yi mutaakhkhir, Tehran:
wa Urafa-yi Mutaakhkhir, Tehran: Intisharati Hikmat, 2002.
Intisharati Hikmat, 2002.
oliver leaman
ibrahim kalin
AL-ASKARI, Abu Hilal al-Hasan

ASHTIYANI, Mirza Mahdi
(d. late 4th century/early eleventh century)
(130672/18881952)
Abu Hilal al-Hasan b. Abd Allah al-Askari
Ashtiyani was born in Tehran in 1306/1888
was born in Askar Mukram, Ahwaz, Iran.
and was first educated by his father in the
He obviously felt himself to have fallen
religious sciences. He also studied medi-
on hard times, since he was of royal birth
cine and mathematics, and went on to fur-
(according to him) but was obliged to make
ther training in Iraq in theology and juris-
a living through dealing in cloth. He was
prudence with Sayyid Muhammad Kazim
a poet and literary critic, and his views on
Yazdi. He returned to Iran and taught in
poetry and language are interesting. His
Qom, Isfahan, and Mashhad before return-
Sanat al-kalam (Construction of Speech)
ing to Tehran, which was to be his base for
spends much of its time dealing with the
the rest of his life until his death there in
issue of the miraculous nature of the text of
1372/1952.
the Quran, but the discussion is also useful
Ashtiyani had a good deal of influence
in revealing how he thinks language oper-
with his commentaries on the two lead-
ates, in particular in its poetic forms. The
ing thinkers of the time in Persia, Mulla
Diwan al-maani (Compilation of Mean-
Sadra and Sabziwari. These are far from
ings) is a careful analysis of the different
just being commentaries, though, and often
poetic devices in operation and how they
contain long discussions which represent
work, and indeed which are more successful
Ashtiyanis own views, and these reveal a
than others, and why.
careful and revealing analysis of the issues
raised by the original author. His empha-
sis was generally on the mystical side of BIBLIOGRAPHY
the philosophical divide, and his influence Diwan al-maani, Cairo, 1933.
on his many students can be observed by Al-Sinaatayn, ed. Muhammad Ali
the many references in their works to him. al-Bajadi and Muhammad Abu al-Fadl
Most modern Iranian philosophers were Ibrahim, Cairo: Dar ihya al-kutub
taught by him. al-Arabiyya, 1952.
Further Reading Further Reading

Mohaghegh, M. et al. (eds), Ashtiyani, Kanazi, G., Studies in the Kitab
Commentary on Sabziwars Sharh as-Sinaatayn of Abu Hilal al-Askari,
al-manzumah, Tehran: McGill University Leiden: Brill, 1989.
Institute of Islamic Studies, Tehran
Branch, 1973. oliver leaman
34
ATHIR AL-DIN MUFADDAL IBN UMAR AL-ABHARI
al-Asqalani, Abu l-Husayn ATHIR AL-DIN MUFADDAL IBN

al-Malati,see al-Malati UMAR AL-ABHARI (c. 597663/120064)
Athir al-Din al-Abhari, an Islamic scholar of

the seventh/thirteenth century, was born in
the city of Mosul sometime around the year
ASSAR, Sayyid Muhammad Kazim 597/1200. Scant biographical details of his
(130296/18841975) life are known, except that he did study phi-
losophy under Kamal al-Din ibn Yunus and
Assar came from a distinguished Tehran Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, and is considered to
family and was educated by his father be one of Fakhr al-Dins most outstanding
in the religious sciences. He went on to pupils. Athir al-Din himself had many stu-
acquire a sound secular education and dents, the most famous being Najm al-Din
moved to teach science, mathematics, and Ali ibn Umar al-Katibi al-Qazwini.
French in Tabriz. Here Assar came under Athir al-Dins chief contribution to Islamic
the influence of Thaqat al-Islam Tabrizi, philosophy consisted of his compositions
with whom he discussed Mulla Sadra. of popular philosophical works that were
When Thaqat was killed, Assar went to widely used in the instruction of students of
Europe, and became fully aware of the sort Islamic philosophy for centuries. His immedi-
of work that was being carried out there in ate students, contemporaries, and subsequent
philosophy, knowledge of which was rare Islamic philosophers, such as Mulla Sadra,
in Iran at the time. On his return he spent authored numerous commentaries on his
time in Najaf and then Tehran, teaching at works. His most influential work, the Kitab
the Sipahsalar school both jurisprudence Hidaya al-hikma {Guide to Philosophy}, is
and philosophy, the latter mostly dealing an encyclopedia of philosophy divided into
with Sabziwari and his Sharh al-man- logic, physics, and metaphysics. For centuries,
zuma. He also taught at Tehran University, madrasas throughout Persia and the Indian
where he was professor of Islamic philoso- subcontinent used this work as a basic book
phy. Although he had a good knowledge of philosophical instruction. Scholars today,
of Western thought, he did not use this particularly in India, still utilize Mulla Sadras
in his discussion of Islamic philosophy, popular commentary on this work, the Sharh
being more interested in taking a mystical al-hidaya, in philosophical instruction.
approach to the main philosophical texts Another important and influential work
he considered. As a distinguished and ener- that merits mentioning is his treatise on logic
getic teacher he had a considerable influ- entitled Isaghuji fil-mantiq {Introduction to
ence on his many students, and played a Logic}. This work, a general survey of logic,
role in making philosophy such a persis- played an important role in the transmission of
tent stream in modern Persian culture. the science of logic, especially as systematized
by Ibn Sina and his followers, to later Islamic
Further Reading philosophers. Like the Kitab al-Hidaya, its
Ashtiyani, S., Majmua-yi athari Assar, popularity resulted in multiple reprints and
Tehran: Intisharat-i Amir Kabir, 1376 ah. it was the subject of numerous commentar-
Saduqi Soha, M., Tarikh-i hukama ies. Other works of note include the Tan-
wa urafa-yi mutaakhkhir, Tehran: zil al-afkar, a treatise on logic commented
Intisharati Hikmat, 2002. upon by Nasir al-Din al-Tusi; the Kitab al-
Isharat, modeled after Ibn Sinas work of the
oliver leaman same name; the Kitab al-Mahsul, modeled on
35
ATIF EFENDI
Ibn Sinas pupil Bahmanyars work Kitab to Istanbul, he resumed his teaching position.
al-Tahsil; and the Kashf al-Haqaiq (fi tahrir al- In 1919, he founded, with Mustafa Sabri
daqaiq) {Unveiling of Metaphysical Realities}, Efendi and Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, an
which was organized into sections on logic, association to defend the rights of madrasa
metaphysics, then physics. This latter work teachers. Its name was later changed to Tea-
shows strong affinities with Suhrawardis li-i slam (The Exaltation of Islam). When
Illuminationist philosophy, with its sections Mustafa Sabri became the last shaykh al-
on eschatology in fact being reproductions of Islam of the Ottoman Empire, Atf Efendi
passages written by Suhrawardi himself. became the president of the association.
Atf Efendi fought against the rampant
BIBLIOGRAPHY Westernization of his time even before the
Isagoge, breve introductorium arabum in establishment of the modern Turkish Repub-
scientiam logicae, cum versione Latina, lic in 1923. He wrote a number of articles
trans. Thomas Novariensis, Rome, 1625. and short treatises on such issues as national
Al-Abharis Isaghuji fil-mantiq, trans. independence, religious law and womens
Edwin Calverly, in D. B. Macdonald dress, and drinking alcohol. Like his con-
Memorial Volume, Princeton: Princeton temporary Islamists, he fought for an Islamic
University Press, 1933. revival and sought to curb the cultural influ-
ences of modern Europe.
brian thomas
What made Atf Efendi one of the best-
known figures of the early Republican era was
a little book he published in 1924 under the
title Frenk Mukallitlii ve apka (Imitating
ATIF EFENDI, Iskilipli (18761926) the Franks and the Hat). The book was writ-
ten to discuss the religious status of wearing
The famous Ottoman scholar and Isla- the Western hat, which Atf had opposed as
mist thinker Iskilipli Atf Efendi, who was a form of acculturation and Westernization.
executed for opposing the hat revolution Atfs life took a dramatic turn when a law
introduced by Atatrk, was born in skilip, was introduced in 1925 making the wearing
orum. He started his early education in of modern French-style hat obligatory for all
his hometown and came to Istanbul. He fin- adult males in the country.
ished his studies in 1902 and was appointed Faced with protests, the new government
professor (mderris) at the Fatih mosque. responded with an iron fist and dozens were
He received his degree from the Divinity executed for opposing the law. It was during
School, Istanbul University. After a period this time that Atf was arrested on charges
of political exile in Crimea, he returned to of provoking the people against the state
Istanbul and became the director general of through his book published a year earlier. He
the madrasa school system in Turkey. He was sentenced to death by the famous Inde-
wrote op-ed pieces in such Islamist journals pendence Courts. His sentence was carried
as Sebilr-read and Beyanl-hak. out on February 4, 1926. His execution con-
Atf Efendi was elected to parliament tinues to be remembered as one of the brutal
before the declaration of the new Republic. acts of the new Republic.
He was arrested after the so-called March 31
event of 1909, when a major revolt erupted BIBLIOGRAPHY
against the Union and Progress Party. Atf Din-i slamda Men-i Mskirat (The Pro
was released shortly thereafter, and was sent hibition of Alcoholic Beverages in Islam),
into exile for a second time. Upon his return Istanbul: Matbaa-i Amire, 1340 ah.
36
ATTAR
Frenk Mukallitlii ve apka (Imitating the God shapes and reshapes the world accord-
Franks and the Hat), Istanbul: Kader ing to his will. The natural necessity of the
Yaynevi, 1924. Greeks is substituted for a doctrine of con-
slam Yolu. (The Path of Islam), Istanbul: tinuous creation.
Evkaf-i Islamiye Matbaas, 1959. Followers of falsafa continued to reject this
slam Fkh (Islamic Jurisprudence), ed. view. Prominent among these was al-Kindi,
M. H. Gven, Istanbul: Nehir Yaynlar, who believed that there was no evidence
1994. for the existence of atoms. He and others
argued that the only indivisible substance is
Further Reading God, the First Cause, and all other causes
Sadk Hocaolu (ed.), skilipli Atf Efendi and effects stem from him. Al-Kindi did not
ve Tm Eserleri, Istanbul: Aratrma deny divine omnipotence, but he saw divine
Yaynlar, n.d. power as acting on the world and creation in
a different way.
ibrahim kalin
Further Reading
al-Ghazali, Tahafut al-falasifah (The
Incoherence of the Philosophers), trans.
S. Van den Bergh, London: Luzac,
Atomism 1954.
Atyiyeh, G., al-Kindi: the Philosopher of
Atomism refers to the theory that matter, the Arabs, Karachi: al-Karimi, 1966.
space, and time can all be divided into atoms,
and that the act of creation requires that oliver leaman
God bring these atoms together in whatever
form He so chooses. Atomism enters Islamic
thought early on. The influences here are
Indian, by way of Persia. The Mutazilites
espoused a form of atomism, which was ATTAR (c. 11171231)
also taken up by al-Ashari, who argued
that the will and power of God brings atoms Farid al-Din Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Ishaq
together to form bodies. Kadkani, known as Attar (the pharmacist),
Atomism became an important weapon was born in the eastern part of Iran near the
in the armory of the followers of kalam modern city of Nayshabur. It is known that
against those of falsafa. The latter, drawing he lived a very long life and survived the
on Greek philosophy, proposed Aristotelian Mongol invasion of Persia. Attar studied
concepts of matter and form, leading them Sufism and Islamic sciences with Qutb al-Din
to suggest that the world was eternal. This Haydar, Ruk al-Din Akaf Nayshaburi, Majd
was perceived by kalam philosophers as a al-Din Baghdadi, and, the most famous of
challenge to divine omnipotence. Their argu- them all, the founder of the Kubrawiyyah
ment concerning all created matter was that, Sufi order, Najm al-Din Kobra.
in the words of al-Ghazali, the connection While it is not entirely known whether
in these things is based on a prior power of Attar was affiliated with a particular Sufi
God to create them in successive order. In order, authoritative textual evidence indicates
other words, instead of a timeless and eter- that he may have belonged to the Kubrawi-
nal world, in fact all of time and space are in yyah order. His interest in Sufism and its
a process of continuous shift and change as preferred venue of expression poetry has
37
Averroism
overshadowed Attars mastery of such fields Attars others works treat a wide
as philosophy, theology, and other branches range of topics pertaining to philosophi-
of the Islamic sciences. Even though a num- cal Sufism. They include Khusraw Namah
ber of his works were destroyed during the (Treatise on Khusraw), Hylaj Namah (Let-
Mongol invasion of Persia, those that remain ter on Hallaj), Tadkirat al-Uliyya (Biog-
provide us with a picture of his encyclopedic raphy of the Sages), The Substance of
knowledge of the intellectual sciences of his Essence, Treatise on Secrets, Treatise on
time. Advice, Treatise on the Camel, Opening of
Attars major achievements are his exten- the Openings, Headless Letter, Treatise on
sive commentaries on the esoteric intricacies Catharsis, Treatise on the Nightingale, The
of the spiritual path. He discusses the dan- Unveiled, Treatise on Unity, Directives
gers and pitfalls of the Sufi path and offers on Spiritual Guidance, Commentary on
specific guidance on ascetic practices, and the Heart, Treatise on Ascendance, Thirty
how to accomplish states and stations of Chapters on Wisdom, Collected Works of
wisdom. These spiritual instructions rever- Poetry, The Unveiling of the Wonders and
berate poetically throughout his works. The Letter on Free Will. In the introduc-
Attar poetically treated many of the cen- tion to The Letter on Free Will, Attar tells
tral problems in philosophy that his prede- us this work consists of five thousand
cessors had dealt with discursively. Prob- poems, only a fraction of which have
lems such as how multiplicity came from survived.
unity, knowledge of Divine attributes, the
ineffability of the knowledge of God, and BIBLIOGRAPHY
the function of the intellect are among his The Conference of the Birds, trans. A.
topics. Attar belongs to a group of philoso- Darbandi and D. Davis, London: Penguin
pher-poets who used symbolism and poetic Books, 1984. For a more scholarly
imagery to elaborate on traditional philo- translation see The Speech of the Birds,
sophical problems. This tradition may have trans. P. Avery, London: Islamic Text
begun with Plato himself, but it changes Society, 1998. Excerpts have been
in the Islamic tradition where we see dia- translated by A. Schimmel, Mystical
logues not among humans but animals and Dimensions of Islam, University of North
nature. Carolina Press, 1975.
A brief survey of the titles of Attar
clearly indicates why he should be regarded Further Reading
as a forerunner in the field of philosophy Lewisohn, L. (ed.), The Heritage of Sufism:
of literature. Twenty-four treatises of Attar Classical Persian Sufism from Its Origin
have survived. They include Mantiq al-tayr to Rumi, Oxford: OneWorld, 1999.
(The Language of the Birds), which is writ-
ten entirely in poetry. Speaking through a mehdi aminrazavi
group of birds looking for the archetypal
bird, the griffin (simurgh), Attar treats the
problem of how multiplicity came from
unity. In his Musibat Namah (Treatise on
Tragedy), Attar discusses the subject of the Averroism
spiritual journey of a seeker who ascends
to different stages of the spiritual path The term Averroism refers to the reception
and witnesses the inhabitants of Hell and of the thought of Ibn Rushd (known in the
Heaven. Latin world as Averroes) among medieval
38
AZRAF
Christian and, to a lesser extent, Jewish support. In the fourteenth century, Dante
philosophers and theologians. It was not assigned to Siger a place in Paradise, along-
strictly speaking an Islamic philosophy, but side Thomas Aquinas. The latter has also
was strongly inspired by Islamic thought. It sometimes been accused of Averroist tenden-
is sometimes also known as radical Aristo- cies in his bid to harmonize faith and reason,
telianism. Averroism made its first appear- and over the next several centuries, Averro-
ance around the 1230s, and reached its high- ism became a label used by many religious
water mark in Paris in the 1270s, where a authorities when attacking philosophy, with
group of scholars centered on Siger of Bra- strong connotations of heresy. The episode
bant and Boethius of Dacia propounded a remains of interest, primarily because of the
series of doctrines drawn from translations similarities between this conflict between rea-
of Ibn Rushds writings on Aristotle. son and faith in the Christian world and the
There were three principal features to near-contemporaneous debate on the subject
twelfth-century Averroism. The first, mon- taking place in the Islamic world.
opsychism, or the view that human intellects
are shared rather than separate and distinct, Further Reading
led to the accusation that the Averroists were Hayoun, M-R., and Libera, A. de, Averroes
promoting a double truth thesis, arguing et lAverrosme, Paris: Presses Universitaire
that there is a philosophical truth and a reli- de France, 1991.
gious truth which do not necessarily coin- Sirat, C., A History of Jewish Philosophy in
cide. Second, they promoted the idea that the Middle Ages, Cambridge: Cambridge
perfect happiness is attainable on Earth; one University Press, 1985.
need not wait for the afterlife. Third, they
followed the notion of the Islamic falasifa oliver leaman
that the world is eternal and everlasting. All
three of these notions were bitterly attacked
by the religious authorities; as in Islam, the
notion of an eternal world was said to cast AZRAF, Dewan Muhammad
doubt on divine omnipotence. (190699)
Jewish Averrosm took a slightly different
turn. Here, writers such as Joseph ibn Caspi Dewan Muhammad Azraf was born in a feu-
and Moses of Narbonne looked less at cre- dal family on October 25, 1906 at Tegharia
ation and eternity and focused more on the in the district of Sunamganj, Sylhet. He died
idea of the double truth. They found a rather on November 1, 1999 in Dhaka.
more harmonious solution, working out His family members were significant
methods of reconciling religious with philo- figures in local mystical circles. Hasan Raja
sophical truth, rather than trying to claim (18541922), one of the most celebrated
the primacy of one over the other. However, mystic bards of the Indian subcontinent,
their ideas had little impact outside the Jew- who substantially contributed to Bengali lit-
ish intellectual milieu. erature with mystical songs, was his mater-
The Christian Averroists, including both nal grandfather. Though born and brought
Siger and Boethius, were purged from the up in a feudal family, Azraf never had a feu-
University of Paris by Bishop Etienne Tempier dalistic life; he removed Chowdhury from
in 1277 as part of a wider attack on philoso- the title of his full name, Dewan Muhammad
phers who deviated from religious orthodoxy. Azraf Chowdhury.
Both men ended their days in obscurity. How- A versatile thinker, Azraf passed matric-
ever, Averroist doctrines continued to enjoy ulation with distinction from Calcutta
39
AZRAF
University in 1925, BA with distinction in and the goodwill of Islam. He participated

Persian in 1930, and MA in philosophy from in a philosophical congress in New Delhi in
Dhaka University in 1932. A prominent 1961, where he presented his paper on The
teacher of Islamic philosophy at Abudharr Teachings of Morality. He also participated
Gifari College and Dhaka University, Azraf in the International Religious Foundation for
had great organizational skills and held World Peace in Seoul in 1984, where he pre-
many public and private offices, including sented Faith and Reason in the Great Tradi-
the most prestigious position of national pro- tions, and in the International Colloquium
fessor in 1991. He was the founder-president on the Holiness of Islam and Christianity
of Bangladesh Philosophical Association and held in Rome in 1985. The last was the most
of WARM Heart. A prolific writer, Azraf fruitful, as Azraf convinced Pope John Paul
produced sixty monographs, over 1,000 II to take steps to help stop the war between
articles in Bangla and English, 109 novels, Muslims and Christians in Lebanon.
poems, songs, and ninety short stories. His Influenced by the philosophy of Allama
works range from literature, arts, music, and Muhammad Iqbal, Azraf strongly believed
religion to philosophy. As recognition of his that Islamic ideology and teaching would
outstanding contribution to Islamic philoso- bring peace and social harmony, and eradi-
phy and theology, Azraf received some forty cate corruption and all types of social exploi-
national and international awards. tation. For this, he advocated establishing
Azraf was the first Islamic thinker of Ban- an Islamic societyin his words, Islamic
gladesh who initiated the study of indigenous socialismand engaged in politics. After
thought. He was also the first to attribute founding the political party Tamuddin
philosophical significance to the thought of Mazlish in 1947, Azraf was actively asso-
those who were not within the academic cir- ciated with the party, and was its president
cle of philosophy. His significant contribu- from 1949 until his death. Many of his
tion lies in the field of Islamic esoterism. He works are also devoted to his campaign
worked from the principle that religion deals against secularism, so that Islamic socialism
with the nature of humanity and qalb (heart) could be established in two ways: through
is the source of our intuition. God should the writings of the Islamic intelligentsia and
be understood as a working hypothesis, by adopting Islamic cultures and traditions.
the knowledge of which is possible through
nature and history. His philosophy has three BIBLIOGRAPHY
main aspects: religious value, moral con- Science and Revelation, Bangladesh: Islamic
sciousness, and humanity. Foundation, 1980.
Azraf founded several research centers for Philosophy of History, Bangladesh: Islamic
the promotion and development of Islamic Foundation, 1982.
culture and religion in Bangladesh, and Islam and Humanism, Bangladesh: Islamic
devoted his whole life to humanism which Foundation, 1995.
he found in Islam. Influenced by the phi- Islamic Movement, Bangladesh: Islamic
losophy of G. C. Dev, he traveled within his Foundation, 1995.
country and abroad with the mission of pro-
moting humanism through love, fraternity, m. golam dastagir
40
B
Baba Afdal, seeAfdal al-Din became Istanbul University. He worked there
until the faculty was abolished on Ramadan
8 1352/July 1, 1933. When Istanbul Univer-
sity was re-established, he was not offered
any teaching post.
BABANZADE, Ahmed Naim Babanzade was a good translator of Ara-
(12891353/18721934) bic, Persian, and French. Through these lan-
guages he was well acquainted with Eastern
Babanzade Ahmed Naim was born in Bagh- as well as Western thought. He was well
dad in 1289/1872 and died in Istanbul on versed in Arabic and Persian literature as
Jumada al-Awwal 2 1353/August 13, 1934. well as in Turkish music. He was interested
He became well known in Turkey through in Western thought, yet at the same time he
his Turkish translation of the Mukhtasar or was highly critical of materialism, especially
compendium of the collections of hadith by Turkish materialist writers such as Tevfik
Abul Abbas Shihabuddin Ahmed b. Ahmed Fikret and Abdullah Cevdet. Displaying
b. Abdullah Zabidi. a great gift in finding Turkish equivalents
His father was Mustafa Zihni Paa, who of some Western philosophical concepts,
worked as a secretary for Mithat Paa in he showed what a meticulous translator he
Baghdad. Babanzade first attended Galat- was. He was not a prolific writer, but when
saray Sultanisi (Lye) and then Mlkiye he intended to write on an issue he always
Mektebi (School of Political Sciences). Hav- investigated thoroughly its Western as well
ing graduated from Mlkiye, he started to as Eastern sources. For instance, in order
work in the Department of Translation in to find a Turkish equivalent of the term
the Foreign Ministry between 1329/1911 method, it is said that he read a hundred
and 1330/1912. After that he became a pages from the writings of al-Farabi and
teacher of Arabic in Galatasaray Lye Ibn Sina. He translated three volumes of
between 1330/1912 and 1332/1914. He the Mukhtasar into Turkish. In this trans-
then started to work in the Department of lation he displayed great skill in finding
Translation in the Ministry of Education appropriate Turkish words equivalent to
between 1332/1914 and 1333/1915. In the Arabic words and concepts. He was
1333/1915, he started teaching philosophy, also a Sufi and a strong defender of Islamic
logic, spirituality, and morality in Darlfu- unity and brotherhood. He was an Islamist
nun Edebiyat Fakltesi (Faculty of Litera- and therefore a strong opponent of Turkish
ture of the School of Sciences), which later nationalism.
41
BADAKHSHANI
Babanzades works can be divided into Kara, smail, Trkiyede slamclk

three areas, namely, textbooks, translations, Dsncesi: Metinler/Kiiler (Islamists
and original works. While he was teaching in Turkey: Texts and Writers), Istanbul:
Arabic in Galatasaray Lye, he developed Risale, 1986.
a workbook for Arabic education, Temrinat
(Exercises) published in 1323/1905. He also adnan aslan
wrote Hikmet Dersleri (1329) (Lectures on
Wisdom) and Felsefe Dersleri (1333) (Lec-
tures on Philosophy) in the form of text-
books. Apart from his famous translation
of al-Mukhtasar he also translated some BADAKHSHANI, Sayyid Suhrab Wali
books from Western authors such as lm-i (d. after 856/1452)
Mantk (Logic) by Elie Rabier and Meba-
di-i Felsefeden lm-n Nefs (Psychology) Few biographical details are available on
by Georges Fonsgrive. His own books are Sayyid Suhrab Wali Badakhshani, the most
Ahlak- slamiyye Esaslar (The Principles of prominent Ismaili theologian and author of
Islamic Morality) published in 1340/1922 Badakhshan during the early post-Alamut
and slamda Dava-y Kavmiyet (The period, other than the brief comments found
Issue of Nationalism in Islam) published in in his sole surviving work, Si va shish sahifa
1332/1914. The former was prepared as a (Thirty-Six Epistles), a Persian Ismaili trea-
conference paper for a conference on ethics tise completed in 856/1452. It is known that
at the Hague in 1330/1912, while the latter he was born into a non-Ismaili family in the
was written to criticize nationalism accord- early decades of the ninth/fifteenth century in
ing to Islamic principles. Babanzade also Badakhshan, and spent his entire life in that
published many articles in Islamist journals mountainous region, now divided between
such as Srat- Mstakim (The Straight Path) Tajikistan and Afghanistan.
and Sebilrreat (True Path). According to the Si va shish sahifa
Babanzade Ahmed Naim as an Islamist (pp. 689), Suhrab Wali Badakhshani con-
played a significant role in molding late verted to Ismailism not long after he became
Ottoman intellectual history. His attempt to twelve years old. At the time, the Ismailis of
develop a dictionary of philosophical con- Badakhshan belonged mainly to the Muham-
cepts was significant. mad-Shahi, as distinct from the Qasim-Shahi,
branch of Nizari Ismailism, and they were
BIBLIOGRAPHY severely persecuted by the Timurid rulers
slamda Dava-y Kavmiyet (The Issue of the region. Under the circumstances, the
of Nationalism in Islam), Istanbul: Ismailis of Badakhshan observed taqiyya,
Sebilrread Mec., C.12, S.293, 10 Nisan or precautionary dissimulation, and did not
1330(1914), 11428. produce many doctrinal treatises. Badakh-
slam Ahlaknn Esaslar (The Principles of shanis Si va shish sahifa, sometimes also
Islamic Morality), Sadeletiren, ed. mer called Sahifat al-nazirin and preserved in the
Rza Dorul, stanbul: Ycel Yaynlar., manuscript collections of the Persian-speak-
1963. ing Nizari Ismailis of Central Asia, is one
of the few Ismaili works produced during
Further Reading this obscure period. As such, it is extremely
nanalp, M. Cevdet, Mderris Ahmed important for studying the medieval theo-
Naim (Lecturer Ahmed Naim), Istanbul: logical tradition of the Badakhshani Nizaris.
lk Matbaas, 1935. This syncretic tradition amalgamated the
42
BADAWI
Ismaili teachings of the Fatimid period, as Badakhshani, Sayyid Suhrab Wali,

expounded especially in the works of Nasir-i in K. Musavi Bojnurdi (ed.), The Great
Khusraw (d. after 465/1072), with Nizari Islamic Encyclopaedia, Tehran: Centre
doctrines of the Alamut period. for the Great Islamic Encyclopaedia,
Badakhshanis Si va shish sahifa deals 2003, vol. 11, pp. 5201.
with components of the Neoplatonic cos- Ivanow, I., Ismaili Literature, Tehran:
mology and other subjects found in the Ismaili Society, 1963, pp. 1634.
metaphysical systems elaborated by Abu Khayrkhwah-i Harati, Muhammad Rida,
Yaqub al -Sijistani (d. after 361/971), Kalam-i pir, ed. and trans. W. Ivanow,
Nasir-i Khusraw, and other Ismaili dais or Bombay: Islamic Research Association,
missionaries of the Iranian world, as well as 1935.
resurrection (qiyamat), Paradise, Hell, and
their tawil or Ismaili esoteric interpreta- farhad daftary
tions (pp. 4854). It also discusses prophet-
hood and imamate, mostly on the basis of
Nasir-i Khusraws ideas (pp. 7, 9, 13, 22,
30, 48, 58, 69). Badakhshani also refers to
the cyclical religious history of humankind BADAWI, Abd al-Rahman(19172002)
and the speaker-prophets of the various eras
(pp. 389), which remained a distinctive Abd al-Rahman Badawi was born on Febru-
component of the gnostic system of religious ary 4, 1917, in a village on the outskirts of
thought propounded by the earlier Ismailis. Damietta, Egypt. He studied at the Univer-
Badakhshani had access to the Ismaili sity of Cairo, later teaching there and at the
works of the Alamut period, including University of Heliopolis. He is the author of
the writings of Nasir al-Din al-Tusi (d. more than twenty-five books in Arabic and
672/1274); and he too divided humankind five in French. He is chiefly known for his
into three categories in terms of their rela- work on the history of Islamic philosophy,
tions to the Ismaili imam of the time (pp. Greek thought, and modern Arabic thought.
35, 624, 66). Badakhshanis Si va shish Badawi was admitted to the University
sahifa evidently acquired prominence in the of Cairo (then the Egyptian University)
Nizari Ismaili communities of Badakhshan in 1934, into the Faculty of Letters. There
and adjacent regions; it is, for example, cited he spent four years working with Mustafa
in the Kalam-i pir (pp. 357, 53, 10410) of Abd al-Raziq, Alexandre Koyr, Andre
Khayrkhwah-i Harati (d. after 960/1553). Lalande, Ibrahim Makdur, and Paul Kraus.
Badakhshani wrote several other doctrinal His masters thesis, written in French, was
treatises (pp. 19, 46, 55), including Raw- on the problem of death in existentialism,
dat al-mutaallimin (Paradise of Disciples), and his doctorate in Arabic dealt with time
which have not been recovered. in existentialism. Many of his works were in
this area of philosophy. His first book was
BIBLIOGRAPHY on Nietzsche. He translated Sartres Being
Si va shish sahifa (Thirty-six Epistles), ed. and Nothingness into Arabic (1965) and in
H. Ujaqi, Tehran: Ismaili Society, 1961. several of his works he explored the use of
existentialist themes in Islamic philosophy,
Further Reading including his Al-Insaniya wal-wujudiya fil-
Daftary, F., The Ismailis: Their History fikr al-islami (Humanity and Existentialism
and Doctrines, Cambridge: Cambridge in Arabic Thought) (1947) and his Al-Zaman
University Press, 1990. al-wujudi (Existential Time) (1955).
43
AL-BAGHDADI
Badawi did an enormous amount of edito- al-Labbad, a versatile scholar and scientist,
rial work on the Arabic versions of Aristotle, was born in Baghdad in 557/1162, and died
publishing the first volume of the Organon there in 629/1231. In Baghdad he studied
in 1948, the second a year later, and the grammar, law, and tradition (giving in his
third in 1952. This started him on a career autobiography a vivid picture of contempo-
of working with Greek thinkers whose work rary methods of study), and was persuaded
had been translated into Arabic, including by a Maghribi wandering scholar to devote
the Aristotelian commentators such as Alex- himself to philosophy, mainly according to
ander of Aphrodisias, Themistius, Olympi- the system of Ibn Sina, and to natural sci-
odorus and Plato, and Plotinus and other ence and alchemy.
Neoplatonists. He also brought out editions In 585/118990, al-Baghdadi went to
of the works of Islamic thinkers such as Mosul, where he studied the works of
-Kindi, al-Farabi, Ibn Rushd, Ibn Sina,
al al-Suhrawardi. The year after he went to
and others. In his Histoire de la philosophie Damascus, and then to the camp of Sala-
en Islam (1972) and Systmes des Islamiques din outside Acre (587/1191), where he met
(1971), he provided summaries of Islamic Baha al-Din b. Shaddad and Imad al-Din
philosophy as a whole discipline. Finally, al-Isfahani, and acquired the patronage of
his work on modern continental philosophy, the qadi al-Fadil. He then went to Cairo,
especially on German philosophy, did a great where he met Maimonides and Abul-Qasim
deal to introduce this important tradition al-Sharii, who introduced him to the works
into the Arabic cultural world. of al-Farabi, Alexander of Aphrodisias, and
Themistius, which he claims turned him away
BIBLIOGRAPHY from Ibn Sina and alchemy. In 588/1192
Badawi. Al-Insaniya wal-wujudiya fil-fikr he met Saladin in Jerusalem, then went to
al-islami (Humanity and Existentialism Damascus and then returned to Cairo. After
in Arabic Thought), Cairo: Maktabat some years he went to Jerusalem and then,
l-Nahdah al-Misriyah, 1947. in 604/12078, again to Damascus. Later he
Al-Zaman al-wujudi (Existential Time), went via Aleppo to Erzindhan, to the court
Cairo: Maktabat l-Nahdah al-Misriyah, of Ala al-Din Daud. When the Seleucid
1955. Kayqubadh conquered Erzindhan, Abd al-
Systmes des Islamiques, Paris: Vrin, 1971. Latif, after a journey to Erzerum, returned to
Histoire de la philosophie en Islam, Paris: Aleppo via Kamakh, Diwrigi, and Malatiya.
Vrin, 1972. Soon afterward he returned to his native
Baghdad where he died.
oliver leaman His numerous writings covered almost the
whole domain of the knowledge of the time.
His notes are quoted by Ibn Abi Usaybia for
information on personalities in Baghdad.
Badr al-Din, Shaykh, see Bedreddin
Further Reading
Bonadeo, C., Abd al-Latif al-Bagdadis
Philosophical Journey, Leiden: Brill, 2013.
AL-BAGHDADI, Abd al-Latif Neuwirth, A., Abd al-Latif al-Badadis Bearbe
(557629/11621231) itung von Buch Lambda der aristotelischen
Metaphysik, Wiesbaden: Steiner, 1976.
Abd al-Latif al-Baghdadi, Muwaffaq al-Din
Abu Muhammad b. Yusuf, also called Ibn oliver leaman
44
AL-BAGHDADI
AL-BAGHDADI, Abu Mansur He gives the views of the Muslim sects on

Abd al-Qahir b. Tahir(d. 429/10378) each subject.
Al-Baghdadis al-Farq bayn al-firaq is
Abu Mansur Abd al-Qahir b. Tahir b. one of the most important works in Islamic
Muhammad al-Tamimi al-Baghdadi was heresiography. In it, he adopts a polemi-
born in Baghdad. His date of birth is cal tone. He treats the sects separately and
unknown. His first teacher was his father, judges them all from a Sunni point of view,
one of the leading scholars in Baghdad and not surprisingly condemns all which
at that time. Amr b. Said, Muhammad deviate from that approach to Islam. In this
b. Jafar, and Abu Bakr b. Adiyy were al- book, al-Baghdadi operates with a definite
Baghdadis other teachers. Al-Baghdadi theological agenda. His major concern is not
later moved to Nishapur with his father and to provide an objective history of sects, but
continued his study there. He met the well- rather to elaborate a normative classification
known Ashari theologian Ibn Furak there. of the sects in terms of their relationship to
After the Turkman revolt and later Saljuq Sunni Islam, and a clearly Asharite version
invasion of Nishapur, he left Nishapur of it. Al-Baghdadi based the classification
for Isfarain and attended Abu Ishaqs lec- of the sects on the well-known seventy-two
tures there at Uqayl Mosque. After the sects hadith which reads that the Jews are
latters death, al-Baghdadi took over his divided into seventy-one sects and the Chris-
chair and kept teaching until his death in tians into seventy-two, but my community
429/10378. will be divided into seventy-three sects.
Al-Baghdadi was a mathematician, Like other heresiographers, al-Baghdadi
Shafiite jurist, and Asharite theologian. He adopted various stylistic devices to ensure
was said to have mastered seventeen different that the number of heretical sects was exactly
disciplines, including theology, law, jurispru- seventy-two. The book ends with an exposi-
dence, heresiography, literature, and math- tion of Sunni Islam.
ematics. The leading scholars of Khurasan Some of his other works are still in manu-
at that time, including Abul-Qasim al- script, including Tafsir asma Allah al-husna
Qushayri and Abu Bakr al-Bayhaki, were his (The Exposition of the Ninety-Nine Names
pupils. of Allah), Tawil mutashabih al-akhbar
Al-Baghdadi played an important role (The Explanation of Obscure Passages
in the spread of Asharism in Nishapur in the Quran), Al-Nasih wal-mansukh
and Isfarain. He defended Ashari theology (Abrogative and Abrogated Verses), and
against the Karramis. He used metaphori- al-Takmila fil-hisab (The Supplement to
cal language in the explanation of the divine Arithmetic).
attributes. He produced thirty books in the
fields of law, jurisprudence, theology, heresi- BIBLIOGRAPHY
ography, and the law of inheritance. How- (1910) al-Farq bayn al-firaq (The Difference
ever, he is best known for two works, al-Farq Between Erroneous Groups), M. Badr
bayn al-firaq (The Difference Between Erro- (ed.), Cairo: Matbaa al-Maarif, 1910;
neous Groups) and Usul al-din (The Roots trans. A. Halkin, Moslem Schisms and
of the Religion). Usul al-din, one of the best Sects, Tel Aviv, 1935; Part II, trans. Kate
expositions of Ashari theology in the elev- C. Seelye as Moslem Schisms and Sects,
enth century, is a systematic work on Islamic Philadelphia: Porcupine 1985; Part I,
theology. In it, al-Baghdadi deals with the New York, 1920; repr., New York: AMS
nature of knowledge, creation, how the Press, 1966.
creator is known, his attributes, and so on. Usul al-din, Istanbul, 1928.
45
BAHMANYAR
Further Reading based on the conversations that took place

al-Baghdadi, Ahmad b. Ali b. Sabit, Tarikh between me and him [Ibn Sina], plus what
baghdad (The History of Baghdad), I have acquired through my own thinking
14 vols, Beirut: Dar al-fikr, 1931. about the details [of Ibn Sinas teachings]
al-Subki, Taj al-Din, Tabaqat al-shafiiyya that go hand in hand with the principles.
al-kubra (Comprehensive Biographical The goal of philosophical sciences (al-ulum
Dictionary of Shafiites), ed. Muhammad al-hikamiyya) is stated as knowledge of
al-Hulvi, 10 vols, Cairo: al-Makbaa beings (marifat al-mawjudat). All beings,
al-Husayniya, 196474. Bahmanyar goes on to add, are either beings
Laoust, H., La Classification des sectes with a cause (sabab) or beings without a
dans le Farq dal-Baghdadi (The cause. The former refer to what Ibn Sina
Classification of the Sects in al-Baghdadis calls contingent beings (mumkin al-wujud),
Farq), in Revue des tudes islamiques, and the latter to the Necessary Being (wajib
1961, vol. 29, pp. 1959. al-wujud). Bahmanyar posits the being
without a cause as the agent and telos of
i.h. nal all [beings].
Kitab al-Tahsil is divided into three parts
or books. The first part is devoted to logic
and consists of three sections. Bahmanyar
divides the first section of the book of logic
BAHMANYAR, Abul-Hasan into three sub-sections. The Isagoge deals
(d. 468/1067) with the definition and use of the science of
logic, single and composite terms, demon-
Ibn Sinas most famous student Abul-Hasan stration, and the categories of genus and spe-
Bahmanyar b. al-Marzuban was, accord- cies. The Categories deals with univocal and
ing to the biographer al-Bayhaqi, originally equivocal terms in logic, predication, the cat-
a Zoroastrian from the Azarbaijan region. egories of substance, quantity, quality, place,
Bayhaqi also adds that Bahmanyar was not and position, and the concepts of prior and
talented in the language of the Arabs. Yet, posterior in propositional logic. The Peri
the language of Bahmanyars Kitab al-Tahsil Hermeneias deals with such traditional top-
(The Book of Reckoning) does not seem to ics of logic as the use of words, judgment,
justify this judgment. We know very little predication, and negation.
about his life other than the fact that he was The second book of logic is devoted to
a pupil and close friend of Ibn Sina. In al- analogical reasoning (qiyas). Bahmanyar
Mubahathat, one of his last works, Ibn Sina discusses the types of analogy and divides it,
refers to Bahmanyar several times as like a inter alia, into complete (kamil) and incom-
son for me . . . and even dearer than a son. plete (ghayr kamil). The third book of logic
We also know from Ibn Sinas remarks that investigates demonstration (burhan) and
most of the questions which Ibn Sina answers other related subjects, including proposi-
in the Mubahathat were asked by Bahman- tions, concept (tasawwur) and judgment
yar, who must have prepared his questions (tasdiq), definition (hadd), and sophistry.
and later edited Ibn Sinas responses. The second part or book of al-Tahsil is
Bahmanyars most important work, the devoted to metaphysics (ilm ma bad al-
Kitab al-Tahsil, is a voluminous exposition tabia) and consists of six sections. The first
of the fundamental teachings of Ibn Sina. In section defines the subject matter of meta-
the introduction, Bahmanyar states that the physics as being (al-wujud) and its vari-
book is an explanation of his teachers ideas ous modalities. Like Aristotle and Ibn Sina
46
BAHMANYAR
before him, Bahmanyar uses the words individuation and the reason why God as a
being (wujud) and existent (mawjud) single being is not subject to multiplicity, the
interchangeably when he says that the sub- difference between genus as a category and
ject matter of this science is the general prin- matter, and the relation between differentia
ciples of all things, and it is the existent-qua- (fasl) and genus (jins).
existent, i.e., being. He goes on to say that The fifth section of the second book of
the specific modalities of being are investi- al-Tahsil deals with causality. Here Bahman-
gated in such sciences as mathematics and yar discusses cause and effect, and defines
physics. While these sciences deal with being all beings that have quiddity (mahiyya) as
insofar as it is a number or a moving physical caused (malul). The sixth section contin-
object, metaphysics deals with being-qua-be- ues the question of unity and multiplicity but
ing before and without breaking it down to also contains short discussions about oppo-
its particular modalities. After this introduc- sites, non-existence, and the incorruptibility
tion, Bahmanyar discusses the major issues of non-material substances.
of Avicennan metaphysics, including the The third part or book of al-Tahsil is
predication of being to individual entities called the Knowledge of the States of the
through equivocality rather than univocal- Essences of Beings, and it is further divided
ity, division of being into necessary, contin- into two sections. The first section contains
gent and impossible, the difference between a relatively short discussion of theology. In
thing (shay) and being, substance and this section, Bahmanyar takes up again the
accident, hylomorphism or matter and form, issue of Gods absolute unity vis--vis the
and criticism of atomism. Bahmanyars dis- apparent multiplicity of the world. Other
cussion of essence and existence appears to issues discussed include the impossibility of
lend support to the idea of defining being Gods being a corporeal substance, the unity
as an accident of essence, an interpretation of intellect, intelligible, and intellection in
of Ibn Sina that became a matter of dispute God, the Ibn Sina doctrine that God intel-
among later Muslim philosophers and medi- lects everything else by intellecting his own
eval scholastics. essence, that God knows things in a simple
The second section is devoted to a detailed [i.e., universal] manner, and finally Gods
analysis of ten Aristotelian categories. The names and qualities and their place in Ibn
third section, entitled Priority and Pos- Sinas philosophical theology.
terity, Potentiality and Actuality, inves- The second section of the third part or
tigates individual entities as they relate to book of al-Tahsil is devoted to physics
one another. Bahmanyar explains the order and cosmology. Bahmanyar discusses such
of being in terms of causal relations and concepts as nature, simple and composite
as processes of actualization. The fourth objects, motion and its types, and genera-
section deals with several issues including tion and corruption. The next section carries
perception (idrak) and mental existence. the title of the heaven and the cosmos but
Continuing the tradition of Neoplatonic goes beyond a mere discussion of astronomy.
intellectualism, Bahmanyar begins with the Among the issues addressed are the active
proposition that the senses can perceive only intellects and their numbers, the goal of
physical objects whereas the intelligibles can celestial movements, divine providence and
be known through the intellect, thus estab- the place of evil in it, the idea that this is the
lishing intellectual perception as the primary best of all possible worlds, and the eventual
source of reliable knowledge. Other issues relativity of evil. The third section is phys-
discussed include particular and universals ics and deals with the standard problems of
and their epistemic status, multiplicity and Peripatetic physics.
47
AL-BALKHI
The last section of the book contains Bah- AL-BALKHI, Abu al-Qasim (al-Kabi)
manyars discussion of the science of the soul (d. 319/931)
(ilm al-nafs). In fifteen sub-sections, Bah-
manyar summarizes the traditional proofs Head of the Baghdad Mutazila, Abul Qasim
for the existence of the soul and explains Abdullah b. Ahmad al-Balkhi al-Kabi came
why the soul should be studied under phys- from Balkh and spent most of his life in
ics. He then analyzes the faculties of the Baghdad. He was introduced to Mutazilism
soul, including appetite and reproduction. by Abul Husayn al-Hayyat, and his views
The five senses and their place in sensation are often reported by writers on theology
are also discussed. After a brief discussion of and philosophy. He is said to have founded
sight (ibsar), Bahmanyar turns to the intellect his own theological school in Nasaf, and
and its types. This is followed by an analy- to have worked for Muhammad ibn Zayd,
sis of intellection, thinking, and the nature the Shiite ruler of Tabaristan. Like many
of intelligible substances. The last two issues Mutazilites, he argued that God has to cre-
discussed are the transmigration of souls and ate the best, and that his attributes are indis-
the immortality and final resurrection of the tinguishable from his essence. By the time
soul. Like other Peripatetic philosophers, Fakhr al-Din al-Razi left Rayy to debate
Bahmanyar rejects transmigration, and pres- with Mutazilites in Khwarazm and Tran-
ents ultimate happiness as grounded in spiri- soxania in the last half of the sixth/twelfth
tual and intellectual perfection rather than in century, he found nothing remaining of the
bodily pleasures. ideas of al-Balkhi, which had been replaced
by the Mutazilite school of Abul Husayn
BIBLIOGRAPHY al-Basri.
Bahmanyar, Kitab al-Tahsil, ed. by
M. Mutahhari Tehran: Intisharat-i
Further Reading
Danishgah-i Tehran, 1375 ah, 2nd
Abd al-Jabbar, al-Maqalat, Bab dhikr
edn. A selection from the Tahsil
al-mutazila, in F. Sayyid (ed.), Fadl
has been translated into English by
al-itizal wa tabaqat al-mutazila, Tunis:
Everret Rowson in S. H. Nasr and
al-Dar al-Tunisiyya li-l-Nashr, 1974.
M. Aminrazavi (eds), Anthology of
Gimaret, D., La doctrine dal-Ashari, Paris:
Philosophy in Persia, Oxford: Oxford
Cerf, 1990.
University Press, 1999, vol. I, pp. 33450.
Further Reading oliver leaman
Bayhaqi, Tatimmat siwan al-hikma, ed.

by Rafiq al-Ajam, Beirut: Dar al-fikr
al-lubnani, 1994.
Janssens, J., Bahmanyar ibn Marzuban: A
Faithful Disciple of Ibn Sina?, in Before AL-BALKHI, Abu Zayd
and After Avicenna: Proceedings of (c. 235322/849934)
the First Conference of the Avicenna
Study Group, ed. by D. Reisman with the Abu Zayd Ahmad b. Sahl al-Balkhi spent
assistance of A. al-Rahim, Leiden: Brill, most of his life in Iraq, but was born in
2003, pp. 17798. Balkh and returned there at the end of his
life. His father was a teacher in Sijistan, and
ibrahim kalin the young al-Balkhi was a member of the
mehdi aminrazavi Imamiyya sect, and it was to explore more
48
AL-BALKHI
of the theoretical basis of that sect that he for philosophy. The latter did get him into
traveled along the pilgrim route on foot trouble occasionally, and he himself reports
to Baghdad. He was a pupil of al-Kindis that various important people of the time
disciple, Ahmad b. al-Tayyib al-Sarakhsi declined to continue to support his work
(d.286/899), and an important writer on a once some of this books with a philosophi-
wide range of topics. cal bent emerged. He lived to be around
Al-Balkhi founded what came to be known eighty years old, and his religious works
as the Balkhi School of Geographers, and is are no longer extant, but the praise for
known to have composed a text called Suwar them by many authorities remains. A dis-
al-aqalim which dealt with climates and areas tinguished pupil was Ibn Farighun, whose
of the world. One of the interesting features Kitab Jawami al-ulum, or summaries of
of maps of this school is that they are highly the sciences, presents a rather unique way
abstract and simplified, more diagrams than of classifying the extant systems of knowl-
accurate representations of where places edge in terms of their relationship to the
are in relation to each other. Yet we know Arabic language on the one hand, and to
that al-Balkhi would have had available to individual and social life on the other. As
him the work by Ptolemy on longitude and with all adab works, there is a fascination
latitude, because we know that al-Kindi had with presenting a total picture of culture
this text translated into Arabic for him, and and a retreat from any possible hint of spe-
other Muslim geographers from this period cialization. Another of his important stu-
did use these concepts in their mapmaking. dents was al-Amiri.
It seems that the Balkhi school were more
interested in presenting the masalik wal- Further Reading
mamalik (routes and provinces, the name Rosenthal, F., Abu Zayd al-Balkhi on
of one of the books of the Balkhi school) of Politics, in C. Bosworth, C. Issawi,
the Islamic world in a way that facilitated R. Savory and A. Udovitch (eds), The
their use by the reading public, as opposed Islamic World: From Classical to Modern
to their more accurate presentation of places Times. Essays in Honor of Bernard
in proportion. Lewis, Princeton: Princeton University
Apart from his work on geography, Abu Press, 1989, pp. 287301.
Zayd wrote on medicine and a wide range Tibbetts, G., The Balkhi School of
of philosophical topics. In his writings on Cartographers, in J. Harley and
politics he takes a fairly realistic attitude, D. Woodwards (eds), The History
not paying particular attention to Islam but of Cartography, vol. 2, Book One:
describing the state in general as though it Cartography in the Traditional Islamic and
could be assessed in entirely abstract terms. South Asian Societies, Chicago: University
One of the distinctions which he makes of Chicago Press, 1982, pp. 10836.
much use of is that between different forms Waines, D. and Marin, M., Abu
of motivation. The rulers should be encour- Zayd al-Balkhi on the Nature of
aged to come to the right decisions, while Forbidden Drink: A Medieval Islamic
those lower down the social scale need to Controversy, in La Alimentacin en
be forced to act in the right sort of way. By las culturas islmicas: una coleccin de
right he has in mind what is in the inter- estudios, Madrid: Agencia Espaola de
ests of the community as a whole, and not Cooperacin Internacional, 1994,
necessarily some religious end of perfec- pp. 11126.
tion. Al-Balkhi managed to combine a strict
orthodoxy in religion with an enthusiasm oliver leaman
49
AL-BANJARI
AL-BANJARI, Muhammad Arshad Apart from religious knowledge, Muham-

(11221233/17101818) mad Arshad was also known to have had
skill in astronomy. It was recorded that he
Muhammad Arshad bin Abdullah, better visited several mosques in Indonesia and
known as Shaykh Muhammad Arshad al- corrected the position of the mihrab (the
Banjari, was a renowned religious scholar direction of kaba), notably the mosques of
of the eighteenth-century Malay world. He Jambatan Lima, Luar Batang, and Pekoyan.
was born into a religious family in Banjar- Upon his return to Banjarmasin 1186/1772,
masin, Kalimantan Borneo, Indonesia in Muhammad Arshad was appointed qadi by
1122/1710. The nickname al-Banjari was the sultan. He also established his religious
attributed to his birthplace and his ethnic school (in the same pattern of pesantren and
origin, Banjar. Not much is known about pondok) at Dalam Pagar, a village outside
Muhammad Arshads elementary education Martapura, Banjarmasin.
except that he was brought up and educated Muhammad Arshad wrote several schol-
within his own family and at his birthplace arly works, namely Sabil al-muhtadin (The
of Banjarmasin. Apart from his outstanding Path of the Rightly Guided [People]), Tuhfat
ability in Quranic recitation, Muhammad al-raghibin (Gift [to the] Desiring [People]),
Arshad is also said to have been a skilled art- Luqtat al-ijlan fi bayan al-haid wa Isti-
ist. Impressed by his extraordinary abilities, hada wa nifas al-niswan (Quick Note on
Sultan Tahlilullah, who ruled Banjar from the Deliberation Regarding Womens Men-
1700 to 1734, adopted Muhammad Arshad struation, Menstrual and Childbirth Blood),
and the latter began a new life in the sultans Kitab Faraid (Book of Inheritance Law),
palace. At the age of thirty, he was married to al-Qawl al-mukhtasar (A Short Note),
a local woman named Bajut or Tuan Bajut. and others. Unfortunately, only some of
In 1739, Muhammad Arshad left Ban- these have survived. His book al-Qawl al-
jarmasin for Mecca on a full sponsorship mukhtasar fi alamat al-mahdi al-muntazar
from the sultan. He spent about thirty years (A Short Note on the Signs of the Awaited
in Mecca and Medina attending religious Mahdi), for example, contains discussions
classes. While in Mecca he studied under of the Islamic creed and mysticism (tasaw-
several prominent ulama, including Shaykh wuf), while in Luqtat al-ijlan (which is
Ataullah and Muhammad bin Sulayman al- adapted from various Arabic books) he dis-
Kurdi (a prominent Shafii scholar in Hijaz). cusses womens menstrual blood and other
He also had the opportunity to meet other related issues.
students, including Abdul Samad of Palem- Muhammad Arshads most important
bang, Daud of Fatani, Abdul Wahab of legacy is his Sabil al-muhtadin, published in
Makasar, and Abdul Rahman of Betawi. two volumes with over six hundred pages,
These students later emerged as outstanding containing detailed discussion on various
scholars in the Malay world. Like Abdul fiqh issues and religious practices. This book
Samad al-Falimbani (Palembang), Muham- was written at the request of the sultan to
mad Arshad was also exposed to Sufi teach- be used as a textbook for religious students.
ing through Shaykh Muhammad Abdul This work later became one of the main
Karim Samman al-Qadiri al-Khalwati al- sources of fiqh not only in Indonesia but also
Madani, the founder of the Tariqa Samani- throughout the Malay world.
yya (also known as Khalwatiyya). In fact As a Shafii scholar, Muhammad Arshads
he was commissioned, and he assumed the fiqh was very much influenced by his teacher
title of khalifa, the recognition that he could Muhammad bin Sulayman al-Kurdi, espe-
practise and was master of this Sufi order. cially in Sabil al-muhtadin. Like other
50
AL-BANNA
Muslim scholars in the region, Muhammad AL-BANNA, Hasan(190649)

Arshads theological thought was very much
of the Sunni school of the Ashariyya. This Founder and general guide (al-murshid al-
line of thought can also be seen very obvi- amm) of the Society of the Muslim Brothers
ously in his theology works such as al-Qawl (Jamiyyat al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun), Hasan
al-mukhtasar. Muhammad Arshad died in al-Banna was born in October 1906 in the
1227/1812 at the age of 108. village of Mahmudiyya, northwest of Cairo.
He was assassinated by the secret police in
BIBLIOGRAPHY the street outside the headquarters of the
Sabil al-muhtadin li al-tafaqquh fi amr Young Mens Muslim Association in Cairo
al-din (The Path of the Rightly Guided on February 12, 1949.
[People] for The Understanding of Hasan al-Banna was the oldest son of
Religious Matter), Cairo: Dar ihya Shaykh Abd al-Rahman al-Banna al-Saati
al-kutub al-arabiya, n.d. (18811958), a madhun (authorized by
Tuhfat al-raghibin fi bayan haqiqat iman a qadi to perform marriages), imam, and
al-muminin wa-ma yufsidu-hu min mosque teacher. Lacking certification in the
riddat al-murtaddin (Gift of the Desiring Islamic sciences, he was sufficiently erudite
[People] [on] the Elucidation of the to collaborate with Islamic scholars on sev-
Essence of Faith of the Believers and eral books on Islamic traditions (hadith), as
the [Explanation of] its Corruption by well as complete all but two of twenty-four
the Apostates), Singapore: Matbaat dar volumes of a subject-classification of Ahmad
al-tibaa al-misriya, n.d. ibn Hanbals Musnad. A watchmaker by
trade, Shaykh Ahmad al-Bannas family was
Further Reading among the socio-economic elite of their vil-
Abdullah, W.M.S., Syekh Muhammad lage. But a move to Cairo in 1924 found
Arsyad al-Banjari Pengarang Sabil them beset with the sort of financial inse-
al-Muhtadin (Shaykh Muhammad Arsyad curity symptomatic of the larger social and
al-Banjari: The Author of the Path of the economic forces that swept through Egypt
Rightly Guided [People]), Kuala Lumpur: during the 1920s and 1930s.
Khazanah Fataniyya, 1990. Until the age of twelve, Hasan al-Banna
Abu Daudi, Maulana Sheikh Muhammad attended the mosque school of Shaykh
Arsyad Al Banjari (Our Master Shaykh Muhammad Zahran, editor of the Islamic
Muhammad Arshad Al Banjari), journal al-Isad. After attending the Primary
Martapura, Kalimantan Selatan: Madrasa Teachers Training School at Damanhur, he
Sullam al-Ulum, 1980. completed his curriculum at Dar al-Ulum,
Khalidi, Jusuf, Ulama Besar Kalimantan thereby avoiding the more conservative and
Syekh Muhammad Arsyad al Banjari traditionalist orientation of hallowed al-
(Shaykh Muhammad Arsyad al Banjari Azhar University. Concurrent with his for-
The Great Scholar of Kalimantan), mal studies was the cultivation of a fondness
Surabaya: al-Ihsan, 1968. for Sufism. Banna became a murid (initiated
Noorhaidi Hasan, Muhammad Arshad disciple) in the Hassafiyya order, attending
al-Banjari (17101812) and the weekly hadra, studying Sufi texts, and fre-
Discourse of Islamization in the Banjar quenting the tombs of its saints. Devotion
Sultanate, unpublished MA thesis, to mysticism and the belief that Islam is
Leiden University, 1999. applicable to all times and places, did not
preclude equally ardent attention directed
zaid ahmad toward the political domain, as the Egyptian
51
AL-BANNA
revolution of 1919 left an indelible impres- of the Islamic call (dawa)took place
sion on Banna and other young men of his not only at the mosque (what he termed the
generation. Banna established and partici- peoples university), but also in the spaces
pated in several Islamic reform societies that of civil society occupied by the lower and
found fertile soil in the anti-imperialist middle classes and thus not smothered by
hence nationalistclimate of the 1920s. In the state nor dominated by the exigencies of
particular, he played a formative role in the the urban marketplace: coffeeshops, but also
emergence of the Hassafi Welfare Society, clubs, weddings, and funerals, for example,
a group that prefigured the Society of the were suitable forums for these campaigns.
Muslim Brothers. The Society of the Muslim Brothers was
In Cairo, Banna visited the home of established on Dhul-Qadah 1347/March
Muhammad Rashid Rida (d. 1935). After 1928 in Ismailia where, a year earlier, Banna
Jamal ad-Din Asadabadi (al-Afghani) was posted to teach at a primary school.
(d. 1897) and Muhammad Abdu (d. 1905), Accounts differ as to the degree of conti-
Rida was an articulate exponent of one spe- nuity with the Hassafi Welfare Society and
cies of modernist Islamic reformism found the founding role of his lifelong friend and
within the Salafiyya (from al-salaf al-salih, later second-in-command, Ahmad Effendi
the virtuous forefathers, or earliest genera- al-Sukkari. All the same, Hasan al-Banna
tions of Muslims) movement. In 1939 Banna was clearly, if not by consensual acclaim,
acquired the right to renew publication of the undisputed leader of the Society. Banna
Ridas periodical, al-Manar (The Light- adopted and adapted Sufi pedagogical prac-
house). Banna also made acquaintance with tices, including its oath of allegiance (baya),
the founding members of the Young Mens weekly meetings, and the chanting of hymns.
Muslim Association (Jamiyyat Makarim al- By the 1940s, however, younger members
Akhlaq al-Islamiyya), men with impeccable (those whom Banna often admonished as
religious and nationalist/anti-imperialist hasty and anxious) had purged all ves-
credentials who were quick to appreciate tiges of Sufism from the Muslim Brothers.
Bannas oratorical talents, organizational The Cairo branch of the Society opened in
acumen, and energetic leadership skills. He 1931 and Banna was able to obtain a trans-
benefited in myriad ways from their patron- fer to the Abbas Primary School the follow-
age, not the least of which was the publi- ing year. These events, in turn, facilitated the
cation of his articles in the Islamic journal move of the Societys headquarters to Cairo
Majallat al-Fath (The Conquest). by the end of 1932. By the mid-1930s the
In the beginning, Bannas call for Islamic Muslim Brothers were the largest Islamic
reform and renewal to counter the humili- movement in Egypt, and by 1945 the Society
ation and bondage of British military occu- could claim about half a million members.
pation and foreign economic penetration Banna deliberately nurtured a social move-
focused on the need for moral and spiritual ment base from the lower classes, sensitive
awakening, or the purification of souls and to the socio-economic injustice that plagued
moral rectification. He alerted his coun- Egyptian society.
trymen the dangers of blindly emulating all Banna ambitiously characterized the
things Western but was shrewd enough not Muslim Brothers as a Salafiyyah message,
to dismiss Western modernity in toto: we a Sunni way, a Sufi truth, a political orga-
need to drink from the springs of foreign nization, an athletic group, a scientific and
culture to extract what is indispensable for cultural link, an economic enterprise and
our renaissance (quoted in Lia 1998: 78). a social idea (Enayat 1982: 85). He now
Bannas preaching campaignsin the idiom attempted to combine the early inward,
52
AL-BANNA
educational focus of the Society with a social, 1998: 251). Armed units of the Special Sec-
political, and economic program that evi- tion of the Society took part in the 19269
denced the comprehensive nature of a some- Arab revolt in Palestine and the Arab-Israeli
what vague but no less desirable Islamic war of 19489. Some elements of the mili-
order (al-nizam al-islami). Banna was not tary wing were also responsible for periodic
a systematic political theorist nor profound acts of political violence from 1945 to 1949.
political thinker but the Society did engage Yet the Society did not condone terrorism,
in concrete educational and welfare endeav- nor did it attempt to destabilize the govern-
ors in lieu of participation in party or parliament or achieve revolutionary regime change.
mentary politics. The Muslim Brothers built Sometimes members of the Society acted
mosques, set up boys and girls schools, alone in committing acts of violence, indis-
formed clubs, started small home industries, solubly linking their deeds with the Muslim
published newspapers, disseminated public Brothers, in spite of repeated public disavow-
health knowledge, brought medical care to als from Banna and others in the highest
the countryside (the Brothers often set the echelons of the movement. To be sure, the
example, cleaning up unsanitary conditions governments intransigence and refusal to
in both rural and urban settings), opened integrate the Society into the political system
clinics and dispensaries, and in short, put only served to radicalize the Muslim Broth-
their moral values and political ideals into ers, making the option for violence far more
practice in a manner that encouraged col- palatable than it might otherwise have been.
lective self-reliance and a spirit of indepen- As formulated by Banna, the ideology of
dence, not unlike what Mahatma Gandhi the Muslim Brothers critiqued (1) the crass
envisioned during this same period on Indian materialism of Western civilization insofar
soil with the conceptions of sarvodaya (social as it idolized money, power, and secularism
good, public interest) and swadeshi (self-suf- (i.e., the antithesis of the Arnoldian culture
ficiency, self-reliance; patriotism). of sweetness and light); (2) British colo-
Unfortunately, Bannas charismatic lead- nialism and economic imperialism; and (3)
ership was part benevolent paternalism and the traditionalist scripturalism of the Egyp-
part authoritarian guidance, as the orga- tian ulama. Toward these ends, Banna
nizational structure and decision-making sought to carefully combine Egyptian patrio-
methods and procedures of the Society were tism, pan-Arabism, and Islamic order. The
highly centralized and hardly democratic. vehicle for this ideology utilized the latest
Indeed, one suspects Banna did not possess technological methods and means of modern
a sophisticated grasp of either democratic mass communication and propaganda.
theory or practice. His notion of constitu- Banna was briefly jailed in 1941 and was
tional consultative rule for instance, seems for a time transferred (exiled) by the Ministry
only nominally democratic, and his dislike of of Education from Cairo to Qena in Upper
party (read parliamentary) politics, while Egypt. The World War II compelled the Soci-
understandable in the Egyptian setting, is ety to make a number of compromises with
disconcerting to the would-be democrat. the government (and the British), although
Banna also permitted the formation of a this afforded the movement considerable
secret military wing of the Society. In 1938 organizational freedom and opportunity for
he explicitly sanctioned developments that growth.
had been taking place as far back as 1933, Bannas assassination in 1949 resulted in
affirming that the Muslim Brothers were the further fracturing of existing tendencies
moving from propaganda alone to propa- and differences within the Society, as the
ganda by struggle and action (quoted in Lia movement splintered into several distinct
53
AL-BASRI
political directions, all of which persist to 5 Rabi al-Akhir 436/October 30, 1044. He
this day. The Ikhwan, or some variation was a Mutazilite theologian and an impor-
thereof (like-minded Islamist groups and par- tant Hanafite jurist.
ties), remains a formidable force in Egyptian There is not much information about his
politics and, indeed, throughout the Islamic life. He spent most of his life in Baghdad
world, but especially in Jordan, Syria, Iraq, where he first received his education and then
Sudan, Algeria, and Pakistan. pursued his scholarly activities for the rest of
his life. There, Abul Husayn studied hadith
BIBLIOGRAPHY with Tahir b. Labua, then became a student
For collections of Hasan al-Bannas of Qadi Abd al-Jabbar, (d. 415/1025)
Letters, Speeches, and Tracts see the who was one of the last great thinkers of the
comprehensive bibliography in Lia Mutazilite school. As a result, he became a
(1998). leading representative of the Basran school
Five Tracts of Hasan al-Banna (from the of the Mutazila. However, he was not a
majmuat rasail al-Imam al-Shahid blind follower of the views of his teachers.
Hasan al-Bannna), ed. Charles Wendell, On many issues, he held a different posi-
Berkeley, CA: University of California tion from the earlier representatives of the
Press, 1978. school. His interest in philosophy seems
Mudhakkirat al-dawa wa al-daiya (The to be the main reason for him taking this
Memoirs of the Call and the Preacher), kind of independent line. According to one
Cairo: Dar al-tawzi wa al-nashr report, Abul Husayn studied philosophy
al-islamiyya, 1986. with Christian philosophers such as Yahya b.
Adi and Ibn al-Samh. He also taught a num-
Further Reading ber of students, among whom Mahmud b.
Black, Antony, The History of Islamic Muhammad al-Malahimi and Muhammad
Political Thought: From the Prophet to b. Ahmad al-Karkhi are worth mentioning
the Present, New York: Routledge, 2001. here. The theological views of Abul Husayn
Enayat, Hamid, Modern Islamic Political were mainly transmitted by these students.
Thought, Austin: University of Texas In theology, Abul Husayn mainly fol-
Press, 1982. lowed the Basran school. However, he dif-
Lia, Brynjar, The Society of the Muslim fered from the leading members of the
Brothers in Egypt: The Rise of an Islamic school on a number of issues. Against
Mass Movement, 19281942, Reading: the mainstream view of the school, Abul
Ithaca Press/Garnet, 1988. Husayn held that no distinction can be made
Mitchell, Richard P., The Society of the between essence and existence. In other
Muslim Brothers, New York: Oxford word, essence and existence are the same.
University Press, 1993. As a result of this, non-existence cannot be
considered as something. Abul Husayn also
patrick s. odonnell rejected Abu Hashims understanding of
Gods attributes. He rejected Abu Hashims
theory of state (hal). For him, God differs
from other essences not by virtue of a state
belonging to his essence but by virtue of
AL-BASRI, Abul Husayn(d. 436/1044) his essence itself. Abul Husayn considered
attributes of God as characteristics (hukm)
Muhammad b. Ali Abul Husayn al-Basri that belong to Gods essence. Hence, to say
was born in Basra, and died in Baghdad on that God is powerful, for example, means
54
BEDREDDIN
that God possesses the capability of acting Abul Husayn was one of the last signifi-
as an intrinsic fact of his essence. cant theologians of the Mutazilite school,
Although Abul Husayn produced a num- and he influenced the theological views of
ber of works on theology and jurisprudence, the following generation of both Sunni and
only the works of jurisprudence have come Shiite theologians. However, he was more
down to us. His Al-Mutamad fi usul al-fiqh influential in the field of jurisprudence. His
(Authority in Jurisprudence) is the first work new methodology in jurisprudence became
on jurisprudence that was written according a model for both the Hanafite and Shafiite
to the methodology of the theologians. In its jurists of the following generations.
introduction, Abul Husayn states that when
commenting on the Kitab al-Umad, he fol- BIBLIOGRAPHY
lowed its content and methodology. Later Al-Mutamad fi usul al-fiqh (Authority
he realized that a number of topics were in Jurisprudance), ed. M. Hamidullah,
discussed repeatedly in the work, some of Damascus: Institut Franais de Damas,
which were not related directly to jurispru- 1965.
dence. For this reason, he decided to write Ziyadat al-mutamad (Supplement to the
a systematic work which avoids repetitions Mutamad), in M. Hamidullah (ed.),
and which does not include issues that have Al-Mutamad, Damascus: Institut
no direct relation with jurisprudence. His Franais de Damas, 1965.
purpose in the work is to explore jurispru- Kitab al-Qiyas al-shari (Book of Religious
dence (usul al-fiqh). Hence, he starts with Analogy), in M. Hamidullah (ed.),
the definition of usul and fiqh, then he gives Al-Mutamad, Damascus: Institut
his definition of usul al-fiqh. This is fol- Franais de Damas, 1965.
lowed by the presentation of his classifica- Sharh al-umad (Commentary on the Umad),
tion of the main issues of jurisprudence. He ed. A. b. Ali Abu Zunayd, Madina:
begins with the discussion of different forms Maktabat al-ulum wal-hikam, 1990.
of terms (kalam) such as real and allegoric
meanings (haqiqa and majaz), univocal and muammer skenderolu
equivocal words (mufrad and mushtarak),
and goes on to the discussion of the com-
mand (amr), proscription (nahy), general
and particular (umum and khusus), ambigu-
ous (mujmal) and explicit (mubayyan), divi- BEDREDDIN, eyh(13581416/759819)
sion of the actions of the responsible agent,
and abrogation (naskh). This is followed The influential Ottoman scholar, Sufi,
by a discussion of consensus (ijma), true and rebel, Badr al-Din Mahmud b. Qadi
reports, analogy, and the methodology of Samawna, known as Shaykh Badr al-Din
reasoning. He closes the work with a discus- (eyh Bedreddin in Turkish), was born in the
sion of the issues related to muftis. town of Samawna (Simavna). He received
In the Ziyadat al-mutamad (Supplement his first education from his father, who was
to the Mutamad), Abul Husayn discusses also a religious scholar. He studied in Bursa
again the issues of command, proscription, and Konya. He traveled to Cairo, Mecca,
and abrogation. In the Kitab al-Qiyas al-shari and Jerusalem. In Cairo, the Mamluk ruler
(Book of Religious Analogy), he discusses appointed him as tutor to his son. It was in
analogy in more detail. His Sharh al-umad Cairo that Bedreddin met the Sufi shaykh
(Commentary on the Umad) is a commentary Husayn Akhlati and, despite his earlier
on the work of Qadi Abd al-Jabbar. opposition to Sufism, became his disciple.
55
BEDREDDIN
He traveled to Tabriz in 1402 where he met the Bektashi-Alawi tradition. Contemporary

the famous ruler Timur. After spending some historians agree that his execution was polit-
more time in Cairo, he went to Anatolia ical rather than religious. According to some
where he began to emerge as a controversial sources, including a work by Bedreddins son
Sufi teacher and social activist. In Samawna, Halil b. Ismail, a scholar with the name of
Bedreddin lived a solitary life of asceticism Mevlana Haydar-i Herevi was appointed to
for seven years. Akemseddin, Mehmet II try Bedreddin for his alleged heresies. After
the Conquerors teacher, is said to have been examining Bedreddin and witnessing his in-
among Bedreddins students. depth knowledge of Islam, Herevi argued
While in Edirne, he was appointed as a against the religious edict (fatwa) for the
qadi by Musa elebi, one of the claimants killing of Bedreddin. But Fakhr al-Din al-
to the Ottoman throne. Upon the victory of Ajami, one of Bedreddins old friends who
Sultan Mehmed I in 1413, however, he was had turned against him, finally approved the
deposed from his position and sent to Iznik. edict requested by the sultan.
It was here that Bedreddin became openly the In spite of his active and somewhat
leader of a revolutionary movement against tumultuous life, Bedreddin was a produc-
the Ottomans. His two friends and/or dis- tive scholar and wrote close to fifty works
ciples Torlak Kemal and Brklce Mustafa in different fields of scholarship. His Jami
carried out a rebellion in 1416. The sources al-fusulayn (That which Combines Two
are inconclusive as to whether Bedreddin Chapters) is a work on Islamic law and has
himself was actually involved in the revolt. been widely used by traditional jurists. His
His radical and non-conformist ideas, how- other works in the field of law are Lataif
ever, appear to have supported such a politi- al-isharat (The Subtleties of Allusions) and
cal movement. After the suppression of the Kitab al-Tashil. Bedreddin also wrote two
1416 rebellion, Bedreddin was executed as a works on Arabic grammar entitled Uqud
traitor and instigator of violence. al-jawahir (The Knots of Substances) and
Bedreddin was a revolutionary figure in Charag al-futuh (The Niche of Spiritual
both the intellectual and political senses Conquests). Al-Waridat (Intuitive Revela-
of the term. He preached a daring form tions), Bedreddins most important work on
of mystical pantheism, and based it on Ibn Sufism, contains his teachings on the unity of
al-Arabis notion of the unity of being being and his mystical theology of the uni-
(wahdat al-wujud). His charismatic person verse as a manifestation of Gods names and
ality and claim to exclusive esotericism qualities.
must have played a role in his ability to
attract many followers. He is said to have BIBLIOGRAPHY
been respected as a religious figure even by Varidat, ed. B. Dindar, trans. C. Ketene,
some Christians. But Bedreddin was also an Ankara: Kltr Bakanligi Yayinlari,
advocate of social justice and equality, to 1990; trans. Shaykh Tosun Bayrak,
the extent that he is said to have preached a Inspirations on the Path of Blame,
proto-communism by urging his followers to Brattleboro: Threshold Books, 1993;
share everything except their wives. trans. B. Dindar, ayh Badr al-Din
His dramatic execution by the Ottomans Mahmud et ses waridat, Ankara:
has made Bedreddin a martyr in the eyes Ministre de la Culture, 1990.
of his followers since the fifteenth cen-
tury. Although he is portrayed as a hereti- Further Reading
cal and incendiary figure in the mainstream Balivet, Michel, Islam mystique et
Ottoman sources, he is held in high esteem in revolution arme dans le Balkans
56
BIRGIVI
ottomans: vie du Cheikh Bedreddin le Manifest) and Awamil (Factors), have

Hallah des Turcs, Istanbul: Isis, 1995. been widely used in the Ottoman madrasas
al-Din Mahmud, Halil b. Ismail b. Shaykh to teach Arabic. Traditional teachers still
Badr, Manaqib-i Shaykh Badr al-Din, use these works in present-day Turkey. His
eds. A. Glpnarl and I. Sungurbey, other grammatical works include Imtihan
Istanbul: Eti Yaynevi, 1967. al-azkiya (Examination of the Clever Ones),
Eybolu, I. Zeki, eyh Bedreddin ve which is a commentary on Qadi Baydawis
Varidat, Istanbul: Der Yaynlar, 1980. Lubb al-albab fi ilm al-irab (Core of the
Ocak, A. Yaar, Osmanli Toplumunda Cores in the Science of Deflection), and
Zndklar ve Mlhidler, Istanbul: Trkiye Kifayat al-mubtadi (That Which is Sufficient
Ekonomik ve Toplumsal Tarih Vakf, for the Novice), another work on Arabic
1998. sentence structure.
Yaltkaya, M. erefettin, Simavna Kadisiolu Birgivis most important works, however,
eyh Bedreddin, Istanbul: Evkaf- are in the field of ethics and theology. Follow-
slamiyye Matbaas, 1924. ing the example of Ibn Taymiyya (d. 1328),
Yksel, Mfid, Simavna Kadsolu eyh Birgivi fought against what he considered to
Bedreddin, Istanbul: Bak, 2002. be religious innovations (bida) practised or
accepted by the ulama and ordinary peo-
ibrahim kalin ple. He argued against accepting money for
teaching the Quran, lighting candles at the
tombs of saints, and listening to music other
than that used by the Janissary army in times
of war. His unrelenting character won him
BIRGIVI, Takiyuddin Mehmet many foes. Among these, the most famous
(92881/152273) is the qadi Bilal-zadeh. The shaykh al-Islam
Ebussud Efendi was forced to issue a fatwa
The famous Turkish scholar and Sufi Taki- against Birgivis bold reform attempts. In
yuddin Mehmed b. Pir Ali b. Iskandar al- turn, Birgivi did not shy away from criticiz-
Rumi al- Birgivi was born in Balkesir. After ing Ebussud Efendi, probably the most pow-
completing his early education in his home- erful religious figure of the time.
town, he went to Istanbul where he studied Birgivis struggle and teachings inspired a
with the famous scholars of the time. He powerful anti-Sufi revolt in the seventeenth
memorized the Quran, learned Arabic, and century known as the Kadzade movement,
studied hadith, Quranic commentary, logic, led by Kadzade Mehmet Efendi and Vani
and other traditional sciences. He taught at Mehmet Efendi. Kadzade based his puritan-
several schools in Istanbul. After holding sev- ical revolt against the Sufis on the writings
eral government posts in Aleppo and Edirne, of Birgivi, and wrote a commentary on his
he withdrew himself from public life and Vasiyet-name.
taught at a madrasa in Birgi near present- Birgivis two principal works are Tarikat-
day Izmir, whence comes his title Birgivi Muhammediye (The Muhammadan Path)
or Birgili. He was initiated by Abdullah and Vasiyet-name (The Will). The Tarikat,
Karamani into the Bayramiyyah Sufi order. written in Arabic, deals with various reli-
He lived in Birgi and trained many students. gious, ethical, legal, and theological issues.
He died of plague while on a journey to The book has the stamp of Birgivis semi-
Istanbul. puritanical and reformist character. Sev-
Birgivi left several works. His two books eral commentaries have been written on
on the Arabic grammar, Izhar (Making the Tarikat, among which we can mention
57
AL-BIRUNI
al-Barakat al-mahmudiyya fi sharh al-tarikat (Commentary on the Chapter al-Baqarah),

al-muhammadiyya (The Mahmudian Bless- an incomplete commentary on the first two
ings in the Commentary on the Tariqat al- chapters of the Quran.
muhammadiyya) by Abu Said Muhammed
b. Mustafa b. Osman Hadimi (d. 1176/1762) BIBLIOGRAPHY
and al-Hadiqat al-hadiyya sharh tariqat al- Birgivi Vasiyetnamesi Kadzade erhi
muhammadiyya (The Garden of Guidance, (Birgivis Will and Kadizades
Commentary on Tariqat al-muhammadiyya) Commentary), ed. F. Meyan, Istanbul:
by Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulusi. The book Bedir Yaynevi, 1988.
had a wide circulation in the Ottoman lands
as well as in Central Asia and India. Since Further Reading
the seventeenth century, it has been a major Fazlolu, kran, Mehmed Birgivi,
source and inspiration for the Salafi reform in Osmanllar Ansiklopedisi, Istanbul,
movement. 1999, vol. II, pp. 11317.
Birgivis most famous and popular book, eker, Mehmet (ed.), Imam Birgivi, Ankara:
Vasiyet-name, is a manual of various theo- Trkiye Diyanet Vakf, 1994.
logical and ethical issues written from Bir-
givis Salafi and semi-reformist point of view. ibrahim kalin
The issues discussed in the book include
Gods names and qualities, angels, revealed
books, prophets, faith, miracles, the night
journey of the Prophet (miraj), the miracles
of saints (karamat), signs of the dooms- AL-BIRUNI, Abu Raihan Muhammad
day (qiyama), Heaven and Hell, sin and its (362440 or 453/9731048 or 1061)
kinds, repentance, praying, schools of law
(madhhab), ethics, and ritual prayers and Abu Raihan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-
their importance for religious life. Birgivis Kharezmi al-Biruni was born in Kath (mod-
primary goal in the Vasiyet-name, which is ern Khiwa), the capital of Kharezm, a region
written in simple and clear Turkish, was to south of the Aral Sea that is now known as
compose a simple yet concise manual of eth- Uzbekistan but was then part of the Persian
ics, law, and theology for ordinary people. Empire, on 3 Dhul-Hijja 362/September
The book continues to be read widely in 4, 973. He died in Ghazna, now Ghazni in
Turkey today. Afghanistan, in either 440/1048 or 453/1061.
His other works include Jila al-qulub He was a scientist and versatile scholar who
(The Polishing of the Hearts), a book of reli- wrote over a hundred books and treatises on
gious sermons; Inqaz al-halikin (The Salva- various subjects, including astronomy, math-
tion of the Perished), a severe criticism of the ematics, physics, medicine, history, geneal-
practice of teaching the Quran for money; ogy, geography, philosophy, and astrology.
Zuhr al-mutaallihin wal-nisa (The Flower Although there is a general tendency to
of the God-like Ones and Women), a trea- attribute al-Birunis origins to either an Arab
tise and catechism for women; al-Risala fi or a Persian family, we do not have any firm
usul al-hadith (Treatise on the Principles of information on his ethnic origin and hardly
Hadith), a short treatise on the terms used any about his parents. Al-Biruni himself
in the science of hadith; Sharh ahadith al- frequently talked about his personal and
arbain (Commentary on Forty Hadiths), a intellectual life in his works, and seems to
selection of and commentary on forty Pro- have deliberately avoided writing about his
phetic traditions; and Tafsir surat al-baqara origin. However, as he himself identified his
58
AL-BIRUNI
mother tongue as different from both Arabic This must have not gone unnoticed, for he
and Persian and also regretfully indicated soon won patronage at court and was first
that it was not a language of science either, educated in mathematics and astronomy by
one can be sure that he was ethnically neither Abu Nasr Mansur b. Ali b. Irak, a Mus-
Arab nor Persian. In addition to this we have lim mathematician who also happened to
some evidence that from a young age he used belong to the royal family of the Kharzem-
to speak Turkish and had been acquainted shahs. Apart from Amir Abu Nasr, al-Biruni
with Turks. Indeed he mentions in one of his was also taught by Abd al-Samed b. Abd
works an old Turkmen visitor to the royal al-Samed al-Hakim, though not for long for
family that he knew when he was a child. he soon became his own teacher. He made
Moreover, he is known to have often used his first observations of space when he was
in his Arabic writings some Turkish words only seventeen. By the age of twenty-one
with a Pechenek accent. It is also known he had already prepared a table of observa-
that he conducted his early observations of tions and measurements and had invented an
space in areas inhabited by Turks. Also, the astronomical circle.
name al-Biruni, meaning outsider in Per- Al-Biruni began his scientific observa-
sian, which was used for those coming from tions and research in Kath, but then moved
outside the city of Kath or even maybe Khar- to Rayy after a political change in Kharezm.
ezm, proves consistent with al-Birunis own He then returned to Kharezm in 387/997
statement that he was not one of the natives to restart his observations. One year later,
of Kharezm. Perhaps this is why, to distin- al-Biruni won the patronage of Kabus b.
guish him from a famous Al-Khwarizmi, the Washmgir in Jurjan, to whom he dedicated
Arab mathematician and astronomer, he was his al-Athar al-baqiya (The Surviving Works
called al-Biruni instead of Al-Khwarizmi. As from the Ancient Times). In 400/1009 al-
for the attempt to relate the origin of the Biruni moved back to Kharezm again fol-
name al-Biruni to a place located in India, it lowing an invitation from Abu al-Hasan Ali
did not find much support among the histo- b. Mamun, and lived there for seven years
rians, for neither al-Biruni himself nor Yaqut not only to further his scientific discoveries
al-Hamawi, a celebrated Muslim geogra- and learn new languages such as Syriac and
pher, mention such a place in their works Greek, but also to serve as a special con-
(Tahqiq ma lil-hind (The Book of India) and sultant to Ali b. Mamun in administrative
Mujam al-buldan, respectively). Although it matters. In 407/1017 when Kharezm was
is hard to determine al-Birunis ethnic origin captured by the Ghaznawis, al-Biruni and
with certainty, in the light of the evidence it his two teachers were among the scholars
seems probable that he had Turkish parents, that Sultan Mahmud Ghaznawi took with
who migrated to Kath from another city or him to Ghazni. At first, life in Ghazni was
another country. difficult for al-Biruni. This was due mainly to
Al-Biruni lived in a brilliant epoch of his having been under surveillance in a castle
Muslim literary, philosophical, and scien- for some time, and also to the existence of a
tific advances and was a contemporary of radical circle in Ghazni with suspicious and
Ibn Sina (Avicenna), the famous Muslim even hostile attitudes toward scholars; this
physician, philosopher, and mathematician group was responsible for the killing of Abd
with whom he corresponded on the subjects al-Samed, a teacher of al-Biruni.
of physics and astronomy. Al-Biruni was However, al-Biruni not only overcame these
gifted with an outstanding ability to learn, difficulties through his scholarly standing
and was distinguished by an enormous ambi- and his patience but soon managed to have
tion and interest in science from an early age. a close relationship with Sultan Mahmud,
59
AL-BIRUNI
who strongly supported him in his scientific Sultan Masud; Kitab al-Jamahir (The Book
discoveries. Al-Birunis increasing interest in of Multitudes) (441/1049), an eclectic book
India and Indian culture was the result of dealing with many issues such as psychology,
this period when Sultan Mahmud conquered physiology, sociology, medicine, mineralogy,
a large part of the Indus valley between 1002 physics, chemistry, history, ethics, law, and
and 1026. In his journeys to India, al-Biruni so on, and a medical-pharmacological work
also learned Sanskrit and translated some titled Kitab al-Saydana (Book on Pharmacy)
Sanskrit works into Arabic, and in turn taught (442/1050).
Greek philosophy to Indians. Although al- Al-Biruni was an unparalleled figure with
Biruni was not the first Muslim scholar to his passion for research, observation, and
be in contact with India, he might be con- discovery in both natural and social sciences,
sidered to be the first Indologist due to his his ability to study and reconstruct the sci-
great contributions to understanding Indian entific and philosophical disciplines of his
culture, religion, and geography. During the time, and his originality and objectivity in
reign of Masud and later that of Mawdud, his writings. Indeed, all these qualities justly
two successors of Sultan Mahmud, al-Biruni won him the titles such as the greatest sci-
carried on his academic studies as well as his entist of Islam and one of the greatest of
service at the court as a scientific consultant. all times.
Al-Biruni traveled to many places including
Mesopotamia, Persia, India, and the Arab BIBLIOGRAPHY
peninsula and died in Ghazni, which he had al-Athar al-baqiya (The Surviving Works
called his second homeland. from the Ancient Times), trans.
The most celebrated work of al-Biruni is E. Sachau, Chronologie Orientalischer
al-Athar al-baqiya (390/1000) in which he Vlker von Al-Beruni, London: W.H.
discusses various calendars and systems of Allen, 1879.
counting time and determining festivals as Kitab al-Tahqiq ma lil-hind (The Book of
adopted by different cultures. In Kitab al- India), trans. E. Sachau, Al-Birunis India,
Tahqiq ma lil-hind (421/1030), a master- 2 vols, Hyderabad: Printing House of
piece in the area of the history of religions, the Council of the Uthmaniyah
al-Biruni gives first-hand information on Encyclopedia, 1958.
Indian civilization by discussing religious
and philosophical ideas, various beliefs, Further Reading
rules, and rituals, and also by engaging in al-Hamd, Muhammad Abd al-Hamid,
disciplines such as chronology, astronomy, Hayat al-Biruni, Damascus: Al-Mada,
and meteorology. Some of al-Birunis other 2000.
significant works include Tahdid nihayat Khan, A., A Bibliography of the Works of
al-amakin (Determination of the Limits al-Biruni, New Delhi: Indian National
of Places) (416/1025), considered to be a Science Academy, 1982.
fundamental text for a new discipline that Sachau, E., Chronologie orientalischer
is today called geodesy; al-Tafhim li awail Vlker von Albrn, ed. von Eduard
sinaat al tanjim (The Book of Instructions Sachau, Leipzig: in Commission bei
in the Elements of the Art of Astrology) Brockhaus, 1878.
(420/1029), an introductory work to astro- Alberunis India: An Account of the
nomical disciplines; al-Qanun al-masudi Religion, Philosophy, Literature,
(The Book of Principles of Astronomy for Geography, Chronology, Astronomy,
Masudi) (421/1030), another astronomical- Customs, Laws and Astrology of India
astrological work, which he dedicated to about 1030 A.D., 2 vols, London, 1988.
60
BISHR IBN AL-MUTAMIR
Said, Hakim Mohammed (ed.), Al-Biruni: making his works popular in Baghdad and
Commemorative Volume, Karachi: The in order to give good linguistic support to his
Times Press, 1979. polemic works. Two of his long poems have
Tmer, Gnay, Biruniye Gre Dinler survived in Jahizs Kitab al-Hayawan, but
ve slam Dini, Ankara: Diyanet leri the remaining works survive only as frag-
Bakanl Yaynlar, 1986. ments in some Mutazilite sources such as the
al-Intisar of al-Khayat and the al-Mughni of
s. leyla grkan Abd al-Jabbar.
Of particular significance among Bishrs
theological writings is his theory of tawallud,
which analyzes the consequences of human
acts. It is possible, however, that other ear-
BISHR IBN AL-MUTAMIR, Abu Sahl lier Mutazilites talked about this theory,
(d. 210/825) as Van Ess (1991) maintains, because Abu
al-Hudhayl, Bishrs contemporary, also used
Abu Sahl Bishr b. al-Mutamir al-Hilali the word tawallud. This theory states that
was born in either Baghdad or al-Kufa or human acts generate a series of further acts
al-Basra. The date of his birth is unknown which all belong to the one who intention-
but he died at an advanced age in the year ally initiated the first act. This means that
210/825. He was the leader and founder of humans are not only responsible for their
the Baghdadi Mutazilites. The details of his acts but also for what their acts generate.
life are not reported, but it is certain that Although this theory is mainly connected to
he studied in Basra, probably in the same the Greek theory of cause and effect, Bishr
school as Abu al-Hudhayl, the leader of the here is mainly concerned with the intended
Basra Mutazilites. Later he moved to Bagh- kind of acts which are performed according
dad where he worked as a slave merchant. to a will. This theory sets a logical basis for
Bishr was a Zaydite with especial concern their belief in the freedom of the human will.
for mission work; one source says that he Bishr, however, is distinguished from most
promised to convert two persons to Islam Mutazilites by considering that the human
every day. He also was very conscious of the will is fully independent of Gods will and
importance of jihad, the expansion of and works within its own merits. It seems that
fight for Islam, and it seems that he provided this concept made him unpopular among
stipends for those who were active in this. the Mutazilites and some accused him of
Although Bishr was not absolutely origi- unbelief mainly because he declared that
nal in his theology, he is considered to be God cannot influence the human will. This
the godfather of the Baghdadi Mutazilites concept seems to have been formed out of
because he supported and collected together a desire to avoid attributing any evil to God
all the Mutazilite students of Baghdad and through the possibility that he might influ-
established the principles of the school. ence evil human acts. In contrast to many
Bishr seems to have been an active writer. Mutazilites, however, Bishr neither consid-
Ibn al-Nadim attributes to him twenty-four ered that God must act for the best vis--vis
titles, many of which seem to be polemics His creations fil al-aslah, nor that he was
against other sects or critiques of Mutazilite obliged to assist them. Divine assistance is
colleagues such as al-Asamm, al-Nazzam, pure grace.
and his rival al-Hudhayl. Many of his As the founder of the Baghdadi school
works are written in the form of poems of Mutazilites, Bishr established the prac-
which were written with the intention of tice of using many Mutazilite concepts but
61
AL-BISTAMI
building ones own theology upon them, a His two brothers, both the older, Adam, and
concept which is clearly shared by many of the other younger, Ali, were also known for
the Baghdadi Mutazilite scholars after him. their strict religiosity. Adams son Abu Musa
was one of the best and closest disciples and
BIBLIOGRAPHY servants of al-Bistami, with whom he shared
Two Qasida, in Abu Uthman al-Jahiz many religious secrets. Thus it is no surprise
(ed.), Kitab al-Hayawan, Damascus: that many of the legends about al-Bistami
Maktabat mustafa al-babi al-halabi, have been transmitted by Abu Musa. His
19659. tomb in Bistam has always been an impor-
tant pilgrimage place for many. Al-Sahlagis
Further Reading suggested date for his death on 234/848 is
Abd al-Jabbar, Abu al-Hasan, Al-Mughni regarded as the most feasible when com-
fi abwab al tawhid wa al-adl, Cairo: pared with the other possibilities.
Wizarat al-thaqafa wa al-Irshad, 19608. According to some records, al-Bistami
Van Ess, J., Theologie und Gesellschaft im decided to take up the Sufi way of life and
2. und 3. Jahrhundert Hidschra, Berlin left his native Bistam at the age of ten. He
and New York: Walter de Gruyter, 1991, drifted for thirty years from place to place,
vol. 3, pp. 10730. learning and practicing the Sufi way until his
return home at the age of forty. The age forty
maha el-kaisy has a metaphorical meaning, referring to the
prophetic call of Muhammad at the same
age. In Bistam, he started teaching the people
gathered around him. However, in another
story, he neither approved of nor recom-
AL-BISTAMI, Abu Yazid mended travel to gain knowledge and expe-
(161234/777848) rience. In fact, he is known to be one of the
Sufis who performed hajj (Muslim pilgrim-
Abu Yazid Tayfur b.Isa b. Sharushan al- age) only once in a lifetime. This was when
Bistami was a controversial Sufi figure of he was exiled due to his extreme statements.
early times, renowned for his shatahat His master or teacher was a lesser-known
(unorthodox utterances) like Praise be to Sufi called Abu Ali al-Sindi, from whom al-
Me, how great is My Majesty! Since no Bistami learned tawhid (the oneness of God)
works are ascribed to al-Bistami, very little is and fana (annihilation). Al-Bistami claimed
known about his life. The information avail- to have been given gnostic knowledge direct
able is derived from stories found in second- from God.
ary sources. As a result, there are conflicting Al-Bistami is reported to have had contacts
reports about the details of his life. Most of with important Sufi masters, such as Dhu al-
the information about al-Bistami comes from Nun al-Misri, Shaqiq al-Balkhi, Yahya b.
Kitab al-Nur (Book of Light) by Muhammad Muadh al-Razi, and Abu Musa al-Daybuli.
b. Ali al-Sahlagi, also a native of Bistam and Among his disciples and caliphs were Ibra-
a follower of Bistami tradition. him al-Harawi, Hasan b. Alawiyya, Musa
Al-Bistami was a native of Bistam, b. Isa, and Tayfur b. Isa (known as Abu
Khorasan, in what is today northeastern Yazid Junior).
Iran. His grandfather was a Magian reli- In addition to his shatahat (paradoxical
gious scholar who converted to Islam. His sayings), systematically speaking, al-Bistami
father, Isa, was known to be a devout Mus- is considered to have for the first time for-
lim, who had two daughters and three sons. mulated the doctrine of fana (annihilation),
62
BOSNEVI
likened the Sufi journey to the Prophets BIBLIOGRAPHY

miraj (the Heavenly night journey) and pos- Badawi, A. R., Shatahat al-Sufiyya: Abu
sibly led the way to the pantheist (wahdat Yazid al-Bistami (Unorthodox Utterances
wujud) or panentheist (wahdat shuhud) of the Sufis: Abu Yazid al-Bistami), vol.
interpretations in Sufism. He insisted on self- I, Cairo: Maktaba al-Nahda al-Misriyya,
denial so powerfully that during the states 1949 (contains Muhammad b. Ali
of mystical trances he uttered shatahat like al-Sahlagis Kitab al-Nur (Book of Light)).
Praise be to Me, how great is My Maj-
esty! and There is nothing in this robe Further Reading
I am wearing except Allah, My banner Arberry, A. J., Bistamiana, Bulletin of the
is better than Muhammads, just to quote a School of Oriental and African Studies
few. Muslim scholars, including Ibn Taymi- 25 (1962), pp. 2837.
yya, often accepted that these were declared
in a state of intoxication (sakr) and tried rifat atay
to interpret them within the boundaries
of orthodoxy. However, not everyone had
the same good will toward him. Conserva-
tive theologians and jurists showed strong
opposition to his unusual utterances, and BOSNEVI, Abdullah
even exiled him from Bistam for some time. (9921054)/15841644)
Among Sufis, too, al-Junayd al-Baghdadi
not only rejected al-Bistamis claims and his Abdullah Bosnevi was born in Bosnia in
mystical path, leaning so heavily on intoxi- 992/1584. He began his education in Bosnia,
cation (sakr), but developed against it an but completed it in Istanbul. Then he moved
alternative way of sobriety (sahw). Unlike to Bursa, which was then a center of Islamic
al-Bistamis assertion, al-Baghdadi believes scholarship and entered the Sufi circle of
that the most important thing in unification Hasan Kabaduz. He became the leading rep-
is not fana (annihilation) but baqa, keeping resentative of the Bayrami Malami order. He
the newly found life in God. Hence even followed the spiritual leadership of al-Shaykh
after unification, a Sufi must involve himself Abdul Majid Halveti. During this period of
in worldly affairs and act as a guide to the his life, he went to Egypt and then to Mecca
community. on pilgrimage. As a scholar and a Malami
Another expression of al-Bistamis empha- Sufi, he received great respect and conse-
sis on self-denial which is taken as the procla- quently played a role in spreading the Malami
mation of wahdat wujud is hama ost (every- order wherever he traveled. While returning
thing is he). But it is unlikely that he himself from Mecca, he visited the shrine of Ibn al-
was part of the pantheist group, since the Arabi in Damascus and settled there, living
movement was unknown in al-Bistamis time an ascetic life for a time. After that he moved
in the Islamic world. The later Sufis, such as to Konya, where he remained until the end of
Ibn al-Arabi, who have portrayed him as a his life. He died in Konya in 1054/1644, and
pantheist have caused such misunderstand- was buried beside Sadr al-Din al-Qunawi.
ing. From the evidence he can at most be a Abdullah Bosnevi wrote an important
panentheist (wahdat shuhud). However, al- commentary (sharh) and translation of the
Bistami opened new horizons for Sufism by Fusus al-hikam of Ibn al-Arabi. From this,
providing it with new concepts, images, and he became known as the expert on the Fusus
metaphors. He will undoubtedly remain one in the Islamic world. Katip elebi and other
the most significant figures in Sufism. Ottoman scholars mentioned Abdullah
63
BURSEVI
Bosnevi and his commentary of Fusus with From 1601 to 1614 he served as a qadi (chief
respect. His only significant work is this judge) in several places including Aleppo,
commentary on Fusus al-hikam, which was Galata, Bursa, Edirne, and Istanbul. After his
entitled Tajalliyat araisin-nsus fi manas- dismissal from his last post as a qadi of Istan-
sati hikemil-Fusus. This book was published bul, probably because of his criticism of the
in Bulak in 1252/1836, and then in Istanbul rulers of his time, he did not hold any official
in 1290/1870. In this work, Bosnevi deals position until 1622. Then he was appointed
with the issues of wahdat al-wujud (unity of as a kazasker (high judicial chief) of Anatolia
being) in twelve chapters and examines vari- in 1622, and then of Rumeli in 1629. How-
ous concepts such as hatmi walayat (the seal ever, he did not stay in either of those posts
of sainthood), ghayb mutlaq (absolutely for very long. He died on 26 Rabi al-Awwal
unseen), nubuwwat (prophethood), walayat 1049/July 27, 1639, and was buried next to
(sainthood), ilmi zahir (exoteric knowl- his father in ehzade Camii.
edge), ilmi batn (esoteric knowledge), and Some of Bostanzades important works
muhabbat (love). He wrote his commentary include Gl-i Sad-berg (1030/1621), which
in Turkish since he believed that this would explains the feasibility and the character of
be more useful and more appropriate than miraj (journey of Prophet Muhammad from
a work in Arabic. In this book, he also sug- Mecca to Jerusalem) as understood in physi-
gests that the Sufis who could not attain spir- cal terms, and also discusses another hun-
itual perfection and those who preached in dred miracles (mujiza) as performed by the
mosques should not read his commentary. Prophet. Mirat al-akhlaq (1022/1613) deals
with the topics of ethical virtues and political
Further Reading and administrational responsibilities from a
Glpnarl, Abdulbaki, Melamilik ve practical point of view, and thus sheds light on
Melamiler stanbul: Devlet Matbaas, the understanding of ethics by Ottoman soci-
1931, p. 79. ety and the intelligentsia of that period; Bostan-
zade also gives his critique of the rulers of the
adnan aslan time. His Tuhfah al-ahbab (Tarih-i Saf) gives
an account of approximately 300 Muslim and
mostly Turkish rulers from fifteen dynasties,
including the Ottomans, Abbasids, Umayyads,
Fatimis, Ghaznawis, and Kharezmis.
BOSTANZADE Yahya Efendi
(d. 1049/1639) s. leyla grkan
Bostanzade Yahya Efendi was a seventeenth-

century Ottoman scholar and writer. He was
originally from Sur (Tyre), and came from Brethren of Purity,see Ikhwan al-Safa
a well-known family known as Bostanzade.
His father was eyhlislam Bostanzade Meh-
met Efendi. There is no information on his
date of birth. He was taught by his father and
also began his academic career in the latters BURSEVI, smail Hakk
company. In 1003/1594 he worked at several (10631137/16531725)
madrasas such as skdar Mihrimah Sultan
Medresesi, Sahn- Seman, skdar Valide The Ottoman scholar, Sufi, poet, calligra-
Atik Medresesi, and Sleymaniye Medresesi. pher, and musician smail Hakk Bursevi
64
BURSEVI
was a famous shaykh of the Jalwatiyyah occupies an important place in the history of
order founded by the shaykh ftade and Sufi Quranic commentaries. As in his other
Aziz Mahmud Hdayi. He was born in writings, Bursevi combines his scholarship
Aydos, in present-day Bulgaria. He was edu- of traditional sciences with Sufi expositions,
cated in both Sharia sciences and Sufism stories, and poems. As a preacher and spiri-
at a very young age. His teacher was the tual teacher, Bursevi remained very close
famous Jalwati shaykh Osman Fazl lahi to the spirit of the ordinary believer while
(d. 1102/1691). After completing his schol- studying and commenting upon the meta-
arly studies, Bursevi, like many Jalwati physical and poetical works of Ibn al-Arabi
Sufis, went into a period of spiritual retreat and Rumi. With this in mind, he continued
(khalwa) for ninety days. Upon the order of the tradition of tuhfa (contemporary) writ-
his shaykh, he served at the Jalwati center by ings, which are short treatises written in
cleaning and cooking for other Sufis. He was response to questions asked of him and/or
then appointed as a preacher, replacing his in honor of certain people. In the case of
master. He became a khalifa in 1675 and went Bursevi, almost all of his tuhfa writings per-
to Skopje. He married the daughter of the tain to various aspects of Sufism and pursu-
famous Sufi shaykh Uaki (d. 1090/1679). ing a spiritual life.
In 1685, he went to Bursa (whence his title His sizeable book Kitab al-Natija belongs
Bursevi). It was there that Bursevi became to the genre of waridat writings, where the
a well-known scholar, Sufi, and preacher. He author explains those states and ideas that
started his voluminous Quranic commentary have come to him from Heaven. Bursevis
called Ruh al-bayan fi Tafsir al-quran (The waridat works include a considerable num-
Spirit of Explanation in the Commentary on ber of subjects, ranging from comment-
the Quran) and completed it in twenty-three ing upon a famous poem or wisdom say-
years. He went on pilgrimage several times. ing to metaphysics and cosmology. Bursevi
He also lived in Damascus for about three also wrote an important commentary on
years. He died in Bursa, where he is buried Nawawis famous Forty Hadith from a Sufi
today next to the Muhammadi Mosque that point of view.
he himself built. In his extremely productive career, Bursevi
A prolific writer, Bursevi authored over combined the most important elements and
one hundred books and treatises in Arabic, tendencies of classical Islamic-Ottoman cul-
Persian, and Turkish. His most important ture. As a Sufi master and scholar, he rep-
works are in the field of Quranic commen- resents the culmination and synthesis of the
tary and Sufism, but he also wrote on hadith, major intellectual currents of classical Islam,
jurisprudence, kalam, grammar, literature, including kalam, Sufism, poetry, and reli-
and history. As we see in the case of other gious law.
Ottoman Sufi-scholars, Bursevis writings
reflect the heavy influence of Ibn al-Arabi, BIBLIOGRAPHY
Sadr al-Din Qunawi, and Rumi, and are in Ruh al-Mathnawi (The Spirit of the
many ways a synthesis of the Akbari and Mathnawi), 2 vols, Istanbul: Matba-y
Mawlawi perspectives; a synthesis that we Amire, 1870.
see throughout Ottoman intellectual history. Ruh al-bayan fi tafsir al-quran, 10 vols,
With respect to this kind of writing, Bursevis Istanbul: Mektebet-i Eser, 1969.
commentary on the Mathnawi is particularly Kitabun-netice (The Book of Conclusion),
interesting. 2 vols, ed. A. Naml and I. Yava,
Bursevis commentary on the Quran is Istanbul: nsan Yaynlar,
one of his most widely circulated works, and 1997.
65
BURSEVI
Krk Hadis erhi (Commentary Further Reading

on Forty Hadiths), ed. Sami Erdem, Ali Ayni, Mehemmed, Ismail Hakk:
Istanbul: nsan Yaynlar, philosophe mystique 16531725, Paris:
1998. Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner, 1933.
Tuhfe-i Ataiyye (The Gift of Ataiyye), ed. Naml, Ali, Ismail Hakk Bursevi: Hayat,
V. Akkaya, Istanbul: nsan Yaynlar, Eserleri ve Tarikat Anlay, Istanbul:
2000. nsan Yaynlar, 2001.
Divan, ed. M. Yurtsever, Bursa: Arasta
Yaynlar, 2000. ibrahim kalin
66
c
ELEBI, Katib Mustafa ibn Abdullah battle), Katib elebi devoted himself to
(101767/160957) study. From 1053/1643 he attended the lec-
tures of several scholars such as Arec Mus-
Katib elebi, who is also known as Hac tafa Efendi, Krt Abdullah Efendi, and Kei
Kalfa (Hajji Khalifa), was born in Istanbul Mehmed Efendi. He achieved a broad area of
on Dhul-Qadah 1017/February 1609 and knowledge varying from medicine to astron-
died in the same city on 27 Dhul-Hijja omy, and also possessed a huge library. In
1067/October 6, 1657. He was a historian, 1055/1645, having failed to receive promo-
geographer, and bibliographer. His father tion, he resigned from his job at the Kalemi.
Abdullah, an Ottoman soldier, was brought In the three-year break after his resignation,
up and educated in the Enderun Mektebi he did some teaching and also wrote his cel-
(the royal school). Katib elebi began his ebrated chronology, Taqwim al-tawarih (A
private education at the age of five. Among Chronology of Dates) (1058/1648). Due
his teachers were mam sa Halife, mam to its success and with the intervention of
lyas Hoca, and Br Ahmed elebi. Abdurrahim Efendi, then eyhlislam (the
At the age of fourteen he was employed Grand Judge), he was reappointed as the sec-
as his fathers assistant in the Anadolu ond head-clerk (kinci Halife). He continued
Muhasebe Kalemi (Anatolia Finance Office), to produce more writings until his sudden
where he learned accountancy and siyakat. death in 1067/1657. He was buried by the
He, together with his father, participated Zeyrek Camii.
in the campaigns of Sultan Murat IV Katib elebi is known as a versatile and
against Terjan (1033/1624) and Baghdad an unconventional scholar who wrote and
(1035/1626). For a time he worked for the translated (mostly from Latin and Greek)
Suvari Muhasebesi Kalemi. In 1038/1629 over twenty books in different subjects,
he returned to Istanbul and attended the ranging from history to astronomy. He was
lectures of famous scholars of his time particularly famous for his emphasis on the
such as Kadzade Mehmed Efendi. Bet importance of using Western sources and
ween 1039/1630 and 1045/1635 he joined for his critical views of the educational sys-
the Baghdad and the Erivan campaigns. tem in the madrasas of his time. Some of his
When the army stayed in Aleppo, he went important works include Kashf al-zunun
on hajj. an asami al-kutub wal-funun (Uncovering
Returning to Istanbul once again, what he the Titles of Books and Disciplines), the
called returning from jihad al-asghar (the great bibliographical dictionary in Arabic
lower battle) to jihad-al-kabir (the higher which in its introduction deals with the
67
CEVDET
classification of various branches of knowl- movement to arise in the Ottoman Empire

edge; Taqwim al-tawarih consists of chron- in the nineteenth century. Because of his
ological tables of events from the creation political activities and opposition to Abdul-
of Adam to the year 1058/1648. Jihan- hamid II, he was arrested and sent into exile
numa (the world map) is a geographical in Libya. From there, he went to Europe
work written in two versions (1058/1648 and joined other Ottoman intellectuals liv-
and 1064/1654)planned to be a great ing abroad. He began to publish his famous
cosmography but never completedof par- journal Ictihad in 1904, which he contin-
ticular importance in introducing Western ued with some interruptions until his death
sources to the Ottoman science of geog- in 1931. Because of his political activities,
raphy. Fazlaka al-tawarih (An Outline of he was sentenced again to life in prison in
World History) (1052/1642) is a work in absentia. In 1905 he moved to Egypt, where
Arabic on world history up to 1049/1639. he lived until 1911.
Irshad al-khiyara ila tarih al-yunan wa al- In addition to Ictihad and his other works
rum wa al-nasara (Illuminating the Learned on a variety of subjects, Cevdet translated
Ones on the History of the Greeks, the a large number of books from French into
Romans and the Christians) is an educative Turkish with the goal of making modern
work on the religions and the administrative European ideas available to the Turkish
systems of European peoples and Mizan al- reader. His translation of Reinhart P. A.
haq fi ihtiyar al-ahaq (A Standard of Accu- Dozys Essai sur lhistoire de lislamisme
racy for Choosing the Most Accurate) is his (1897) as Tarih-i islamiyet (1908) led to crit-
last written work in which he discusses and icism from many Islamist thinkers because of
explains some burning issues of his time in Dozys polemical study of the life and person-
the light of the sciences. ality of the Prophet of Islam. After the turn
of the century, he devoted his whole time
Further Reading to writing and translation, and withdrew
Gkyay, Orhan aik, Katib elebi: Hayat, almost completely from politics. In addition
ahsiyeti, Eserleri, Tarih Dergisi, to his modernist publications, he also pro-
Istanbul, 8 (1955), pp. 13550. duced a number of translations from Rumi
and Umar Khayyam. Even though he was
s. leyla grkan a radical modernist and positivist and many
of his ideas were adopted by Kemal Atatrk
and his followers, he did not take part in
the politics of the newly established Turkish
Republic. He died in Istanbul in 1932.
CEVDET, Abdullah(18691932) Cevdet promulgated a radical reform pro-
gram for Muslim societies. He based most of
The most outspoken positivist of his gen- his ideas about reform and modernization on
eration of Ottoman intellectuals, Cevdet, the writings of the famous French psycholo-
probably of Kurdish origin, was born in gist Gustave Le Bon (18411931). Cevdet
Arapkir, Turkey. He received his education used Le Bons ideas about mass psychology
in medicine but became a prolific writer at a to modernize Muslim societies through a
relatively young age. He became one of the process of secularization. He himself became
founding members of the Ottoman Society a champion of his radical ideas when he
for Union and Progress (Ittihat ve Terakki advocated replacing the Arabic-Ottoman
Cemiyeti), the most important political alphabet with the Latin alphabet, changing
68
Creation
the dress code, and introducing European period of Islamic philosophy. The debate
institutions into Turkey and other Muslim had ramifications for a whole host of issues,
countries. Under the influence of Le Bons ranging from the physical sciences to theol-
Eurocentric psychology of the races, he went ogy and the unity of God.
so far as to argue for the union of German The standard view in falsafa, or Greek-
and Turkish races to create a hybrid race for inspired philosophy, was the Neoplatonist
the benefit of both races and humanity at view articulated by al-Kindi and then in
large. Among his publications are ki Emel greater depth by Ibn Sina and al-Farabi.
(Two Ideals) in 1898, Fnun ve Felsefe (Sci- According to this view, the world is eternal,
ences and Philosophy) in 1906, Mahkeme-i and so God did not create it out of nothing.
Kbra (The Great Judgment) in 1908, and Al-Farabi thought of creation as a gradual
Cihan- slama Dair Bir Nazar- Tarihi ve process; rather than a big bang, the world
Felsefi (A Historical and Philosophical Look came into being in a gradual way as God,
at the World of Islam) in 1922. Cevdet was the First Cause, slowly made his design
well known among his contemporaries, and clear. Al-Farabi also argued for states of
his publications had a wide-ranging impact. creation, beginning at the most perfect level
But his radical ideas of modernization and and gradually descending to the least per-
rather unpredictable political moves and fect stage, the world of matter. The degree
associations alienated him from a whole gen- of perfection is measured by the distance
eration of Turkish intellectuals. from God, the first emanation. This view
also played a role in al-Farabis theories of
Further Reading beauty and pleasure, which he sees as com-
Haniolu, kr, Bir Siyasal Dnr ing about accidentally through the act of
Olarak Doktor Abdullah Cevdet ve creation.
Dnemi, Ankara: dal Neriyat, This was repudiated by al-Ghazali,
1981. who took an atomistic view of creation and
Lewis, Bernard, The Emergence of Modern argued that the world is not eternal; that
Turkey, New York: Oxford University quality belongs to God alone. If God cre-
Press, 2002. ated the cosmos at a certain moment in time,
Mardin, erif, Jn Trklerin Siyasi Fikirleri says al-Ghazali, then this implies a change
1895-1908, Istanbul: letiim Yaynlar, in God, which contradicts the nature of the
1989. divinity. What is more, since each moment
lken, Hilmi Ziya, Trkiyede ada of time on the time scale is entirely simi-
Dnce Tarihi, Istanbul: lken lar, it is impossible then for God to choose
Yaynlar, 2001. a particular moment in time for creation.
Time itself is a creation of God used as a
ibrahim kalin measurement of change, and not a function
of change as Aristotle and the philosophers
claimed.
The argument that the world is eternal
seemed to al-Ghazali and his followers
to imply limits to the power of God. Ibn
Creation Rushd repudiated this view, maintaining
with some skill that the concepts of the eter-
Debates over the nature of creation were nal world and divine omnipotence were not
a running theme throughout the classical intrinsically opposed. However, the majority
69
Creation
opinion sided with al-Ghazali, and the ato- Izutsu, Toshiko, The Basic Structure
mistic view of creation came gradually to of Metaphysical Thinking in Islam,
prevail. Creation and the Timeless Order of
Things: Essays in Islamic Mystical
Further Reading Philosophy, Ashland, Oregon: White
Frank, R., Creation and the Cosmic System: Cloud Press, 1994, pp. 137.
al-Ghazali and Avicenna, Heidelberg:
Carl Winter Universittsverlag, 1992. oliver leaman
70
D
AL-DABBAGH(d. 696/1296) AL-DASHTAKI, Sadr al-Din
(d. 903/14978)
Abu Zayd Abd al-Rahman ibn M. ibn Ali ibn
Abdallah al-Ansari al-Maliki al-Qayrawani The Amir Sadr al-Din Muhammad al-
(d. 696/1296) had the nickname al-Dabbagh Dashtaki (d. 903/14978) was well known
(the tanner). He wrote on a variety of top- for his protracted debate with Jalal al-Din
ics, including law, hadith, and history, in par- al-Dawwani (830908/14271502), which
ticular, the history of al-Qayrawan. This text, resulted in the production of much com-
and its account of the notable people who mentary and supercommentary, together
lived there, formed the basis of al-Qasim ibn with summaries of arguments and posi-
isa al-najis maalim al-iman fi maarifat ahl tions. Al-Dashtaki is reported to have
al-qayrawan. Al-Dabbaghs Kitab Mashriq developed young as a philosopher, and to
anwar al-qulub wa-mafatih asrar al-ghuyub have debated with al-Dawwani at the age
provides an interesting account of love, a of fourteen in front of his father Sadr al-
topic of great importance in the Sufi system of Din. At twenty he is said to have mastered
thought. He bases his argument a good deal on completely both Peripatetic and Ishraqi phi-
al-Ghazali, but is not a slavish follower, and losophy. Al-Dashtaki was promoted to the
constructs a careful and detailed analysis of the rank of sadr by Shah Tahmasp, but this suc-
psychological states of the individual. Al-Dab- cess was short-lived, since he lost a debate
bagh uses the methodology of Neoplatonism with a theologian al-Karaki over the direc-
to develop an account of the links between tion of the qibla, the indication in a mosque
this world and both God and the afterlife. of the right direction for prayer toward
Mecca. However, his philosophical output
BIBLIOGRAPHY was considerable, apart from the celebrated
Kitab Mashriq anwar al-qulub wa-mafatih debate with Dawwani, which also took
asrar al-ghuyub, ed. H. Ritter, Beirut, place over the appropriate interpretation of
1859. al-Suhrawardis Hayakil al-nur. His other
works included theology, geometry, logic,
Further Reading and metaphysics, all displaying an ability
Abrahamov, B., Divine Love in to use a variety of different philosophical
Islamic Mysticism: The Teachings of techniques.
al-Ghazali and al-Dabbagh, London:
RoutledgeCurzon, 2003. Further Reading
Cooper, J., From al-Tusi to the School
oliver leaman of Isfahan, in Seyyid Hosein Nasr and
71
DAVUD
Oliver Leaman (eds), History of Islamic In 1903 Davud moved to England after
Philosophy, London: Routledge, 1996, joining the British and Foreign Unitarian
chap. 33, pp. 58596. Association. After a one-year stay there, he
was sent back to his country for the organi-
oliver leaman zation of education. On his way to Iran, he
stayed in Istanbul. Here he met eyhulislam
(the chief qadi) Cemaleddin Efendi and other
scholars, which resulted in his conversion to
DAVUD, Abdulahad(18661930) Islam. He then took the Muslim name Abdu-
lahad Davud.
Abdulahad Davud was born in Urmiya, Iran, Following his conversion Davud stayed
in 1866. His first education was at Ameri- for ten years in Istanbul (190414), where
can College there. After his graduation he he worked in several governmental offices
was brought to Propaganda Fide College and published works in various periodicals
in Rome by Christian missionaries, for reli- such as The Tablet, Illustrated Catholic Mis-
gious education and to study philosophy. sions, and The Levant Herald. As a con-
He was well educated in Christian theology. vert, life was difficult for him. He went to
He became a priest in 1895. On his journey America to stay with his daughter to lead a
home he stayed in Istanbul for a time, and better life, but even there he could not find
then joined the French Lazarist Mission in the calmness he sought. He died in miserable
Urmiya. He was competent in many Eastern circumstances in the United States.
and Western languages. Davud wrote Incil ve salib (The Gospel
Davud published the magazine Qala-la- and the Cross) to explain why he chose
shara (The Voice of the Truth) in modern Islam. The reason for writing his books, he
Syriac in Urmiya. He attended Avharistiya explained, was to explore the facts in the
Congress as a representative of the Eastern Bible which were concealed by Christian
Catholics. In his paper submitted to the con- theologians. These facts were the prophet-
gress, he criticized the Catholic education hood of Muhammad which was directly and
system and drew attention to the dangerous indirectly mentioned in the Old and the New
activities of Russian religious leaders in the Testament, he claimed. He also claimed that
region. He was sorry to see that Christian sects there was reference to Muhammad in the
in the region fought each other to convert the Bible. He argued that it is a logical necessity
Syriac Christians to Catholicism. He rejected for a prophet to mention the name or charac-
missionary activities because he believed that teristics of his successor. Otherwise, it would
the main aim of the missionaries was to make be impossible to distinguish a sorcerer and a
people revolt against the authorities. pseudo-prophet from a real prophet.
In 1900 Davud lived in seclusion in his One of the most important issues in his
native village. During this period, he experi- books is the compiling of the Bible. He
enced doubts as to whether Christianity was clearly stated that this issue was the main
the true religion of God. Consequently, he reason for his conversion. He claimed that
decided to resign from the priesthood and the Bible was corrupted and the religion of
informed the Archbishop of Urmiya of this Jesus as it was then was one of the pagan
decision, with a letter explaining the reasons religions. He explained that the four gos-
behind his resignation. After that he worked pels were not the work of Jesus himself,
in the postal services as an inspector, and neither were they written in his lifetime;
also did some temporary jobs such as teach- their original authors were unknown and
ing and translation. they were compiled decades after the deaths
72
AL-DAWWANI
of the Apostles. In his Esrar--iseviyye (The region he headed for his home area, dying in
Secrets of Christianity), he stated the rea- the camp of Abul Fath Beg Bayandur. He is
sons for writing the book as to criticize all buried in Dawan. He managed to prevaricate
the arguments of the Christian missionar- between Sunnism and Shiism, never disclos-
ies one by one and to warn the Muslims of ing his precise religious affiliation.
the dangers of missionary activities to cor- Al-Dawwanis major work is Akhlaq-i-
rupt the religion of Islam. In his view, the Jalali, a Persian commentary on al-Tusis
missionaries were not trustworthy people Akhlaq-i nasiri, and his influence also rests
(1916: 67). In Muhammad in the Bible, a on a prolonged debate with Sadr al-Din
collection of articles written in English, he al-Dashtaki and then with his son Ghiyath
claimed that the real mission of Jesus was to al-Din in Shiraz. He had a lot to do with the
give the good news of the Melekut, namely, way in which Peripatetic philosophy in Iran
Muhammad. managed to become fused with Illumina-
tionist thought, and even Sufism, to repre-
BIBLIOGRAPHY sent complementary rather than competing
Incil ve salib (The Gospel and The Cross), forms of thought.
Istanbul: Mahmud Bey Matbaasi, 1913. Al-Dawwanis work appeared as part of a
Esrar- iseviyye (The Secrets of tradition of dealing with ethical issues in the
Christianity), Istanbul: n.p., 1916. Persian world, starting off with Ibn Misk-
Muhammed in the Bible, Allahabad: Abbas awayhs Tahdhib al-akhlaq (Cultivation of
Manzil Library, 1980. Morals) and followed by al-Tusis Akhlaq-
i-Nasiri (Nasirean Ethics). Dawwanis book
Further Reading shares the same structure as al-Tusis, with
Aydn, M., Mslmanlarn Hristiyanlara sections on ethics, economics, and politics,
Kar Yazd Reddiyeler ve Tartma but jettisons most of the theoretical appara-
Konular, Ankara: TDV Yaynlar, 1998. tus to replace it with something of a more
Ishraqi flavor. Most of his other works
ibrahim sumer are in Arabic, as are the texts dealing with
the prolonged dispute with the Dashtakis.
This combative spirit also infuses al-Daw-
wanis gloss (hashiya) on a commentary on
Suhrawardis Hayakil al-nur (Temples of
AL-DAWWANI, Jalal al-Din Muhammad Light). Much of the philosophical work of
ibn Asad(830908/14261502) the time took the shape of commentaries and
summaries of commentaries on celebrated
Al-Dawwani came from Dawan in Iran, earlier works, and as the creator of Illumi-
where he studied with his father, the local nationism, al-Suhrawardi is clearly of the
qadi. His studies later took him to Shiraz, first importance. Thus commentaries on his
where he became sadr under Quyunlu Yusuf work became much studied, and were the
ibn Jahanshah before becoming mudarris main route for philosophical discussion at
at the Begum Madrasa. He held a variety the time.
of leading posts in local institutions. These
were difficult political times, so he seems BIBLIOGRAPHY
to have taken care to align himself with the Shawakil al-hur sharh-i hayakil al-nur, ed.
regime in power at the time. He became qadi M. Abdul Haq and M. Kokan, Madras:
in Fars while Quyunlu was in power, but on Government Oriental Manuscripts
the coming to power of Shah Ismail in the Library, 1953.
73
DHUL-NUN AL-MISRI
Akhlaq-e Jalali, ed. M. Shirazi, trans. tradition identifies with that of the Prophet
W. Thompson, Karachi: n.p., 1977. Idris (Enoch), was among the subjects of his
major interest, too. For the purpose of study,
Further Reading he made travels to such cities as Damas-
Cooper, J., From al-Tusi to the School cus, Antioch, and Mecca, where he had the
of Isfahan, in Seyyid Hosein Nasr and opportunity to meet a variety of ascetics and
Oliver Leaman (eds), History of Islamic self-taught pious people.
Philosophy, London: Routledge, 1996, A certain Sadun from Cairo is reported
chap. 33, pp. 58596. to have been his spiritual master for some
time. However, two figures, among others,
oliver leaman appear to have been his real Sufi masters:
Shuqran al-Abid and Israfil al-Maghribi.
During his sojourn in the Hijaz, as recorded
in Ibn Khallikans al-Wafayat, Dhul-Nun
attended the lectures of the Imam Malik b.
DHUL-NUN AL-MISRI, Abu al-Fayd Anas, the author of the Muwatta and the
Thawban b. Ibrahim(180245/796859) founder of the Maliki school of law. Ironi-
cally, he is said to have adopted the life of a
Thawban b. Ibrahim al-Misri was born in Malamati, showing nearly no regard to the
Ikhmim, the capital city of Copts in Upper letter of the law and hence for most jurists
Egypt, around 180/796 and died in Jiza in from his native land. He was criticized vehe-
245/859. He was an early major philoso- mently in Egypt for exhibiting pantheistic
pher, mystic, and alchemist. He is generally tendencies in his poems and teaching eso-
credited with having introduced for the first tericism publicly. At a certain point of his
time Neoplatonic concepts into Sufism and life, most likely toward the end, he was even
hence acclaimed as the founder of theo- charged with heresy (zindiq) and summoned
sophical Sufism. His father was a Nubian. to Baghdad for interrogation and then put in
Although his real name is Thawban b. Ibra- prison there. But, at the order of the caliph
him, he is usually known by his nickname, al-Mutawakkil, he was finally released and
Dhul-Nun (the man with the fish), which thereafter he returned to Egypt.
was given to him, possibly posthumously, on Meanwhile, as some sources indicate, he
account of a miracle allegedly wrought by had faced, long before the above incident,
him, as recounted in Attars Tadhkirat al- the hostility of the Mutazilites because of
awliya, based on an account in the Quran his orthodox position that the Quran was
(21.87), though this symbolic title refers to uncreated. Dhul-Nun spent the remainder
the Prophet Jonah. of his life in Egypt and, until his death, went
Very little is known about Dhul-Nuns on teaching his disciples Sufism and the sci-
early life. He is represented in the classical ence of esotericism (ilm al-batin), a subject
Sufi biographies as a legendary personality, a that deciphers the symbolic significance and
peerless genius of his age with a never-ending magical efficacy of the divine names and for-
desire for learning. He seems to have stud- mulas. Due to the difficulty of this subject,
ied medicine, magic, and alchemy from the Dhul-Nun would usually give a preliminary
available Hellenistic literature of his time. test to his potential pupils prior to their for-
Because of his proficiency in alchemy and mal training. Those who failed were not per-
theurgy, his name was usually associated with mitted to study further.
the renowned alchemist Jabir b. Hayyan. In almost every standard work of Sufism
The wisdom of Hermes, which Muslim we find many original mystical ideas
74
DHUL-NUN AL-MISRI
attributed to Dhul-Nuns authorship. Some emphasis on the states and stations of the
of them are of doubtful authenticity, some saints, as well as the miracles connected with
are legendary, and some are accurate. It is them, later Sufi writers view him as the mas-
claimed, for instance, that he was the first ter saint, possessed of hidden knowledge.
Muslim thinker to introduce the idea of Muslim mystics, generally cite the common
gnosis (marifa) into Sufism, which is in fact formula of invocation, may God sanctify
untrue, for such a conception had been in his secretive state, immediately after his
wide circulation among the ascetics long name.
before him. Nevertheless, his elaboration A number of treatises are attributed to
of that concept, along with that of gnos- him; but none has survived. Most of his
tic (arif) is quite illuminating. Marifa, theosophical views, mystical utterances,
he defines, is the direct knowledge of God, prayers, as well as poems have been pre-
attained by or communicated to, the arif served either by his contemporaries such as
without prior study, without observation, al-Muhasibi (d. 243/857) or by other Sufis
and without veils. Once he was asked how who came after him. Most of the classical
he knew God, he replied, I know Him by and medieval Sufi thinkers have not only
Himself. . . . Whatever you imagine as God, benefited from his legacy but also devoted
He is utterly the opposite of that. Dhul- a considerable portion of their writings to
Nun also distinguishes gnosis from tradi- his teachings. Several famous mystics and
tional knowledge (ilm) and classifies the visionary thinkers of Islam, such as Ibn
latter as having three features: one is com- al-Arabi and Jalal al-Din al-Rumi, have
mon to all Muslims, another is peculiar to quoted Dhul-Nun frequently in their writ-
philosophers and sages, and the third one ings and explained some of their views with
is exclusively reserved for the saints, which reference to his ideas.
is the knowledge of the attributes of the
Unity. Further Reading
Being a philosopher, Sufi, and alchemist, Attar, Fariduddin, Tadhkirat al-awliya,
Dhul-Nun was a freethinker par excellence ed. M. Istilami, Tehran: Zawwar,
and his ideas naturally bear all the elements 1986.
of these three disciplines and others. This is Al-Hujwiri, Ali b. Uthman, Kashf
why he can rightly be called a theosopher in al-mahjub, ed. V. Jukovski, Tehran:
the first place. To many Sufi concepts and n.p., 1376 ah; trans. R. A. Nicholson,
practices, such as hubb (divine love), hal The Kashf al-Mahjub, the Oldest Persian
(state), maqam (station), wajd (ecstasy), Treatise on Sufism by al-Hujwiri,
tawba (repentance), and sama (Sufi music), he London: Luzac, 1957.
has given fresh theosophical explanations. Al-Isfahani, Abu Nuaym, Hilyat
He applies the imagery of the wine and the al-awliya, Cairo: Matbaat al-saada,
cup to the mystery of divine love, which one 1932.
cannot describe but experience in delight. Al-Jami, Abdurrahman, Nafahat al-Uns,
Intimacy with God (al-uns billah) for him is ed. Mahdi Abidi, Tehran: Intisharat-i
the most desirable state that a gnostic can Italaat, 1957.
attain only after he completely cuts himself Al-Kalabadhi, Abu Bakr, al-Taarruf li
off from all worldly affiliations and purifies Madhhab Ahl al-Tasawwuf, ed. Ahmad
his heart from everything else other than Shams al-Din, Beirut: Dar al-kutub
God. At the end of this state the Sufi reaches al-ilmiyya, 1993; trans. A. J. Arberry,
inevitably the state of union and bewilder- The Doctrine of the Sufis, Cambridge:
ment (hayra). Possibly on account of his Cambridge University Press, 1993.
75
DJOZO
Nicholson, R., A Historical Enquiry of Islamic Law in al-Azhar. In 1359/1940

Concerning the Origin and Development he returned to Sarajevo and started work-
of Sufism, Journal of the Royal Asiatic ing as a teacher of the Arabic language in
Society 38 (1906), pp. 30353. Okruzna Madrasa. After a year, he was
Al-Qushayri, Abu al-Qasim, Al-Risala appointed a director of religious educa-
al-qushayriyya (The Treatise of al-Qushayri), tion in the Department of Religious Affairs
ed. Maruf Zariq and Ali Abdulhamid in Yugoslavia. After the World War II, in
Baltaji, Beirut: Dar al-khayr, 1988. 1364/1945, he was arrested and put into
Al-Sulami, Abu Abdurrahman, Tabaqat prison by the Communist regime. He
al-sufiyya (Generations of the Sufis), remained in prison for five years until his
ed. Nur al-Din Shariba, Aleppo: Dar release in 1369/1950. He was charged with
al-kutub al-nafis, 1986. treachery and banned from all his religious
and scholarly activities and worked as a
patrick odonnell laborer in a leather factory.
In 1372/1953, Hseyin Efendi was app
ointed as an office worker in the Depart-
ment of Roads in Sarajevo, and between
Al-Dihlewi,see Wali Allah 1374/1955 and 1379/1960 he worked as
a company accountant. In 1379/1960 he
received permission to work for the Depart-
ment of Religious Affairs. From this time until
Dreses,see al-Idrisi his death in 1402/1982 he worked in the
section of religious education in the Depart
ment of Religious Affairs of Yugoslavia.
From 138499/196479, he was the head
of the Scholars Association and editor of
DJOZO, Hseyin Efendi Takvim (Calendar), an annual journal of
(13301402/191282) this association. Between 1390/1970 and
1398/1978, Hseyin Efendi was the editor
Hseyin Efendi was born in Bare, a village of the journal Preporod, which deals with
of Gorajde (Bosnia) on 17 Rajab 1330/July Islamic issues. As an editor, he also played
3, 1912, and died in Sarajevo on 6 Shawwal an important role in the publishing of books
1402/May 30, 1982. He was one of the out- related to the history and culture of Bosnia.
standing Bosnian intellectuals and scholars. Hseyin Efendi was not only a scholar but
Having completed his primary education in also a Muslim activist. After 1386/1966, he
his village, he started his further education addressed Bosnian Muslim youth in various
in Mehmet Paa Madrasa in 1341/1923. In conferences and tribunals. He was among
1343/1925 he moved to Merhemi Madrasa the founders of Sarajevo Theology Faculty
and then to Atmeydan. He graduated from and was a lecturer there.
this school in 1346/1928 and enrolled in the Hseyin Efendi was not only a scholar
Jurists School in Sarajevo, and graduated but also a Muslim intellectual who made
from there in 1352/1933. use of his knowledge of the society in which
Hseyin Efendi was then appointed as a he lived. Through his al-Azhar education,
teacher of religious studies and worked as Hseyin Efendi came to know the modernist
a teacher in Sarajevo. He was sent to al- thought of Muhammad Abdu, al-Afghani
Azhar to complete his Islamic education. In and Rashid Rida. To some extent, Hseyin
1358/1939, he graduated from the Faculty Efendi adopted Islamic modernism, and
76
DJOZO
because of this he was criticized by some

intellectual-scholar who made a significant
local traditionalist scholars. impact on Bosnian Muslim intellectuals.
His short articles, previously published in
various journals, were later edited and pub- BIBLIOGRAPHY
lished as books. Islam u Vremenu (1976) Prijevod Kurana sa Komentarom, Izabrana
contains various short articles which deal djela, I.-V., Sarajevo: El-Kalem & FIN. 2006.
with issues which can be seen as represent- Islam u Vremenu, Sarajevo: Udruenje
ing a contemporary interpretation of Quran ilmijje, 1976.
and Sunna, the issue of ijtihad, and the role of Fetve-Pitanja i Odgovori, Novi Pazar:
women in Islam. Hseyin Efendi also wrote Publik Press, 1996.
textbooks of Quranic exegesis (tafsir) for the Fetve II, Sarajevo: El-Kalem, 2006.
Sarajevo Theology Faculty. Apart from this he
also published Fetve-Pitanja i Odgovori (1996) Further Reading
and Fetve II (2006) that contain his fatwas Davudolu, Ahmed, Dini Tamir Davasnda
(opinions) on various issues. Hseyin Efendi Din Tahripileri (Those Who Are Ruining
wanted to produce a translation together Religion in the Name of Restoring It),
with exegeses of the Quran in the Bosnian Istanbul: Huzur Yaynevi, 1989.
language, but he managed to translate only Kari, E. Husein Dozo, Sarajevo: Dobra
sixty pages from the Quran, published under Knijga, 2010.
the title Prijevod Kurana sa Komentarom
(2006). He is remembered as a leading liberal adnan aslan
77
E
EBUSSUUD EFENDI, Mehmed that the office of the shaykh al-Islam gained
(896982/14901574) further prominence in the Ottoman Empire.
Ebussuud was as prolific a scholar as his
Mehmed Ebussuud al-Imadi, also known predecessor and teacher Ibn Kemal. He
as Hoca elebi, was born in Iskilip, Turkey, wrote a commentary on the Quran called
and trained as a religious scholar. His father Irshad al-aql al-salim (Guidance of the
was a well-known scholar and Sufi. Ebus- Sound Mind), which he presented to Sley-
suud became a teacher at a relatively young man the Magnificent. The commentary had
age. He held teaching positions in different a wide circulation and several commentaries
madrasas. In 1533 he became a qadi, a reli- have been written on it. Ebussuud embraced
gious judge, first in Bursa and then in Istan- some theoretical aspects of Sufism but was
bul. In 1545, he was appointed as the shaykh openly against the teachings of Ibn al-Arabi
al-Islam of the Ottoman Empire, a position and other Sufi ideas and practices that he
he held until his death. As the Grand Mufti deemed incompatible with the Islamic law.
of the Empire, he also became a close friend He is also known for his passion for flowers,
of Sleyman the Magnificent, whose high especially the tulip.
esteem for Ebussuud is well known. Ebussuuds other works include Risala fi
Ebussuud played a central role in the bahthi iman al-firawn, a treatise on whether
enactment of many new laws under Sley- the Pharaoh died as a believer or not, and
man, who is known in Turkish as Kanuni, Marudat and Risala fi waqf al-manqul wal-
the lawmaker. Ebussuud succeeded in creat- nuqud, both of which contain Ebussuuds
ing a harmony between the Islamic Sharia legal opinions; Ghalatat-i Ebussuud, a work
law and the administrative law of the Otto- on literature; Risala fi bayan al-qada wal-
man Empire known as kanun. Some of his qadar, a treatise on predestination and free
fatwas about such issues as land and endow- will; and Duanama-i Ebussuud, a collection
ments have survived. His fatwas and unpar- of Islamic prayers in Turkish.
alleled authority are largely responsible for
the formation of classical Ottoman law. As a Further Reading
Hanafi scholar, Ebussuud based many of his Atsiz, Nihal, stanbul Ktphanelerine
legal views on the Hanafi school of law, but Gre Ebussuud Bibliyografyas, Istanbul:
did not shy away from using legal opinions Milli Egitim Basimevi, 1967.
from the other Sunni schools of Islamic juris- Aydemir, A., Byk Trk Bilgini
prudence. It was also during Ebussuuds time eyhlislam Ebussuud Efendi ve
78
ENAYETPURI
Tefsirdeki Metodu, Ankara: Diyanet Isleri In all his teachings, Khwaja Enayetpuris
Baskanl Yaynlar, 1968. main stream of thought involved the pur-
Dzda, Erturul, eyhl-slam Ebussuud suit of peace, progress, and morality in all
Efendinin Fetvalarna Gre Kanuni aspects of life, and he imbibed these quali-
Devrinde Osmanl Hayat, Istanbul: ule ties from the major Sufi orders. Unlike oth-
Yaynlar, 1988. ers, Enayetpuri never associated his tariqa
with politics. Sufism gained momentum in
ibrahim kalin the then East Pakistan, as he succeeded in
convincing those apathetic to Sufism that his
tariqa was not alien to Islam, as was com-
monly thought. In his lectures during his
tours to different places, he aimed at bridg-
ENAYETPURI, Khwaja(18861951) ing the gulf between Sharia and tasawwuf.
To this end, he wrote Shariyater Alo (The
Hazrat Khwaja Yunus Ali, popularly known Light of Sharia) and Ganje Asrar (The City
as Khwaja Enayetpuri, was born at Enayet- of Mystery), the former on Sharia and the
pur in the district of Sirajgonj, then in East latter on tasawwuf. His messages such as
Pakistan and now in Bangladesh, in 1886. He enliven your qalb before death, fight-
died in 1951. His father, Mawlana Khwaja ing nafs is jehad-e-akbari, tariqa is fruit-
Abdul Karim, who died when Enayetpuri less without Sharia, and so on stirred the
was aged five, was enthusiastically involved religious sentiments of the ordinary people.
in Sufism, as his forefathers were originally As a result, hundreds of thousands of people
from Baghdad before migrating to Delhi and embraced his tariqa. Some disciples main-
then to Enayetpur. tained long devotional bonds to Enayetpuri
At the age of seventeen, Enayetpuri for- while attaining spiritual truth, and subse-
mally entered into the realm of tasawwuf quently set up khanaqas in different parts
under the guidance of the renowned Sufi of the country. The largest of these is Biswa
master Syed Wazed Ali from India, with a Zaker Manzil at Atrashi, while others are
view to achieving spiritual knowledge and located at Shambhuganj, Chandrapara, and
right guidance to the path of God. Having Paradisepara. Almost all classes of people
studied a large body of literature on diver- from the highest rank of government offi-
gent aspects of Sufism and receiving direct cials to the laborers at the grassroot level
spiritual teaching from his master for nearly congregate at Enayetpuris khanaqa on sev-
two decades, he reached the culmination eral occasions (for example, urs, the anniver-
of the highest grade of theosophical, intu- sary of his death) to pay homage to the late
itional, and divine inspiration and became a shaykh and to promise God that they will
most successful successor to his master, out resist all sinful attachments to the world.
of the latters thousands of disciples. He then Khwaja Kamal Uddin is the present spiritual
set up a khanaqa (monastery) at Enayetpur master of this khanaqa in Bangladesh, the
namely Enayetpur Darbar Sharif (Enayetpur biggest in the country.
Monastery) and started preaching Islam with Enayetpur Darbar Sharif is not only a
the fundamental principles of his tariqa (Sufi meeting place of the Sufis in Bangladesh, but
order)etiquette, intellect, love, and cour- also a research center for academic scholars.
agefrom Assam (India) and Bengal. His Enayetpuri introduced a tripartite meth-
tariqa, known as Khwaja Enayetpuris Tariqa, odology of teaching: bil kitabate (by writ-
was greatly influenced by the Sufi sects such ing), bil mawaejate (by lecture), and bidda-
as the Naqshibandiya and Mozaddediya. rese (by khanaqa). His expositions of nafs,
79
EPISTEMOLOGY IN ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY
qalb, tajalli, tawhid, faqr, zikr, latifa, sabr, to reflect on what they are told, to consider
tawaqqul, rabeta, shogol, morakaba, moha- whether it ought to be believed, how truthful
saba, fana, baqa, and so forth received a it is and so on, so knowledge is obviously
new dimension in his work and touched the given a high regard in the text. But there is
right chord in the spiritual life of his often another term for knowledge, marifa, and
poverty-stricken followers. this has been developed in a slightly different
way to represent mystical or deeper knowl-
BIBLIOGRAPHY edge, knowledge linked with hikma (wis-
Haq, Khwaja Mozammel (ed.), Message dom) as opposed to knowledge linked with
and Exposition of Khwaja Enayetpuri, aql (reason). This distinction has played a
2 vols, Shambhuganj: Mozaddedia persistent role in epistemology within the
Academy, 1986. Islamic tradition, and Seyyed Hossein Nasr
Hasmat Ullah, Mawlana, Nasiyat (1968) claims it has a wider reference to
(Lectures), An Exposition of Enayetpuris philosophy as a whole.
S.fism, 24 vols, Faridpur: Institute of
Islamic Research and Culture, 19919.
Saifuddin, Khwaja (ed.), Adarsha Murshid Human and divine knowledge
(Ideal Shaykh), 2 vols, Shambhuganj: The Quran often states that Gods knowl-
Mozaddedia Academy, 19889. edge is superior in quantity and quality
to human knowledge, and that he knows
m. golam dastagir secrets unknown to us (6:59; 11: 31). Our
knowledge is in any case derived from God
and it is only through his will that we can
know anything at all (2:140; 2:32; 2:255).
Many passages in the Quran identify reli-
EPISTEMOLOGY IN ISLAMIC gious faith (iman) with knowledge (ilm)
PHILOSOPHY (30:56). Faith and knowledge are connected
so those who believe will come to know
The concept of knowledge in Islamic phi- (58:11; 2:26), and they will have certain
losophy is often taken in a broad sense to knowledge (yaqinun) of the other world
make reference to much wider issues such as (2:4). Knowledge is frequently contrasted
happiness, salvation, and political organiza- with ignorance (jahal), its opposite, which
tion. Before we discuss these connections, also means wrong conduct.
the category of words relating to knowledge For al-Ghazali, there are three levels of
needs to be outlined. The most obvious term knowledge that correspond with three lev-
is ilm, which occurs twenty-seven times in els of faith: the faith of the ordinary people
the Quran, and alim 140 times. There are (awamm) is based on imitation (taqlid); the
704 references in the Book to words that faith of the theologians (mutakallimun) is
derive from ilm. Things associated with based on reason; and the faith of the mys-
knowledge such as the book, pen, ink, and tics (arifin) and saints awliya) is based on
so on are referred to very frequently, and the light of certainty (nur al-yaqin). These
indeed the text itself starts with the phrase latter possess spiritual insight (arbab al-
iqra or read/recite and the first human basair). There are basically two ways of
being, Adam, was from the start taught all coming to know God; one is by reflect-
the names, so knowledge seems to be a con- ing on Gods signs in the universe, and the
stant concern of the Book of Islam. The text other is by knowledge of mans soul. The
frequently calls on its readers and hearers first approach is rational in nature, and the
80
second approach goes beyond reason and produced in the intellect. Conceptualization
involves a direct experience of the soul. A is the way in which the mind comprehends
pure soul is capable of this direct, intuitive particular essences or beings. Assent is the
experience and knowledge of God. For al- act of the intellect which makes a decision
Ghazali, the organization of the soul is the about truth value. Before we can assent to
key to the intuitive knowledge of God. This anything, we have to be able to form a con-
includes moral action and Sufi meditation. cept of it, but the reverse is not the case, since
Al-Ghazali said: The knowledge of God we can form an idea of something without
(marifa) is the end of every cognition and making any truth claim about it. How do we
the fruit of every science (ilm) according to acquire concepts and make judgments about
all schools of thought (Rosenthal 1970: them? The general account of the Peripatetic
142). This knowledge of the soul leads to philosophers is that we have experiences and
the direct apprehension of God. This is the put them together in certain ways that reveal
highest knowledge, known as mukashafa what they have in common, and our mind
(literally disclosing). Prophets and saints abstracts them from their particular material
possess this knowledge, and it is the knowl- context. The imagination is very important
edge of the illuminated soul, that comes to here; it is seen as both abstract and particu-
man through divine inspiration. lar, in that it goes beyond our experience and
Light comes to us through the Quran where yet works on the material of that experience.
it states that God guides to his light (nurihi) The mind comes into contact with the agent
whoever he wills (24. 35) (Rosenthal 1970: intellect (aql al-faal) which is seen as the
157). The Verse of Light reads as follows: source of abstract ideas that have no mate-
rial content at all, and which when further
God is the light of the heavens and the refined are able to be examined by the com-
earth. His light is like a niche in which pletely rational intellect.
there is a lamp, the lamp is in a glass, The language used by philosophers tends
and the glass is like a glittering star. It to imply that there exist a whole variety of
is kindled from a blessed olive tree, nei- different intellects or minds. But this is not
ther of the East nor the West. Its oil will the case; what is at stake here is just a variety
almost shine, even if no fire has touched of different states of the same human mind.
it. Light upon light, God guides to His Our mind moves from potentiality to actual-
light whoever He pleases and gives ity and from actuality to reflection on that
examples to humanity. God has knowl- actuality, which we can describe in terms
edge of everything (24:35). of possible intellect, actual or agent intel-
lect, and acquired intellect. The last is called
The Verse of Light refers to the light of reli- acquired because it is seen as borrowing
gious knowledge that God transmits to the ideas from higher divine realms, ideas that
prophets and believers. It also refers to the have nothing to do with experience and can
Sufi doctrine of God as the source of all illu- only come from a more perfect and abstract
mination, being, life, and knowledge. realm. A huge controversy arose in Islamic
philosophy from the views of those like al-
Farabi, Ibn Bajja, and Ibn Rushd, who
The Peripatetic view of knowledge argue that the mind is only eternal insofar as
A basic distinction that is always made in it concentrates on abstract and eternal sub-
the literature is between tasawwur (concep- jects. The more we concentrate on eternal
tualization) and tasdiq (assent), which rep- things, the more eternal our mind becomes,
resent the two states of knowledge that are and vice versa. Ibn Sina, by contrast, argues
81
that the mind must be eternal as such since to the nature of the principles behind the
unless it was it could not comprehend eter- world and can use that knowledge to work
nal objects, based on the principle that the out precisely what shape the future will take.
knower and the object of knowledge must Philosophers and prophets turn out to know
share the same character. similar things, although they have different
abilities to transmit their message to the com-
munity at large. Prophets can do this easily
Prophetic knowledge since they are skilled in expressing abstract
We normally begin acquiring knowledge truths in symbolic language. Philosophers
with sense experience, processing it using can understand the abstract truths that lie
our imagination. We then use concepts on behind symbolic language, but are not nec-
the processed sense experience to organize essarily able to undertake the reverse process
this experience and place it within a suitable of using that language to move an audience.
context so that it can actually be used. There In either case the abstract truth is the same
is another form of knowledge that is appro- for both groups, of course, the only thing
priate to prophets, and this does not start that differs is the mode of delivery.
with sense experience but, rather, finishes
with it. This sort of knowledge starts with
The Ishraqi view of knowledge
abstract ideas which are then wrapped up in
the appropriate imaginative and sensory lan- When we come to know something, accord-
guage for them to be grasped by a particu- ing to al-Suhrawardi, we have direct expe-
lar audience. That is why the Quran uses rience of something, and we do not need
different kinds of language, each of which to use any of the five predicables or other
is suitable for a particular kind of audience. abstract concepts to make sense of our expe-
The idea is that the same truth is going to be rience. Suhrawardis most important con-
wrapped up in different ways so that every- tribution to epistemological thinking is his
one, in ones own way, can make sense of notion of knowledge by presence (al-ilm
what one is told. Prophets are seen as people al-huduri), which is taken to be incorrigible
with a well-developed active intellect, since and unquestionable, and is like the sort of
they can grasp how to present information experience we have when something is lit
in suitable ways by thinking abstractly. For up before us. He uses terms like illumina-
most of us the process goes the other way; tion (ishraq), presence (hudur), and mani-
we start with sensory experience and end up festation (zuhur) to describe this. This sort
with something more abstract. of direct knowledge is truthful witnessing
Ibn Sina puts forward an idea which is (mushahada haqqiya), and the perfect exam-
similar to Aristotles notion of agkhinoia or ple of it is knowledge of the self, for which
quick wit. A thinker who has a good grasp al-Suhrawardi uses the term anaiyya which
of the very general principles based on which he finds in Ibn Sina. Most people cannot
the world works can take a particular piece appreciate the truth so quickly and directly
of information from his experience and work and they need to argue by using logic which
out what is going to happen. The general starts with true premises and proceeds from
principles are the major premises in a syllo- them to the unknown.
gism, the piece of information is the minor Unlike the Peripatetics, al-Suhrawardi
premise, and the conclusion is inevitable as regards the basic sense experiences as sim-
in any valid syllogism. This explains how a ple meanings out of which concepts are
prophet can predict what is going to happen: constructed. In themselves they are perfectly
he has access not to secret information, but simple and incapable of being analyzed
82
further, and so we cannot form general the esoteric and the exoteric, the hidden and
ideas out of them. On the metaphysics of the evident. We live in a world which gives us
light and darkness, the first matter cannot all sorts of opportunities for discovery, and
be universal substance, and so cannot be the we can use our senses and also our reason-
basis of individuation. For the Peripatetics ing faculties. Yet this just gives us superficial
it is matter that is the cause of the variety knowledge, and if we are to acquire deeper
of things, but for al-Suhrawardi it is rather understanding we need to look beyond that
the degree of perfection (kamal) or degree experience and the results of our reasoning.
of completeness by which this or that uni- God is behind everything that occurs and
versal meaning is represented in the indi- we only really understand our experience
vidual, and this can be explicated in terms of and reasoning if we are able to put what
luminosity. Illumination means the direct we discover within that context. A favorite
lighting up of the soul by higher metaphysi- Quranic passage for the Sufis is fa-aynama
cal lights. The soul itself is a light that has tuwallu fa-tamma wajhu llah (Wherever you
descended from the realm of light into the turn, there is the face of God (2:115)). When
world of darkness and is not able to return the truth appears in the mind it brings it to
to its original home. Since the soul and the a complete rest because the knower finally
higher levels of being are basically linked, resolves all the apparent contradictions that
there exists a foundation for the possibility are part of ordinary experience. For exam-
of light being received in this way. Illumina- ple, in the above Quranic passage we may
tion discloses the truth (haqq) immediately acknowledge intellectually that everything in
and requires no assent or judgment (tasdiq). the universe is part of God, but to experience
Our rationality, which is a very important the world in this way is very different from
way of finding out, is irrelevant at this level such an intellectual claim. It involves bring-
of direct knowledge, and has to be restricted ing together apparent contraries such as the
to the less important and more distant forms one and the many, the now and the past and
of knowledge. future, the same and the different, the tran-
One of the most interesting defenses of the scendent and the immanent, the finite and
notion of ilm al-huduri is that provided by the infinite. As the mystic progresses further
Mehdi Hairi Yazdi, whose basic argument and further on the path to perfection, the
is that knowledge of ourselves is not to be ability of language to describe the process
classified as propositional knowledge, con- becomes less useful.
sisting of statements which could be true or What is important to understand is that
false. If this knowledge was capable of being the sort of intuitive knowledge that the Sufi
true or false then it would have to be assess- defends as the pinnacle of knowledge does
able, yet any such assessment already pre- not rule out the acceptability of other forms
supposes the self which is doing the assess- of knowledge at lower levels of operation.
ing. Experience of the self is so perfect that So, for example, there is nothing wrong with
it is undeniable. The metaphor of light here using our senses, nor with using our ratio-
is important, since once something is lit up, nality to work things out that are not imme-
it is there in front of us and we are aware diately evident. On the contrary, we should
of it. make use of all our faculties, and intuitive
knowledge is only relevant for those capable
of accessing it, and then perhaps only for a
The Sufi view of knowledge
limited time. This is a point al-Suhrawardi
What is definitive of the Sufi view is the basic also makes in his Ishraqi account. The first
distinction between the inner and the outer, half of his Hikmat al-ishraq is on the nature
83
of the syllogism, and he wants to make sure and ultimately as connected with what lies
that his readers can operate well first at the behind the visible, so the Muslim sees the
logical level before they try to transcend that world as having a meaning that lies behind
level and move onto a higher level of knowl- it. God sent us rather than angels to repre-
edge. Many of the Islamic philosophers were sent him in the world, and as a result we
committed to Sufism in one form or another, must treat the environment as though it
and they saw other forms of knowledge as were a divinely created space. By contrast,
explaining perfectly adequately what it is to secular scientists often see the world as a site
know at different levels of being. to be exploited, as having no more meaning
than we can derive from it, and so as ripe
for development. Only a religious sensibility
The concept of knowledge and can appreciate the real status of the world
Islamic science as the creation of God, and only a religious
As we have seen, prophets are the creators sensibility can embody that status within
of symbolic knowledge. Like nature, the actions designed to preserve and value our
text of the Quran is symbolic of a deeper environment.
reality, and indeed the verses of the Book Nasr is entirely right in pointing to the
are referred to as ayat or signs. This has led contrast between what he calls the sacred
to a theory that the world is just as sym- and the traditional, on the one hand, and
bolic as the words in a book; by contrast, modernity on the other. The latter often
Western science has become atomized and involves a debunking of mystery, and the
exploitative in its relationship with nature. rejection of the idea that the meaning of
On a theoretical level, Islamic science has the world lies behind the world. But it does
remained wedded to mysticism and to the not necessarily follow, as Nasr suggests,
wider notions of wisdom and rationality that anything goes. It might be argued that
that link modern thought with its ancient those who think that this world is all that
and medieval predecessors. Western science, there is have a greater incentive to look after
by contrast, has abandoned this connection it than those who regard it as symbolic of
and has restricted knowledge to a very nar- a deeper reality, for that very reason. This
row range of ideas, consequently ending up world is all that there is, so once it is gone
etiolated and overly constrained. One of and destroyed there is nothing left of signifi-
the best defenders of this thesis is Seyyed cance. For the religious person the death and
Hossein Nasr, who has sided here with the destruction of this world might be seen as
Ikhwan al-Safa (Brethren of Sincerity) who of little importance compared with the per-
put forward a basically Pythagorean view, fection and immutability of the next world.
one which stands in opposition to Aristote- There is really not any significant difference
lianism and establishes an esoteric meaning between Islamic science and any other form
by which pattern and arrangement represent of science.
the inner nature of reality.
One of the characteristics of Islam is
Gods knowledge of particulars
said to be its stress on the unity of every-
thing, based perhaps on the hermeneutics There is one persistent source of controversy
of Ibn al-Arabi and the ways in which in Islamic philosophy related to knowledge,
his thought was developed into a wahdat and that deals with the nature of divine
al-wujud doctrine, a doctrine of the unity knowledge, especially as it relates to particu-
of being. The Muslim sees everything in lar things or events. It is generally accepted
the world as connected to everything else, that God knows everything and, indeed as
84
we have seen in the Quranic account, our is worrying from a religious perspective,
knowledge is very much based on God. Not since as al-Ghazali points out, so much of
only does God know everything that is visi- what is important to us occurs in the form
ble, he knows the secrets and everything that of particulars. We ourselves are particulars,
is hidden. One of the traditional attributes and we might expect God to be aware of us.
of God is, of course, omniscience, and we Al-Farabi and Ibn Sina could argue that it
do normally expect God to know everything would be beneath Gods dignity to know
that takes place in our world, and beyond, everything that occurs in our world, but
in just the ways that the Quran describes. since he made it we might well expect him
However, in his account of divine knowl- to know how it operates. According to them
edge, Ibn Sina points to a problem which he does know this but only in general terms,
al-Farabi had also identified, and this is that since without sensory equipment he cannot
Gods knowledge is knowledge of general actually identify ordinary objects. In any
principles and ideas, not of particular facts. case if he knew everything that happened in
For him to have knowledge of particulars he the world of generation and corruption he
would have to have senses and be limited in would be constantly changing his conscious-
space and time, which is not the case. He ness, and God is supposed to be unchanging,
could know particulars whose particularity so the idea that God is aware of everything
is unique, in the sense that there can only we do on a daily basis cannot be understood
be one of them given the conditions under as literally true.
which they arise, and Ibn Sina here gives the But there is certainly a problem here, and
example of an eclipse. An eclipse has to take an interesting way to resolve it was under-
place at a certain place and time given the taken by Ibn Rushd. He suggests that we
causal laws to which the planets are subject, should take Gods knowledge to be the
and since God knows what those laws are, paradigm of perfect knowledge and our
indeed created them himself, he knows that knowledge as a pale reflection of Gods
the eclipse took place. But he does not know knowledge. Then our knowledge of par-
how it took place, in the sense of what it felt ticulars can be seen as an imperfect version
like to watch it take place, since he does not of the perfect knowledge that God has, and
possess the necessary equipment for such an his knowledge as much more perfect than
observation. ours because he knows everything from a
Al-Ghazali complains with some justifica- formal perspective. He knows how it came
tion that this is indeed a very radical thesis, about, what in general is going to happen
because it implies that God did not know that to it, and why it is as it is, while we know
Muhammad prophesied or who does good the specific parts of the whole structure that
and who does evil, and so does not know he grasps. This is not actually so much an
how to reward or punish people in the next epistemological issue as an issue in the the-
life, if he wishes to treat them in accordance ory of language (see meaning in Islamic
with their deserts. The Quran certainly talks philosophy).
in a way to suggest that God knows all these
things, and constantly reminds us of God Further Reading
watching us and being aware of what we do. Aslan, A., Religious Pluralism in Christian
On the other hand, even al-Ghazali would and Islamic Philosophy: The Thought
accept that something rather different must of John Hick and Seyyed Hossein Nasr,
be meant by divine knowledge as compared Richmond: Curzon, 2002.
with our knowledge. But the suggestion Bakar, Osman, Tawhid and Science: Essays
that God does not know about particulars on the History and Philosophy of Islamic
85
Science, Kuala Lumpur: Secretariat for Inati, Remarks and Admonitions: Part
Islamic Philosophy and Science, 1991. One, Logic, Toronto: Pontifical Institute
Classification of Knowledge in Islam, for Mediaeval Studies, 1984.
Kuala Lumpur: Institute for Policy Ibn Tufayl, Hayy Ibn Yaqzan (The Living
Research, 1992. Son of the Vigilant), trans. L. Goodman,
Bakhtiar, L., Sufi Expressions of the Mystic Ibn Tufayls Hayy Ibn Yaqzan, A
Quest, London: Thames and Hudson, Philosophical Tale, New York: Twayne
1976. Publishers, 1972.
Chittick, W., The Sufi Path of Knowledge: Leaman, O., Institutionalising Research
Ibn al-Arabis Metaphysics of and Development Culture in the
Imagination, Albany: State University of Islamic and Non-Islamic Worlds: Some
New York Press, 1989. Comparative Remarks, Journal of
Corbin. H., Histoire de la philosophie Islamic Science 15 (1999), pp. 12,
islamique, Paris: Gallimard, 1964. 95108.
Dancy, J. and E. Sosa, A Companion to A Brief Introduction to Islamic
Epistemology, Malden: Blackwell, 1997. Philosophy, Oxford: Polity, 1999.
Davidson, H., Al-Farabi, Avicenna and Mulla, Sadra, Al-hikmat al-mutaaliyya
Averroes on Intellect, London: Oxford fil-asfar al-arbaa al-aqliyya, Qum:
University Press, 1992. Intisharat-i Mustafavi, 1965, vol. I, part 3.
Dinani, G., Falsafa-yi Suhrawardi, Tehran: Nasr, S. H., Science and Civilization
Intisharat-i Hikmat, 1376 ah. in Islam, Cambridge, MA: Harvard
Fakhry, M. (ed.), Rasail Ibn Bajja University Press, 1968.
al-ilahiyya (Ibn Bajjas Metaphysical The School of Isfahan, in M. Amin
Essays), Beirut: Dar al-Jil, 1992. Razavi (ed.), The Islamic Intellectual
Al-Farabi, Risala fi al-aql (Essay on Tradition in Persia, Richmond: Curzon,
the Intellect), ed. M. Bouyges, Beirut: 1996, pp. 23970.
al-Maktab al-Katulikiyya, 1939. The Place of the School of Isfahan
Kitab at-tanbih ala sabil as-saada (The in Islamic Philosophy and Sufism,
Book of Remarks Concerning the Path of in L. Lewisohn and D. Morgan (eds),
Happiness), ed. J. Al-Yasin, Beirut: Dar The Heritage of Sufism: Late Classical
al-Manahil, 1985. Persianate Sufism, Oxford: Oneworld,
al-Ghazali, The Niche of Lights, trans. 1996, pp. 315.
D. Buchman, Provo: Brigham Young Nuseibeh, S., Epistemology, in S. H. Nasr
University Press, 1989. and O. Leaman (eds), History of Islamic
Hairi Yazdi, Mehdi, The Principles of Philosophy, London: Routledge, 1996,
Epistemology in Islamic Philosophy: ch. 49, pp. 82440.
Knowledge by Presence, Albany: State Rosenthal, F., Knowledge Triumphant:
University of New York Press, 1992. The Concept of Knowledge in Medieval
Ibn Rushd, Talkhis kitab an-nafs (Epitome Islam, Leiden: Brill, 1970.
of Aristotles On the Soul), ed. A. F. Walbridge, J. and H. Ziai, Philosophy of
al-Ahwani, Cairo: Maktabat an-Nahda, Illumination, Provo: Brigham Young
1950. University Press, 1999.
Ibn Sina, al-Shifa (Healing), ed. F. Rahman, Wan Daud, Wan Mohd Nor, The Concept
London: Oxford University Press, of Knowledge in Islam, London: Mansell,
1959. 1989.
al-Isharat wal-tanbihat (Remarks and
Admonitions), part translated by S. C. oliver leaman
86
ERTURUL
ERTURUL, smail Fenni(18551946) unity of being with pantheism and its vari-
ous kinds in Western philosophy.
The Turkish philosopher and writer Erturul In his Muhyiddin bn Arabi ve Vahdet-i
was born in 1855. He was trained as an Vcut (Ibn al-Arabi and Wahdat al-Wu-
accountant and held various positions in the jud) published in 1924, he defended Ibn
Ottoman Empire. He lived a simple life and al-Arabi against the charges of panthe-
died in 1946. In addition to his writings on ism, which he saw as incompatible with
the school of Ibn al-Arabi and against philo- the Islamic concept of God and the created
sophical materialism, he played several musi- universe. Although he traced the origins of
cal instruments and composed musical pieces, the idea of the unity of being to Parmenides
some of which are still performed today. and Plotinus, he considers Ibn al-Arabi as
Following the tradition of his contempo- the first major and most prominent exposi-
raries, Erturul wrote a dictionary of philo- tor of it. In response to the traditional
sophical terms, called Lgate-i Felsefe, to kalam criticisms leveled against Ibn al-
introduce new philosophical ideas into the Arabi, Erturul defended the transcendent
Turkish-speaking world. In his zale-i kuk unity of being as a metaphysical doctrine to
(The Dispelling of Doubts), he responded to be understood in terms of intuitive knowl-
Dozys polemical history of Islam translated edge rather than pure reason and/or scien-
by Abdullah Cevdet. He wrote a refutation of tific experimentation. Like his contempo-
philosophical materialism entitled Maddiyun raries Ahmed Avni Konuk, Ferid Kam, and
Mezhebinin zmihlali (The Destruction of the ehbenderzade Ahmet Hilmi, he rejected
School of Materialism). In addition, Erturul the charge that the school of Ibn al-Arabi
also wrote on the Andalusian mystic Ibn al- obliterated the distinction between God
Arabi and defended his doctrine of the tran- and the world. Instead, he defined every-
scendent unity of being (wahdat al-wujud). thing as coming from a single source and
In his refutations of philosophical mate- returning to it.
rialism, Erturul used various arguments Erturuls philosophical works contrib-
culled from the natural sciences and philos- uted to the revival of the study of traditional
ophy of the time. He rejected the claim of metaphysics in the twentieth century. His
the materialists that nothing in the universe rejection of philosophical materialism and
is created out of nothing or goes into non- defense of the teachings of Ibn al-Arabi can
existence. With this, he sought to reject the be seen as a criticism of the radical positiv-
absolutization of matter as an eternal and ism and materialism of nineteenth-century
infinite substance. Since the infinity of mat- European thought. Among his works are
ter could not be proven scientifically, it could Kk Kitapta Byk Mevzular (Big Issues
only be a philosophical assumption. But it in a Small Book), Byk Filozoflar (Great
was impossible, Erturul said, to conceive of Philosophers), Lgate-i Felsefe (A Small
matter as an infinite substance responsible Dictionary of Philosophy), and the posthu-
for the creation and order of the universe. mous Hakikat Nurlar (Lights of Truth).
Against the rampant materialism and posi- Even though Erturul remained outside
tivism of the late nineteenth and early twen- any political associations, his works can also
tieth centuries, Erturul tried to revive tradi- be regarded as a subtle criticism of the mod-
tional Islamic philosophy and focused on the ernist policies of the newly founded Turkish
school of Ibn al-Arabi and his concept of Republic. Like many of the Islamist thinkers
being. He is probably the first modern Mus- of the time, Erturul also believed that Islam
lim philosopher to compare and contrast is not against scientific and technological
Ibn al-Arabis concept of the transcendent progress (terakki).
87
ESAT EFENDI
Further Reading references can be read as a critique of the

Kara, I., Erturul, smail Fenni, intellectual ambiance of Esats era.
Osmanllar Ansiklopedisi I (1999), p. 417. Esat also discusses such Western com-
lken, Hilmi Ziya, Trkiyede ada mentators of Aristotle as Albertus Magnus,
Dnce Tarihi, Istanbul: lken John Duns Scotus, and St Thomas Aqui-
Yaynlar, 7th edn, 2001, p. 204 (includes nas. In addition to these figures, he refers to
a full listing of Erturuls books and the works of al-Farabi, Ibn Sina, and Ibn
translations in Turkish). Rushd, and praises the latter while not shy-
ing away from criticizing Ibn Rushd for his
ibrahim kalin mistakes in physics. The fact that Esat men-
tions telescope and microscope in his expla-
nations shows his study of modern science in
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Esats other works include Kitab Amal al-
ESAT EFENDI, Yanyal(d. 1722 or 1730) murabba al-musawi lid-daira (The Book
of Square Equal to Circle), which is a book
Yanyal Esat b. Ali b. Osman Efendi was on geometry. Risala lahutiyya (The Divine
born in the Epirus region of northwestern Treatise) deals with the kalam proofs for
Greece. He received his early education the existence of God. His other book called
in Yanya and Istanbul. He learned Arabic, Hashiya ala ithbat al-wujud (Gloss on the
Persian, French, Greek, and Latin. He was Demonstration of Being) is also devoted to
appointed a professor at the Eyp madrasa the same issue. Al-Hashiya al-fathiyya ala
in Istanbul, and became the chief religious al-sharh al-hanafiyya lir-risalat al-adudiyya
authority (qadi) of Galata. He joined the (The Victorious Gloss on Hanafis Commen-
Naqshibandiya Sufi order. tary on Adud al-Din al-Ijis Treatise) is an
Esat is the first Muslim scholar to important gloss on the famous theologian
translate Aristotles Physics directly from Adud al-Din al-Ijis Sharh al-hanafiyya.
Greek into Arabic. His translation-cum- Sharh manzuma-yi shahidi (Commentary
commentary was commissioned by the on Shahidis Poetry) is a translation of and a
Ottoman grand-vizier Damat I.brahim commentary on Shahidis Persian dictionary
Pasha, and is called Tercumetu mucelled written in rhymes.
al-thamaniya li-Aristotalis (Translation Esat was a poet of some repute and wrote
of Eight Works by Aristotle). His transla- poems in Turkish, Persian, and Arabic. He
tions and commentaries were part of the also published translations of poetry from
Ottoman attempts to bring about a cul- Latin, Arabic, and Persian, and collected his
tural renaissance in the eighteenth century poems in his Divan.
known as the Tulip Era. In his introduc-
tion, Esat Efendi gives a brief discussion Further Reading
of the principles of traditional Greek and Advar, A., Osmanl Trklerinde lim,
Islamic philosophy, and mentions Socrates, Istanbul: Remzi Kitabevi, 1982.
Plato, and Aristotle. He also talks about Aydz, S., Esad Yanyevi, Osmanllar
the significance of wisdom (hikmet) Ansiklopedisi I (1999), pp. 4201.
and quotes several sayings of the afore- Sarkavak, K., XVIII. Yzylda Bir
mentioned Greek philosophers. Given the Osmanl Dnr: Yanyal Esad Efendi,
steady decline of the study of natural sci- Ankara: Kltr Bakanl Yaynlar, 1997.
ences and traditional philosophy in the
eighteenth-century Islamic world, these ibrahim kalin
88
F
AL-FALIMBANI, Abdul Samad In Fatani, Abdul Samad was exposed to fiqh
(c. 11161254/c. 17041838) and usul al-din or kalam. The fiqh teaching
in Fatani at that time was confined within the
Abdul Samad al-Falimbani was one of the Shafii school, while usul al-din was based
great and influential religious scholars in on the views of the Ahl Sunna wa al-Jamaa,
the eighteenth-century Malay Archipel- represented by the works of Abu al-Hasan
ago. Some historical sources recorded his al-Ashari and Abu Mansur al-Maturidi.
fathers name as Faqih Hussein bin Abdul- Both Abu al-Hasan and Abu Mansur were
lah, while others stated that his father was prominent in Islamic theology, particu-
Shaykh Abdul Jalil bin Abdul Wahab bin larly in speculative theology (kalam). From
Ahmad al- Mahdani, or Abdul Rahman bin Fatani, Abdul Samad went to Mecca and
Abdullah bin Ahmad al-Falimbani. Biogra- Madina for his advanced study. In Mecca he
phers give discrepant accounts of his place met several well-known scholars, including
of birth, but Abdul Samad claimed to be Shaykh Ataullah and Shaykh Muhammad
of Arab origin. His father was said to be an Abdul Karim Samman al-Qadiri al-Khal-
Arab from Sana, Yemen, who traveled to wati al-Madani, a Sufi master and founder
the Malay Archipelago on an Islamic mis- of the Sufi tariqa al-Sammaniyya.
sion and visited India, Java, and Palembang Apart from his career as a religious teacher,
before settling in Kedah, the northern state Abdul Samad was a prolific writer whose
of Malaya, where he was appointed as mufti works were widely used and studied. Among
(jurisconsult). While in Palembang, where he his major works were Hidayat al-salikin,
stayed for some three years, he was married Siyar al-salikin, Nasihat al-muslimin wa tad-
to a local woman and from that marriage hkirat al-muminin fi fadail al-jihad wa kara-
Abdul Samad was born. The nickname al- mat al-mujtahidin fi sabil Allah, Sirat al-mu-
Falimbani was derived from his birthplace rid fi bayan kalimat al-tawhid, Kitab Ratib
Palimbang in Sumatra, Indonesia. Abdul Samad al-Falimbani, Kitab al-Urwat
Abdul Samad began his early education al-wuthqa, and Kitab Anis al-muttaqin. In
in Palimbang and continued in Kedah under the Malay world, Abdul Samad was con-
the close guidance of his father. He was then sidered as the representative of al-Ghazali.
sent to Fatani for further religious education, Siyar al- Salikin and Hidayat al-salikin were
where he met several prominent religious seen as an adaptation of al-Ghazalis Ihya
scholars. It is worth noting that Fatani was ulum al-din and Bidaya al-hidaya. Like the
known in the Malay world as the corridor Ihya ulum al-din, Siyar al-salikin, which is
to Mecca for the pondok system, which was also considered as Abdul Samads magnum
the center for traditional religious education. opus (about 1,200 pages), contains basic
89
Falsafa
moral and ethical teachings in Islam with a they wroteoften copiouslyon different
very strong Sufi flavor. Through this work, branches of knowledge, they saw knowledge
he became known as a Sufi practitioner and itself as being fundamentally indivisible.
the founder of the Tariqa al-Samaniyya in The first aim of falsafa was the achieve-
the Malay world. ment of hikma (wisdom). This in turn led
the philosopher to a greater knowledge and
BIBLIOGRAPHY understanding of the nature of God, the
Hidayat al-Salikin fi Suluk Masalik prime mover or First Cause from which all
al-Muttaqin (Guidance for the Seekers else emanates. But in using the tools of rea-
on the Spiritual Path of the Godfearers), son to draw nearer to God, the followers of
Pulau Pinang: Matbaat Persama, 1941. falsafa drew the ire of those who believed
Sayr al-Salikin (Journey of the Seekers), that it was impossibleand probably impi-
Pokok Sena Kedah: Khazana Banjaria, n.d. ousto attempt a rational understanding of
God, the All-Highest being beyond the abil-
Further Reading ity of reason to comprehend. Al-Ghazalis
Abdullah, W. M. S., Sheikh Abdus Shamad attack on falsafa undermined its intellectual
Palembang: Ulama Sufi dan Jihad Dunia credibility in many circles. Al-Ghazali pro-
Melayu (Sheikh Abdul Samad Palembang: posed another way of achieving wisdom.
A Sufi and Jihad Scholar of the Malay Instead of achieving hikmah through reason
World), Kuala Lumpur: Khazana and understanding, it was possible to achieve
Fataniya, 1996. it through inner illumination, or ishraq.
Penyebaran Islam dan Silsilah Ulama Subsequently, falsafa fell into something
Sejagat Dunia Melayu (The Expansion of a decline in the Arabic world, though this
of Islam and the Lineage of Scholars in may have as much to do with the political
the Malay World), vol. 9, Kuala Lumpur: turmoil in that world and the lack of stable,
Khazana Fataniya, 2000. safe havens for philosophers to work and
study; much as philosophy had similarly
zaid ahmad declined in Greece itself. However, it did
not die out completely, and outside the Arab
milieu, in Persia and especially in Ottoman
Falsafa Turkey, falsafa enjoyed some temporary
revivals. Later writers and thinkers such as
The Arabic word falsafa literally means Mulla Sadra made systematic attempts
philosophy, but is more generally used to to harmonize falsafa and ishraq and other
denote a certain kind of philosophy, that is, routes to wisdom. In the twentieth century,
philosophical thinking as derived from clas- in Egypt and Turkey in particular, there was
sical Greek schools of thought, chiefly Pla- a revival of interest in philosophy among
tonism, Aristotelianism, and Neoplatonism. Islamic scholars, though this interest is now
The foremost exponents of falsafa in Islamic focused on modern doctrines such as positiv-
thought, such as al-Farabi, Ibn Sina, and ism rather than classical philosophy.
Ibn Rushd, to name only the most promi-
nent, expounded a worldview that would not Further Reading
have been unfamiliar to their Greek forebear- Nasr, Seyyed Hossein, The Meaning
ers. They saw philosophy as a vehicle for the and Concept of Philosophy in Islam,
pursuit of knowledge, across a wide range in S. H. Nasr and O. Leaman (eds),
of spheres from metaphysics to medicine, History of Islamic Philosophy, London:
cosmology to the natural sciences. Though Routledge, 1996, ch. 1, pp. 216.
90
FANSURI
Sharif, M. M., A History of Muslim in his self in Sharh-i-Naw; hence Hamzah

Philosophy, Wiesbaden: Otto Sharh Nawi denotes the spiritually realized
Harrassowtz, 1963. Hamzah.
In his poems, Hamzah Fansuri mentions
oliver leaman that he was initiated into the Qadiriyya
order in Baghdad and also received the ijaza
or authority to instruct and initiate others
into the brotherhood. He also made a pil-
FANSURI, Hamzah(c. tenth/sixteenth grimage to Mecca in order to seek God in
century) the House of Kaaba but did not find Him
there; instead he found God in his house or
Due to the lack of historical records, the in his self. Hamzah also traveled extensively
exact dates of birth and death of Hamzah in the Malay world, to the Malay Peninsula
Fansuri, and much of the details of his life and also to Siam or ancient Thailand, where
are not known with certainty; and not sur- there was a sizable community of Malay,
prisingly, there exists much debate among Indian, Arab, Persian, and Turkish Muslims.
scholars on these matters. However, most This has led certain scholars to believe that
scholars agree that he must have lived dur- Hamzah may have learned his Persian there
ing the latter half of the tenth/sixteenth cen- and also become acquainted with the Islamic
tury. As to whether he died at the end of the intellectual and spiritual developments and
tenth/sixteenth century or lived well into currents in the Indian subcontinent which
the eleventh/seventeenth century during the influenced religious polemics in the Malay
reign of Sultan Ala al-Din Riayat Shah (who world.
ruled Aceh from 9971013/15891604) is After his travels, Hamzah returned to
an open question. Aceh and taught there, and also at Barus or
Most scholars also agree that the epithet Fansur. Among Hamzahs greatest and most
to his name indicates he was born in Fan- influential follower is the Sufi Shams al-Din
sur, or Barus as it was known locally, which al-Sumatrai (Sumatrani) (d. 1039/1630)
was an important and prosperous trading who was the shaykh al-islam of the king-
port in the northwest coast of Sumatra dom of Aceh and the spiritual master of
during the tenth/sixteenth century, and the reigning sultan then, Iskandar Muda
most probably lived there for the major (d. 1045/1636). Whether Hamzah actu-
part of his life. However, S. M. N. al-Attas ally taught Sumatrai in person is uncertain,
(1970), who made a major study of Fan- but the fact is that the latter was very much
suris thought and rendered his works for influenced by the formers spiritual and
the first time in English, holds the view that metaphysical teachings and is often consid-
Fansuri was born in the city of Sharh-i-Naw ered as Hamzahs most important expositor
or Ayuthia, the ancient capital of Thailand, and commentator, although their teachings
based on the fact that Hamzah mentions are not identical.
that he obtained his existence there and Fansuri knew both Arabic and Persian,
refers to himself as Hamzah Sharh Nawi a and wrote his mystical works in Malay for
few times in his poems. Drewes and Brakel the benefit of those who are not proficient in
(1986), who also did a study on Hamzah the two languages. In Malay Islamic intel-
and examined the Javanese translations of lectual history, Fansuri is regarded as the
the latters works, believe that Hamzah was foremost Malay Sufi poet, and the first to
born in Fansur and had his major spiri- write of Sufi metaphysical doctrines and
tual experience of realizing the Divine Self spiritual teachings in the Malay language.
91
AL-FARABI
His prose work, Sharab al-ashiqin (The Further Reading

Drink of Lovers) is the first work on Sufism Al-Attas, S. M. Naquib, The Mysticism
written in Malay; and to date, no other of Hamzah Fansuri, Kuala Lumpur:
work has been discovered prior to Fan- University of Malaya, 1970.
suris. The other two prose works by Fan- Bakar, O. B., Sufism in the Malay-
suri are Asrar al-arifin (The Secrets of the Indonesian World, in S. H. Nasr (ed.),
Gnostics) and al-Muntahi (The Adept). In Islamic Spirituality II: Manifestations,
these prose works and in his poetry, Fan- New York: Crossroad, 1991, pp. 25989.
suri expounds Ibn al-Arabis doctrine Drewes, G. W. J. and Brakel, L. F., The
of transcendent unity of Being or wahdat Poems of Hamzah Fansuri, Dordrecht:
al-wujud, the ontological descents or self- Foris, 1986.
determinations (tanazzulat) of the Abso- Riddell, P., Islam and the Malay-Indonesian
lute in the five grades of being (al-hadarat World: Transmissions and Responses,
al-ilahiyyat al-khams), the relation between Singapore: Horizon, 2001, pp. 10310.
the divine Qualities and the divine Essence,
the essential but not substantial relation zailan moris
between God and his creation, the doctrine
of the Universal or Perfect Man (al-insan
al-kamil) and on fana (self-effacement),
ishq (rapturous love for God), and marifa
(experiential knowledge of God). Fansuri is AL-FARABI, Abu Nasr
often regarded as the Ibn al-Arabi of the (c. 258c. 339/c. 871c. 950)
Malay world and the founder of the con-
troversial Wujudiyya school. This was bit- Abu Nasr al-Farabi, whose full name is
terly criticized by Nur al-Din al-Raniri Muhammad b. Muhammad b. Tarkhan
(d. 1068/1658), who managed to convince b. Uzlugh al-Farabi al-Turki (he is also
the Sultan of Aceh that its teachings were known by the Latin names Alpharabius
heretical. This led to the persecution of the (also spelled Alfarabius) or Avennasar (Abu-
followers of the school and to the writings naser), was born in Vesic, Turkestan (mod-
of Fansuri and Sumatrai being burnt. ern Kazakhstan) in c. 258/871. He died or
In the tradition of Malay literature, Fan- was killed probably in or near Damascus in
suri is considered to be the first to introduce c. 339/950. He was one of the most signifi-
the forms of the ruba i (rhyming quatrains) cant philosophers of the Muslim world and
and the shair; and also the art of tawil or was widely regarded as the second greatest
spiritual hermeneutics. Fansuris elegant philosopher/master (al-muallim al-thani)
prose, rhyming quatrains, and exquisite next to Aristotle, who was considered as
poetry are unsurpassed in Malay literary the first master (al-muallim al-awwal) in
writings, and they remain the enduring the Muslim intellectual milieu. Owing to the
source of emulation and inspiration for fact that very limited knowledge about his
the many generations of Malay scholars whole life is available, many extraordinary
and poets in Southeast Asia interested in qualities have been attributed to him; for
Sufism. He was one of the most important instance, his knowledge of more than seventy
and influential Malay thinkers whose works languages, his ascetic lifestyle, and the like.
created a new intellectual vocabulary which About his family, nothing is known for sure,
facilitated discourse on profound spiritual except that his father was the commander
and metaphysical matters in the Malay of the Vecis castle in Turkestan. He studied
language. the principal Islamic sciences, Arabic, and
92
AL-FARABI
Persian in Farab, one of the great centers of Though little is known about his life for
learning in the Samanid period. certain, his unsurpassable imprint on phi-
Al-Farabi traveled to Baghdad, Damascus, losophy is remarkable. Al-Farabi was the
Egypt, Harran, and Aleppo. In Baghdad, he first known philosopher who made the
furthered his Arabic knowledge with Ibn al- paradigms of Hellenic philosophy, espe-
Sarraj (d. 298/929). While in this city, he cially those of metaphysics, communicable
also studied logic under the instruction of with the epistemic categories of the Muslim
the Nestorian Christian Abu Bishr Matta b. philosophical tradition. He held that though
Yunus. In Harran or Baghdad, it would seem religious truth is important, it provides truth
that his logic and philosophy instruction was in a symbolic form to nonphilosophers, who
provided by Yuhanna b. Haylan. In general, were not able to apprehend it in its more
his philosophical thinking was nourished in pure forms.
the heritage of Aristotelian teachings, and he According to al-Farabi, while philosophy
wrote most of his books in the Islamic envi- had come to an end in other parts of the
ronment of tenth-century Baghdad. Later world, it had a unique chance for new life in
in Halab (modern Aleppo) al-Farabi met Islam. His notions of essence and existence
the Hamdanid prince Sayf al-Dawla, who as well as the hierarchical Neoplatonic model
became his patron, and he took up residence of intellection based on emanation (sudur)
at the court of the latter in 329/942 and determined the general frame of Ibn Sinas
remained mostly in this city until his death. metaphysics and ontology. Besides being the
Al-Farabi made a great impact on other foremost authority in metaphysics and epis-
important philosophical figures, one of temology, he was also very influential in the
whom was the Christian monophysite Yahya fields of logic, music, and political science. In
b. Adi whom he taught in Baghdad. Yahya, metaphysics, he was accepted as the precur-
following his masters path, gave a great sor of Neoplatonism in the Muslim intellec-
impetus to the study of logic. Hence, one of tual world and the most preeminent person
his students, Abu Sulayman al-Sijistani, in the vein of this philosophy after Proclus.
the author of al-Sijistani al-Mantiqi (The His Neoplatonic mode was reappropriated
Logician), was also a follower of al-Farabi. with Aristotelian concepts and approaches
Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi, a pupil of both yet never intermingled with each otherand
Yahya and Abu Sulayman, Abu al-Hasan shapes the general character of his philo-
Muhammad b. Yusuf al-Amiri, Abu Bakr sophical works at large. To illustrate, in his
al-Adami, Ibn Zura, Ibn al-Samh, and Ibn famous magnum opus, al-Madina al-fadila
al-Hammar were to a great extent influ- (The Virtuous City), which is to a great
enced by the thought of al-Farabi. In West- extent unique and far from a Neoplatonic
ern Christendom, he exerted considerable interpretation of Platos Republic, he uses
influence on Latin Averroists like Thomas certain Platonic paradigms in politics and
Aquinas. His ideas were also very effective utilizes the Neoplatonic concept of God; yet
in reconstructing the cosmology of Ismaili his theology is detached from Platonism at
theology during the time of the Fatimids large. In addition, in his writings, in some
of Egypt (358565/9691171), which had matters no Neoplatonism is used at all; but
been highly revolutionary, antinomian, and in other places Neoplatonic thought shapes
prousia-oriented (qaim, the imam of the much of his writing. In the areas of cos-
resurrection). With this reconstruction mogony, immortality of the soul, and escha-
Ismaili theology became more in line with tology, he seeks to reconcile the notions of
his principle that the community should live Plato and of Aristotle. In cosmogony, due to
under divine law. his dependence on Neoplatonic metaphysics,
93
AL-FARABI
he advocates the emanation theory, reveal- level and descends to the least perfect stage,
ingly contradicting the Quranic concept of the world of matter (hyle). The degree of
creation from nothing (ex nihilo nihil). perfection is measured by the distance from
Essence and existence in God are mingled the first emanation, for which all creations
absolutely without any separation. He uses long. The soul, for instance, is trapped in
negative attributes (apophatic language) the body and always craves for its liberation
in describing the deity as a consequence of from its bodily prison to join the world of
his Neoplatonic methodology. Using the spirits, which is closer to the first cause and
Neoplatonic framework in the doctrine of therefore closer to perfection. For him, God
emanation (sudur), he conceptualizes the emanates not out of necessity but out of a
hierarchy of being accordingly. At the top of free act of will. The emanation process is
the hierarchy is the divine being, called the spontaneous, for it arises from Gods natu-
First, from whom a second being, named ral and perpetual goodness, and it is eternal
the First Intellect, emanates and, like God, because God is always omnipresent.
this second being is an immaterial substance. In logic, following the tradition of the
The First Intellect emanates a total of ten Hellenistic masters of the Athenian (Aris-
intellects by means of thought; hence it com- totelian) and Alexandrian (Neoplatonic)
prehends God and thus produces a third philosophical schools, al-Farabi expands the
being, which is the Second Intellect. The First scope of philosophical enquiry and fixes its
Intellect comprehends also its own essence, general framework. He pays great attention
and thence produces the body and soul of to the study of language and its relation to
al-Sama al-ula (the First Heaven). Each of logic. In his many commentaries on Aris-
the ensuing emanated intellects is associated totles works on logic, he explains for the
with the generation of similar astral entities, first time the entire range of scientific and
such as the stars, the Sun, Saturn, Jupiter, nonscientific forms of argument and estab-
Mars, Venus, Mercury, and the Moon. On lishes logic as an indispensable prerequisite
the level of the Tenth Intellect, the heavenly for philosophical enquiries and studies. His
and terrestrial realms are separated from detailed writings on natural science clearly
each other. The Tenth Intellect or al-aql lay down the foundation and assumptions
al-faal (The Active Intellect) is designated of Aristotles Physics and seek to debunk
to actualize the potentiality for thought in the arguments of Aristotles opponents, and
humanity, and emanates form to humanity pagan, Christian, and Muslim philosophers
and the world. The obvious consequence of and scientists.
this notion is that the God of Neoplatonism In epistemology, al-Farabi has, to a great
does not interfere directly with the matters degree, a Neoplatonic and an Aristotelian
of the sublunary world; yet, the same God outlook; at times the Quranic account of
is regarded, though indirectly, as responsible knowledge is present in his works. In the rep-
for everything that happens in this world due resentation of his epistemological approach,
to the process of emanation. the Kitab Ihsa al-ulum (Book of the Enu-
Even when he discusses the Qurans meration of the Sciences) is perhaps his best
description of God, he was under the influ- work, encyclopedic and highly sophisticated
ence of Neoplatonic cosmogony. In short, in expression. In this study, al-Farabi classi-
under the impact of Neoplatonism, al-Farabi fies knowledge as follows: the science of lan-
conceives of creation as a gradual process. guage, the science of logic, the mathemati-
The world, he argues, came into being in a cal sciences, physics and metaphysics, and
gradual way as the result of Gods omnipres- civic science, or more aptly, political science,
ence. This creation begins at the most perfect jurisprudence, and classical theology. Each
94
AL-FARABI
section is also divided into several subdivi- model so that metaphysics, logic, epistemol-
sions within itself. ogy, physics, and mathematics culminate in
In his other great work, Risala fil-aql a political science whose subject matter is
(Treatise on the Intellect), al-Farabi gives the investigation of and search for happi-
his theories of epistemology. He groups the ness and how it can be realized and mate-
concept of aql (intellect) into six main cat- rialized in cities, communities, and nations.
egories in the following manner: first, acu- The main aim of this newly oriented political
men or discernment to acquire the good; science is the founding of a righteous, virtu-
second, perspicuity with implications of ous, and excellent community. This hinges
immediate recognition; third, natural on perfect supreme rulers following the pro-
and inherent perception to ascertain essen- totype, the qualifications of such rulers, and
tial truths, taken from Aristotles Posterior the regulation of the community so that its
Analytics; fourth, conscience, an accu- members achieve happiness as citizens of this
mulated quality enabling the individual to felicitous city (al-Madina al-fadila). Once he
choose the good; fifth, intellect per se, which establishes this new philosophical/political
is the most important in his theory of knowl- structure, al-Farabi conducts a philosophi-
edge and divided into four categories: aql cal investigation of all the constituents that
bil-quwwa (potential intellect), aql bil-fil characterized the Islamic communitythe
(actual intellect), aql mustafad (acquired prophet-lawgiver, the aims of the divine laws
intellect), and aql al-faal (active intellect). (Sharia), the legislation of beliefs, actions,
This operates as follows: the potentiality to and statements, the role and responsibility
abstract forms, abstracting forms in action, of the successors of the founding legislator,
active actualization of the object actualized, the grounds for the interpretation or recon-
and actualizing potentialities. The sixth and struction of the lawand more generally,
last intellect is divine reason or God himself the classification of human communities
which is the source of all intellectual power according to their doctrines in addition to
and function. their size, and the critique of four corrupt
In political philosophy, al-Farabi holds communities.
that pure philosophy cannot understand the As is evident, most of al-Farabis writ-
practical and existential framework of reli- ings are directed at the problem of the cor-
gion as long as it concerns itself almost com- rect ordering of the state. Just as God rules
pletely with its truth content and relegates the cosmos, so should the philosopher, as
the study of practical science to individualis- the most perfect kind of man, rule the state.
tic ethics and personal salvation. Analogous Thus, al-Farabi links the political upheav-
to the Islamic religious tradition and to its als and chaos of his time to the expatriation
derivative sciences, such as kalam (theology) of the philosopher from government. In his
and fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), al-Farabi magnum opus al-Madina al-fadila, al-Farabi
constructs a kind of political theology where explicates in detail his political theory. He
cosmology, psychology, and politics are all uses Platonic, Aristotelian, Neoplatonic, and
remodeled on an Islamic communal pattern. Islamic ingredients, as seen, for instance, in
By clarifying the essentials of the Islamic the usage of the First Cause, emanation the-
community and defending its reconstruc- ory, and the like. Al-Farabi divides this sub-
tion along the lines of scientific enquiry, he lunary world into different strata and into
sought to encourage philosophers to take various societal modes. The perfect, ideal
an active role in practical political matters. city, or the Virtuous City, is theoretically
In this new construction, the theoretical sci- laden with goodness and happiness and des-
ences are organized within a philosophic tined to be so, and it is compared in its tasks
95
AL-FARABI
with the limbs of the human body. People of and thus perfect. This is because the beauty
this city, or al-ijtima al-fadil, are expected of God is essential, not accidental, and its
to forge cooperation among themselves to source in his own substance is manifested by
achieve happiness (saada). This is the gist his self-contemplation. Thus, the existence
of al-Farabis political theory. And this per- of God as most excellent in all aspects cor-
fect community is a model or paradigm for responds necessarily to the beauty of God.
achieving the virtuous world (al-mamura al- On the other hand, the beauty of cre-
fadila) by striving to achieve such an ideal ation, which is accidental, is corporeal and
state. The ideal sovereign of this city, who is sensible. Al-Farabi also thinks that pleasure
regarded as united with the al-aql al-faal and beauty are closely related to each other,
(the active intellect), along with the per- and the former is attached to and modified
fect character of the five classes of the city by the apprehension of beauty. In the act of
have certain features, duties, and functions self-contemplation, uniting the subject and
in order to make up such a perfect city. For object, the excellence of Gods perfection in
instance, the sovereign is to have inherent his own beauty results in a pleasure of equal
ability to rule, good character, excellent rhet- intensity, which is uninterrupted. Combining
oric, strength in terms of body and intellect, the Neoplatonic elements of divine transcen-
and the like. dence and the Quranic categories of divine
In sharp contrast with this virtuous city, excellence and perfection, al-Farabi reorients
al-Farabi constructs four different kinds of the categories of aesthetics by reconstructing
corrupt cities: the ignorant city (al-madina and relating such aesthetic concepts as beauty,
al-jahiliyya), the transgressing city (al-ma- perfection, and pleasure. Thus, beauty, both
dina al-fasiqa), the renegade city (al-madina sensible and intelligible, exists insofar as its
al-mubaddala) and the errant city (al-madina object reaches perfection; when this perfec-
al-dalla). Many of the inhabitants of these tion is an object of contemplation, then it
cities are destined for complete extinction, becomes a source of love and pleasure for
both bodily and spiritually; yet their rulers the contemplating and beholding subject. Al-
and elites who have been the cause of their Farabi was also a great authority on music.
debauchery and corruption are reserved for One of his works is entitled Kitab al-Musiqa
eternal punishment. al-kabir (The Great Book of Music).
In aesthetics and music, al-Farabi seeks To sum up, the Peripatetic School
to develop a two-fold understanding of (Mashshaun) of Islamic philosophy was
beauty: the sensible beauty and intelligible under the dominating influence of al-Farabi
beauty, love and pleasure being associated until the time of the death of Ibn Rushd
with each. Al-Farabi also discusses in al- (596/1198). His philosophical doctrines
madina al-fadila how the concept of intel- were carried on by his pupils throughout
ligible beauty is included in the discussion the Islamic world. His theories were also
of the names (asma) and attributes (sifat) very effective on the theology of the Jacobite
of God as expressed in the Quran. God has Christians and of the Ismailis. The theory of
names pertaining to beauty, such as beauty emanation, traced back to Plotinus (20570),
(al-jamal), brilliance (al-baha), and the and its linked doctrines, such as ittisal (con-
like. For al-Farabi, beauty is essentially an nection), saada (happiness), and nubuwwa
ontological condition; thus there is an exact (prophecy), made a great impact on the
equivalence between perfection and beauty. Brethren of Purity (al-Ikhwan al-Safa) and
Hence, although these names and attributes Ibn Sina. Even a very different thinker like Ibn
can be regarded at first sight to be visual and al-Arabi utilized al-Farabis theory of ema-
thus sensible, they are essentially intelligible nation in his doctrine of the unity of being.
96
FARGHANI
His theory of prophecy was picked up and Netton, I. R., Allah Transcendent: Studies
developed by Ibn Sina and adopted by the in the Structure and Semiotics of Islamic
Jewish philosopher Maimonides, and resur- Philosophy, Theology and Cosmology,
rected again by Spinoza who, like al-Farabi, London: Routledge, 1989.
holds that revelation and inspiration are an Al-Farabi and His School, Arabic
existential function of imaginative power. Thought and Culture Series, London:
Routledge, 1992.
BIBLIOGRAPHY Abu Nasr al-Farabi, in E. Craig and
Risala fil-aql (Epistle on the Intellect), L. Floridi (eds), The Encyclopedia of
ed. M. Bouyges, Beirut: Imprimerie Philosophy, New York: Routledge, 1998.
Catholique, 1938.
Kitab Ihsa al-ulum (The Book of the sevket yavuz
Enumeration of the Sciences), ed. and
trans. A. Gonzlez Palencia, Catlogo de
las Ciencias, Arabic text with Latin and
Spanish translation, Madrid: Imprenta y
Editorial Maestre, 1953. FARGHANI, Ahmad ibn M. ibn Katir
Kitab al-Musiqa al-kabir (The Great Book (third/ninth century)
of Music), ed. G. A. Khashab and M. A.
al-Hafni, Cairo: Dar al-Katib al Arabi, Al-Farghani worked in Samarra during the
1967. Abassid caliphate (83692). He was born, as
Kitab al-Huruf (The Book of Letters), ed. his name suggests, in Farghana. He worked
M. Mahdi, Beirut: Dar al-Mashriq, 1969. as a civil engineer in both Egypt, where he
al-Madina al-fadila (The Virtuous City), is said to have died, and Iraq, although not
trans. R. Walzer, Al-Farabi on the Perfect very successfully, since according to Ibn Abi
State: Abu Nasr al-Farabis Mabadi Usaybia, a canal on which he worked never
Ara Ahl al-madina al-fadila, Oxford: actually functioned.
Clarendon Press, 1985. Al-Mutawakkil had entrusted the two sons
of Musa ibn Shakir, Muhammad and Ahmad,
Further Reading with supervising the digging of a canal named
Alon, I., Farabis Funny Flora: Al-Nawabit al-Jafari. They delegated the work to al-
as Opposition, Arabica 37 (1990), Farghani, thus deliberately ignoring a better
pp. 5690. engineer, Sind ibn Ali, who, out of profes-
Black, D., Al-Farabi, in S. H. Nasr and sional jealousy, they had caused to be sent to
O. Leaman (eds), History of Islamic Baghdad, away from al-Mutawakkils court
Philosophy, London: Routledge, 1996, in Samarra. The canal was to run through the
ch. 12, pp. 17897. new city, al-Jafariyya, which al-Mutawakkil
Fakhry, M., A History of Islamic Philosophy, had built near Samarra on the Tigris and
2nd edn, London: Longman/New York: named after himself. Al-Farghani committed a
Columbia University Press, 1983. grave error, making the beginning of the canal
Farrukh, U., Dirasat Qasira fil-Adab deeper than the rest, so that not enough water
wal-Tarikh wal-Falsfafa, 10. Beirut: would run through the length of the canal
Maktabat Munaymina, 1944. except when the Tigris was high. News of this
Galston, M., Politics and Excellence: angered the Caliph, and the two brothers were
The Political Philosophy of Alfarabi, saved from severe punishment only by the gra-
Princeton: Princeton University Press, cious willingness of Sind ibn Ali to vouch for
1990. the correctness of al-Farghanis calculations,
97
AL-FARGHANI
thus risking his own welfare and possibly his Sadr al-Din Qunawi, Ibn al-Arabis most
life. As had been correctly predicted by astrol- important student. He is known to have
ogers, however, al-Mutawakkil was murdered written three works, and his most important
shortly before the error became apparent. work is certainly his commentary on a dif-
Al-Farghani is said to have escaped pun- ficult but key Sufi text, the Taiya al-kobra
ishment for this by the skin of his teeth, and (Nazm al-suluk) of Ibn al-Farid. Qunawi
the story is often repeated as an example of lectured on this text, and Farghani managed
how someone who is excellent at theory may to convert these lectures, including no doubt
know nothing about how to do something his own thoughts on the text, into a fairly
in practice. He is also said to have been in organized work that succeeds in explain-
charge of the building of the Great Nilome- ing Ibn al-Farids ideas. What Farghani did
ter at Fustat, which was finished in 861. His was important since he knitted together the
major works were in astronomy, and his key highly sophisticated philosophical ideas pro-
work here is the K. Jawami ilm al-nujum wa duced by Ibn al-Arabi and explained how
usul al-harakat al-samawiya (Book of Princi- they accorded with the rather subjective and
ples of Astronomy and Celestial Movement), direct accounts provided in Sufism.
a summary of Ptolemiac astronomy that It is quite clear from reading accounts that
went on to be much translated into Latin are critical of Sufism and Ibn al-Arabi that
and Hebrew, and much abridged and com- it is the text of Farghani that was the source
mented on in Arabic. Al-Farghani accepted for the information on which the attacks
Ptolemys theory and value of the precession, were based. This shows how central his texts
but thought that it affected not only the were in the Islamic world for those seeking
stars but also the planets. He determined the to understand the theoretical implications of
diameter of the earth to be 6,500 miles, and Sufism and how these relate to Ibn al-Arabi.
worked out huge distances, including the For example, Ibn Khaldun quotes him as
diameters of the planets. He also wrote on a representative of what he calls the school
the astrolabe and mathematics. of emanation, manifestation, and presence
(ahl al-tajalli wa mazahir wa hadrat). The
BIBLIOGRAPHY idea is that all existence comes from the
Kitab fi-al-harakah al-samawiyah manifestation of unity and there is an ema-
wa-jawami ilm al-nujum bi-tafasir nation of being from the divine source whose
al-shaykh al-fadil, Muhammedis fil. Ketiri presence extends throughout everything.
Ferganensis, qui vulgo Alfraganus dicitur Al-Farghani wrote his commentary in
Elementa astronomica, trans. Jacobus both Persian and Arabic, the latter called
Golius, Amsterdam: Apud Johannem Muntahal-madarik, and both were much
Jasssonium a Waasberge, & viudam studied. Since it is essentially a commentary
Elizei Weyerstraet, 1699. on a commentary on a poem, this was quite
an achievement, as is the praise it received
oliver leaman from the poet Jami (d. 898/1492) as the
most organized account of mystical phi-
losophy then available. Al-Farghani died in
either 691/1292, 695/1296 or 699/1299,
AL-FARGHANI, Said al-Din according to different authorities.
(seventh/thirteenth century)
Further Reading
Said al-Din M. b. Ahmad Al-Farghani Chittick, W., Spectrums of Islamic Thought:
was born in Farghana and studied under Said al-Din Farghani on the Implications
98
AL-FARISI
of Oneness and Manyness, in Classical optical theories. Although Qutb al-Dins

Persian Sufism from its Origins to Rumi, opus, the Nihayat, was a work in astronomy,
L. Lewisohn (ed.), London: Khaniqahi it also contained a section treating topics in
Nimatullahi, 1994, pp. 20317. geometrical optics as well as investigating
the formation of meteorological phenomena
oliver leaman like the rainbow. Kamal al-Dins intellectual
discomfort from what he encountered in
that part of the Nihayat led to his attempted
interrogation of al-Tusis over-philosophiz-
ing interpretation of Euclids mathematical
AL-FARISI, Kamal al-Din Optika (drafted c.300 bc).
(c. 658c. 720/1260c. 1320) In forming this opinion, Kamal al-Din
may have been partly influenced by Ibn
Kamal al-Din Abul-Hasan Muhammad Sinas physical explication of vision as being
ibn al-Hasan al-Farisi was born around an intromission theory, which was itself
658/1260 in Tabriz, a district in the far chiefly inspired by Aristotles De anima as
northwestern territories of Iran, and died in well as being associated with meteorologi-
that same locality about 720/1320. Little cal observations concerning phenomena like
is known about his life. He was raised in a the rainbow. This line in scientific literature
period marked by political turbulence that may have initially inspired Kamal al-Dins
ensued from the destruction of the Abbasid endeavor to study optics (ilm al-manazir).
Caliphate, and the sack of Baghdad by the At the time he became engaged in investigat-
invading Mongol hordes in 1258. Hencefor- ing the fundamentals of this science, whose
ward, his life unfolded under the reign of the origins date back to Euclids and Ptolemys
Mongol Ilkhanids (Ilkhan) dynasty, which systems, including the conjectures of Plato,
governed Persia from 1256 to 1336, and Aristotle, Heron of Alexandria, and Galen.
under whose auspices the arts and sciences Moreover, the science of optics had been
experienced a relative blossoming. well developed in the works of thinkers
Kamal al-Din started his studies with like al-Kindi (d. c. 866), Ibn al-Haytham
the astronomer Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi (d. 1039), Ibn Sina, and Nasir al-Din al-Tusi.
(12361311) sometime prior to 1290, and Prompted by a question put to him by his
was one of his most outstanding pupils. tutor concerning the essence of refraction,
Consequently, he acquired his education in Kamal al-Din was directed by al-Shirazi to
a scholarly environment that was closely consult the notable manuscript of Ibn al-
associated with the observatory of Maragha Haythams Kitab al-manazir (The Optics;
in Azerbaijan, which was once headed by c.1027), which apparently was at the time
Qutb al-Dins teacher, the famed mathemati- recently acquired by Qutb al-Din from a
cian and philosopher, Nasir al-Din al-Tusi distant land (arguably, from the al-Azhar
(d. 1274). Eventually, Kamal al-Din became school in Cairo).
the prime inheritor of the Maragha school, Kamal al-Din originally intended to write
and a contributor to its systematic intellec- a synoptic summary (ikhtisar) of Ibn al-Hay-
tual continuity in Tabriz. Upon studying his thams Kitab al-manazir, to be subsequently
tutors treatise, Nihayat al-idrak fi dirayat followed by a commentary (sharh). How-
al-aflak, which constituted an astronomi- ever, after his careful reading of this monu-
cal tract that was drafted by Qutb al-Din in mental opus and the attempted assimilation
reference to al-Tusis Tadhkirah, Kamal al- of its findings, he opted to compose a critical
Din was not fully satisfied with its reported revision (tanqih) entitled: Tanqih al-manazir
99
AL-FARISI
li-dhawi al-absar wal-basair (in short, The He held that this phenomenon resulted from
Revision of the Optics). Kamal al-Din com- the refraction and reflection of light on rain
pleted the composition of this chief work, droplets, while demonstrating that this the-
the Tanqih, between 1302 and 1311, prior ory was amenable to experimental verifica-
to the death of his tutor Qutb al-Din al-Shi- tion and associated numerical tabulation. In
razi. This masterpiece included an append- his effort to verify his theoretical explication
age known as Dhayl al-tanqih, together of the occurrence of the rainbow, Kamal
with addenda (lawahiq) dealing with the al-Din enacted an experimental model fash-
rainbow (qaws qoza), the halo (al-hala), and ioned after a transparent spherical glass ves-
the burning sphere (al-Kura al-muhriqa), sel filled with water to represent a single rain
and was ultimately further supported by an droplet. Placing this installation in a dark
additional separate tract entitled: Kitab al- room (bayt muzlim; camera obscura; the
Basair fi ilm al-manazir (Insights into the principle behind the pinhole camera), he sub-
Science of Optics). jected it to a light-ray passing by a controlled
The unfurling of the Tanqih corpus did aperture, and observed the process of a mod-
eventually constitute a principal break- eled double refraction, between the surface
through in the course of development of the of the glass container and the water it con-
scientific optical tradition, and, as its title tained, with its associated reflections, which
indicates, it deservedly was an original criti- resulted in the generation of a rainbow-like
cal revision that stood in its own right and coloration. Kamal al-Din was also able to
cannot be reductively described as being a show that the approximation obtained by
mere commentary (sharh) on Ibn al-Hay- his model was good enough to allow him to
thams optical theories. Kamal al-Dins opus ignore the effects of the glass container. For,
did ultimately lead to the furthering of the in the case of the actual miniscule rain drop-
unfolding of a physiological-geometrical lets, the propagating light-ray encounters a
tradition in optics. His optical investigations double refraction, namely from air to water
were moreover grounded by a close anatomi- and water to air, while in the case of the glass
cal examination of the eye that advanced the model, light is refracted four times: from the
findings of Ibn al-Haytham, and presented air to the external surface of the glass enve-
a more systematic account of the structure lope, then from the internal surface of the
of the eye than what was encountered with glass envelope to water, then through water
the Roman physician Claudius Galenus to the inner surface of the glass envelope,
(Galen). and from the external surface of the glass
The most important part of Kamal al- envelope into air.
Dins work is embodied in his theory of the In addition to explicating the optical
rainbow (qaws qoza). Building on the mete- phenomenon of the rainbow, Kamal al-Din
orological observations of Ibn Sinas Kitab also tried to advance a new theory concern-
al-Shifa (The Book of Healing), where it ing the nature of color, grasping it as being
was stated that the rainbow results from the the resulting effect of the interpenetration
reflection of the sunlight rays on the total- of different forms of an image with each
ity of the water droplets dispersed into the other on a dark background. Although
atmosphere when clouds turn into rain, some argue that his theory of the rainbow
and equally appealing to Ibn al-Haythams was advanced under the explicit and direct
study of refraction in Kitab al-Manazir, and influence of Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi, it is
The Burning Sphere (al-Kura al-muhriqa), more likely the case that the ascription of
Kamal al-Din offered the first satisfactory his accomplishment to his tutor remains
mathematical explanation of the rainbow. dubious.
100
AL-FATANI
Besides his great contributions in the field Lindberg, D. C., Theories of Vision from
of scientific optics, and his elucidation of the al-Kindi to Kepler, Chicago: University of
meteorological phenomena of the rainbow Chicago Press, 1976.
and the halo, Kamal al-Din also excelled Nazif, M., al-Hasan bin al-Haytham,
as a mathematician. Of his achievements 2 vols, Cairo: Matbaat nuri bi-misr,
in that domain, once could principally cite 1942.
his contributions to number theory. Follow- Rashed, R., Optique et mathmatiques,
ing the tradition of Arabic mathematics, recherches sur la pense scientifique
in appealing to Euclids Elements and Dio- en arabe, Aldershot: Variorum,
phantus Arithmetica, Kamal al-Din further 1992
expounded Thabit ibn Qurras (d. 901) the- Les mathmatiques infinitsimales du
orem on amicable numbers (al-adad al-mu- IXe au XIe sicle, 4 vols, London:
tahabba; namely, a pair of numbers each of al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation,
which equals the sum of the others positive 19932002.
divisors). He moreover advanced the pair of Geometrical Optics, in R. Rashed
amicable numbers (mutahabban) 220/284, and R. Morlon (eds), Encyclopedia of
and found the pair 17296/18416 (known the History of Arabic Science, vol. 2,
as Eulers amicable pair) using Thabits rule. London: Routledge, 1996.
He also introduced arithmetic elements of Russell, G., The Emergence of
factorization based on Euclidean algorithm, Physiological Optics, in R. Rashed
together with associated combinatorial and R. Morlon (eds), Encyclopedia of
methods. the History of Arabic Science, vol. II,
Nonetheless, Kamal al-Dins legacy remains London: Routledge, 1996.
most prominently attached to the course Faresi, Kamal al-Din, in E. Yarshater
of development of optics, letting him ulti- (ed.), Encyclopaedia Iranica, vol. 9,
mately appear as the last among the great New York: Bibliotheca Persica Press,
scholars who contributed to the unfolding 1999.
of this classical science in medieval Islamic Sabra, A. I., Optics, Islamic, in J. R.
civilization. Following Kamal al-Dins Strayer (ed.), Dictionary of the Middle
achievements, the most notable commen- Ages, vol. 9, New York: Charles
tary on his Tanqih was eventually embodied Scribners Sons, 1987.
in a tract titled Nur hadaqat al-ibsar, which Manazir, in C. Bosworth, E. van
was composed by the Syrian astronomer Donzel and C. Pellat (eds), The
Taqi al-Din bin Muhammad bin Maruf al- Encyclopaedia of Islam, vol. 6, Leiden:
Dimashqi (d. 1585) under the patronage of Brill, 1991.
the Ottoman Sultan Murad III.
nader el-bizri
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Tanqih al-manazir, Hyderabad: Osmania
Oriental Publications Bureau,
192830.
AL-FATANI, Dawud
Further Reading (c. 11831263/c. 17701847)
Beshara, S., Ibn al-Haythams Optics:
A Study of the Origins of Experimental Dawud bin Abdullah bin Idris al-Jawi al-
Science, Minneapolis: Bibliotheca Fatani al-Malayuwi is better known simply
Islamica, 1977. as Shaykh Dawud al-Fatani. The absence of
101
AL-FATANI
reliable historical records has led to dispute Jalaluddin Aceh, Shaykh Muhammad bin
among historians and biographers regarding Abdul Karim al-Sammani al-Madani, and
his date and place of birth. At least three dif- Sayyid Sulayman bin Yahya bin Umar.
ferent years are ascribed to al-Fatanis birth: Shaykh Daud enjoyed his fame as a lead-
1133/1721, 1153/1741 and 1183/1770. ing religious scholar in the region whose
It is quite uncertain why his date of birth writings had almost become compulsory
is so inconsistently reported. The same dis- textbooks in the Malay world. Any religious
crepancy also relates to his place of birth. students who follow the traditional Malay
According to one source he was born in a pondok system (or pesantren in Indonesia)
village called Kampung Parit Marhum, a vil- must have been acquainted with his books.
lage about seven kilometers south of Patani Based on the latest historical account by
in South Thailand around 1183/1770. Wan Muhammad Saghir (a leading biogra-
Another source has him born in Kampong pher of traditional Malay scholars), Shaykh
Kerisek, also in Patani, south of Thailand. Daud produced a total of sixty-six publica-
We have little information about his early tions in various forms, on various aspects,
life, the details of his education or about his including theology, fiqh, tasawwuf, and his-
teachers, except that he was educated and tory. Among the most read and studied of
brought up within the advanced religious his works were Furu al-Masail; Bughyat
spirit and environment of his own family. al-tullab li murid marifat al-ahkam bi al-
One of his instructors was said to be his own sawab; al-Saydu wa al-zabaih; Tanbih
uncle, Shaykh Safiuddin. It was said that he al-ghafilin; al-Durru al-thamin fi aqaid
spent the first five years of his education in al-muminin; Minhaj al-Abidin ila jannati
Patani before heading to Aceh, where he rabb al-alamin; and Munyat al-musalli (to
spent another two years. It should be noted list only a few).
that Aceh at that time was considered as the Based on his writings, it clearly shows that
corridor of Mecca, the place where students Shaykh Dawud was a follower of the Shafii
from all over the Malay world came for school in fiqh and the Ashari school in the-
advanced religious education. The next des- ology. He was also a Sufi practitioner of the
tination was Mecca, where Shaykh Dawud Shatari tariqa. However, as a prominent
spent some thirty years studying religion, faqih, his most significant impact in the con-
after which he spent another five years in text of religious thought rests in his contri-
Medina to complete his studies. There is no bution as the proponent of Shafiis fiqh and
exact date recorded as to when he arrived usul (the principles of jurisprudence) in the
in Mecca. Malay world. He was not a philosopher in
While in Mecca and Medina, Shaykh the same manner as we regard, for example,
Dawud had a chance to study under a num- al-Farabi or Ibn Sina, but his religious, phil-
ber of leading religious scholars at that time, osophical, and theological thoughts could be
although of course in a very traditional seen in his works where he propagated his
milieu. Among these were Shaykh Muham- traditional religious ideas. The value of a
mad Nafis bin Idris bin Hussayn al-Banjari work like Furu al-masail, in which he dealt
(the author of al-Dur al-Nafis), who resided with many practical religious issues in soci-
in Mecca, and Shaykh Abdul Samad al-Jawi ety, is high. He portrayed his understanding
al-Falimbani, who also resided in Mecca of the ethos and reality of social and cultural
and Taif. Shaykh Dawud, in his notes, life of traditional Malay society, and at the
mentioned four names who happened to same time consistently maintained his strong
be his instructors, namely Shaykh Ataul- attachment with the Shafii school. In the
lah, Shaykh Muhammad Zaid bin Faqih same vein, he propagated his Ashari line of
102
FENARI
theological thought together with his Sufi Ottoman Sufi philosopher Sadr al-Din al-
ideas and practices of the al-Shatari order in Qunawi (d. 672/1273). Fenari himself
Malay society. Today, within Malay society in studied under a number of prominent teach-
particular, the way Islam is practised is very ers including Jamal al-Din al-Aksarayi
much influenced by the works and thought (d. 791/1388). He traveled in Anatolia and
of Shaykh Dawud. Shaykh Dawud al-Fatani went to Egypt to further his studies. In 1369,
died in Taif near Mecca in 1263/1847, leav- he was appointed as a teacher at the Mana-
ing behind him a great legacy as an eminent stir madrasa in Bursa and became the chief
religious scholar and faqih in the Malay and religious authority (qadi) of the same city in
Islamic world. 1370. In 1424, he was appointed as the first
shaykh al-Islam of the Ottoman Empire.
BIBLIOGRAPHY In addition to the religious sciences, Fenari
Matla al-Badrayn wa-majma al-bahrayn studied mathematics and astronomy. Like
(The Dawn of the Two Moons and The his father, Fenari was also a Sufi and wrote
Convergence of the Two Seas), Cairo: a number of books on Sufism. Thanks to his
Dar Ihya al-Kutub al-Arabiya, 1860. close relations with the Ottoman rulers of
Furu al-Masail (Branches of [Religious] his time, he amassed a considerable wealth
Questions), Penang: Dar al-Maarif, n.d. but lived a modest life. He was respected as
a saintly person even when he was alive. His
Further Reading father must have played a major role in his
al-Fatani, Ahmad Fathy, Ulama Besar initiation into Sufism. In fact, Fenari studied
Dari Patani, Bangi: Penerbit Universiti al-Qunawis Miftah al-ghayb (The Key to the
Kebangsaan Malaysia, 2002. Invisible World), a book on the metaphysi-
Abdullah, W. M. S, Penyebaran Islam dan cal principles of the school of Ibn al-Arabi,
Silsilah Ulama Sejagat Dunia Melayu, with his father and later wrote an extensive
vol. 10, Kuala Lumpur: Khazana commentary on it. Toward the end of his
Fataniya, 2000. life, he built a school and mosque in Bursa
Azra, Azyumardi, Jaringan Ulama Timur where he is buried today. When he died, he
Tengah dan Kepulauan Nusantara Abad is reported to have left a library of about ten
XVII dan XVIII, Bandung: Penerbit thousand books.
Mizan, 1994. As a jurist and Sufi and a typical example
of Ottoman high culture in the fourteenth
zaid ahmad century, Fenari was a prolific writer. The full
list of his works includes over one hundred
titles. His works on the science of Quranic
exegesis include a commentary on the open-
ing chapter of the Quran and is called Tafsir
FENARI, Molla(750834/13501431) al-fatiha. The tafsir, however, is not only a
commentary on the Fatiha but also a sum-
The first Ottoman shaykh al-Islam and the mary of Fenaris hermeneutics of Quranic
famous Sufi author Muhammad ibn Hamza exegesis. Like his other works, the tafsir
ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad Shams al- combines the transmitted sciences of hadith,
Din Fenari was born near Bursa or, accord- grammar, and commentary with the meta-
ing to another view, in Transoxania. His physical perspective of the school of Ibn
early education was devoted to the study of al-Arabi.
traditional Islamic sciences. Fenaris father Fenaris most famous work on the prin-
is said to have studied with the famous ciples of Islamic jurisprudence is Fusul
103
AL-FIRUZABADI
al-badayi fi usul al-sharayi (Beautiful Chap- al-ghayb (Treatise on the Invisible Man), and
ters in the Principles of Religious Laws). a treatise entitled Risala fi bayan wahdat al-
Being Fenaris most voluminous work, the wujud (Treatise on the Explanation of the
Fusul deals with all of the major issues of Unity of Being).
traditional Islamic jurisprudence. The book
has been widely circulated among Ottoman BIBLIOGRAPHY
scholars and several commentaries have been Misbah al-uns, ed. by M. Khajawi, Tehran:
written on it. In addition to this, Fenari also Intisharat-i Mawla, 1414 ah.
wrote a number of works on such practical
issues as ablutions, daily prayers, fasting, Further Reading
and so on. Aydin, Hakki, slam Hukuku ve Molla
In the field of kalam, Fenari wrote a gloss Fenari. Istanbul: Iaret, 1991.
on Sayyid Sharif Jurjanis (d. 816/1413) Sreyya, Mehmed, Sicill-i Osmani, Istanbul:
commentary on Adud al-Din al-Ijis (700 Bursal, 1331 ah.
55/130054) famous Mawaqif, a classic Tahir Efendi, Mehmed, Osmanl
compendium of Asharite kalam. Fenari had Mellifleri, 3 vols, Istanbul: Bizim Bro
met Jurjani, and his glosses contain subtle Basmevi, 1914.
allusions to his friends commentary. In
logic, Fenari wrote a commentary on Por- ibrahim kalin
phyrys Isagoge. He also wrote a gloss on the
Shamsiyya of Najm al-Din Umar al-Qazwini
(d. 675/1234).
Fenaris most important work on Sufism
is entitled Misbah al-uns bayn al-maqul AL-FIRUZABADI, Muhammad b. Yaqub
wal-mashhud fi sharh miftah al-ghayb (729817/13281414)
al-jam wal-wujud (The Light of Spirits
between the Intelligible and the Visible in Al-Firuzabadis full name and lineage is
the Commentary on miftah al-ghayb al- given as follows: Muhammad b. Yaqub b.
jam wal-wujud). It is a commentary on Muhammad b. Ibrahim b. Umar b. Abu
Sadr al-Din al-Qunawis Miftah al-ghayb. Bakr b. Ahmad b. Mahmud b. Idris b.
The Misbah represents yet another step Fadlillah b. al- Shaykh Abu Ishaq Ibrahim
toward providing a systematic account al-Shirazi al-Firuzabadi. He has also been
of Ibn al-Arabis teachings at the hands of referred to as Abu Tahir and Majduddin.
Ottoman and Persian Sufi thinkers, a long- As his title shows, he claims to be descended
term project that goes back to Sadr al-Din from Abu Ishaq al-Shirazi and ultimately
al-Qunawi and Dawud al-Qaysari. Fenaris from Abu Bakr, the well-known Companion
language in the Misbah is thoroughly of the Prophet. Contrary to the widespread
philosophical and metaphysical, and con- references to Kazerun as his place of birth,
tains elements from both philosophy and which have been repeated by contemporary
theology. scholars, al-Firuzabadis own statement in
Fenaris other works on Sufism include a his al-Qamus al-muhit shows that he was
gloss on al-Kashanis (d. 730/1329) Istila- born in Karzin in Firuzabad, Shiraz (Iran) in
hat al-sufiyya (Sufi Terms), a dictionary of 729/1328.
Sufi terms, a commentary on another work Al-Firuzabadi received his early educa-
of al-Qunawi entitled Sharh ala nusus li al- tion from his father in his home town of
shaykh sadr al-din al-qunawi, a small work Karzin. Shiraz, Wasit, and Baghdad were
on the invisible men called Risala fi rijal the scholarly centers of the time, and here
104
AL-FIRUZABADI
al-Firuzabadi went on to study the Quran, of its time, as the period between 1252
hadith, and Arabic grammar and literature and 1517 has been understood by modern
(73750/133649). Muhammad b. Yusuf Arab historians as the time of the ency-
al-Zarandi (d. 747/1346) and Umar b. Ali clopedia, when this type of work became
al-Qazwini (d. 750/1349) were among al- popular. Two reasons for this have been
Firuzabadis teachers in this early period. In suggested: efforts to reconstruct the cul-
750/1349 al-Firuzabadi studied in Damas- tural heritage destroyed by the Mongols,
cus with the Shafii scholar Taqiyyuddin and the loss of creativity in the Islamic
al-Subki (d. 756/1355) and his son Tajud- world. Ibn Khalduns Muqaddima and
din al-Subki (d. 771/1370). With Tajud- al-Firuzabadis Basair are examples of such
din he went to Jerusalem, where he studied treatises. From the Islamic studies point of
with renowned scholars of the time like view, however, the Basair can also be con-
al-Alai (d. 761/1359) and Taqiyyuddin al- sidered among the literature of Gharib al-
Kalkashandi (d. 821/1418). He also trav- quran and Mana al-Quran like Raghibs
eled to Cairo and studied with al-Kalanisi (425/1033) al-Mufradat and Samin al-
(d. 765/1363), Izzuddin b. Jamaa (d. Halabis (756/1355) Umdat al huffaz. Al-
767/1365), Ibn Hisham (d. 761/1359), and Firuzabadis Basair, however, gives a cru-
Ibn Nubata (d. 768/1366). On the other cial place to mystical terminology, and this
hand, he taught al-Baha Abdullah Ibn distinguishes his work from that of Raghib
Aqil (d. 769/1367), Jamaluddin al-Isnawi and Halabi. This comes from the mystic
(d. 772/1370), Ibn Hisham (d. 761/1359), influence on al-Firuzabadi of Ismail b. Abu
and Ibn Hajar al-Askalani (852/1448). In Bakr al-Jabarti (806/1403) whose ideas
770/1368 al-Firuzabadi went to Mecca were powerful in Yemen. It seems also that
where he stayed fourteen years, and the this mystic as well as political influence led
following five years he spent in India. In him to write two risala and one fatwa in
796/1394 he traveled to Yemen. He stayed favor of Ibn al-Arabi, whom Jabarti and
in Taizz for fourteen months. In 797/1395 his followers favored. Although al-Firuza-
he was appointed chief qadi of Yemen by badi did not agree with Ibn al-Arabi, a fact
Sultan al-Malik al-Ashraf Ismail b. Abbas, which was well known and revealed by his
who married al-Firuzabadis daughter. pupil Ibn Hajar, he seemed to be hesitant to
Over fifty treatises have been attributed antagonize the political power of the time
to al-Firuzabadi. Among them the two most and people like Jabarti, who had a crucial
celebrated works are al-Qamus al muhit influence on the community and political
and Basairu dhavit-tamyiz fi lataifi kitab al- power. Al-Firuzabadi died in 817/1414 in
aziz. Al-Firuzabadi acknowledges that he Zabid in Yemen.
compiled his al-Qamus from al-Muhkam
by Ibn Sida (d. 458/1065) and al-Ubab by Further Reading
al-Saghani (d. 650/1252). Al-Qamus has, al-Habashi, Abdullah Muhammad, Hayat
on the other hand, formed the basis of some al-Adab al-Yemeni fi Asri Bani Rasul,
Arabic dictionaries compiled by Western Yemen, 1980.
scholars, such as A. Giggeius The Thesaurus Divleki, C., Dilbilim ve Kuran limleri
Linguae Arabica (Milan 1632), J. Golious Asndan el-Firuzabadinin Besairi,
Lexicon, and Lanes Lexicon. Al-Qamus has unpublished MA thesis, Isparta
also been translated into Persian and Turkish Sleyman Demirel University,
(by Asm Efendi (d. 1819)). 2000.
Al-Firuzabadis work Basairu dhavit-
tamyiz fi latayfi kitab al-aziz was a product bilal gkkr
105
FUNDAMENTALISM
FUNDAMENTALISM Because neo-fundamentalists groups are

often the result of schisms and smaller fac-
The term fundamentalism was originally tions splitting from a larger movement,
used to refer to conservative evangelicals neo-fundamentalist movements are very
within the Protestant church, and has also similar to their parent fundamentalist move-
been applied to the Catholic world (Ayubi ments, but there remain notable differences
1991; Ruedy 1996; Caplan 1987). How- between the two. What distinguishes these
ever, over the years, the concept of funda- two groups from each other is mainly the
mentalism has increasingly been associ- neo-fundamentalists more eclectic posi-
ated not with Christianity, but with Islam. tion when it comes to the interpretation of
Indeed, in the wake of attacks on the United the authoritative sources, and their usually
States on September 11, 2001, the discourse more radical or militant orientation when
relating to Islamic fundamentalism in the it comes to practicing the interpretations
Western media has been on the increase to (Ayubi 1991).
such an extent that the concept of funda- In contrast to the Salafis, Islamic funda-
mentalism seems to have become almost mentalists and neo-fundamentalists are less
synonymous with that of Islamic funda- inclined to refer to fiqh, stressing, above all,
mentalism. the importance of the early Islamic texts.
Fundamentalism, if the concept is con- Islamic fundamentalists and neo-fundamen-
sidered literally, refers to movements that talists can be differentiated further from the
are scripturalist and traditionalist in their Salafis due to the former two putting a stron-
nature, advocating the adherence to what ger emphasis not only on the political nature
these movements see as the original sources of Islam, but also on political activism, more
of wisdom. In addition to a strong scriptural often than not directed against their own
inclination, which characterizes fundamen- states governing their countries of origin.
talist movements whether Islamic or Chris- Consequently, the term political Islam is
tian, Islamic fundamentalists adopt a holistic frequently used to describe Islamic funda-
approach, setting these movements apart mentalists and neo-fundamentalists, while
from most Christian fundamentalist groups. Salafis are generally excluded.
In short, Islamic fundamentalists maintain
that Islam is not only a religion, it is a way of
Revivalism: Islamic fundamentalism
life and, as such, provides divine instructions
in the eighteenth century
for governing human affairs on earth, and
the actions of states. In other words, to use Although it may appear to be the case that
religious terminology, it has instructions for Islamic fundamentalism is a recent phenom-
din (faith), dunya (earth/world), and dawla enon, this is far from the case. In fact, the
(state) (Ayubi 1991; Esposito and Vol, 2001; words usul (fundamentals), usuli (fundamen-
Choueiri 1997). talist), and usuliyya (fundamentalism) have
Within Islam, three main groups of fun- appeared in Islamic discourses since the first
damentalists exist: Salafis, Islamic funda- half of the eighth century, when they were
mentalists, and neo-fundamentalists. The first used to refer to the Mutazili school
Salafis believe in the good example of the of Islamic theological discourse founded
Prophet Muhammad and the Companions in Basra (Martin 1997; Choueiri 1997).
of the early caliphs and jurists. Hence, they Although the Mutazili school declined in
emphasize not only the teachings of the early importance by the end of the eleventh cen-
Islamic texts, but also instructions in juris- tury, it continued to influence the Islamic
prudence, known as fiqh in Arabic. theological debates of the next many decades
106
FUNDAMENTALISM
due to the adoption of the schools principles the Wahhabis mobilized the shaikhdoms and
in the ninth century by the Abbasid empire. tribes of Najd against the central authorities
The influence of the Mutazili school spread in Mecca and the agents and clients of the
across the Islamic world. Ottoman Empire (Zubaida 2001; Lapidus
Despite the existence of Islamic funda- 2002; Karpat 2001).
mentalist movements as early as during the In addition to the Wahhabis of central Ara-
reign of the Abbasid Caliph al-Mamun, bia, several other revivalist groups existed
these movements only really began their rise across the Islamic world, stretching from
to prominence when the Islamic empires Sumatra and the Indian subcontinent to cen-
began to decline in the early eighteenth central Arabia and northern Nigeria. Although
tury (Choueiri 1997). After 1700, the central these movements were often highly dissimi-
authorities in the Islamic world found them- lar, they had a number of shared character-
selves in the unfortunate situation that they istics. First, they sought tawhid, the return
were not only troubled by successive eco- to the original Islam which stressed the one-
nomic crises due to agricultural stagnation ness of God. Second, the revivalist move-
and mass migration to the cities, but also by ments promoted ijtihad, which is the exercise
both foreign and domestic threats to their of individual judgment by a qualified legal
position. As a reaction to the increased inef- scholar in matters of law, coupled with the
ficiency of the central authorities, both with shunning of the principle of taqlid, that is,
regards to tackling the economic crises and blind obedience to the traditional canon. A
fighting off foreign rivals, and in a response third shared principle was the emphasis on
to the growing prominence of the spiritual- the necessity of hijra, that is, the migration
ist and philosophical Sufi orders, religious from the territories dominated by unbelievers
revivalist movements began to flourish in the (dar al-kufr) to those under the control of the
Islamic world (Lapidus 2002). House of Islam (dar al-Islam). It is important
The aim of these Islamic revivalist move- to note, however, that hijra was not seen by
ments was essentially to reinstate Islam in these revivalist movements as an end goal in
its original form. One of the first of several itself, but as a step on the way toward the
revivalist groups, and perhaps the one best instigation of war in the name of the Islamic
known in the Western world, was the Wah- faith, jihad. Finally, the revivalist Islamic
habi movement, which was formed in central movements of the eighteenth century shared
Arabia during the first half of the eighteenth the belief in one single leader, either as the
century. Inspired by the teachings of Muham- renewer, mujaddid, or the hidden imam,
mad bin Abd al-Wahhab, who had trav- the mahdi (Choueiri 1997; Zubaida 2001).
eled extensively in Ottoman Iraq and Syria,
the Wahhabi movement, which had eventu-
Reformism: Islamic fundamentalism
ally consolidated into an alliance between
in the nineteenth and early twentieth
its religious founder, Abd al-Wahhab, and
centuries
a number of tribes under the leadership of
Ibn Saud, sought not only religious purifica- As the puritanical Islamic revivalist move-
tion, but also social reform. In short, the aim ments were gradually defeated, either by
was to bring about the unity of religion and urban political forces or by the armed forces
the state in Islam. To achieve the movements of the European colonizers, another brand
two core goals of purifying Islam from the of Islamic fundamentalist movement slowly
heretical customs added over time, and cre- began to emerge. These were either created
ating a society in which there was no author- anew, or came about as a result of revival-
ity except the Prophet Muhammad himself, ist groups undergoing profound structural
107
FUNDAMENTALISM
change and transforming into reformist all other societies, including those of Europe.
movements. Whereas the revivalist move- Hence, Abdu argued for a return to Islam as
ments had clashed with the central authori- practised during the time of Muhammad in
ties, who were also of Muslim faith, the Medina, but with some modern alterations.
reformist movements directed their struggle He anticipated that this would lead to the
against the colonial European powers. liberation of the Islamic societies from their
The reformist movements campaign weakness, their backwardness, and from
against the European powers had two foreign domination. In other words, for the
aspects. Within the Islamic world it chal- first generation of Islamic reformists, Islam
lenged the status of the Europeans as was seen as a means to achieve the aims of
colonizers. More broadly, it attacked the improved economic conditions, indepen-
supreme position of Europe and its culture. dence, and cultural superiority of the Islamic
In essence, the Islamic reformist movements community once again (Choueiri 1997;
maintained that it was indeed wrong for Zubaida 2001; Lapidus 2002).
the Islamic world to aspire to become like In addition to the emphasis on cultural
Europe simply because Muslim societies had and educational reform, the first generation
been subjugated by European powers. Islam of Islamic reformists centered their attention
continued to be self-sufficient and needed on the restructuring of the political system.
no inspiration from Europe, the reformists In contrast to the fields of education and cul-
argued. ture, with respect to the political system, the
Among those who maintained, during the Islamic reformists maintained that lessons
late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, could be learned from Europe. What the
that Islam continued to be self-sufficient, Islamic reformists were referring to, in par-
and that the perceived inferiority of the ticular, were the concepts of political author-
countries of the Islamic world was due to the ity, administration, and bureaucracy, which
degeneration and corruption of Islam rather they saw as a safeguard against tyranny, a
than attributes of the religion as such, was form of rule deemed illegal by the sharia,
Muhammad Abdu, the prominent Egyptian which stipulated as a requirement consulta-
alim (scholar of religion). In essence, Abdu tion by the ruler with religious scholars.
sought progress through enlightenment, Despite their objection to tyranny, the
arguing that the weakness and backward- Islamic reformist movements did not advo-
ness of the Islamic societies, and indeed their cate the introduction of a representative form
subordination to Europe, was due to igno- of government based on popular elections.
rance, corruption, and fragmentation within Rather, as the reformist movements held the
these societies, particularly with respect to view that parliamentary rule would inter-
their religious and educational institutions. fere with not only stability, but also secu-
In contrast to what one might have expected, rity, justice, and liberty in Islamic societies,
Abdu did not advocate the imitation of they championed autocracy as the best way
Europe as the way forward for the Islamic of governing the Islamic world. The Islamic
world. Rather, he argued that the answer lay reformist movements did not advocate all
in the study of, and in the return to, the glo- forms of autocracy, however. What was put
rious past of the Islamic societies themselves. forward as the ideal form of government was
As Abdu pointed out, at the time of the for- the introduction of a form of autocratic rule
mation of the Islamic community by Muham- in which the ruler would not only consult,
mad in Medina in the seventh century, the but also cooperate with a Western-educated
Islamic societies were not only more power- elite of officials (Lapidus 2002; Choueiri
ful, but also much more knowledgeable than 1997; Zubaida 2001).
108
FUNDAMENTALISM
By the late nineteenth century, at a time and teachings (Choueiri 1997; Lapidus
when the Islamic reformist movements were 2002; Zubaida 2001).
competing for popular affection against sev-
eral secular groups seeking independence
Early radicalism: Islamic fundamentalism
from foreign occupation, the character of
193070
the Islamic reformist movements began to
change as they increasingly widened their Rather than being political movements (they
scope to also include political organization did not have a strong ideological basis, an
and activism, in an effort to ward off their explicit program or the means to carry out
rivals. In 1928, the Egyptian school teacher such a program even if they had one) the
and religious preacher Hassan al-Banna Islamic reformist groups were cultural and
formed al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun, the Mus- educational in their outlook. However, with
lim Brotherhood, one of the most influential the rise of the radical movements later in the
Islamic movements of all time. However, it twentieth century, the character of Islamic
was not until 1936 and the beginning of the fundamentalism changed as the new groups
revolt against British occupation in Pales- were decidedly political. While the Islamic
tine that the Muslim Brotherhood began to revivalist movements were decidedly norma-
receive widespread attention, not only from tive and idealistic, and the Islamic reformist
the British authorities, but also from the movements sought to modernize and revi-
communities of the neighboring Arab coun- talize Islam, the radical Islamic movements
tries. With the aim of reconciling Islam with were preoccupied with both sets of issues,
the modern world, and a strong emphasis on making these latter movements a synthesis
the importance of creating a modern politi- of their two predecessors.
cal party based on an explicit and elabo- The first Islamic radicalist movements
rate program, al-Banna and the Muslim began to emerge in the late 1920s. It is
Brotherhood set a new tone for the religious important to note, however, that until the
fundamentalist movements of the twentieth- mid-1940s these movements were often just
century Islamic world. as much reformist as radicalist in their out-
It was al-Bannas intellectual and organi- look. In short, these initial movements were
zational legacies which had the most pro- essentially a reaction to the changed political
found effect on Muslim and Arab activists in circumstances in a number of Arab coun-
the countries neighboring Egypt. Notwith- tries (among them Egypt, Iraq, and Syria).
standing the fact that al-Banna did not suc- The rise of patriotism, independence, and
ceed in carrying out several of his declared nationalism, as well as the introduction of
goals, and despite the fact that the move- parliamentary rule, industrialization, and the
ment failed to develop into a full-fledged implementation of land reforms, all acted as
political party, the Muslim Brotherhood and pressures upon Islamic radical movements
its leader inspired activists in a wide range which continued to advocate, as in the previ-
of countries, including Iraq, Jordan, Leba- ous era, the increased reliance upon Islamic
non, Palestine, Syria, and Sudan to form principles. Hence, these groups can perhaps
Islamic movements, not only with a similar be most adequately described as neither radi-
outlook, but also modeled on the organiza- calist nor reformist, but as bridging the gap
tional structure of the Muslim Brotherhood between the two (Choueiri 1997).
in Egypt. Indeed, such was the influence of Abu al-Ala al-Mawdudi and Sayyid
al-Banna that, to this day, nearly sixty years Qutb are generally referred to as the fore-
after his assassination, several Islamic move- fathers of Islamic radicalism, as virtually
ments continue to be inspired by his ideas all major contemporary radical Islamic
109
FUNDAMENTALISM
movements have based their ideological and negative features. Although he viewed in a
political programs on the writings of these negative light the struggle for democracy
two scholars. Although publishing already in as first initiated in the West, considering it
the 1930s, al-Mawdudi, an Indian religious a rebellion against authoritarian powers, al-
scholar and political activist of the Jamaat Mawdudi contended that as this endeavor
i-Islami, was firmly located within the radi- for democracy developed further into a
cal camp. The issues of particular concern movement aiming to achieve the goal of
to al-Mawdudi were those of secularism, absolute freedom of the people to legislate
nationalism, and democracy. With regards to and elect accountable governments them-
secularism, al-Mawdudi maintained that this selves, the struggle for democracy became
principle would lead not only to immorality, positive. However, because al-Mawdudi saw
as the people would be free of the restraints it as inevitable that the end product of any
of religious ethics, but also to political cor- democratic struggle would be chaos and
ruption, brutality, and eventually chaos. corruption, due to the reality that the will
According to al-Mawdudi, because the of the majority would be the ultimate source
laws adopted in a secular society would be of law, he did not advocate democracy, but
changeable and temporary as they did not what he labeled theo-democracy, the cre-
derive from Gods commands, and hence ation of the khalifat. In the khalifat, a vice-
would also not command respect among the regency would be established in which an
community, they would not be possible to elected amir (a male chief) would reign as the
implement without the use of brutal force; representative of God on earth; however, this
the community would only voluntarily amir would not reign alone, rather he would
abide by laws to which it felt morally bound be aided in his tasks by a consultative assem-
(Choueiri 1997). bly (majlis) elected by the khalifats Muslim
Strongly linked to his resistance toward citizens (Choueiri 1997).
secularism were al-Mawdudis objections to Writing a few decades later, Sayyid Qutb,
nationalism, which he saw as being against the Egyptian scholar and member of the
the essential tenets of Islam. In essence, al- Muslim Brotherhood, found himself heav-
Mawdudi associated nationalism with the ily inspired by the writings of al-Mawdudi.
pre-Islamic solidarity of jahiliyya (religious While sharing al-Mawdudis animosity
ignorance), in which people bonded as a toward nationalism, Qutb, in contrast, did
result of interests that were non-Islamic, not spare much time for issues such as secu-
such as economic, racial, or linguistic con- larism and democracy, two of al-Mawdudis
cerns. Because al-Mawdudi viewed national- main concerns. Instead Qutb focused on
ism as a principle downplaying the role of topics such as social injustice and economic
Islam, just like he perceived secularism, al- development.
Mawdudi spoke strongly against national- Qutbs concern with social injustice and
ism in his writings, encouraging instead the economic development were linked to
bonding between people on Islamic grounds, his fear of communism. Qutb maintained
as the brotherhood of man, as one single that because patriotism, which had been
religious community worshipping God and gaining ground in the Islamic world, did
obeying his divine commands (Ayubi 1991; not adequately address some of the major
Choueiri 1997). concerns of the masses, such as poor eco-
In contrast to the topics of secularism nomic performance and social injustice in
and nationalism, with respect to democracy, the form of a population divided into mas-
al-Mawdudi identified both positive and ters and servants, communism continued to
110
FUNDAMENTALISM
spread in the region. However, according to Qutbs thoughts on social injustice and
Qutb, the result of a communist revolution, economic development were published
which he saw as imminent unless measures before the Egyptian revolution and the
were taken to decidedly alter the plight of ascendancy of socialism in the country.
the masses, was bound to be destructive as Ten years later, taking the changed politi-
such a revolution would, due to its com- cal circumstances into consideration, Qutb
munist character, be leaderless, materialisti- turned his eye to the topic of nationalism
cally motivated, and again chaotic (Choueiri in particular. Whereas Qutb in the past had
1997; Caplan 1987). uttered support for Arab nationalism due to
Consequently, instead of promoting the its assistance in unifying the Islamic commu-
adoption of communism as the means to nity, with the disintegration of the Muslim
drastically improve the economic and social Brotherhood as a result of Arab national-
situation of the masses in the Islamic world, ism taking hold within the movement, he
Qutb put forward an Islamic solution to changed his position on the subject entirely.
make up for the shortcomings of patriotism. He now put forward the argument that
According to Qutb, the Muslim masses were Arab nationalism would eventually result in
going to continue to suffer until they orga- Arab tyranny and the marginalization of the
nized themselves effectively and put pressure Islamic community, which would be nothing
on those depriving them, whether that be the short of a disaster. Instead, he suggested that
imperialists, the politicians in parliament, the Arabs had another option available to
or their landlords. Qutb maintained that them, the Islamic path, which would result
socialism and communism were not going in the Islamic community gaining respect
to provide the desired outcome, as organi- in the world once again via the belief in the
zation under the former would be through oneness of God and submission to his divine
corrupt political parties and under the lat- laws (Choueiri 1997; Caplan 1987).
ter utterly chaotic and leaderless. He saw an
updated Islam as the solution. In response to Contemporary Islamic fundamentalism:
those critical of Islam, he insisted that it was radicalism from 1970 until the present
simply untrue that Islamic government was
primitive in nature, that Sufi shaykhs (reli- From 1970 onward, radical Islamic move-
gious officials) and dervishes (members of ments changed in character. From being
Sufi orders) would come to dominate under mainly intellectual movements concerned
the rule of Islam, that Islamic rule could be with diagnosing what was wrong with the
equated with tyranny, that Islamic religious Islamic world, they became more active and
texts and provisions were ambiguous, that political as the focus shifted from pre-occu-
the institution of the harem would be rein- pation with the state of the Islamic world,
stated and, finally, that under Islamic rule to identifying the means and actions that
the status of minorities would deteriorate. should be taken to change this situation.
In contrast, Qutb asserted, the path of Islam Consequently, in this new era, the main con-
was the way forward, only under Islam cerns of the various radical Islamic move-
would the masses in the Islamic world be ments shifted from issues such as secularism,
able to organize themselves effectively, and nationalism, and democracy to the subjects
only Islamic law could provide the umma of ideology, the vanguard (talia), and jihad.
(Muslim community) with the tools to imple- As was the case during the previous
ment the much needed social and economic decades, the radicalist debate continued to
reforms (Choueiri 1997). be dominated by Qutb as it entered into its
111
FUNDAMENTALISM
next stage during the late 1960s. During his and positive way of life. Only Islam was able
imprisonment from 1956 until 1964, Qutbs to unite these two objectives, as it was not
writings became increasingly more radical, only a political system but also a way of life
while also changing in character from being (Choueiri 1997).
intellectual to actively political, not only Qutb did not believe it possible, however,
identifying the means to alter the state of to bring about an organized Islamic commu-
the Islamic world, but also stipulating what nity, unless a select elite of believers emerged.
Qutb saw as the necessary actions to be This corps of believers, which he labeled the
undertaken by the Muslim community. vanguard (talia), was tasked with guiding
Having identified what he saw as the prob- the umma through a struggle to this desired
lem of the Islamic world, that is, the decreased end stage. The struggle to be undertaken
importance assigned to the adherence to Gods consisted of a number of stages, according
laws in the new nation-states, Qutb centered to Qutb. To begin with, the Muslims would
his attention on ideology, which he saw as have to consider their strengths and weak-
the vehicle of change. According to Qutb, nesses in order to realistically assess what
the only way for the Muslim community to they could achieve. This insight would, in
change the state of affairs was to remem- turn, allow them to formulate a successful
ber and cherish the principle of the oneness long-term strategy, which would lead to the
of God, and of his exclusive sovereignty, by creation of Islamic world leadership and put
replacing the existing political systems of the an end to jahiliyya, which Qutb held con-
new nation-states with Islamic rule. In other sumed the entire world at the time (Choueiri
words, whereas the revivalist fundamental- 1997).
ists had been championing the exclusive sov- The struggle to reinstate Islam as a politi-
ereignty of God in an effort to undermine cal and social system, however, was not
the power of Sufi orders, the radical Islamic going to be easy, Qutb declared, as it would
fundamentalists maintained the means but largely take the form of jihad, war in the
replaced the target of the campaign with the name of the Islamic faith. In Qutbs opin-
state (Caplan 1987; Choueiri 1997). ion, the struggle to overtake political power
What troubled Qutb in particular, and would take place within each nation-state
what continues to be one of the main driv- as a war between two strongly demarcated
ing forces of radical Islamic fundamental- groups: the believers and the unbelievers. To
ism today, was the level of what he saw as the believers, Qutb maintained, jihad would
moral corruption, which he identified as the be an obligation; in any situation where the
reason why the Islamic world had entered principles of Islam were violated, the believ-
into a state of crisis. According to Qutb, ers would be compelled to disassociate them-
many Islamic societies, while continuing to selves. In other words, the believers would
uphold the principle of the oneness of God, have to adopt a policy of noncooperation
had begun to either pay lip service to Islam, within their own nation-states at the politi-
relegating legislative authority to parliamen- cal, educational, and administrative levels,
tary assemblies, or they had declared their and withdraw into a new society rejecting
states to be secular. While Qutb acknowl- the laws of the old one. In practical terms,
edged some of the positive features of secu- this entailedas it often still does today
lar Europe, such as for instance the develop- the creation of separate mosques, medical
ment of a material culture, Qutb argued that clinics, schools and financial institutions,
secularism was unable to provide material among others (Caplan 1987; Ayubi 1991;
progress in conjunction with an authentic Choueiri 1997).
112
AL-FUWATI
Qutbs call for jihad against the unbe- Ruedy, John (ed.), Islamism and Secularism
lievers is presently being followed up by in North Arica, London: Macmillan, 1996.
various radicalist Islamic fundamentalist Zubaida, Sami, Islam, the People and the
movements, among them al-Qaeda, which State: Political Ideas and Movements in
is perhaps the best known of them all. The the Middle East, London: I. B. Tauris,
principal ideologue of al-Qaeda, Ayman al- 2001.
Zawahiri, is largely inspired by the writings
of Qutb, particularly by the latters emphasis lise storm
on the belief in the oneness of God and his
exclusive sovereignty and authority. How-
ever, al-Zawahiri is not simply a follower
of the Qutbist tradition, as he also draws
extensively on the teachings of the Wahhabi AL-FUWATI, Hisham ibn Amr
movement, creating his own brand of radical (third/ninth century)
Islamic fundamentalism which is effectively
a hybridization of the two (Kepel 2004). Hisham ibn Amr al-Fuwati, a Mutazilite
thinker attached to the Basra school, died in
Further Reading Baghdad before 230/845. He was a student
Ayubi, Nazih, Political Islam: Religion of Abul al-Hudhayl, whom he nonethe-
and Politics in the Arab World, London: less criticized in some of his work. He was
Routledge, 1991. an Arab, and apparently well traveled, being
Caplan, Lionel (ed.), Religious Fundamen a merchant who dealt in textiles imported
talism, London: Macmillan, 1987. from India.
Choueiri, Youssef, Islamic Fundamentalism, Al-Fuwati had a trenchant style, and
London: Pinter, 1997. although he was part of the Mutazilite theo-
Esposito, John and John Voll (eds), Makers logical school, he criticized many of its main
of Contemporary Islam, New York: thinkers such as al-Asamm, al-Hudhayl, and
Oxford University Press, 2001. the Bakriya. Some of his disagreements were
Esposito, John and Franois Burgat (eds), on technical issues such as the precise nature
Modernizing Islam: Religion in the Public of the atomism that was to be accepted, and
Sphere in Europe and the Middle East, the links between the Quran and the com-
London: Hurst and Company, 2003. mand of God. His most startling thesis was
Karpat, Kemal, The Politicization of Islam: that the Quran is not miraculous, and not a
Reconstructing Identity, State, Faith, proof of God. He has equally radical views
and Community in the Late Ottoman on politics, portraying the historical era of
State, Oxford: Oxford University early Islam on which the Shii and the Sunni
Press, 2001. so strongly disagree as a confused time in
Kepel, Gilles, The War for Muslim Minds, which it is impossible to be sure who was
Cambridge: The Belknap Press of right and who was wrong. In political mat-
Harvard University Press, 2004. ters, he argued, independent judgment or
Lapidus, Ira, A History of Islamic Societies, ijtihad is the appropriate means for solving
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, differences.
2002. The radical nature of al-Fuwatis views
Martin, Richard (ed.), Defenders of Reason were recognized by his contemporaries and
in Islam, Oxford: Oneworld Publications, his writings did not exercise much influence
1997. after his death. We owe our knowledge of
113
AL-FUWATI
him to reports from others, so it is not certain Further Reading

how accurate these reports are. Ibn al-Na- al-Ashari, Abu al-Hasan, Maqalat
dim says he was a very unusual Mutazilite, al-islamiyyin wa ikhtilaf al-musallin
while al-Baghdadi comments on his highly (Sayings of Muslims and Differences of
antagonistic views on killing people. Yet Those Who Pray), 3rd edn, Wiesbaden:
al-Shahrastani reports that he approved Franz Steiner, 1980.
of the murder of those opposed to the
Mutazilites. oliver leaman
114
G
GASPIRALI, Ismail(18511914) Ottomanist politics. Instead, he became a
champion of Turkish irredentism. Equally
The famous Turkish intellectual, political important was his indefatigable work in
activist, and educationist of czarist Russia, the field of education. Politically as well
Gaspral (also known by the Russian ver- as ideologically, Gaspral fought against
sion of his name, Gasprinski), was born in two groups of people: Russians and con-
Bahesaray, Crimea. He was educated in servative Tatar Muslims (mullahs). Against
his native Crimea. He traveled extensively both groups, he developed a new system of
between Russia, Europe, Turkey, India, and education, which he called the usul-i cedid
Egypt. He spent a good part of his career (the new/modern method). He criticized
writing about the Muslims of Russia and the traditional madrasa system, in which
defending their rights under czarist rule. He he himself was schooled, and sought to
published many books and several news- modernize it by incorporating modern ped-
papers in Tatar, Turkish, and Russian. His agogical techniques into Islamic schools.
reputation as a spokesman for the Muslims The test case for the new system was a local
of Russia reached many intellectual circles school in Gasprals hometown, in which
from Istanbul to Cairo. He sought to unite Gaspral introduced Turkish together with
the various Muslim communities living in Arabic as a medium of instruction. Several
Russia under the banner of a loosely defined other Muslim schools in Russia followed
Islamic-Turkish nationalism. He became a Gasprals example, but his influence
champion of the educational reform move- remained confined to Russia.
ment by opening new schools and writing In his famous newspaper Tercman (Trans-
textbooks for Muslim children. He died lator), he defended the rights of women,
at his home in Bahesaray, and was buried advocated the unity of all Muslims, and
there. encouraged the Muslims of Russia to learn
As a political activist of Pan-Turkism Russian and study Russian history. Gaspral
first and Pan-Islamism second, Gaspral drew many of his reform ideas from the writ-
tried to create a stronger common iden- ings of Jamal al-Din Afghani and Muham-
tity among the Tatar Muslims of Russia. mad Abdu. He tried to organize congresses
The unity of all Turks under the Ottoman in the Islamic world, without much success.
Empire was his ideal. But the political reali- His larger appeal for the unity of the Islamic
ties of the time as well as the precarious world is reflected in the motto of his newspa-
situation of Muslims under czarist rule per, which read unity in language, thought,
prevented him from pursuing an actively and action.
115
GELENBEVI
Further Reading However, during the reign of Sultan Abdl-

Landau, J., Pan-Turkism: From Irredentism hamit I (177489), Sadrazam (Grand Vizier)
to Cooperation, Bloomington: Indiana Ispartal Halil Paa and Kaptan- Derya
University Press, 1995. (Chief Captain) Cezayirli Hasan Paa helped
Kramer, M., Islam Assembled: The Advent him find a post at the Mhendishane-i
of the Muslim Congresses, New York: Bahri-i Hmayun as a professor of math-
Columbia University Press, 1986. ematics. Later, Sultan Selim III (17891807),
who was impressed by Gelenbevis success
ibrahim kalin in mathematics and physics, granted him
the title of Yeniehir Feneri Mevlevilii and
appointed him as a kad (judge) at Mora in
1204/1790. Sultans favor toward Gelenbevi
raised a deep feeling of jealousy in Hamizade
GELENBEVI, smail Mustafa Efendi, the eyhlislam (chief cleric
(11431205/173091) of Islam) of the time, who wrote a letter full
of accusations against Gelenbevi. It is appar-
smail Gelenbevi, who also referred to him- ent that, having been extremely hurt by this
self by the nickname eyhzade, was born in letter, Gelenbevi had a sudden stroke and
Gelenbe, Manisa, in 1143/1730 and died eventually died in 1205/1791.
in Mora, Yeniehir, in 1204/1790. He was Gelenbevi was one of the last Ottoman
a famous Ottoman mathematician and a scholars who were trained in the traditional
scholar of logic. madrasa system, studying both Islamic and
Gelenbevi came from an important and natural sciences, and whose reputation went
highly educated family. His father, Mustafa beyond the borders of the Ottoman Empire.
Efendi, and his grandfather, Mahmut Efendi, But despite the traditional education that he
were both muftis and mudarrises in Gelenbe. experienced, Gelenbevi taught in the new
However, Gelenbevi, having lost his father academic institutions of his time as well as
at a very early age, did not have any proper the traditional ones. He also followed the
education until he reached fourteen. After innovations in mathematics and thus his
having started his first education in Gelenbe works served as a bridge between classical
at around that age, he later attended Fatih and modern mathematics. Gelenbevi, who
Medresesi in Istanbul, where he studied Ara- lived in a period when the science of logic,
bic and the Islamic sciences as well as logic, alongside other disciplines, began to decline
mathematics, and physics. Among his teach- in the Ottoman Empire, came as the last ring
ers were the great scholars of the time such in a long chain of Muslim scholars of logic.
as Yasincizade Osman Efendi and Mftizade Although in his lifetime Gelenbevi had been
Mehmet Emin Efendi. In 1177/1763, after overshadowed by two scholars, Yasincizade
having passed the required exam (imtihan- Osman Efendi and Mehmet Emin Efendi,
ruus), Gelenbevi became a mudarris in the Gelenbevi, unlike his teachers who had no
same madrasa. He also carried on taking writings of their own, left some thirty-nine
some advanced lessons on mathematics and books which still give witness to his stature
physics with Mehmet Emin Efendi. as a scientist and a scholar.
Despite his deep knowledge and compe- Some of Gelenbevis mathematical
tence in both Islamic and natural sciences, works include Sharhu jadawil al-ansab,
Gelenbevi, who had by that time a large fam- an important book on logarithms and the
ily to look after, encountered some financial usage of logarithmic tables; Qusurat al-
difficulties in these early years of his career. hesab (1200/1789), a Turkish work on
116
AL-GHAZALI
mathematics and algebra; Risala azla al- Asharite tradition of Sunni Islam, and one
musallasat, another important treatise in of the most pre-eminent ulama (scholars)
the history of mathematics, which discusses of the Muslim intellectual milieu.
angles and other geometrical issues; and Al-Ghazali was educated in various
Risala al-kibla (1189/1775), an Arabic branches of the traditional Islamic religious
treatise on trigonometric calculations which sciences in Tus, especially by al-Razkani,
shows how to calculate the qibla (the direc- then in Jurjan by Ismail b. Masada, and
tion of the Kaba) in different places. As finally at Nishapur (Neyshabur) in northern
for some of his important works on logic, Iran. At Nishapur, one of his masters was
grammar, and philosophy, they include the prominent theologian Imam al-Hara-
Galanbawi ala isaguji, an Arabic sharh on mayn al-Juwayni. After his savants death
the Isaguji, the celebrated work on logic by in (478/1085), al-Ghazali was invited to
al-Abhari (1265/1663); al-Burhan fi ilm the court of the great vizier of the Seljuq
al-mizan, one of the rare works on classi- sultans, Nizam al-Mulk. Impressing the
cal logic from the eighteenth century; Risala latter, al-Ghazali was thus appointed as
al-qiyas and Risala al-imkan, another two chief mudarris (professor) in the Nizami-
treatises on logic; and Hashiya al-tahzib al- yah madrasa of Baghdad in 484/1091.
mantiq wa al-kalam. He also wrote several At Baghdad, he was engaged in teaching
works on different issues of kalam such as a great number of students and in schol-
Risala fi al-taqaddum, Risala fi tahkik wah- arly activities, in illuminating the com-
dat al-wujud, and so on. munity of Baghdad in religio-social cases,
and in debunking Neoplatonist philosophi-
Further Reading cal theories advocated by the Peripatetic
Paa, Cevdet, Tarih-i Cevdet, Istanbul, 1309 philosophers such as al-Farabi, Ibn Sina
ah, vol. 4. (Avicenna), and the like.
ner, Necati, Tanzimattan Sonra Toward the end of the year 488/1095,
Trkiyede lim ve Mantk Anlay, following the assassination of the vizier
Ankara, 1967, p. 11. Nizam al-Mulk and the death of the Sultan
lken, Hilmi Ziya, Trkiyede ada Malik Shah, he experienced a spiritual and
Dnce Tarihi, Istanbul, 1979, p. 86. intellectual crisis which impeded his teach-
ing capabilities and communal life for a
s. leyla grkan time. Thus, in Dhul-Qadah 488/November
1095, he abandoned his teaching post and
left Baghdad on the pretext of going on the
hajj to Mecca. He made preparations for the
pilgrimage, but he changed his mind and
AL-GHAZALI, Abu Hamid adopted abstemious Sufism and even dam-
(451504/10581111) aged his health during this spiritual crisis.
Wandering for nearly two years in Damascus
Abu Hamid Muhammad b. Muhammad and then in Jerusalem, he performed in the
al-Ghazali al-Tusi, also known as Hujjat al- end his hajj in Dhul-Hijja 489/November
Islam (Proof of Islam) al-Ghazzali, or by the 1096, and decided to settle in his hometown,
Latin name Algazel, was born in Tus (near Tus. Many Sufi disciples joined him in this
Meshed in eastern Iran) in 451/1058 and city, creating an ever-expanding community.
died in the same city in 504/1111. He was At the beginning of the sixth/twelfth century,
the greatest Shafii faqih (jurist), mutakallim most probably affected by a consideration
(theologian), and mystical thinker within the that a mujaddid (renewer) of Islamic life was
117
AL-GHAZALI
expected at the beginning of each century, he Alchemy of Happiness), Nasihat al-muluk

was persuaded to return to lecturing at the (Counsel for Kings), and others.
Nizamiya madrasa of Nishapur. He contin- Like the literary genre of confessions
ued lecturing in Nishapur until 1057/1110, in the Christian milieu, al-Ghazali wrote
when he returned to Tus. He died there in his autobiographical confession called
the following year at the age of fifty-three. al-Munqidh min al-dalal (The Deliverer from
More than 400 works are attributed to Error), in which he defended his decision to
al-Ghazali. However, the same work can leave an official post in Baghdad in favor of
be found with different titles in different a devotional Sufi lifestyle. This account of
manuscripts and many works have also been personal spiritual development has been a
falsely ascribed to him. Nevertheless, at least subject of study by Western scholarship for
fifty genuine works of al-Ghazali are known a long time. In this work, al-Ghazali con-
for certain so far. fessed that he became trapped in a cycle of
Al-Ghazali devoted himself to Sufism in skepticism, doubting the senses and reason
489/1096 after a spiritual crisis. During as well. With the help of God, he reached
this time he created a series of original mas- spiritual enlightenment. It seemed to him
terpieces on Sufism and ethics. In this vein, that the paths to the truth of philosophers,
al-Ghazalis magnum opus is Ihya ulum the Ismailis, and the mutakallimun (theolo-
al-din, written just before his retirement. gians) are in no way conclusive.
This book, consisting of forty sections, seeks On the other hand, after experiencing
to reconstruct the fqh (prayer-rituals and a severe ratiocinative and spiritual crisis,
praxes), kalam (creedal and theological mat- al-Ghazali came to realize that there is no
ters), and devotional dimensions of Islam in way to certain knowledge, be it revealed or
a new mode. By doing so, he tries to make acquired, except by means of Sufism, a path
orthopraxis of the Islamic tradition the basis to achieve knowledge of true reality by fol-
for a devotional way of religious life which lowing a devotional lifestyle. The path of the
enables the individual to achieve the higher Sufis is in his view a sound way to reach the
levels of Sufism. Based on his personal expe- truth, and he argued that Sufism should be
rience, he tried to revive the religion of Islam a respected and legitimate model for achiev-
by the use of Sufism through the theoretical ing truth in the Islamic community. In his
paradigms of logic, sometimes regarded as a transition from the path of theologians to
branch of philosophy. that of Sufis, apart from personal, political,
Giving a kind of soteriological role to and doctrinal causes, socio-religious reasons
Sufism in alleviating the diseases of the time, may have been important. This is because
al-Ghazali claimed that he was able to recon- there was then a very divided intellectual
struct the traditional sciences and to reinsert arena and Sufi structural modalities seemed
religious certainty (yaqin) into religious life to help construct a more coherent and inte-
by means of Sufi experiential knowledge. grated communal life within the Dar al-Is-
The connection between spiritual experience lam (Abode of Islam).
and ratiocinative cognition is discussed in In philosophy, al-Ghazalis philosophical
detail in his masterpiece Mishkat al-anwar engagement is expressed in his treatises on
(The Niche of the Lights). Shortly before his logic and philosophy. In order to prepare
retirement he composed the Mizan al-amal his readers for his later work al-Tahafut
(The Balance of Action), and wrote other al-falasifa (The Incoherence of the Philoso-
books on Sufism, such as Kitab al-Arbain fi phers), he wrote on the teachings and doc-
usul al-din (The Forty Chapters on the Prin- trines of the philosophers in his Maqasid
ciples of Religion), Kimiya-yi saada (The al-falasifa (The Aims of the Philosophers),
118
AL-GHAZALI
which was translated into Latin in the same In metaphysics, there is a salient differ-
century and had considerable impact in ence between the metaphysical views of al-
European philosophical circles. In this book, Ghazali and the Neoplatonic philosophical
which seems to be very similar to Ibn Sinas framework. Neoplatonic metaphysics, which
Persian Danashnamah-e Alai (Book of Sci- was based on the theory of emanation, was
entific Knowledge), he gives very succinct severely criticized by al-Ghazali in twenty
and systematic information about philoso- points, three of which are especially promi-
phy. His philosophical profession achieves nent in that these, for al-Ghazali, touch the
its highest form with his al-Tahafut al-falas- fundamentals of the Islamic faith. These deal
ifa, written in Baghdad before his spiritual with the cosmogonicalthe philosophers
crisis. In the al-Tahafut, al-Ghazali sought belief in the eternity of the world; the epis-
to reframe and defend Islamic principles temologicalthe philosophers belief that
against the incoherent and discrepant God knows only universals, not particulars;
views of such philosophers as al-Farabi, Ibn and finally the eschatologicalthe philoso-
Sina, and the like. Though accepting what phers belief in spiritual resurrection only,
he took to be the positive aspects of philoso- not corporeal resurrection. In refuting these
phy, such as logic, he was on the other hand incoherent views of the philosophers, al-
very critical of it. The most salient aspect of Ghazali relies only on philosophical methods
his criticism was that the metaphysical argu- utilizing rational argument throughout.
ments of philosophers are not strong enough Firstly, the world is not eternal. The philos-
to withstand the critique of reason. ophers claim that the emanation of the First
In logic, al-Ghazali divorced logic from the Intellect and other emanated intellects and
domain of philosophy; since at the time logic beings is the result of the necessary causality
was no longer regarded as being so closely of Gods essence (dhat). If so, the world as a
linked with philosophy and was viewed as a whole should be concomitant, coeternal, and
tool that could be profitably utilized in any coeval with his existence. Yet, if God created
field of study, even on behalf of theology the cosmos at a certain moment in time, this
against philosophy itself. As opposed to the implies a change in God, which contradicts
generally negative stand of traditional theo- the nature of the divinity. What is more,
logians, al-Ghazali regarded logic as both a since each moment of time on the time scale
means for reconstructing the religious sci- is entirely similar, it is impossible then for
ences on a firm, exact, and derivative foun- God to choose a particular moment in time
dation, and a tool for refuting and debunking for creation. Time is, on the other hand, a
the claims of heretics. Al-Ghazali composed creation of God used as a measurement of
three works on Aristotelian logic: Miyar al- change, not a function of change, as claimed
ilm (The Standard Measure of Knowledge), by Aristotle. Therefore, the world is not eter-
Mihakk al-nazar fil-mantiq (The Yardstick nal in terms both of space and of time.
of Proof in Logic), and al-Qistas al-mustaqim Secondly, God knows both particulars
(The Just Balance). The first two were writ- and universals. Philosophers deprive God of
ten after the al-Tahafut in order to help knowledge of particulars and confine it to
understanding of the latter. Al-Qistas, on his self-knowledge, because for them to asso-
the other hand, was written after his retire- ciate the knowledge of God with particulars
ment to refute the heresies of the Ismailis. is to change his divine nature and to turn the
Detailed information on logic is given in the divinity into plurality. On the contrary, al-
introduction of his jurisprudential tract, al- Ghazali claims, if God has pre-eternal and
Mustasfa min ilm al-usul (The Essentials of post-eternal knowledge of an individual as a
Islamic Legal Theory). whole with every change and development,
119
AL-GHAZALI
there cannot be any change in his absolute bestowed with foreknowledge and other
eternal knowledge. forms of metaphysical knowledge.
Thirdly, in the hereafter, humans will res- In the view of al-Ghazali, human beings
urrect with body and soul together. The phi- consist of soul and body, but their essence
losophers, such as Ibn Sina, reject corporeal is the soul, which is a spiritual substance
resurrection by claiming that resurrection (jawhar), occupying no space, totally differ-
means in fact the separation of the soul from ent from the body. Every human being carries
the body with death. Recompense and pun- with it something divine (amr ilahi), which
ishment after the resurrection, according makes it possible for humans to know God.
to them, mean the pleasures and pains which Constructing the soul as a spiritual substance,
the soul solely tastes after death. Criticizing not as the subtle body of the theologians,
the philosophers notion of causal necessity, al-Ghazali sees the body as an instrument of
al-Ghazali argues that on the limited facts of the soul on the way to the hereafter and hav-
experience humans consider causality to rep- ing several faculties to maintain the bodily
resent what happens regularly. Yet it is not functions. When the main faculties of appe-
correct to think that the same causal correla- tite, anger, and intellect are moderate and
tion and continuation will necessarily occur proportionate, then we find the virtues of
in the future. This continuation of causality temperance, courage, justice, and wisdom.
is ephemeral and transient due to the lack There is the possibility of imbalance in each
of logical necessity between a certain cause faculty, and as a consequence of this there
and a certain effect. Hence, God as the sole are vile and vicious discourses and actions
creator and sole causal actor of all causes among human beings. At this juncture, it is
and effects can change what is normal at any necessary, in his view, to have religious exer-
moment in time and resurrect the dead cor- cises in order to cure these evil dispositions,
poreally and spiritually. and to approach God by transforming
Therefore, according to al-Ghazali, the them in imitation of Gods characteristics
philosophers arguments cannot withstand (takhalluq bi-akhlaq Allah). What is more,
philosophical criticism. Yet, in order to in order to preserve the earthly existence of
verify the precepts of the revealed truth, it the body as an instrument of the soul, the
is necessary to have rational verification. everyday world and society are necessary.
In spite of his systematic and virulent criti- Through this view, he tries to reconstruct the
cism of philosophy, the philosophizing tra- traditional mode of community, society, and
dition continued in the discursive genres of Islamic law in its prescribed form.
kalam and Sufism. What is more, contempo- Al-Ghazali was engaged to a consider-
rary scholarship in the study of al-Ghazali able extent in the fields of jurisprudence and
is reconsidering his relation to philosophy theology. In jurisprudence, toward the end
and to theology while at the same time rec- of his life, al-Ghazali wrote on general jur-
ognizing his distance from philosophy. In isprudential rules (usul al-fiqh) with the title
epistemology, al-Ghazali values a mode of al-Mustasfa min ilm al-usul (The Essentials
sapiential knowledge or wisdom that the of Islamic Jurisprudence). In theology, his
Sufis can acquire in their spiritual experience writings follow to a great extent the clas-
and journey (sayr). The masses or ordinary sical theological doctrines of the Asharite
people are at times allowed to glimpse the school. One of his most important theo-
world of the al-Lawh al-mahfuz (Preserved logical tracts was al-Iqtisad fi al-Itiqad (The
Tablet) in Heaven, when the veil between Middle Path in Belief), probably written in
that world and the soul is lifted temporar- Baghdad before he became a Sufi and before
ily in their dreams. Accordingly, they are his al-Tahafut. His other theological tract,
120
AL-GHAZALI
al-Risala al-qudsiyya (The Jerusalem Epistle), according to their deeds. This is because
was written after his Jerusalem journey. He God is free without limitation and under no
also composed a polemical work against the obligation (wujub). It is essential that God
militant, irredentist movement of al-Hasan be not under any kind of obligation to do
al-Sabbah, the Assassins (Ismailiya), and a the best for humans; however, this does not
tract criticizing Christianity. mean that God will not do or act to the best
In the classical classification of kalam of his own free will. What is more, the acts
(Islamic theology), there are three intercon- of God are beyond ethical judgments set by
nected subjects: theology or nature, essence human beings, but whatever is ordered or
and the attributes of God, including proph- done by God is good (husn), not bad (qubh)
ecy; cosmogony and cosmology, and, finally, for humans due to the belief that God com-
eschatology. In the matter of the essence mands and acts only benevolently, which
(dhat) and attributes (sifat) of God, follow- corresponds in human judgment to the ethi-
ing Asharite theology, which was juxtaposed cal category of good.
to a considerable extent against the back- In cosmogony, under the impact of
ground of the Mutazilite school, al-Ghazali Asharite theology, al-Ghazali seeks to prove
regards them as something different from, the existence of God from the concept of
yet added to, Gods essence. Hence, God hadath (createdness) of the cosmos, presup-
has attributes (al-sifat al-thubutiyya) such posing atomistic premises. What is more,
as knowledge, life, hearing, seeing, will, al-Ghazali holds that the phenomenal world
power, and speech, which are added to is created and continues to be created by
Gods essence. Pertaining to the relationship God in all moments of time in accord with
between Gods essence and his attributes, he his determination. Unlike the emanation-
holds that both are said to be not identical, ist deterministic cosmogony, he argues that
but not different, following the view of Abu once divine determination is freely made,
Hanifa (d. 150/767). the phenomenal world, or al-alam al-mulk,
As for the attributes for acts of God (al- changes constantly and evolves according to
sifat al-filiyya), the attributes of God do not a predetermined chain of causes and effects.
change in accord with the changes in the In cosmology, imitating the notions of the
realm of hadath (creation). For al-Ghazali, Sufi Abu Talib al-Makki, al-Ghazali divides
all the phenomena of this world are caused the cosmos into three realms: the world of
by Gods will, knowledge, and power; as a mulk (the phenomenal world); the world of
consequence of this theory, there are two jabarut (the intermediate world); and the
powers (divine and human) in action. God world of malakut (the invisible world). The
created both human power and act. In this first world, mulk, is the phenomenal world
case, human action becomes a creation which is an incomplete replica or shadow
(khalq) of God and an acquisition (kasb) of of the realm of malakut. The third world,
this khalq by humans at the same time. This malakut, is the world of reality and of the
acquisition operates in the volitional phase, essence of things. Very akin to the Platonic
not in the process of creation. world of Ideas, or to the Avicennan world of
Al-Ghazali articulates that whenever intelligibles, this realm is the world of Gods
God wants to prescribe any obligations and determination and creation, a world of
restrictions on humans, he can do so without angels free from any kind of change. As the
any obligation and restriction on his part; so realm of Gods determination, the realm of
it is neither incumbent on God (aslah ala malakut is the alam (world) of the Preserved
Allah) to do what is best for humans, nor is Tablet in Heaven where Gods will and order
he obliged to give rewards and punishments is inscribed. The only difference between the
121
AL-GHAZALI
first and the last realms is that the first alam brought rigor into the Asharite interpreta-
continues to be created by God moment tion of human action and morality.
by moment in a continual manner; yet, the Nevertheless, it is also true that philoso-
world of malakut is created once and for all phy declined in the Sunni world after al-
by God. And for al-Ghazali, this phenome- Ghazalis criticism of philosophy. Though
nal world, according to those who are given nearly a century later, Ibn Rushd (Aver-
experiential or sapiential knowledge, is the roes, d. 594/1198) in the eastern part of
most perfect and best possible realm. the Islamic world made attempts to stop the
In eschatology, al-Ghazali rejects the anal- downfall of philosophy by his response such
ogy of this world and the next world as pro- as the Tahafut al-tahafut (The Incoherence
posed by the Mutazilite theologians, since of the Incoherence), aiming to negate the
according to al-Ghazali, all the details of the claims of al-Ghazalis Tahafut and the Fasl
hereafter are based on religious authoritative al-maqal (The Decisive Treatise), philoso-
data (nass) and so it cannot be ascertained phy was, however, gradually channeled into
that these events are rationally impossible. the theoretical frame of Sufism and was fur-
For example, the seeing of God (ruya Allah) ther developed in the form of theosophical
in the hereafter is a kind of certain knowl- mysticism or mystical philosophy, especially
edge beyond human understanding; thus, it in the Shiite world. In the Sunni world, on
cannot be denied in rational terms. The ulti- the other hand, Aristotelian logic was incor-
mate goal of humankind in the Islamic tradi- porated into theology and Sufism, and was
tion is salvation in the hereafter by reaching represented, albeit to a limited extent, philo-
Paradise, in which the multitude of sensuous sophically.
pleasures and joy at the vision of God are In medieval Europe, al-Ghazali was known
reserved for the believers. The greatest hap- as a great philosopher. Like overt Averro-
piness, in the view of al-Ghazali, is the seeing ism and covert Avicennism, there was also
of God in the sense of a beatific vision. What an implicit Algazelism in Europe which was
is more, for al-Ghazali, the spiritual experi- facilitated through the Latin and Hebrew
ence (fana) of the Sufis is a foretaste of and translations and represented, to some extent,
rehearsal for the real vision of God in the by Peter of Spain, Alexandre of Hales, Vin-
hereafter. cent of Beauvais, Roger Bacon, Albertus
To sum up, al-Ghazalis influence in all Magnus, Thomas Aquinas, Siger of Brabant,
branches of the Islamic sciences was sig- Henry of Ghent, Robert Grossteste, Jean
nificant. In kalam (theology) he contributed Peccham, Matthew of Aquasparta, Pierre
prominently to the usage of rational methods dAbano, and Augustino Nifo. More explic-
of logic in theological problems in the Mus- itly, al-Ghazalis criticism of philosophy and
lim world. In logic, al-Ghazali was the first his mystical thought are sometimes compared
to apply the principles of logic in theology to the philosophical and theological thought
without any reserve and introduce this meth- of Thomas Aquinas, Nicholas of Autrecourt,
odological tool to the sciences of fiqh and and even to Descartes and Pascal.
kalam. In Islamic jurisprudence, he enthu-
siastically applied the rational principles of BIBLIOGRAPHY
logic to the study of the principles of Islamic Al-Mustasfa min Ilm al-Usul (The
legal theory (usul al-fiqh) as represented in Essentials of the Islamic Legal Theory),
his al-Mustasfa min ilm al-usul (The Essen- Cairo: al-Matbaa al-Amiriyya, 19046.
tials of Islamic Legal Theory), in which he Tahafut al-Falasifa (The Incoherence of
included a very long introduction regarding the Philosophers), ed. M. Bouyges,
logic and ratiocinative methods. In ethics he Beirut: Imprimerie Catholique, 1927;
122
AL-GHAZALI
trans. S. A. Kamali, Al-Ghazalis et la connaissance rationnelle chez

Tahafut al-Falasifah, Lahore: Pakistan Ghazali, Bulletin dtudes Orientales 15
Philosophical Congress, 1963. (19557), pp. 798; trans. D. P. Brewster,
Al-Munqidh min al-Dalal (The Deliverer Al-Ghazali: The Just Balance, Lahore:
from Error), ed. J. Saliba and K. Ayyad, Shaykh Muhammad Ashraf, 1997.
Damascus: Maktab al-Nashr al-Arabi, Mizan al-Amal (The Balance of Action),
1934; trans. W. M. Watt, The Faith and ed. S. Dunya, Cairo: Dar al-Maarif,
Practice of al-Ghazali, London: Allen 1945; trans. H. Hachem, Ghazali: Critre
& Unwin, 1953; trans. R. J. McCarthy, de laction, Paris: Maisonneuve, 1964.
Freedom and Fulfillment: An Annotated Maqasid al-Falasifa (The Intentions of the
Translation of al-Ghazalis al-Munqidh Philosophers), ed. S. Dunya, Cairo: Dar
min al-Dalal and Other Relevant Works al-Maarif, 1961.
of al-Ghazali, Boston: Twayne, 1980. Miyar al-Ilm (The Standard Measure of
Ihya Ulum al-Din (The Revival of the Knowledge), ed. S. Dunya, Cairo: Dar
Religious Sciences), Cairo: Matbaah al-Maarif, 1961.
Lajnah Nashr al-Thaqafah al-Islamiyyah, Al-Iqtisad fil-Itiqad (The Middle Path
19378, 5 vols; partial translations can in Theology), ed. I. A. ubuku and
be found in E. E. Calverley, Worship in H. Atay, Ankara: Nur Matbaasi, 1962;
Islam: al-Ghazalis Book of the Ihya partial trans. A.-R. Abu Zayd, Al-Ghazali
on the Worship, London: Luzac, 1957; on Divine Predicates and Their
N. A. Faris, The Book of Knowledge, Properties, Lahore: S. M. Ashraf, 1970;
Being a Translation with Notes of trans. M. Asn Palacios, El justo medio
the Kitab al-Ilm of al-Ghazzalis en la creencia, Madrid: Mestre 1929.
Ihya Ulum al-Din, Lahore: Shaykh Mishkat al-Anwar (The Niche of the
Muhammad Ashraf, 1962; N. A. Faris, Lights), ed. A. Afifi, Cairo, 1964; trans.
The Foundation of the Articles of W. H. T. Gairdner, Al-Ghazzalis Mishkat
Faith: Being a Translation with Notes al-Anwar, London: The Royal Asiatic
of the Kitab Qawaid al-Aqaid of Society, 1924; repr. Lahore: Shaykh
al-Ghazzalis Ihya Ulum al-Din, Lahore: Muhammad Ashraf, 1952; trans. R.
Shaykh Muhammad Ashraf, 1963; L. Deladrire, Le Tabernacle des lumires,
Zolondek, Book XX of al-Ghazalis Paris: ditions du Seuil, 1981; trans.
Ihya Ulum al-Din, Leiden: Brill, A.-E. Elschazli, Die Nische der Lichter,
1963; T. J. Winter, The Remembrance Hamburg: Felix Meiner, 1987.
of Death and the Afterlife: Book XL al-Risala al-Qudsiyya (The Jerusalem
of the Revival of Religious Sciences, Epistle), ed. and trans. A. L. Tibawi,
Cambridge: The Islamic Text Society, Al-Ghazalis Tract on Dogmatic
1989; K. Nakamura, Invocations and Theology, The Islamic Quarterly 9, 3/4
Supplications: Book IX of the Revival of (1965), pp. 62122.
the Religious Sciences, Cambridge: The Mihakk al-Nazar fil-Mantiq (The Yardstick
Islamic Text Society, 1990; M. Bousquet, of Proof in Logic), ed. M. al-Numani,
Ihya oulom ed-din ou vivification de la Beirut: Dar al-Nahdah al-Hadithah, 1966.
foi, analyse et index, Paris: Max Besson,
1951. Further Reading
al-Qistas al-Mustaqim (The Just Abu Ridah, M., Al-Ghazali und seine
Balance), ed. V. Chelhot, Beirut: Widerlegung der griechischen Philosophie
Imprimerie Catholique, 1959; trans. (Al-Ghazali and His Refutation of Greek
V. Chelhot, Al-Qistas al-Mustaqim Philosophy), Madrid: S.A. Blass, 1952.
123
GKALP
Campanini, M., Al-Ghazzali, in S. H. ed. E. Craig and L. Floridi, New York:

Nasor and O. Leaman (eds), History of Routledge, 1998.
Islamic Philosophy, London: Routledge, Ormsby, E. L., Theodicy in Islamic
1996, ch. 19, pp. 25874. Thought: The Dispute over al-Ghazalis
Frank, R., Creation and the Cosmic System: Best of All Possible Worlds, Princeton,
al-Ghazali and Avicenna, Heidelberg: NJ: Princeton University Press, 1984.
Carl Winter Universittsverlag, 1992. Shehadi, F., Ghazalis Unique Unknowable
Al-Ghazali and the Asharite School, God: A Philosophical Critical Analysis
Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1994. of Some of the Problems Raised by
Ibn Rushd, Tahafut al-Tahafut (The Ghazalis View of God as Utterly Unique
Incoherence of Incoherence), trans. S. and Unknowable, Leiden: Brill, 1964.
Van den Bergh, Averroes Tahafutal- Sherif, M., Ghazalis Theory of Virtue,
Tahafut, 2 vols, London: Luzac, 1969. Albany, NY: State University of
Jabre, F., La notion de certitude selon New York Press, 1975.
Ghazali dans ses origines psychologiques Smith, M., Al-Ghazali the Mystic, London:
et historiques (The Notion of Certitude Luzac, 1944.
According to al-Ghazali and Its Watt, W. M., Muslim Intellectual: A Study
Psychological and Historical Origins), of al-Ghazali, Edinburgh: Edinburgh
Paris: Vrin, 1958. University Press, 1963.
La notion de la marifa chez Ghazali Zakzouk, M., Al-Ghazalis Philosophie im
(The Notion of Gnosis in al-Ghazali), Vergleich mit Descartes (Al-Ghazalis
Beirut: Librairie Orientale, 1958. Philosophy Compared with Descartes),
Laoust, H., La politique de Gazali (The Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 1992.
Political Thought of al-Ghazali), Paris:
Paul Geuthner, 1970. sevket yavuz
Lazarus-Yafeh, H., Studies in al-Ghazali,
Jerusalem: The Magnes Press, 1975.
Leaman, O., An Introduction to Classical
Islamic Philosophy, Cambridge: Gilani, Abd al-Qadir,see al-Jilani
Cambridge University Press, 2002.
Ghazali and the Asharites, Asian
Philosophy 6, 1 (1996), pp. 1727.
Macdonald, D. B., The Life of al-Ghazzali,
with Especial Reference to His Religious GKALP, Ziya(18761924)
Experiences and Opinions, Journal of
the American Oriental Society 20 (1899), Considered to be the foremost ideologue of
pp. 71132. modern Turkish nationalism, Gkalp was
Marmura, M. E., Ghazalian Causes and born in Diyarbakr, Turkey. He received a
Intermediaries, Journal of the American traditional Islamic education in his home-
Oriental Society 115 (1995), pp. 89100. town, and began to write at an early age. He
Nakamura Kojiro, An Approach to Ghazalis enrolled in a veterinary school in Istanbul,
Conversion, Orient 21 (1985), pp. 4659. but his real interest was in the social sciences.
Was Ghazali an Asharite?, Memoirs of Later, this would lead Gkalp to study Dur-
Research Department of the Toyo Bunko kheim closely and make his ideas available in
51 (1993), pp. 124. Turkey through his various publications.
Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (10581111), It was during his years in Istanbul that
in The Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Gkalp became familiar with the ideas and
124
GKALP
political program of the Ottoman Society synthesis was the past of the Turkish nation.
for Union and Progress, of which many of Its future lay in the newly emerging modern
his contemporaries were secret members. European civilization with a new set of values
Due to an intellectual crisis and perhaps based on science and progress. Gkalp sum-
social pressure, he attempted suicide and marized his new politico-cultural program in
was saved by Abdullah Cevdet. In addition his famous book Trklemek, slamlamak,
to his political activities, he became closely Muasrlamak (Turkicization, Islamization,
associated with a group of writers known as Modernization) published in 1918. He tried
Gen Kalemler (Young Pens), which initiated to reconcile these three tendencies by seek-
a new literary movement in modern Turk- ing to create a modern Turkish Islam. In
ish. After the Revolution of 1908 led by the this sense, Gkalp did not dissociate himself
Society for Union and Progress, he became from traditional Islamic values completely.
an ideologue of Turkish nationalism, which, In keeping with his philosophical idealism,
by now, had separated itself from Islamism he praised Ibn al-Arabi as the closest sage
and Ottomanism led by Namk Kemal and to modern philosophy.
others. His secular and modernist ideas pre- Gkalps philosophical modernism led
pared the ground for many of the Kamalist him to play an active role in a number of
reforms after 1923. He died in 1924 as a areas. In literature, he defended the purifi-
member of the Grand National Assembly. cation movement in the Turkish language
In his early writings, Gkalp followed whereby Arabic and Persian words that had
Namk Kemal and others in arguing for the entered Turkish were replaced with either
unity of all Ottoman subjects, that is, the old Turkish words or with newly invented
different ethnicities under the Ottoman rule ones. In politics, he expanded his idealistic
bound together by religion and common his- Turkish nationalism to the Turkish nations
tory. As the Ottoman Empire disintegrated of Central Asia under Russian rule. In the
and nationalist movements gained momen- field of law, he advocated reforming tradi-
tum in Europe, the Balkans, and the Arab tional Islamic legal systems and reconciling
world, Gkalp, like many of his contempo- their differences with modern secular law.
raries, became disillusioned with Ottoman- In international relations, he proposed to
ism and turned to Turkish nationalism with turn the traditional caliphate into a non-
strong secular tendencies. His new ideology political organization to regulate the rela-
of Turkish nationalism was aligned more tions between the Muslim nations.
with cultural association than racial identi-
fication. To that effect, he made a distinction BIBLIOGRAPHY
between culture (hars) and civilization, Turkish Nationalism and Western
and defined culture as the sum total of the Civilization: Selected Essays of Ziya
institutions, ideas, beliefs, and values of a Gkalp, ed. and trans. Niyazi Berkes,
nation which distinguish it from others that London: Allen and Unwin, 1959.
belong to the same civilization. As a sociolo- The Principles of Turkism, trans. Robert
gist, Gkalp wrote extensively on the ancient Devereux, Leiden: Brill, 1969.
cultures and mores of pre-Islamic Turks,
and tried to clarify his definition of culture Further Reading
through numerous examples. Heyd, Uriel, Foundations of Turkish
Gkalp considered Islam to be a part of Nationalism: The Life and Teachings of
Turkish culture to the extent to which it Ziya Gkalp, London: Luzac, 1950.
was a long-held belief system of the Turk-
ish people. But for him, this Turkish-Islamic ibrahim kalin
125
GLPINARLI
GLPINARLI, Abdulbaki from Istanbul University in 1368/1949, he

(13171402/190082) devoted himself to research on Mawlana
Jalal al-Din Rumi and the Mawlavi order.
Abdulbaki Glpnarl was born in Istan- He died on 6 Dhul-Qadah 1402/August 25,
bul on 10 Ramadan 1317/12 Ocak 1900 1982, in Istanbul, and is buried in the Shiite
and died in Istanbul on 6 Dhul-Qadah graveyard in skdar.
1402/August 25, 1982. He was an out- From his early years Glpnarl entered
standing interpreter of Sufism, especially different Sufi orders, but never became com-
the Mawlaviyye and Bektashiyya schools. mitted to any of them exclusively except to
His father was Ahmed Agah Efendi, and his the Mawlaviyye. Sometimes he appeared to
mother was Aliye hret Hanm. His fam- be a cynical writer criticizing Marxism, at
ily was by origin from Gence (Azerbaijan), other times he was a Marxist activist. There-
and his father worked as an Ottoman civil fore, it is extremely difficult to describe his
servant in Rusjuk (Bulgaria), then moved exact thought. It can at least be said that he
to Istanbul during the Turkish-Russian War was a Bektashi and a Mawlavi and loyal to
12945/18778. His father was a journalist Shiism. He was a skilled interpreter of the
and worked for Tercman- Hakikat (Inter- history of Sufism. He wrote in various aca-
pretation of Truth) newspaper. He was also demic and popular journals, such as Trki-
a Bektashi Sufi in Rusjuk, who after moving yat Mecmuas (Journal of Turkish Studies),
to Istanbul entered the Naqshibandiya order. arkiyat Mecmuas (Journal of Oriental
When Glpnarl was eight years old, he Studies), and Trk Dili (Turkish Language).
began attending Mawlavi circles in Bahariye Glpnarl was prolific, writing, edit-
(Istanbul). He was brought up in the cultural ing, and translating around 114 books and
and mystical atmosphere of the Sufi orders. more than 400 articles. His works on Yunus
When Glpnarl was in secondary school, Emre and Mawlana Jalaleddin Rumi are
his father died and he was forced to leave among the most important. His first impor-
school and start work as a teacher of Per- tant book, Melamilik ve Melamiler (The
sian and geography, also in a secondary Malami Order and the Malamis), published
school. Facing hardship in Istanbul, he in 1931, was his dissertation written for the
decided to move to Alaca to work again as Faculty of Literature. This book established
a schoolteacher. In 1343/1924 he returned his scholarly status. He also wrote many
to Istanbul in order to complete his lyce biographies of Turkish poets such as Baki,
education, and graduated from stiklal Lye Fuzuli, Kaygusuz Abtal, Pir Sultan Abtal,
in 1344/1926. While working as a school- Hata, Kul Himmet, eyh Galib, and Nes-
teacher, he attended the Faculty of Literature imi. His book Yunus Emre, Hayat (Yunus
in Istanbul University. Having graduated Emre, His Life), published in 1936, is a
from the university he then worked as a revealing work on the famous Turkish poet
teacher of Turkish literature in the Anatolian Yunus Emre. It was an important attempt
cities of Konya, Kayseri, and Balkesir. to bring together various facts in order to
In 1358/1939, Glpnarl was appointed illuminate the dark side of Yunus life. Mev-
to teach in Ankara University. In 1361/1942, lana Celaleddin: Hayat, Felsefesi, Eserleri
he moved to the Faculty of Literature in ve Eserlerinden Semeler (Mawlana Jala-
Istanbul University and taught the history leddin: Life, Philosophy, Works and Some
of Sufism and Sufi literature. In 1364/1945, Selections from His Works), published in
he was detained as a Marxist activist but 1951, is a detailed study of Rumis life and
released after ten months. Having retired his works. Glpnarl also translated some
126
GUNON
works of famous Persian poets such as Far- and philosophy. He went to Paris in 1906,
uddin Attar, ebsteri, Omar Khayyam, where he maintained regular contact with
and Hafz into Turkish. He was a prominent various spiritualist groups. Gunon was
translator of Rumis works into Turkish. He initiated into Sufism in 1912, and took the
edited and published the divans of famous Muslim name Abd al-Wahid Yahya. He fin-
Turkish poets such as Fuzul, Yunus Emre, ished his university education in 1916 with
Nedim, and eyh Galib. He wrote many a thesis called Leibniz and Infinitesimal
books on Shiism such as On ki mam Calculus. The same year, he met the Catho-
(Twelve Imams), Mminlerin Emiri Hz. Ali lic philosopher Jacques Maritain. In 1921,
(The Amir of Believers, Imam Ali) and Tarih he prepared his doctoral dissertation under
Boyunca slam Mezhepleri ve iilik (Islamic the title General Introduction to the Study
Sects and Shiism Throughout History). He of Hindu Doctrines. Gunons thesis was
prepared and published a Turkish transla- rejected by his doctoral committee, which
tion of the Quran in 1958, and because of led to his eventual abandonment of aca-
his Shiite interpretation, this translation demia in 1923. In 1924, he published Ori-
was severely criticized. He also wrote many ent and Occident, to be followed in 1927 by
entries for various encyclopedias. The Crisis of the Modern World, perhaps his
Glpnarl has made a significant con- most famous and widely read book.
tribution to the revival of Turkish culture A year after the publication of The Crisis
in modern Turkey by writing works and of the Modern World, Gunons wife died.
translating and editing the works of various He went to Egypt in 1930 as part of a project
famous Turkish poets. Many of his books for the study and publication of some Sufi
have become indispensable for those inter- texts. He never left Egypt again. He married
ested in the history of Sufism as well as stu- the daughter of the Sufi shaykh Muhammad
dents of the history of Turkish literature. Ibrahim in 1934, and settled in a house near
al-Azhar University where he had regular
BIBLIOGRAPHY contact with Abd al-Halim Mahmud, the
Melamilik ve Melamiler (The Malami president of al-Azhar and a scholar of Sufism.
Order and the Malamis), Istanbul: Devlet Although Gunon received occasional visits
Matbaas, 1931. from such members of the Traditionalist
school as Titus Burckhardt, Frithjof Schuon,
Further Reading and Martin Lings, he remained largely a
Alparslan, Ali, Abdlbki Glpnarl, recluse during his years in Egypt, working
Ankara: T.C Kltr Bakanl Yaynlar, on his major books and articles. He died in
1996. Cairo on January 7, 1951.
Gunons writings span a wide array of
adnan aslan subjects from metaphysics and symbolism to
the critique of the modern world. One of the
constant themes of his corpus is the sharp
contrast between the traditional worldview
shared by the major religions of the world
GUNON, Ren(18861951) and modernism, which he considered to be
an anomaly in the history of mankind. His
Gunon was born in Blois, France, on works present the fundamental teachings of
November 15, 1886. He devoted the early the Traditionalist school in a precise and com-
years of his life to the study of mathematics pelling language. His The Reign of Quantity
127
GUNON
and the Signs of the Times, Multiple States of teachings of religions, and applies them to
Being and Fundamental Symbols of Sacred numerous subjects that he examines in his
Science are devoted to the revival of tradi- works. Both the value of the traditional sci-
tional doctrines and have been instrumental ences of nature and the misguided claims of
in the rise and spread of the Traditionalist modern secular science are judged in pro-
school, represented by such figures as Frith- portion to their proximity or distance from
jof Schuon, Ananda Coomaraswamy, Titus these principles.
Burckhardt, Marco Pallis, Seyyed Hossein
Nasr, and Martin Lings. Gunons other BIBLIOGRAPHY
works, including The Symbolism of the Introduction to the Study of Hindu
Cross, Man and His Becoming According Doctrines, trans. M. Pallis, London:
to the Vedanta, Introduction to the Study of Luzac, 1945.
Hindu Doctrines, and the Grand Triad, deal Man and His Becoming According to the
with various themes within specific religious Vedanta, trans. R. Nicholson, London:
traditions. Luzac, 1946.
Gunons metaphysical views contain all of Symbolism of the Cross, trans. Angus
the basic tenets of the Traditionalist school. Macnab, London: Luzac, 1958.
According to Guenon, the primordial and The Crisis of the Modern World, trans.
perennial Truth, which manifests itself in A. Osborne, M. Pallis, and R. Nicholson,
a variety of religious traditions and meta- London: Luzac, 1962.
physical systems, has been lost in the mod- The Reign of Quantity and the Signs of
ern world. The modernists seek to reduce all the Times, trans. Lord Northbourne,
higher principles and levels of reality to their Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1972.
manifestation in the world of multiplicity The Multiple States of Being, trans. Joscelyn
and relative existence. Modern philosophy Godwin, New York: Larson, 1984.
carries this out by reducing everything to the The Great Triad, trans. Peter Kingsley,
individualistic horizon of the subject and by Cambridge: Quinta Essentia, 1991.
relegating objective reality to the discursive Fundamental Symbols: The Universal
constructions of the knowing subject. In Language of Sacred Science, trans.
the field of natural sciences, positivism and Alvin Moore, rev. and ed. Martin Lings,
its scientistic allies similarly reject any real- Cambridge: Quinta Essentia, 1995.
ity that is beyond the reach and scrutiny of East and West, trans. William Massey,
the quantitative measurement of physical London: Luzac, 2001.
sciences. In the social realm, the moral and The Esotericism of Dante, trans. Henry
esthetic principles are left to the arbitrary D. Fohr, New York: Sophia Perennis,
decisions and consensus of the majority, 2001.
thus jeopardizing the objective reality of the Insights into Islamic Esoterism and Taoism,
truth. trans. Henry D. Fohr, New York: Sophia
For Gunon, the malaise of the mod- Perennis, 2001.
ern world lies in its relentless denial of The Metaphysical Principles of the
the metaphysical realm, the metaphysical Infinitesimal Calculus, trans. Henry
world being comprised of both philosophy D. Fohr, New York: Sophia Perennis,
and spirituality. Gunon sees everything 2001.
in the world of creation as an application Spiritual Authority and Temporal Power,
and manifestation of the metaphysical prin- trans. Henry D. Fohr, New York: Sophia
ciples that are contained in the perennial Perennis, 2001.
128
GNALTAY
Further Reading Sufi orders for causing the decline of clas-

Robin, Jean, Ren Gunon: Tmoin de la sical Islamic civilization by preaching fatal-
Tradition, Paris: G. Tredaniel, 1986. ism and passivism, and sheltering fugitive
Waterfield, Robin, Rene Guenon and the soldiers and other public servants. But he
Future of the West: the Life and Writings opposed all forms of atheism and agnosti-
of a 20th Century Metaphysician, cism imported from the Enlightenment phi-
Wellingborough: Crucible, 1987. losophers of Europe. Like other Muslim
modernists, he believed that the gate of
ibrahim kalin ijtihad was open, implying that Islamic cul-
ture and law could find a place for itself in
the modern world. Where there is a conflict
between reason (akl) and revelation (nakil),
he reiterated what he took to be the tradi-
GNALTAY, M. emseddin(18831961) tional Islamic notion that advocated the use
of reason to interpret revelation.
Gnaltay was born in Erzincan, Turkey. He Like many of his intellectual peers, Gn-
received his early education in Istanbul and altay criticized European countries for
went to Switzerland to do research in natu- their double standards and hypocrisy. As
ral history. In 1914 he joined the Faculty of a scholar and politician who flourished in
Arts and Sciences in Istanbul, and became the early twentieth century, Gnaltay was
its dean in 1915. He joined the Ottoman acutely aware of the devastating impact of
Society for Union and Progress and for sev- European colonialism on the Islamic world.
eral years served as its president. He became He ridiculed European intellectuals for try-
a member of the Peoples Republican Party, ing to teach the norms of civility to Mus-
founded by Kemal Atatrk. He was a lim countries while their own governments
member of the Grand National Assembly were occupying Muslim lands. In keeping
until 1954. In 1949 he became the four- with his critical attitude toward Europe, he
teenth Prime Minister of the Republic. He believed that the Europeans were afraid of
served as the president of the Turkish His- the success of Turkey because of Turkeys
torical Society from 1941 until his death potential leadership role for the rest of the
in 1961. Islamic world.
Gnaltays prolific career combined politi- Gnaltay sought to create a modus vivendi
cal activism with the productive scholar- between his personal attachment to the
ship of a scholar and historian. Despite the Islamic tradition and the secularist policies of
anti-Islamic and pro-Western outlook of the the new Turkish Republic. In the first edition
Peoples Republican Party, Gnaltay can of his book Zulmetten Nura (From Dark-
rightly be called an Islamic thinker. He was ness to Light), for instance, he advocated
largely responsible for the establishment of the development of the Turkish language
the Ankara Divinity School, the first of its and the study of foreign languages, includ-
kind in modern Turkey, as well as the intro- ing Arabic and Persian, the two major lan-
duction of mandatory religious classes into guages of classical Islam. As the new Repub-
the Turkish school system. lic adopted a radical program of nationalist
Gnaltay considered religion an essential modernization-Westernization, he took out
component of society. He did not have any Arabic and Persian from the later editions of
particular interest in the mystical aspects the book. In a broad sense, we find Gnaltay
of religion. In fact, he openly criticized the concurring with the politico-cultural program
129
GNALTAY
of Ziya Gkalp, who saw the future in the and Nationality) (1940), and ran Tarihi
synthesis of Turkicization, Islamization, and (History of Iran) (1948).
Westernization. His works include slam
Tarihi (History of Islam) (1922), Maziden Further Reading
Atiye (From the Past to the Future) (1923), Kara, smail, Trkiyede slamclk
slamda Tarih ve Mverrihler (History and Dncesi, Istanbul: Risale, 1987.
Historians in Islam) (1923), Zulmetten Cokun, smail (ed.), Trkiyede Sosyoloji,
Nura (From Darkness to Light) (1925), Istanbul: Balam, 1991.
bn-i Sinann ahsiyeti ve Milliyeti Mese-
lesi (The Question of Ibn Sinas Personality ibrahim kalin
130
H
HACI PAA (c. 740827/c. 13391424) After this appointment the title of Hac Paa
was given to him by sa Bey. He was not only
Hac Paa was born in Konya (Turkey) in a judge in Ayasaluk, but also a lecturer in
about 740/1339 and died in Birgi in about Birgi Medrese, and he served as a medical
827/1424. He was known as the Anato- doctor in the court of sa Bey.
lian Ibn Sina, a scholar of medical sciences After the death of sa Bey and because of
as well as a theologian. His real name was some political unrest in Aydn, Hac Paa left
Celaleddin Hzr, but he was commonly Aydn for Konya after 800/1398. How long
known as Hac Paa. His father was Ali and he stayed in Konya is not precisely known.
his grandfather was a merchant known as Having presented his exegesis of the Quran
Hoca Ali. Hac Paa started his early edu- to the Ottoman Sultan Murat II, it is under-
cation in a medrese of Konya and later was stood that he returned to the Anatolian town
sent to Egypt for further education by his of Birgi, where he died.
family. He studied the religious and ratio- Hac Paa wrote several books in three
nal sciences with the famous Hanafi jurist major fields, namely, medical sciences (tb),
Akmal al-Din al-Baberti in the Shayhuniyya Quranic exegesis (tafsir), and theology
Madrasa in Cairo. His success in these areas (kalam). Apart from two Turkish books,
of knowledge in Cairo made him famous he mainly wrote in Arabic. One of his most
in Anatolia. Among his colleagues in Egypt important books in medicine was al-Talim fi
there were famous Turkish scholars such as ilmi al-tb (The Instruction in Medical Sci-
Molla Fenari and Bedrettin Simavii Seyyed. ences), which he completed in 771/1370.
Sharif al-Jurjani was also among his col- This was written according to the Ibn Sina
leagues. Subsequently he attended the circle tradition. In this book, Hac Paa gave a
of Qutb al-Din al-Tahtani in Damascus. brief account of theoretical as well as practi-
During his education in Cairo, Hac Paa cal aspects of the medical sciences. He also
suffered a serious illness, which eventually led spoke of food and drink, and the causes and
him to study the medical sciences. He studied treatment of some bodily illnesses. At the
with leading thinkers such as Jamaladdin ibn end of this book, Hac Paa gave advice to
al-Shawbaki, and was appointed as a doc- doctors. This book has not been published
tor in the hospital of al-Malik Mansur Kala- but there are a few manuscripts in Istanbul
wun, where he served for a long time. When libraries. Hac Paa wrote al-Farida fi zikri
he received an invitation from his sponsor al-aghiza al-mufida (On Beneficial Foods)
Aydnolu sa Bey, Celaleddin Hzr returned in 771/1379 in Cairo. This was a brief sum-
to Anatolia. He was appointed as a judge mary of his al-Talim fi ilmi al-tib. It has not
(kad) for the Anatolian town of Ayasaluk. yet been edited or published.
131
HAIRI-YAZDI
Shifa al-askam wa dawau al-alam (Cur- Hadith

ing of Illnesses and Remedies of Sufferings)
is one of Hac Paas most important books After the Quran itself, the most important
on medicine. This book has also been known source for Islamic philosophy is the body
as Shifa-y Hac Paa and Kanun- Hac Paa. of works known as hadith (literally, Tradi-
It was written in 782/1380 in Ayasuluk and tions) concerning the Prophet and his Com-
presented to sa Bey. It contains practical panions. The hadith can be seen as a kind
as well as theoretical aspects of medicine at of supplement to the Quran; they are not
that time. In this book Hac Paa follows the divinely sent in the manner of the latter, but
method of Ibn Sina and explains the features they represent the thinking of the Prophet
of drugs and foods, illnesses and their treat- and his Companions.
ments. There are many manuscripts of this The hadith in turn have been a rich source
book in Istanbul libraries but it has not been of inspiration for thinkers and philosophers
edited or published. in the Islamic world down to the present day.
Kitab al-Sada wa al-iqbal (Book of Hap- In the words of Nasr (1996: 36), the Quran
piness and Prosperity) is another summary of and the hadith have provided over the cen-
his Shifa al-askam, completed in 788/1386 in turies the framework and matrix for Islamic
Ayasaluk. This book was later translated into philosophy and created the intellectual and
Turkish and presented to the Ottoman Sultan social climate within which Islamic philoso-
Beyazt II. Muntehab- ifa (Selections of Shifa phers have philosophized. Moreover, they
al-askam) is a Turkish summary of his Shifa have presented a knowledge of the origin,
al-askam written by himself. This book is one the nature of things, humanity and its final
of the earliest Turkish books on medicine. ends and history upon which the Islamic phi-
It was transcribed into Latin and published losophers have meditated and from which
in 1410/1990 in Ankara. Majma al-anwar they have drawn over the ages.
fi jami al-asrar (Gathering of Lights in All
Secrets) is a tafsir (exegesis) of the Quran, pre- Further Reading
sented to Ottoman Sultan Murat II. Although Nasr, Seyyed Hossein, The Quran and
it seems to be one of the largest of Hac Paas Hadith as Sources and Inspiration of
works and was completed in about ten vol- Islamic Philosophy in S. H. Nasr and
umes, only two of them are extant. He also O. Leaman (eds), History of Islamic
wrote some books of commentary (sharh). Philosophy, ch. 2, London: Routledge,
These include a commentary of Metali al- 1996, pp. 2739.
anwar of Siraj al-Din al-Urumawi on logic Netton, Ian Richard, Allah Transcendent,
and a commentary of Tawali al-anwar fi ilm London: Routledge, 1989.
al-kalam of Kad Baydawi on theology.
oliver leaman
Further Reading
Kker, H. and Erdoan, Y., Konyal Hekim
Hac Paa, Kayseri: Erciyes niversitesi
Gevher Nesibe Tp Tarihi Enstits HAIRI-YAZDI, Mehdi(192399)
Yaynlar, 1986.
nver, S., Seluk Tababeti (Medical Sciences Mehdi Hairi-Yazdi grew up in a distinguished
in Saljuq), Ankara: Trk Tarih Kurumu family in Iran, and like them became a part
Yaynlar, 1940. of the religious establishment in the country.
He was born in Qom in 1923, and his father,
adnan aslan Ayatollah Abdokkarim Hairi-Yazdi, was the
132
AL-HALLAJ
marja al-taqlid or main legal Shii authority through the use of modern Western think-
of the time. He was also the founder of the ers such as Russell and Wittgenstein. He has
Qom seminary, which proved to be the main also written books titled Ilm-i kulli (Uni-
center for the ayatollahs in Iran. versal Knowledge), Kawishha-yi aql-i naz-
Hairi-Yazdi left the country in 1959 for ari (Investigations of Pure Reason), Agahi
Washington DC to represent Ayatollah wa guwahi (Concept and Judgement), and
Boroujerdi, and while there set up the Asso- Kawishha-yi aql-i amali (Enquiry into Prac-
ciation of Islamic Students in North America tical Reason), which is a work on ethics.
that came to wield a considerable presence
from then on. He became interested in West- BIBLIOGRAPHY
ern philosophy and took the unusual step of The Principles of Epistemology in Islamic
enrolling for an undergraduate philosophy Philosophy: Knowledge by Presence,
degree at Georgetown University, following Albany: State University of New York
this up with further study at the universities Press, 1992.
of Michigan and Toronto, from the latter of Memoirs of Mehdi Hairi-Yazdi, Theologian
which he received his doctorate in philoso- and Professor of Islamic Philosophy,
phy. While he was in the West he taught at ed. H. Ladjevardi, New York, Bethesda:
a variety of institutions and gained a good Ibex, 2001.
knowledge of how philosophy was both
taught and studied in the West. oliver leaman
The Islamic Revolution in 1979 put him in
temporary charge of the embassy in Wash-
ington. The new leader, Ayatollah Khomeini,
asked him to undertake this task, and there
were close family and teaching links between AL-HALLAJ, Abu al-Mughith al-Husayn
the Khomeini and the Hairi-Yazdi families. (244309/857922)
In the summer of 1980 he returned to Iran,
having given up his responsibilities in the Abu al-Mughith al-Husayn b. Mansur al-
USA after disagreements, and returned to Hallaj, a famous mystic, was born in Tur, to
teaching at the University of Tehran, but the northeast of al-Bayda in Fars, in about
he was no longer on friendly terms with the 244/8578, the son of a wool carder. He
leader of the country and his travel overseas died in Baghdad 309/922. When the boy
was subsequently banned until 1983. Hairi- was still young, the father left Tur for a bet-
Yazdi remained rather out of favor because ter textile-producing region between Tuster
of his views, subsequently published, that and Wasit. At Wasit, al-Hallaj, who would
the whole idea of clerical rule, very much the not have been more than about twelve years
basis of the 1979 revolution, was not sup- old, probably lost his ability to speak Per-
ported by religion. He largely stayed out of sian through his intensive study of the lit-
politics up until his death in 1999. erary Arabic of the Quran. Even then he
From a philosophical point of view, Hairi- was eager to learn the inner meaning of the
Yazdis most important work manages to Quranic verses, and later joined the Sufi
combine what he takes to be insights from school of Sahl al-Tustari.
both Western and Islamic philosophy. A good At the age of twenty, al-Hallaj left Tuster
example of his approach can be found in his to live in Basra. There he learned the Sufi
book on epistemology, in which he analyzes teachings of Amr al-Makki and became
some basic issues in the theory of knowledge his disciple. However, his marriage with
as discussed by Ibn Sina and al-Suhrawardi the daughter of a rival of al-Makki caused
133
AL-HALLAJ
problems with his shaykh and teacher. The he started to preach the love of God in con-
family of his wife seemed to have been nection with suffering and pain through
involved with the Zinj movement, sup- sentences such as God neither leaves me to
ported by Qaramite Shii, who led a revolt myself nor takes me fully to a final rest in
against the Abbasid authorities. The move- him, or God has made my blood lawful
ment called for better treatment of the slaves to you; kill me. He also produced the most
(both African and Indian) and the poor peas- beautiful poetry as an expression of his suf-
ants. No doubt Hallaj took some part in this fering. Probably after his last mystical experi-
revolt, a position which made many scholars ences he was seeking an actual annihilation in
consider him a Shii dai or missionary. This God through a final destruction of the body.
claim, however, is refuted by Massignon Because of the immense anxiety felt by the
(1957), who collected the works and doc- masses, many traditionalists such as Muham-
trines of al-Hallaj and gives a very detailed mad b. Dawud the judge of Baghdad advised
account of his life. Some Sufis of the time, that al-Hallaj should be arrested. He was
such as al-Junayd, disapproved of al-Hallajs accused in 301/913 of blasphemy and jailed
connections with this movement and advised for nine years. This judgment, however, seems
him to withdraw. For various personal and to have had a political dimension; it came
political reasons, al-Hallaj then left Basra for about through his preaching against injus-
Mecca to perform his first hajj. tice, which was made use of by the Ismaili
Al-Hallaj remained in Mecca for a year, and rivals of the Abbasids and he was jailed by
it seems that he spent this period in silence the Ismailis when they established their rule
and fasting in preparation for the experi- in Morocco. In prison, however, he contin-
ence of unification with God. After his stay ued to preach to the prisoners. His continual
in Mecca, al-Hallaj left for Khuzistan where preaching increased the number of his fol-
he preached to the people the importance of lowers, which led Hamid, who was the vizier,
seeking mystical knowledge of God and the to fear that the Shii power of the Daylamites
importance of developing the spiritual side of would increase, for it was already growing in
the individual for the welfare of society as a the eastern part of the empire where they had
whole. His call here was for the social salva- taken over Rayy. For this reason the vizier
tion of the individual against the injustice of reopened the case of al-Hallaj and gathered a
the authorities. With about 400 followers, al- number of theologians and Sufis to condemn
Hallaj made his second pilgrimage to Mecca, his teachings. After a trial which lasted about
where he was accused by many of performing a year, al-Hallaj was executed by crucifixion
magic and miracles. Al-Hallaj then left Mecca in 24 Dhul-Qadah 309/March 27, 922.
intending to visit India and other regions. Al-Hallaj was unique among the early
Encountering the wisdom of Indian mysti- Sufis for the great emphasis he laid on love
cism no doubt gave al-Hallaj a deep mystical as the dynamic connection which moves the
knowledge which contributed to his theory Sufi from one state to another. These states,
of the complete unification with God known he insists, are gifts from God which descend
as ayn al-Jam. In 290/903 he returned to upon the Sufi independent of his will. It does
Baghdad and spent a period of contempla- seem, however, that al-Hallaj mainly empha-
tion in which he sought complete unification sized the state of unification with God rather
with God. Soon, however, he began his third than the mystical stages which lead to it. He
and last pilgrimage. It was after this hajj that was calling his followers to purify themselves
al-Hallaj attained full unification with God, from love of the world, to concentrate on
uttering his famous saying, ana al-Haqq (I their desire for unification through love and
am the Truth). After his return to Baghdad, to wait for Gods tajjali, revealing himself,
134
AL-HALLAJ
to them. Although al-Hallaj, like many Sufis into the unity of divinity. The stage of ayn
of his time, believed that the mystical state al-jam is experienced when the witness is
should be concealed, he also deemed the fully in contemplation of the witnessed; at
mission of the Sufi to effect social and politi- this stage he receives the divine tajjali, self-
cal reform to be just as important. The Sufi revelation, which descends upon the Sufi (the
is equally responsible for preaching virtue witness). At this stage God uses the Sufi as
and for calling people to purify their souls, an instrument and speaks or writes through
which leads to a just and healthy society. him. Such a stage is known as hulul, indwell-
Although Hallaj was condemned by many ing, but as-Hallaj himself recognizes, it is a
Sufis (for he declared an identification of his divine tajjali rather than an entering of the
essence with Gods essence through using human body and acting through it. He was
language which can be used only by God in asked at his trial who had written a letter
the Quran, such as identifying himself with in which it was said that it had come from
al-Rahman al-Rahim) he inspired many Sufis the most gracious, the most merciful (al-
and illuminated the way to Gnostic mysti- Rahman al-Rahim), which are the Quranic
cism which flourished 200 years later in the attributes of God. He answered: God is the
hands of al-Suhrawardi. Al-Ghazali also writer and I am only his instrument. The
demonstrates in his book Mishkat al-anwar last stage, however, is when there is no dis-
an acknowledgment of the sainthood of tinction between witness (shahid) and wit-
al-Hallaj, though he had some reservations nessed (mashhud) but rather the human soul
about his attainment of mystical status. is fully transformed into the divine reality
Al-Hallaj left many poetic works which and what remains is only God.
his disciples preserved, and also composed Although many ambiguities surround Hal-
Kitab al-Tawasin, which is a series of eleven lajs Sufism and his rejection by many Sufis,
short works. There are also descriptions of in particular, his teachers al-Makki and al-
his death by many of his followers. In addi- Junayd, because of his unusual approach to
tions we have also twenty-seven anecdotes Sufi doctrines, he produced some very deep
collected by his disciples in a form of hadith, and philosophical poems which reflect a wise
known as Akhbar al-Hallaj. The French saint whose thirst to be unified with God
scholar Massignon collected all these works was not sufficiently apprehended by many,
in a famous set of four volumes with the title scholars and Sufis alike. However, his tariqa
The Passion of al-Hallaj (1957). continues to be practised and today even
In formulating his theory of unification, those who reject his methods still admire his
which is known as ayn al-jam, al-Hallaj intense love of God.
seemed to have passed through different
stages. The first stage is the absolute desire BIBLIOGRAPHY
of knowing God; this knowledge is not Akhbar al-Hallaj, ed. L. Massignon, Paris:
approachable through the intellects perceiv- Librairie Philosophique Vrin, 1957.
ing Gods work but through contemplation The Tawasin of al-Hallaj, trans. A.
and love. At this stage the Sufi is able to al-Rahman, Berkeley; London: Dwan
make a clear distinction between the created Press, 1974.
and the creator and realize their duality. The
second stage is when the Sufi through his love Further Reading
recognizes this duality and wishes to witness Mason, Herbert, Al-Hallaj, Richmond:
the creator and not His creation. There fol- Curzon Press, 1994.
low then four further stages in which the
Sufi moves out of his individuality to enter maha el-kaisy
135
AL-HAMADHANI
HAMADANI, Mulla Husayn-qali Muhammad al-Miyaniji, was born in Hama-

(c. 12681332 or 1337/c. 18501915 or 1920) dan. His family originated from Miyaniji in
Azerbijan. He had a conventional religious
One of the major figures of the Qajar period, education and seemed to be set for a tradi-
Mulla Husayn-qali Hamadani, was born in tional legal career, but his introduction to
Hamadan. Very little is known of his life. Sufism and meeting with Ahmad al-Ghazali,
He received his early education and spiri- the brother of Abu Hamid al-Ghazali,
tual training from Aqa Sayyid Ali Shushtari led him on a rather different path. Ayn al-
(d. 1866). He also studied with the famous Qudat started to express an interest in mysti-
philosopher Mulla Hadi Sabziwari. He had cism that resulted in writings on topics such
a reputation as an extremely pious person as sainthood, love, belief, and rationality
with mystical visions and states (ahwal). that shocked the orthodoxy of the time. He
In addition to being an accomplished Sufi, ended up in prison in Baghdad and then,
he was also known for convening gather- on his return to Hamadhan, was tortured
ings of ethics, (majlis akhlaq) in which he and killed in the night of 67 Jumada II
must have given his expositions on such ethi- 525/May 56, 1131.
cal and spiritual matters as the cleansing of His writings include Zubda al-haqaiq
the soul, contentment, and the importance of (The Best of Truths, 516/1122), Mak-
companionship. Another constant theme in tubat (Letters, between 517/1123 and
these gatherings was the knowledge of the 525/1131), Tamhidat (Prefaces, 521/1127),
self in both the epistemological and spiritual and Shakwa al-gharib (The Complaint of
senses of the term. He is also said to have the Exile, 525/1131). He lived during dif-
kept a copy of Ibn al-Arabis al-Futuhat ficult times, where the local Seljuq leadership
al-makkiyya (The Meccan Openings) by his was keen to stress its orthodoxy and impose
side during his lectures. He wrote a com- Hanafite values on the state. Philosophy as a
mentary on Gods beautiful names (asma whole was under great suspicion, and Sufism
al-husna) and a Sufi commentary called al- similarly was widely rejected by the politi-
Shumus al-talia fi sharh ziyadat al-jamia cal authorities as a valid Islamic path. Ayn
(The Dawning Suns in the Commentary on al-Qudat was committed to both philoso-
Ziyadat al-Jamia). phy in the style of Ibn Sina and to Sufism,
and as a result in 525/1130 he was arrested
Further Reading in Hamadan and sent to prison in Bagh-
Saduqi Soha, M., Tarikh-i Hukama dad. This is where he wrote the Shakwa,
wa Urafa-yi Mutaakhkhir, Tehran: which represents his defense of his life and
Intisharati Hikmat, 2002. work. In it, he addresses the various issues
that attracted the charge of blasphemy and
ibrahim kalin replies to his accusers. For example, in his
account of the nature of the messengership
of the Prophet, he introduced a notion of
understanding that goes beyond the merely
rational. In his account of the imam, or reli-
AL-HAMADHANI, Ayn al-Qudat gious leader, he seemed to have come close
(492525/10981131) to the views of the Shia and, especially, the
Ismailis, who had very recently been a major
Ayn al-Qudat al-Hamadhani, the popu- threat to orthodoxy in Iran. He had argued,
lar name for Abu al-Maali Abd Allah ibn like the Ismailis, for the necessity of an
136
HAMKA
imam as a spiritual guide; hence the charge all, Haji Abdul Malik was described as an
of blasphemy. However, in the Shakwa, he eloquent speaker, and certainly one of the
says that he is an advocate of the rational most sought after religious speakers, not
basis for Gods existence, while the Ismailis only in Indonesia, but also in the region.
insist that the only way of establishing divine He was at one time appointed as the lead-
existence is through the imam. Of course, it ing imam (leader of the mosque) at al-Azhar
would not have escaped his accusers that Mosque in Jakarta. He was one of the most
he was defending himself on one charge, of respected religious scholars of the twentieth
being unorthodox, by implicitly accepting century in the Malay archipelago.
his guilt on another aspect of that charge, Haji Abdul Malik was born into a reli-
since philosophy was then seen as evidence gious family in a small village of Kampung
of unorthodoxy. In fact, the whole book Tanah Sirah, Sungai Batang, Maninjau, in
is rather like Socrates Apology in that the the Minangkabau region of West Sumatra
author apologizes for nothing and seems to on February 17, 1908 (14 Muharram 1326).
go out of his way to annoy his enemies and His father, Haji Abdul Karim Amrullah,
accusers. known as Haji Rasul, was also a distin-
guished religious scholar in Minangkabau
BIBLIOGRAPHY and said to be a keen proponent of modern
The Apologia of Ayn al-Qudat Islamic reform or islah movement of Kaum
al-Hamadhani, trans. A. Arberry, Muda (the young faction) who mooted and
London: George Allen & Unwin, 1969. later championed the idea of Islamic reform
in the Malay world. In order to reform soci-
Further Reading ety, he struggled consistently to eliminate all
Dabashi, H., Ayn al-Qudat Hamadhani kinds of superstitious beliefs. His grandfa-
and the Intellectual Climate of His ther, Amrullah, was also a prominent and
Times, in S. H. Nasr and O. Leaman influential religious scholar in Minangkabau.
(eds), History of Islamic Philosophy, His mother was Siti Safiyah binti Gelanggar,
ch. 27, London: Routledge, 1996, known as Bagindo Nan Batuah. In 1941 his
pp. 374433. father, Haji Abdul Karim, was detained and
Truth and Narrative: The Untimely isolated in Sukabumi, West Java, by the Dutch
Thoughts of Ayn al-Qudat Hamadhani, colonialists because of his fierce criticism; he
Richmond: Curzon, 1999. remained in prison under the Japanese and
died on June 21, 1945, approximately two
oliver leaman months before the declaration of Indonesian
independence.
Haji Abdul Malik was brought up in a
religious environment under the close guid-
ance of his own parents. He was taught to
HAMKA (13261401/190881) read the Quran and some basic religious
knowledge, and learned traditional martial
Haji Abdul Malik bin Karim Amrullah, bet- arts. He was also sent to a village school.
ter known by the acronym HAMKA, was Later he lived with his father in Padang
a renowned Indonesian religious scholar Panjang, West Sumatra, where his father
who was also famous throughout the Malay worked as a religious teacher in a center
world. He was one of the most prolific writ- called Thawalib. Abdul Malik also joined
ers of modern Southeast Asian Islam. Above the center, where he had the opportunity to
137
HAMKA
learn religious sciences and Arabic. It is said such as Tasawwuf Modern, Falsafah Hidup,
that he never completed his education at the Lembaga Hidup, and Lembaga Budi. He
center because he was not that keen on the was appointed lecturer in Universitas Islam
formal method of study, and instead loved to Jakarta and Universitas Muhammadiyya
travel, learn martial arts, listen to traditional in the year 195758. Later he was Rector
music, and read books. However, his read- of Perguruan Tinggi Islam and a professor
ing habits acquainted him with the thought in Universitas Mustapo, Jakarta. In 1957
of various leading scholars. His good com- he was made the chairman of the new gov-
mand of Arabic enabled him to grasp the ernment-sponsored Indonesian Council of
works of prominent Middle Eastern think- Ulama. He resigned from the post in 1980,
ers, including Zaki Mubarak, Jurji Zaydan, following a political conflict with the Minis-
Abbas Mahmud al-Aqqad, Mustafa Lutfi ter of Religion.
al-Manfaluti, Hussayn Haykal, and others. Politically, Haji Abdul Malik was a
Apart from these works, he also read the leading figure in the struggle for national
works of French, English, and German schol- independence in Indonesia. He became
ars and philosophers such as Albert Camus, politically active and was elected to the
William James, Freud, Toynbee, Sartre, and Constituent Assembly in 1955, serving until
Karl Marx. its dissolution by President Sukarno. Fol-
As a teenager, Abdul Malik went to Java lowing an accusation that he was engaged
and later to Yogyakarta, where he was in a plot to overthrow Sukarno in 1964, he
exposed to Islamic political movements and was imprisoned for twenty months. While
organizations such as Parti Sarekat Islam imprisoned, he started to outline his thirty-
and Muhammadiyya. He joined Muham- volume opus Tafsir al-Azhar. As a scholar
madiyya and later became its leader. While and prolific writer, Haji Abdul Malik wrote
in Java he met several prominent Indonesian over 100 books, ranging from philosophy,
figures such as Omar Said Chokroaminoto, politics, Minangkabau adat, history and
Haji Fakhruddin, and Ki Bagus Hadiku- biography, Islamic doctrine, ethics, mys-
somo. At the same time he developed his ticism, tafsir, and fiction. About twenty
skill at oratory. In 1927 at the age of nine- of these have been reprinted, and many
teen, Haji Abdul Malik went to Mecca on of his works are available today. Among
pilgrimage. He spent some six months in his popular books were Falsafa Hidup,
Mecca and worked in a publishing house. Tasawwuf Modern, Perkembangan Tasaw-
Upon returning to Indonesia, he was married wuf, Di Bawa Lindungan Kaba, Keadilan
to Siti Raham and settled in Padang Panjang. Ilahi, Merantau ke Deli, Tenggelamnya
He established a school named Kulliyat al- Kapal Van der Vijck, and Di dalam Lemba
Muballighin. Kehidupan. His significant contribution in
Haji Abdul Maliks career began as a philosophy and Islam may be seen in his
religious instructor in Medan in 1927 and Tafsir al-Azhar, Falsafa Hidup, Pedoman
Padang Panjang in 1929. He also lived in Mubaligh Islam, Tasawwuf Modern, and
Makassar for some three years as muballigh Revolusi Agama.
(missionary). While in Makassar he wrote Haji Abdul Malik was a thinker who
a number of articles and published them struggled for freedom of thought and expres-
in Jakarta and Medan. Later he moved to sion. He fervently criticized the colonial
Medan to direct a magazine called Pedoman mentality of his own people. He called for
Hidup (Life Guidance). It was through this freedom of heart and soul, as it is part of
magazine that he produced Islamic books Islamic teaching. To him, the fundamental
138
AL-HARAWI
doctrine of tawhid requires humanity to Further Reading

detach itself from any form of slavery. He Rusydi Hamka, Pribadi dan Martabat
spoke his mind and was not happy with the Buya Prof. Dr. Hamka, Jakarta: Pustaka
prolonged dispute between Kaum Muda Panjimas, 1983.
(Young Faction) and Kaum Tua (Old Faction)
in local politics. He viewed this dispute as a zaid ahmad
waste of time, and called on the Muslims to
unite and speak with one voice. His philoso-
phy of life was founded on the Islamic con-
cept of equilibrium between the spiritual and
temporal. His view on Sufism was a dynamic Hamzah Fansuri,see Fansuri
one. For him Sufism should not be seen as an
obstacle to development. Instead, it should
be perceived as an internal force and inner
strength of the Muslim to stand and face
their temporal challenges. Regarding Islam Hamzah of Pansur,see Fansuri
and nationalism, he accepted nationalism
insofar it is not corrupted with chauvinism.
For him, chauvinism is against Islam, while
nationalism in its original context is not. He
played an important role in bridging the gap AL-HARAWI, Abdullah Ansari
between the nationalist group and those who (396481/100689)
view nationalism as against the basic Islamic
doctrine. Abdullah Ansari was born in Herat on
In recognition of his scholarship, Haji Shaban 2 396/May 4, 1006, and died in
Abdul Malik received an honorary degree the same city on 22 Dhul-Hijja 481/March
of Doctor of Letters at the National Univer- 8, 1089. He was a major thinker within
sity of Malaysia in 1974. He died seven years the Hanbali tradition of Sunni Islam. His
later in Jakarta on July 24, 1981 (22 Rama- father was a Sufi who had been brought up
dan 1401) at the age of seventy-three, a few in Balkh, and when Abdullah was around
months after publishing the final volume of ten, his father abandoned his family in Herat
Tafsir al-Azhar. and returned to his Sufi circle in Balkh. As
a result the family was impoverished, but
BIBLIOGRAPHY this does not seem to have interfered with
Tafsir al-Azhar (Quranic Interpretation), Abdullahs education in the Islamic sciences,
30 vols, Djakarta: P. T Pembimbing which was largely carried out by Sufis. When
Masa, 197081. he was twenty he moved to Nishapur to con-
Keadilan Sosial Dalam Islam (Social tinue his studies in the ahadith (Traditions).
Justice in Islam), Kuala Lumpur: Pustaka He then returned to Herat where he headed
Antara, 1977. the local khanaqa, and made several unsuc-
Filsafat Ketuhanan (The Philosophy of cessful efforts to make the hajj to Mecca.
Divinity), Melaka: Abbas Bandung, Of particular significance to his develop-
1979. ment was his meeting with Abul-Hasan
Falsafa Hidup (The Philosophy of Life), Kharaqani in 424/1033. Perhaps as a result
4th edn, Kuala Lumpur: Pustaka Antara, of this meeting, he decided to abandon
1980. ecstatic Sufism and work and live instead
139
AL-HARAWI
within a far more restrained version of advocated by contrast a sober and calm atti-
Sufism. His disagreement with the Asharite tude to spiritual experience.
theology, then powerful at court, led to his Most of Abdullahs significant writings
being summoned by the sultan to defend his are in the Dari version of Persian, with a
views, which he did successfully; but this few being in Arabic. In Arabic, he produced
initiated a period of increasing difficulties, the Kitab Manazil al-sayirin (Book of the
when the religious authorities periodically Stations of the Wayfarers), a late work
banned him from teaching and even impris- from 475/1082 dictated to his students,
oned him. Instability characterized his career; since he was then blind. It consists of pithy
at times he was very poor and in political statements, based on the Quran, explain-
disgrace, at other times he was honored ing different ways of attaining tawhid or
and obviously held in great respect by the unity with God. It has an interesting struc-
court. When he was seventy-four he became ture, being organized in a numerical pat-
blind, but this did not reduce his productiv- tern to make learning the different routes
ity, and he switched to dictating his works to spiritual growth more perspicuous, and
on the Quran and on Sufism. His blindness this no doubt has helped secure it such a
and increasing age did not diminish his com- popular place in the world of Sufism. An
bativeness either, and his supporters actually earlier version of this book is his Sad May-
burnt down the house of a visiting theolo- dan (Hundred Grounds), written in Dari,
gian in Herat, resulting in them all being and which is also a manual presented in
banished to Balkh for a time. Yet when he a mnemonic form of the different stages
was eighty he was allowed back to Herat, of development available on the Sufi path.
returning apparently in triumph and resum- Perhaps his most influential work is his
ing his teaching of the Quran. Munajat (Discourses), also written in Dari,
Abdullah Ansari played an important which is in rhymed prose and consists of
role in defining what became quite a trend pithy and eloquent sayings of considerable
in Islamic philosophy, the non-ecstatic mystical depth.
approach to Sufism. Most Hanbalis such as Abdullah Ansaris attempt to combine
ibn Taymiyya and Muhammad ibn Abd al- Hanbalism with Sufism may have been an
Wahhab were hostile to Sufism, seeing in it a unusual strategy in Islamic thought, but his
lack of concern for orthodoxy and an exces- texts are acceptable to most varieties of Sufis,
sive concentration on a supposed personal and as such have continued to be much read
communication with God. Yet for Abdullah, and studied. His continuing influence owes
Sufism is an integral part of Islam; it does not perhaps as much to the elegance of his lan-
conflict with the Quran or the Sunna and guage as to the profundity of his thought.
indeed brings out their truth. He bitterly crit-
icized the Asharite theologians of his time BIBLIOGRAPHY
for not respecting the Traditions, and it is of Tafsir Kashf al-Asrar (Commentary on
course the Traditions which are given such the Quran), ed. R. Maybodi, Tehran:
a key role in Islam by the Hanbali school. Intisharat-i Danishgahi, 195260.
The latter responded by criticizing what they Manazil al-Sayerin, Sad Maydan (Stations
took to be his literal approach to the text of of the Wayfarers, Hundred Grounds and
the Quran. However, despite his support for other leading works), ed. A. Farhadi,
Sufism, Abdullah had little patience for the Tehran: Mawla, 1982.
pursuit of ecstasy or for the overblown rev- Tabaqat al-Sufiyya (Generations of the
erence for spiritual masters, which he saw Sufis), ed. M. Mawlayi, Tehran: Tus,
as being far too prevalent in Sufism, and he 1983.
140
HARPUTI
Further Reading for progress; nor are they in conflict with

Farhadi, A., Abdullah Ansari of Herat: An science. Harputi stood with a group of pro-
Early Sufi Master, Richmond: Curzon, 1996. gressive Ottoman scholars who called for the
revival of Islamic theology in the light of the
oliver leaman new developments and changes in the fields
of science and philosophy after the Enlight-
enment in the West. Harputis progressive
approach is reflected in the new arguments
he introduced into Islamic theology, with the
HARPUTI, Abdullatif aim of grounding the Islamic creed concern-
(12581334/18421916) ing divinity and prophethood by using the
new scientific understanding of his time. He
Abdullatif Harputi was born in Harput in argued that religious creed is permanent, but
1258/1842 and died in Istanbul on 16 evval the means which are used to prove it in the-
1334/August 16, 1916. He was an Ottoman ology are open to change. For this purpose,
scholar who belonged to the New Science of he made references to the new discoveries in
Kalam (Yeni lm-i Kelam) movement. Apart physics concerning heat, light, power, and
from the information that his ancestors set- electricity. He also tried to establish links
tled in Germili village of Harput three centu- between the new developments in astron-
ries prior to his birth, nothing is known about omy, chemistry, biology, and psychology and
his family. He completed his primary educa- theology.
tion under his close relative mer Naimi Harputi presented his ideas on the revival
Efendi in Harput. Afterward he traveled to of kalam in his major book Tenkih al-Kalam
Istanbul to study in the Fatih Madrasa. Upon fi Aqaid Ahl al-Islam 1327/1909). The intro-
graduation, he went to Adana, where he got duction of the book deals with the definition
married and worked as a teacher. Later, he of kalam, its subject matter and purpose.
returned to Istanbul with his family. He was In the other sections the issues of divinity,
appointed as a professor (Dersiam) in the prophethood, and the next world (eschatol-
Beyazt Mosque, and was also appointed to ogy) are elaborated in the same great detail
the Commission on Religious-Legal Research as in the classical kalam literature. Harputi
(Meclis-i Tedkikat- eriyye). mentions that when he began to teach kalam
Harputi also worked as a consultant to at Darlfnun he looked for a textbook, but
the minister of commerce, Zihni Pasha. he could not find one with solutions to the
When the latter was appointed as a gover- problems of his own time, and consequently
nor of Thessalonica in 1308/1891, Harputi he wrote Tenkih al-kalam.
accompanied him for around ten years. In Harputi argued that the existing classical
1319/1901, Harputi returned to Istanbul and texts on kalam had been written to struggle
began working as a professor of Islamic the- against heretic sects, which long ago were
ology, kalam, in the newly opened university, extinguished, and also against the ideas bor-
Darulfnun. He was promoted to the Chair rowed from Greek philosophy. He argued
of the Two Holy Sanctuaries, Haremeyn, on that such texts were no longer capable of
29 Cemaziyelahir 1319/October 13, 1901. providing answers to new heretics and
He also gave lectures on Islamic theology in defending religious belief against philosoph-
the School of Preachers (Medresetl-Vaizn) ical orientations such as positivism. Harputi
until his death in 1334/1916. also authored another book on the history
Harputi advocated that religions in gen- of Islamic theology Tarih-i lm-i Kelam
eral and Islam in particular are not obstacles (1332/1913). In the first chapter of the
141
HAYREDDIN PAA OF TUNIS
book he introduced major denominations al-Din al-Tunisi), was born of Circassian

and sects in Islam. In the second chapter he origin. He was brought to Istanbul as a
introduced the belief systems of the major child and then sent to Tunisia. Trained as
religions of the world. In the third section, a statesman, he quickly became a favorite
he provided a brief history of philosophy in of Ahmad Bey, the governor of Tunisia. He
general, while in the concluding chapter he spent the years 18537 in Paris, where he
drew attention to the atheist currents in his studied French culture and other European
time. countries. Upon his return to Tunisia in
Majalis al-anwar al-ahadiyya wa majami 1857, he was elected president. In spite of his
al-asrar al-muhammadiyya (Istanbul 1306/ relatively successful reforms, he was forced
1889) is another book by Harputi on out of Tunisia in 1877. He was then invited
Islamic faith and practice. It is a book of by the Ottoman Sultan Abd al-Hamid II to
preaching, which was written for the gen- Istanbul. In 1878, he served as the Otto-
eral public, and consists of advice derived man grand vizier for a short period of time.
from the Quran, sayings of the Prophet He resigned from his position because of a
Muhammad, and parables. These efforts conflict between himself and the sultan. He
gained Harputi a respected place among died in Istanbul.
Muslim theologians, especially those who Hayreddins most important work is a
saw Islam as suffering from inertia in the book of both political philosophy and com-
new world where its traditional responses parative politics. The book is called Aqwam
were no longer suited to the contemporary al-masalik fi marifat ahwal al-mamalik (The
cultural climate. Surest Path to Knowledge Concerning the
Condition of Countries). The Arabic origi-
Further Reading nal was published in 1867. Its French trans-
Karaman, Fikret, Abdullatif Harputnin lation, authorized by Hayreddin, appeared
Hayat-Eserleri ve Kelm Grleri, in 1868 under the title Essai sur les rformes
Diyanet lmi Dergi, 29, 1 (1993), ncessaires aux tats musulmans. It was also
pp. 10516. translated into Turkish in 1878 and attracted
Sungurolu, shak, Harput Yollarnda, considerable attention.
vol. 2, stanbul, 1959, pp. 1402. The book is divided into three sections.
In the Introduction, Hayreddin outlines his
mustafa sinanolu program of political reform and modern-
ization, and presents a number of religious
justifications for borrowing from European
institutions. Part I is a detailed comparative
study of twenty-one European states. Part II
al-Hasan bin al-Haytham,see Ibn is a summary of the main points of the book,
al-Haytham with a table on the correspondence between
Islamic and Western calendars.
In the Introduction, which is the most
important part of his book, Hayreddin out-
lines his political philosophy and his program
HAYREDDIN PAA OF TUNIS of reform. His goal is to make a convincing
(1820 or 182589) case for political reform by calling upon the
scholarly class (ulama) for support. Con-
The nineteenth-century statesman and sidering that Hayreddin did not belong to
political reformist, Hayreddin Paa (Khayr the scholarly elite, this call is significant in
142
HAYRULLAH EFENDI
that it shows Hayreddins desire not only Further Reading

to have the religious backing of the schol- Mardin, erif, The Genesis of Young
ars, but also to involve them in a substan- Ottoman Thought, Syracuse: Syracuse
tial reform movement. In keeping with the University Press, 2000, pp. 38595.
overall purpose of the book, Hayreddin uses
traditional language culled from Islamic his- ibrahim kalin
tory and jurisprudence.
Hayreddins relatively moderate program
of political reform shares the basic outlines
of nineteenth-century modernist Islamic
thought. His calls for reform aim at salvag- HAYRULLAH EFENDI (182066)
ing Muslim nations from their deteriorating
political conditions. He sees no essential Hayrullah Efendi was a physician, historian,
conflict between traditional Islamic teach- and statesman. His father Abdulhak Molla
ings and new European institutions. He (17861853) was also a famous physician.
attributes the decline of the Islamic states to He completed his medical training in 1843,
the absence of the ulama from the politi- and took a number of government posi-
cal arena, and urges them, almost in a Pla- tions in the Ottoman Empire. In 1863, he
tonic way, to take up their responsibility as went to Europe for medical reasons, and
the defenders and negotiators of the public recorded his observations in Yolculuk Kitab
sphere. (The Journey Book), which is both a guide
In all of these ideas, Hayreddin remained and Hayrullahs personal account of Euro-
more or less within the purview of medieval pean life in the second half of the nineteenth
Islamic thought. He defended Islamic inter- century. In 1865, he was appointed to the
nationalism on the basis of the concept of Turkish consulate in Iran. He died in Tehran,
umma. Like many of his contemporaries, where he is buried.
he urged the young generations of Muslims Hayrullah Efendi wrote essays for
to learn new European sciences and based Mecmua-yi Fnun (The Journal of Sciences),
his argument on the famous saying of the published by Mnif Paa. In his scientific
Prophet of Islam, which urges Muslims to and philosophical essays, he sought to rec-
seek knowledge even unto China. As a oncile the differences between the creationist
Muslim internationalist and member of the and evolutionary theories about the origin of
Ottoman ruling class, he opposed the dis- humankind and the universe. These included
integration of the Ottoman Empire given Hikaye-yi brahim Paa be brahim -i
its implications for the unity of the Islamic Gleni (The Story of Ibrahim Paa to
world, and he was against the expansion of Ibrahim-i Gulseni), Devlet-i Aliyye-yi
European colonialism. Osmaniye Tarihi (The History of the Otto-
man Empire), and Avrupa Seyahatnamesi
(The European Travelogue). He completed a
BIBLIOGRAPHY medical work started by his father Abdulhak
The Surest Path: The Political Treatise of a Molla and his uncle Mustafa Behet Efendi,
Nineteenth-Century Muslim Statesman, and published it as Hezar Esrar (Thousand
trans. L. Brown, Cambridge, MA: Secrets). He wrote a multi-volume history of
Harvard University Press, 1967. the Ottoman Empire and utilized, probably
Essai sur les rformes ncessaires aux tats for the first time, some Western sources to
musulmans, ed. Magali Morsy, Aix-en- draw up a new chronology of the Ottoman
Provence: Edisud, 1988. Empire.
143
AL-HELMY
His son Abdulhak Hamid Tarhan (1852 was the eldest of the seven children from the
1937) became one of the most famous poets marriage of Muhammad Nor and Sharifah
of modern Turkish literature. The latters Zaharah. While in Mecca, Muhammad Nor
theatrical work/novel called Hikaye-yi met some of the prominent religious scholars
brahim Paa be brahim-i Gleni (The of the city, among them Shaykh Mohamad
Story of Ibrahim Pasa to Ibrahim-i Gulseni), Khatib Minangkabau. In 1908 Muhammad
written in 1939 but published in 1959, is Nor came to the Malay Peninsula and joined
considered to be the first novel of modern the Sufi order of al-Naqshabandi.
Turkish literature. Burhanuddins early informal education
was by his parents, who exposed him to
BIBLIOGRAPHY the Islamic sciences and Islamic spiritual
Devlet-i Aliyye-yi Osmaniye Tarihi life. Between 1917 and 1923 his parents
(The History of the Ottoman Empire), enrolled him in a formal elementary Malay
Istanbul, 186575. school in Behrang Ulu, Perak, and another
Hikaye-yi brahim Paa be brahim-i school in Bakap. Upon completing school
Gleni, Ankara: Ankara niversitesi Dil in 1923, Burhanuddin was sent to Sungai
ve Tarih Corafya Fakltesi, 1964. Jambu, Sumatra, the homeland of his father,
Avrupa Seyahatnamesi (The European to enter into traditional religious studies.
Travelogue), Ankara: Trk Tarih Kurumu However, he was not entirely satisfied with
Basmevi, 2002. the method of religious studies conducted
at the center. Therefore, he left the cen-
Further Reading ter for another traditional center in Pulau
Bayraktar, Duhter, Hayrullah Efendi, in Pisang, Kedah, where too he stayed hardly
Osmanllar Ansiklopedisi, vol. 1, Istanbul: a month.
Yap Kredi Kltr Sanat, 1999, p. 562. After leaving the center in Pulau Pisang,
he entered Madrasa al-Mashhor in Pulau
ibrahim kalin Pinang (Penang), a relatively modern
religious educational center. Madrasa al-
Mashhor was a religious studies center
initiated by Kaum Muda, a young Muslim
intellectual movement which was very much
AL-HELMY, Burhanuddin influenced by the idea of reformism. The
(132989/191169) Kaum Muda emerged partly as a result of
the reform (tajdid) movement espoused by
Burhanuddin bin Haji Muhammad Nor, bet- reformers like Jamaluddin al-Afghani and
ter known as Burhanuddin al-Helmy, was a Muhammad Abdu. During that time, there
thinker-cum-politician in the transition era was a prolonged dispute between Kaum
of pre- and post-independence Malaysia. He Muda (the young faction) and Kaum Tua
was born into a middle-class Malay family (the old faction) over various religious issues.
in Changkat Tualang, Perak, Malaysia on In al-Mashhor, Burhanuddin was introduced
August 28, 1911 (3 Ramadan 1329). His to other modern subjects such as mathe-
father, Haji Muhammad Nor, was a religious matics and English language, apart from the
teacher, said to be originally from Minangka- Arabic language and religious sciences. As a
bau, Sumatra, and his mother was Sharifah result, he mastered both Arabic and English.
Zaharah binti Habib Othman, of Arab ori- He completed his studies in 1933.
gin, whose family settled in Kampung Chang- While still in al-Mashhor, Burhanuddin
kat Tualang, Perak, Malaysia. Burhanuddin was exposed to the reform ideas propagated
144
AL-HELMY
by Waliyullah Dehlawi, Jamaluddin al- Burhanuddins inclination toward poli-

Afghani, Ahmad Khan, Muhammad Abdu, tics started when he was at the University of
Rashid Rida, Hassan al-Banna, Said Nursi, Aligarh, where he witnessed the movement
and others. It is worthwhile noting that the led by Mahatma Gandhi against the British.
reform movement of Kaum Muda in the Gandhis movement might have inspired
Malay world was very closely associated him in his later involvement in the strug-
with the ideas of those reformists. In 1934, gle against the British in the Malay world.
Burhanuddin left Pulau Pinang for India. Burhanuddins serious involvement in poli-
While in India, he entered the University of tics was in Singapore, when he published
Aligarh (founded by an Indian reformist, a magazine named Taman Bahagia (The
Sir Seyyed Ahmad Khan) to study philoso- Garden of Happiness). Through Taman
phy and Arabic literature. Here, he finally Bahagia he started to propagate anti-British
received his doctorate degree. On his return ideas. As a result, the authorities stopped
to Malaysia, as among the first few Malay- the publication of Taman Bahagia and
sians to hold the degree of Doctor of Phi- Burhanuddin was detained and charged
losophy, and the first from the University of with spreading anti-British sentiment
Aligarh, Dr Burhanuddin was appointed as and later imprisoned for six months. The
an Arabic teacher in Singapore around 1938. imprisonment did not affect Burhanud-
During his tenure as an Arabic teacher, he dins struggle. He became more active in the
took the opportunity to study homeopathy political movement, including becoming an
and later became a qualified doctor in the active member of Kesatuan Melayu Muda
field. He was said to be the first Malay to or KMM (The Young Malay Union) and
practise homeopathy. Kesatuan Melayu Singapura or KMS (The
Apart from his formal education, Burha- Malay Singaporean Union). He was intro-
nuddin also acquainted himself with Sufi duced to some of the nationalist leaders at
works and ideas, not only those of the that time, including Ibrahim Yaacob and
Naqshibandiya school, but also other Sufis Ishak Haji Mohammad.
such as al-Ghazali, al-Rifai, al-Rumi, During the Japanese occupation from
and al-Qushayri. While at the University 1942 to 1945, Burhanuddin was a religious
of Aligarh in India he was also exposed to officer in Taiping Perak. He was instrumen-
the works of the Indian reformer Shah Wali tal in maintaining the existence of Mahad
Allah Dehlawi, who was known as one who Ehya al-Sharif, a famous religious school
tried to synchronize the spirit of Sufi ideas run by his friend Abu Bakr al-Baqir. At the
and practices and the social and cultural life same time, Burhanuddin continued his polit-
of the Muslim. Sufism should not be seen as ical and social activities, propagating the
merely a series of spiritual activities. Rather, idea of Melayu Raya (Greater Malay), which
it must also play roles in other aspects of consists of the whole of the Malay Archi-
social life, including politics, economics, pelago. His political career reached its peak
and education. Burhanuddin was very much in 1956 when he became a member of the
influenced by these reformist ideas. This can Pan Malayan Islamic Parti (PMIP or better
be seen by his move to call on the Sufis to known as PAS) and soon became its presi-
get involved in the struggle against the Brit- dent. In 1959, he won the parliamentary seat
ish colonialists, as he believed this was a for Besut, Terengganu, the east coast state of
religious duty for every single Muslim in the Malaysia, and became member of parlia-
country. He stressed the importance of good ment up to 1964.
character (akhlaq) in assuring the rise and Being an active politician and social
decline of a nation. activist did not stop Burhanuddin from
145
AL-HELMY
generating his own philosophical ideas. it is used to uphold the law of God. The
He left around eleven books, six of which paramount aim of Islamic politics is to
are on homeopathy, while the rest were on produce people with noble characters such
politics and Sufism. On politics he wrote as patience, generosity, tolerance, and so
Perjuangan Kita (Our Struggle), Falsafah on. He saw the importance of tolerance in
Kebangsaan Melayu (The Philosophy of maintaining stability in society and advo-
Malay Nationalism), Agama dan Politik cated cooperation between races. He cited
(Religion and Politics), and Ideology Poli- a prophetic saying love of ones country is
tik Islam (Islamic Political Ideology), while part of faith (hubb al-watan min al-iman)
on Sufism he wrote Simposium Tasawwuf to support his concept of nationalism. There
dan Tariqa (The Symposium of Tasawwuf are four elements that make up this con-
and Tariqa). He left only a few books, but cept: faith, physical body, race, and home-
one can still sense and feel the spirit and land. These four elements are located in
excitement of his religious and political one physical body and cannot be separated.
thoughts. Therefore, it is natural for a person to have
Burhanuddin was known in the Malay a strong feeling toward his faith, race, and
world for propagating the idea that Islam is homeland. However, this feeling must be
not contradictory to nationalism. His politi- developed in accordance with the principles
cal philosophy was based on the idea that of justice and equality.
politics is an integral part of religion. While It is through Burhanuddin that the spirit,
religion is transcendent and unchange- concept, and philosophy of Islam and Malay
able, politics is the manifestation of human nationalism was properly formulated and
thought and ideology, which is changeable. interpreted. He tried to lay the foundation
The essence of Islam is not an ideology and on which Malay nationalism and Islam can
therefore it cannot be changed. By contrast, be positioned in harmony. From his educa-
politics and ideology are based on human tional and political achievements, it is obvi-
ideas and experience and can be altered in ous that Burhanuddin was a versatile person
line with religious concerns. In the context of with many skills. At a personal level, he was
Malay nationalism, Burhanuddin was of the described as a pious Muslim with indul-
view that it cannot be segregated from the gence and gentleness. Because of these char-
basic Islamic teachings. Malay nationalism acteristics, some of his friends called him
must be founded and developed upon funda- Abi Halim, from which he eventually used
mental Islamic values. He relates his notion al-Helmi or al-Hulaymi as his nick-
of nationalism with the idea of asabiyya name. He was then known as Burhanudin
advanced by Ibn Khaldun. Therefore, it is al-Helmy.
apparent that his idea of Malay nationalism Burhanuddin died on October 10, 1969
is very similar to Ibn Khalduns concept of (28 Rajab 1389) in Taiping, Perak, North
asabiyya (group feeling). He believed that Malaysia, at the age of fifty-eight, leaving
Malay nationalism must be viewed posi- his legacy as one of the progressive Mus-
tively as a struggle to protect the Malay lim thinkers in the twentieth-century Malay
nation and homeland, in accordance with world.
Islamic teachings.
At the same time, he was well aware of BIBLIOGRAPHY
the danger of chauvinistic types of asabiyya Falsafa Kebangsaan Melayu (The
as was clearly mentioned in one of the pro- Philosophy of Malay Nationalism),
phetic hadith. He argued that asabiyya is Bukit Mertajam: Pustaka Semenanjung,
in line with Islamic teachings as long as 1954.
146
Hikma
Simposium Tasawwuf dan Tariqa (The metaphysics and ontology as formulated

Symposium of Tasawwuf and Tariqa), according to the school of Mulla Sadra.
Pulau Pinang: n.p., 1971. He also wrote glosses of Sadras Asfar. He
produced a diwan of poetry. He is buried
Further Reading near the tomb of Qadi Said Qummi.
Adam, Ramlah, Burhanuddin al-Helmy:
Satu kemelut Politik, Kuala Lumpur: BIBLIOGRAPHY
Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2000. Saduqi Soha, M., Tarikh-i hukama
Azam, W. M and Amin, W. M., Dr. wa urafa-yi mutaakhkhir, Tehran,
Burhanuddin al-Helmy and His Intisharati Hikmat, 2002.
Contribution to the Islamic Thought
in Malaysia, in M. Som Sujimon ibrahim kalin
(ed.), Monograph on Selected Malay
Intellectuals, Kuala Lumpur: UIA
Research Centre, 2003.
zaid ahmad Hikma
The Arabic term hikma literally means

wisdom. In terms of Islamic philosophy,
the usual connotation is the knowledge of
HIDAJI, Akhund Mulla Muhammad first principles, that is, of God. True wis-
(12701314/185397) dom brings one closer to God and to a
true understanding of the world and Gods
An important member of the school of Mulla design for it. On the purpose of wisdom, all
Sadra in the late nineteenth century, Akhund sides in Islamic philosophy tend to agree.
Mulla Muhammad Hidaji was from Zanjan. As to the best nature of achieving it, how-
He studied with the most famous philoso- ever, there is dispute. Followers of Greek-
pher-scholars of his time, including Mulla influenced philosophical systems, such
Hadi Sabziwari and Muhammad Mudarrisi as al-Farabi and Ibn Sina, argued for a
Zanjani. Following the tradition, he received scientific-based approach to wisdom, while
a basic training in the religious sciences and al-Ghazali and philosophers of Sufism
linguistics before turning to philosophy and and other mystical traditions believed that
mystical thought. true wisdom came through inner illumina-
He was known as a pious teacher. This tion or ishraq.
seems to have played an important role in This was not just a simple clash of reason
his gaining respect and popularity among his versus revelation, however. Again, there is
students. Like many of his contemporaries, common agreement among Islamic thinkers
he trained many students and seems to have that the bedrock of their thought-system, the
focused more on teaching than writing. As a Quran and the hadith, contained both outer
result, most of his teachings have remained and inner meanings. Thus the followers of
oral. falsafa do not usually deny the importance of
As an Azari Turk, he composed works and inner meaning and of spiritual approaches to
wrote poetry not only in Arabic and Persian wisdom and truth, while al-Ghazali and oth-
but also in Azari Turkish. His most well- ers like him are quite prepared to employ the
known work is a gloss of Sabziwaris famous rational and logical tools of philosophy, even
Sharh al-manzuma, a summa of traditional if only to attack it. Later Islamic thinkers
147
AL-HINDI
tried to develop pluralistic approaches to Further Reading

hikma combining both reason and illumina- Cooper, J., From al-Tusi to the school of
tion, though with mixed results. Isfahan, in S. H. Nasr and O. Leaman
(eds), History of Islamic Philosophy,
oliver leaman ch. 33, London: Routledge, 1996,
pp. 58596.
Schmidtke, S., The Theology of Allama
al-Hilli (d. 726/1325), Berlin: Klaus
Schwarz, 1991.
AL-HILLI, Allama
(648726/12501325) oliver leaman
Allama al-Hilli is one of the best known

Shii thinkers in the areas of law, juris-
prudence, and theology. Hasan ibn Yusuf
ibn al-Mutahhar was born in 648/1250 Hilmi Ziya,see lken
in al-Hilla. His distinguished uncle Najm
al-Din Abul-Qasim Jafar ibn Hasan (d.
676/1277) initially taught him the reli-
gious sciences, in accordance with the Shii
approach to such issues. He may well have AL-HINDI, Rahmat Allah(d. 1306/1888)
moved onto Maraghah to study with Nasir
al-Din al-Tusi and al-Katib al-Qazwini. He Khalil al-Rahman b. Rahmat Allah al-Hindi
seems to have worked on Ibn Sina, logic, was an important figure in the history of
and theology, and eventually was to write Muslim-Christian polemics. He was a lead-
commentaries on logic and theology, in par- ing theologian of the nineteenth century in
ticular on the works of his two teachers. He India, and wrote polemical works, system-
moved to Baghdad where he studied with atically analyzing and responding to major
Shams al-Din al-Kishi (d. 695/1296) and Christian themes. At that period, India was
broadened his learning to include texts by facing intensive Christian missionary activi-
ibn al-Arabi. ties; as a result, he was involved in many
He later studied the works of al- public debates with the missionaries.
Suhrawardi with Izz al-Din al-Faruthi Al-Hindi wrote his Idhar al-haqq (The
al-Wasiti, the latters student, and wrote Exposition of the Truth) to refute the claims
a commentary on his Talwihat. Although of C. G. Pfander as found in his Mizan al-
he apparently wrote many philosophical haqq (The Scale of the Truth). Idhar al-haqq
works, most of them have been lost (there is important, as unlike other Muslim polemi-
is an extensive bibliography in Schmidtke cal books, it frequently refers to the Bible.
(1991)) but he did have a powerful influence His other important book is Bayan al-haqq
on the nature of the Shii educational cur- (The Expression of the Truth). He is however
riculum. This was to include all the religious most famous for Idhar al-haqq, which was
sciences, of course, but also a significant originally written in Urdu and later trans-
amount of philosophy, since al-Hilli man- lated into many languages, including Per-
aged to impress on his successors the value sian, Arabic, French, and Ottoman Turkish.
of rational and in particular philosophical One of the Arabic translations of the Idhar
techniques in developing and defending Shii al-haqq was published in Egypt in 1991 in
principles. two successive volumes. The first volume
148
HISHAM B. AL-HAKAM
consists of four chapters. The first chapter is HISHAM B. AL-HAKAM, Abu Muhammad
about the Old and New Testaments. In this (d. after 186/802)
chapter, the subjects under scrutiny are the
lack of the narrators chain in the Bible up to Abu Muhammad Hisham b. al-Hakam
Jesus and the contradictions in it. He deals al-Kindi al-Shaybani, one of the most cel-
with tahrif (fabrication) in the Bible and ebrated theologians of Imami-Shii Islam in
tries to establish his claim. Al-Hindi is of the the time of the Imams, was born in Wasit in
opinion that there are several signs of fabri- the first half of the second century/71867.
cation in the Bible, such as the replacement, The exact date of his death is also uncer-
addition, and removal of certain words from tain. The dates vary between 179/7956
the original texts. In Chapter 3, he tries to and 199/8145. However, the date given by
establish as a fact that Islam via Muhammad Ibn al-Nadim as after the downfall of the
abrogated Christianity. The fourth chapter is Barmakids in 186/802 seems more reliable
about the refutation of the doctrine of Trin- since some accounts show that he survived
ity. Here, he employs the statements of Jesus the Imam al-Kazim who died in 183/799.
as evidence as well as logical argument. The He was the mawla (dependent) of the Kinda
second volume of the book argues that the tribe. After growing up in his birthplace, he
Quran is the word of God and Muham- first moved to Kufa, then to Baghdad, where
mad is his Messenger. In order to establish he owned a shop in al-Karkh bazaar.
the prophecy of Muhammad he examines Hisham is reported to have been a sectar-
the word Parakletos. In the same chapter, ian of the Jahmiyya, the adherents of pure
he claims that the ahadith of the Prophet determinism. It is also said that he was a
Muhammad are authentic. pupil of the famous dualist Abu Shakir al-
Al-Hindi examines the issue of tahrif from Daysani. However, when he was still young,
the Islamic point of view. In his view, for a he came in contact with the Imam Jafar al-
Holy Book to be considered as authentic Sadiq. After several meetings with the Imam,
revelation, there must be an uninterrupted he became convinced in the truth of Shiism.
link between its Prophet and the Book. He Despite all the miscellaneous views he held
strongly believes that this is not the case at different periods of his life, he had an inti-
with the Bible. Following his Muslim prede- mate relationship with Abdallah b. Yazid,
cessors, he examines the issue of contradic- a prominent scholar of the Ibadi-Khariji
tion and mistakes in the Bible. Using the text group.
of the Bible as evidence, al-Hindi concludes Hisham b. al-Hakam was also an associ-
that the belief in the Trinity is false and that ate of the Abbasid vizier Yahya b. Khalid al-
the divinity of Jesus is illogical. As has been Barmaki. The latter commissioned Hisham
done by other Muslim writers, he uses the to direct symposia that were arranged in
miracles attributed to the Prophet Muham- his palace. There or on other similar occa-
mad as evidence for his prophecy. sions he met and debated with many dis-
tinguished theologians of the time such as
Further Reading the Mutazilis Amr b. Ubayd, Dirar b.
Aydn, M., Mslmanlarn Hristiyanlara Amr, Bishr b. al-Mutamir, Thumama b.
Kar Yazd Reddiyeler ve Tartma Ashras, al-Nazzam, Abu al-Hudhayl al-
Konular (The Refutations Muslims Wrote Allaf, Abu Bakr al-Asamm, and Sulayman
Against the Christians and the Subjects in b. Jarir, the founder of a Zaydi group, the
Debate), Ankara: TDV Yaynlar, 1998. Sulaymaniyya.
Although several philosophic ideas of his
ibrahim sumer are reported to have been explicitly rejected
149
HISHAM B. AL-HAKAM
by the Imams Musa al-Kazim and Ali al- in Gods will), raja (the return of the dead
Rida, Hisham b. al-Hakam seems to have before the Resurrection), and the possibility
been a sincere Imami. He is recorded in the of suppression of some parts of the Quran.
list of those who acknowledged the imam- Hishams teachings on the imamate doc-
ate of al-Kazim immediately after the death trine continued to be defended by Muham-
of al-Sadiq. An account that describes him mad b. Khalil al-Sakkak (or Shakkal) and
as a Qati means that he accepted the Ali b. Mansur.
imamate of al-Rida after al-Kazim. Beside Hisham b. al-Hakam was an anthropo-
his scholarly activities, he undertook some morphist. He claimed that God was a body
operative duties in the group organiza- (jism), but this had no resemblance with
tion. When he was in Baghdad, al-Kazim worldly bodies. He denied the eternal nature
wanted him to assist Ali b. al-Yaqtin, who of Gods attributes. He separated human
was a high official at the Abbasid court actions as ihtiyari (free) and idtirari (con-
and a secret agent of the Imam. It is also strained). His views on ruh (the spirit) and
reported that al-Kazim deposited with physical concepts, such as jawhar (atom),
him a large sum of money and asked him jism (substance), and qalb (modification in
to invest it for the benefit of the group. form), were later developed by the Mutazili
The Caliph Harun al-Rashid was annoyed al-Nazzam.
about Hishams appreciation of Shii ideas
as well as his involvement in the Imami Further Reading
organization and initiated a campaign of al-Ashari, Abu al-Hasan Ali b. Ismail,
persecution against him. He had to escape Maqalat al-Islamiyyin (Islamic
from Baghdad, and died in Kufa when he Teachings), ed. M. M. Abd al-Hamid,
was still in hiding. Beirut: al-Maktaba al-Asriyya, 1995.
Sources illustrate Hishams intelligence, al-Kashshi, Abu Amr Muhammad
influential speech, and quickness at repar- b. Umar, Ikhtiyar Marifat al-Rijal
tee. His group, the Imami party, also appre- (Selections from the Information on
ciated his popularity. His contribution to the Important Personalities), ed. H.
the Imami ideology became significant. al-Mustafawi, Mashhad: Danishgah-i
He was presented as the one from those Mashhad, 1969.
who ripped words open about the imamate al-Nashshar, Ali Sami, Nashat al-Fikr
doctrine and rectified the sect (madhhab) al-Falsafi fi l-Islam (Formation of the
and the theory (nazar). He wrote several Philosophical Thought in Islam), Cairo:
books on the subject, in which he defended Dar al-maarif, 19778.
the wasiyya (the testamentary appoint- Nima, Abdallah, Hisham bin al-Hakam
ment to the imamate) and the necessity of (Hisham b. al-Hakam), Beirut: Dar al-fikr
the imamate of al-afdal (the most excellent al-lubnani, 1985.
one). He also composed some treatises in Watt, Montgomery W., The Formative
the form of refutation of different ideas Period of Islamic Thought, Edinburgh:
such as those of Naturalists, Mutazilis, Edinburgh University Press, 1973.
Aristotle, Abu Jafar al-Ahwal, and al-
Jawaliqi, the last two of whom were also m. ali buyukkara
Imami theologians. These books are not
extant. His view on the impeccability of the
imams was generally accepted later by the
authoritative Imami theology. He acknowl-
edged the Shii tenet of bada (the change Hisham al-Jawaliqi,see al-Jawaliqi
150
HOCAZADE
Hisham b. Salim,see al-Jawaliqi al-Tusi (d. 1482) was also appointed with
the same task of giving his account of the
debate. Both scholars wrote their Tahafuts
and presented them to Mehmed II. Both were
then awarded ten thousand dirhams for their
Hizir, Celaleddin,see Hac Paa work, but Hocazade was also given a robe
of honor. Ala al-Din al-Tusi is reported to
have been offended by this and left Istanbul.
Tusis Tahafut called Kitab al-Dhakhira has
been critically edited and published by Rida
HOCAZADE (Muslihiddin Mustafa) Saada.
(143488) In his Tahafut, which he had written in
four months, Hocazade discusses a number
The famous Ottoman scholar and philoso- of issues dealing with physics and metaphys-
pher Muslihiddin Mustafa b. Yusuf b. Salih ics. His point of view is clearly tilted toward
al-Bursavi was born in Bursa. He hailed from al-Ghazali and against Ibn Rushd, and this is
a family of traders but he chose the path of in keeping with the theological proclivities of
knowledge. He completed his early educa- the Ottoman scholarly tradition. Hocazades
tion in Bursa where he studied Arabic, logic, Tahafut has been published on the margins
linguistics, hadith, and other basic sciences. of the Tahafut edition by Mustafa al-Babi al-
After the conquest of Istanbul, he went to Halabi in 1886, but no critical edition has
the city and joined the circle of scholars been published so far. An extensive analysis
formed by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II. of Hocazades Tahafut together with that of
He became a teacher to Mehmed II. al-Ghazali and Ibn Rushd has been given by
He was appointed a professor at different the Turkish scholar Mbahat Trker-Kyel
schools in Bursa and Istanbul. He also taught in her Tehaft Bakmndan Felsefe ve Din
in Iznik where he served as a religious judge Mnasebeti (1956).
(kazasker). He became a qadi of Edirne in In addition to the Tahafut, Hocazade
1466 and of Istanbul in 1467. He finally authored a number of works. His Hashiya
settled in his hometown Bursa, where he was ala sharh al-mawaqif l-sayyid sharif al-
the president of the Sultaniye madrasa. He jurjani (Gloss on the Commentary on Jur-
held the position of the mufti of Bursa until janis Mawaqif) is a gloss on the most impor-
his death. tant kalam work of the Asharite-Maturidi
Hocazade was a well-known scholar tradition. Hashiya ala sharh hidayat al-
through the Ottoman lands and Central hikma (Gloss on the Commentary of Hidayat
Asia. He received many students from dif- al-hikmah) is a gloss on the famous work of
ferent parts of the Islamic world. In addition Athir al-Din Abhari dealing with a number
to the religious sciences, he was extremely of scientific and logical problems. Hoca-
well versed in the philosophical and scientific zade also wrote a short gloss on Baydawis
disciplines. His discussion of ebb and flow Tawali al-anwar under the title Hashiya ala
with the famous Ottoman scientist Ali Kuu sharh tawali lil-isfahani. Risala fi itirad
(Kushji) has been recorded in the sources. ala dalil ithbat wujudiyyat al-bari (Treatise
Hocazades most famous work is Tahafut on Objecting to the Proof for the Existence
al-falasifa commissioned by Mehmed II to of God) is a work dealing with the question
revisit the main arguments of al-Ghazali of attributing physical attributes to God.
and Ibn Rushd in their respective Taha- Another theological treatise called Risala
fut books. The Persian scholar Ala al-Din fil-tawhid (Treatise on the Divine Unity) is
151
HDAYI
devoted to a discussion of Gods essence, Through his ethical and mystical poems
names, and qualities. Risala fi bahth al-ilal written in plain Turkish, Hdayi gained the
wal-malul (Treatise on the Investigation of respect of his contemporaries. He played
Cause and Effect) is a short work written to a significant role in the development and
explain the parts of Nasir al-Din al-Tusis spread of the Jalwatiyya order. Hdayi wrote
Tajrid al-kalam (Freeing of Discourse) deal- short works on some ethical-religious issues.
ing with causality. Risala fi anna kalamallha He also wrote a diary in which he recorded
qadim (Treatise on Proving that Gods Word his discipleship under his master ftade.
is Eternal) is another work of kalam on the This incomplete diary is called Kalimat an
eternity of the word of God. Hocazade also al-tibr al-mashkuk fi ma jara bayna hadrat
wrote short treatises on theodicy, Arabic al-shaykh wa bayna hadha al-fakir fi athna
grammar, and the physics of light. al-suluk (Discourse on the Doubtful Gold
Dust Concerning What Took Place Between
Further Reading the Honourable Master and This Poor Nov-
Aydz, Salim, Muslihiddin Mustafa ice During [his] Spiritual Journey). His Khu-
(Hocazade), in Osmanllar lasat al-bayan (The Summary Explanation) is
Ansiklopedisi, vol. II, Istanbul, 1999, a spiritual history of the world seen through
pp. 2667. the personality of the Prophet of Islam.
Trker-Kyel, Mbahat, Tehaft Hdayi explains the creation of the world
Bakmndan Felsefe ve Din Mnasebeti, before and after the coming of Islam while
Ph.D. thesis, Ankara, 1956. defining the Prophet Muhammad as the ulti-
mate telos of the generation of the cosmos.
ibrahim kalin Hdayis position as the shaykh of the
sultans in the Ottoman Empire and the
tremendous respect he has been accorded by
posterity shows the significance of the Sufi-
scholar type in Ottoman history. Like many
HDAYI, Aziz Mahmud of his immediate predecessors and contem-
(9481038/15411628) poraries, Hdayi combined scholarship
with a charismatic Sufi personality while
Mahmud b. Fadl Allah b. Mahmud, known keeping good relations with the ruling class.
more commonly by his penname Hdayi, His memory is still cherished in the Turkish
was born in Kohisar. Virtually nothing is world, and his hymns are sung in mosques
known about his early life. He was trained and Sufi centers.
in the traditional sciences and initiated into
Sufism. He became a deputy (naib) to the BIBLIOGRAPHY
qadi Nazirzade, but lost his position shortly Khulasat al-ahbar, published in modern
thereafter. In Bursa, he became a disciple of Turkish as Alemin Yaratl ve Hazreti
Shaykh ftade, the founder of the Jalwati- Muhammedin Zuhuru (Creation of the
yyah order. He lost his position as a teacher World and the Emergence of the Prophet
and went through a period of financial diffi- Muhammad), ed. Kerim Kara, Istanbul:
culties. He finally settled in Istanbul and was nsan Yaynlar, 1997.
appointed as a preacher (waiz) at the Fatih
mosque. He also preached regularly at the Further Reading
Blue Mosque. He built a mosque in skdar, Tezeren, Ziver, Aziz Mahmud Hdayi,
Istanbul. He is buried next to this mosque, Istanbul: Edebiyat Fakultesi Basim Evi,
which is named after him. 1984.
152
AL-HUDHAYL
Ylmaz, Hasan Kamil, Aziz Mahmud the only way to determine his views is to look
Hdayi ve Celvetiyye Tarikat, Istanbul: at the works of figures such as al-Ashari,
Erkam Yaynlar, 1982. al-Baghdadi, al-Shahrastani, Khayyat,
and Abd al-Jabbar.
ibrahim kalin For Abul Hudhayl, apart from the senses,
reason and true reports are the sources of
human knowledge. Any religious report can
be accepted only if it is reported by at least
one of the candidates for Paradise, in other
AL-HUDHAYL, Abul Hudhayl al- words, by a true believer. He was also com-
Allaf(c.135235/c.752850) mitted to atomism. Bodies are agglomerates
of atoms held together through the accidents
Abul Hudhayl Muhammad b. al-Hudhayl of composition, juxtaposition, contiguity,
b. Abd Allah al-Allaf al-Basri was born in and conjunction. There are basic accidents
Basra around 135/752, and died in Samarra inherent in every single atom, such as move-
around 235/850. He was one of the great ment or rest, contiguity or isolation, and
thinkers of early Islam and a founder of the being. Some of the accidents may endure
Basran branch of the Mutazilite school of over a succession of moments, some of them
thought. are instantaneous. Since atoms are finite and
There is not much information about his hence created, the world is also finite and
life. He was probably of Persian descent. created. Abul Hudhayl defines man as this
Abul Hudhayl spent a great part of his life visible body which eats and drinks. Although
at Basra, where he studied with Uthman b. he uses the terms soul (nafs), spirit (ruh), and
Khalid al-Tawil, Bishr b. Said, and Abu Uth- life, their relation with the body is not clear.
man Zafarani, all students of Wasil b. Ata. Our power of acting is the permanent acci-
From an early age, Abul Hudhayl joined dent that characterizes us as fundamentally
scholarly debates, and also studied philoso- moral. Only voluntary actions belong to us.
phy through the Arabic translations which Will presupposes knowledge which is either
were available to him. Later when he moved innate or acquired. Abul Hudhayl consid-
to Baghdad, Abul Hudhayl was admitted ers sense perception, natural knowledge of
to the court circle during the time of Harun God, perception of good and evil, and that
Rashid and Mamun, and there he met with the good may be pursued and evil avoided
a number of scholars and had lively discus- as innate.
sions with them. He spent the last years of Although he affirms in God a number of
his life in Samarra, where he died at the age attributes, Abul Hudhayl does not consider
of a hundred years. Gods essence different from his attributes.
Abul Hudhayl, together with Wasil b. Ata God created humanity for their well-being.
and Amr b. Ubayd, was an important figure Hence, although he is able, Gods doing evil
in the formation of the Mutazilite school of to them is inconceivable. Again, God always
thought. He taught a number of students, does what is most salutary for mankind.
among whom were Nazzam, Shahham, Abul Hudhayl considers the Quran as the
Thumama b. Ashras, and Jafar b. Harb. greatest miracle. For him there will always
Abul Hudhayl was also a prolific writer; he be some saints in the world, protected from
wrote a number of works related to differ- committing any sin. There will be reward
ent theological issues and polemical works and punishment in the life to come. How-
against different religious and philosophical ever, since the world has a beginning and an
groups. None of his works are extant, hence end, at a certain moment all movement in
153
HUSAYN
Heaven and Hell will cease and will be con- came out in 1926, caused a huge controversy.
verted into a state of eternal consummation. He argues that much of the early poetry
had been forged by later poets for religious
Further Reading motives, and that the type of Arabic used
Frank, R., The Metaphysics of Created was not right for the location of the poets
Being According to Abul Hudayl themselves. He narrowly avoided a convic-
al-Allaf, Istanbul: Nederlands Historisch- tion for apostasy, and this blighted his career
Archaeologisch Instituut in het Nabije as far as official service was concerned. He
Oosten, 1966. rose quickly through the academic system,
The Divine Attributes According to though, eventually returning to the govern-
Abul Hudayl al-Allaf. Le Muson, 82, ment as a minister of education in the early
34 (1969), pp. 451506. 1950s where he did a great deal to expand
and make more accessible both schools and
muammar skenderolu universities. In the last two decades of his life
poor health restricted his activities, but he
was widely acknowledged as a major figure
in Arabic literature, both as a critic and as a
writer himself.
Husayn al-Najjar,see al-Najjar In his controversial book on poetry,
Taha Husayn had for the first time chal-
lenged the authenticity of pre-Islamic poetry
on theoretical and literary grounds. In his
Mustaqbal al-thaqafa fi misr (Future of Cul-
HUSAYN, Taha(18891973) ture in Egypt) of 1938, he questions Egypts
Arab identity, linking it culturally with
Taha Husayn is best known for his contribu- Greece and the Mediterranean rather than
tion to Arabic literature, but he was a sig- with much of the rest of the Arab world. He
nificant philosophical thinker also. Born in sees the Islamic world, in general, as even
upper Egypt in 1889, from the age of two he more distant from Egypt culturally. So when
went blind. He memorized the Quran and Islamic philosophy took off, inspired by
went to Cairo in 1902 to study at al-Azhar. Greek thought, it was merely continuing a
He was thoroughly dissatisfied with the long tradition of contacts that had existed in
institution, and left it later for the new Uni- the past, and it made Egypt a firm member
versity of Cairo, al-Azhar in the meantime of the Greek cultural world. For him, the
failing him in his final examinations. In his moral is that Egypt should side with Europe
research at the University of Cairo he used and modernity and abandon what Husayn
Western interpretive techniques to under- saw as Eastern despotism and ignorance.
stand Islamic thought, something that was Religion is not relevant to the issue since
to characterize his work throughout much of it applies to the emotional side of human
his career. beings, while reason is what links Egypt
In 1918 Husayn was awarded his doctor- with Europe. The European idea of the sepa-
ate at the Sorbonne in Paris, having been sent ration of religion and state allows everyone
there to study on a government scholarship. to perform their religious duties in their own
He returned to Cairo to teach but the pub- way. But when one engages in matters that
lication of his book on poetry, Fi al-shir al- are rational, one needs to embrace the cul-
jahili (On the Poetry of the Jahaliyya), which tural world established by Greece.
154
HUSAYNI
Much of Husayns work is uncontrover- Malti-Douglas, F., Blindness and

sial, and his views on Islam are pretty stan- Autobiography: Al-Ayyam of Taha
dard from a doctrinal point of view. On the Husayn, Princeton: Princeton University
other hand, there is a constant theme in his Press, 1988.
work that refers to the protracted decline that Semah, D., Four Egyptian Literary Critics,
Islam entered, he claims, when it refused to Leiden: Brill, 1974.
change and adapt, with its scholars insisting
on its unchanging nature. What was needed, oliver leaman
according to him, was the revival of the
past and catching up with the West, with its
innovations across the board, so that Egypt
and, indeed, the Arab world did not sepa-
rate itself from the West but joined it just as HUSAYNI, Shah Tahir b. Radi al-Din
their ancestors had done. In these remarks, (d. c. 956/1549)
Husayn touches on a theme in much of
Islamic thought, which is the direction in A learned theologian, poet, stylist, and
which Arabic thought should go, whether an accomplished diplomat, Shah Tahir
it should align itself with the secular world Husayni was also the most famous imam
represented by Europe and the West, or with of the Muhammad-Shahi branch of Nizar
the more religious forms of thought found in Ismailism. He was born in the final decades
the Middle East. Husayn set himself against of the ninth/fifteenth century in the village
what he saw as reactionary forces in Egypt of Khund, near Qazwin in northern Persia,
and the Arab world, and continued a debate where his forefathers known locally as the
that was to become very heated in modern Khundi Sayyids had lived and acquired some
Islamic philosophy. following after the middle of the eighth/four-
teenth century. The most detailed account
BIBLIOGRAPHY of Shah Tahir is contained in the Tarikh-i
The Future of Culture in Egypt (Mustaqbal Firishta (History of Firishta), composed
al-thaqafa fi misr), trans. S. Glazer, around 1015/1606 by Muhammad Qasim
Washington: American Council of Hindu Shah Astarabadi, better known as
Learned Societies, 1954. Firishta, the celebrated historian of the
Al-Ayyam, 3 vols, Cairo: Dar al-Maarif, Deccan who knew members of this family.
192932; vol. 1, The Stream of Days, Shah Tahirs father, Imam Shah Radi al-
trans. E. Paxton, Washington: Three Din, who had led the Muhammad-Shahi
Continents, 1932; vol. 2, An Egyptian Nizaris of Quhistan and Sistan in eastern
Childhood, trans. H. Wayment, London: Persia, later established his rule over a part
Longman, 1948; vol. 3, A Passage to of Badakhshan where he had many fol-
France, trans. K. Cragg, Leiden: Brill, 1976. lowers. Shah Radi al-Din was murdered in
The Days Taha Hussein: His 915/1509 and his head was taken to Mirza
Autobiography In Three Parts, Cairo: Khan, a local Sunni Timurid ruler who per-
American University Press, 1997. secuted the Ismailis of Badakhshan. Shah
Tahir succeeded his father to the imamate of
Further Reading the Muhammad-Shahi Nizaris. It seems that
Cachia, P., Taha Husayn: His Place in the from early on in his life and as a form of
Egyptian Literary Renaissance, London: taqiyya or precautionary dissimulation, Shah
Luzac, 1956. Tahir presented himself as an Ithnaashari
155
HUSAYNI
or Twelver Shii, and this explains why he religious matters in the fort of Ahmadnagar.
composed several commentaries on the theo- Shah Tahirs success, while still closely dis-
logical and juridical treatises of a number of guising his Ismaili identity, culminated in
well-known Twelver scholars such as Allama his conversion of Burhan Nizam Shah from
Hilli (d. 726/1325). He was also in contact Sunni Islam to Twelver Shiism, which also
with Sufi circles and wrote a commentary enabled the Deccani monarch to cultivate
on the Gulshan-i raz (The Rose Garden of friendly relations with the Twelver Safavids
Mystery), the famous mathnawi poem of the of Persia. In 944/1537, Burhan Nizam Shah
Sufi master Mahmud Shabistari (d. after also adopted Twelver Shiism as the official
740/1339). religion of his kingdom. Subsequently, Shah
Owing to his learning and piety, in Tahir rendered great diplomatic services to
920/1514 Shah Tahir was invited by Shah the Nizam-Shahis of the Deccan. Shah Tahirs
Ismail, the founder of the Safavid dynasty successful taqiyya practice thus explains the
in Persia, to join other Shii scholars at his strange phenomenon of the Twelver form
court in Sultaniyya. However, in a manner of Shiism being propagated by an imam of
which is not clear, Shah Tahir soon aroused the rival Ismaili Shii branch. Shah Tahirs
the anger of the Safavid monarch and was Diwan or collection of poetry and other
banished from the court. Subsequently, compositions exist in manuscript form.
he was permitted to teach at a theological Shah Tahir died between 952/1545 and
seminary in Kashan, where countless num- 956/1549 in Ahmadnagar, and his remains
bers of his own followers also attended his were taken to Karbala and interred in Imam
lectures. Shah Tahirs popularity in Kashan al-Husayns shrine there. He was succeeded
once again aroused the jealousy of the local in the Muhammad-Shahi Nizari imamate by
Twelver scholars, who complained about his his son Haydar (d. 994/1586). Shah Tahir
heretical teachings to Shah Ismail. The had three other sons, all attaining high posi-
Safavid monarch now ordered Shah Tahirs tions at the courts of various Deccani rulers.
execution, but in 926/1520 the Nizari imam
succeeded in fleeing from Kashan, sailing Further Reading
to Goa in India. After his initial failure to Daftary, F., The Ismailis: Their History
attain a position at the court of Ismail Adil and Doctrines, Cambridge: Cambridge
Shah in Bijapur, Deccan, he was invited to University Press, 1990, pp. 48691.
join the entourage of Burhan Nizam Shah. In Firishta, Muhammad Qasim Hindu
928/1522 Shah Tahir arrived in Ahmadna- Shah, Tarikh-i Firishta, ed. J. Briggs,
gar, the capital of the Nizam-Shahi dynasty vol. 2, Bombay: lithographed, 1832,
in the Deccan, where he was to spend the pp. 21331.
rest of his life; hence, his surname of al- Poonawala, I. K., Biobibliography of
Dakkani. Ismaili Literature, Malibu, CA: Undena
Shah Tahir became the most trusted advi- Publications, 1977, pp. 2715.
sor of Burhan Nizam Shah (91461/1508
54) and delivered weekly lectures on farhad daftary
156
I
Ibn Abd Ahmad,see Shah at this stage that he started writing his very
Muhammad Ibn Abd Ahmad critical studies of what he regarded as inno-
vations, superstitions, and deviations from
Islam in the ordinary practices of the inhab-
itants of the Arab world with which he was
familiar. This did not go down well with
IBN ABD AL-WAHHAB, Muhammad the locals, and both he and Majmui were
(11151206/170392) driven out of Basra. He left for the town of
Zubayr and almost died of heat and thirst.
Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab ibn He was obliged due to lack of means to stay
Sulayman ibn Ali ibn Muhammad ibn in the area, and went to Ahsa to study with
Ahmad ibn Rashid al Tamimi was born Abdulla ibn Abd al Latif Shafii.
in 1115/1703 in Ayina to the north of He next went to Harimala to live with his
Riyadh, in what is today Saudi Arabia, dur- father, who died in 1153 ah. Around this
ing the reign of Abdulla ibn Muhammad time his campaign to cleanse Islam had some
ibn Hamd ibn Muammar. He was known success, and he gained local adherents, but
for his religious learning even as a young the local ruling tribes remained hostile to
child, becoming a hafiz and leading prayers him and his message. He left Harimala for
at an early age. His studies took on a very his hometown of Ayina, where he recruited
Hanbali flavor, and he was enthusiastic Uthman bin Hamd bin Muammar to his
about the works of Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn cause. Together they destroyed trees that
al-Qayyim. He went on hajj and then to were being worshipped, the dome on a
Medina, which at that time was led intellec- major tomb, and also supervised the stoning
tually by Abdulla bin Ibrahim ibn Sayf. Ibn of a woman who had been found guilty of
al- Abd al-Wahhab became well respected adultery. The ruler in the region managed to
by Shaykh Abdullah and was allowed to bring this cooperation to an end by threaten-
transmit hadith, a very significant aspect of ing to withdraw funds from Uthman unless
the Islamic sciences, especially within the he expelled Ibn al-Wahhab, and the latter
Hanbali tradition. was obliged to leave town on foot and cross
He then moved on to Nejd, Basra, and the desert until he arrived at Dariya. Here
Syria for the purpose of furthering his stud- he found many supporters, which included
ies. He stayed for a long time in Basra, the two brothers of Prince Abdul Aziz
where he pursued his studies under Shaykh bin Muhammad bin Saud. He arranged
Muhammad Majmui in particular. It was a meeting with the prince, who became a
157
IBN ABIDIN
supporter of Ibn al-Abd al-Wahhab, who BIBLIOGRAPHY

in turn promised to support him as a ruler Kitab al-tawhid (Book of Divine Unity),
of the region. A prolonged military cam- Riyadh: Majmuat al-tuhaf, n.d.
paign got underway, with Ibn al-Wahhab as
its spiritual head, ending with the conquest oliver leaman
of Riyadh in 1187 ah. At this point the
Sauds were left to rule, and Ibn al-Wahhab
retired to continue writing up to his death in
Dhul-Qadah 1206.
Ibn al-Wahhab was critical of anything he IBN ABI USAYBIA, Muwaffaq al-Din
saw as deviating from pure Islamic teaching. (c. 590668/c. 11941270)
He classified as shirk or polytheism a range of
activities then current at Mecca and Medina, Muwaffaq al-Din Abu al-Abbas Ahmad
like the excessive glorification of the graves ibn Abi Usaybia was a physician based in
of the Prophet and his Companions. These Damascus, and also in Cairo. He wrote an
have in many cases been destroyed, based important text, the Uyun al-anba, a com-
very much on Ibn al-Wahhabs approach, pilation of 380 biographies of Islamic and
by the Saudi regime that came into power. classical physicians. This is an extraordi-
Other practices of which he disapproved narily useful text with information about
were anything connected to Sufism, and any these personalities, many of whom were of
practice or belief that involves regarding course involved in philosophy as well as
someone like a shaykh as being an interme- medicine.
diary between humanity and God. All these
customs that had grown up were regarded
as aspects of taqlid or conformity to tradi- BIBLIOGRAPHY
tion, and Ibn al-Wahhab advocated rejecting Uyun al-anba fi tabaqat al-atibba, ed.
this entirely since it had come to replace the N. Rida, Beirut: Maktabat al-haya,
centrality of the Quran and the traditions 1965.
in Islam.
Ibn al-Wahhab argued that ibada or wor- Further Reading
ship is nothing but exclusive obedience to Ullmann, M., Islamic Medicine, Edinburgh:
God and compliance with his commands. Edinburgh University Press, 1970.
The forms of worship which are to be
offered to God alone include salat (prayers), oliver leaman
sawm (fasting), zakat (charity), and the vari-
ous rituals common in Islam that emphasize
the unity (tawhid) of God. He was particu-
larly opposed to pilgrimages to any mosques
except the three most important in Islam,
those in Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem. He IBN ABIDIN, Ahmad b. Abdulghani
was also a critic of visiting graves and build- (12381307/182389)
ing over them to commemorate the deceased,
and all the other innovations (bida) that he Ahmad b. Abdulghani b. Umar al-Dimashqi
regarded as having crept into Islam, like was born in Damascus in 1238/1823 and
Sufism and over-elaborate prayers and cer- died at the same city on 26 Rabi al-Thani
emonies. His ideology became dominant in 1307/December 19, 1889. He was a jurist in
what is today Saudi Arabia. the Hanafite school of Sunni Islam. Ibn Abidin
158
IBN ABIL-KHAYR
belonged to a prominent family known as Ibn Sharh al-ilmihal (The Commentary on the
Abidin. His familys genealogy goes back to Catechism) is also a commentary on the cat-
Husayn, the grandson of the Prophet. He was echism of Amin al-Jundi who was one of the
a nephew of Ibn Abidin Muhammad Amin jurisconsults of Damascus. In his al-Aqaid
(d. 1252/1836), who was also a prominent al-qalbiyya (The Creeds of the Heart), he
Hanafi jurist. He studied Islamic law and Pro- outlines dogmatic issues. In his al-Risala fi
phetic traditions (hadith) with his uncle Ibn al-masail al-aqaid (A Treatise on the Issues
Abidin Muhammad Amin and with Hashim of the Creed), he discusses theological issues
al-Taji. He attended the study circles of Said such as divine predetermination.
al-Halabi. Ibn Abidin also studied with
Muhammad al-Hatti and Abu Bakr al-Kilali Further Reading
who were prominent scholars of his time. He al-Farfur, M. Abdullatif Salih, Alam
had also close relations with mystical groups. al-dimashq (The Well-known Figures of
He succeeded his father as a preacher and Damascus), Damascus: Dar al-Mellah,
imam at the local mosque and also held a 1987.
teaching post there. Abaza, M. Muti al-Hafiz-Nizar, Tarih
Ibn Abidin worked as a jurisconsult ulama al-dimashq (The History of the
in Wadi al-Ajam, Ballan, and Damascus. Scholars of Damascus), Beirut: Dar
Because of his close relation with Muham- al-Fikri al-Muasir, 1991.
mad al-Hani, a Naqshibandiya leader, Ibn
Abidin joined the Naqshibandiya Sufi order. muharrem kl
He also joined the Khalwatiyya order because
of his relationship with Muhammad Mahdi
al-Maghribi. Ibn Abidins mystical interest
was deepened through his readings of Muhy-
iddin ibn al-Arabis books. He defended IBN ABIL-KHAYR, Abu Said
the mystical doctrine and approaches of Ibn Fadlullah(9671049)
al-Arabi. Ibn Abidin produced some small
epistles in which he presented knowledge Abu Said was born in Mayhana in Khurasan
about the nature of mysticism and praised (present-day Turkmenistan) on 1 Muharram
the mystical approaches of Ibn al-Arabi. 357/December 3, 967, and died there on 4
Ibn Abidin has written the Tanbihu zawi al- Shaban 440/January 12, 1049. He made
irshad fi nafy al-hulul wal ittihad (A Warn- seminal contributions to Sufi institutional
ing to the Broadcasters of the Refutation of and ritual practices, including the pedagogical
Incarnation and Union) in order to defend use of the Persian poetical form, the quatrain
Ibn al-Arabis approaches. He rejected (rubaiyat), while boldly instantiating fidelity
the monistic (ittihadiya) and incarnation- to the values and principles of mystical psy-
ist (hululiya) approaches which have been chology and philosophy (ilm al-tasawwuf).
attributed to Ibn al-Arabi. Abu Saids father Babul Bul-Khayr, a
Ibn Abidin produced more than twenty druggist, regularly attended Sufi gatherings,
works in the fields of theology (kalam), to which he brought his son along at the
Islamic law (fiqh), Prophetic traditions urging of his wife. This exposed the young
(hadith), and mysticism (tasawwuf). His boy to sama, that is, dancing to music and
al-Hibat al-ilahiyya bi al-aqida al-ilahiyya poetry as part of the devotional ritual of
(The Divine Graces with the Divine Creed) dhikr (what Franklin Lewis calls a kind of
is a commentary on al-Aqida al-islamiyya motile meditation or deliberative dancing,
(The Creed of Islam) of Mahmud Hamza. a mode of worship and contemplation).
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IBN ABIL-KHAYR
Abu Saids first spiritual teacher was 1999: 87). Abu Saids skills in the Islamic sci-
Qasim Bishr Yasin (d. 380/990), who was ences were employed at Nizamiyya College,
fond of teaching through verse. Indeed, many the founder of which, the vizier Nizam al-
of the quatrains attributed to Abu Said may Mulk (d. 1092), was a generous benefactor
have been those of his first mentor in mysti- of the Shafiite madhhab and, later, of Abu
cism, especially if we take at face value his Saids khanaqa. Yet scholarly acumen was
direct disavowal: I have never composed a soon dwarfed by a prolonged if not extrava-
poem myself. What you hear from my tongue gant immersion in asceticism, tales of which
comes from able men (mardan-i saturg), the resound throughout Sufi lore. Practised at
most part from Abul-Qasim Bishr (quoted the family home in Mayhana, at Abul-Fadls
in Graham 1999: 95). In fact, there are no khanaqa in Sarakhs, and in the surrounding
written works that can be reliably attributed wilderness, his ascetic exercises were inter-
to Abu Said. rupted by a visit to Abu Abd al-Rahman al-
An education in Shafii jurisprudence Sulami (d. 412/1021) in Nishapur to receive
(fiqh) was obtained by Abu Said in the city the cloak of guidance (khirqa-yi irshad).
of Merv, under Abu Abdullah Muhammad Soon thereafter, Abul-Fadl sent him back to
ibn Ahmad Khidri (d. after 373/983). Khid- Mayhana a Sufi master. He received the cloak
ris death five years later prompted him to of blessing (khirqa-yi tabarruk) from Abul-
seek out another prominent Shafiite jurist, Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad Qassab.
Abu Bakr Abdullah ibn Ahmad Qaffal Abu Said established his khanaqa in
Mervazi (d. 417/1026). Thus his legal edu- Nishapur. Famous for his ascetic feats, pop-
cation acquainted him with Asharite the- ular veneration of this energetic Sufi was
ology, which was typically paired with the equally extreme: one day as I chanced to be
Shafii madhhab. Expertise in the citation riding a mule who deposited its droppings,
of hadith (Prophetic traditions) was assured people rushed over to rub them onto their
some years later under the tutelage of Abu scalps and faces (quoted in Graham 1999:
Ali Zahir Sarakhsi (d. 389/999) in Sara- 91). Yet the sources of his popularity were
khs, closer to his hometown of Mayhana. At multifarious, as the eventual abandonment of
some point during his studies in the religious asceticism proved disconcerting to those who
sciences, Abu Saids interest in Sufism was believed it set apart the holiest of lives. And
rekindledas signified in early biographical although miracle-mongering is frowned upon
accountsby an encounter with the saintly by the great Sufi masters as snares along the
fool (aqil-i majnun), Luqman Sarakhsi. way to God, the presence of pure motiva-
Luqman formally passed Abu Said on to his tion, however rare, marks the permissible
new Sufi master, Abu l-Fadl Muhammad ibn exception. Abu Said is said to have frequently
Hasan Sarakhsi (d. 414/1023). relied upon firasat (heart-discernment) or
In Nishapur, Abu Said accredited a num- clairvoyance, specifically telepathy, to win
ber of muhaddithun (scholars of Prophetic over his detractors or persuade the constitu-
traditions), including the renowned Shafiite tionally skeptical. With its roots in the poetic
jurist and Asharite theologian Abul-Maali forms, themes, and New Persian court lan-
Abd al-Malik Juwayni (d. 468/1075). guage (dari) that circulated in the streets and
In the words of Terry Graham: as the marketplace, his use of the rubaiyat and du-
most important teacher of the famous Abu bayti (double couplet) was at once didactic
Hamid Muhammad Ghazali (d. 505/1111) and devotional. This preaching in verse and
. . . Juwayni served as a direct conveyor of aphorism, and on occasion giving voice to
Abu Saids teaching to the most celebrated ecstatic states (cf. ishara, hikam and shath),
theologian in the history of Islam (Graham likewise endeared him to the masses.
160
IBN ABIL-KHAYR
In the person of Abu Said there is a complex their company, and to bear patiently the
intertwining, hence reconciliation, of three trouble of (waiting upon) them. In keep-
distinct Khurasanian currents that were not ing with his belief that the shortest, best,
always compatible: the jawanmardi (ethical and easiest way to God is to bring comfort
chivalry; futuwwa), qalandariyya (wherein to someone else, Abu Said saw to it that
God-intoxication or mystical states sanc- service to others or selflessness in inten-
tion antinomian behavior) and malamatiyya tion and conduct was the central ethic of
(path of blame) ideologies. The preference the khanaqa. This might also be construed
for sama (for which the heart must be alive as a logical continuation of his earlier
and the passions dead) as definitive of col- ascetic engagement with service of the
lective dhikr; the wearing of silk garments; poor (khidmati-i darwishan). In short, the
instructing students who longed to take the conduct countenanced by Abu Said is not,
hajj to rather circumambulate the tomb of strictly speaking, antinomian, but instead
his beloved teacher, Abul-Fadl; his own deci- indicates the infusion of an egalitarian or
sion not to undertake the hajj (for which he democratic ethos into otherwise rarefied
proffered reasons: Kharaqani/Kharakani spiritual practices and beliefs. Further evi-
(d. 426/1034) told him that he would serve dence for this proposition comes from his
as the Kaba around which the devout would comment that the true saint goes in and
circumambulate and, in any case, the true out among the people and eats and sleeps
man of God sits where he is and the Bayt with them and buys and sells in the market
al-Mamur [heavenly archetype of the Kaba] and marries and takes part in social inter-
comes several times in a day and night to course, and never forgets God for a single
visit him and perform the circumambulation moment (quoted in Nicholson 1921: 55).
above his head) (Nicholson 1921: 62); the The monastic functions of the ribat and
giving up of (at least conspicuous) asceticism zawiyya found in the khanaqa are hence-
in favor of comparatively luxurious living; forth bound up with the fulfillment of con-
his reputed ecstatic utterance that there is crete ethical objectives and social obliga-
nothing inside this coat except Allah; the tions, as their unique values are liable to
not infrequent use of telepathic powers; and more thorough interiorization.
the preaching in poetry rather than Quranic A Sufi master with a rather large fam-
verses and litanies; all find ample justifica- ily, an uncommon mystic who exemplified
tion in what has been termed the divine selfless generosity (ithar), a charismatic
right of the saint, or in what for Abu Said preacher who subdued sectarian strife
was the unadulterated love of God, meaning and, in time, silenced the legal and cleri-
no anxiety or fear concerning what befalls cal cries of heresy and apostasy, Abu Said
you ... [nor] worry about incurring blame or put flesh and bones on his definition of
reproach from others (quoted in Graham the true saint (wali) while embodying the
1999: 128). truth of Junayds maxim that the water
From Abu Said come the first formal- takes on the colour of its cup. Although
ized rules for the Sufi convent (khanaqa) Khwaja Abdullah Ansari (d. 481/1089)
he helped shape by grafting the hospice disapproved of Abu Saids qalandari-
onto the existing Sufi monastic institution. yya character or malamati temperament,
One function of such rules is the temper- and although Abul-Qasim Qushayri (d.
ing of those elitist tendencies intrinsic to an 465/1074) failed to include him among
ascetic or monastic regimen. For example, the famous Sufis subject to hagiographical
Rule Eight instructs the residents to wel- sketches in his influential Risala ilas-Sufiya
come the poor and needy, and all who join (Treatise on Sufism), such treatment would
161
IBN AL-ARABI
not have disturbed him. Nor should it pre- the local authorities, as was not unusual,
vent us from fully appreciating his creative and his views were regarded as innovations
and enduring contributions to Sufi institu- and unacceptable. However, he traveled
tions and devotional practices. around the villages of the Jbala and estab-
lished many zawiyas. He died of plague in
Further Reading his teachers house in Ghmara on 7 Shawwal
Graham, Terry, Abu Said ibn Abil-Khayr 1224/November 15, 1809. His tomb is the
and the School of Khurasan, in Leonard major building in the hamlet of Zammid,
Lewisohn (ed.), The Heritage of Sufism, which is about 12 miles southeast of Tangi-
Vol. I: Classical Persian Sufism from its ers and is the site of an annual mawsim
Origins to Rumi (7001300), Oxford: celebrated by his followers.
Oneworld, 1999. Ibn Abjiba was a prolific author, and he
Ibn Munawwar, Muhammad, The Secrets covers the usual wide range of Islamic lit-
of Gods Mystical Oneness (Asrar erature. In philosophy he wrote a number of
al-Tawhid), trans. John OKane, Costa fairly brief texts on metaphysics, covering the
Mesa: Mazda, 1992. range of issues that arise within Sufism. So
Nicholson, Reynold A., Studies in Islamic we find discussions of what is equivalent to
Mysticism, 1921; repr. Richmond: wahdat al-wujud, the oneness of being, of the
Curzon Press, 1994. different ways in which the oneness of God
is able to remain perfectly one and yet enter
patrick odonnell into existence with a myriad world, and the
complexity of the notion of unity. One of
the less metaphysical themes of Ibn Abjibas
work is the necessity to bring the exoteric and
the esoteric into harmony. They are just two
IBN ABJIBA, Abul-Abbas ibn Muhammad sides of the same coin, he argues, and there
(c. 11601/1740 or 1747) is nothing about Sufism that contravenes
Islamic law and practice, and vice versa.
Abul-Abbas ibn Muhammad ibn al-Mahdi
ibn Abidja or Ajiba al-Hasani was born in Further Reading
the village of al-Khamis on the Moroccan Michon, J. -L., Ibn Abjiba et son Miradj,
coast. His early education was in the Islamic Paris: Vrin, 1966.
sciences. He then moved to Tetuan to work The Autobiography of a Moroccan Soufi:
with Abd al-Karim ibn Kurish, Muhammad Ahmad ibn Ajiba, Louisville, KY: Fons
Janwi, and Muhammad Warzizi. He later Vitae, 2005.
on went to Fez to get his ijaza from Tawdi
ibn Suda and Muhammad Bannis. When he oliver leaman
was about thirty he returned to Tetuan, and
his orientation changed toward tasawwuf,
apparently after reading the works of Ibn
Ata Allah. In 1208/1794 he became a stu-
dent of Shaykh Muhammad al-Buzidi, who IBN AL-ARABI, Muhyiddin
was himself a disciple of Mawlay Darkawi, (560638/11651240)
who founded the Darkawa Sufi movement.
Ibn Abjiba abandoned his previous life and Born in Murcia in southeast Spain on 17
became an ascetic, renouncing his mate- Ramadan 560/July 27, 1165, during the
rial possessions. He got into trouble with final flowering of the Moorish culture of
162
IBN AL-ARABI
al-Andalus, Ibn al-Arabi died in Ayyubid tradition, each of whom gave him spiritual
Damascus on 22 Rabi al-Thani 638/Novem- instruction. Jesus, whom he referred to affec-
ber 8, 1240. These two simple geographical tionately as his first teacher, encouraged him
facts about the beginning and end of his to practise renunciation and detachment
life, embracing both the West and East of (zuhd wa tajrid); Moses, whom Ibn al-Arabi
the Islamic world at a time of high cultural regarded as the exemplar of the recipient of
achievement, are emblematic of the spiritual Divine inspiration, offered him the prospect
and inner development of arguably the great- of being given knowledge by God directly,
est mystical genius that Islam has produced. without intermediary, in the manner of the
Abu Abdallah Muhammad b. Ali b. immortal Khidr; and finally Muhammad,
Muhammad Ibn al-Arabi al-Tai al-Hatimi, who rescued him from a group of armed men
as he signs himself, is one of those rare spiri- who were about to kill him, embraced him
tual men who have the engaging habit of and said: Hold fast to me and you will be
providing many details of their own inner safe. This, Ibn al-Arabi says, was the rea-
and outer life, although one should note that son that he began to seriously study hadith,
he only does so in order to make a didactic which would remain a lifelong passion.
point or illustration. Hence his biography, As a direct consequence of this visionary
especially the early years, can be recon- experience, Ibn al-Arabis father sent him to
structed with reasonable accuracy. He was Cordoba to meet the great philosopher, Ibn
born into a well-to-do Arab family at the Rushd. Ibn al-Arabis account of this meet-
time of Almohad expansion in Spain, and ing between himself, a beardless unknown,
his father served as a professional soldier and a luminary in the twilight of his years
in the entourage of Ibn Mardanish, a local is justly celebrated, as it delineates one of
warlord who had carved out a petty king- his fundamental teachings on the nature of
dom for himself in Murcia and Valencia. the spiritual path and the use of reason. In
This southeastern part of Spain retained a reply to Ibn Rushds question on the nature
formal allegiance to the Abbasid caliphate, of mystical illumination, whether it produces
but was absorbed into the emerging Almo- the same results as rational enquiry, Ibn al-
had empire when Ibn al-Arabi was seven Arabi famously replied: Yes and no, and
years old. In 567/1172, the family moved between the yes and the no spirits take wing
to Seville, then the provincial capital of the from their matter, and necks are separated
Almohad court, and his father entered the from their bodies. It is clear that for Ibn
service of the sultan, Abu Yaqub Yusuf I. al-Arabi, the mystical way is more encom-
It was to be expected that the young Ibn passing and more complete, and involves a
al-Arabi would follow in his fathers foot- more penetrating perception than intellec-
steps, as a member of the sultans body- tual thought.
guard, but inner events propelled him in an Despite these indications, Ibn al-Arabi
entirely different direction. only finally broke with the career that
One of the earliest experiences which he his father had marked out for him in
records is a triple dream-vision when he was 580/1184. His withdrawal from the army,
about fifteen years old and had had no for- he says, occurred when he saw the sultan
mal religious or spiritual training. Appar- praying in the Cordoba mosque and he
ently under the impulsion of an irresistible suddenly realized that this ruler, for all
inner demand, he fled Seville to be in seclu- his worldly power and glory, was a mere
sion in the old Roman ruins and tombs out- servant before the Almighty. This startling
side the city walls. Here he had a vision of thought (khatir) was the impetus that made
the three prophets of the Western Semitic him commit himself irrevocably to a life
163
IBN AL-ARABI
devoted to God alone, and he began to Many of these Andalusian teachers and
seek out the company of spiritual masters companions were Abu Madyans direct
in Andalusia. Unlike most aspirants, Ibn al- disciples. Perhaps the most important was
Arabi already had a deep understanding of his friend and mentor, Abd al-Aziz al-
essential aspects of the spiritual path and a Mahdawi, who lived just outside Tunis and
sense of being subject to no exterior author- seems to have shared Ibn al-Arabis passion
ity, which made his relations with spiritual for the deepest spiritual knowledge. Ibn al-
teachers somewhat ambiguous. In his Ruh Arabi clearly held him in the highest regard,
al-quds (Epistle of the Spirit of Holiness), since he not only made a special journey to
he gives first-hand accounts of the teachers stay with him for six months in 590/1194,
and companions he had in the Maghrib. but also dedicated important books to him
Many were poor and illiterate but blessed in later life. After this first journey outside
with formidable spiritual grace, like his first Andalusia, Ibn al-Arabi composed what
teacher, al-Uryani, whom he describes as was probably his first work, Mashahid al-as-
totally devoted to the remembrance of God rar al-qudsiyya (Contemplation of the Holy
(dhikr), or Fatima, a woman in her nineties Mysteries), a series of fourteen visionary
who admired Ibn al-Arabi for his excep- episodes and divine dialogues reminiscent
tional concentration: when he rises up, it of the style of al-Niffari, written specifically
is with all of himself, and when he sits, it is for al-Mahdawis disciples. Writing became
with all of himself, leaving nothing of him- then a dominant feature of his life, often
self elsewhere. That is how it should be on in response to direct requests from friends
the Way. or disciples. From this early period he also
Other spiritual masters with more learn- recounts three extraordinary meetings with
ing introduced Ibn al-Arabi to the central the immortal figure of Khidr, the guide of
texts of Sufism, such as Qushayris Risala those who have no earthly teacher, as if to
or the Mawaqif of al-Niffari, as well as to emphasize that his inner life was entirely
the spiritual way of two major currents under divine direction.
of Western Sufism, the one represented by With the death of both his parents within
the school of Almeria (Ibn Barrajan, a few months of returning to Seville, Ibn
Ibn al-Arif, and Ibn Masarra) and the al-Arabi found himself responsible for his
other personified by the great saint of North two sisters, and as the clouds of war gath-
Africa, Abu Madyan. Although they never ered (prior to the Battle of Alarcos in 1195,
met in person, Ibn al-Arabi often refers to the final Almohad victory over the resurgent
Abu Madyan in his writings, and always as Christian armies of the north), he took his
our shaykh. This spiritual training also sisters across the straits to the city of Fez,
involved lengthy retreats, one of which where he arranged for them to be mar-
lasted at least nine months, and which cul- ried. Freed from family commitments, he
minated in a vision in Cordoba in 586/1190: remained in Fez for the next two years, with
he describes seeing all the prophets and an ever-deepening spiritual life and meeting
saints in their spiritual reality, from Adam with remarkable men such as the Pole of the
to Muhammad, and having a conversation Time (qutb) and a circle that engaged in the
with the prophet Hud. This grand vision highest form of spiritual sustenance of
prefigured the meaning of his own destiny reciting the Quran day and night. It was here
as what he would call the Seal of Muham- that he experienced his mystical ascension
madian Sainthood, the saint who is given to in imitation of the Prophet, a theme that he
understand and expose the full inner weight first described autobiographically in Kitab
of the message of Muhammad. al-Isra (The Night-Journey) and which he
164
IBN AL-ARABI
would often return to in different ways in Medina, and finally Mecca, where he arrived
other works. in time for the pilgrimage season.
In 595/1198 Ibn al-Arabi began what was
to be a final tour of the Iberian Peninsula.
In Mecca
In the company of his Ethiopian servant,
disciple, and companion, Badr al-Habashi, The two-year period which Ibn al-Arabi
he revisited many of his early teachers, and spent in Mecca represents in many ways the
several major works (for example, Mawaqi fulcrum of his life, with some thirty-seven
al-nujum and Anqa Mughrib) were written years spent in the Maghrib and a further thir-
as they traveled. In Cordoba he describes ty-six to be passed in the Mashriq. This piv-
the poignant scene of Ibn Rushds funeral, otal centrality is reflected in three dramatic
with the philosophers coffin strapped to one events that irrupted into his inner life in his
side of a donkey and counterbalanced by his annus mirabilis, 598. While circumambulat-
works on the other. The death of the Almo- ing the Kaba, he encountered a mysterious
had sultan, Yaqub al-Mansur, in January youth, whose very constitution displayed the
1199 brought about a change in the politi- coincidentia oppositorum (both speaker
cal climate, and this may have been partly and silent, neither alive nor dead, both com-
responsible for Ibn al-Arabis decision to plex and simple), and who described him-
leave his homeland for good. Making the self without words as Knowledge, Knower,
effort to collect together his writings and and Known. Ibn al-Arabi says that he saw
leaving copies with a friend (these Maghribi within this youths being the genesis of his
copies seem to have disappeared in the Chris- magnum opus, al-Futuhat al-makkiyya
tian reconquest), he set off for Morocco in (The Meccan Illuminations). This would be
596/1200 on the first leg of his pilgrimage the definitive work of Islamic esotericism
to Mecca. in 560 chapters, into which many of his
In early 597/1200, as if reflecting the fact shorter writings were eventually subsumed.
that he had left behind everything familiar, Then, in the Preface to the Futuhat, Ibn al-
he found himself utterly alone in a new spiri- Arabi describes a vision of the Prophet that
tual condition. He was consoled, he says, occurred in this same year, confirming his
by the spirit of a long-dead Sufi from the status as heir to the Muhammadian Station
East, Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami, who and Seal of Sainthood, a position which was
explained to him that this was the Station further corroborated the following year in a
of Closeness, a degree of direct inspiration dream where he saw himself as two bricks,
shared with Khidr. As he passed through one gold, and one silver, completing the
North Africa, his inner journeying contin- walls of the Kaba.
ued, with a vision in Bejaia (Bougie) of being The third episode took place again at
united with all the stars of Heaven and with the Kaba, where he met a young woman
all the letters of the Arabic alphabet. For who upbraided him for the content of a
eight months in 598/1201 he stayed with poem that he had just composed; this girl,
his friend, al-Mahdawi, near Tunis, compos- Nizam, surpassed all the people of her time
ing Insha al-Dawair (The Description of in refinement of mind and cultivation, in
the Encompassing Circles), a work delineat- beauty and knowledge, and would play a
ing the degrees of existence and knowledge. crucial role in awakening Ibn al-Arabi to the
After spending Ramadan 598/1202 in Cairo, love of women. This outpouring of yearning
Ibn al-Arabi then physically re-enacted his not only led to his marrying the daughter
mystical ascension by passing through all the of a Meccan family, Fatima, and having his
major sites of pilgrimage, Hebron, Jerusalem, first child, Muhammad Imaduddin, but also
165
IBN AL-ARABI
would result in the composition of one of his responsibility for the latters son, Sadruddin
greatest poetic works, Tarjuman al-ashwaq al-Qunawi (120974), who was to become
(The Interpreter of Ardent Desires), which his main spiritual heir and influential dis-
was dedicated to Nizam herself. These odes ciple. The bond with Anatolia would have
in the style of the Arabic qasida transform profound consequences for the evolution of
the classical image of the lover seeking out spiritual teaching in the region, as Ibn al-
the ever-elusive caravan of the beloved into Arabis teachings became part of Ottoman
a powerful metaphor of yearning for the and Iranian culture.
Divine Beloved who is ineffable, and they On the death of his companion and ser-
required Ibn al-Arabi to add an explanatory vant, al-Habashi, in Malatya in 618/1221,
commentary to deflect the charge that he Ibn al-Arabi decided to move to Damascus
was simply writing erotic love poems. and settled there for the remainder of his
life, under the patronage of a wealthy family,
the Banu Zaki. His reputation as an inspi-
In the Mashriq
rational spiritual teacher is attested in the
These years in Mecca not only saw Ibn al- accounts of those who met him and also in
Arabi embarking on family life and com- the numbers of people attending readings of
posing several works, including a collection the Futuhat in his house. The listening certif-
of 101 hadith qudsi (Mishkat al-anwar) and icates (sama) reveal a complete cross-section
a book of love-letters to the Kaba (Taj al- of the religious elite of Damascus, sometimes
rasail), but also brought him for the first numbering as many as thirty or more, and
time into close contact with people of the it is unsurprising that Ibn al-Arabi became
eastern lands of Islam. These included direct known as the greatest Master (al-shaykh
disciples of the great Baghdad Sufi, Abd al-akbar) and also as the reviver of religion
al-Qadir al-Jilani, as well as the vizier of (Muhyiddin), echoing his great predecessor,
the Seljuk sultan in Anatolia, Majduddin Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, who had taught
Ishaq al-Rumi. The latter became both a in the same part of the Umayyad Mosque
close friend and patron, and in 601/1204 a century before. In addition to these more
invited him north to Konya to meet the sul- public teachings, Ibn al-Arabi demonstrated
tan. Over the next few years Ibn al-Arabi particular affection for his closest disciples,
traveled extensively in the Levant, making especially his step-son, Sadruddin al-Qunawi,
contacts with rulers and princes across the who spent several years studying and copy-
region and continuing to write. Although we ing works at the feet of the master.
have no surviving autobiographical record The first draft of the Futuhat was com-
of the people he met in the Mashriq, at least pleted in 629/1231, in thirty-seven volumes,
one work demonstrates his response to the and a second recension of the entire work
whole tradition of Sufi teaching in the East, seven years later. In addition, there were
al-Tajalliyat al-ilahiyya (The Divine Revela- other masterpieces, notably his huge collec-
tions), in which he alludes to the spiritual tion of poems (Diwan) completed in 1237,
attainments and limitations of previous and what is regarded as the quintessence
teachers such as al-Junayd, Tustari, and al- of his teaching, Fusus al-hikam (The Bezels
Hallaj. Details of his personal life are harder of Wisdom), which he stated was given to
to come by, but he seems to have settled his him by the Prophet himself in a dream in
family in Malatya under the patronage of 627/1229. Ibn al-Arabi himself considered
Majduddin Ishaq. He had at least two wives the Fusus to be special, forbidding it to be
and three children, two sons and a daugh- bound with other works, out of consid-
ter, and on Majduddins death, took on eration for its Muhammadian origin. The
166
IBN AL-ARABI
twenty-seven chapters, each related to a par- visual ability is also evident in the way he
ticular wisdom in the person of a prophet, depicts tables and diagrams, one of which
represent the different modalities of human has been shown to have inspired the layout
spirituality, facets that display the composite of the Taj Mahal. Secondly, he had a thor-
jewels of Divine Wisdom, the full meaning ough comprehension of all the traditional
of which is understood through the jurisdic- sciences, not only Quran and hadith that
tion and collective wisdom of Muhammad feature so prominently in his work (there
as Seal of the prophets. The book has had a are constant references to the Quran and
perennial appeal, giving rise to at least 100 deep insights into the meaning of various
commentaries in several languages and over verses, and he was considered a consum-
many centuries, and these constitute a whole mate muhaddith, for example), but also
history of Islamic mystical thought in them- every aspect of the medieval worldview in
selves. the form of alchemy, cosmology, philoso-
Writing and verifying accurate copies of phy, numerology, and letter symbolism. As
works continued apparently until the last recent scholars such as Michel Chodkiewicz
moments of Ibn al-Arabis life. In addition have shown, his thought is underpinned and
to the works above, we may mention Kitab inspired by the revelation of the Quran,
al-Abadila (The Book of Servants), Kitab which he takes both literally and symboli-
al-Mubashshirat (Dream-Visions), Nasab al- cally, and he adopts the rich vocabulary of
khirqa (The Mantle of Initiation), and two spiritual phenomenology which previous
autobibliographies (the Fihris and Ijaza). By mystics had built up, giving it both a scrip-
the time he died in 638/1240, his prodigious tural basis and an ontological root.
output had reached at least 300 works, rang- Thirdly, we may note his facility with the
ing from short treatises of a couple of pages Arabic language, which allowed him to write
to the monumental thirty-seven-volume with equal ease in prose or poetry and most
Futuhat. Approximately 110 of these works especially, rhyming prose without meter or
are known to have survived in verifiable measure (saj), and to derive fresh mean-
manuscripts of excellent quality, with some ings from Arabic wordplay. Lastly, and by
eighteen in Ibn al-Arabis own hand. This no means least, there is his remorseless use
unique legacy is in part due to the meticulous of paradox, and an extraordinary ability to
efforts of his immediate disciples in preserv- express the subtlest of ideas, in a network
ing Ibn al-Arabis own originals, some in of interrelations that defy simplified under-
Mecca, Aleppo, and Damascus but probably standings and demand the most strenuous
the majority in Sadruddins private library in intellectual application on the part of his
Konya. readers. In addition, there is his claim that
these paradoxical flashes of thought, which
some have characterized as so lacking in
Importance and influence
logical coherence, were in fact the effect of
We may delineate at least four aspects of direct divine inspiration, making his writing
Ibn al-Arabis genius, which mark him out quite unlike that of ordinary authors.
in the field of Islamic mysticism. The first is It has been tempting for scholars to char-
his visionary capacity, manifesting in dreams acterize him as a mystical philosopher, a
and inspirations that seem to have character- term which is definitely at odds with his
ized his whole life. These, he says, occurred own teachings on the limitations of rational
not only in the realm of the imagination thought.
(khayal), but also in the world of direct As he mentions in a letter to the theolo-
meanings without intermediate form. His gian Fakhhruddin al-Razi, philosophical
167
IBN AL-ARABI
thought is akin to being nourished from of Divine Mercy and Compassion (rahma)
beneath ones feet, the fruit of ones own as both the cause and result of existence,
efforts and labor, while the mystic, whose leading to his assertion that Mercy is the
aspiration is constantly raised up toward final end of all creatures.
God alone, is fed from above through Divine Ibn al-Arabi exerted an unparalleled
Generosity and Grace. According to him, influence, not only upon his immediate circle
intelligent people will seek to purify their of friends and disciples, many of whom were
heart of reflective thinking in order to be considered spiritual masters in their own
empty enough to receive divine inspiration. right, but also on succeeding generations,
Not only are their methods different, but the affecting the whole course of subsequent
fruits of their endeavors are also different, spiritual thought and practice in the Arabic,
since only the mystic, he says, can reach true Turkish, and Persian-speaking worlds. In
happiness. He himself considered there to be recent years his writings have also become
three levels of spiritual life and hence of his increasingly the subject of interest and study
readership: the ordinary mind of believers, in the West, leading to the establishment
who have faith but lack direct knowledge, of an international academic society in his
the elite comprehension of gnostics, who name. His teachings have been at the heart
have direct experience of certain realms, and of almost all Sufi doctrine throughout the
then the elite of the elite, who are those who Islamic world, more or less overtly, revealing
have penetrated into the secrets of true real- a universal character that made the found-
ization (al-muhaqqiqun), who have reached ing of a particular dervish order in his name
the station of no-station (maqam la maqam) impossible. We commonly find his termi-
and can properly be termed Muhammadian. nology being used in explanation of other
While he has long been associated with well-known texts (for example, Ismail al-
the doctrine of Oneness of Being (wahdat Anqarawis [Anqaravis] (d. 1631) famous
al-wujud) and described as a Sufi, neither commentary on Rumis Mathnawi). The list
attribution in their common meanings really of his direct followers includes some of the
hold water with regard to his teachings. most famous masters and authors in Sufism:
The monotheism of the Oneness of God from his adopted son and heir, Sadruddin
(tawhid) was for him not simply a formula al-Qunawi (d. 1274), who transmitted the
but a meaning to be discovered in the human heritage of Ibn al-Arabi to succeeding gen-
heart. He always stresses two major factors: erations both through his own teaching and
on the one hand, the true status and rank by preserving so many of his works in his
of the Perfect Man (al-insan al-kamil) as the library, to Muayyiduddin Jandi (d. 1300),
eye-pupil of God, the vicegerent (khalifa) Abd al-Razzaq al-Kashani (d. 1329), Daud
who unites the Divine Form and the form al-Qaysari Kayseri (d. 1350), and Abd
of the world, the perfect servant whose al-Rahman al-Jami (d. 1492), to name but
whole existence conforms to the Divine pur- a few of the more well known who were
pose, and whose paradigm is the Prophet particularly involved in disseminating com-
Muhammad. This leads him to emphasize mentaries on the Fusus al-hikam. His work
the importance of servanthood (ubudiyya), also inspired poets such as Fakhruddin
inheritance from the Prophet (wiratha), and Iraqi (d. 1289), who studied with Sadrud-
a sober equilibrium with regard to spiritual din al-Qunawi, and Mahmud Shabistari
experience and action, and he is at pains to (d. 1320), the author of the Gulshan-i-raz
point out that men and women have equal (The Rose-Garden of Mystery). His influ-
capacity to reach perfection; and on the ence is evident in a wide range of writers
other hand, the all-encompassing centrality and times: the Yemeni Abd al-Karim al-Jili
168
IBN AL-ARABI
(d. 1428), Mulla Sadra of Shiraz (d. 1641), Anqa Mughrib, trans. Gerald Elmore
the Ottoman Abdullah Bosnevi (d. 1644), as Islamic Sainthood in the Fullness
and Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulusi (d. 1731), of Time: Ibn al-Arabis Book of the
who like Ibn al-Arabi is buried in the Sali- Fabulous Gryphon, Leiden: Brill, 1999.
hiyya area of Damascus. There were many Awrad al-usbu (The Seven Days of the
others who did not write books of their Heart), trans. Stephen Hirtenstein and
own but had a very deep spiritual affinity Pablo Beneito, Oxford: Anqa, 2000.
with Ibn al-Arabi, such as Mehmet Uftade Mashahid al-asrar al-qudsiyya
(d. 1580), one of the great Ottoman masters (Contemplations of the Holy Mysteries),
who numbered Sultan Suleyman the Mag- trans. C. Twinch and P. Beneito, Oxford:
nificent among his disciples. Anqa, 2001.
While his writings may have been publicly Al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya (Meccan
adopted by some countries at certain times, Illuminations), ed. M. Chodkiewicz,
notably the Ottoman Empire and Iran, as the trans. W. Chittick and J. Morris, New
basis of a spiritual and religious education, York: Pir Press, 2002.
they were certainly not universally accepted Mishkat al-anwar (Divine Sayings), trans.
within the Islamic world and were often S. Hirtenstein and M. Notcutt, Oxford:
rejected outright. Later Muslim scholars Anqa, 2004.
tended to fall into two diametrically opposed
camps with regard to his teaching: some hos- Further Reading
tile to what they saw as philosophical her- Addas, C., Ibn Arabi ou La qute du
esy that might endanger the whole moral Soufre Rouge (Ibn al-Arabi and The
framework of the community, others equally Quest for Red Sulphur), Paris: Gallimard,
keen to defend his religious orthodoxy and 1989; Quest for Red Sulphur: The Life of
spiritual stature. At the center of this long Ibn Arabi, trans. P. Kingsley, Cambridge:
polemic over Ibn al-Arabis legacy, which Islamic Texts Society, 1993.
has lasted until the present day, one can dis- The Voyage of No Return, Cambridge:
cern both the multifaceted nature of the Islamic Texts Society, 2000.
Greatest Master himself, and the central Affifi, A., The Mystical Philosophy of
importance of the issues that he addressed. Muhyid Din-Ibnul Arabi, Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1938.
BIBLIOGRAPHY Austin, R., Sufis of Andalusia, London:
Tarjuman al-ashwaq, trans. R. Nicholson George Allen & Unwin.
as The Tarjuman al-ashwaq: A Collection Chittick, W., The Sufi Path of Knowledge:
of Mystical Odes, London: Theosophical Ibn al-Arabis Metaphysics of
Publishing House, 1911. Imagination, Albany, NY: State
Fusus al-hikam (The Bezels of Wisdom), University of New York Press, 1989.
ed. A. Affifi, Cairo, 1946; The Bezels of Ibn Arabi, in S. H. Nasr and
Wisdom, trans. R. W. J. Austin, O. Leaman (eds), History of Islamic
New York: Paulist Press, 1980. Philosophy, ch. 30, London: Routledge,
Al-Futuhat al-makkiyya (The Meccan 1996, pp. 497509.
Illuminations), Cairo, 1911; Les Illumina The School of Ibn Arabi, in S. H. Nasr
tions de la Mecque: The Meccan Illumi and O. Leaman (eds), History of Islamic
nations, Textes choisis, partial trans. Philosophy, ch. 31, London: Routledge,
M. Chodkiewicz et al., Paris: Sindbad, 1988. 1996, pp. 51023.
Risalat Ruh al-quds (Sufis of Andalusia), The Self-Disclosure of God, Albany: State
trans. R. Austin, Oxford: Beshara, 1988. University of New York Press, 1997.
169
IBN AL-ARIF
Chodkiewicz, M., Un ocan sans rivage: was born on 2 Jumada al-Awwal 481/Mon-
Ibn al-Arabi le livre et la loi (An Ocean day July 24, 1088, dying in Marrakesh on
Without Shore: Ibn al-Arabi, the Book 23 Safar 536/September 27, 1141. His
and the Law), Paris, Seuil, 1992; Ocean laqab comes from his father, who had been
Without Shore, trans. D. Streight, Albany, in charge of the guard in Tangier, and so
NY: State University of New York acquired the name knowing. Although he
Press, 1993. started off in the textile business, he quickly
The Seal of the Saints, Cambridge: moved into earning his living as a Quranic
Cambridge University Press, 1993. reader and poet, and above all as a teacher
Coates, P., Ibn Arabi and Modern of the Islamic sciences, in Saragossa, Valen-
Thought: The History of Taking cia, and Almeria.
Metaphysics Seriously, Oxford: Almeria was at that time the center of
Blackwell, 2002. Sufism and the main focus of opposition to
Corbin, H., Alone with the Alone: the legal authorities in al-Andalus. It was
Creative Imagination in the Sufism of there that Ibn Hamdin, the Cordoba qadi,
Ibn al-Arabi, Princeton, NJ: Princeton issued a fatwa denouncing the works of al-
University Press, 1997. Ghazali for, in part, his advocacy of Sufism.
Hirtenstein, S., The Unlimited Mercifier: There already was a solid Sufi presence in al-
The Spiritual Life and Thought of Ibn Andalus as a result of the influence of Ibn
Arabi, Oxford: Anqa, 1999. Masarra and his students, and the arrival
Izutsu, T., Sufism and Taoism, Berkeley: of the works of al-Ghazali obviously gave
University of California Press, 1984. the local Sufis something of a boost. There
Journal of Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi Society, was a substantial group of Sufis connected
Oxford, 1984present. A biennial journal to Ibn al-Arif, people like Ibn Barrajan of
comprising new translations and studies Seville, Abu Bakr al-Mallurqin of Granada,
of Ibn al-Arabi and his school. This and and Ibn Qasi. When they were summoned
the MIAS website (www.ibnarabisociety. to explain themselves before the Almoravid
org) are useful resources for up-to-date ruler Ali ibn Yusuf in Marrekesh, Abu Bakr
scholarship. ran away, Ibn Barrajan obeyed the sum-
Knysh, A., Ibn al-Arabi in the Later mons and died in prison, while Ibn al-Arif
Islamic Tradition, Albany: State managed to get off the charge of blasphemy.
University of New York Press, 1998. However, he died soon afterward, and suspi-
Nettler, R., Sufi Metaphysics and Quranic cion has fallen on his main accuser, the qadi
Prophets: Ibn al-Arabis Thought of Almeria, Ibn al-Aswad. Ibn Qasi himself
and Method in the Fusus al-Hikam, managed to avoid the summons to North
Cambridge: Islamic Texts Society, 2003. Africa and remained in the Algarve until his
death in 560/1165 as the head of a large and
stephen hirtenstein committed group of Sufis, determined oppo-
nents of the Almoravid regime that had been
so antagonistic to Sufism.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
IBN AL-ARIF, Abul Abbas Ahmad Mahasin al-majalis (The Attractions of
(481536/10881141) Mystical Sessions), trans. W. Elliott and
A. Abdulla, Amersham: Avebury, 1980;
Abul Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn trans. M. Asn Palacios, Paris: Librairie
Musa ibn Ata Allah al-Sahaj ibn al-Arif Orientaliste P. Geuthner, 1993.
170
IBN ATA
Further Reading as well as many of his opponents views on

Nwyia, P., Notes sur quelques fragments language.
inedits de la correspondance dIbn
al-Arif avec Ibn Barrajan, Hesperis,
BIBLIOGRAPHY
43 (1956), pp. 21721.
Al-Mathal al-sair fi adab al-katib wal
shair (The Present Understanding of
oliver leaman
the Art of the Scribe and the Poet),
eds. A. al-Hufi and B. Tabana, Cairo:
Maktabat Nahdat Misr, 1959.
IBN AL-ATHIR, Abu al-Fath Further Reading

(558637/11631239) Cantarino, V., Arabic Poetics in the Golden
Age, Leiden: Brill, 1975, pp. 191205.
Abu al-Fath Nasr Allah ibn Muhammad al-
Jazari Diya al-Din ibn al-Athir was born in oliver leaman
what is today Turkey, into an important fam-
ily. His brothers were also significant intellec-
tual figures, one being a hadith scholar and
the other a historian. Al-Athir was involved
in working for Saladin and then for the lat- IBN ATA, Wasil(80131/699748)
ters son in Damascus, and finally he went to
Mosul to act as an administrator. Wasil ibn Ata, also known as al-Ghazzal,
Ibn al-Athir was certainly no enthusi- was born probably around the year 80/699
ast for philosophy; he was an opponent of and died in 131/748. He was a famous
falsafa in its Peripatetic form, and in the khatib (preacher) and theologian and is con-
protracted conflict between grammar and sidered by the Mutazilite biographers to be
philosophy he took sides with grammar. His the founder of the Mutazilite school.
literary output is very impressive and he is The sources are in dispute about the
an exemplary stylist. Al-Athir argued that land of his origin and early education. Ibn
one has to learn from the Quran how to al-Murtada is inclined to consider him a
write, since that text is so replete with won- mawla, a freed slave who owed gratitude to
derful linguistic devices that one can contin- his master, Benu Hashim, who lived in Med-
ually mine it and come up with new forms of inah, while Kabi mentions that he was a
expression. Many of his writings deal with mawla of Benu Aabba, who moved to Basra.
poetry and poetic form, and it is clear that Although Wasil spent most of his life, as far
he is critical throughout of the philosophical as we know, in Basra, some sources mention
project of using Aristotles Poetics to analyze that he was considered a foreigner there.
poetry. Such a general work, which seeks to Nevertheless, Van Ess considers that his con-
describe the essence of poetry in general, is nection with Medinah was probably due to
useless, Ibn al-Athir argues, since it is only some late Mutazilites who wanted to con-
through detailed understanding of a par- nect him with the Shii Alites of Medinah
ticular language that one can understand on the one hand and on the other to create a
the poetic structure of that language. Like blood relationship with the Prophets family
so many enemies of philosophy, his desire to through the claim to be the brother-in-law
refute his opponents led him to use philo- of Muhammad b. al-Hanafiya ibn Ali b.
sophical principles of argument and debate Abu Talib. Some late Mutazilites consider
171
IBN ATA
him to have been brought up by Muhammad themselves from al-Hasan. Some sources
ibn al-Hanafiya and to have studied in his consider that this is why they were called
school, but ibn al-Hanafiya died in the year al-Mutazila, the ones who separated them-
80/699, at a time when Wasil had probably selves from the main teaching. However, the
just been born. Through this connection, the sources are uncertain as to whether Amr or
Mutazilites may have wished to relate their Wasil is the real founder of the Mutazilite
religious views to the Prophet himself. school. It is also claimed that Wasil mar-
As is the case with most early Muslim ried the sister of Amr, but this may be, as
theologians, Wasil left no details of his life Van Ess points out, an invention aimed at
and early education, nor have any of his strengthening the relationship between Wasil
books survived. The earliest source which and Amr, for neither Wasil nor Amr was
gives some information about him is al-Ja- interested in women and no source mentions
hizs Kitab al-Bayan wat-tabiyyn. Here Jahiz that they ever had children.
considers Wasil to be a khatib (preacher), Concerning Wasils kalam career, he was
rather than a mutakallim (theologian). Wasil thought to have had a connection to the
was famous for his talented preaching and Kharijites, the followers of Ali, and the
his inspired use of the language in persuad- Qadarites, the upholders of the concept of
ing other Muslims and non-Muslims of his free will. Some sources consider him to have
views. He also had a problem in pronounc- been a Kharijite before joining al-Hasans
ing the letter r and could produce sermons colloquium. On the question of the status of
which avoided words which contained it the Muslim sinner, Wasil refused to consider
and instead incorporated exact alterna- the sinner as an infidel, kafir; nevertheless,
tives. As for his nickname al-Ghazzal (the he accepted the Kharijite concept that infi-
spinner), the sources are not clear whether dels will be punished with eternal Hellfire.
he was a merchant who sold cloth or sim- His connection to the Alawis is through a
ply liked spending time in the marketplace, supposed connection to Benu Hashim and it
probably in order to offer his zakat (alms) to has been proved that on the question of the
needy women and widows, as Ibn al-Nadim Imamate Wasil preferred Ali to Muawiya,
claims. though he also accepted the imamate of al-
All sources agree, however, that Wasil mafdul, the less legitimate caliph. As regards
started to become known as katib and his Qadarite tendency, some sources men-
mutakallim through his connection with tion that Wasil learned the concept of free
the circle of al-Hasan al-Basri in Basra. Of will from Abu Hashim b. Muhammad ibn
particular importance is his meeting with al-Hanafiya or his brother al-Hassan, both
Amr b. Ubayd, one of al-Basris students. known as Qadarites, in his early years in
Wasil and Amr seem to have disagreed with Medinah. He also composed in his late
al-Hasan on some issues; many sources con- years a khutba (ceremony) for the gover-
sider their debate with al-Hasan to have nor of Basra Abdullah b. Umar ibn Abd
been on the status of the Muslim sinner. This al-Aziz which proves a Qadarite tendency.
could possibly be considered as a confir- Shahrastani also considers Wasil to be
mation that Wasil was the first to form the the real author of al-Risala, which is attrib-
concept of al-manzila bayn al-manzilatayn, uted to al-Hasan al-Basri and whose author
the intermediary position, which is consid- defends the Qadarite position.
ered one of the five Mutazilite principles. Wasil seems also to have composed many
Some sources also mention that Wasil and important works. Ibn al-Nadim attributes to
Amr became close friends, founding their him the titles of eleven books, but unfortu-
own new circle of teaching and separating nately none has survived. The most important
172
IBN BAJJA
of these titles, however, are Kitab al-manzila possess any of the original texts of Wasil,
bayn al-manzilatayn, Kitab al-khutab fi it is nearly impossible to judge his real role
al-adl wat-tawhid and Kitab maani al- and influence upon the Mutazilites of suc-
quran. Wasils original contribution to the ceeding generations. Nevertheless, there is
Mutazilite kalam was his concept of the sta- no clear proof against the Mutazilites claim
tus of the grave sinner. He considered him that Wasil was the real founder of the basic
to be neither an infidel nor a believer but principles of their school.
someone who stands in a position between
infidelity and faith which he called fisq. This Further Reading
concept later became one of the five prin- Van Ess, J., Theologie und Gesellschaft im
ciples of the Mutazilite belief. Shahrastani 2. und 3. Jahrhundert Hidschra, vol. 2,
and other Mutazilite biographers consider Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter,
Wasil to be responsible for the basic form of 1991, pp. 23480.
all five Mutazilite principles, a claim which Watt, M. W., The Formative Period of
Madelung and Hans Daiber seem to have Islamic Thought, Edinburgh: Edinburgh
accepted. Van Ess, for his part, argues that University Press, 1973.
Wasils concept of Gods attributes is quite
primitive and does not reflect the Mutazilite maha el-kaisy
concept of Tawhid that was developed later.
Nor are his reflections on adl compatible
with the principle of adl held later by the
school. Thus, Wasil seems to be mainly
the founder of the principle of al-manzil, IBN BAJJA, Abu Bakr al-Saigh
the intermediary position. (470533/10771139)
Yet it does seem from many sources that
Wasil did know the concept of Tawil (alle- Abu Bakr Muhammad b. Yahya b. al-Saigh
gorical interpretation), and probably his al-Tujibi al-Sarakusti, generally known as Ibn
book Maani al-quran was an attempt to Bajja or Avempace, was a philosopher, scien-
interpret the mutshabih, the ambiguous tist, musician, and poet. While the source of
verses of the Quran. As to the concept of al- the designation Ibn al-Bajja is not known,
amr bil maruf wal-nahy an al-munkar (call- Ibn Saigh means the son of the goldsmith in
ing for good and prohibiting evil), it is not Arabic. Ibn Bajja was possibly born in Sara-
clear whether Wasil adopted it, but it was gossa in Muslim Spain sometime between
already well known through Jahm and al- 470 and 475/1077 and 1082. He died in Fez
Jad. We also should not forget the missions in Morocco in 533/1139 where he was very
which Wasil sent to North Africa and East- much the target of resentful courtiers in the
ern Iran calling Muslims to the Mutazilite Almoravid capital. The details available on
cause. These missions seem to have turned his life are limited, and the accuracy of some
Idris ibn Idris, the governor of Morocco reported accounts cannot be ascertained.
(177213), to the Mutazilite position. Thus Ibn Bajja belonged to the ruling family al-
the followers of Wasil in these areas must Tujib in Saragossa. Therefore, he must have
have preached more than Wasils concept of been educated properly in classical Islamic
al-manzila alone. and secular sciences. Although the sixteenth-
In conclusion, Wasils role seems to have century Andalusian traveler Leo Africanus
been enlarged by the Mutazilites who came (14851554) suggests that his original
later to be seen as something like the schools Arabic name was al-Hasan b. Muhammad
godfather. However, since we no longer al-Fasi, and asserts that Ibn Bajjas parents
173
IBN BAJJA
were Jewish, there is no evidence to support Bajja was imprisoned on a charge of heresy.
this account. Some Muslim historians report The father or grandfather of Ibn Rushd, who
that he memorized the whole Quran in his was the qadi, interceded for his release. After
early childhood as part of a classical Islamic he was set free, he met the Almoravid gov-
training. His extant works range from phi- ernor Abu Bakr Yahya b. Yusuf b. Tashfin
losophy and medicine to literature and bot- and won his favor. The latter appointed Ibn
any, and show that he was educated in both al-Bajja as a vizier, in which post he served
the literary and natural sciences. for twenty years.
We do not have any information about his Before Ibn Bajja there were thinkers in
tutors, and little about his students. Among Andalusia occupied with philosophical mat-
his disciples were Abu al-Hasan al-Judi, ters such as Ibn al-Masarra (269319/
Ishak b. Shamun al-Yahudi al-Kurtubi, Abu 882931) and Ibn Hazm (384456/994
Amr al-Himara, Abu Amr Osman b. Ali b. 1064). However, it was Ibn Bajja who was
Osman al-Ansari, and Abu al-Hasan Ali b. the first to be deeply involved in studying
Abdulaziz ibn al-Imam. The last of these dis- philosophy and writing philosophical works
ciples has a special importance, as he copied extensively in this region. In addition, his
and preserved Ibn Bajjas writings. Al-Amir writings prepared the ground for influential
al-Muqtadir b. Hud (43874/104681), Muslim philosophers of the next generation,
who was the ruler of Saragossa, a mathema- such as Ibn Tufayl and Ibn Rushd. Through
tician, and philosopher at the same time, his own observatory and works on astron-
was Ibn Bajjas contemporary. Some his- omy, he laid the foundation for the Andalu-
torians suggest that the celebrated Spanish sian revolt against the Ptolemaic system.
philosopher Ibn Rushd (52095/112698) He was also a gifted musician, a professional
was also among his students. Considering composer, and a skillful performer of the
the dates of their birth and death, this asser- lute. However, we do not have a substantial
tion does not seem to be realistic. Ibn Rushd amount of musical work to support these
could have attended the lectures of Ibn Bajja historical accounts. Ibn Bajjas love of music
when the former was twelve years old at the was used against him by the traditionists and
earliest. In addition, the Jewish philosopher conspirators throughout his lifetime. Some
Maimonides (11381204) attended some of his poems on various topics reached us in
study sessions of one of Ibn Bajjas students, the work titled Qalaid al-iqyan (506/1112)
but we do not know his identity. Although by Fath b. Khakan, who was interestingly
some historians report that another Spanish among his fiery critics.
Muslim philosopher, Ibn Tufayl (500 Ibn Bajja wrote extensively on a variety of
81/110685), studied philosophy with Ibn subjects such as the soul, thought, the union
Bajja, the former wrote in the introduction of the soul with God, and human perfection.
to his book Hayy ibn Yaqzan that he had He also wrote a book titled Tadbir al-mu-
not met him. tawahhid (Governance of the Solitary) and
At the beginning of his career Ibn Bajja commentaries on Aristotle and al-Farabi.
worked as a physician at Saragossa, and However, some of these works are believed
was the vizier of Abu Bakr b. Ibrahim al- to be incomplete, and some others are, as Ibn
Sahrawi, the governor of Saragossa. Just Bajja also admits, ambiguous and unsystem-
before Alfonso I of Aragon invaded the city atic. Nevertheless, his works with all their
in 513/1118, he left for Seville. He lived shortcomings were regarded highly from
there for some time, and then went to Shati- Ibn Rushd onward, not only in the Muslim
bah (Jativa) in northwest Africa. There Ibn world but also in Western thought. Most of
174
IBN BAJJA
his writings have been translated into Latin, Plato and al-Farabi. On the other hand, Ibn
Hebrew, and other languages from the four- Bajjas main concern here, as opposed to
teenth century onward. In modern times the Plato and al-Farabi, is the individual human
Spanish scholar Miguel Asin Palacios (1871 being or the philosopher himself, not the
1944) published a considerable number of ideal ruler and state. Here Ibn Bajja does
Ibn Bajjas manuscripts in their original lan- not develop a political theory in the sense
guage along with Spanish. Plato does in The Republic or as al-Farabi
As a rational philosopher in line with Aris- does in al-Madina al-fadila. In addition,
totle and Farabi, Ibn Bajja exalts the notion of Ibn Bajja seems to contradict himself when
human intellect and its crucial role in human he explains the last stages of human fulfill-
perfection. His Tadbir al-mutawahhid is an ment. While he insists from the beginning
epitome of his philosophy. Mutawahhid sig- that human perfection can only be achieved
nifies the virtuous person who lives a soli- through the intellect, later he argues that
tary life in an imperfect milieu. In this work, human development is completed through
Ibn Bajja raises the question of how a man Gods throwing his light into the hearts of
of integrity or even a philosopher can pre- those who deserve it. In this way that person
serve his character and reach happiness in an becomes a part of the glorious community
immoral society. This person in such a con- comprising prophets, saints, and martyrs
text cannot possibly stay happy for a long who praise God. Here these two notions,
time. Therefore, he needs to lead a solitary that is, divine intervention and chosenness,
life, continue his research, and, if necessary, do not seem to be in accord with his earlier
emigrate to a righteous community. This explanations.
is important to preserve his character and Kitab al-Nafs is Ibn al-Bajjas work on
establish a virtuous society. human psychology. This is one of his most
In the treatises Risala al-wada (Farewell) important works on human nature. Here
and Ittisal al-aql bi al-insan (Union of the one can find similarities with Aristotles book
Intellect with Humanity), though they seem bearing the same title. In this book, Ibn Bajja
to be incomplete, Ibn Bajja deals with the looks at the theories of nafs developed in the
matters of the first mover, the purpose of past. He then develops the definition of nafs,
human existence, and the union of human its true nature, and other related aspects.
intellect with God. He argues that the last After that he looks closely at the notion of
of them is the ultimate aim of human beings thought. However, this work is incomplete.
in this world. This experience can only be Therefore, we are not able to see the whole
realized through philosophical thought and picture.
speculative contemplation. This contrasts Ibn Bajja, like al-Maarri and al-
with the traditional mystical practice cen- Tawhidi, was accused of heresy. The con-
tered on the heart or on emotion (qalb) spiracies surrounding his death were also
rather than the intellect (aql). But he does based on this accusation. However, we do
not explain clearly how exactly human intel- not have any indication in his works as to
lect unites with the divine. According to Ibn his alleged disbelief. His opponents must
Bajja, mysticism is a mistake and mystical have distorted Ibn al-Bajjas strong rational-
practices are misleading. In this sense, alism and accused him of heresy. In addition,
Ghazali, the presenter of Muslim mystic his involvement in philosophy, astronomy,
thought, is himself mistaken and mislead- and music might have been an important
ing others. In these three works there are factor in this charge as these endeavors only
allusions to the writings and concepts of resulted in creating a negative image in the
175
IBN BARRAJAN
eyes of the majority of the Spanish Muslims Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1963,
then. Ibn Bajja was in search of happiness pp. 50626.
and tranquillity throughout his life; but it is al-Qifti, A., Akhbar al-hukama
difficult to say whether he found it. (Information About Wise People),
ed. J. Lippert, Leipzig: Maktabat
BIBLIOGRAPHY al-Mutanabbi, 1903.
Rasail ibn bajja al-ilahiyya (Theological Rosenthal, E., The Place of Politics in
Treatises of Ibn Bajjah), ed. Majid Fakhry, the Philosophy of Ibn Bajja, Islamic
Beirut: Dar al-nahar li al-nashr, 1991. Culture, 25 (1951), pp. 187211.
Kitab al-Nafs (Book of the Personality), ed. Sheikh, M. Saeed, Islamic Philosophy,
Muhammad Saghir al-Hasan al-Masumi, London: The Octagon Press, 1982.
2nd edn, Beirut: Dar Sadr, 1992. Zainaty, G., La morale dAvempace (The
Aristotles Physics and its reception in Ethics of Avempace), Paris: Vrin, 1979.
the Arabic world: with an edition of
the unpublished parts of Ibn Bajjas muhsin akba
Commentary on the Physics, trans.
P. Lettinck, Leiden: Brill, 1994.
Further Reading
Al-Alawi, J. D., Muallafat Ibn Bajja (Ibn IBN BARRAJAN, Abul-Hakam
Bajjas Works), Beirut: Dar ath-Thaqafa, (sixth/twelfth century)
1983.
Aydnl, Yasar, Ibn Baccenin Insan Gr Abul-Hakam Abd al-Salam ibn Abd al-Rah-
(Ibn Bajjahs Idea of Human Being), man ibn Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman
Istanbul: Marmara niversitesi Ilahiyat al-Lakhmi ibn Barrajan was born in North
Fakltesi Yaynlar, 1997. Africa and spent some time teaching in Seville.
Dunlop, D. M. Philosophical Predecessors Committed to mysticism, he soon fell foul of
and Contemporaries of Ibn Bajjah, The the Almoravid authorities in al-Andalus, and
Islamic Quarterly, 2 (1955), pp. 10016. was summoned to Marakesh by the prince
Remarks on the Life and Works of Ali ibn Yusuf, along with Ibn alArif and
Ibn Bajjah (Avempace), in Proceedings Abu Bakr al-Mallorqi. Ibn Barrajan died in
of the Twenty-Second Congress of prison in 536/1141, and the prince ordered
Orientalists (held in Istanbul, September his corpse to be thrown on a dung heap, an
1522, 1951), vol. 2, ed. Zaki Velidi accurate reflection of the contempt he had for
Togan, Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1957, Sufism. Ibn Barrajan in particular had been
pp. 18896. an important organizer in al-Andalus for the
Farrukh, O., Ibn Bajjah: wa al-Falsafa Sufi cause, and so in the eyes of the local theo-
al-Magribiyya, Beirut: Maktaba logians a very dangerous fellow. He wrote
munaymina, 1945. several books that took a Sufi approach to
Goodman, L., Ibn Bajjah, in S. H. Nasr understanding texts. So for example his com-
and O. Leaman (eds), History of Islamic mentary on the Quran stresses the hidden
Philosophy, London: Routledge, 1996, features of the text. Similarly his book on the
pp. 294312. names of God explores the esoteric aspects of
al-Masumi, Muhammad Saghir al-Hasan, those names in an intellectual tour de force
Ibn Bajjah, in A History of Muslim that must indeed have made a good many
Philosophy, ed. M. M. Sharif, vol. 1/2, readers impressed with the Sufi approach.
176
IBN AL-DAYA
BIBLIOGRAPHY BIBLIOGRAPHY
Sharh asma Allah al-husna (Commentary The Travels of Ibn Battuta, trans.
on the Most Beautiful Names of H. Gibb, 3 vols, Hakluyt Society,
God), Madrid: Consejo Superior de London: Cambridge University Press,
Investigaciones Cientficas, Agencia 1956.
Espaola de Cooperacin Internacional, Rihlat ibn Battuta, ed. K. al-Bustani, Beirut:
2000. Dar Sadr, 1964.
oliver leaman
Further Reading
Dunn, R., The Adventures of Ibn Battuta:
A Muslim Traveller of the 14th Century,
Berkeley, CA: University of California
Press, 1989.
Hamdun, S. and King, N., Ibn Battuta in
IBN BATTUTA, Abu Abd Allah Black Africa, Princeton: Markus-Wiener,
(d. 770/13689 or 779/1377) 1994.
Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Abd Allah oliver leaman

ibn Battuta was a North African traveler
whose account of the Islamic world that he
visited played an important role in intro-
ducing his contemporaries to the extent of
that world. He left Tangiers in 725/1325 IBN AL-DAYA, Ahmad Ibn Yusuf
for the east, going to Mecca on the hajj and (third/ninth century)
investigating the Arabian peninsula. Then
he went down the Red Sea to Yemen and Ahmad ibn Yusuf ibn Ibrahim Abu Jafar
East Africa, then back to Arabia, Constan- came from an important political family
tinople, and southeastern Europe. He went based in Baghdad that later moved to Fus-
east again to what is today Pakistan and tat in Cairo when their fortunes went into
India, visiting also the Maldives, Sri Lanka, something of a decline. Ibn al-Daya worked
Southeast Asia, and China. His return took on astronomy and philosophy. Few of his
him to the central Asian Islamic regions, books survive, and then often only as parts
Mecca again, North Africa, and Spain. of other peoples work, but he seems to have
Finally in 7534/13523 he went south contributed quite broadly to the production
to the Niger and neighboring parts of of philosophy and history during his time,
Africa. covering logic and commenting on Greek
The eventual book based on his travels is works.
obviously occasionally inaccurate, and one As part of what might be regarded as
does not know how much it represents his popular philosophy, he wrote the Kitab al-
accounts or those inserted by editors. There Mukafaa (Book of Compensation) which
is nothing theoretical about the work, it is presents a rather Stoic attitude to the ups
mainly descriptive, but its importance is and downs of everyday life. It is very well
that it reveals the state of the Islamic world written, and although the tone is uniformly
at the time, and how linked each part of pessimistic, it calls for an acknowledgment
that area was to other parts of the Islamic of the changeability of human fortunes in all
world. our actions.
177
IBN AL-FARID
BIBLIOGRAPHY supported his young family by teaching

Al-Mukafaa, eds. A. Amin and A. hadith and poetry.
al-Jarim, Cairo: n.p., 1914. Ibn al-Farid had at least one daughter
Al-Falsafa al-siyasiya inda al-arab, Algiers: (without name in the sources) and two
al-Sharika al-wataniya lil-nashr wa al sons, Abd al-Rahman and Kamal al-Din
tawzi, 1971. Muhammad. A grandson (whose mother
was a daughter of the poet), Abu al-Hasan
oliver leaman Nur al-Din Ali al-Misri (Ali as Sibt Ibn
al-Farid), edited a diwan (collection) of his
grandfathers poetry, to which he prefaced
a hagiography of some biographical value:
the Dibaja (Adorned Poem). According to
IBN AL-FARID, Umar ibn Ali, in 628/1231 Ibn al-Farid once more
Ali Abul-Qasim al-Misri al-Sadi took the pilgrimage to Mecca, this time
(576632/11811235) accompanied by his two sons. In the holy
city they met the accomplished Sufi, Abu
Ibn al-Farid was born in Cairo on 4 Dhul- Hafs Umar Suhrawardi (d. 632/1234),
Qadah 576/1181 and died there on 2 who proceeded to invest the poets sons
Jumada al-Awwal 632/1235. Venerated as with the khirqa.
a saint within a generation of his death, Ibn Although the Ayyubids, as was the dynas-
al-Farid wasand isthe most celebrated tic custom in Islamic civilization, encour-
Sufi poet in Arabic. He has been favor- aged and patronized poetry for purposes of
ably compared to English metaphysical propaganda and legitimation (Homerin
poets like John Donne (d. 1631) and Henry 2001: 223), neither political nor panegyric
Vaughan (d. 1695), as well as the Spanish poetry can be attributed to Ibn al-Farid. He
Carmelite mystic and poet John of the Cross thus avoided the sort of moral morass often
(154291). paid for such court patronage. He wrote
Ibn al-Farids family was from Hama in nothing in prose, and his Diwan is compar-
Syria, and later migrated to Cairo where atively small, in this case quantity inversely
Umar was born in 576/1181. His father proportional to quality, for one cannot help
was a noted religious scholar and womens but be struck by the intense passion and
advocate at court, a farid, hence the poets glowing rapture of his verse, the style
name. Umar is said to have accompanied and diction resembl[ing] the choicest and
him to court proceedings and as a young finest jewel-work of a fastidious artist
man identified with the Shafii madhhab. (Nicholson 1994: 1678). The best of the
He studied hadith (traditions) with al- Arabic poetic tradition; doctrines, motifs,
Qasim ibn Ali ibn Asakir (d. 600/1203), of figures and allegories from the Quran and
the Banu Asakir from Damascus, a family Sunna; and the fruits of mystical expe-
line that produced notable Shafii scholars rience and expression, are exquisitely
for almost two centuries. While still in his and lyrically interwoven in Ibn al-Farids
youth, Umar was drawn to Sufism, under- poems of spiritual love, longing and union
taking ascetic practices and devotional (with the divine). From among his love
exercises in the hills east of Cairo. After the poems (ghazal), odes (qasida), a wine ode
death of his father, learning and piety took (khamriya), and several dozen quatrains
him to Mecca, where he remained for about and riddles, the al-Khamriya (Wine Ode)
fifteen years before returning to Cairo and and the al-Taiya al-kubra (The Greater
taking residence at the Azhar mosque. He Poem Rhyming in T), also known as
178
IBN AL-FARID
Nazm al-suluk (Poem of the Sufi Way), and moral themes dear to Sufis, accounts for
are frequently singled out as uncommonly the preeminence of Ibn al-Arabis students
appealing and representing the quintessence in the exegetical tradition that surrounds Ibn
of Ibn al-Farids verse. The former relies al-Farids best verse. Given the poets vision
on pre-Islamic poetic wine allegories and of divine unity and his use of the feminine
the use of sobriety and intoxication gender to refer to God, one is not surprised
as metaphors for exalted states of mystical to discover that periodic charges of heresy
consciousness. Recalling that the Quran were provoked by his poetry. For example,
forbids the consumption of wine, not a few acting in his capacity as chief judge, no less a
of its verses declare a Heavenly vintage to personage than the historian Ibn Khaldun
be the drink of Paradise (e.g., 56: 1118, (d. 808/1406) issued a ruling that, among
83: 216). In the Sufi tradition known to Ibn other items, called for the destruction of the
al-Farid, wine came to symbolize the love bulk of Ibn al-Farids poetry.
between God (the beloved) and his devo- But our poet has had the last word, his
tee (the lover). The Wine Ode is widely verse now firmly embedded in Egyptian cul-
acclaimed as the finest poem on mystical ture, be it in the popular songs of Sufis or in
wine in Islam (Homerin 2001: 42). the work of the Egyptian novelist and Nobel
The greatest poem from the pen of Ibn al- Prize laureate Najib Mahfuz (b.1911). The
Farid, however, is the al-Taiya al-kubra, one Arabic poetry of Ibn al-Farid can be men-
of the longest poems ever written in Arabic. tioned in the same breath as the major
It is stylistically composed in the mannerist Sufi poets who wrote in Persian: Sanai of
(badia) convention of the court poets of the Ghazna, Attar, Rumi, and Jami.
time, but evidences a broad knowledge of the
Islamic sciences and a profound grasp of Sufi BIBLIOGRAPHY
theosophy and psychology. It is an altogether The Odes of Ibnu l-Farid, in Reynold
remarkable Pilgrims Progress for the Sufi A. Nicholson (ed.), Studies in Islamic
disciple, although its esoteric allusions, met- Mysticism, 1924; repr. Richmond, Surrey:
aphorical inversions, and clever word play Curzon Press, 1994, pp. 162266.
make its themes of love, longing, and union Umar Ibn al-Farid: Sufi Verse, Saintly Life,
at once delicate, dense, and beautiful. It is trans. and intro. Th. Emil Homerin,
difficult in detail for all but the most learned New York: Paulist Press, 2001.
Sufi, however inviting its arabesque rhetori-
cal form, images, and allegories. Further Reading
Historically, Ibn al-Farids name has been Allen, Roger, The Arabic Literary Heritage:
associated with his contemporary, al-Shaykh The Development of Its Genres and
al-Akbar, Ibn al-Arabi (d. 638/1240). Criticism, Cambridge: Cambridge
There is no evidence that these two great University Press, 1988.
Sufis knew each other or ever corresponded. Homerin, Th. Emil, From Arab Poet to
But several of Ibn al-Arabis followers wrote Muslim Saint: Ibn al-Farid, His Verse,
well-known commentaries on both the Wine and His Shrine, Cairo: American
Ode and the Poem of the Sufi Way, using University in Cairo Press, 2001.
their masters conceptual palette to illumi- Renard, John (ed.), Windows on the House
nate the spiritual meaning of the respective of Islam: Muslim Sources on Spirituality
poems. Ibn al-Farids sophisticated use of and Religious Life, Berkeley, CA:
technical language from Islamic law, theol- University of California Press, 1998.
ogy, and mysticism and the corresponding
elaboration of metaphysical, psychological, patrick s. odonnell
179
IBN FARIS
IBN FARIS, Abul-Husayn Ninety books, most of which concern the

(308395/9201004) study of Arabic linguistics, have been attrib-
uted to Ibn Faris. His well-known works are
Abul-Husayn Ahmad b. Faris b. Zakariyya al-Sahibi, Mujmal al-lugha, and Maqayis al-
b. Muhammad al-Razi al-Qazwini al-Hama- lugha, and all make significant contributions
dhani was born in Kursuf, a village near to to the etymological and semantic study of
Qazwin, in 308/920. Despite the assertions Arabic vocabulary.
in some sources that he came from a peasant In his etymological approach in these trea-
background, Ibn Faris himself mentioned tises, Ibn Faris tried to establish a semantic
among his first tutors the name of his father, link to the root meaning of the word. This
Faris b. Zakariyya (369/978), a Shafii of course led him to etymologize words from
scholar and a linguist who taught him Ibn foreign languages and find for them an Arabic
Sikkits Islah al-Mantiq. root. Therefore, in the discussion of the exis-
Ibn Faris traveled to the important study tence of foreign vocabulary in the Quran we
centers of the Islamic world of the time observe that Ibn Faris took a place among the
but he lived most of his life in Qazwin, major protagonists, such as Imam al-Shafii,
Hamadhan, and Rayy. While in Qazwin who were against the theory that foreign
in 332/943 he studied Khalil b. Ahmads words existed in the Quran. As representa-
Kitab al-Ayn with Abul-Hasan Ali b. Ibra- tive of this attitude, Ibn Faris believed that
him al-Qattan (d. 345/956) and attended accepting the existence of a word from a lan-
the circle of Ali b. Muhammad b. Mahr- guage other than Arabic in the Quran would
awayh (d. 335/946). The most significant raise a suspicion that Arabic was imperfect
influences on his linguistic understanding, as compared with other tongues, and so it
however, came from one of the scholars of had to be revealed in a language they did not
the Kufan grammarians school, Abu Bakr know. In this respect, his choice of heading in
Ahmad b. Hasan al-Khatib, who taught him the relevant chapter of his al-Sahibi is quite
in Zenjan. In Isfahan, he studied with Abul- revealing of his attitude: On the language in
Qasim Sulayman b. Ahmad al- Tabarani which the Quran was revealed, and that in
(d. 360/970); in Hamadhan with Abd al- the Book of God there is nothing beside the
Rahman b. Hamdan al-Hamadhani (342/ language of the Arabs.
953); in Baghdad with Abul- Hasan Ali Ibn Faris studied in what were then
b. Abd Allah al-Wasifi (365/975) and important centers of Arabic linguistics, Qas-
Muhammad b. Abd Allah al-Duri; and in win, Baghdad, and Mecca, and spent most
Miyanij with a hadith scholar Abu Abd Allah of his career in Hamadan, dying in Rayy
Ahmad b. Tahir al-Miyaniji (d. 360/970). in 395/1004. His main achievement is his
Among his students we see significant work on language, and his opposition to the
scholarly as well as political figures of approach of Sibawayh, who dominated the
the time. Among them were the author of area of Arabic linguistics intellectually. Like
Maqamat, Badi al-Zaman al-Hamadhani so many intellectuals of the time, he was
(d. 398/1007), and the vizier of Buway- hostile to philosophy even while at the same
hids, Sahib ibn Abbad (d. 385/995), after time using it a good deal in his work.
whom Ibn Faris called his work al-Sahibi fi
fqh al-lugha wa sunan al-arab f kalami- BIBLIOGRAPHY
him. Ibn Faris is the first known author to al-Sahibi fi fiqh al-lugha wa-sunan al-arab
use the term fqh al-lugha in Arabic linguis- fi kalamiha, ed. M. Chouemi, Beirut:
tics, thus establishing on a systematic basis Muassasat Badran lil-Tabaa wa-al-
the notion of linguistic rules of operation. Nashr, 1964.
180
IBN FURAK
al-Mujmal fi al-lugha, ed. S. Hamudi, defended Sunni Islam against the Karramites
Kuwait: Mahad al-Makhtutat who were powerful in the region. Ibn Furaks
al-arabiya, 1985. success aroused the enmity of the Karramites
Mujam maqayis al-lughat, Beirut: Dar and led them to complain to the sultan of
al-Jayl, 1991. his alleged heretical views, such as believing
that the Prophet Muhammad lay dead in his
Further Reading grave and that his prophethood ceased, for
Haywood, J., Arabic Lexicography, its the soul is an accident and the soul of the
History, and its Place in the General Prophet ceased with his death. Ibn Furak
History of Lexicography, Leiden: showed the sultan that all these allegations
Brill, 1965. were baseless. After receiving the sultans
Wild, S., Das Kitab al-Ain und die generosity, he decided to return to his home-
arabische Lexicographie, Wiesbaden: town. On the return journey, Ibn Furak died
Harrassowitz, 1965. and was buried at Hira.
Although he had a deep knowledge of
bilal gkkr every branch of the Islamic sciences, Ibn
oliver leaman Furak is particularly important on Quranic
commentary, Sufism, and theology. His par-
tially available Tafsir al-Quran gives an idea
about his methodology in the commentary.
He is also interested in hadith to resolve
IBN FURAK, Abul Hasan dogmatic problems. His student Qushayris
(c. 330406/c. 9411015) reports are our main source of Ibn Furaks
Sufi views. According to Ibn Furak, to
Abu Bakr Muhammad b. Hasan b. Furak become a Sufi or an ascetic one must be con-
was born in Isfahan around 330/941 and tent with the worldly things that are neces-
died in Nishapur in 406/1015. He was an sary for life.
important figure in the Asharite tradition Theology is the main branch of the
of Sunni Islam as a systematizer of Asharis Islamic sciences that particularly interested
views. Ibn Furak. For him, reason is an important
There is no information about his family. criterion that differentiates truth from false-
He started his education in Isfahan where hood.
he learned Shafiite fiqh, then he moved first Although reason is an important source of
to Basra, then to Baghdad where he studied knowledge, in religious matters what scrip-
kalam with Abul Hasan al-Bakhili and Ibn ture says must be accepted. Sometimes rea-
Mujahid al-Tai, both were the students of son can provide judgments that are contrary
Ashari. In Baghdad he also met with Baq- to scripture. Prophetic traditions can be a
illani and Isfaraini. At around 360/970 he source of knowledge if they are authentic
returned to his hometown and became a and if their meanings are clear. Although Ibn
leading proponent of the Asharite theology Furak is a Sufi himself, he does not consider
there. In 368/978 he moved to Nishapur intuition to be a source of knowledge. After
to begin a teaching career in his madrasa all, different Sufis can have different intu-
where he taught a number of students, itions on the same issue. He also considers
among whom was Abdulkarim al-Qush- consensus of the community as a source of
ayri, a famous Sufi. At around 404/1013 he knowledge in solving dogmatic issues. To
accepted the invitation of Sultan Mahmud prove the existence of God, Ibn Furak uses
of Ghazna and went to Ghazna, where he the createdness of substances and accidents,
181
IBN HANBAL
and claims that the basis of this argument Ibn al-Haitham,see Ibn al-Haytham
can be found in the Quran. For him, Gods
attributes must be identified on the basis of
scripture, and their meaning must be inter-
preted in such a way that is appropriate to
Gods essence. Contrary to the generally IBN HANBAL, Ahmad
accepted view of the Asharites, Ibn Furak (164241/780855)
thinks that prophets must be male. Prophets
are protected from disbelief or from commit- Abu Abdullah Ahmad b. Muhammad b.
ting sin, though they can make some small Hanbal al-Shaybani al-Marwazi was born in
mistakes. Baghdad in 164/780 and died at the same
Ibn Furak produced a number of works, city on 12 Rabi al-Awwal 241/July 31, 855.
some of which have come down to us. In He was a founder of one of the four Sunni
the Mujarrad maqalat al-shaykh abil hasan legal schools in Islam.
al-ashari (Summary of Shaykh Abil Hasan Ahmad b. Hanbal belonged to an Arab
al-Asharis Treatises), he gives a summary family known as the Banu Shayban. His
of the views of al-Ashari. In the Kitab al- family moved from Marw to Baghdad. His
Hudud fil usul (Book of Definitions on the genealogy reaches to one of the grandfathers
Foundations [of Law]), he explains a number of the Prophet, Nizar. His own grandfather
of kalam and fiqh terms. In Mushkil al-ha- Hanbal b. Hilal was a governor of Sarakhs
dith wa bayanuh (Ambiguity of the Hadith during the reign of the Umayyads, who sup-
and its Explanation), he gives interpretations ported the Abbasid revolution and then
of the anthropomorphic attributes of God. served in the Abbasid army. Ahmad b. Han-
Ibn Furak, together with his friend Baq- bal was initially educated in Baghdad where
illani, made a significant contribution to he memorized the Quran and then studied
the development of the Asharite school of Arabic grammar, Islamic law (fiqh), and
thought. In some theological issues, he fol- Prophetic tradition (hadith). He continued
lowed a new line within the school and his his education with eminent teachers such
approach influenced the later representatives as Hushaym b. Bashir, Abd al-Rahman b.
of the school. Mahdi, Sufyan b. Uyayna, Yahya b. Said
al-Kattan, and Imam Shafii. He learned
BIBLIOGRAPHY Islamic law (fiqh) and Islamic legal method-
Mushkil al-hadith wa bayanuh (Ambiguity ology (usul al-fiqh) from Shafii. Ahmad b.
of Hadith and its Explanation), ed. M. Hanbal taught a number of students such as
Muhammad Ali, Cairo: Yutlabu min Dar the famous traditionists Bukhari, Muslim,
al-Kutub al-Haditha, 1979. Tirmidhi, and Nasai.
Mujarrrad maqalat al-shaykh Abil-Hasan Under the influence of Mutazilite schol-
al-Ashari (Summary of Shaykh Abil ars, the Abbasid caliph al-Mamun (81333)
Hasan al-Asharis Treatises), ed. D. had pressured Ibn Hanbal to accept the
Gimaret, Beirut: Dar al-Mashriq, 1986. Mutazilite dogma of the createdness of the
Kitab al-Hudud fil-usul, (Book of Quran. Ibn Hanbal refused to accept this
Definitions in the Foundations), ed. dogma, which he considered to be contrary
M. A. S. Abdulhalim, Bulletin of the to orthodox belief. Because of his refusal, he
School of the Oriental and African was persecuted and imprisoned. The caliph
Studies, 54, 1 (1991), pp. 541. al-Mutasim (83342) adopted the same pol-
icy and Ibn Hanbal remained in prison where
muammar skenderolu he was severely tortured. Once the adoption
182
IBN AL-HAYTHAM
of orthodoxy reasserted itself in the reign of BIBLIOGRAPHY

al-Mutawakkil (84761), Ibn Hanbal was Musnad of Ahmad b. Hanbal, Istanbul:
able to continue his teaching activity. ari Yayinlari, 1982.
Ibn Hanbal was one of the leading defend- Kitab al-Sunna, (Book of the Theological
ers of the Salafi position. His main theo- Traditions), ed. Muhammad Said
logical views can be summarized as follows. Basyuni, Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyya,
For Ibn Hanbal, one must believe in God as 1985.
described in the Quran. For him, the nature Kitab al-Ilal wa maarifat al-rijal, (Book
of Gods attributes cannot be known ratio- of the Deficiencies and the Knowledge
nally. We cannot understand how we can of Narrators Biographies), eds. Talat
ascribe attributes to God rationally. In this Koyiit and Ismail Cerraholu, Istanbul:
respect, he rejects negative theology (tanzih) al-Maktaba al-Islamiyya, 1987.
and anthropomorphism (tashbih). For Ibn Al-Rad ala al-jahmiyya wa al-zanadiqa,
Hanbal, the attributes and the names of God (The Refutation of the Jahmites and the
are eternal. Considering the issue of human Heretics), ed. Abdurrahman Umayra,
action, he adopted a middle approach Riyad: Adwa al-Sharia, n.d.
between the doctrine of the Mutazila and
the Jabriyya. For him the Quran is the eter- muharrem kl
nal speech of God and it is uncreated. He
bitterly criticized the Mutazilite dogma of
the createdness of the Quran. For him faith
consists of acceptance by heart, outward
expression, and action. Although the sinner IBN AL-HAYTHAM, Abu Ali al-Hasan
is liable to punishment, he or she remains a (354430)/9651039)
believer. Faith can increase with good action
and decrease with bad actions. His theologi- The prolific Arab polymath Abu Ali al-
cal views were developed and defended by Hasan ibn al-Hasan ibn al-Haytham al-
scholars of the following generations such Basri al-Misri, known in Latin as Alhazen,
as Abu Said al-Darimi, Ibn Abi Yala, Ibn was born in Basra in 354/965, and died in
Taymiyya, and Ibn al-Qayyim. Cairo in 430/1039. He was raised in Basra,
A number of works were attributed to which in that period was under the reign of
Ibn Hanbal. Among them only the Musnad, the Shiite Buwayhid dynasty, whose amirs
which is a collection of around 30,000 tra- (Shahanshas) were of Persian descent from
ditions, was written by him directly. Other the territories at the fringes of the Caspian
works were collected and written by his son Sea, and who governed Iraq alongside the
Abdullah b. Ahmad b. Hanbal and by his Abbasid Caliphs from 945 to 1055, before
other students upon his death. Ibn Han- being removed from power by the Sunni
bal gave traditions (hadith) a key role in Seljuq Turks.
Islamic law and theology. His legal approach While in Basra, Ibn al-Haytham reached
was centered on revealed texts, that is, the a conclusion at a young age that religious
Quran and the traditions and on the sayings doctrines and tenets did not lead to the one
of the Prophets Companions. He opposed truth. Turning away from theological delib-
using personal opinion (ray) and analogi- erations, he became increasingly interested
cal reasoning (qiyas) in his legal theory. On in mathematics, physics, and astronomy.
the methodological level, he had a literal Prior to leaving Basra, it is reported that he
approach to the text of the Quran and the acted as a civil servant under the Buwayhids
traditions. (Buyids). Some even claim that he feigned
183
IBN AL-HAYTHAM
insanity in that period in order to relinquish al-Safadi (c.9501009), who was a contem-
his perfunctory civil service office and to porary of Ibn al-Haytham, and authored the
fully immerse himself in the pursuit of his al-Zij al-hakimi al-kabir. Moreover, follow-
scientific endeavors. ing the Fatimid interest in the sciences, al-
Becoming an established scholar, Ibn al- Hakim founded Dar al-hikma (The House of
Haytham was by then motivated to take up Wisdom), or Dar al-ilm, which during this
some applied forms of technology and sci- period almost equaled the fame of the Bayt
ence; he thus sent a proposal to the Fatimid al-hikma (The House of Wisdom) founded
caliph-imam al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah (reigned by Abbasid caliph al-Mamun (reigned
9961021), delineating an ambitious plan to 81333) in Baghdad, and additionally com-
construct a dam to control the ebb and flow peted with the al-Azhar school, which was
of the Nile, and to regulate the destructive founded by the Fatimid conqueror of Egypt,
flooding of this great river, as well as store its Jawhar al-Siqilli, in the name of the Fatimid
waters to be used for irrigation in the seasons caliph-imam al-Muizz (d. 975) in 970.
when its levels are low. This crucial event Originally known as Jami al-qahira (The
in Ibn al-Haythams career is likely to have Mosque of Cairo), the al-Azhar eventually
occurred around 100810, in a period where came to house the famed university in 988,
the reputation of al-Hakims reign and the which, unlike Dar al-hikma, was not mainly
riches of the Fatimids reached great heights restricted to Ismaili missionary teaching
among the Shiite communities of Iraq, and (dawa).
probably prior to 1016 when al-Hakim was Accepting al-Hakims offer to act as the
enigmatically proclaimed by Hamza ibn Ali chief engineer at the Fatimid court, Ibn al-
as being an Earthly Incarnation or Embodi- Haytham embarked on a mission to Upper
ment of the Divine. Impressed by Ibn al- Egypt (Said misr), accompanied by an engi-
Haythams proposed plans, the Caliph-Imam neering team, to survey a potential site for
al-Hakim invited him through an emissary the erection of the proposed dam on the
to visit Egypt in order to take up the post Nile. It is perhaps during this period that
of chief engineer, to oversee the design and Ibn al-Haytham acquired the nickname al-
construction of the structure he proposed for Muhandiss al-Basri al-Misri, The Engineer
the Nile. of Basra and of Egypt. After a thorough
During their militant reign over Iraq, inspection of a designated gorge called al-
the Buwayhid regents, together with the Janadil (The Cataracts), which is located
Abbasid caliphs, were in open conflict with south of Aswan, and represented an optimal
the Fatimids of Egypt, and it is unclear why location for the construction of a dam, Ibn
Ibn al-Haytham decided to leave Basra and al-Haytham soon came to the conclusion
settle in Cairo in an epoch that was marked that his project was unrealizable given the
by political mistrust and instability. Although conditions of the river, its banks, the capaci-
his appointment to the office of chief engi- ties of the workers, and related issues of con-
neer was assumed under the sponsorship of a struction. Some reports even mention about
capricious and eccentric ruler, al-Hakim was difficult budgetary problems that may have
nonetheless a generous patron of science and added to the inability to build such a struc-
art, who also had a significant interest in ture. As reported by Ibn Abi Usaybia, in his
astronomy. He had founded an observatory Uyun al-anba fi tabaqat al-attiba wa tarikh
on Jabal al-Muqattam in Cairo, and contin- al-hukama, Ibn al-Haytham exclaimed that
ued the generous funding of the research of had it been possible, the Ancient Egyptians
the astronomer and mathematician Abul- [whom he admired] would have done it!
Hasan Ali ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Yunus The Nile runs across a desert and vast arid
184
IBN AL-HAYTHAM
territories of stone, and had verdant banks Yusuf al-Fasi al-Israili (d. 1227), Ibn al-
adorned with architectural temples. It is Haytham apparently earned 150 Egyptian
customarily said that those who encoun- dinars as annual proceeds for his work as
tered this river had their fate changed, and warraq (copier of manuscripts) reproducing
this seems to have been the case for Ibn al- classic scientific and mathematical texts like
Haytham. Euclids Elements and Ptolemys Almagest.
Returning to Cairo with his engineering In that period also, Ibn al-Haytham gradu-
team after their field-trip mission, Ibn al- ally started to revive his scholarly investi-
Haytham confessed to his patron al-Hakim gations in optics, geometry, and astron-
that the design objectives were unrealizable. omy at the al-Azhar, an institution that by
Disappointed with the applied technologi- then had become the most established of
cal abilities of Ibn al-Haytham, al-Hakim the intellectual centers in Egypt, and had
terminated his appointment as engineer and acquired a relative independence from the
assigned him an administrative function sectarian strictures associated with the Dar
so as to maintain his revenue or allow- al-hikma.
ance. Growing weary of his patrons inten- Once described by Ali ibn Zayd al-
tions and becoming increasingly concerned Bayhaqi (d. c. 1169) as being the new
about his own well-being and safety, Ibn Ptolemy, Ibn al-Haytham excelled in his
al-Haytham feigned madness, as some held knowledge of astronomy, and his Dubita-
he had previously done in Basra under the tiones in Ptolemaeum (al-Shukuk ala bat-
Buwayhids. Parting ways with al-Hakim, lamiyus), a critique directed at Ptolemys
it is said that Ibn al-Haytham remained Almagest, Planetary Hypotheses and Optics,
confined in his house until the death of the had a major influence on the unfolding of
Fatimid Caliph in 1021. Some have pointed that science. He also investigated the den-
to the mercilessness and untrustworthiness sity of the atmosphere, and enquired about
of al-Hakim, reporting that Ibn al-Haytham the nature of the eclipse, the twilight, and
fled Egypt to escape persecution and save his the moonlight; his Risala fi-daw al-qamar
life, and settled in Syria for the rest of his (Treatise on Moonlight) talks about the
life. Others maintain that he visited Syria last of these phenomena. In his Shakl banu
and Baghdad during that period, but subse- musa (The Proposition of Banu Musa), he
quently returned to Cairo. His own autobi- presented sets of demonstrations address-
ography, which dates back to around 1027, ing the interpretation of Apollonius Con-
rarely mentions matters related to his per- ics that was advanced by the Banu Musa (fl.
sonal everyday life and rather focuses on his c.85070) These were the famous three sons
scientific and intellectual development. It is of Musa ibn Shakir, Muhammad, Ahmad,
reasonable to think that following the death and Hasan, the teachers of the Harranian
of al-Hakim, Ibn al-Haytham remained in Sabian polymath, Thabit ibn Qurra (d. 901).
Cairo until he died in 1039. Ibn al-Haytham became also renowned for
During those eighteen years, he lived near his famous lemmas, which in the seven-
al-Azhar, and may have conducted his inves- teenth century came to be known among the
tigations in that university. His writings European scholars as Alhazens Problem,
were focused during that period on mathe- which describes a solution to the following
matics, optics, physics, and astronomy, and optical question: How can we, from any
he earned his livelihood from teaching as two points opposite a reflecting [curved]
well as copying manuscripts of classic sci- surface, find points on that same surface at
entific texts. As Ibn al-Qifti reports, based which the light from one of these two points
on what is related by the Jewish physician reflects upon the other?
185
IBN AL-HAYTHAM
Following Thabit ibn Qurra, Ibn al-Hay- Among others, Ibn al-Haytham influenced
tham also endeavored, like many Arab math- Franciscan scholars and medieval authori-
ematicians, to solve Euclids fifth postulate ties like Roger Bacon, John Peckham, and
in the Elements. He, moreover, investigated Witelo. His optical tradition also had a last-
the application of motion to geometric dem- ing impact on the unfolding of Renaissance
onstrations (a cinematographic account), art and architecture theories, principally as
and elaborated the rudiments of analytical attested in the writings of scholars and art-
geometry by deploying algebra in geometri- ists like Leon Battista Alberti, Lorenzo Ghi-
cal constructions, as well as developed infini- berti, and Ignazio Danti. However, while his
tesimal mathematics and conics. In number Optics was widely disseminated and care-
theory he built on Thabit ibn Qurrahs under- fully studied and integrated by the European
standing of amicable (mutahabbah) and per- literati, its circulation in the medieval Islamic
fect (tammah) numbers, including the fur- civilization remained marginal. The princi-
ther systematizations introduced by Thabits pal assimilation of Ibn al-Haythams theories
grandson, the mathematician Ibrahim ibn of vision and light in the context of the his-
Sinan (d. 946). In mechanics, he worked on tory of ideas in Islam did not take a serious
the first law of motion according to which turn until Kamal al-Din al-Farisis Tanqih al-
it is stated that a body perpetually moves manazir (The Revision of the Optics).
unless it is prevented from doing so by an Ibn al-Haythams theories constituted the
external agent or force that arrests its move- most remarkable accomplishment in the
ment or alters its direction. As noted in his maturation of the science of optics from
explication of the phenomenon of the attrac- the times of Claudius Ptolemy (d. c. 165)
tion between masses, Ibn al-Haytham seems to those of Johannes Kepler (d. 1630). His
also to have been aware of the magnitude of novel optical theories resolved the ancient
acceleration that results from a principle that dispute among the Greeks over the nature
is tangentially akin to the force of gravity. and comportment of vision and light, which
In supporting his theoretical investigations was divided between a physical account of
and hypotheses, he was also keen on devel- the intromission of the form of a visible
oping methods of experimental verification, object into the eye, and a mathematical
including pioneer forms of controlled test- model of the emission of a light ray from the
ing. He, moreover, grounded his empirical eye in the shape of a cone of vision. The lat-
inclinations with attempts to design, modify, ter theory finds its earliest geometrical con-
and perfect the use of scientific instruments structs in the optika systems of Euclid and
and experimental installations. Ptolemy. It also partially builds on Platos
While Ibn al-Haytham was indeed a bril- Pythagorean account of vision in the Time-
liant polymath, and his prolific contributions aus (45b246a2), wherein it was stated that
covered myriad disciplines in mathematics, vision (horan) results from the emission of
astronomy, and mechanics, his most remark- the souls non-consuming fire as a gentle
able accomplishment is attested in the field light that gets dispersed into the surround-
of optics, as principally embodied in his chief ing air in view of meeting external sources of
work Kitab al-Manazir (The Optics) (c.1027). light or lit entities. The eyes were thus fash-
This monumental opus was translated into ioned to be bearers of light, and to channel
Latin as De aspectibus (c.1270; Risners the non-burning pure internal fire of the soul
Thesaurus Opticus, Basel, 1572), and its in its flow toward kindred fire in the ambi-
reception in Europe had a major impact on ent environment; transmitting as well the
the unfurling of the perspectivae traditions motion of what it comes into contact with to
in medieval science and Renaissance art. the soul via the eyes. This picture accorded
186
IBN AL-HAYTHAM
with the views of Empedocles, and it was (al-maani al-mubsara), he also stressed that
also reconfirmed by the physician Claudius visual perception was not a mere sensation
Galenus (Galen), who supplemented this but was principally an inferential act of dis-
theory with a thorough examination of the cernment or judgment. Ibn al-Haythams
anatomy of the eye, whereby he claimed that ocular investigations were also grounded by
vision is caused by the eyes spirit, which anatomical examinations of the structure of
radiates unto the external environment as the eye, as well as being supported by experi-
a light ray that is propagated at an infinite mental installations designed to detect visual
velocity after passing through the luminous illusions, together with the studying of phe-
channels of the eyes optical nerve. This series nomena like the camera obscura (the dark-
of emission theories reflected mathematical room principle behind the pinhole camera).
models that were supported by a geometric Parallel developments in optics were at
description of the propagating eyes light ray the time being undertaken by Ibn Sina (Avi-
as having the form of a cone of vision. In cenna, d. 1037) in his Kitab al-Nafs, who also
contrast, the physical model of the intromis- advocated an intromission theory of vision
sion of the form of the visible object into that slightly deviated from that of Aristotle
the eye, as primarily advanced in Aristotles following Galenic anatomical examinations
De anima (Peri psuche, Treatise on the Soul), of the eye, its optical nerve and crystalline.
remained ambivalent in terms of its elucida- Unlike Ibn al-Haytham, Ibn Sinas explica-
tion of the comportment of light and seeing; tions were ultimately not grounded on a
however, it was less counter-intuitive than working geometric model. Following Aristo-
the mathematical emmissionist explication. tle, he might have still considered the science
After all, it was unclear how visual percep- of optics to be the most physical of the geo-
tion resulted from the introduction of the metrical disciplines, though not construing
form of a visible object without its matter the theories of vision and light as being part
into the eye. of an ars doctrinalis (ilm talimi), as noted
Although Euclids Optika, which was ren- in the optical writings of Ibn al-Haytham or
dered into Arabic as Kitab uqlidus fi ikhti- al-Kindi. Consequently, Ibn Sinas theory of
laf al-manazir, was commented on by fig- vision may have suffered from the ambiva-
ures like Hunayn ibn Ishaq (Johannitius, d. lence that marked the physical and psychical
c.873) and al-Kindi (d. 866), the most dis- explication of visual perception by way of
tinguished progress to be made in the science talking about the introduction of the form
of optics from its Greek sources is attributed of the perceptible object without its matter
to the ingenuity of Ibn al-Haytham. Rethink- into the eye. Although Ibn Sinas theory of
ing the findings of the ancients, mathemati- light had a warm reception among the medi-
cians (talimiyyin), and physicists (tabiiyyin) eval Latin scholars, his explication of vision
alike, Ibn al-Haytham rejected the claim remained marginally integrated in com-
that vision occurs by way of the emission of parison with Ibn al-Haythams lasting and
a light ray from the eye, and he moreover profound influence on the unfurling of the
systematized the intromission account by perspectivae traditions in Europe up to the
showing that sight resulted from the intro- Renaissance.
duction of the light ray or the luminous form Ibn al-Haythams theory of light, as noted
of a visually perceptible object into the eye in Kitab al-Manazir, was supplemented by
following a rectilinear propagation of light a study in his Risala fil-daw (Treatise on
through a transparent medium in the form Light), where he examined the essence of
of a virtual geometric cone (makhrut) of light as well as enquired about its rectilinear
vision. In accounting for visible properties propagation through a variety of transparent
187
IBN AL-HAYTHAM
media. He, moreover, supported his theory Majmu al-rasail, Hyderabad: Osmania
of vision with explorations in catoptrics, Oriental Publications Bureau, 1937.
using finely polished surfaces or mirrors,
as well as studying the effects of lenses and Further Reading
magnifications. His optical theories were, Beshara, S., Ibn al-Haythams Optics: A
moreover, tied to explorations in meteorol- Study of the Origins of Experimental
ogy and his exploration of the workings of Science, Minneapolis: Bibliotheca
refraction and reflection in accounting for a Islamica, 1977.
phenomenon like the rainbow (qaws quza). Lindberg, D. C., Theories of Vision from
His findings in this domain were subse- al-Kindi to Kepler, Chicago: University of
quently subjected to a critical experimental Chicago Press, 1976.
and theoretical revision in Tanqih al-manazir Rashed, R., Optique et mathmatiques,
of the Persian mathematician and astrono- recherches sur la pense scientifique en
mer, Kamal al-Din al-Farasi (d. 1320), who arabe, Aldershot: Variorum, 1992.
partly relied in this endeavor on Ibn Sinas Les mathmatiques infinitsimales du IXe
meteorology. Furthermore, Ibn al-Haythams au XIe sicle, 4 vols, London: al-Furqan
optical findings were implicitly recollected in Islamic Heritage Foundation, 19932002.
a commentary on the Tanqih that was com- Geometrical Optics, in R. Rashed
posed by the Syrian astronomer Taqi al-Din and R. Morlon (eds), Encyclopedia of
bin Muhammad bin Maruf (d. 1585) in a the History of Arabic Science, vol. II,
treatise entitled Nur hadaqat al-ibsar. London: Routledge, 1996.
In a thorough critique of the conception Russell, G., The Emergence of
of place (topos) as set out in Book Delta Physiological Optics, in R. Rashed
of Aristotles Physics, Ibn al-Haytham used and R. Morlon (eds), Encyclopedia of
geometrical demonstrations in his Risala the History of Arabic Science, vol. II,
fil-makan (Treatise on Place) to question London: Routledge, 1996.
the definition of place as being a two-dimen- Sabra, A. I., Ibn al-Haytham, in C. C.
sional boundary of a containing body that Gillispie (ed.), Dictionary of Scientific
is at rest and that is in contact with what it Biography, vol. VI, New York: Charles
contains. In contrast, he attempted to show Scribners Sons, 1972.
that al-makan (place, topos) is an imagined The Physical and the Mathematical in
three-dimensional void (khala mutakhayyal) Ibn al-Haythams Theory of Light and
between the inner surfaces of the contain- Vision, in The Commemoration Volume
ing body. Consequently, Ibn al-Haytham of Biruni International Congress in
accounted for al-makan (place) as being Tehran, vol. 37, Tehran: High Council of
analogous to a room or space in a manner Culture and Arts, 1978.
that anticipated the seventeenth-century Sensation and Inference in Alhazens
conceptions of extension, particularly those Theory of Visual Perception, in P. K.
advanced by Descartes. Machamer and R. G. Turnbull (eds), Studies
in Perception: Interrelations in the History
BIBLIOGRAPHY of Philosophy and Science, Cincinnati: Ohio
Kitab al-Manazir, ed. A. I. Sabra, 5 vols, State University Press, 1978.
Kuwait: National Council for Culture, Optics, Islamic, in J. R. Strayer (ed.),
Arts and Letters 1983. Dictionary of the Middle Ages, vol. 9,
The Optics of Ibn al-Haytham, Books IIII, New York: Charles Scribners Sons, 1987.
On Direct Vision, trans. A. I. Sabra,
London: The Warburg Institute, 1989. nader el-bizri
188
IBN HAZM
IBN HAZM, Abu Muhammad Ibn Hazm received a wide-ranging educa-

(384456/9941064) tion in religious sciences and literature. In his
early years, he was educated by the women
Ali b. Ahmad b. Said b. Hazm al-Andalusi in his fathers harem. This early learning had
was born in Cordova on the last day of a great impact on Ibn Hazms character and
Ramadan 384/November 7, 994, and died writings. His harsh temperament and sharp
in Niebla on Shaban 456/August 1064. tongue were due to this learning. Ibn Hazm
He was a prominent Spanish-Arabic Mus- first memorized the Quran. Then, from Abu
lim theologian, philosopher, jurist, logi- al-Qasim Abdurrahman b. Abu Yazid al-
cian, poet, and historian. He belonged to a Azdi he learned tradition (hadith), language,
rich and influential family in Cordova. The dialectics (jadal), and theology (kalam) in
information given by his biographers about Cordova. Ibn Hazm also had a deep knowl-
his genealogy is controversial. He grew up edge of literature, history, logic, and philoso-
in a period of disruptive ethnic rivalries. In phy. He studied logic under Muhammad b.
his time, the Umayyad caliphate declined Hasan al-Mazhici al-Kattani. He also studied
at Cordova, and some small kingdoms with other notable teachers such as Abdul-
had been established and begun to fight lah b. Rabi, Abdullah b. Yusuf, and Abu
among themselves. His father Ahmad b. Said Bakir Humam b. Ahmad al-Qadi. Since he
(d. 1012) was a vizier during the reign of was a master of many disciplines, including
Ibn Abu Amir al-Mansur and Abdulmalik theology, law, history, grammar, poetry, gene-
al-Muzaffar. After the death of al-Muzaffer alogy, and logic, Ibn Hazm was considered
there came a disruptive period for his fam- by the biographers as a prominent scholar in
ily, which continued until the fall of the each field of the religious sciences. He held
Ummayyads in 1031. debates with scholars such as Abul Walid al-
Ibn Hazms life and thought can be consid- Baji, who was a prominent Malikite jurist of
ered the product of this chaotic situation of his time. In the field of qiraat (the science of
the Muslim state. In order to re-establish the the recitation of the Quran), he had debates
Ummayyad caliphate, he engaged in political with Makki b. Abu Talib. Ibn Hazm took a
affairs. He was imprisoned and then exiled critical position not only against the scholars
from Cordova for his Umayyad sympathies. of his time, but also against his predecessors.
He returned to Cordova three years later Hence, much opposition was stimulated
and worked as a vizier first in the service of against him by scholars of his time. Some of
Abdurrahman al-Murtaza in Valencia and his books were publicly burned as a mark
then in the service of Abdurrahman V for of his punishment. However, even his oppo-
several months. After the death of Abdur- nents and enemies acknowledged the depth
rahman V, Ibn Hazm was imprisoned again of his learning.
until the time of Hisham III, who was the last Ibn Hazm started his fiqh education first
Umayyad caliph of Spain. He also worked as by reading the al-Muwatta of Imam Malik.
a vizier under Hisham III for a short time. Later he opposed the Malikite school of
Because of the rivalry of the Berbers, he fled law, which was the strongest legal school in
Cordova for Jativa in 1026. He suffered from Spain at that time. He first belonged to the
the effects of this political chaos and for this Shafiite school of law, but later changed his
reason, he avoided further political engage- legal approach and adopted the views of the
ments. After his withdrawal from public and Zahirite school which was devised originally
political life, Ibn Hazm devoted himself to by Dawud b. al-Isfahani (d. 270/883). The
studying and writing and spent the rest of his first main methodological principle of the
life quietly in Niebla till his death. Zahirite teaching was to accept the Quran
189
IBN HAZM
and the authenticated traditions as the only the originator of language is God and man
criteria for arriving at juridico-theological learns language through revelation (wahy)
decisions. The second principle was to accept and periodical instruction (tawqif). So, for
the external meaning (zahir) of the Quran him the devotion to the rules of language
and tradition (hadith) and to reject the use means devotion to the divine rules. The lan-
of analogical reasoning (qiyas) and personal guage itself provides all that is necessary for
opinion (ray). the understanding of the texts within its own
In accordance with the Zahirite teaching, rules. Hence, in the interpretive process of
Ibn Hazm systematized his legal theory. For texts, he adopted a Zahirite grammatical
him, the texts of the Quran and the Tra- concept in which he argues that the texts
ditions have to be interpreted in a literal should be understood grammatically in its
sense without additions and restrictions. He immediate and general sense.
applied this literalist approach not only to In the field of theology, he criticized
law, but also to dogmatic theology. At the severely the Sunni theological schools, par-
methodological level, Ibn Hazm severely ticularly the Asharites and the Mutazilites.
criticized the use of personal opinion (ray), Ibn Hazms main theological views can be
the use of analogical reasoning (qiyas), the summarized as follows. For him, knowl-
methods of juristic preference (istihsan), edge is believing in things as they are which
and the pursuit of values for the common depend on the senses and on the obvious
good (istislah). He considered analogi- rules of reason. Knowledge and science
cal reasoning (qiyas) to be an innovation have practical aims, and they are formed by
(bida) that should, like all innovations, be revelation. The main object of science is to
rejected. However, he validated the use of understand the divine orders of God. At the
qiyas in the physical sciences. He restricted epistemological level, the sources of human
the concept of consensus (ijma) solely to knowledge are our senses, reason, and true
the consensus of the Companions of the reports. Rational knowledge must be based
Prophet. In his legal theory, he adopted five on obvious principles and premises. Human
juridical categories (ahkam) of human acts, reason constitutes an instrument to know
namely obligatory (wajib), recommended the world, facts, and the truthfulness of reli-
(mandub), disapproved (makruh), lawful gious knowledge. However, human reason
(halal), and forbidden (haram). The human cannot of itself produce a religious judg-
acts falling into one of the first four catego- ment (hukm). He rejected human criteria
ries must be approved by the texts (nusus) in theological and legal matters. Although
of the Quran or the traditions (hadith). he denies causation (talil) in religious mat-
Those acts which are based on these textual ters, he adopts it in the sphere of physics
materials are lawful. He was opposed to the (tabiyyat). Because of the absence of any
adoption of previous authority (taqlid) in textual evidence (nusus) in the Quran and
his legal theory. the Sunna, he refuses to ascribe attributes
Ibn Hazms Zahirite epistemological to God. He criticized the use of analogy
approach has a theoretical basis. One of between God and physical entities, which
the fundamental bases of his epistemology involves applying the unseen to the seen
is the linguistic theory applying to the issue (qiyas al-ghayb ala al-shahid). For him,
of the origin of language. There is a close Gods attributes, such as his face and hand,
inter-connection between his tawqifi (peri- are the same as his divine essence. Faith
odical instruction) linguistical theory and consists of knowledge, acceptance, and out-
Zahirite epistemology. According to him, ward expression. The eternal decree (qadr)
190
IBN HAZM
is Gods eternal knowledge of his creatures. al-Ihkam fi usul al-ahkam (The Judgment
Human actions are created by God. By giv- on the Principles of Divine Commands), he
ing them the will and the power of acting, explained his legal methodology. The al-
God makes us responsible for our acts. Nabza al-kafiya fi usul ahkam al-din (The
Ibn Hazm was also interested in the study Sufficient Particle on the Foundations of
of the history of other religions and sects. the Judgements of Religion) is also a short
During his stay in Almeria, he had debates treatise dealing with the methodological
with Christians and Jews. He adopted a matters of law. In Mulahhas al-ibtal al-ray
critical position against different systems wal-qiyas wal-istihsan wal-taqlid wal-
of religious beliefs and philosophies. He talil (A Summarized Treatise on the Rejec-
categorized these into six groups: skeptics, tion of Personal Opinion, Analogical Rea-
materialists (dahriyyun), philosophers, dual- soning, Juristic Preference, Imitation and
ists (Zoroastrians), Sabeans, and Brahmans. Causation) he criticized the use of personal
He first explains the views of each group and opinion (ray), analogical reasoning (qiyas),
then criticizes them. In this context, he dis- juristic preference (istihsan), and causation
cusses the issue of the createdness (huduth) (talil) in legal theory. In his monumental
of the world and the problem of the unity work Kitab al-Muhalla (Book of the Orna-
of God (tawhid). He also criticizes the trin- ments), he applies the legal methodology of
ity in Christianity. He stresses the necessity Zahiri legal theory and rejects the adoption
of prophethood (nubuwwa) in his critical of previous authority (taqlid). In the field of
review of Brahmans. He opposes the doc- literature, he wrote Tawq al-hamama (The
trine of reincarnation (tanasuh). Ibn Hazm Ring of the Dove), which was a treatise on
argues that there are contradictions and the art and practice of Arab love. The Jam-
man-made modifications (tahrif) in the Old harat al-ansab al-arab (The Collection of
and the New Testaments. He brings some the Genealogy of Arabs) is a famous work
evidence from the Old Testament itself in on Arab genealogy. Ibn Hazm was the most
order to prove his argument. important systematizer of Zahirite doc-
A prolific writer, Ibn Hazm contributed trine, and influenced generations of those
extensively to Islamic literature. He wrote who both belonged to and opposed that
numerous works in various fields of Islamic legal school.
sciences. According to some of his biogra-
phers, Ibn Hazm wrote nearly 400 works. BIBLIOGRAPHY
His chief work was the Kitab al-Fasl fil Mulahhas ibtal al-ray wa al-qiyas wa
milal al-ahwal wal nihal (Book of the Dis- al-istihsan wa al-taqlid wal talil
tinction Between Religions and Sects). In al- (A Summarized Treatise on the Negation
Taqrib li hadd al-mantiq (An Introduction of Personal Opinion, Analogical
to the Definition of the Logic), he empha- Reasoning, Juristic Preference, Imitation
sizes the importance of logic and presents and Causation), ed. Said al-Afghani,
a summary of Aristotelian logic. However, Beirut, 1969.
he has been criticized for having misunder- Al-Ihkam fi usul al-ahkam (The Judgment
stood Aristotles conception of logic. In his on the Principles of Divine Commands),
Kitab al-Akhlaq wal-siyar (Book of Moral- ed. Ahmad Muhammad Shakir, Cairo:
ity and Behaviour), he deals with human Matbaa al-azima, 1970.
character and provides practical advice. Kitab al-Muhalla (Book of the Ornaments),
In the field of law (fiqh) and legal theory ed. Ahmad Muhammad Shakir, Cairo:
(usul al-fiqh) he also produced works. In Dar al-turath, n.d.
191
IBN AL-JAWZI
Kitab al-Fasl fi al-milal wal ahwal wal- IBN AL-JAWZI, Abu al-Faraj Abd al-
nihal (Book of the Distinction Between Rahman(c.51197/c.11161201)
Religions and Sects), ed. M. Ibrahim
Nasr Umayra, Jeddah: Maktabat ukaz, Abu al-Faraj Abd al-Rahman ibn Ali ibn al-
1982. Jawzi was an extraordinarily prolific author.
Jamharat al-ansab al-arab (The Collection He is said to have composed somewhere
of the Genealogy of the Arabs), ed. between 200 and 2,000 books. He wrote on
Abdussalam Muhammad Harun, Cairo: virtually every subject then known, includ-
Dar al-maarif, 1982. ing history, theology, love, and his sermons
Maratib al-ulum (The Classification of are particularly important. He was a Han-
the Knowledge), ed. Ihsan Abbas, in bali and a very determined adherent of this
Rasail Ibn Hazm, Beirut: Muassasat approach to jurisprudence. As a preacher
al-arabiyya al-dirasat wa al-nashr, he was said to have been very popular, and
1987. when one reads his sermons one can see
Al-Taqrib li haddi al-mantiq, (An why; they combine passion and lucidity, and
Introduction to the Definition of the must have had a significant impact on the
Logic), ed. Ihsan Abbas, in Rasail Ibn hundreds of thousands who, it is said, heard
Hazm, Beirut: Muassasat al-arabiyya them. During his time in Baghdad he was in
al-dirasat wa al-nashr, 1987. charge of a number of madrasas (all at the
Kitab al-Akhlaq wal-siyar (Book of Morals same time, apparently), but later in life he
and Behaviour), ed. Ihsan Abbas, in was exiled to al-Wasit (5905/11949).
Rasail Ibn Hazm, Beirut: Muassasat Ibn al-Jawzis father died when he was
al-arabiyya al-dirasat wa al-nashr, three, and he was raised by his aunt. He was
1987. educated by a series of hadith specialists,
Tawq al-hamama (The Ring of the Dove), including his first teacher Ibn Nasir, and then
ed. Ihsan Abbas, in Rasail Ibn Hazm, in turn became a highly influential author-
Beirut: Muassasat al-arabiyya al-dirasat ity in this area. Even by the standards of the
wa al-nashr, 1987; English trans. A. J. time, which encouraged enormously produc-
Arberry, London: Luzac, 1997. tive efforts, Ibn al-Jawzi was regarded as
Al-Nabza al-kafiya fi usul ahkam extraordinary. According to Ibn Khallikan,
al-din (The Sufficient Particle on the it was said that he kept the parings of pens
Foundations of the Judgements of with which he wrote on hadith, and by the
Religion), ed. M. Said al-Badri, Cairo: time he had finished there was quite a pile of
Dar al-kutub al-misri, 1991. them; upon his death these were used to heat
the water for washing his corpse, and appar-
Further Reading ently there was more than enough (Wafayat
Abbas, I., Fann al-sira, Beirut: Dar al-ayan iii, p. 141).
al-thaqafa, 1956. One of the interesting effects of Ibn al-
Goldziher, I., The Zahiris: Their Doctrine Jawzis work is the combination of Hanbal-
and Their History, ed. and trans. ism and Sufism, two apparently incompat-
Wolfgang Behn, Leiden: Brill, 1971. ible doctrines. In his Talbis Iblis (The Devils
Macdonald, D. Black, Development of Delusion) he is particularly critical of what
Muslim Theology Jurisprudence and he sees as the wrong sort of mysticism and
Constitutional Theory, London: Darf, the innovations to which it leads. By contrast
1985. many of the famous Sufis of the past were
seen by him as pious and traditional thinkers.
muharrem kl Other thinkers followed him in making this
192
IBN KAMMUNA
distinction, Ibn Taymiyya notably among IBN JULJUL (332after 384/944after 994)
them. He was a determined Asharite on theo-
logical topics, denouncing tashbih (anthro- Abu Dawud Sulayman ibn Hassan al-An-
pomorphism) on every possible occasion, dalusi was born in Cordoba and practised as
and wrote more than 700 books (he claimed a physician. Of particular significance among
2000), for which he was often criticized since the many books he wrote on medicine is his
he did not of course have the opportunity to history of physicians (Tabaqat al-atibba),
check the accuracy of everything he wrote which gives an excellent account of the views
given the amount of his writings. In particu- of medicine and physicians in the Islamic
lar, Ibn al-Jawzi frequently attacks others for world at this time. It is an early work of
the unreliability of their hadith quotations, course, but contains fifty-seven biographies
but he himself was often similarly criticized. and draws on classical accounts of the Greek
His criticisms of Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani led physicians and thinkers. Many of them con-
to his imprisonment, banishment from Bagh- cern Asian authors, and the rest refer to Afri-
dad and exile in Wasit, which only ended can and Andalusian scholars. He also wrote a
when he was around eighty years old because number of medical works, and rose to become
his son Yusuf managed to persuade the the personal physician of the caliph.
mother of the caliph to pardon him. On his
death it is reported that there were crowds of BIBLIOGRAPHY
remarkable size accompanying the body to Tabaqat al-atibba wal-hukama (History
burial, so he was obviously popular, but his of Physicians and Thinkers), ed.
acerbic wit and determination to insist on a F. Sayyid, Cairo: Matbaat al-ilmi
particular interpretation of Hanbalism made al-faransi lil-athar al-sharqiya, 1955;
him many influential enemies. trans. Julio Sams, Las Ciencias de
los Antiguos en al-Andalus., Madrid:
BIBLIOGRAPHY Mapfre, 1992.
(19358; 19458) The Devils Delusion
by Ibn al-Jawzi, trans. D. Margoliouth, Further Reading
Islamic Culture (19358) 912, (19458) Vernet, Juan, Ibn Juljul, in Dictionary of
1922; Shifa fi mawizz al-muluk wal- Scientific Biography, vol. 7, New York:
khulafa, Alexandria: Muassat Shabab Charles Scribners Sons, 1973, pp. 1878.
al-Jamia, 1978. Los mdicos andaluces en el Libro de
Manaqib al-imam ahmad, 2nd edn, ed. las generaciones de los mdicos de Ibn
Muhammad Amin al-Khanji al-Kutbi, ulul, Anuario de Estudios Medievales,
Beirut: Khanji wa Hamdan, 1349 ah. 5 (1968), pp. 44562.
Mashyakhat ibn al-jawzi, ed. M. Mahfuz,
Beirut: Dar al-Gharb al-Islami, 1980. oliver leaman
Talbis Iblis, Beirut: Dar al-Kitab al-Arabi,
1985.
Laftat al-kabad ila nahihat al-walad
(Orienting Yourself to Advising Your
Son), ed. A. al-Bindari, Beirut: Dar IBN KAMMUNA, Sad ibn Mansur
al-kutub al-ilmiyya, 1987. (d. 682/1284)
Sifa al-safwa, Beirut: Dar al-Kutub
al-Ilmiyya, 1989. Sad b. Mansur b. Hibat Allah b. Kammuna
al-Israili, known as Izz al-Dawla, was
oliver leaman a distinguished philosopher, physician, and
193
IBN KAMMUNA
mathematician from a learned Jewish fam- and al-Suhrawardi, examined and rede-
ily in Baghdad. His father was one of the fined some Aristotelian problems concerning
famous philosophers of his time. There are logic, natural philosophy, and metaphysics.
conflicting stories about Ibn Kammunas In the introduction of al-Jadid fi al-hikma he
religious affiliation. Some refer to him as a expresses his dissatisfaction with Aristote-
Jew, while others claim that he converted to lian philosophy, claiming that human hap-
Islam in the latter years of his life. Accord- piness cannot be obtained by demonstrative
ing to Ibn al-Futi, the publication of Ibn knowledge alone. Rather, it must be gained
Kammunas Tanqihat fi al-milal al-thalath by what he calls the science of wisdom
(Enquiries Into the Three Faiths) caused and through the epistemological process of
a riot in Baghdad in 682/1284 because of assent and conception.
what Ibn Kammuna said regarding proph- Following Ibn Sina, Ibn Kammuna defines
ecy. To placate the mob, the prince Majd al- logic as a set of rules that determine the valid-
Din b. al Athir ordered the author burned ity and invalidity of thoughts. However, he
at the stake. With the help of some friends, argues that such rules should not be applied
Ibn Kammuna fled to Hilla, where he stayed to the logical structure of a given sentence
until he died later in 682/1284. Despite only. Rather, they should be concerned with
this controversy, Ibn Kammuna was a dis- the signification of each term in the sentence
tinguished figure among the scholars of his and with the essential relation between the
time. A colophon of a manuscript of one of semantic and logical structure in any given
his works, al-Tanqihatfi sharhi al-Talwihat sentence. On this basis, Ibn Kammuna
(The Refinement: A Commentary on Inti- meticulously investigates and reconstructs
mations), indicates that it was copied in the Ibn Sinas theory of demonstrative science.
Nizamiya school in 676/1278, which shows He argues that there are two processes of
that he was well known in this leading aca- thinking by which one can obtain the object
demic institution of Baghdad. of knowledge. The first is the explanatory
Ibn Kammunas contribution to philoso- process by which one can attain a concep-
phy was an attempt to refine and synthe- tion (tasawwur). The second is the process
size two major philosophical systems, the of proof by which one can attain an assent
Peripatetic and the Illuminationist, into one (tasdiq). He further argues that the principles
unified system of thought. In the course of of demonstrative science must be grounded
his work, he introduced a set of paradoxes on self-evident conceptions or assents. If,
concerning such philosophical topics as the on the other hand, one uses an unknown or
possibility of the existence of two necessary indefinable object as a basis for reasoning,
beings, the existence of non-existence and one will arrive at merely tautological results.
self-reflection in language. These paradoxes Another important contribution to the
later become known as Ibn Kammunas fal- subject of logic is Ibn Kammunas discus-
lacies. His ingenuity in constructing them sion of the Liar paradox. This paradox can
earned him the title devil of philosophers be stated as follows: the sentence that this
(shaytan al- hukama). Ibn Kammunas main sentence is false is false if it is true and true
philosophical works are al-Jadid fi al- hikma if it is false. Ibn Kammuna treats this para-
(The New Philosophy), Sharh al-Isharat wa dox as one of the five fallacies to be avoided.
al-tanbihat (Commentary on the Remarks He offers two solutions to this paradox.
and Admissions), and al-Tanqih. at fi sharh. al- The first is to reject the bivalence principle
talwihat (The Refinement and Commentary of truth, according to which the sentence is
on Suhrawardis Intimations). Through his either true or false, and to introduce instead
works, Ibn Kammuna, following Ibn Sina a third truth-value, according to which that
194
IBN KAMMUNA
liar sentence is neither true nor false. The with the Aristotelian concept of place, merely,
second solution is to argue that the liar sen- the innermost motionless boundary of what
tence is a false sentence because, unlike an contains a thing; and second, something like
ordinary sentence, the subject and its predi- a positional point (haya wadiyya) used to
cate fail to be distinguished. indicate spatial direction as perceived by the
With respect to natural philosophy, Ibn senses.
Kammuna, following Ibn Sina, defines the His investigation of natural philosophy
natural body as a substance extended in leads him to the more general topic of eter-
length, width, and depth. He further argues nity and the creation of the world, to which
that substance must be part of the definition he devotes a whole chapter in al-Jadid fi
of a natural body in order to distinguish al-hikma. According to Ibn Kammuna, cre-
between a natural body and a mathemati- ation can be explained in two ways: creation
cal body. For him, a mathematical body is by essence and creation by time. Creation by
merely a quantitative continuum and has essence means that the existence of a thing
no substance. His view of the natural body depends on something else; whereas cre-
leads him to revisit the well-known debate ation by time simply signifies the existence
between the mutakallimun (dialectical theo- of something prior to another thing in time,
logians) and the philosophers concerning the such that its existence does not necessarily
singular atom. Ibn Kammuna argues against depend on that thing. In addition, creation
the mutakallimun who (with exception of by time requires the existence of two things:
al-Nazzam) believe that the world consists matter and motion. In the course of his dis-
of two distinct elements: ultimate indivisible cussion, Ibn Kammuna treats the notion of
matter and accidents. For Ibn Kammuna, priority in more depth. The notion of pri-
the ultimate indivisible matter must have a ority for Ibn Kammuna has two meanings:
spatial orientation and thus must be sub- priority by essence and by nature. In the case
ject to division; otherwise, it does not exist. of priority by essence, the existence of what
He also discusses al-Nazzams view that is prior necessitates the existence of what is
it is possible to have a leap over a finite posterior. In the case of priority by nature,
number of atoms, such that the movement while the non-existence of the prior object
from position a1 to position a10 need not go necessitates the non-existence of the pos-
through every intervening atom. Influenced terior, the existence of the former does not
by al-Suhrawardi, Ibn Kammuna argues that necessitate the existence of the latter.
a leap is nothing but what it appears to In metaphysics, Ibn Kammuna, follow-
be: a swift movement of atoms. Hence, ing Ibn Sina and al-Suhrawardi, argues
the movement from a1 to a10 goes through that the notion of being is a primary and
each and every atom, but so quickly that it indefinable notion. According to Ibn Kam-
appears to leap from a1 to a3 without pass- muna, the term being can be used in many
ing a2. Moreover, Ibn Kammuna argues that ways: as something synonymous to some-
every atom exists in space and cannot be thing within, as a conjunction between
passed over, for passing over would mean the subject and its predicate, and finally as
that motion does not take place through a reference to the essence of something. Ibn
space, which in his view is impossible. Kammuna questions the relation between
In addition to the Aristotelian notion thingness (shayiya) and being (wujud),
of space, Ibn Kammuna discusses a spe- concluding that such a relation needs to
cific notion of space: the locus (hayyiz). be understood in two ways. First, thing-
According to Ibn Kammuna, locus means ness is more general than being, for the
two things: first, something which is identical term thingness includes things which are
195
IBN KAMMUNA
intelligible and cannot exist in reality. Sec- other and of what distinguishes it from the
ond, unlike being, the term thingness other. Another related paradox concerns the
can be used in reference to what exists as existence of non-existent things. The paradox
well as to its essence. However, Ibn Kam- centers on the assumption that, ontologically
muna asserts that this would be the case speaking, non-existence (adam) must be
only if one defines being as something attrib- in contrast with what exists. However, for
uted to a tangible object. Second, being Ibn Kammuna, there seems to be an aspect
and thingness are synonymous terms of non-existence (adam) which does not
signifying different things: being signifies entail a contradiction to what is real, and
tangible objects, while thingness signifies therefore non-existence, in a way, exists.
intelligible things. With respect to comparative religion, Ibn
For Ibn Kammuna, everything has an Kammuna uses an interesting methodol-
essence, which defines what it is to be that ogy to investigate the principles of the three
thing and not something else. Essences have monotheist religions (Judaism, Christianity,
a certain kind of existence that is indepen- and Islam) in the Tanqihat fi al-milal al-
dent of any condition or of having any attri- thalath. In the introduction, he purposes to
bute, including the attribute of being. For first investigate and refine, chronologically,
example, the essence of blackness is not a the principles of the three religions, espe-
particular black thing; rather, it is blackness cially the principles of prophecy. He then
per se, apart from any additional attribute pursues the investigation without predispo-
or properties. In making this argument, Ibn sition to any faith. Rather, he examines each
Kammuna appeals to Ibn Sinas doctrine of faith in light of its own ultimate purpose.
the distinction between essence and exis- For each religion, he states its creed with
tence. For both, while essence can be pres- reference to revealed scriptures and rebut-
ent in actual things or in the intellect, it can tals of them. Historically, this work docu-
exist, independently from either, in itself. ments the beliefs of his contemporaries and
Ibn Kammuna divides being into three the existence of extensive debates among
categories: being by itself and for itself (the them. Moreover, it reflects the intellectual
necessary being), being for itself and not development of theologians in the three tra-
by itself (the essence), and finally being not ditions, and it bridges between theological
for itself and not by itself (the accidental and philosophical positions (such as those of
thing). The notion of being leads Ibn Kam- al-Farabi and Ibn Sina) concerning the the-
muna to discuss the nature and the unity of ory of prophecy. Throughout his works, Ibn
the necessary being. In al-Jadid fi al-hikma, Kammuna warned theologians and religious
he introduces six arguments for the unity scholars against being misled by the belief
of the necessary being. The first argument that revealed texts alone could solve their
contains the assumption of the possibility of metaphysical problems. He emphasized the
the existence of two necessary beings. This importance of natural reasoning and open
assumption was formulated later by such debate among theologians of the three faiths.
philosophers as Mulla Sadra, Sabzawari, By and large, theologians reacted negatively
and Lahiji, under the label of the fallacy to his methodically rationalistic positions.
of Ibn Kammuna. In his exposition of this
fallacy, Ibn Kammuna shows that if there are BIBLIOGRAPHY
two necessary beings, then they must share Tanqihat fi al-milal al-thalath (Inquiries
the same essence and yet have different iden- Into The Three Faiths), ed. Moshe
tities. It follows that each necessary being Perlmann, Berkeley, CA: University of
must be composed of what it shares with the California Press, 1967.
196
IBN KARRAM
Al-Jadid fi al- hikma (The New Philosophy), Abu Hanifa in legal issues. His main contri-
ed. Hamid al-Kubaysi, Baghdad: Ihya bution to Islamic theology is his unique idea
al-turath al-Islami, 1982. concerning the definition of iman (belief).
Al- Tanqihat fi sharh al-talwihat He held that iman (belief) is equivalent to
(Refinement and commentary on iqrar (vocal declaration). In major heresio-
Suhrawardis Intimations), eds. Hossein graphical works, especially in al-Asharis
Ziai and Ahmed Alwishah, Costa Mesa: Maqalat al-Islamiyyin (The Ideas of the Mus-
Mazda Publishers, 2002. lims), Ibn Karram is presented as a founder
of one of the Murjii sub-sects, namely al-
ahmed alwishah Karramiyya. His idea that iman (belief) is
only confirmation by tongue is severely criti-
cized not only by the Asharis but also by the
traditionalists who held that iman consists
of consent by heart, confirmation by tongue,
IBN KARRAM, Muhammad and physical acts. For the traditionalists,
(c.190255/80668) defining iman (belief) as Ibn Karram did
entails that a person thus declaring his faith
Abu Abd Allah Muhammad b. Karram remains a mumin (believer) even if he is an
(Karam or Kiram) was born in Zarang, Sis- unbeliever in Muhammads prophethood. In
tan, in around 190/806 and died in Ramla his work Adhab al-qabr (The Punishment
in 255/868. He is the founder of the Kar- of the Grave), Ibn Karram bitterly criticizes
ramiyya school in Islam. There is not much the view of the traditionalists that iman con-
information about Ibn Karrams family. He sists of consent by heart, confirmation by
was allegedly of Arab descent. He is reported tongue, and amal (act or deed) and defends
to have traveled to Khurasan in search of the view that iman (belief) is only declara-
knowledge. He studied with Ahmad b. Harb, tion by tongue. Furthermore, Ibn Karram,
Ibrahim b. Yusuf, Ali b. Hujr in Marw, and like the followers of other Murjii sub-sects,
Abd Allah b. Malik in Herat. holds the view that the belief of an ordi-
Ibn Karram then moved to Mecca and nary believer and that of Gabriel is equal.
stayed there five years. Then he returned to For him, there is no increase and decrease in
Sistan and sold all his possessions in favor belief. In line with the mainstream Murjiis,
of an ascetic lifestyle. The local governor he also holds that grave sins have no effects
expelled him from Sistan for causing unrest. on iman and it was only rendered null by
As a result he went to Ghur, Gharjistan, and apostasy.
rural areas of Khurasan to preach to the Ibn Karram was also accused by his oppo-
masses. In his sermons he was opposed both nents of holding anthropomorphic ideas.
to Sunni and Shii ideas. For this reason, He is reported to have held that God was a
the Tahirid governor Muhammad b. Tahir substance (jawhar) and that he had a body
b. Abd Allah (23048/84462) jailed him (jism). Asceticism was a very strong element
for eight years. Upon his release in 251/865, in Ibn Karrams theological understanding
Ibn Karram left Nishapur for Jerusalem. Due and his daily practices (hence his nickname
to his public declaration of his views about al-abid, the devotee). This was also one of
iman (belief), his books were burned and he the main characteristics of the Karramiyya
was expelled from Jerusalem by the gover- school through its history. Apart from being
nor to Ramla. He died there in Safar 255. an eminent theologian, Ibn Karram was also
Though his theological views were criti- a hellfire preacher. He was an active preacher
cized by the Hanafis, Ibn Karram followed of the significance of moral and mystical
197
IBN KEMAL
values, and his preaching attracted large IBN KEMAL (873940/14681534)

crowds.
There are several books attributed to Ibn The famous shaykh al-Islam of the Ottoman
Karram, such as Kitab al-Sirr (The Book Empire and one of the most prolific writers
of Secrets), Kitab al-Tawhid (The Book of of Ottoman intellectual history, Shams al-
Unity), and Kitab al-Qabr (The Book of Din Ahmad b. Sulayman b. Kamal Pasha,
Punishment), though none of them has come known more commonly as Ibn Kemal, was
down to us. Only the last played a consider- born in Tokat, Turkey. Hailing from a fam-
able role in its day. We have access to this ily of court officials, Ibn Kemal was always
book only through quotations in several close to the center of political power. But
tabaqat works (biographical dictionaries) after seeing the enormous respect given to
and heresiographical works, including al- the famous scholar Mulla Lutfi, he devoted
Baghdadis al-Farq bayn al-firaq (The Dif- himself to the study of traditional Islamic sci-
ference Between the Erroneous Groups). Ibn ences at a relatively young age. After holding
Karram contributed to Islamic theology not positions as dean of various madrasas in dif-
only through his theological ideas but also ferent parts of the Ottoman Empire, he was
through his involvement in the Islamization appointed as the shaykh al-Islam in 1526, a
of Central Asia. It is reported that as a result position he held until his death in 1534.
of his preaching and missionary activities, A prolific writer, Ibn Kemal authored
thousands converted to Islam. He was one around 200 works in Turkish, Persian, and
of the leading figures in the early religious Arabic. His works include commentaries
history of Central Asia. on the Quran, treatises on hadith, Islamic
law, philosophy and theology (kalam),
Further Reading logic, Sufism, ethics, history, several books
Al-Ashari, Abul-Hasan Ali b. Ismail, on Arabic and Persian grammar, literature,
Maqalat al-islamiyyin (The Ideas of the and a small diwan of poetry. His history
Muslims), ed. M. Abd al-Hamid, Beirut: of the Ottoman Empire entitled Tevarih-i
Maktabat an-Nahda, 1969. Al-i Osman (The Histories of the Family
Al-Baghdadi, Abd al-Qahir, Kitab al-farq of Osman) remains to this day one of the
bayn al-fraq (The Difference Between important sources of Ottoman history. Even
the Erroneous Groups), ed. Muhammad though many of his treatises have been pub-
Badr, Cairo, 1910; vol. 2, trans. lished, we are far from having a complete
A.S. Halkin, Philadelphia: Porcupine edition of Ibn Kemals work.
Press. Ibn Kemals philosophical works and open
Bosworth, E., The Rise of the Karramiyya admiration for the ideas of Ibn al-Arabi
in Khurasan, Muslim World, 51 (1960), have been a source of inspiration and con-
pp. 514. troversy for later generations of Ottoman
al-Shahrastani, Muhammad b. Abd thinkers. Especially compared with his suc-
al-Karim, Al- Milal wa al-nihal (Muslim cessor the shaykh al-Islam Ebussud Efendi,
and Non-Muslim Erroneous Groups), who was known for his opposition to Ibn al-
ed. Muhammad Sayyid al-Kilani, Beirut, Arabi and other Akbarian tendencies, Ibn
1975. Kemal appears to be closely aligned with
Samani, Abd al-Karim b. Muhammad metaphysical Sufism. In his capacity as the
al-Tamimi, Al-Ansab (Lineages), Beirut: supreme religious authority and jurist of the
Dar al-Jinan, 1988. Ottoman Empire, Ibn Kemal did not shy
away from issuing a religious edict (fatwa) to
ibrahim hakki nal defend Ibn al-Arabi as the greatest master
198
IBN KHALDUN
(shaykh al-akbar) against those who ridi- Asharite point of view. His Risala fi fadilat
culed Ibn al-Arabi by calling him the mas- al-nabi ala sair al-anbiya (Treatise on the
ter of the most infidel (shaykh al-akfar). Excellence of the Prophet (Muhammad) over
Among his philosophical works, the All Other Prophets) was written as a response
Hashiya (Gloss) on the Tahafut of the Otto- to the famous Mulla Kabiz incident. Mulla
man scholar Hocazade (Khojazadeh) Muslih Kabiz, a Sunni Ottoman Muslim, had caused
al-Din Mustafa is an important work in the a controversy by claiming that Jesus was
long tradition of the Tahafut debate in Islamic superior to Muhammad. At the request of the
thought. Al-Ghazalis famous attack on al- Ottoman sultan Sleyman the Magnificent,
Farabi and Ibn Sina in his Tahafut al-falasifa Ibn Kemal wrote the aforementioned treatise
(Incoherence of the Philosophers) caused Ibn in which he refuted Mulla Kabizs claims.
Rushd to write a rebuttal called Tahafut al-
tahafut (The Incoherence of the Incoherence). BIBLIOGRAPHY
In the fifteenth century, the Ottoman sultan For a complete listing of Ibn Kemals work
Mehmet the Conqueror revived the debate in Arabic, Persian and Turkish, see Yekta
by commissioning the Persian scholar Ala al- Sara, eyhl-islam Kemal Paazade,
Din Tusi and the Turkish scholar Hocazade to Istanbul: Risale, 1995.
write two sequels to the works of al-Ghazali
and Ibn Rushd. Ibn Kemal continued this tra- Further Reading
dition by writing his Glosses on Hocazades Arslan, Ahmet, Kemal Paazadenin Tehafut
Tahafut and defending thereby al-Ghazali Haiyesi, Ankara: Kltr ve Turizm
against Ibn Rushd. Ibn Kemals Gloss reveals Bakanl, 1987.
his profound knowledge of the major themes Parmakszolu, smet, Kemal Pasazade,
of traditional Islamic philosophy, and testifies in slam Ansiklopedisi, vol. 6, stanbul:
to his interest in philosophical and theologi- MEB, 1977, pp. 5616.
cal problems. Ibn Kemal also wrote indepen- Ulucam, Mujdat, Ibni Kemal, Osmanllar
dent treatises on philosophy. In his Risala fi Ansiklopedisi, vol. I., Istanbul, 1999,
ziyadat al-wujud alal-mahiyya (Treatise on pp. 6069.
the Addition of Existence over Essence), he
defends the primacy of being over essence, ibrahim kalin
concurring with the school of Ibn al-Arabi
on the one hand, and prefiguring Mulla
Sadras defense of the primacy of being in
the seventeenth century, on the other. In the
Risala fi bayan al-aql (Treatise on the Expo- IBN KHALDUN (732808/13321406)
sition of the Intellect), Ibn Kemal gives a sum-
mary of the views of the philosophers on the Wali al-Din Abu Zayd Abd al-Rahman b.
intellect and its types. His other philosophical Muhammad b. Muhammad b. Abu Bakr
works include Risala fi tahqiq mana al-lays Muhammad b. al-Hasan, known as Ibn
wal-lays (Treatise on the Investigation of the Khaldun, was born in Tunis on 1 Ramadan
Meaning of Existence and Non-existence), 732/May 27, 1332, into an Arab family,
Risala fi al-wajib mujib bi al-dhat (Treatise on claimed to be originally from the Hadra-
the Necessary Being that Exists by Its Own mawt, whose members migrated and settled
Essence), and Taqdim al-illa alal-malul in Seville since the beginning of the Mus-
(Priority of the Cause over the Effect). lim conquest. In his childhood in Tunis, he
In the field of philosophical kalam, Ibn underwent a traditional Islamic religious
Kemal wrote a number of works from an education, the usual pattern of religious
199
IBN KHALDUN
education of the time, including study of the exaggerated praise. Toynbee, for example,
Quran and of the Prophets hadith within describes Ibn Khalduns Muqaddima as the
the tradition of the Maliki school of law, to greatest work of its kind that has ever yet
which he belonged. His first teacher was his been created by any mind in any time or
father. Ibn Khaldun tells us that he read and place (Toynbee 1934). Robert Flint remarks
learned the Quran by heart, studied differ- that Ibn Khaldun had no equal in any age or
ent modes of recitation, together with gram- country until Vico appeared more than three
mar and rhetoric. He was also exposed to hundred years later (Flint: 1893). Ibn Khal-
other religious subjects, including the funda- duns influence in various subjects, including
mentals of Islamic theology, the rudiments of history, sociology, political science, and edu-
the religious law, as well as the elements of cation, has been remarkable throughout the
mysticism. At the same time, he also studied ages. His book has been translated into many
the rational sciences, including logic, math- languages and has remained inspirational
ematics, natural philosophy, and metaphys- and perhaps instrumental in the subsequent
ics, together with linguistics, biography, and development of these sciences. As al-Azmeh
history, as well as the art of scholarly writ- remarks, he was a distinctive phenomenon
ing. In his comprehensive autobiography, he (al-Azmeh 1981). Nevertheless, within the
mentions names of the books he studied as Islamic philosophical milieu, Ibn Khaldun
well as his teachers. was not listed in the class of philosophers,
Ibn Khaldun was deeply rooted in an not at least in the rank in which al-Kindi,
Islamic tradition both intellectual and social, al-Farabi, Ibn Sina, and Ibn Rushd were
at the same time holding several high gov- identified as such.
ernment posts in Granada, Morocco, Alge- For the most part, Ibn Khalduns philo-
ria, Tunisia, and Egypt. While in Egypt, for sophical ideas are centered on his most
example, he became a much sought-after celebrated text, the Muqaddima, the pro-
speaker, and scholars and students flocked legomena to history. As a scholarly corpus,
from all parts to see him. Ibn Khaldun was the Muqaddima is in fact more than a mere
entrusted to deliver lectures at al-Azhar, the introduction to history but it really repre-
most prestigious academic institution in sents a kind of literary genre that manifests
the Muslim world, on hadith and Maliki the authors curiosity. This magnum opus,
jurisprudence, apart from other areas of which takes Arab and Berber history as its
his interest, including social theories, the backdrop, displays his philosophical insights
significance of solidarity, the foundation of in the complexities of human history, society,
sovereignty, the rise of states, and other sub- and civilization. Ibn Khaldun died in Cairo
jects dealt with in his Muqaddima. Among 26 Ramadan 808/March 16, 1406.
significant scholars who were recorded to
have attended his lectures were Taqi al-Din
al-Maqrizi (d. 845/1441) and al-Hafiz ibn Philosophy of history
Hajar (d. 852/1449). Ibn Khaldun as a thinker is strongly iden-
Despite his notable achievements in vari- tified with the philosophy of history. His
ous social and political spheres, his actual Muqaddima, being the introduction to his-
fame rests on his great intellectual legacy. tory and the study of society and civiliza-
He was praised as someone who broke with tion, reveals his brilliant outlook into the
traditional Islamic culture. His monumen- vast and complex features of human society.
tal work, the Muqaddima, has been much In his analysis of society, which he called
admired by scholars throughout the ages, ilm al-umran, he draws a distinction
though some of them seem to have offered between urban and rural, between hadari
200
IBN KHALDUN
and badawi, and above all between civilized tradition depends very much upon political
and uncivilized. Umran can be understood stability, without which the tradition will
as the study of social urbanization or civi- collapse and all related institutions will cease
lization. His theory of cooperation, which to function.
he calls taawun as a basic formation of a Furthermore, civilization is achieved when
society, is akin to the modern conception of a society has the ability to provide and fulfill
the division of labor. its basic needs. Ibn Khalduns theory of civi-
Ibn Khaldun characterizes the features of lization is chiefly centered on the notion of
urban and rural people and sets a certain luxury trades. In other words, Ibn Khaldun
standard and quality they must possess to proposes that civilization can only be fully
be considered as civilized. The establishment achieved when members of the society start
of any civilization is based on political, eco- producing luxury items; he particularly men-
nomic, and educational factors. That is why tions the example of language and literature
the formation of a dynasty that is transform- as manifestation of human psychological
able into a systematic political institution is a expression. Ibn Khaldun sees literary pro-
prerequisite for civilization. Other than that, ductions (in the form of poetry and prose) as
he sees the importance of economic provi- one of the important indicators to measure
sions in terms of division of labor and supply civilizational achievement of any society.
and demand factors. With this in mind, he Lastly, it should be noted that, although
recognizes the need for an established politi- the state of being civilized is something very
cal system. His political theory is centered much sought after by any society, Ibn Khal-
on the notion of khilafa, in which he sets a dun never fails to point to its potential nega-
fine balance between religious and temporal tive impacts. Civilization is identical with
affairs. In his view, khilafa is both religious urbanization, while the process of urbaniza-
duty and socio-political obligation. He sees tion usually brings about moral corruption.
the very function of khilafa as to protect He establishes a cyclical theory where the
religion and to manage the temporal affairs rise and fall of a dynasty is due to cyclical
of the community. change, caused by moral and intellectual
In a very important section of the Muqad- decadence as well as the absence of political
dima, Ibn Khaldun introduces for the first stability. Paradoxically, urbanization results
time in Muslim history the concept of asabi- in deterioration of group feeling. Ibn Khal-
yya (group feeling or social solidarity) as a duns cyclical theory has influenced many
dynamic group relationship. This is opposed later scholars, in particular Malik Bennabi.
to the negative views held by most Muslim
scholars. For him, group feeling is not only
positive but also a prerequisite to the estab- Attitude toward philosophy
lishment of a strong political system. Of Ibn Khalduns treatment of philosophy as
course, the notion of group feeling does not an academic discipline gives the impres-
in any way mean chauvinism. This is because sion that he is critical and indeed skeptical
Islam categorically rejects chauvinism. of its results. This can be seen in a section
There are many prerequisites connected of Chapter 6 of his Muqaddima where he
with the emergence and establishment of speaks about philosophy in a rather disap-
civilization. In this regard, Ibn Khaldun sees proving manner. The section named A
the continuity or sanad in educational and Refutation of Philosophy and the Corrup-
scholarship tradition as paramount. Educa- tion of Its Students reveals his attack on
tion is a continuous process and is part philosophy, describing it as dangerous and
of urban culture. Continuity of scientific a threat to faith. He views philosophy as a
201
IBN KHALDUN
discipline that is much cultivated in the cities while at the beginning or during the process
and therefore is considered the subject of the of instruction, they give tasawwur prece-
elite. He regards the philosopher as a noble dence over tasdiq. Human beings can ratio-
person, an intellectual who has extraordi- nally determine virtues and vices even if no
nary mental ability and is well respected in religious law had been revealed. Happiness
society. is attained when the soul becomes virtuous,
However, Ibn Khaldun is particularly con- while eternal pain is the result of ignorance
cerned about the possible harmful effects of of morality. This is the meaning of bliss and
philosophical ideas to religion. Ibn Khal- punishment in the other world. Again, all
dun does not speak about philosophy in this is derived from Aristotle as interpreted
its conventional sense. Instead, he speaks in Islamic Neoplatonic thought.
about a specific set of philosophical ideas Ibn Khaldun mentions the status of the
pronounced by a specific group of philoso- science of metaphysics, where some essences
phers, in this case the Neoplatonists. This are completely unknown. The philosophers
is very much in line with his predecessor, admit that through the science of metaphys-
al-Ghazali. ics they cannot perceive the spiritual essences
His attack on the ideas advanced by that are completely unknown, much less per-
Neoplatonism is apparent when he further ceive the spiritual essences and abstract fur-
explains that the philosophers to whom he ther quiddities from them, because the senses
refers are those who believe in the superi- constitute a veil between us and them. They
ority of reason over revelation. This group also reveal that they have no logical argu-
believes that essences (including those ments for them and have no way whatsoever
beyond sensual perception) can be perceived of affirming their existence. Ibn Khaldun
by human mental speculation and intellec- supports his argument here with a statement
tual reasoning. This includes the articles of by Plato, who said that no certainty can be
faith. In other words, true and false can be achieved with regard to the divine, and one
distinguished based entirely on speculation can state about the divine only what is most
and logic. Like al-Ghazali, Ibn Khaldun, suitable and proper.
prior to his rebuttal, has equipped himself Another point of contention is the con-
with adequate philosophical knowledge. cept of happiness (Greek eudaimonia). The
This is apparent when he further explains philosophers believe that happiness can be
the philosophical notion of mental process attained by means of logic; in other words,
that makes it possible to distinguish between when human beings come to perceive the
right and wrong. In his own words, Ibn nature of existence. Ibn Khaldun at the very
Khaldun explains that mental speculation, outset rejects this notion. He devotes ample
which makes it possible to differentiate true space in his writings to explain the concept
and false, concentrates on ideas abstracted of happiness based on the principle of the
from individual experience. This shows dual nature of man, corporeal and spiritual.
quite demonstratively what he has in mind Anyone who has perceptions will greatly
when he speaks about the philosophical enjoy whatever he perceives, be it corpo-
process of knowledge. This is undoubtedly real or spiritual. He gives an example of a
based on Aristotles thoughts. That is also child having his first corporeal perception,
why when he discusses the status of tasaw- although through an intermediary, so that
wur and tasdiq (perception and appercep- the eyes will greatly enjoy the light the child
tion), he primarily refers to the books of sees. Based on this analogy, he argues that
the logicians. Philosophers, he says, give there will be no doubt that the soul will find
tasdiq precedence over tasawwur at the end, even greater joy and pleasure in perceptions
202
IBN KHALDUN
that come from its own essence without an The repudiation of philosophy here seems
intermediary. to be based on several assumptions centered
Ibn Khaldun believes that perception by primarily in the issues of the essences and the
the soul cannot be achieved by intellectual conditions of existence. It should be empha-
speculation and science. Instead, he is of the sized at the very outset that Ibn Khalduns
opinion that it can be attained only by the rejection is entirely focused on the philoso-
removal of the veil of sensual perception phers basic premise that the whole of exis-
and ignoring all corporeal perceptions. He tence, its essence and conditions, including
refers here to the Sufis, who are very much those beyond sensual perception, as well as
concerned with attaining great joy by having their reasons and causes, can be perceived by
the soul achieve that kind of perception. For mental speculation and intellectual reason-
this reason, Ibn Khaldun disagrees with the ing and is therefore harmful to religion.
philosophers who believe that we are natu- The essential fault of philosophy, as sin-
rally good and can work out intellectually gled out by Ibn Khaldun, is that it attempts
how we are to behave. This is in his view to perceive the whole of existence, including
against the basic teachings of Islam, since what is beyond discursive reason. We can be
those ethical matters have to be referred to sure that what worries Ibn Khaldun is the
religious law. violation of the nature of the mind by phi-
Despite attacking philosophy from various losophy. His message is clear: philosophy
angles, Ibn Khaldun admits that the science must operate within its limits. It must not
of philosophy has some benefits; for example, go beyond its boundary. If it does, it has not
it can sharpen the mind in the orderly pre- only trespassed its limit but is also harmful
sentation of proofs and arguments, so that to religion. We can conclude that Ibn Khal-
the habit of valid argument is strengthened. duns critique of philosophy should not be
However, he reminds those who intend to taken to mean a total rejection of philosophy
study philosophy that they should be aware as a source of knowledge and argument.
of its dangers. Such students must at first be
well equipped with knowledge of religious BIBLIOGRAPHY
law (Sharia), tafsir, and fiqh. Al-Tarif bi Ibn Khaldun wa rihlatu-hu
In his earlier discourse, philosophy cov- gharban wa sharqan (The Biography of
ers all intellectual sciences that are the prod- Ibn Khaldun and His Journey [to] the
ucts of our ability to think. They are neu- West and the East), Beirut: Dar al-kitab
tral by nature in the sense that they are not al-lubnani, 1979; partially trans.
restricted to any particular religious group. W. Fischel, Ibn Khaldun and Tamerlane,
They have existed since civilization had its Berkeley, CA: University of California
beginning. Based on this notion, it is sim- Press, 1952.
ply understood that all kinds of sciences Shifa al-sail li tahdhib al-masail (The
other than traditional conventional sciences Healing of the Seeker for The Refinement
should be considered as in the category of of [spiritual] Problems), Beirut:
philosophy and wisdom. Moreover, in this Imprimerie Catholique, 1959.
respect, it would not be possible for Ibn Muqaddima, Beirut: Dar al-kutub
Khaldun to reject philosophy. Furthermore, al-ilmiyya, 1993.
the major implication of its total rejection
is the destruction of the whole theory of Further Reading
civilization, which has already been estab- Al-Azmeh, Aziz, Ibn Khaldun in Modern
lished and constitutes the main theme of the Scholarship: A Study in Orientalism,
Muqaddima. London: Third World Centre, 1981.
203
IBN MASARRA
Baali, Fuad, Social Institution: Ibn that position. While on his extended visits
Khalduns Social Thought, New York: to Cairo he composed, over a long period,
University Press of America, 1992. his Wafayat al-ayan wa-anba abna al-za-
Campanini, M. (ed.), Studies on Ibn man, which contains biographies of notable
Khaldun, Milan: Polimetrica, 2005. Muslims, a work started in 654/1256 and
Enan, M. A., Ibn Khaldun: His Life and completed in 672/1274. It is a personal
Work, Lahore: SH Muhammad Ashraf, selection, which leaves out people whose
1993. biographies are well known and the Proph-
Fakhry, M, A History of Islamic ets Companions. However, it is a goldmine
Philosophy, New York: Columbia of information about his contemporaries
University Press, 1985. and earlier figures who would otherwise be
Issawi, C., An Arab Philosophy of History, little known.
Princeton: Princeton University Press, Many of the figures he discusses are phi-
1986. lologists and grammarians, and it is clear
Lakhsassi, A., Ibn Khaldun, in S. H. Nasr from the book that Ibn Khallikan was fas-
and O. Leaman (eds), History of Islamic cinated with language and literary achieve-
Philosophy, ch. 25, London: Routledge, ment. The book itself is a significant literary
1996, pp. 35066. event, and it is peppered with catty and gos-
Mahdi, Muhsin, Ibn Khalduns Philosophy sipy remarks, all of which adds to its charm.
of History: A Study of the Philosophic It does convey a picture of a culture that did
Foundation of the Science of Culture, not always take itself very seriously, and val-
London: Allen and Unwin, 1957. ued highly style and social poise.
Rosenthal, F. (ed. and trans.), The
Muqaddima: An Introduction to History, BIBLIOGRAPHY
3 vols, Princeton: Princeton University Wafayat al-ayan, ed. I. Abbas, Beirut: Dar
Press, 1980. Sadr, 196872.
Zaid, Ahmad, The Epistemology of Ibn Ibn Khallikans Biographical Dictionary,
Khaldun, London and New York: trans. McGuckin de Slane, Paris,
RoutledgeCurzon, 2003. 184271; repr. New York and London:
Johnson Reprint Corporation.
zaid ahmad
oliver leaman
IBN KHALLIKAN, Ahmad ibn Ibn al-Labbad,see al-Baghdadi,

Muhammad(60881/121182) Abd al-Latif
Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn

Khallikan was born in Irbil on 11 Rabi al-
Thani 608/1211, and died on 26 Rajab
681/1282. He is chiefly famous for his long IBN MASARRA, Muhammad ibn
history of the learned thinkers in the Islamic Abd Allah(269319/883922)
world. His career was characteristically
tumultuous, often being in a position of high Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn al-Masarra
authority as chief judge or qadi al-qudat was born in Cordoba into a commercial
in Damascus, but on occasion also losing family, to a father given to theological
204
IBN MAYTHAM
speculation, since it is said that he traveled to Asin Palacios, M., The Mystical Philosophy
Basra to explore the doctrine of Mutazilism. of Ibn Masarrah and his Followers, trans.
The collapse of the family business led the E. Douglas and H. Yoder, Leiden: Brill,
family to move to Mecca when Ibn Masarra 1972.
was seventeen, and this temporary residence Cruz Hernndez, M. (1981) La
in the holy places obviously had a strong Persecucin anti-Masarri durante el
effect on the young man. On his return to reinado de Abd al-Rahman al-Nasir
Cordoba he took an ascetic path, and cre- li-Din Allah segn Ibn Hayyan (The
ated a community of Sufis that sought Anti-Masarri Persecution During the
seclusion in the more remote places in al- Reign of Abd al-Rahman According to
Andalus. He seems only to have written two Ibn Hayyan), al-Qantara, 2 (1982),
books, which were denounced by the more pp. 5167.
orthodox Muslim scholars of the time. Sub- Goodman, L., Ibn Massarah, in S. H.
sequently, he seems to have avoided direct Nasr and O. Leaman (eds), History of
persecution, perhaps by moving out of the Islamic Philosophy, ch. 20, London:
way at the right time. Routledge, 1996, pp. 27793.
The accession of Abd al-Rahman III Stern, S. M., Ibn Masarra, Follower of
(300/912) introduced a more relaxed Pseudo-Empedocles: An Illusion, in
policy with respect to religion, and Ibn F. Zimmerman (ed.), Medieval Arabic
Masarra seems to have been left alone to and Hebrew Thought, London:
attract sizable numbers of supporters in Variorum, 1983.
his base at the mountain by Corboba. His Ternero, E., Noticia sobre la publicacin
theoretical writings are probably based de obras inditas de ibn Masarrah,
on pseudo-Empedocles and are difficult al-Qantara, 14 (1993), pp. 4764.
to piece together, but their practical con-
sequences call for an ascetic lifestyle, the oliver leaman
valuing of silence, poverty, humility, and
the characteristic features of mysticism, all
with the aim of enabling the soul to rise
up the spiritual levels until it came as close
as possible to the source of reality. Clearly IBN MAYTHAM, Ali(d. after 183/799)
the thought of Ibn Masarra had a huge
impact on a later mystical Andalusi thinker, Ali b. Ismail b. Shuayb b. Maytham al-Tam-
Ibn al-Arabi. mar, a Shii theologian, was probably born
in the first half of the second/eighth century,
BIBLIOGRAPHY the exact date of his birth being uncertain.
Min al-turath al-falsafi li-ibn Masarra: a. He was originally from Kufa, but lived in
Risalat al-itibar.(On Reflection) Basra. The date and place of his death are
2. Khawass al-huruf (Characteristics also uncertain. However, a report mentioning
of Letters), ed. M. Jafar, Cairo: Al Majlis his discussion with the Waqifis indicates that
al-ala lil-thaqafa, n.d. he survived the imam al-Kazim, who died in
183/799. His grandfather Maytham was one
Further Reading of the heroic supporters of Ali b. Abi Talibs
Addas, C., Andalusi Mysticism and the cause against his political opponents. Ubayd
Rise of Ibn Arabi, in S. K. Jayyusi (ed.), Allah b. Ziyad (d. 67/686), the governor of
The Legacy of Muslim Spain, Leiden: Kufa on behalf of the Umayyads, had tor-
Brill, 1992. tured and executed Maytham in Kufa.
205
IBN MAYTHAM
Ali ibn Maytham seems to have been a him, Ali ibn Abi Talib was the most excel-
champion of the Imami party in Basra. He lent one (al-afdal), so Muslims committed sin
is reported to have engaged in discussions not because they acknowledged Abu Bakr
with Basran Mutazilis Dirar b. Amr, Abu and Umar, but because they relinquished
al-Hudhayl al-Allaf, and al-Nazzam. He al-afdal. He also believed that those who
also participated in philosophical symposia fought against Ali were unbelievers. These
arranged by the Abbasid vizier Yahya b. views belonged to a Zaydi group, namely the
Khalid al-Barmaki in his palace in Baghdad. Nuaymiyya.
In these occasions, Ali probably gained Sources have presented Ali ibn Maythams
the assistance of Hisham al-Hakam, the philosophical ideas along with those of other
famous Shii theologian, who was a close Imami theologians. He shared the ideas of
associate of the Barmakid vizier. He is also his compatriots Hisham b. al-Hakam and
reported to have been in prison for some Hisham al-Jawaliqi on the subject of Gods
time. This likely occurred after 176/792 will, except on points of detail. He claimed
when the Caliph Harun al-Rashid com- that Gods will is his movement. When God
menced a general persecution against Shii wanted to make something, he only needed
notables. to move to make that thing come into exis-
Some heresiographers included Ali ibn tence. However, Ali ibn Maytham disagreed
Maytham among the masters (shuyukh) of with the two Hishams on the point whether
the Imami Shia. They also described him Gods will is external to his essence.
as the first Imami who wrote in theological
terms about the doctrine of the imamate. His Further Reading
nonextant books, al-Kamil (the Completed) Al-Ashari, Abu al-Hasan Ali b. Ismail,
and al-Istihqaq (the Entitlement), probably Maqalat al-Islamiyyin (Islamic
reflected his views on the legitimate rights Teachings), ed. M. M. Abd al-Hamid,
of the specific imams from the descendants 2 vols, Beirut: al-Maktaba al-Asriyya,
of Ali b. Abi Talib to undertake Muslim 1995.
leadership. His other works were about legal Al-Khayyat, Abu al-Husayn Abd al-Rahim
matters related to marriage and divorce. b. Muhammad, Kitab al-Intisar (Book
Another of his books, The Book of Hisham of the Victory), with French trans. A. N.
b. al-Hakams Sessions, might have contrib- Nader, Beirut: al-Matbaa al-Katulukiyya,
uted toward the transmission of Hishams 1957.
thoughts and stories about his debates in Al-Khui, Abu al-Qasim al-Musawi,
symposia to later historians and heresiog- Mujam Rijal al-Hadis (Biographical
raphers. Although there is no report about Dictionary of the Hadith Narrators),
his contact with the imams Musa al-Kazim 23 vols, Beirut: al-Marashi, 1989.
and Ali al-Rida, he is seen in a narration dis- Al-Shahristani, Abu al-Fath Muhammad
puting with the Waqifi leaders who denied b. Abd al-Karim, a Al-Milal wa al-Nihal
al-Kazims death and declared that he had (The Religions and the Sects), eds. A.
gone into ghayba (occultation). He called A. Mahna, A. H. Faur, Beirut: Dar
the Waqifis al-mamtura (the rain-drenched al-Marifa, 1998.
dogs). Watt, Montgomery W., The Formative
Ali ibn Maythams opinion on the imam- Period of Islamic Thought, Edinburgh:
ate of the inferior (al-mafdul) was surpris- Edinburgh University Press, 1973.
ingly close to the Zaydi point of view rather
than to that of the Imamiyya. According to m. ali buyukkara
206
IBN AL-MUQAFFA
Ibn Miskawayh,see Miskawayh a letter petitioning the caliph for a full par-
don. Al-Mansur reportedly objected to the
language of the letter and expressed a wish
that someone do away with the author. The
governor of Basra, who had allegedly been
IBN AL-MUQAFFA (d. 137/755 or insulted by Ibn al-Muqaffa, was happy to
139/756) take the hint. Summoning the secretary on a
contrived pretext, he ordered him executed,
Ibn al-Muqaffa was born in Firuzabad, a reportedly by being chopped to pieces.
town in the Persian province of Fars, and In his short career, Ibn al-Muqaffa pro-
died in Basra in 137/755 or 139/756, report- duced a substantial number of works, many
edly at the age of thirty-six. He was a proof them translations from Middle Persian.
lific translator from Pahlavi (Middle Persian) As far as can be determined on the basis of
into Arabic, and the author of several works the extant passages, much of the translated
on ethics and statecraft. He appears to have material dealt with pre-Islamic history, state-
been descended from a family of landowners craft, and courtly conduct. According to
or provincial officials during Sasanian times; the Sasanian authors, the well-being of the
his father worked for the Umayyads as col- state depends upon the preservation of the
lector of the land-tax in Iraq and Fars. Ibn social hierarchy. Obedience to the ruler is a
al-Muqaffa was unusually well educated in sacred duty, although the ruler has a recipro-
the Persian literary legacy that was already cal obligation to treat his subjects justly. To
disappearing under the influence of Islam maintain their status within this strictly regi-
and Arabic. Later sources cite him as an mented system, officials and courtiers must
authority on the languages and dialects of display competence in matters ranging from
Persia and the scripts used to write them. He military tactics to polo playing. Such com-
was equally well educated in Arabic, to the petence, described by the Persian word ayin
point of making himself obnoxious by cor- (the right way of doing something) made its
recting native speakers of the language. way into Arabic as adab, which in addition
After studying Arabic in Basra, Ibn al- to its original meaning of custom took on
Muqaffa followed his father into state ser- the sense of refined conduct. The other
vice. He worked as a secretary, drafting doc- sense of adab, namely prose literature of an
uments for Umayyad governors in Shapur edifying character, appears to owe its ori-
and Kirman. In Kirman, he amassed consid- gins to the Persian andarz, a genre of advice
erable wealth and made a name for himself and wisdom literature commonly directed at
by spectacular demonstrations of generos- princes.
ity. When the Abbasid revolution came, he Of all Ibn al-Muqaffas translations of
managed to escape the purges that claimed Sasanian wisdom literature, by far the most
many of his colleagues (including Abd al- famous is the collection of fables titled Kal-
Hamid al-Katib, whom he reportedly tried ila and Dimna. The original was reportedly
to shield from the Abbasid militia). He brought from India to Persia by a traveling
eventually secured a position as secretary to physician, Barzawayh, in the sixth century.
the Abbasid princes of Basra, one of whom Barzawayh prefaced the text with his spiri-
supervised his conversion from Zoroastri- tual autobiography, probably the first such
anism to Islam. When his employers tried composition to appear in Arabic. Although
and failed to unseat the reigning caliph al- Ibn al-Muqaffa claims merely to have trans-
Mansur, they asked Ibn al-Muqaffa to draft lated the text, many critics, medieval and
207
IBN AL-MUQAFFA
modern, have held him responsible for the and economyand illustrates their appli-
opinions it expresses. Because of its frank cation. In his address to the courtiers, Ibn
critique of religion, the text became one of al-Muqaffa enjoins them to be loyal, obedi-
the most notorious in Arabic literature, and ent, and deferential, or at least to cultivate
confirmed to many readers the translators a reputation for being so. To anyone seek-
reputation for heresy. ing advice, he recommends saving money,
In his preface, Barzawayh reports that he avoiding procrastination, making friends,
abandoned the practice of medicine when being a good listener, and winning the trust
he found it useless against the ills of the of those in power. He also recommends
soul. He then sought guidance in religion. periodic written reviews of ones conduct
To his disappointment, he found that piety with the aim of identifying ones strengths
was inevitably the result of blind imitation, and weaknesses. Such a practice helps instill
compulsion, or the desire for worldly gain. the supreme virtue of aql, the reasoned
Even the scholars he consulted did no more self-restraint that protects a man from the
than praise their own religion and criticize snares of the world. Yet even the most pru-
the faiths of others. At the same time, each dent conduct offers no guarantee of success.
professed certain beliefs of which he could Rather than meddle in the affairs of princes,
approve. He therefore decided to confine one should devote oneself to piety and good
himself to those practices that reason works, which will at least redound to ones
deems good, and that all religions agree credit in the afterlife. Ibn al-Muqaffa does
upon. These practices amount to truthful- not seem to expect that his readers will fol-
ness, asceticism, and belief in reward and low this particular recommendation; cer-
punishment after death. tainly he himself did not.
Kalila and Dimna itself is a collection of In al-Risala fi l-sahaba (The Epistle on the
fables, most of which have been traced to Caliphs Companions), Ibn al-Muqaffa offers
Indian sources. The stories convey a variety advice to the Abbasid caliph al-Mansur. The
of morals, most of them resolutely practical. most important general question raised in
The animal characters are motivated by hun- the letter is that of obedience to state author-
ger and the human ones by greed. Ingrati- ity. To those who claim that ones duty to
tude is usually punished, but so is gullibility; God outweighs ones duty to the sovereign,
and virtue is not always rewarded. The best Ibn al-Muqaffa responds that this holds true
way to achieve ones ends is to be persuasive, only in matters of religious observance. In all
circumspect andwhen necessarydeceit- other matters, one must defer to the caliph
ful. Princes, whether human or animal, are on the grounds that God has appointed
cruel, fickle, and easily misled; the reader is him leader of the Muslim community. Had
advised to avoid them unless he can be sure God revealed to the Prophet Muhammad
of outwitting them. the answer to every question that would
A similar vision is evident in one of Ibn arise until the end of time, the revelation
al-Muqaffas original works, al-Durra al- would have been impossibly large. There-
yatima (The Unique Pearl), known today fore, human judgment is also necessary; and
as al-Adab al-kabir (The Greater Adab). the exercise of judgment is the privilege of
This is a work of advice directed at princes, the ruler. In accordance with this principle,
courtiers, and persons seeking counsel on Ibn al-Muqaffa recommends that the caliph
how to conduct themselves in society. In the issue a creed to prevent the spread of heresy.
mirror for princes section, it lays out the He also advises him to create a legal code
basic principles of good conductreligion, instead of allowing individual judges to rule
health, courage, generosity, proper speech, as they please.
208
IBN AL-MUQAFFA
Of uncertain attribution to Ibn al- ancient treatises on logic had reportedly

Muqaffa is a dualist tract which survives been translated from Greek into Persian in
only in polemical citations. The extant pas- Sasanian times, some modern scholars have
sages present the Manichean vision of the thought it possible for Ibn al-Muqaffa to
world as divided between light and darkness. have translated them later from Persian into
God, who is the light, made living creatures, Arabic. Yet the manuscript of the work in
but they rebelled against him, plunged the question reveals that the original language
world into darkness, and killed the proph- was probably Greek. Moreover, the transla-
ets he sent. He has therefore afflicted man- tors name is Muhammad, not Abd Allah,
kind with bodily infirmities in this world Ibn al-Muqaffa. Ibn al-Muqaffa indeed had
and threatened them with damnation in the a son named Muhammad, and it has been
next. In the meantime, false religions have proposed that it was he who did the translat-
arisen, of which the most pernicious is Islam, ing. But this suggestion is problematic. As a
because it proposes a boastful and arbitrary Persian Muslim whose father had converted
God who created the world out of nothing. from Zoroastrianism, Ibn al-Muqaffas son
The attribution of this text is open to would have had no opportunity to learn
question for several reasons. Before convert- Greek (or Syriac). Therefore, the likeliest pos-
ing to Islam, Ibn al-Muqaffa was report- sibility is that an unrelated Muhammad Ibn
edly a Zoroastrian, not a Manichean. No al-Muqaffa, perhaps a Christian convert to
matter what his original faith, it also seems Islam (as the name Muhammad suggests),
uncharacteristic of him to argue strongly is the actual translator of the Organon.
on behalf of any revealed religion. Finally, Ibn al-Muqaffa was too controversial
he was something of a public figure, and a figure to be cited as anyones teacher or
it seems unlikely that he would endanger exemplar. Nevertheless, his translations
himself by attacking Islam. If the attribu- from Middle Persian and his original works
tion is false, it may have arisen because Ibn contributed substantially to the crystalliza-
al-Muqaffa was a famous translator of tion of adab as a social ideal. Adab might
Persian; any work on pre-Islamic religions be defined as a way of life that acknowl-
could therefore be plausibly attributed to edges the fallibility of human beings, includ-
him. Of a similarly scandalous character are ing oneself. In its various meanings (good
the passages, preserved in another polemical manners, wisdom literature, and so on), it
account, in which Ibn al-Muqaffa suppos- became a central principle of self-under-
edly tries to imitate the language and style standing and self-presentation, and still is in
of the Quran. This he may not necessarily many places today. Less often discussed is
have done with blasphemous intent. Given the extent to which Ibn al-Muqaffas works
his healthy appreciation of his own abili- address fundamental matters of theology
ties in Arabic, he may have been unable to and of ethics. The positions he adopts are
resist the challenge of mimicking a text that not the ones dictated by a strict application
declares itself inimitable. of logic (which was still unknown), or by
Given his fame as a translator, Ibn alone or another infallible authority. Rather,
Muqaffa has been credited with works he they are the answers that seem likeliest to
did not in fact translate. The most persis- procure some definite gain, whether in this
tent error of this type concerns a synopsis of world or the next. Ibn al-Muqaffas unapol-
Aristotles Organon. According to al-Jahiz ogetic practicality, as well as his thinly veiled
(d. 255/868 or 869) and Ibn al-Nadim contempt for rulers and religions, make him
(d. ca. 380/991), a certain Ibn al-Muqaffa an unusual figure in the history of Near
translated parts of the Organon. Because Eastern thought.
209
IBN AL-MUQAFFA
BIBLIOGRAPHY T. B. Irving, Newark, Delaware: Juan de

Calila et Dimna, ou fables de Bidpai, la Cuesta, 1980.
prcdes dun mmoire sur lorigine de Al-Adab al-kabir wa al-adab al-saghir (The
ce livre, et sur les diverse traductions qui Greater Adab and the Lesser Adab), ed.
en ont t faites dans lorient (Kalila and I. Fawwal, Beirut: Dar al-Kitab al-Arabi,
Dimna, or the Fables of Bidpai, preceded 1994.
by a note on the origins of the book
and the translations of it made in the Further Reading
East), trans. S. de Sacy, Paris: Imprimerie Azarnush, A. and Zeryab, A., Ibn
Royale, 1816. al-Muqaffa, in Daerat al-maaref-e
Aqdam nuskha makhtuta muarrakha li bozorg-e eslami, 11 vols., vol. 4, Tehran:
kitab Kalila wa Dimna. La version arabe Daerat al-maaref-e bozorg-e Eslami,
de Kalilah et Dimnah daprs le plus 1998, pp. 66280.
ancien manuscrit arabe dat (The Oldest de Blois, F., Burzoys Voyage to India and the
Dated Arabic Manuscript of Kalila Origin of the Book of Kalilah wa Dimnah,
and Dimna), ed. L. Cheikho, Beirut: London: Royal Asiatic Society, 1990.
Imprimerie Catholique, 1905. Charles-Dominique, P., Le systme thique
La Lotta tra lIslam e il Manicheismo: dIbn al-Muqaffa daprs ses deux pitres
un libro di Ibn al-Muqaffa contro dites al-saghir et al-kabir (The Ethical
il Corano confutato da al-Qasim b. System of Ibn al-Muqaffa According to
Ibrahim (The Struggle Between Islam The Two Epistles Known as The Lesser
and Manicheanism: A Work by Ibn and The Greater), Arabica, 12, 1
al-Muqaffa Refuted by al-Qasim b. (1965), pp. 4566.
Ibrahim), ed. and trans. M. Guidi, Gabrieli, F., Lopera di Ibn al-Muqaffa
Rome: Accademia Nazionale dei (The Works of Ibn al-Muqaffa), Rivista
Lincei, 1927. degli studi orientali, 13, 3, (1932),
The Letter of Tansar, trans. Mary Boyce, pp. 197247.
Rome: Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Goitein, S. D., A Turning Point in the
Estremo Oriente, 1968. History of the Muslim State (apropos
Kalila wa Dimna li Abd Allah Ibn of Ibn al-Muqaffas Kitab al-Sahaba),
al-Muqaffa (Ibn al-Muqaffas Kalila and Islamic Culture, 23, 3 (1949), pp.
Dimna), ed. A. Azzam et al., Beirut: Dar 12031.
al-Shuruq, 1973. Ibn al-Nadim, al-Fihrist (The Index), ed.
Al-Risala fi al-sahaba (The Epistle on Y.A. al-Tawil, Cairo: Dar al-Kutub
the Caliphs Companions), in Pellat, al-Ilmiyya, 1996, pp. 18990.
C., Ibn al-Muqaffa, mort vers Ibn Khallikan, Wafayat al-ayan wa
140/757, conseilleur du caliphe (Ibn anba abna al-zaman (Obituaries and
al-Muqaffa, d. c. 140/757, advisor to Biographies), ed. I. Abbas, vol. 2, Beirut:
the caliph) Paris: Maisonneuve, 1976. Dar al-Thaqafa, 1969, pp. 1515.
Al-Mantiq li-Ibn al-Muqaffa (Translation Al-Jahshiyari, Kitab al-wuzara wa
of the Logic, by Ibn al-Muqaffa; al-kuttab (The Book of Viziers and
misattributed), ed. M. T. Danishpazhuh, Scribes), eds. M. al-Saqqa, I. al-Abyari,
Tehran: Anjuman-i Shahanshahi-i and A. Shalabi, Cairo: Mustafa al-Babi
Falsafah-i Iran, 1978. al-Halabi, 1938.
Kalilah and Dimnah. An English Version Kraus, P., Zu Ibn al-Muqaffa (On Ibn
of Bidpais Fables Based Upon Ancient al-Muqaffa), Rivista degli studi orientali,
Arabic and Spanish Manuscripts, trans. 14, no. 1, (1933), pp. 120.
210
IBN AL-NAFIS
Latham, J. D., Ibn al-Muqaffa and early as a physician. He became the head physi-
Abbasid Prose, in Julie Ashtiany et al. cian there, serving as the personal physi-
(ed.), Abbasid Belles-Lettres, Cambridge: cian of the ruler. He wrote commentaries on
Cambridge University Press, 1990, important medical writers and philosophers,
pp. 4877. and some original work on medicine. He
Nallino, C. A., Noterelle su Ibn contributed also to law and theology, allying
al-Muqaffa e suo figlio (Notes on Ibn himself most firmly with the Shafii school.
al-Muqaffa and His Son), Rivista degli His most significant philosophical work is
studi orientali, 14, 2 (1933), pp. 120. his Risala al-kamiliyya fi al-sira al-nabawi-
Richter, G., ber das kleine Adabbuch des yya (Letter on Perfect Prophetic Conduct),
Ibn al-Muqaffa (On the Lesser Adab- a rather charming story about someone who
Book of Ibn al-Muqaffa), Der Islam, comes into existence spontaneously and
19 (1931), pp. 27881. by himself manages to work out the most
Said, A. A., Abd Allah ibn al-Muqaffa important principles of nature, philosophy,
and the Abbasid Revolution, Iranian and theology. One of his medical works, the
Studies, 27 (1994), pp. 936. Kitab al-Shamil, was meant to be 300 vol-
Sourdel, D., La biographie dIbn umes but, luckily for students, only reached
al-Muqaffa daprs les sources eighty. His commentary on anatomy in Ibn
anciennes (The Biography of Ibn Sinas Qanun was very influential, provid-
al-Muqaffa According to Early Sources), ing a clear account of pulmonary circulation
Arabica, 1 (1954), pp. 30723. and a concise summary of the Avicennan
van Ess, J., Some Fragments of the text. He went on to write several summaries
Muaradat al-Quran Attributed to Ibn of Ibn Sina, leading to his lasting popularity
al-Muqaffa, in Wadad al-Qadi (ed.), in the medical community.
Studia Arabica et Islamica, Festchrift A very popular and concise book was Ibn
for Ihsan Abbas, Beirut: American al-Nafiss Mujiz al-qanun fi tibb (Abstract
University in Beirut, 1981, pp. 2236. of Ibn Sinas Canon of Medicine). It has
Theologie und Gesellschaft im 2. und been claimedprobably unfairlythat the
3. Jahrhundert Hidschra, 6 vols, vol. 2, tedious prolixity of Ibn Sinas Canon of
Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter, Medicine, together with the incomprehen-
1992, pp. 2236. sibility of some of its statements, and Ibn
al-Nafiss Abstract of Avicennas Canon of
michael cooperson Medicine, with its undue brevity and popu-
larity among Arabic-speaking students of
medicine, led to the decline of late medieval
medical education. He died in his eighties on
Ibn al-Nadim,see al-Nadim December 17, 1288 (11 Dhul-Qadah 687),
leaving his house and library to the Qalawun
Hospital in Cairo.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
IBN AL-NAFIS, Ali ibn Abi al-Haram The Theologus Autodidactus of Ibn
(60787/121088) al-Nafis, eds. M. Meyerhof and J.
Schacht, Oxford: Oxford University
Ali ibn Abi al-Haram ibn al-Nafis was born Press, 1968.
in Syria, studied in the hospital in Damascus, Kompendium uber die Wissenschaft von
and later moved to Cairo to pursue a career den Grundlagen des Hadit (Mukhtasar
211
IBN QAYYIM AL-JAWZIYYA
fi ilm usul al-hadith), ed. H. Amarat, of his master. After the death of Ibn Taymi-
Hildesheim: G. Olms, 1986. yya, he formed a study circle and taught
Al-Mukhtasar fi ilm usul al-hadith Islamic jurisprudence at al-Sadriyya school
al-Nabawi, ed. Y. Zaydan, Cairo: al-Dar in Damascus. Later he held a teaching post
al-Misriya al-Lubnaniya, 1991. in the Jawziyya school. He taught a number
of students in his circle among whom we can
oliver leaman mention Ibn Abd al-Hadi, Ibn Rajab, and
Abul-Fidai ibn Kathir.
In his theological approach, Ibn al-Qayyim
followed Ibn Taymiyya. His main theologi-
Ibn al-Numan,see Abu JaFar al-Ahwal cal views can be summarized as follows. For
him, the sources of human knowledge are
true accounts based on experience, reason,
and sense experience supported by reason.
At the epistemological level, knowledge can
IBN QAYYIM AL-JAWZIYYA be divided into necessary (zaruri) and prob-
(691751/12921350) able (zanni). On the methodological level,
he criticized the theologians, philosophers,
Abu Abdullah Shamsuddin Muham- and Sufis for their interpretation (tawil) of
mad b. Abi Bakr b. Ayyub al-Zurai was the texts of Quran and Sunna in accordance
born in Damascus on 7 Safar 691/January with their philosophical, theological, or mys-
29, 1292 and died at the same city on 13 tical approaches. For him, reason cannot
Rajab 751/September 16, 1350. He was an fully comprehend the nature of the divine
important figure in the Hanbali tradition of attributes. In respect to the attributes of
Sunni Islam. He belongs to a family which God, he adopted mainly two principles. The
came from Zura, at the south of Damas- first principle is to prove Gods attributes
cus. His father Abu Bakr was a superin- without anthropomorphism (tashbih). And
tendent (qayyim) of the al-Jawziyya school the second is to negate Gods resemblance
(madrasa). to his creatures (tanzih), without denying
Ibn al-Qayyim received his first education (tatil) his attributes.
from his father. He then studied theology Ibn al-Qayyim has contributed extensively
(kalam) and jurisprudence (usul al-fkh) from to Islamic literature. He wrote about a hun-
Safiyyuddin al-Hindi. In 712/1312 he joined dred books in various fields of the Islamic
the study circle of Taqiyy al-Din Ahmad Ibn sciences. Most of his works deal with the-
Taymiyya and became his closest disciple. ology, Quranic commentaries, and the Pro-
As a disciple of Ibn Taymiyya he defended, phetic traditions. In the field of theology, he
popularized, and propagated his teachers wrote a number of books, some of which
views. He compiled and edited most of Ibn are worth mentioning here. In his theologi-
Taymiyyas works. Ibn al-Qayyim also stud- cal books, Ibn al-Qayyim criticized severely
ied the teachings of Sufi masters known in his the theologians and defended the Salafi
time and was strongly influenced by them. approach. In his al-Qasida al-nuniyya (The
Because of their views, both Ibn al-Qayyim Eulogy of the Nun), he explains the theol-
and his master Ibn Taymiyya were perse- ogy of Sunni orthodoxy. He also produced a
cuted and imprisoned in the central prison number of works in the field of Islamic law
of Damascus several times. Ibn al-Qayyim (fiqh) and jurisprudence (usul al-fiqh). In
was set free from the prison upon the death his Ilam al-muwaqqiin an rabbi al-alamin
212
IBN QURRA
(The Declaration for Those Who Decide IBN AL-QIFTI, Jamal al-Din(d. 646/1248)
From the God of the Universes), he discussed
the historical improvement and development Jamal al-Din Ali b. Yusuf al-Qifti wrote a
of Salafi legal methodology from the time of biographical dictionary which consists of
the Prophet. In his al-Turuk al-hukmiyya fi information about the lives and work of 414
al-siyasa al-shariyya (The Methods of Judge- physicians, philosophers, and astronomers.
ment in Islamic Politics) he explained Islamic However, this text is only part of the origi-
law. In the field of ethics and mysticism he nal Kitab Ikhbar al-ulama be-akhbar al-
wrote the Madarij al-salikin (The Paths for hukama (Account for Scholars of Reports
the Followers), a commentary on Abdulla on Learned Men) which survives today in
Harawis Manazil al-sairin (The Stations its truncated form as the Tarikh al-hukama
of the Seekers), a commentary which can (History of Learned Men). This summary
be considered as the masterpiece of Hanbali was made only a year after Ibn al-Qiftis
mystical literature. death.
Ibn al-Qayyim as a prominent thinker of
neo-Salafi teaching had a deep influence in BIBLIOGRAPHY
the Salafi and Wahhabi traditions. He can be Ikhbar al-ulama bi akhbar al-hukama, ed.
considered as the representative figure of the M. al-Kutubi, Cairo: Matbaat al-saada,
neo-Hanbalist tradition after his master Ibn 1909.
Taymiyya. Inbah al-ruwah fi anbah al-nuhah
(Information for the Transmitters of
BIBLIOGRAPHY the Significant Grammarians), ed. M.
Madarij al-salikin (The Paths for the Ibrahim, Cairo: Dar kutub al-misriyya,
Followers), Cairo: Dar al-Hadith, 1983. 195073.
Al-Turuq al-hukmiyya fi al-siyasa Al-Muhammadun min al-shuara, ed.
al-shariyya (The Methods of Judgement H. al-Jasir, Riyadh: Dar al-yamama
in Islamic Politics), Beirut: Dar al-Jil, li al-bahth wa al-tarjama wa al-nashr,
1998. 1970.
Al-Qasida al-nuniyya (The Eulogy of
the Nun), Beirut: Maktab al-Islami, oliver leaman
2004.
Ilam al-muwaqqin an rabbi al-alamin
(The Declaration for Those Who
Decide From the God of the Universes),
ed. Muhammed al-Mutasm-Billa IBN QURRA, Thabit(21188/836901)
al-Baghdadi, Beirut: Dar al-Kutub
al-Arabi, 1998. The polymath Thabit ibn Qurra was born in
the ancient Mesopotamian town of Harran
Further Reading in 211/836 and died in Baghdad on Thurs-
Livingston, John W. (1992), Science and day 26 Safar 288/February 19, 901, at the
the Occult in the Thinking of Ibn Qayyim age of seventy-seven lunar years. Based on
al-Jawziyyah, Journal of the American the tenth-century Kitab al-fihrist (The Index)
Oriental Society, 112, 4 (1992), pp. of the Iraqi scholar, Muhammad ibn Ishaq
598610. ibn al-Nadim (d. c. 995), Thabits full name
was Abul-Hasan Thabit ibn Qurra ibn Mar-
muharrem kl wan ibn Thabit ibn Karaya ibn Ibrahim ibn
213
IBN QURRA
Karaya ibn Marinus ibn Salamanus. How- Hermes Trismegistus. Prior to the Abbasid
ever, it is argued that his grandfather, who period, it is said that the Harranians used
was most probably a pagan, was rather called to be described as Manchaeans, Mandeans,
Zahrun, or Harun, instead of Marwan, and or even as Nabataeans, who, along with the
it is more common to refer to Thabit under Syriac community, played a focal role in the
the name Thabit ibn Qurra ibn Zahrun al- courts of the Umayyad dynasty. It is reported
Sabii al-Harrani. As his nickname (kunya): that their mode of dress consisted of short
al-Sabii al-Harrani indicates, Thabit was of gowns, and that they had long hair with
Sabaean (Chaldean Sabian) descent, and was sidebangs or ringlets, similar to what Ibn
born into an affluent family that held a high al-Nadim observed regarding Thabits own
standing in the Harranian community. As a hairstyle. Their clothing and garb attracted
young man, it was purportedly reported that the attention of the Abbasid Caliph al-
he started his career as a money exchanger Mamun (reigned 81333) who came across
(sayrafiyan) in Harran. Given the intellectual this community en route to a campaign he
richness of the learned Harranian Sabian was leading against Byzantium. Wonder-
milieu, living in that locality and descending ing about their religious beliefs, al-Mamun
from a rich family meant that Thabit had the enticed them to declare the provenance of
opportunity to receive a good education and their articles of faith. Upon the return of the
cultural upbringing. caliph from the land of the Byzantines, and
The Harranians (known as al-Harraniya fearing the sovereigns persecution, the Har-
al-Kaldaniya) were famed for their Helle- ranians declared themselves to the caliphs
nist inspirations. Being originally star-wor- vizier or chamberlain as Sabaeans. In the
shippers who had a great reverence for the hope of gaining legitimacy and eschewing
workings of astral bodies and stellar constel- harassment, the Harraniya claimed to be
lations, the Harranians studied mathemat- affiliated with the Sabaeans mentioned in
ics and astronomy, while acquiring a good the Quran, who were identified with the
command of the Greek, Syriac, and Arabic Christians of St John. As Ahl al-kitab (the
tongues that facilitated their learning. Har- People of the Book), Sabaeans, Christians
ran was an ancient Akkadian, Assyrian, and Jews were not to fear wrath nor grieve,
and Babylonian city, located on major trade for they were promised Gods protection and
routes in the northern region of Mesopo- mercy if they followed the righteous path.
tamia. It was mentioned in the Bible (Gen. Their reference in the Quran is noted under
11.312) under the name Haran, in refer- the appellations: al-Sabiun or al-Sabiin,
ence to the township to which Abraham is as indicated in three verses: al-baqara (the
said to have migrated from Ur. Historically, Heifer) 2:62; al-maida (the Spread Table)
the Harranians were pagans who vener- 5:72; al-hajj (the Pilgrimage) 22:17. The
ated the stars, the planets, rites, and idols. declaration of the Harranians that they were
Their chief Deity was associated with the Sabia constituted a remarkable episode in
Moon-God, known in Akkadian as Sin and the history of sects in medieval Islam.
in Sumerian as Nanna. In the Christian era, This event remained surrounded by dispu-
their cult of the Moon-God became entan- tations over the candidness of the conversion
gled with Trinitarian doctrines that became of this pagan community into a sect that is
linked to the constellation of worship of the associated with monotheism; a mystery that
Near Eastern ancient figures of Ishtar and led some to continue to see them as remain-
Shamash. The Harranians, who integrated ing infidels. However, this historic develop-
Greek Hellenic culture, also assimilated the ment did allow many Harranians, including
Hermetica corpus of the mysterious Egyptian Thabit ibn Qurra, to become more accepted
214
IBN QURRA
politically and culturally by the Abbasids, There he was appointed as the astronomer
as well as allowing them to benefit in many of the Abassid court, following the return
respects from the lucrative patronage of the of the caliph al-Mutadid (reigned 892-9-02)
Caliphate. In consequence of the hospitality to the capital in the aftermath of the quench-
shown to the people of Harran at large, Thabit ing of the revolt of the zanj in Iraq (86883).
had the fortunate occasion at an early stage Thabit directed the workings of the sophisti-
of his scholarly formation to meet the math- cated observatory institution in Baghdad, in
ematician Muhammad ibn Musa ibn Shakir, continuation of the endeavors of his tutors,
the son of Musa ibn Shakir and the eldest of the Banu Musa, and consequently became
the three celebrated geometers known as the their chief successor, as well as chairing the
Banu Musa brothersthe other two being school that was associated with their name.
Ahmad and Hasan (fl. c.85070). Impressed His scholarly achievements eventually led to
by the erudition of the young Thabit and a systematic maturation of the knowledge
his knowledge of languages, Muhammad accrued in his time in the domains of math-
invited him to Baghdad in order to pursue a ematics, astronomy, and mechanics. From
course of study. This proved to be a turning what is known about his life, it seems that
point in Thabits career as a scholar. Hence- he did not return to Harran, and that he
forth, he had the opportunity to study with stayed in the Abbasid Capital, Baghdad, for
the Banu Musa, and subsequently joined the remainder of his life, having a long and
a group of astronomers sponsored by the influential scholarly career.
Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad. Following Besides making important strides in his
the pathways of the Banu Musa school of contributions to the development of the
thought, Thabit endeavored to further their mathematical and astronomical sciences,
accomplishments in the domains of geom- Thabit also undertook the task of translat-
etry, astronomy, and mechanics. ing a variety of classical texts from Greek
Maturing in his own right, Thabit even- to Syriac and Arabic. He also directed team
tually became a proficient affiliate of circles efforts focused on this undertaking, and
associated with the Bayt al-hikma (The continued the endeavors of the Banu Musa
House of Wisdom), the center of learning who used to send messengers to collect
founded by the Abbasid caliph al-Mamun Greek manuscripts from Byzantine libraries
(reigned 81333), which was frequented in order to translate them into Syriac and
among others by the eminent Arab natural Arabic. It is also said that a courtier associ-
philosopher, Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Ishaq ated with the Abassid caliph al-Mutawakkil
al-Kindi (80166). It is said that after estab- (reigned 84761) commissioned Thabit to
lishing his offices as an affiliated scholar of translate a manuscript attributed to Archi-
the court during his sojourn in Baghdad, medes of Syracuse; and also a tract by pseu-
Thabit returned on a short visit to Harran. do-Archimedes entitled: On Geometrical
By then, his philosophical views may have Elements (fil-usul al-handasiyya). Besides
considerably deviated from the religious this work, Thabit supervised the translation
beliefs held by the Sabaeans, and the nature of Archimedes Lemmata and The Sphere
of his theological persuasion may have been and the Cylinder, Ptolemys Almagest, Apol-
ambivalent. He eventually was challenged lonius of Pergas Conics, and Nichomachus
in an official court of law, which led to of Geresas Prolegomenon to Arithmetic. He
his admonishment as well as to him being also presented a decisive revision of Hunayn
accused of views bordering on heresy. Escap- ibn Ishaqs translation of Euclids Elements
ing discrimination and potential persecution, (Kitab uqlidus fil-usul) under the patron-
Thabit left Harran and returned to Baghdad. age of the caliph al-Mamun, following two
215
IBN QURRA
versions (al-Haruni and al-Mamuni) ren- of place and the associated critique of Aris-
dered by al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf ibn Matar dur- totles definition of topos in Book Delta of
ing the reign of the Abbasid Caliph Harun the Physics. In addition, Thabit further sys-
al-Rashid (reigned 786809). While most of tematized some of Euclids theorems, and
Thabits treatises were composed in Arabic, applied arithmetical directives to geometri-
the lingua franca of the medieval Islamic cal constructs, as noted in his composition
civilization, he did nevertheless draft a few of numerical accounts of quantitative ratios,
tracts in his Syriac East Aramaic dialect. along with his construal of geometrical mag-
Thabit was regarded as the Arabic equal nitudes as being algebraic entities. He was
of Pappus of Alexandria, the author of the also involved in furthering the understand-
Synagoge, who was described as being the ing of infinitesimal mathematics, as well as
last among the great Greek mathematicians. in the investigation of parabolic figures and
In his mathematical endeavors, Thabit built trisections. He, furthermore, advanced a geo-
on the art of al-jabr (algebra) and algorithm metrical generalization of the arbitrary tri-
(systematic numeration) of Muhammad ibn angle theorem of Pythagoras of Samos. For
Musa al-Khawarizmi (c.780850), which instance, he showed that: if we construct AX
may have been initially influenced by the and AY from the vertex A of an arbitrary tri-
Arithmetica of Diophantus of Alexandria, angle ABC, with a line from A intersecting BC
and partly oriented by the reception of the at points X and Y, thenif AXB = AYC =
Conics of Apollonius of Perga by the Arab BAC, then: AXB = AYC = 90.
algebraists. Displaying his mathematical Another of Thabits noted breakthroughs
ingenuity, Thabit also applied geometry to in mathematics was attested in the lemmas
algebra, as for instance in the thirty-six prop- of his number theory as advanced in the
ositions of his Kitab al-Mafrudat (Book of ten propositions of his Maqala fi istikhraj
Data), which constituted an unprecedented al-adad al-mutahabba (Book on the Deter-
development in the history of mathematics mination of Amicable Numbers), which was
that prefigured the systematic founding of partly drafted in response to authorities like
the seventeenth-century field of analytical Pythagoras and Euclid. He found pairs of
geometry by Descartes. Of his other major amicable numbers (adad mutahabba),
contributions in mathematics, Thabit inves- namely a pair of numbers each of which
tigated spherical trigonometry, conics, and equals the sum of the others aliquot parts
integral calculus (on the quadrature of the the smallest of these pairs is 220/284. For
parabola). He additionally contributed to instance, if we take s(n) to be the sum of
the rudimentary forms of an ars analytica the aliquot parts of the divided number n
(sinaat al-tahlil) by way of his reflections (namely the sum of the positive integer divi-
on analysis and synthesis, wherein he joined sors of n, excluding n itself), then s(220) =
the ars demonstrandi, which covers acquired 1 2 4 5 10 11 20 22
knowledge, with the ars invenniendi, which 44 55 110 = 284 and s(284) =
points to knowledge that ought to be discov- 1 24 71 142 = 220. This arith-
ered. While geometry was seen as being a metical disclosure was later expounded by
form of synthetic logic, algebra was construed figures like the polymath al-Hasan ibn al-
as being a mode of analytic logic (Tashih Haytham (Alhazen, 9651039), who classi-
masail al-jabr bil-barahin al-handasiyya). fied the perfect number (al-adad al-tamm),
He, moreover, prepared the grounds for the namely a numeral whose positive divisors,
de-ontologization of the elucidation of excluding it, sum up to itself. For instance,
the definition of place (makan) that assisted 6 is the smallest perfect number, wherein 6
Ibn al-Haytham in his geometric conception = 123. The next two perfect numbers
216
IBN QURRA
are 28 (124714 = 28) and 496 ( the European perspectivae tradition), as

12481631621242 well as the influence he exerted on Kamal
48 = 496). In addition, Kamal al-Din al-Farisi al-Din al-Farisi. Of his direct disciples who
(12601320) eventually offered the numer- continued his tradition, we note the name
als 17,296 and 18,416, as substantiations of of his pupil, the Christian Iraqi scholar Abu
Thabits rule for discovering amicable num- Musa Isa ibn Usayyid al-Nasrani, together
bers, such that each is the sum of the proper with his son, the physician Abu Said Sinan
divisors of the other. ibn Thabit ibn Qurrah (c.880943), and
In the domain of astronomy, Thabit his eminent grandson Ibrahim ibn Sinan.
advanced a critical reading of Ptolemys It is worth noting that Sinan ibn Thabit
corpus in view of reforming the thrust of its was renowned for his expertise as a physi-
inquiries, as well as endeavored to system- cian who directed hospitals under the reign
atically mathematize its method and scope. of the caliph al-Muqtadir (90832), and
He also composed astronomical tables and who lost his post during the period of al-
observed phenomena related to the eclipses Qahir (9324), the caliph who persecuted
and equinoxes, as well as tracked the move- the Sabaeans. Eventually, his office was
ment of the sun and the moon and the con- restored to him under the sovereignty of al-
struction of associated sundials. His opus Radi (93440), and he continued in part the
Kitab fil-qarastun (The Book on the Beam- tradition of his father by composing three
Balance), which carried the title of a tract tracts in mathematics, one of which was
attributed to Banu Musa by Ibn al-Nadim in focused on Archimedes. Nonetheless, it is
the Fihrist, was itself translated into Latin by Thabits grandson, Ibrahim ibn Sinan, who
Gerard of Cremona. This masterpiece dealt was the most influential of his direct dis-
with mechanics and the applied physical sci- ciples in mathematics. He became famous
ence of statics. Studying the comportment of in his own right for his integral calculus,
structural elements in accommodating load- and his work on algebra, trigonometry, and
bearing stresses, bending-beams, and strains, geometric astronomy, including his inves-
he expounded the principle of levers in equi- tigation of the quadrature of the parabola
poise and investigated the distribution of and his demonstrations in conics, regarding
continuous loads. It must also be noted that, mathematical entities such as the ellipse and
besides his accomplishments in mathematics hyperbola, together with his elaboration of
and astronomy, Thabit was also an able phy- the astrolabe stereographic projections and
sician who composed more than eight tracts the drafting of maps. Following the teaching
in medicine, including his Dhakira fi ilm al- of his grandfather, Ibrahim ibn Sinan also
tibb (Treasury of Medicine). furthered the application of motion to geo-
The monumental legacy that Thabit metric transformations in his Fi misahat kat
handed down constituted a school of sci- al-makhrut (Mensuration of the Parabola).
entific and mathematical inquiry that had a He thus anticipated the cinematographic
great impact on several notable mathemati- turn attested by Ibn al-Haythams demon-
cians from the ninth century until the four- strations in Fi hall shukuk kitab uqlidus fil-
teenth century. This impact included the usul (The Solving of the Doubts Concerning
authority he exerted on the maturation of Euclids Elements), and in his elaboration
his grandson, the brilliant polymath Ibra- of Thabits findings, he facilitated Ibn al-
him ibn Sinan ibn Thabit ibn Qurrah (908 Haythams notable demonstration of an
46), the impression he left on the math- algebraic equation to the fourth degree,
ematical preoccupations of Ibn al-Haytham deploying the conic intersection of a circle
(the famed figure behind the unfolding of and a hyperbola.
217
IBN AL-RAWANDI
Further Reading Sayili, A., Thabit ibn Qurras

Brentjes, S. and Hogendijk, J. P., Notes Generalization of the Pythagorean
on Thabit ibn Qurra and His Rule Theorem, Isis, 51 (1960), pp. 357.
for Amicable Numbers, Historia
Mathematica, 16 (1989), pp. 3738. nader el-bizri
Carmody, F. J., Thabit b. Qurra, Four
Astronomical Tracts in Latin, Berkeley,
CA: University of California Press, 1941.
The Astronomical Works of Thabit
b. Qurra, Berkeley, CA: University of IBN AL-RAWANDI (d. c. 910)
California Press, 1960.
Hogendijk, J. P., Thabit ibn Qurra and Very little is known definitively about Ibn al-
The Pair of Amicable Numbers 17296, Rawandi; even his name is a matter of dis-
18416, Historia Matematica, 12 (1985), pute. He was presumably born in Rawand,
pp. 26973. near Isfahan, and seems to have spent most
Jaouiche, K., Le livre du Qarastun de of his life in Baghdad. In his earlier years
Thabit ibn Qurra: tude sur lorigine there he aligned himself with the Mutazilite
de la notion de travail et du calcul du school of theology, but once it faced politi-
moment statique dune barre homogne, cal difficulties he promptly abandoned it
Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1976. and attacked it in a work called Fadihat al-
Meyerhof, M., The Book of Treasure, an mutazila (The Disgrace of the Mutazilites).
early Arabic treatise on Medicine, Isis, He quickly gained a reputation for being a
14 (1930), pp. 5576. hired pen, writing for whoever paid him,
Morlon, R., Thabit ibn Qurra, oeuvres and extorting money from anyone who paid
dastronomie, Paris: Les Belles Lettres, him to not refute instantly what he had writ-
1987. ten on his/her behalf. Since the only reports
Thabit ibn Qurra and Arab Astronomy we have of him are from others, particularly
in the 9th Century, Arabic Sciences and from those not likely to represent him in a
Philosophy, 4 (1994), pp. 11139. positive light, it is not clear how fair these
Pines, S., Thabit b. Qurras Conception remarks are. Of his many works only a few
of Number and Theory of the fragments remain, again as part of the work
Mathematical Infinite, in Actes of others such as Muayyad, al-Jawzi, and
du Onzime Congrs International al-Khayyat. It is remarkable how everyone,
dHistoire des Sciences, Wroclaw: even those tarred to a degree with the brush
Ossolineum, 1963, pp. 1606. of free thinking, is rude about him. He is
Rashed, R., Entre arithmtique et said to have spent his career defending and
algbre: recherches sur lhistoire des attacking a variety of positions, including
mathmatiques arabes, Paris: Les Belles Judaism and Shiism, and finally ended up
Lettres, 1984. an atheist.
Les mathmatiques infinitsimales In this role he particularly criticized Islam,
du IXe au XIe sicle: Fondateurs et and its claim to prophecy. There is nothing
commentateurs, vol. I, London: al-Furqan special about the Quran, he argues, and
Islamic Heritage Foundation, 1996. its style is nothing very exciting either, so
Sabra, A. I., Thabit ibn Qurra on Euclids there is no point in making a fuss about how
Parallels Postulate, Journal of the wonderful it is. Prophets are like magicians
Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, and their role is to play tricks on people.
31 (1968), pp. 1232. Arguments designed to show that the world
218
IBN RUSHD
requires a cause to fail because the world is Impact on Islamic Thought, Leiden: Brill,
eternal, and so God had no part to play in 1999.
its construction. The afterlife is a poor joke Urvoy, D., Les penseurs libres dans lIslam
since God has made people likely to err and classique, Paris: Albin Michel, 1996.
end up in Hell while pretending they got Van Ess, J., Ibn ar-Rewandi or the Making
there of their own accord. Heaven is unexcit- of an Image, Al-Abhath, 27 (19789),
ing and certainly nothing to get enthusiastic pp. 526.
about. In fact, Ibn al-Rawandi takes a consis-
tently pessimistic attitude to everything, and oliver leaman
describes God as a bad-tempered tyrant. He
was by far the most determined free thinker
in Islam, if the reports we have of him are at
all accurate.
IBN RUSHD, Abu al-Walid Muhammad
BIBLIOGRAPHY ibn Ahmad(52095/112698)
Al-Khayyat, Kitab al-Intisar war-radd
ala Ibn ar-Rawand al-Mulhid, ed. Abu al-Walid Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn
H. S. Nyberg, Cairo: Matbaat al-Kutub Rushd is one of the most outstanding Islamic
al-Masriyya, 1925; trans. A. Nadir, Le philosophers. He was born in Cordoba into
livre du triomphe et de la rfutation dIbn an important local family (his grandfather
al Rawandi lhrtique, Beirut: Catholic in particular was well known for his legal
Press, 1957. expertise) and he played a notable role in
Al-Muayyad fi al-Din, Al-Majalis the Almohad state. He experienced many
al-muayyadiyya lil-Muayyad fi ad-Din reverses in his career, sometimes being the
ash-Shirazi, ed. M. Abd al-Nasir, Cairo: chief qadi or judge in his part of al-Andalus,
Dar al-Thaqafa, 1975. sometimes being exiled to a remote part of
Ibn al-Jawzi, Al-Muntazam fi tarikh the country or even to North Africa. He was
al-muluk wal-umam, eds. M. A. Q. Ata the chief interpreter of the Maliki school
and M. A. Q. Ata, Beirut: Dar al-Kutub of jurisprudence in al-Andalus at the time,
al-Ilmiyya, 1992. and wrote on a wide variety of topics rang-
ing from astronomy to medicine. One of his
Further Reading functions at the court when he was in favor
al-Abbasi, Maahid at-tansis (Known was to act as a physician to the ruler, and
Citations), ed. M. Abd al-Hamid, Cairo: many philosophers during this period were
Matbaat as-Saada, 1947. physicians.
al-Asam, A., History of Ibn Ar-Riwandi Ibn Rushds philosophical education was
the Heretic, Beirut: Dar al-Afaq al-Jadida, certainly influenced by Ibn Bajja and Ibn
1975. Tufayl, the latter in particular being very
Ibn ar-Riwandi fi al-maraji al-arabiyya significant for his career. Ibn Tufayl worked
al-haditha (Ibn ar-Rawandi in Modern for the caliph Abu Yaqub Yusuf as the court
Arabic Sources), Beirut: Dar al-Afaq physician and philosopher, and the caliph
al-Jadida, 19789. had a real interest in philosophy. Ibn Tufayl
Stroumsa, S., The Barahima in Early introduced Ibn Rushd to him in 1169, and
Kalam, Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and the caliph impressed the young philosopher
Islam, 6 (1985), pp. 22941. with his grasp of the discipline. This meet-
Freethinkers of Medieval Islam: Ibn ing had important effects, since it led to
al-Rawandi, Abu Bakr al-Razi and Their the caliph apparently asking Ibn Rushd to
219
IBN RUSHD
produce commentaries on the main Aristo- and his Latin name, Averroes, comes up a
telian texts, so that a wider audience could good deal in the philosophical traditions of
learn from them. The caliph initially put this the People of the Book. Jewish Averroism
request to Ibn Tufayl, but such a proposal became a significant theme in Jewish phi-
was of little interest to the older thinker, as losophy, and in Christian Europe the works
he was by this stage more interested in mys- of Averroes were held to be so controversial
tical thought than in Peripatetic philosophy. that they were specifically condemned on a
Ibn Rushd started his project of producing number of occasions. This did not prevent
three types of commentary on the texts he a strong Averroist movement from coming
had available to him, and he wrote for some into existence in countries like France and
of those books a long, medium, and short Italy, and there can be little doubt about the
commentary. He commentated not only on continuing significance of the thought of Ibn
Aristotle, but also on Alexander of Aphro- Rushd, albeit perhaps interpreted in ways
disias, Plato, Porphyry, Ptolemy, and Nico- not entirely faithful to Ibn Rushd himself.
laus of Damascus. It was these commentaries One of the doctrines with which he is cred-
that led to his popularity in Christian and ited is that of double truth, where a state-
Jewish Europe, since there was a real inter- ment is held to be true in religion but not in
est in Aristotle for many centuries after Ibn philosophy, and vice versa. This is held to be
Rushds death, and Ibn Rushd was regarded his response to the incompatibility of reason
as the supreme interpreter of the Greek and religion, to argue that they are different
thinker whom he admired so much. ways of speaking and so subject to different
Ibn Rushds career was not always rules. He does indeed claim this, but he never
smoothly successful. The successor in 1184 suggested that a statement could be both true
to the caliph, his son Abu Yusuf Yaqub, and false when seen from different perspec-
continued to support him, but in 1195 Ibn tives. It is rather the case that religion and
Rushd fell into disgrace. The reasons for this reason are two different routes to the truth,
are not clear. It may have been that the Maliki to the same truth, and both are acceptable
lawyers finally managed to get their negative and will get the traveler to the right place.
view of him more widely accepted. Although However, philosophy is not appropriate
Ibn Rushd was a Maliki, it may have been for most people; it is the role of religion to
that his support for philosophy was felt to go present theoretical truths in ways that will
beyond the bounds of that approach to juris- resonate with the community at large. Those
prudence. His biographers refer to a variety who are interested in philosophy should also
of causes for his downfall, and it may be that involve themselves in the religious life of their
the reason was simply political. Those in the community, while at the same time pursuing
state who were of a different grouping man- the philosophical route to truth. It is easy to
aged to get rid of him. He did come back see how this doctrine could be developed in
into favor a year or so before his death, and radical ways, however, since the insulation of
returned to a high position. philosophy and religion from each other sug-
After his death Ibn Rushd almost disap- gests that religion at the very least is far from
pears from the Islamic world, until the Nahda the best way of understanding the world.
of the nineteenth century. But his works Apart from his commentaries, Ibn Rushd
became very popular in the Christian and wrote a large number of philosophical
Jewish intellectual worlds, and many of them works, and many also on medicine, law, the-
were translated into Latin and Hebrew. From ology, science, and so on. Some of these, like
the number of translations that were made his Fasl al-maqal (Decisive Treatise), argue
we can see how their popularity continued, very aggressively for philosophy as against
220
IBN RUSHD
theology or law as the means to understand- cannot, according to Ibn Rushd, be resur-
ing fundamental questions, including funda- rected. Any hope of immortality rests on
mental religious questions. It is hardly sur- our ability to think abstractly, not a happy
prising that many in the religious hierarchy prospect for the simple but sincere believer.
of his time were not pleased by his assertion Another difficult thesis is the idea that God
that the Qurans difficult passages can only does not really know what goes on in the
really be understood by philosophers. Ibn world of generation and corruption, since
Rushd has a calmly combative style that is this would involve Gods knowledge being
very effective but must also have been very like ours. Ibn Rushd also accepted the com-
annoying to his opponents. His response to mon thesis of falsafa that the world is eternal,
al-Ghazali in his Tahafut al-tahafut (The and so God did not create it out of nothing.
Incoherence of the Incoherence) is a care- This seems to imply that God has very little
ful analysis of the latters Tahafut al-falas- to do with creation, and very little to do with
ifa (The Incoherence of the Philosophers). the way things happen in the world. These
In this book al-Ghazali sought to show philosophical positions formed the basis of
that philosophy, in the sense of Peripatetic criticisms that al-Ghazali brought against
thought or falsafa, is incoherent even when philosophy, but Ibn Rushd certainly man-
examined with its own premises. He also aged to defend them. But the Islamic world
charged falsafa with being heretical or at tended to think that al-Ghazali was correct
the best innovative, two very serious charges concerning the religious basis of his attack.
from an Islamic point of view. The chief tar- Despite Ibn Rushds brilliant defense of phi-
get in the book was Ibn Sina, then the main losophy, it went into serious decline after his
representative of philosophy. Ibn Rushd, in death in the Arab world. This should not be
his response, wished to defend philosophy over-emphasized, however, since philoso-
while at the same time not accepting every- phy in the Peripatetic tradition continued
thing that Ibn Sina had to say. in both the Turkish and the Persian intellec-
One of the interesting aspects of Ibn tual worlds, and, of course, in Christian and
Rushds thought is that he tries to get back Jewish Europe.
to what he regards as genuine Aristotelian
thought, avoiding the Neoplatonic accretions BIBLIOGRAPHY
that had built up over the centuries since Some of Ibn Rushds works now only exist
Aristotles death. Ibn Sina is a prime example in Hebrew or Latin, and some not at all.
of a thinker who used Aristotle in ways that The most useful bibliography is Phillip
did not really represent much of the original Rosemann, Ibn Rushd: A Catalogue
thinker himself, or so Ibn Rushd often argued. of Editions and Scholarly Writings from
So in defending philosophy he was fighting 1821 Onwards, Bulletin de philosophie
with one hand tied behind his back; he, like medivale, 30 (1988), pp. 153215.
al-Ghazali, frequently disagreed with phi- Hourani, G., trans., Averroes on the
losophys main representative Ibn Sina, but Harmony of Religion and Philosophy.
unlike al-Ghazali, Ibn Rushd did not want to London: Luzac, 1976.
throw the baby out with the bath water. Tahafut al-Tahafut (The Incoherence of the
Ibn Rushd defended a number of theses Incoherence), S. Van den Bergh (ed. and
that were challenging to traditional religion. trans.), Averroes Tahafut al-Tahafut,
One is his doctrine of the soul, which he sees London: Luzac, 1978.
as not enjoying an individual afterlife. To Long Commentary on Aristotles Metaphysics,
have such an afterlife, the soul would have in Charles Genequand (ed.), Ibn Rushds
to be associated with a body, and the body Metaphysics, Leiden: Brill, 1984.
221
IBN SABIN
Further Reading of a distinguished Arab family of Andalu-

Fakhry, Majid, Islamic Occasionalism and sia called Banu Sabin. Ibn Sabin received
Its Critique by Averroes and Aquinas, his first education in his hometown where
London: Allen & Unwin, 1958. he studied Arabic language and literature,
Kogan, Barry, Averroes and the Metaphysics Asharite theology, Maliki jurisprudence,
of Causation, Albany: State University of logic, and philosophy. He was also interested
New York Press, 1985. in medicine and occult sciences.
Leaman, Oliver, Was Averroes an Ibn Sabin was influenced from the works
Averroist?, in F. Niewhner and L. of Abu Ishaq b. Dahhaq (d. 611/1214), who
Sturlese (eds), Averroismus im Mittelalter was a student of Abu Abdullah al-Shuzi,
und in der Renaissance, Zurich: Spur founder of the Shuzi Sufi order. In 640/1242
Verlag, 1994, pp. 922. when he was already a famous scholar, Ibn
Averroes, in F. Niewhner (ed.), Sabin migrated to North Africa with a group
Klassiker der Religionsphilosophie, of his students and settled in Ceuta where
Munich: C. H. Beck, 1995, pp. 14262. he produced most of his work. There, his
Averroes and the West, in M. Wahba ascetic life aroused the interest of the pub-
and M. Abousenna (eds), Averroes lic and his philosophical and mystical views
and the Enlightenment, New York: gradually spread. When Frederick II, ruler
Prometheus, 1996, pp. 5368. of Sicily, sent a letter to the Almohad sultan
Averroes and His Philosophy. Abd al-Wahid al-Rashid asking answers to
Richmond: Curzon, 1997. Material his philosophical questions, Ibn Khalas the
on his philosophical arguments can governor of Ceuta commissioned Ibn Sabin
be found in Leamans Introduction to for the task. He wrote al-Kalam alal-masail
Classical Islamic Philosophy Cambridge: al-siqilliyya (Statement Concerning Sicily
Cambridge University Press, 2002, Issues) for this purpose. His replies aroused
and his Brief Introduction to Islamic the envy of the jurists and as a result he was
Philosophy Oxford: Polity Press, 1999. forced to go into exile.
Urvoy, Dominique, Ibn Rushd (Averroes), Ibn Sabin first went to Badis, then to Bou-
trans. O. Stewart, London: Routledge, gie where he met Abul Hasan al-Shushtari
1991. (d. 668/1269) who became one of his best
Ibn Rushd, in S. H. Nasr and students. He then went to Tunis; but he
O. Leaman (eds), History of Islamic could not settle there and as a result of the
Philosophy, ch. 23, London: Routledge, hostility of the Sunni scholars, particularly
1996, pp. 33045. of Abu Bakr al-Sakuni, who declared him
a heretic, Ibn Sabin left the city. When he
oliver leaman arrived in Egypt around 648/1250, he had
already been labeled there as a heretic, for
the North African scholars had informed the
Egyptian scholars about his heretical views.
Consequently, he could not stay there, and he
IBN SABIN, Abu Muhammad Abd thought that Mecca was the only safe place
al-Haqq b. Ibrahim(61469/121770) for him. Ibn Sabin went to Mecca, where he
was well received by the ruler, Abu Numayy.
Ibn Sabin was born in Valle de Ricote, He was also popular with the people of
Murcia, in 614/1217 and died in Mecca Mecca, but there again he could not escape
in 669/1270. He was one of the great Sufi from the enmity of the scholars. He met
philosophers of Islam. He was a member with scholars such as Shaykh Safiyyuddin
222
IBN SABIN
al-Hindi, and had philosophical discussions elements at the center of his teaching. As a
with them. Ibn Sabin died in Mecca while he result, his teaching seems to be a rational
was considering moving to India. There are mysticism.
different accounts of his death. According Ibn Sabin has produced a number of
to some biographers, he committed suicide, works, some of which have come down to
while according to others he was poisoned. us. In the Budd al-arif (Guide to the Gnos-
Ibn Sabin had a very controversial life. tic), he presents his understanding of logic
Throughout it, although he had a number of and physics. He starts from the Peripatetic
enemies, he had also very faithful students. position, but then goes beyond Peripateticism
The Shuzi Sufi order was very influential in to engage with oriental philosophy (hikma
Andalusia. The philosophical tendency of al-mashrikiyya)that could be traced to Her-
this order definitely influenced Ibn Sabins meticism. He tries to harmonize philosophy
thought. Later in his life, Ibn Sabin became and Sufism from the viewpoint of this sys-
a leader of a Sufi group which came to be tem of thought. In this context, Ibn Sabin
known as the Sabiniyyun. The followers criticizes the philosophers, the Sufis, and the
of this order propagated Ibn Sabins views theologians. His criticism of Ibn Bajjah, Ibn
all over the Islamic world. What makes this Tufayl, Ibn Rushd, al-Farabi, Ibn Sina, al-
order fundamentally different from other Ghazali, and Ibn al-Arabi seems to be inac-
Sufi orders is that while the chain (silsila) curate. For example, he accuses Ibn Rushd
of the other orders goes back to the Prophet of blindly following Aristotle. Although he
Muhammad, the chain of the Sabiniyye, as it criticizes al-Farabi, he thinks that only al-
was called by Shushtari, goes back to Hermes Farabi is a real philosopher. In the al-Kalam
and includes such figures as Socrates, Plato, alal-masail al-siqilliyya, Ibn Sabin discusses
Aristotle, al-Hallaj, al-Suhrawardi, Ibn the philosophical questions raised by Fred-
Masarra, Ibn Sina, al-Tusi, Ibn Tufayl, erick II. These are Aristotles proofs for the
Ibn Rushd, and Ibn al-Arabi. The order eternity of the world; the aim of metaphysics
survived for some time. and its premises; categories and their num-
The philosophy of Ibn Sabin is based on ber; and the proofs for the immortality of the
the concept of the absolute unity of being soul and the differences between Aristotle
(wahdat al-wujud). For him, this unity can be and Alexander on the issue. Ibn Sabin also
known not through reasoning but intuition- produced a number of epistles to express his
ally. His concept of the unity of being dif- philosophical and mystical views.
fers from that of Ibn al-Arabi in that while Ibn Sabins concept of unity of being has
the latter admits the distinction between the been criticized by a number of thinkers. The
existence of God and everything else, Ibn most influential and systematic criticism
Sabin thinks that there is no real distinction came from Ibn Taymiyya, who thought that
between the two. Only God has a real exis- there is a parallelism between this concept
tence; all the things in this world have only and the ideas of Ibn al-Arabi, and that, in
conceptual existence. His main criticism of fact, it was taken from Ibn al-Arabi. But
other thinkers arises from this understand- according to Ibn Khaldun, the two concepts
ing of being. His criticism of the views and express different things. For while Ibn al-
methods of the philosophers shows his deep Arabi accepts the reality of each hierarchical
knowledge of philosophy. Ibn Sabin uses being, Ibn Sabin does not. Ibn Sabins con-
this knowledge to support his teaching, but cept expresses pantheism, for it suggests that
thinks that it is necessary to go beyond this God is the totality of all visible and invis-
level of knowledge. Although he sometimes ible things. In this context, his system can be
criticizes the Sufis, Ibn Sabin puts mystical compared with that of Spinoza.
223
IBN SINA
BIBLIOGRAPHY IBN SINA, Abu Ali al-Husayn ibn Abd

Al-Kalam alal masail al-siqilliyya Allah(370/980428/1037)
(Statement Concerning Sicily Issues),
ed. S. Yaltkaya, Beirut: Imprimerie Abu Ali al-Husayn ibn Abd Allah Ibn Sina
Catholique, 1941. was born on Safar 370/August-September
Rasail ibn Sabin (The Epistles of Ibn 980 in Afshana, a village near Bukhara
Sabin), ed. A. R. Badawi, Cairo: (in present-day Uzbekistan), and died in
n.p., 1956. 428/1037 at Hamadhan. He is buried in
Budd al-arif (Guide to the Gnostic), Hamadhan in Iran. Ibn Sina is famous as
ed. G. Kattora, Beirut: Dar al-Andalus, a philosopher, physician, and advisor of
1978. princes. He is known as al-Shaykh al-rais
(the great master) in the Islamic world, and
Further Reading Avicenna in the West.
Atasoy, A., Die Sizilianischen Fragen, According to his autobiography, Ibn Sinas
Arabisch-Deutsch. bersetzt und father was a government administrator and
eingeleitet von Anna Atasoy (Herders a Persian. Since it was an ancient Silk Road
Bibliothek der Philosophie des city, Bukhara was a center for the exchange
Mittelalters; 2), Freiburg: Herder-Verlag, of ideas as well as merchandise: strands of
2005. Buddhism and Hinduism remained in the
Cornell, W., The Way of the Axial vicinity. His mother was a local woman;
Intellect: The Islamic Hermetism of therefore he was ethnically Persian and
Ibn Sabin, Journal of the Muhyiddin Central Asian. Persian was his native lan-
Ibn Arabi Society, 22 (1997), guage, but he wrote most of his books in
pp. 4179. Arabic, the language of the educated elite.
Johnson, N., Ocean and Pearls: Ibn Sabin, Ibn Sina also says he had a younger brother.
Shushtari and the Doctrine of Absolute By the age of ten Ibn Sina had memorized
Unity, Sufi: A Journal of Sufism, 25 the Quran and studied literature. He denies
(1995), pp. 2431. accepting Ismaili doctrines, as his father and
Al-Taftazani, A. and Leaman, O., Ibn brother did. Philosophy is the only science
Sabin, in S. H. Nasr and O. Leaman Ibn Sina found difficult; Aristotles Meta-
(eds), History of Islamic Philosophy, physics nearly defeated him until he read al-
ch. 24, London: Routledge, 1996, Farabis commentary. Ibn Sina also studied
pp. 3469. medicine and law. His first royal patient was
the Samanid Amir Nuh II; as payment, the
muammar skenderolu amir allowed Ibn Sina to use the Saminids
extensive library. Ibn Sina claims he learned
all he knew by eighteen. He says he had a bet-
ter memory at eighteen, but adds that he did
Ibn al-Saigh,see Ibn Bajja not learn anything new afterward, although
his knowledge became more mature.
The political situation changed drasti-
cally in 388/998 when Mahmud of Ghazna
ibn Safwan, Jahm,see Jahm ibn Safwan broke his ties with the Samanids to ally him-
self with Baghdad as the champion of Sunni
Islam. This was only an excuse for empire
building; he eventually conquered large
Ibn Shadhan,see al-Nisaburi swathes of northern India and Central Asia
224
IBN SINA
for the Ghaznavid Empire; Mahmud died in Cremona, and used as a text in the universi-
421/1030. As he approached Bukhara, Ibn ties of Europe for centuries to teach medi-
Sina fled. Mahmud invited philosophers, cine, such as the universities of Montpellier,
poets, and artists to embellish his court; Padua, and Bologna through the fourteenth
al-Biruni was at his court as was the poet century. With the Renaissance it enjoyed fur-
Firdawsi, though only for a time. Ibn Sina ther interest in the sixteenth and seventeenth
fled west to escape his grasp, crossing the centuries as new editions were published and
Karakum Desert to Gurganj. He worked for commentaries written (Siraisi 1987: 67).
a succession of princes while continuing to Alpago also translated it into Latin. Shorter
move westward. In Hamadhan he worked medical treatises were translated into Latin.
for Shams al-Dawla. After that rulers death, The general consensus is that Ibn Sinas over-
Ibn Sina was imprisoned for four months in all theoretical organization and presenta-
440/1023 in the city of Hamadhan. Ala al- tion was the best among Islamic physicians,
Dawla attacked the castle, released Ibn Sina although al-Razi (d. 925 or 935) was con-
and employed him at the court. Ibn Sina sidered the most acute empirical observer of
worked at Ala al-Dawlas court for thir- diseases. However, al-Razis writing was not
teen years until his death in 428/1037. Ibn organized as a comprehensive text.
Sina wrote Daneshnamah-i Alai (Book of Kitab al-Shifa (The Book of Healing) is
Knowledge for Ala) for Ala al-Dawla. The his philosophical encyclopedia. It covers the
Daneshnamah is a short form of the Shifa, areas of science which philosophers included
Ibn Sinas encyclopedia of knowledge, writ- as essential such as physics, mathematics,
ten in Persian. It was while accompanying logic, metaphysics, as well as other subjects
Ala al-Dawla on a campaign that Ibn Sina such as meteorology, mineralogy, plants,
died. and animals. It is also famous for the Kitab
Ibn Sina was both a political animal and al-Nafs (Book of the Soul, known as his
a philosopher. He frequently worked all day Psychology). Kitab al-Najat (The Book of
and then wrote all night, describing in his Salvation) is a precis of texts from the Shifa,
autobiography how he drank wine to stay selected by Ibn Sina.
awake. He was also known for writing his Because his supposedly major work Kitab
books while on horseback, moving from one al-Insaf (The Book of Impartial Judgement)
place to another (Hourani 1966: 41). The is mostly lost, there is no way to know if it is
Life was completed by his disciple al-Juzjani, different from his other works. The Shifa is
and also includes a bibliography of books usually considered very Aristotelian. Varia-
Ibn Sina wrote. No matter how suspect tion in the way Ibn Sina treats topics among
many of the details of his autobiography are, surviving texts consists mainly in emphasis
the picture that emerges is of a driven man, a and degree of detail. For example, he treats
man who never quit his day job as advisor or the impossibility of tanasukh (physical rein-
physician, while pursuing full-time writing. carnation) in similar ways in al-Najat and al-
Ibn Sinas Qanun fi al-tibb (The Canon Adhawiyya.
on Medicine) is a long study of the body, Like al-Kindi, Ibn Sina wrote a Kitab al-
the brain, diseases, and drugs. The Qanun hudud (Book of definitions). This genre was
consists of five books covering the body, a particular innovation of Islamic philoso-
organs, medicine and herbs, fevers, and vari- phy to introduce Arabs to the concepts used
ous surgery and treatments for everything in philosophy; its program comprises short
from bites to poisons. Ibn Sinas treatise on pithy definitions of basic terms for physics
pulse is among the best known. The Qanun and metaphysics, written for students unfa-
was translated into Latin by Gerard of miliar with these philosophic concepts.
225
IBN SINA
Al-Adhawiyya fi al-maad (On the After- as the matrix for the Islamic worldview. An
life) is of particular interest because, in some awareness of one God permeates the text in
subtle ways, it is so self-consciously Islamic. a way one never sees in the Hellenistic phi-
For instance, he quotes the Quran to make losophers.
his points. He describes the beliefs concern- Ibn Sina is frequently viewed as a seriously
ing the afterlife of Christians, Zoroastrians, Hellenistic philosopher and heir of Aristotle
and probably Hindus (those who believe in and Plotinus. This view has some truth, but
reincarnation). This was long before Shah- only up to a point. In view of his Quranic
rastanis (d. 1153) discussion of religious exegesis, writings on the afterlife and other
differences in his famous Milal wa al-nihal religious questions, and orientation within
(Book of Religions and Sects). Not only the matrix of Islamic society, he should
does Ibn Sina mention their beliefs, but he rather be considered as the Islamic philoso-
also does it in a way that shows he was very pher par excellence. Ibn Sina also bridges
familiar with those beliefs. He also does not the gap between Hellenistic philosophy and
condescend to those believers and uses objec- Scholastic philosophy in the West, serving
tive language. Throughout al-Adhawiyya his as a frequent reference point for Thomas
attitude is one of investigation and rational Aquinas.
analysis, which gives the work an atempo- Ibn Sina was responsible for develop-
ral quality. He also refers to people taking ing many of the philosophical issues that
on the qualities of animals whose vices they engaged philosophers for centuries. The
resemble and projecting that image. Again, questions of essence versus existence, the
this is an Islamic idea found in the Quran Necessary Existence and possible existence,
and repeated later by Mulla Sadra. Ibn and physical resurrection are among those
Sina says that the person who is vicious in developed by him. The essence versus exis-
his carnal appetite becomes like a pig, the tence controversy had its roots in his writing.
one who is vicious in business dealings will He considers things to be essences and the
become a fish (no doubt because of his slip- existence of an individual to be separate from
periness), while the angry one becomes a its essence. On occasion subsequent philoso-
wild beast and the hunter what he used to phers have interpreted this to mean that Ibn
hunt. Although these qualities may be seen Sina believed an essence could exist without
as fanciful, it is also interesting that Ibn Sina existence, in some sort of extra-existing or
begins with the lustful person, considering pre-existing state. However, he denies this
the rumors that have swirled around him in the Najat (among other places) where he
concerning his carnal appetite. These quali- emphasizes that souls do not pre-exist bod-
ties make Ibn Sinas Adhawiyya specifically ies (Rahman 1952: 56). Therefore it does not
Islamic in its orientation, not Hellenistic. appear this is what he had in mind. Further-
Hourani points out in his close analysis of more, it appears to be a mistake to think that
Ibn Sinas language in the Secret of Destiny Ibn Sina considers existence an accident in
that his opponents were those with Mutazili the same category as whiteness. For instance
and Shii leanings, and not those belonging in his discussion of the souls existence in
to the Ashari school, which was not well the Psychology (Najat Bk. II, Ch. VI), he
known in eleventh-century Persia (Hourani clearly recognizes that problems arise from
1966: 39). Even the Ilahiyyat section of the considering essence and existence as separate
Shifa is Islamic, not Hellenistic in its ori- notions, but he steadfastly refuses to ignore
entation. Consider the long discussion of them. Finally, in discussing how a particu-
God as the Necessary Existence. Here we lar soul and body can be joined when nei-
see the importance of monotheistic culture ther has pre-existed, he says it is a mystery
226
IBN SINA
(Rahman 1952: 578). However, he does not as symbolic or metaphorical statements

duck the issue; he spells out two possibili- (al-Adhawiyya 1984: 99100). As in many
ties: (a) that multiple soulswhich are pure cultures, theology is hostile to philosophy;
form with no distinguishing particularities in Islamic culture it is perceived as foreign
come into existence at once and (b) that a because of its Greek originsand incompat-
numerically single soul exists in two bodies. ible with faith because of its emphasis on
Of course both these situations are impos- reason. Ibn Sinas writings were criticized
sible. He cannot find an acceptable answer, for these reasons, but he still belonged to a
but he acknowledges the problem. monotheistic culture, rather than Hellenistic
Although he may not be able to work out culture, that speculated about Gods nature
the ontological relationship of the essence and the afterlife.
and existence joined in one entity, we should Rather than denying physical resurrec-
not think he did not see the full problem. tiona tenet whose meaning was in flux in
Thomas Aquinas is occasionally lured into his dayIbn Sina poses the following ques-
false beliefs about Ibn Sina because the Latin tion: after the soul has escaped the limita-
translation failed to make delicate distinctions and appetites of the body by separation
tions present in the Arabic original. Ibn Sina from the body, why would the soul want to
analyzes existence into necessary and pos- re-submit to this? In his opinion, the same
sible. God is wajib al-wujud (the Necessary body cannot reunite with the soul again.
Existence). This means God alone is without Matter once corrupted cannot be restored to
causes, totally simple. The Latin translation its identical previous state. It becomes appar-
led Thomas Aquinas to claim that Ibn Sina ent that resurrection was viewed as a type of
thought God had no essence. This is inaccu- reincarnation by the philosophers. Primarily,
rate. Rather Ibn Sina says that Gods essence Ibn Sina discusses tanasukh (reincarnation),
is the same as Gods existence. Everything an idea which he rejects; this is the case for
else in the world is possible in that it is caused all the philosophers.
and may or may not exist, although it has a Al-Ghazali (d. 1111) disagrees with Ibn
secondary necessity (Flynn 1973: 5960). Sina on the resurrection of the body, Gods
One may point out in passing that this view knowledge of particulars, and the eternity
is consistent with the Quranic depiction of of the world. Al-Ghazalis comments on his
God as above everything else, that there is predecessors views concerning resurrection
nothing like God. The difference is that Ibn are particularly interesting. Although al-
Sina expresses this concept in extremely Ghazali chides Ibn Sina harshly for denying
abstract language and the Quran expresses the resurrection of the body and its reunion
it in metaphorical terms of power and glory, with the soul to enjoy the bodily pleasures of
such as seen in the Throne Verse (2: 255). Paradise, al-Ghazali then states that the soul
Seen from this perspective Ibn Sina conforms reunites with a body, which he says could
to Islamic culture. Western scholars will not either be a new body or the old body since
come to an accurate assessment of Ibn Sina the persons identity comes from the soul.
until they consider him in an Islamic matrix. (Marmura 1997: 223) If one really pays
By focusing on whether or not Ibn Sina was attention to Ibn Sinas Adhawiyya he says
a good Muslim, westerners fall into the trap basically the same thing. Ibn Sina argues that
set by Muslim theologians, who try to dis- spiritual pleasures are higher than bodily
credit him by portraying him as an unbeliev- pleasures and, furthermore, that without
ing philosopher. While Ibn Sina does reject consciousness we would feel neither pain nor
anthropomorphical expressions about God, pleasure, due to a lack of awareness. Thus,
he states that these should be understood the attitudes of these two philosophers are
227
IBN SINA
very similar, it is only that al-Ghazali has set Institut dominicain dtudes orientales
up Ibn Sina as a whipping boy, by present- du Caire. Mlanges, 17 (1986),
ing the latters views in a prejudicial way. pp. 5366.
Despite al-Ghazalis protestations to the Flynn, J. G., St. Thomas and Avicenna
contrary, Muslim dogma on the physical on the Nature of God, Abr-Nahrain, 14
resurrection did not become fixed for a long (19734), pp. 5365.
time; furthermore, the Quran only has a few Gohlman, W. E., The Life of Ibn Sina:
ambiguous references to how humans shall A Critical Edition and Annotated
experience the afterlife. It does not categori- Translation, Albany: State University of
cally state that humans will be resurrected New York Press, 1974.
with their original bodies and souls; this is Gutas, Dimitri, Avicenna and the
the interpretation of later theologians. Aristotelian Tradition: Introduction to
Reading Avicennas Philosophical Works,
BIBLIOGRAPHY Leiden: Brill, 1988.
Avicenna on theology, trans. A. Arberry, Hourani, G., Ibn Sinas Essay on the
London: Murray, 1951. Secret of Destiny, Bulletin of the
Al-Shifa: al-Ilahiyyat, eds. M. Y. Moussa, School of Oriental and African Studies,
S. Dunya and S. Zayed, 2 vols, Cairo: 29 (1966), pp. 2548.
Organisme gnral des imprimeries Janssens, Jules, An Annotated Bibliography
gouvernementales, 1960. of Ibn Sina, Louvain: University Press,
The Life of Ibn Sina: A Critical Edition 1991.
and Annotated Translation, trans. W. Kennedy-Day, K., Books of Definition
Gohlman, Albany: State University of in Islamic Philosophy (includes
New York Press, 1974. translation of Kitab al-hudud), London:
Remarks and Admonitions Part One: CurzonRoutledge, 2003.
Logic, trans. S. Inati, Toronto: Pontifical Mahdavi, Yahya, Bibliographie dIbn Sina,
Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 1984. Tehran: Publications de lUniversit de
Al-Adhawiyya fi al-maad (The Adhawiyya Tehran, 1954.
Treatise on the Afterlife), ed. Hasan Asi, Michot, J., La destine de lhomme selon
Beirut: al-Muassassa al-jamiya lil-dirasat Avicenne. Le retour Dieu (maad) et
wa al-nashr wa al-tawzi, 1984. limagination. Louvain: Aedibus Peeters,
Kitab al-najat, ed. Majid Fakhry, Beirut: 1986.
Dar al-afaq al-jadida, 1985. Rahman, F., Avicennas Psychology: An
Al-Qanun fi al-tibb, ed. Idwar al-Qashsh, English Translation of Kitab al-najat,
3 vols, Beirut: Muassassat Izz al-din, Book II, Chapter VI, Westport, CT:
1987. Hyperion Press, 1952.
Siraisi, N. G., Avicenna in Renaissance
Further Reading Italy: The Canon and Medical Teaching
Anawati, G. C., Muallafat Ibn Sina. Essai in Italian Universities after 1500,
de bibliographie Avicennienne, Cairo: Princeton: Princeton University Press,
Dar al-Maarif, 1950. 1987.
Un cas typique de lsoterisme Wisnovsky, R., Notes on Avicennas
avicennien. Sa doctrine de la rsurrection Concept of Thingness (shayiyya),
des corps, Revue du Caire, 1951, Arabic Sciences and Philosophy, 10, 2
pp. 6894. (2000), pp. 181223.
Burrell, D., Essence and Existence:
Avicenna and Greek Philosophy, kiki kennedy-day
228
IBN TAYMIYYA
IBN TAYMIYYA, Taqi al-Din Ahmad ibn Hanbal. He read enthusiasti-

(661728/12631328) cally books on sciences such as logic, philos-
ophy, and theology (kalam). From his early
Abul Abbas Taqi al-Din Ahmad b. Abd youth, Ibn Taymiyya had scholarly debates
Al-Halim was born in Harran on 10 Rabi al- with local intellectuals. When he was nine-
Awwal 661/January 22, 1263, and died in teen years old, he started giving juridical
Damascus on 20 Dhul-Qadah 728/Septem- opinions (fatwa). In 695/1296, Ibn Taymi-
ber 26, 1328. As a jurist and a theologian yya held a chair of fiqh after the death of
he was a leading defender of the Hanbali his master Ibn al-Munajja as a teacher at the
School of Sunni Islam. Ibn Taymiyya Hanbaliyya school (madrasa) in Damascus.
belonged to a well-known family that pro- Ibn Taymiyya taught a number of stu-
duced a number of scholars. His grandfather dents, most of whom were the renowned
Majd al-Din Abd al-Salam was a leading Muslim scholars of that time: Ibn Qayyim
authority in Islamic law (fiqh), jurisprudence al-Jawziyya, Shams al-Din ibn Muflih,
(usul al-fiqh), the traditions (hadith), and Sham al-Din ibn Abdulhadi, Abul Fida ibn
related sciences. His father Shihab al-Din Kathir, and al-Dhahabi. Ibn Taymiyya kept
Abd al-Halim was also a prominent author- Ibn Qayyim in his company as his closest
ity in the Hanbali legal tradition. When he disciple. Because of their views, both the
was six years old, he fled to Damascus with master and his disciple were persecuted and
his family during the Mongol invasions in humiliated by the local authorities.
667/1269. His father then held a teaching Due to his severe criticism of Asharite
post at a hadith school (Dar al-Hadith) in thought and what he regarded as extremist
Damascus. He held a chair at the Umayyad Sufi doctrines, Ibn Taymiyya faced problems.
Mosque of Damascus on Fridays. Ibn Taymi- His opponents condemned and charged him
yya succeeded his father at the same mosque, with unbelief (kufr) for his legal opinion
where he gave lectures on Quranic exegesis. (fatwa) prohibiting travel to the tombs of
During his lifetime, because of the Mongol the Prophets and Saints. The Maliki chief
invasions and the Crusades, the prevailing judge al-Akhnai and four other chief judges
political and military conditions in the Mus- of Cairo issued their decision that he be
lim world worsened. He grew up in a period imprisoned. Ibn Taymiyya was duly impris-
of turmoil. In this disruptive and crucial oned in the citadel, and died there some two
period, he engaged in active politics. years later. While he was in prison he wrote
Ibn Taymiyya started his education at an a refutation of his opponent al-Akhnai. The
early age in the Sukkariyya hadith school of latter complained to the ruler, who ordered
Damascus. He received his education under that Ibn Taymiyya be deprived of the oppor-
the direction of more than 200 prominent tunity to write. It was perhaps as a result
scholars of his time. Among these scholars, of this severest punishment that he died in
Majd al-Din Ibn Asakir, Ibn Abu al-Yusr 728/1328.
al-Tanuhi, Qasim al-Irbili, Zaynuddin Ibn Ibn Taymiyyas main theological views can
al-Munajja, and Abul Faraj al-Qudama be summarized as follows. He opposed the
al-Maqdisi are worth mentioning here. Ibn theological approaches of the Asharites, and
Taymiyya first memorized the Quran in very firmly represented the Hanbali school of
Damascus, and then studied Arabic gram- law at his time. He declared his opposition to
mar and lexicography under Sulayman b. the philosophical theology of the Asharites
Abd al-Qawi al-Tuft. He studied a number in his popular work on creed (aqida) which
of hadith works, such as the six books of he wrote at the request of the people of Hama
hadith (kutub al-sitta) and the Musnad of in 1299, known as al-Aqida al-Hamawiyya.
229
IBN TAYMIYYA
In this book Ibn Taymiyya discussed the issue complimentary to some Sufis such as Abd
of Gods being on the throne (al-istiwa), a al-Qadir al-Jilani who lived during his time,
controversial issue since the question was and commended al-Jilanis Futuh al-ghayb.
how an immaterial deity can sit on anything. In the field of theology, Ibn Taymiyya
Another creed was the Aqida al-wasitiyya, criticized Shiite doctrines and thoughts. In
written at the request of Radi al-Din al- his Minhaj al-sunna, he strongly criticized
Wasiti, who was one of the judges of Wasit the theological views of the Shiites and
(Iraq). Because of his views on faith in these the Qadariyya. He also criticized the deter-
works he was charged by his opponents with ministic approach of the Jahmiyya and the
anthropomorphism (tashbih). In both these Jabriyya who deny mans responsibility for
works, he relied on the ways of the Com- his actions. He also opposed the rationalis-
panions (of the Prophet) who were inspired tic approach of the Mutazila, who consider
by their understanding of the Quran and the human free will to be the basis of human
Sunna (Prophetic reports). Consequently, his action. On many other issues of theology, he
Salafi doctrine can be considered as a reve- opposed the mainstream views of his time.
lation-centered theology. As opposed to the For him, Islam was a perfect and complete
theological approach of the Asharites, for religion at the time of the Companions of
Ibn Taymiyya, the goal of human life is nei- the Prophet. The passage of time had led to
ther to know God, nor to speculate about many subjective interpretations being added
God nor to love God; rather, the main goal to the religion by the Sufis and the theolo-
of humanity is to serve God through worship gians. He considered these approaches as
and obedience. Concerning the divine attri- deviations and innovations in Islam.
butes, he adopted the classical traditionalist Ibn Taymiyya also criticized blind adop-
doctrine which goes back to al-Shafii and tion of previous authorities (taqlid). He
to Ahmad ibn Hanbal. For him, God should emphasized the importance of investigating
be described as he has described himself in the sources of knowledge. Ibn Taymiyya
his book and as the Prophet has described declared war against innovation (bida) and
him in his Sunna. deviation. In this context, he attacked many
Ibn Taymiyya criticized the philosophers, practices such as accepting people like Ibn
in particular the logicians, and wrote the alal-Arabi as holy. We can also see his polemi-
Radd ala al-mantiqiyyin to attack them. In cal perspective in his scholarly debates with
his refutation, he criticized Aristotelian logic. Christian scholars. In his al-Jawab al-sahih li
Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti wrote an abridge- man baddala din al-masih, which he wrote
ment of this refutation. He also criticized against the Christian missionaries, he tried
the monistic position (ittihadiya) attributed to show the contradictions and man-made
to Ibn al-Arabi and the incarnationist Sufis modifications of the Bible. His theological
(hululiya). For him, Ibn al-Arabis claims and legal views inspired the late eighteenth-
that Gods existence is everywhere and that century Wahhabi school of thought, founded
he and his creation are identical are in con- by Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab
tradiction to the Quran, the Sunna and to (d. 1792). Ibn Taymiyyas views guided the
the understanding of the Companions. For Wahhabi movement.
this reason, he declared Ibn al-Arabi to be As a prolific writer, Ibn Taymiyya pro-
an unbeliever (kafir). Ibn Taymiyya con- duced approximately 700 works in various
demned Sufi practices as heretical innova- fields of the Islamic sciences. His pupil Ibn
tions. He totally rejected the Sufi doctrines al-Qayyim gives the list of his main works in
of pantheism and agnosticism. In spite of his treatise Asma muallafat shaykh al-islam
his severe opposition to the Sufis, he was ibn taymiyya (The List of the Works of Ibn
230
IBN TAYMIYYA
Taymiyya). His works deal with theology Al-Siyasa al-shariyya fi islah al-rai wal raiyya
and creed, Quranic exegesis, the Prophetic (The Governance According to Religious
traditions (hadith), Islamic law, Islamic Law in Reforming Both the Ruler and
jurisprudence, philosophy, logic, and the His Flock), ed. Muhammad Mubarak,
history of religions and sects. In the field of Beirut: Dar al-Afaq al-Jadidah, 1983.
theology he wrote al-Sarim al-maslul ala Al-Hisba fi al-islam (The Institute of
shatimi al-rasul (The Sharp Sword Drawn Weights and Measures Control in Islam)
Against the Reviler of the Messenger). In the ed. Sayyid b. Muhammad b. Abi Sada,
field of Quranic exegesis he wrote Muqad- Riyad: Vakfullah Taala, 1983.
dima fi usul al-tafsir (An Introduction to the Al-Aqida al-wasitiyya (The Creed of
Methodology of Exegesis) and al-Tibyan fi al-Wasitiyya), ed. Muhammed Ibn Mani,
nuzul al-quran (The Exposition in the Rev- Makka: Matbaat al-Nahda al-Hadise, 1985.
elation of the Quran). In the field of Islamic Muqaddima fi al-usul al-tafsir (An Intro
law and jurisprudence he wrote al-Siyasa duction to the Methodology of Exegesis),
al-shariyya fi islah al-rai wal raiyya (The Beirut: Dar al-Sham li al-Turath, 1988.
Governance According to Religious Law in Majmuu fatawa: Kitab al-Mantiq, ed.
Reforming Both the Ruler and His Flock), Abdurrahman b. Muhammad b. Qasim
al-Hisba fi al-islam (The Institute of Weights al-Asimi al-Najdi, Riyad: Dar Alam
and Measures Control in Islam), Risala fi al-Kutub, 1991.
manasiq al-hajj (A Treatise on Rituals of the Al-Rad ala al-mantiqiyyin (A Refutation to
Pilgrimage), al-Istihsan wal-qiyas (Juris- the Logicians), ed. Rafiq al-Ajm, Beirut:
tic Preference and Analogical Reasoning), Dar al-Fikr al-Lubnani, 1993.
and al-Qiyas fi shar al-islami (Analogical Al-Aqida al-hamawiyya, (The Creed
Reasoning in Islamic Law). In the field of of al-Hamawiyya), ed. Hamed
the history of religions he wrote al-Jawab b. Abdulmuhsin, Riyadh: Matbaal-Nil,
al-sahih li man baddala din al-masih (The 1905.
Right Answer to Those Who Changed the Al-Sarim al-maslul ala shatimi al-rasul
Message of Jesus Christ) and Qawaid al- (The Sharp Sword Drawn Against the
adyan (The Principles of the Religions). In Reviler of the Messenger), ed. Umar
the field of philosophy and logic he wrote al-Halwani-Muhammad Kabir Ahmad,
Naqd al-mantiq (The Revocation of the al-Dammam: Dar al-Maali, 2007.
Logic) and Al-Rad ala falsafa ibn rushd al-
hafid (A Refutation to the Philosophy of Ibn Further Reading
Rushd al-Hafid). It can be said that nearly Hallaq, W., Ibn Taymiyya Against the
all of his works were in the style of a refuta- Greek Logicians, Oxford: Clarendon
tion or a critique. Press, 1993.
Ibn Taymiyya was an outstanding thinker Haque, S., Imam Ibn Taimiyya and
of Salafi doctrine in the intellectual history His Projects of Reform, Dhaka:
of Islam. His teachings profoundly influ- n.p., 1982.
enced many revivalist movements of the Islahi, A., Economic Concepts of Ibn
modern age. Taymiyyah, Lancaster: The Islamic
Foundation, 1988.
BIBLIOGRAPHY Khan, Q., The Political Thought of Ibn
Al-Jawab al-sahih li man baddala din Taymiyah, Islamabad: Islamic Research
al-masih (The Right Answer to Those Institute, 1973.
Who Changed the Message of Jesus
Christ), Jeddah: al-Hadith, 1970. muharrem kl
231
IBN TUFAYL
IBN TUFAYL, Abu Bakr Muhammad afterlife. Ibn Sina is praised for, in particu-
(d. 581/1185) lar, what Ibn Tufayl takes to be his oriental
wisdom, which he understands as Ibn Sinas
Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Abd al-Malik advocacy of the mystical path. Ibn Bajja is
Ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Tufayl grudgingly praised but said to have only
al-Qaysi was born in the first decade of the gone so far, since he did not appear to coun-
sixth century/twelfth century. Born in Wadi tenance mystical knowledge, and so limited
Ash (Guadix), near Granada, he died in human knowledge to what we can grasp
Morocco in 581/1185. He was known in rationally. Al-Ghazali is acknowledged as
Christian Europe as Abubacr or Abubakr. someone who was in favor of mysticism, but
He is said to have introduced Ibn Rushd to Ibn Tufayl does not really comment on the
the caliph in 1169, a meeting that resulted in significance of the formers works because,
Ibn Rushd commencing his huge commen- unfortunately, they never reached him. This
tory on the works of Aristotle. Ibn Tufayl is an interesting fact if true, since it shows
would clearly have been uninterested with how philosophical and theological literature
such a project not only due to his fairly was often rather limited to particular geo-
advanced age by then, but also because his graphical areas.
philosophical interests lay much more in In Ibn Tufayls novel, Hayy is an infant
mystical thought. who is discovered living completely by him-
His main and only surviving work is Hayy self on a warm island. How did he come to
ibn Yaqzan (Living Son of the Vigilant). be there? Ibn Tufayl has the philosophers
The title and topic is taken from a couple claiming that he was born spontaneously
of Ibn Sinas philosophical works and local when a mixture of elements reached the
folklore. It very much takes the form of a right balance to receive a human soul from
philosophical novel, and raises an issue higher realms. Others suggest that he is the
that was quite often discussed at the time: son of a woman who kept her marriage to
whether someone could work out for himself her relative, Yaqzan, secret from her brother
how to live and what to believe using rea- who ruled a neighboring island and who
son alone. Could someone who was brought did not think anyone was good enough to
up in complete isolation and lived outside marry his sister. They say the woman put
society establish a feasible life and come to the infant in a solidly made box and threw
appreciate some of the most important con- the box into the sea, and the infant eventu-
clusions of education? If so, then it suggests ally floated to the island. A deer who had
that much of the social and indeed religious just lost her son saved him by feeding him
training that is regarded as vital to human- and taking care of him. Ibn Tufayl adopts
ity is considerably less important than is this explanation to take the story forward.
often thought. Can an individual work out The deer dies when the infant is seven. At
the fundamentals of religious faith without that age he speaks like the animals he meets
instruction, and would such a form of faith and covers parts of his body with leaves
be worse, or indeed superior, to that held by after noticing that animals are covered with
the majority in society? hair or feathers. He takes the death of the
Ibn Tufayl starts off by placing his discus- deer as an opportunity to investigate the
sion within a wider theoretical context by carcass of the animal, and he cuts her up
looking at some of the basic principles of with sharp stones in order to find out why
al-Farabi, Ibn Sina, al-Ghazali, and Ibn she died. This brings him to a basic grasp of
Bajja. Al-Farabi is criticized for the range how animals function physically, and also
of distinct views that he produced on the to a realization that bodies are temporary
232
IBN TUFAYL
and fallible, and life itself must have its difference is that for Hayy there is no need to
source elsewhere. use symbols to express religious truths, since
Left to himself he embarks on an inves- he is a simple and sincere person who does
tigation of the nature of things around him not require symbols to understand. He after
and this inevitably involves, according to all taught himself what those truths are, and
the author, the concepts of matter and form, so could express himself to himself in pre-
cause and effect, unity and multiplicity, the cisely the way necessary. Public religion, by
earth and the heavens, and other abstract contrast, has to express itself in a way that
ideas. This leads him to cosmological specu- is suitable for a large group of people, and
lation about the age of the Earth, whether cannot direct its mode of expression to just
it was created or otherwise and by whom. one person.
While there is much on which he cannot Hayy, full of enthusiasm, goes to Absals
conclude satisfactorily, he raises most of the island to tell people how to practise their reli-
issues that are very controversial and pro- gion without recourse to symbols. He soon
longed items of debate in Islamic philosophy. discovers that the intellectual elite are not
He starts to wonder at the limits of perception interested. They start to criticize him for the
and whether there is a reality that lies behind ways in which he interprets scripture, mak-
those limits, and if so how one might gain ing far too simple and straightforward a pro-
access to such a reality. At this stage he also cess out of something which is in their view
appreciates that his rational faculties are not very complex and specialized. Hayy comes
taking him any further, and starts to engage to appreciate that his unvarnished approach
in physical exercises to copy the motions of to truth is not suitable for most people who
the heavens in an attempt at aligning himself need a more indirect access to how things
both physically and spiritually with the uni- really are and a way of performing rituals
verse at large. This might be seen as bring- that gives them that access without getting
ing out some of the arguments that Ibn Sina too close. Although he is disappointed, Hayy
produces on the difference between rational is realistic enough to understand that this is
and mystical thought. The former is limited as far as most people are likely to get on the
and tries to grasp things that are essentially religious path, and he advises them to con-
incomprehensible from its perspective; other tinue in the future with what they have been
and deeper methods have to be employed, as doing in the past, with the sole suggestion
Hayy discovers, in order to pierce the veil of that they curb their materialism.
perception and reason and ascend higher in As one might imagine this account has
the understanding of the unity of everything. proved to be popular ever since it was writ-
Absal moves to Hayys island from a ten, the idea of a sort of philosophical Rob-
neighboring realm which is ruled by Sala- inson Crusoe allowed Ibn Tufayl to mix
man. Absal is described as someone with some rather dramatic personal facts about
mystical tendencies and a love of solitude his main protagonists with philosophical
who finds the religion of his hometown speculation. The rather depressing conclu-
inauthentic and limiting. He teaches Hayy sion is that Hayy and Absal need to return
human language, after which he hears from to a solitary life on Hayys island since any
Hayy what his experiences and life on the attempt at getting society to acknowledge the
island by himself had been like. When Hayy best way of approaching reality is doomed to
ventures into more abstract ideas, though, failure. On the other hand, this brings out
Absal is impressed by the similarity of the nicely how mystical philosophy saw itself in
ideas of his religion with the ideas that Hayy relation to other ways of working and liv-
had managed to work out by himself. The ing. In the hierarchy of knowledge mystical
233
IDRIS IMAD AL-DIN
knowledge comes at the top, but lower forms started a trend in Shii philosophy that was
are still forms of knowledge and should be to become the prevalent style. He merged the
respected and permitted. Indeed, they are the different philosophical approaches, namely,
best that most people can attain. Ibn Tufayls the Peripatetic, Ishraqi and Sufi, and so
dramatic story has been much discussed and applied them at the same time to the issues
explored ever since he wrote it. he was discussing. He came from the Isfa-
han area, and had to leave for Samarkand
BIBLIOGRAPHY when Tamerlane invaded, only returning
Ibn Tufayl, Hayy Ibn Yaqzan (Living Son after Tamerlanes death. Ibn Turka produced
of the Vigilant), ed. L. Gauthier, Beirut: fifty-seven works on philosophy, including
Catholic Press, 1936; trans. L. Goodman, commentaries on Ibn al-Arabis Fusus al-
Ibn Tufayls Hayy Ibn Yaqzan, a hikam and other mystical texts. His best-
Philosophical Tale, New York: Twain known work is his Tamhid al-qawaid, a
Publishers, 1972. commentary on Abu Hamid Muhammad
al-Isfahanis Qawaid al-tawhid, which itself
Further Reading is a Peripatetic analysis of Ibn al-Arabi, thus
Conradi, L., (ed.), The World of Ibn Tufayl: establishing the trend of mixing the different
Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Hayy philosophical techniques.
Ibn Yaczan, Islamic Philosophy, Theology
and Sciences Series, vol. 24, Leiden: Brill, BIBLIOGRAPHY
1996. Tamhid al-qawaid (The Disposition of
Goodman, L. Ibn Tufayl, in S. H. Nasr Principle), ed. S. Ashtiyani, Tehran:
and O. Leaman (eds), History of Islamic Muqadamah al-Tahqiq, 1976.
Philosophy, ch. 22, London: Routledge,
1996, pp. 31329. Further Reading
Hawi, S., Ibn Tufayls Hayy Ibn Yaqzan, Bihbahani, S., Ahwal wa athar-i Sain al-din
Its Structure, Literary Aspects and Turka-yi Isfahani, in M. Mohaghegh
Methods, Islamic Culture, 47 (1973): and H. Landolt (eds), Collected Papers
pp. 191211. in Islamic Philosophy and Mysticism,
Islamic Naturalism and Mysticism: A Institute of Islamic Studies, Tehran
Philosophical Study of Ibn Tufayls Hayy Branch: McGill University, 1971.
Yaqzan, Leiden: Brill, 1974. Cooper, J., From al-Tusi to the School of
Hourani, G. The Principal Subject of Ibn Ishahan, in S. H. Nasr and O. Leaman
Tufayls Hayy Ibn Yaqzan, Journal of (eds), History of Islamic Philosophy,
Near Eastern Studies, 15, 1 (1956): ch. 33, London: Routledge, 1996,
pp. 406. pp. 58596.
oliver leaman oliver leaman
IBN TURKA (d. 835/1432) IDRIS IMAD AL-DIN, Sayyid

(794872/13921468)
Sain al-Din Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Afdal
al-Din Muhammad Turka al-Khujandi An eminent Ismaili theologian and historian
al-Isfahani, usually known as Ibn Turka, as well as the supreme leader of the dawa
234
IDRIS IMAD AL-DIN
or missionary organization of the Tayyibi of the Sulayhids until 853/1449. Thirdly,

Mustali branch of Ismailism, Idris Imad his Rawdat al-akhbar (Garden of Infor-
al-Din b. al-Hasan b. Abdullah b. Ali b. mation) is a continuation of the preceding
al-Walid al-Anf hailed from the prominent history, covering the events of the Tayyibi
al-Walid family of Quraysh in Yemen, who dawa of his own time from 854/1450 to
led the Tayyibi Ismailis for more than three 870/1465.
centuries. He was born in 794/1392 in Idris was also a learned theologian and
the fortress of Shibam in the mountainous produced a major treatise, Zahr al-maani
region of Haraz in Yaman, a stronghold of (Flower of the Meanings), on esoteric Ismaili
the Ismailis. Nothing is known about his doctrines and their elaboration according
life until 832/1428 when he succeeded his to the distinctive Yamani Tayyibi tradition.
uncle, Ali b. Abdullah b. Ali, as the nine- This work represents the high mark of Tayy-
teenth dai mutlaq or supreme leader of the ibi writings on the haqaiq, or the gnostic
Tayyibi Ismailis, with full authority over esoteric system of religious thought with its
the affairs of their dawa in Yemen and the specific cosmology, eschatology, and soteri-
Indian subcontinent. ology, propounded by the Yamani Ismailis
Idris was also a statesman and warrior who drew particularly on the dai Hamid
and participated in the political affairs of al-Din al-Kirmanis metaphysical system.
Yaman (Yemen) to the advantage of his Idris produced several other theological and
community. He supported the southern polemical works as well as poetry, mostly in
Yamani dynasties of the Tahirids and Rasu- praise of Ismaili imams.
lids and fought battles against the Zaydis of
northern Yemen, seizing several fortresses BIBLIOGRAPHY
from them. Idris also helped the spread of Zahr al-maani, ed. M. Ghalib, Beirut:
the Ismaili dawa in Gujarat, western India. al-Muassasa al-Jamiiyya lil-Dirasa,
After leading the Tayyibi Ismailis for four 1991.
decades, the dai Idris died on 19 Dhul-Qa- Rawdat al-akhbar, ed. M. al-Akwa
dah 872/June 10, 1468, and was succeeded al-Hiwali, Sanaa: Dar al-Marifa,
as the head of the Tayyibi dawa by his son 1995.
al-Hasan. Uyun al-akhbar, vols 46, ed. M. Ghalib,
Idris Imad al-Din is considered to be Beirut: Dar al-Andalus, 19738;
the most famous Ismaili historian. Utiliz- vol. 5 and part of vol. 6 as Tarikh
ing a vast array of Ismaili and non-Ismaili al-khulafa al-Fatimiyyin bil-Maghrib,
sources, many of which have not survived, ed. M. al-Yalawi, Beirut: Dar al-Gharb
he produced three historical works, nota- al-Islami, 1985; vol. 7, with summary
bly the Uyun al-akhbar (Sources of Infor- English translation, as The Fatimids and
mation), a seven-volume comprehensive their Successors in Yaman, ed. and
history of Ismailism from its origins until trans. A. F. Sayyid, P. E. Walker and
the second half of the sixth/twelfth cen- M. A. Pomerantz, London: I. B. Tauris in
tury. This work also covers the Fatimid association with The Institute of Ismaili
dynasty and the history of the Ismaili Studies, 2002.
Sulayhids who ruled over Yaman on behalf
of the Fatimids. His second historical Further Reading
work, Nuzhat al-afkar (The Pleasure of Burhanpuri, Qutb al-Din Sulaymanji,
the Thoughts), in two volumes and still Muntaza al-akhbar, ed. S. F. Traboulsi,
unpublished, deals with the history of the Beirut: Dar al-Gharb al-Islami, 1999,
Tayyibi dawa in Yaman from the collapse pp. 16675.
235
AL-IDRISI
Daftary, F., The Ismailis: Their History East and the West for several centuries. They
and Doctrines, Cambridge: Cambridge do not seem to have been widely available
University Press, 1990. in Latin until long after they would have
Ivanow, W., Ismaili Literature, Tehran: proved useful.
Ismaili Society, 1963, pp. 7782. After a brief description of the earth as
Poonawala, I. K., Biobibliography of a globe, which he computed to be 22,900
Ismaili Literature, Malibu, CA: Undena miles in circumference and judged to remain
Publications, 1977, pp. 16975. stable in space like the yolk in an egg, and
of the hemispheres, climates, seas, and gulfs,
farhad daftary al-Idrisi launches into a long and detailed
account of the regions of the earths surface.
He takes up the seven climates in order,
dividing each climate into ten longitudinal
sections, an artificial arrangement started
AL-IDRISI (493c.555/1099c.1162) earlier by Islamic astronomers. These sev-
enty sections are described minutely, illus-
Abu Abdallah Muhammad ibn Muhammad trating each section with a separate map.
ibn Abdallah ibn Idris al-Qurtubi al-Hasani When put together, these maps constitute a
was born in Ceuta, Spain, in 1099 and edu- rectangular world map similar to the Ptole-
cated in Cordoba. He was something of an maic design.
itinerant scholar, ending up at the Norman Al-Idrisi used a combination of Greek
court in Palermo, Sicily. He died around ideas about climatic zones and the more
1162. recent information he had collected about
Al-Idrisi made a major contribution to different parts of the world for this map.
the knowledge of medicinal plants. After He even went so far as to have constructed
his review of the literature he came to the a large silver model of the map, which must
conclusion that little had been done since the have been very beautiful, but did not sur-
Greeks, so he set about carrying out some vive a local riot. In 1154, manuscripts of the
experimental work on such plants. He fol- book in Latin and Arabic were completed,
lowed a similar approach to the study of together with the rectangular map, which
geography, supplementing what was already was drawn on seventy sheets, along with a
in the Greeks with his own acquisition of small circular world map. From a theoretical
information. He described the world in al- point of view the maps of al-Idrisi are inter-
Kitab al-Rujari (Rogers Book), also entitled esting for their accurate accounts of differ-
Nuzhat al-mushtaq fi ikhtiraq al-afaq (The ent parts of the world which he insisted on
Delight of Him Who Desires to Journey fitting into a strictly Ptolemaic view of the
Through the Climates). This is a geographi- world. His work is regarded as highly scien-
cal encyclopedia of the time. Al-Idrisi com- tific by contrast with many similar efforts at
piled another geographical encyclopedia, map-making.
larger than the first, entitled Rawd-unnas
wa-nuzhat al-nafs (Pleasure of Men and Further Reading
Delight of Souls) also known as Kitab al- Harley, J. and Woodward, D. (eds),
Mamalik wa al masalik. Apart from botany Cartography in the Traditional Islamic
and geography, Idrisi also wrote on fauna, and South Asian Societies, Chicago:
zoology, and therapeutical topics. His work University of Chicago Press, 1992.
was soon translated into Latin and his books
on geography remained popular both in the oliver leaman
236
IKHWAN AL-SAFA
AL-IJI, Adud al-Din reference to a group of amicable doves in

(c.700756/c.130055) the second chapter of the classic Kalila wa
dimna fables, titled The Ring-Dove, or
Adud al-Din al-Iji was born at Ij, near Shi- The Love of Sincere Friends, which was
raz, where he served as qadi and teacher. His available at the time in Arabic through the
main work was on kalam, Islamic theology, adaptation of Abd Allah Ibn al-Muqaffa
and his efforts here are noted for their sys- (c. 724759).
tematization of the genre. Al-Iji produced a As the name of this society indicates, its
commentary on the Quran, and, in Matali adepts and initiates were themselves known
al-anwar (The Rising of the Lights), a descrip- as the Ikhwan al-Safa, who sometimes also
tion of the scope of kalam itself. Much more referred to themselves as being awliya Allah
complex than either of these works is his (from walaya), namely, saints or righteous
Kitab al-Mawaqif (Book of Stations) which friends of God, who constantly obey him,
divides theology into six stations or topics. and who are loyally gathered in the purity of
These are epistemology, ontology, the theory their souls within a professed utopian mysti-
of basic substance or essence, the accidents cal city. The identity of the anonymous affili-
that characterize that substance, the nature ates of this esoteric group of lettered urban-
of the soul, and, finally, religious issues such ites has hitherto remained shrouded with
as eschatology and the nature of prophecy. mystery. Nonetheless, the textual legacy that
they handed down attests to the focal role
BIBLIOGRAPHY they played in the unfolding of the history
Die Erkenntnislehre des Adudaddin of ideas in medieval Islamic civilization due
al-ici (al-Iji), ed. and trans. J. van Ess, to the dissemination of their teachings and
Wiesbaden: Steiner, 1966. widely circulated encyclopedic compendium
entitled Rasail Ikhwan al-Safa (The Epis-
oliver leaman tles of the Brethren of Purity). The authors
of this corpus and the dating of its compo-
sition, which may have taken a prolonged
period between the initiation of the drafting
and its definitive completion, all continue to
IKHWAN AL-SAFA be unsettled issues. Matters relating to the
authorship of the Rasail, the period and
Ikhwan al-Safa wa Khillan al-Wafa, cus- number of individuals involved in compos-
tomarily rendered in English as The Brethren ing, revising, and editing this corpus, all
of Purity and the Friends of Loyalty, or in depend on the chronology associated with
short as The Sincere (or Candid) Brethren, is its production, and vice versa.
the name of an esoteric Mesopotamian cote- The most common narrative regarding
rie that arguably dates back to the middle the presumed identity of the brethren of this
or last quarter of the fourth century/tenth society is usually grounded in the authority
century, to the eve of the Fatimid conquest of of Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi (c.9301023) in
Egypt (c.969). The members of this brother- his al-Imta wal-muanasa (c.981). In reply
hood principally operated from the city of to a question put to him by Ibn Sadan, the
Basra in southern Iraq, while having a signifi- vizier of Shamsham al-Dawlah, the Buway-
cant branch of their fraternity in the Abbasid hid ruler, al-Tawhidi noted that the leaders of
capital, Baghdad. As they themselves held, this coterie were identified as men of letters
the appellation of their secret organization who were named: Abu Sulayman Muham-
was suggested by the designation used in mad ibn Mashar al-Busti (bearing also the
237
IKHWAN AL-SAFA
nickname al-Maqdisi), the Qadi Abul-Hasan at least figures like Ibn Rifaa or other associ-
Ali ibn Harun al-Zanjani, Abu Ahmad al- ated Buwayhid secretaries.
Mihrajani (also known as Ahmad al-Nahra- The madhhab (doctrinal school) of the
juri), and Abul-Hasan al-Awfi. Moreover, compilers of the Rasail remains a matter
all were said to be the companions of a sec- of debate, as is the case with their pedigree.
retarial officer at the Buwayhid Chancellery Some wonder whether the Ikhwan were
or Governorate of Basra known as Zayd ibn Sunni or Shii, and more specifically, if they
Rifaa, who seems to have been one of the were Sunni, whether they were Mutazilite or
personal acquaintances of al -Tawhidi, and Sufi, or if Shiite, whether they were Twelvers
reportedly claimed to be a member of the (Ithna Ashariyya) or Ismaili. Some Sunni
Ikhwan. The qadi of Rayy, the Mutazilite scholars accentuated the praise made in
Abd al-Jabbar Ahmad al-Hamadani the Rasail (Part IV, Epistles 42, 52) of the
(c.9361025), also corroborates al-Tawhi- sovereignty of the Khulafa al-rashidin, the
dis story. He, furthermore, mentions a sec- vicegerents Abu Bakr (6324), Umar ibn
retary and obscure astronomer by the name al-Khattab (63444) and Uthman (64456),
Abu Muhammad ibn Alil-Baghl as also together with an apparent admiration shown
belonging to this fraternity. The approach to the figure of Ayishah (Part I, Epistle 9), as
of al-Tawhidi was also accepted by Hajji being all indicative of a potential Sunni affili-
Khalifa, and it was partially reconfirmed ation of the Ikhwan. However, others note
by Abu Sulayman al -Sijistani al-Mantiqi, that in the same context where the Khulafa
as well as being subsequently reaffirmed by al-rashidin are mentioned (Part IV, Epistle
figures like al-Bayhaqi (d. 1169), al-Kha- 52), the Brethren also praise Ahl al-bayt (the
warizmi (d. 1220), ibn al-Qifti (d. 1248), Prophets Household) and al-Sahaba (the
al-Shahrazuri (d. 1285), while being also Prophets Companions). Others consider the
partly alluded to by Ibn Taymiyya (d. 1324). Ikhwans epistle on the essence of mystical
Some scholars rely on this line of narrational love (Risala fi mahiyyat al-ishq; Part III,
relegation in view of questioning the claims Epistle 37) as being laden with Sufi themes
that closely connect the Ikhwan al-Safa to and temperament. While some see this as
the Ismaili community. being indicative of a Shiite lineage in Sufism,
Some also argue that the figure of Zayd others maintain that it is Sunni in nature.
ibn Rifaa ambivalently shows a close con- Operating as an underground organization
nection to the Buwayhid dynasty (the Buy- within the Abbasid Caliphate, the Ikhwan
ids), who were of Persian descent, coming al-Safa concealed their identity, in contrast
from territories at the fringes of the Caspian with the openness of the exponents of the
Sea, and who came to forcibly act as the Mutazilite schools of kalam. The Ikhwan
regent guardians of the Abbasid Caliph- did, moreover, criticize the proponents of
ate by instituting their rule through military kalam in their Rasail. Consequently, schol-
means. Although the Buwayhids, who were ars present these dimensions as being clear
followers of a vague offshoot of Shiism, did indicators that the Ikhwan were not associ-
control the Abbasid regime, they did not ated with the Mutazilites.
assume the title caliph and rather revived the Concerning the Shiite lineage of the
Persian designation shahanshah. Moreover, Rasail, it is clear that the Ikhwan venerated
they did not openly challenge the suzerainty the persona of the imam Ali ibn Abi Talib
of the Abbasids, and were furthermore their (reigned 65661), and regarded the progeny
allies in the conflict with the Fatimids. As a of the Prophet as the guided imams. Toward
result, some scholars tend to question the the end of the Rasail, in an epistle on the
presumed Fatimid lineage of the Ikhwan, or essence of magic (Part IV, Epistle 52), the
238
IKHWAN AL-SAFA
Ikhwan appeal to a Prophetic saying, accord- principal figure behind the collective com-
ing to which the Prophet, metaphorically posing of the Rasail and their dissemination
speaking, is the City of Knowledge (Madi- in mosques during the rule of the Abbasid
nat al-ilm) and Ali its Gateway, and caliph al-Mamun (reigned 81333). It is fur-
which affirms that those who desire to enter thermore reported by some Ismaili sources
the City had to pass through its Gateway. that the authorship of the Rasail may even
The Ikhwan also pledged allegiance to the date back to the times of the imam Jafar
Prophets household (Muhammad wa aluh), al-Sadiq (c.70065) himself, passing by the
whom they described as being al-Aimma al- contributions of his three imamate hidden
hudat (Guiding Imams; Part II, Epistle 22), successors (al-aimma al-masturin). Accord-
and were repelled by the battle of Karbala in ing to this Ismaili stemma, the Rasail would
Iraq, and commemorated the remembrance have been compiled over a very long period
of Ashura in respect to the memory of 10 from the eighth century until the begin-
Muharram, the day the imam al-Husayn nings of the tenth century, at the eve of the
was martyred (680), while also considering emergence of the Fatimid dynasty in Ifriqiya
this episode in the history of Islam as being (present-day Algeria and Tunisia), and even
marked by disgrace. However, the Ikhwan prior to the Fatimid conquest of Egypt by the
did also criticize the doctrine of awaited army of Jawhar al-Siqilli (c.969) in the name
imam of the Twelver Shiite (Part III, Epistle of the Fatimid Caliph al-Muizz li-Din Allah
42), which was associated with the guid- (d. 975).
ing figure of al-Mahdi (al-Imam al-fadil al- However, most academic scholars adopt
muntazar al-hadi), arguing that he had not a later chronology that situates the compo-
remained concealed (mukhtafin). In this, the sition of the Rasail compendium around
Ikhwan seem to have been partially in reso- 96186. One of the difficulties that con-
nance with parallel Ismaili claims that the front us with the reporting of the names or
Mahdi appeared in North Africa (Ifriqiya) nicknames of the hidden Ismaili imams is
upon the founding of the Fatimid Caliphate. mainly due to the secrecy and concealment
Basing themselves on the reports of Ismaili that surrounded these figures, and the pre-
propagandists and guides, some scholars cautionary dissimulation (taqiyya) of their
hold that the Fatimid character of the Rasail identities during the Abbasid period. In
is no longer in dispute. Some appeal to further accentuating the Ismaili derivation
the Yemeni dai (missionary or summoner) of the Rasail, some scholars place a special
Jafar bin Mansur al-Yaman (d. 970) in emphasis on the Ikhwans belief (Part III,
affirming the Ismaili provenance of the Epistle 42) that the religious law (al-sharia,
Rasail; thus claiming that it was authored or ilm al-din) had two aspects: one exo-
by the imam Ahmad (al-Mastur); others teric (zahir jaliy) and another esoteric (batin
proclaim that it ought to be ascribed to his khafiy). Some maintain that this distinction
father Abd Allah. Some scholars also evoke entails a respective ascription to ritual forms
the Tayyibi Ismaili missionary from Yemen, of worship as well as philosophical modes
Imad al-Din bin al-Hasan Idris (d. 1468), of devotion that accentuate the need for an
who in his Uyun al-akhbar claims that the esoteric hermeneutics (tawil) of the Quran,
Rasail were composed by the hidden ninth which does seem to accord with Ismaili
imam Ahmad bin Abd Allah bin Muham- practices. Those who affirm the Ismaili affil-
mad bin Ismail bin Jafar al-Sadiq. Others iation of the Ikhwan do also differ in terms
propose the name of the imam Taqi Muham- of the particulars of this association. While
mad, who reportedly was based in Salamiya, some accentuate the Fatimid character of
a town in northeastern Syria, as being the the Ikhwans beliefs, others maintain that
239
IKHWAN AL-SAFA
they were equally close to the Qarmatians for happiness and the soteriological hope of
of Bahrain (Carmathians, al-Qaramitah) salvation with the painstaking unfurling of
who staunchly opposed the Fatimids. Some rational and intellectual pursuits. They con-
even highlight that the Ikhwans legacy was sequently aimed at establishing a harmony
rarely mentioned in Fatimid literature and between faith and reason, as part of the proj-
rather found its widest reception and flour- ect of reconciling monotheistic revelation
ishing among the Tayyibi Ismaili commu- with philosophy, in a manner that is par-
nity in Yemen in the twelfth century, when tially reminiscent of what was encountered
their corpus was introduced to that society in the works of the intellectual authorities in
by the missionary Ibrahim bin al-Husayn al- Islam of the caliber of al-Farabi, Ibn Sina,
Hamidi (d. c. 1162). and Ibn Rushd. The Ikhwan did accord-
Nonetheless, and in spite of extensive ingly attempt to assimilate and disseminate
studies that have been conducted on the the teachings that they attested in the lega-
genealogy of the Ikhwan al-Safa, the specific cies of the likes of Pythagoras, Hermes Tris-
particularities of their descent and their exact megistus, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus,
doctrinal affiliations are not yet without Euclid, Ptolemy, Porphyry, and Iamblichus.
incongruities, and they consequently remain The Ikhwan emulated the Pythagoreans in
far from being conclusive or decisively set- their pursuit of arithmetical and mathemati-
tled. Having this in view, some scholars tend cal sciences, together with their cosmological
not to confine the Ikhwans lineage within import. Oriented by a literal interpretation of
strict doctrinal or affiliation bounds, rather the classic microcosm and macrocosm anal-
seeing them as being free agents or liberal ogy, as it was primarily noted in their concep-
thinkers. While this vague interpretation tion of the human being as a microcosmos
might not satisfy most historians of ideas, it (Part II, Epistle 26) and of the universe as a
nonetheless gives a faithful expression to the macro-anthropon (Part III, Epistle 34), the
intellectual spirit that pervades the Rasail. Ikhwan also did attempt enthusiastically to
Marked by a liberal openness to other- reinstate the equipoise between the psychical
ness, and eschewing fanaticism, the Rasail directives of the soul and their correspond-
Ikhwan al-Safa seem to embody a form of ing cosmological determining impulses.
heterodoxy in Islam. Manifesting a toler- Their plain analogical line in thinking was,
ant inclination to accommodate miscella- furthermore, guided by Pythagorean modes
neous pagan and monotheistic traditions in of arithmetic and numerological explica-
thought, the Ikhwan valued the philosophi- tions of the structuring layered orderli-
cal sciences as well as the Prophetic ones. ness of the visible universe. Moreover, in
Encountering veracity in every religion, the attempt to further ground their effort to
the Ikhwan did respect the Torah of Juda- reconcile philosophy with revealed religion,
ism and the Canonical Gospels of Christi- they adaptively integrated a Neoplatonist
anity, besides their pious observance of the account of creation by way of emanation
Quranic teachings of Islam. This is pri- within their onto-theology and its cosmo-
marily to be noted in their consideration of logical bearings, while imbuing the whole
the question of prophecy. As well as being outlook on the universe with Pythagorean
indirectly influenced by ancient Babylonian, and Platonic symbols and themes. They were
Indian, and Persian traditions, the Ikhwan also attracted to the Delphic Socratic injunc-
in addition sought to integrate the sciences tion, know thyself!, by placing on it a reli-
of the ancient Greeks. Grasping knowledge gious significance by way of construing it as
as being a pure form of the nourishment of being a pathway to knowing the Creator.
the soul, the Ikhwan associated the quest In geometry they followed the methods of
240
IKHWAN AL-SAFA
Euclid, and in astronomy they were partly virtuous city (Madina fadila), following al-
influenced by Ptolemys observations. They Farabi, or an adaptation of the Republic of
also offered synoptic abridgements of the Plato. Moreover, in accentuating the politi-
classical logic of Aristotle and Porphyry, as cal significance of their beliefs, the Ikhwan
well as exhibiting a penchant to study occult encouraged their followers not to acquiesce
and hermetic arts following the received tra- to the pressures of power or authority when
ditions of Hermes and Iamblichus. these do potentially accommodate forms of
Their fascination with mathematics and injustice. Giving a creditable representation
astronomy, as well as their observance of of Islam, they strived to enact a spiritual
hermetic teachings, may have originated sanctuary that transcends the sectarian divi-
under the influence of the Chaldean Sabae- sions plaguing their epoch as well as over-
ans of Harran in Mesopotamia, in emula- coming fanaticism. As they claimed, their
tion of their longstanding interest in cosmic brothers and friends came from all stations
order and the religious symbolism associated in society and across its classes, including
with astral constellations and stellar individuals who were the sons of kings,
configurations. emirs, viziers, secretaries, tradesmen and
In synoptically gathering the sciences and workmen (Rasail, Part IV, Epistle 47), and
wisdom of the ancients and the moderns of they ultimately pictured the ideal human
their time, which, according to them, embod- being as a noble being who is graciously
ied the realities of the world, the Ikhwan Persian in breeding, Arab in faith, Hanafi
were superstitiously motivated by the astro- in jurisprudence, Iraqi in culture, Hebrew in
logical initiation of a new cycle in time that tradition, Christian in comportment, Syrian
will entail great political changes in Islam. in piety, Greek in knowledge, Indian in con-
This observation may have been associated templation, Sufi in intimation and lifestyle
with astrological calculations and talismanic (Part II, Epistle 22).
interpretations of stellar conjunctions, which Generally enumerated as fifty-two epistles,
supposedly may have led the Ikhwan to or sometimes as fifty-one or even fifty, the
anticipate the fall or radical weakening of Rasail Ikhwan al-Safa aimed at offering
the Abbasid Caliphate, as well as pointing synoptic explications of the classical sciences
to the rise of a competing center of power in of the ancients and the moderns of the age.
Islam, seen by some as being none other than Occasionally verbose, and beset by circum-
the Fatimid dynasty in Egypt. locution, the Ikhwans epistles were nonethe-
One could recognize the political implica- less composed in an eloquent literary classical
tions of the Ikhwans call for a pursuit of Arabic style. They moreover display a com-
happiness in this world and the salvation mendable lexical adaptability that encom-
of the soul in the hereafter which, in aim- passes the languages of mathematics, logic,
ing at regaining the original purity of the natural philosophy, along with the diction
self in its journey back to its Source and of religious enunciations and occult invoca-
Creator, requires the translation of ones tions, as well as poetic verses, and didactic
acquired knowledge into good deeds. For, fables and inspiring parables. The Rasail
in promoting an earnest companionship of Ikhwan al-Safa corpus was also accompa-
virtue, and in counseling their coreligionists nied by a concise tract entitled: al-Risala
with kindness and affection (Part IV, Epistle al-jamia (The Comprehensive Epistle),
48), they saw proper governance as being which acted as the summarium et summae
that of Dawlat al-khayr (The State of Good- for the whole corpus, and was itself supple-
ness); namely a utopian spiritual city that mented by an abridged appendage known
perhaps represented their own version of a as Risalat jamiat al-jamia (The Condensed
241
IKHWAN AL-SAFA
Comprehensive Epistle). While some manu- intellect and the intelligible, and explicated
scripts wrongly attribute the composition of the symbolic significance of temporal dispo-
the Risala al-jamia to Maslamah bin Ahmad sitions and cycles, together with a mystical
bin Qasim bin Abd Allah al-Majriti al-Qur- expression of the essence of love (ishq), and
tubi al-Andalusi (d. 1007), others ascribe its an investigation of resurrection, the species
authorship to the Ismaili imam Ahmad bin of motion, causes and effects, and definitions
Abd Allah bin Ismail bin Jafar al-Sadiq. and descriptions. The fourth and last part of
These attributions confront us with the same the Rasail dealt with the nomic together with
difficulties that are attested with the identifi- legal and theological sciences in eleven epis-
cation of the lineal descent of the clandestine tles. These addressed the differences between
authors of the Rasail as a whole. Moreover, the varieties of religious opinions and sects,
being primarily a debating society that met the Pathway to God, the virtues of the
periodically in secret, the Ikhwan al-Safa companionship of the Brethren of Purity,
supplemented their writings with teach- the traits of genuine believers, the nature of
ings in seminars (majalis), which may have the Divine Nomos (al-namus), the call to
been themselves partially recompiled in the God, the actions of spiritualists, jinn, angels
epistles as the notes that accompanied these and recalcitrant demons, as well as exam-
scenes of instruction. ined the species of politics and the layered
The Rasail Ikhwan al-Safa is a volumi- ordering of the world. The Rasail finally
nous compendium divided into four episto- ended with a lengthy account of the essence
lary parts. The first part, which consisted of of magic and talismanic incantations.
fourteen epistles, dealt with the mathemati- In spite of the influence that the Rasail
cal sciences, treating a variety of topics on Ikhwan al-Safa might have had on the
numbers, geometry, astronomy, geography, course of development of the intellectual his-
music, and arithmetic. It also comprised tory of Islam, and on the Shiite and Ismaili
tracts on logic covering selections from the lineage in particular, the Brethrens erudition
Isagoge, the Categoriae, the De Interpreta- does not rank them among the authorities of
tione, Analytica Priora, and Posteriora. The their age in the realms of science and phi-
second part of the Rasail, which grouped losophy, primarily in the domains of mathe-
seventeen epistles, addressed the body matics, logic, natural and psychical sciences,
together with the physical and natural sci- which were noted in the Rasail in a synoptic
ences. It treated themes on matter and form, diluted fashion that is sporadically confused
generation and corruption, metallurgy, mete- with spiritual directives. Nonetheless, their
orology, the essence of nature, the classes of accounts of religiosity and piety, as well as
plants and animals, the composition of the their ecumenical syncretism and tolerance,
human body and its embryological consti- together with their praiseworthy efforts to
tution, in addition to a cosmic grasp of the gather the sciences of their epoch and to
human being as being a microcosmos, and compose a pioneering encyclopedic compen-
the investigation of the phonetic and struc- dium, are all signs of originality. In spite of
tural conditions of languages and their dif- the rather noticeable shortcomings that may
ferences. The third part of the corpus is be associated with the Ikhwans scholarship
dedicated to ten tracts on the psychological in mathematics, logic, and the natural sci-
and intellectual sciences. These addressed ences, their corpus exemplifies the master-
the opinions of the Pythagoreans and of pieces that represented a unique erudite and
the Brethren of Purity, as well as accounted popular adaptation of knowledge among
for the world as being a macro-anthropon, the learned Mesopotamian urbanites of the
and examined the distinction between the tenth-century medieval Islamic civilization.
242
LERI
Acting as a significant intellectual catalyst Goodman, L. E., The Case of the Animals
in the course of maturation of the history versus Man before the King of the Jinn,
of ideas in Islam, the legacy of the Ikhwan Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1978.
al-Safa does reasonably merit the privileged Marquet, Y., La Philosophie des Ihwan
station it has been traditionally allocated al-Safa, Algiers: Socit nationale
among the distinguished Arabic classics of ddition et de diffusion, 1975.
Islam. Netton, I. R., Muslim Neoplatonists: An
Introduction to the Thought of the
BIBLIOGRAPHY Brethren of Purity, London: G. Allen and
Rasail Ikhwan al-Safa wa Khullan Unwin, 1982.
al-Wafa, 4 vols, Bombay: Matbaat Poonawala, I. K., The Quran in the
nukhbat al-akhbar, 18879. Rasail Ikhwan al-Safa, in Selected
Rasail Ikhwan al-Safa wa Khullan Proceedings of the International
al-Wafa, 4 vols, Cairo: al-Matbaa Congress for the Study of the Quran, ed.
al-arabiyya bi-misr, 1928. A. Johns, Canberra: Australian National
Al-Risala al-jamia, Damascus: al-Majma University, Faculty of Asian Studies,
al-ilmi al-arabi, 194951. 1980, pp. 5167.
Risalat jamiat al-jamia, Beirut: Dar Stern, S. M., New Information About the
maktabat al-hayat, 1970. Authors of the Epistles of the Sincere
Al-Risala al-jamia, Beirut: Dar sadr, Brethren, Islamic Studies, 3 (1964),
1974. pp. 40528.
Rasail Ikhwan al-Safa wa Khullan Tibawi, A. -L., Ikhwan as-Safa and
al-Wafa, Beirut: Dar sadr, 1957; Dar their Rasail: A Critical Review of a
bayrut, 1983; Manshurat uwaydat, Century and a Half of Research, Islamic
1995. Quarterly, 2 (1955), pp. 2846.
Further Reading nader el-bizri

Awa, A., Lesprit critique des Frres de la
Puret, Beirut: Imprimerie Catholique,
1948.
Baffioni, C., Lepistola degli Ihwan al-Safa, Ikhwan as-Safa,see Ikhwan al-Safa
Naples: Istituto Universitario Orientale,
1989.
Bausani, A., Lenciclopedia dei Fratelli della
Purit, Naples: Istituto Universitario
Orientale, 1978. LERI, Celal Nuri(18821936)
De Callatay, G., Ikhwan al-Safa: les
rvolutions et les cycles, Beirut: al-Buraq, Celal Nuri leri was born in Gallipoli
1996. (Gelibolu) in 1882 and died in Istanbul on
Diwald, S., Arabische Philosophie und November 2, 1936. He was a liberal Turk-
Wissenschaft in der Enzyklopdie Kitab ish thinker, politician, and journalist who
as-Safa, III, Wiesbaden: O. Harrasowitz, lived during the period of the Second Con-
1975. stitutional Revolution and in the early days
Farrukh, U., Ikhwan al-Safa, in M. of the Turkish Republic. His father Nuri
M. Sharif (ed.), A History of Muslim Bey, who held several positions in the Otto-
Philosophy, vol. I, Delhi: Low Price man bureaucracy, was also a member of the
Publications, 1999, pp. 289310. Meclis-i Ayan (Senate). His mother Nefise
243
LERI
Hanm was the daughter of Abidin Paa, the Cevdet Paa, the author of the Mecelle
translator of Mathnawi. (Imperial Constitution) for not being reform-
Due to his fathers job, which required ist enough and used the example of Imam
him to travel a great deal around the coun- Azam (Abu Hanifa) against him.
try, Celal Nuri received his early education Some of his important works include ttihat
in different places. Later he attended Gal- ve Terakki Kongresine Muhtra (Memo-
atasaray Mekteb-i Sultanisi in Istanbul. After randum to the ttihad ve Terakki Congress,
his graduation from Mekteb-i Hukuk (the 1909), which deals with topics such as the
Faculty of Law), he first worked as a law- dangerous ambitions of the Western countries
yer. In 1909 he began to write for Courier toward the Ottoman Empire, the question of
dOrient, which was later published with the Europeanization, the basis and the duties of
title Le Jeune Turc. In 1916 he published a government, and so on; Tarih-i Tedenniyat-
journal called Edebiyat- Umumiye Dergisi Osmaniyye (The History of the Ottomans
(the Journal for Literature). In 1918 he began decline, 1911), which discusses the reasons for
to publish another journal called Ati (Future) the decline and fall of the Ottomans; ttihad-
and immediately after its closure in 1919 he slam (The Unity of Islam, 1912), in which
changed the title to leri (Forward). When the future of the Muslims and the idea of the
leri was also closed down in 1920, he then Islamic unity are reflected upon; Trk nklab
published Ahval (State of Affairs). He also (Turkish Revolution, 1926), in which, apart
wrote for other Turkish journals and maga- from a re-examination of the process of Turk-
zines such as Tanin (Timbre), Hak (Right), ish revolutions, the concepts of civilization,
ctihad (Independent Judgement), Hrriyet-i Westernization, and language are discussed;
Fikriyye (Freedom of Thought), and kdam. and Kadnlarmz (Our Women, 1912). In
Because of his criticism of the Hrriyet ve this latter work, which examines the social
tilaf Frkas (Party of Freedom and Agree- and legal status of women within the society,
ment) he had to flee to Rome. On his return leri points out that the reason why women
he became an MP (mebus) for Gallipoli were kept outside public life is not related
(1919). And after the creation of the Republic to Islam but rather to societys interpreta-
of Turkey he retained that seat from 1923 to tion of it. imal Hatralar (Memories of the
1934. In 1924 he also worked as a reporter at North, 1911) gives an account of leris trav-
the Commission of the Constitution (Kanun-i els to Scandinavia and Russia. Kendi Nokta-i
Esasi) and played an important role on the Nazarmzdan Hukuk-i Dvel (International
reformation process of the Turkish alphabet. Law From Our Own Standpoint, 1911) and
leri was one of the most prolific and Havaic-i Kanuniyyemiz (Necessities of Our
reformist writers of his time. He wrote on Legislation, 1912) both contain leris articles
many areas such as politics, law, history, reli- on Islamic and Western understandings of
gion, and literature. In his writings he dealt law and a comparison between the two, as
with popular issues and problems, including published in several journals.
women, language, tradition, ethnicity, and
Islamic rules, and stood for reformation in Further Reading
every facet of life. He held that the power of Safa, Peyami, Zavall Celal Nuri Bey,
the Ottoman Empire was its ability to make Istanbul: Matbaa-i ctihad, 1961.
new laws to adapt to the change in condi- lken, Hilmi Ziya, Trkiyede ada
tions, but in later periods the lawmakers had Dnce Tarihi, Istanbul: lken
not been successful in keeping up with the Yaynlar, 1979, pp. 65771.
trends. In his article Mecelle Meselesi (The
Problem of Majalla), leri criticized Ahmet s. leyla grkan
244
IQBAL
Imad al-Din Idris b. al-Hasan,see Idris made his living as a lawyer, allowing him
Imad al-Din to be more independent as a result. Iqbal
became involved to a degree in the Muslim
League. In 1924 Iqbal became a member of
the National Liberal League of Lahore; in
Imam al-Azam,see Abu Hanifa 1926 he became a member of the Punjab
Legislative Assembly; and in 1930 he became
president of the All-India Muslim League.
He participated in the Second and Third
Round Table Conferences held in London.
Imam al-Haramayn,see al-Juwayni Iqbal was knighted on January 1, 1923. He
died in 1938 and was buried near the gate of
the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore, to displays
of great public grief.
Imam Shafii,see al-Shafii One of the factors that has made Iqbal so
popular was his skill as a poet, largely influ-
enced by Mirza Dagh Dehlavi, one of the
leading advocates of Urdu poetry. Poetry
was a cultural form that appealed to a very
IQBAL, Muhammad wide audience, and Urdu represented the
(12891356/18731938) culture of Indian Muslims, so Iqbals verse
struck a deep public chord. His Asrar-e-
Muhammad Iqbal was born in Sialkot in the khudi (The Secrets of the Self) in 1915 initi-
Punjab, within a poor but religious environ- ated his extensive work on the topic of the
ment. He received a secular education in the self. It was followed by Rumuz-e-bekhudi
British school system in India and went on (The Mysteries of Selflessness), which dealt
to Lahore to study philosophy with Thomas with the development of the communal
Arnold. He then went to Trinity College self, in 1918; Payam-e-mashriq (The Mes-
Cambridge to study philosophy from 1905 sage of the East) represents his response to
to 1907, before going on to Germany for Goethes West-stlicher Divan, in 1923;
doctoral research in Persian philosophy. He Zabur-e-ajam (The Persian Psalms) in 1927;
returned to India in 1908. He represented a Javid nama (The Pilgrimage of Eternity),
new kind of student brought up within the Iqbals magnum opus modeled on Dantes
colonial empire, someone who was prepared Divine Comedy, in 1932; Musafir (The
to take from Western philosophy what it had Traveller) in 1934; Bal-e-Jibril (Gabriels
to offer but not be overawed by it. Iqbal was Wing) in 1935; and several other Urdu and
certainly enthusiastic about many Western Persian poetic and prose works appeared.
thinkers, in particular Nietzsche, Bergson, Of particular interest to philosophy is his
and McTaggart, but he used them to expli- doctoral thesis, The Development of Meta-
cate what he took to be basically Islamic physics in Persia, published in 1908. His
ideas. lectures, The Reconstruction of Religious
Iqbal returned from Europe in July 1908 Thought in Islam, were first published in
and became professor of philosophy and 1930.
English literature at the Government College The philosophy of the self is one that sees
in Lahore, and also began his law practice. the developing consciousness of humanity as
While in London, he had passed the bar the prime source of significance in theoretical
exams. In 1911 he abandoned teaching and thought. The story of Adam in the Quran is
245
IRANSHAHRI
very different, according to Iqbal, from the championing of Urdu as a literary language
Biblical view: there is no fall but merely a gave the push toward Islamic nationalism on
development in consciousness of Adam and the Indian subcontinent a considerable intel-
his successors. There is no end to this devel- lectual boost.
opment, and it is wrong to contrast a perfect
static world that existed in the beginning with BIBLIOGRAPHY
the world today, the earlier world merely rep- The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in
resents an earlier stage in the human growth Islam, Lahore: Shaikh Muhammd Ashraf,
of consciousness. There is a self that changes 1930.
and a more basic self that lies behind all Asrar-e-khudi (The Secrets of the Self),
change; although the latter also changes to Lahore: Shaikh Ghulam Ali and Sons,
a degree, it remains throughout the context 1915; trans. R. A. Nicholson, Lahore:
within which more frequent changes in our Shaikh Muhammad Ashraf, 1950.
lives take place. There are similarly two con- Rumuz-e-bekhudi (The Mysteries of
cepts of time, one that represents the famil- Selflessness), Lahore: Shaikh Ghulam
iar changing features of our world, and the Ali and Sons, 1918; trans. A. Arberry,
other that remains unchanging and can be London: John Murray, 1953.
experienced occasionally during meditation The Development of Metaphysics in Persia,
and deep mystical thought. Our relationship Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
with God is of overwhelming significance 1908; Lahore: Bazm-Iqbal, 1964.
for Iqbal; through this relationship we can
strengthen the deeper aspects of ourselves, Further Reading
and gain access to a deeper level of reality. Hassan, R. (ed.), The Sword and the
He points to the empirical nature of many of Sceptre, Lahore: Iqbal Academy,
the features of the Quran and suggest that 1977.
this shows that the book advocates gaining An Iqbal Primer, Lahore: Aziz, 1979.
empirical knowledge and becoming involved Iqbal, J., Zindah-Rud, Lahore: Sheikh
in science. He is very critical of Sufis and Ghulam Ali, 1979.
other mystics who turn away from the ordi- Schimmel, A. M., Gabriels Wing, Leiden:
nary world, claiming that Islam advocates Brill, 1963.
close engagement with the world and a prac- Singh, I., The Ardent Pilgrim: An
tical attitude to our lives and each other. On Introduction to the Life and Work
the other hand, an uncritical enthusiasm for of Mohammed Iqbal, Delhi: Oxford
reason without embedding it first in faith is University Press, 1997.
an error, and we should not try to separate
ourselves as thinking beings radically from oliver leaman
ourselves as emotional beings.
Although Iqbal is often credited as the
intellectual father of Pakistan, his writings
on politics are careful in avoiding exclusiv-
ism. In just the same way that he sought not IRANSHAHRI, Abul-Abbas Muhammad
to establish dichotomies between self and (fourth/tenth century)
the other, faith and reason, science and emo-
tion, so he was keen not to contrast Islam Abul-Abbas Muhammad ibn Muhammad
with other faiths as a basic political category. Iranshahri came from the city of Nayshabur
On the other hand, his defense of Islam as in the eastern part of Iran. We know neither
a political system and in particular his the exact date of his birth nor his death, but
246
IRANSHAHRI
we do know that he was a contemporary of philosophical views thus: time, matter and
al-Kindi. Our knowledge of him is entirely duration [time] are names whose meanings
based on what Nasir-i Khusraw in Zad are derived from one substance. Time is a
al-musafirin and al-Biruni in al-Athar al- sign of divine knowledge just as space is a
baqiya and al-Qanun al-Masudi have made sign of divine power and motion is a sign of
available to us. Nasir-i Khusraw tells us that divine action and an existent being is a sign
Iranshahri was the teacher of Muhammad of Gods ability. Each of these four are limit-
Zakariyya Razi and taught him not only less and eternal.
philosophy but also knowledge of such reli- Since our only sources of knowledge for
gions and sects as Dasaniya, Muhammara, Iranshahris views are what Nasir-i Khus-
and Mannaniyya. Razis book, al-Radd ala raw and al-Biruni have told us about them,
sayasn al-munani, clearly shows the extent it might be helpful if a few of such quota-
of the influence of Iranshahri. tions are mentioned here. Nasir-i Khusraw
Biruni tells us that Iranshahri had a thor- reports:
ough knowledge of Abrahamic religions as
well as Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism.
Iranshahri said that God, Most High,
Based on the writings of Muhammad ibn
was always a creator (Sani), and there
Shaddad ibn Isa Musa, known as Zarqan,
was not a time when He was not creat-
Iranshahri was also somewhat familiar with
ing such that His state from being non-
Hinduism. Biruni further tells us Iranshahri
creative would change to being creative.
did not belong to any religion but advo-
Since it is necessary that He always be
cated his own religion and composed two
creator, then of necessity that, upon
sacred texts in Persian titled Kitab-i Jalil
which His creation appears, is eternal.
and Kitab-i Athir which he claimed to have
His creation appears in matter, therefore
been revealed to him by the angel Hasti
matter is eternal. Matter is a sign for the
(Existence) calling for an understanding of
apparent power of God and since mat-
the concept of unity. Iranshahri allegedly
ter is in space and that [matter] is eter-
claimed that his book is the Persian Quran
nal, necessarily space is eternal.
and just as Muhammad was the prophet of
Arabs he was the prophet of Persians. Since Among the hukama [there are] those
none of Iranshahris works have survived, who said matter and space are eternal
the above claims cannot be independently and conceived of a substance for time
verified. and said that time is a substance, long
Iranshahri may have believed in four eter- and eternal. They rejected the opinion
nal substances: matter, space, motion, and of those hakims who conceived of time
time, with the last of them a substance that in terms of the movements of bodies.
is in a state of flux. Unlike al-Kindi who They said if time was the number of
also advocates the same substances, Iran- the movements of objects, it would not
shahri seems to have understood them in be the case that two objects in motion
a more Neoplatonic context. Iranshahri is at one time would move in two differ-
somewhat comparable with the Presocratics ent degrees. Hakim Iranshahri has said
since he was interested in the fundamental that time, matter and duration are all
governing principles of the world. Using the names whose meanings are derived
Neoplatonic scheme, Iranshahri proposed from the same substance.
that such a governing principle emanates
from the unfolding of the ultimate Being. (An Anthology of Philosophy
Nasir-i Khusraw summarized Iranshahris in Persia, 2008)
247
AL-ISFAHANI
Further Reading transmitted hadith to Abu Bakr al-Khatib al-

Minorski, V., Commentary on the tabayi Baghdadi, Abu Salih al-Muazzin, and Abu
al-hayawan of Marwazi, Journal of The Ali al-Haddad. Because his hadith had Ali
Royal Asiatic Society, vol. 74, 34, July isnad chains which have the fewest narrators
1942, pp. 18194. up to the Prophet Muhammad, many hadith
Al-Biruni, Abu Rayhan, Al-Athar al-baqiya, specialists in the Islamic world visited him
Frankfurt: Minerva, 1969. when he was living in Isfahan, where he lived
Aminrazavi, M., Iranshahri: Life and after he completed his traveling, and where
Views on Time and Space, Islamic he died on 20 Muharram 430/October 22,
Studies, 31, 4 (1992), pp. 47986. 1038, in Isfahan at the age of 94.
An Anthology of Philosophy in Persia, eds. During his lifetime, Abu Nuaym wrote
S. Nasr and M. Aminrazavi, London: about 150 books, but his most famous work
I B Tauris, 2008. is Hilyat al-awliya wa tabaqat al-asfiya, which
Khusraw, Nasir, Zad al-musafirin, Tehran, is considered a hadith and tasawwuf source.
1341 ah, pp. 98, 103, 110. In that monumental work he discussed
Mohaghegh, M., Filsuf-i ray, Tehran: New the lives of famous mystics and ascetics, and
Publishing House, 1349 ah, p. 18. provided data on about 700 scholars. In
Mutahhari, M., Khadamat-i mutaqabil-i his work, he put tabaqat (groups of hadith
Iran wa Islam, vol. 2, Tehran: Ziba Press, reporters) into an order which reflects their
1353 ah, p. 568. fadilat (qualities in hadith science). He
introduced in his work techniques for rank-
mehdi aminrazavi ing different Companions and followers of
the Prophet. The most famous work done
on al-Hilya was written by Ibn al-Jawzi
(d. 597/1200) with the title Sifat al-safwa.
In that work, Ibn al-Jawzi gave information
AL-ISFAHANI, Abu Nuaym(d. 430/1038) on the life of about 1,031 scholars; 600 of
them are scholars that are mentioned in al-
Abu Nuaym Ahmad b. Abdullah b. Ishaq al- Hilya, and he himself added the rest in his
Isfahani was born in 336/948 in Isfahan. His book. He was not uncritical of al-Isfahani,
father Abu Muhammad Abdullah b. Ahmad nor was Ibn Taymiyya, but both thought
(d. 365/976) traveled to Syria and Iraq to him siqa (reliable) and an enormous hadith
collect hadith of the Prophet Muhammad authority. He wrote in a wide variety of the
and was famous for the enormous number Islamic sciences, but it is definitely his work
of hadith he had memorized. His son started on hadith that made him so well known.
to learn hadith from the age of seven, first of Abu Nuaym was a follower of the Shafii
all from his father and then from Abu Ali madhhab in action (amal) and was a fol-
Abdurrahim b. Muhammad (d. 343/954). In lower of the Salafi view in belief. But he
order to acquire yet more he began to travel. agreed with the Asharites in believing that
First, he went to Askerimukram in 356/967, the Quran was created, and consequently
then he visited Wasit, Ahwaz, Kufa, Jurjan, the Hanbalis expelled him from Isfahan.
Nisabur, Iraq, Baghdad, Khorasan, Hijaz, Although some Shii scholars claimed that he
Mecca, Basra, and other places. was a Shii, this claim was rejected by some
Abu Muhammad Abdullah b. Jafar ibn other Shii scholars like Muhsin al-Amin and
Faris, Abu Ahmad al-Assal, Abul-Qasim Ibn Shehrashub. They said that he was an
al-Tabarani, and Abul-Hasan al-Daraqutni Ahl al-Sunna scholar. Because of his usage of
were some of his teachers. He actually Akhbarana as one of the ways of obtaining
248
AL-ISFAHANI
hadith without mentioning whether it was AL-ISFAHANI, al-Raghib(d. 502/1108)

based on listening (qiraa), or based on per-
mission (ijaza), and because of his narra- Abu al-Qasim al-Husayn b. Muhammad
tion of fabricated hadith without mention- b. al-Mufaddal was born in Isfahan (Iran).
ing their being fabricated and because of His date of birth is not known. According
his being against Abu Hanifa he was often to Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, he died early in the
regarded as controversial. sixth/twelfth century. There is no strong
evidence that al-Raghib ever left his native
BIBLIOGRAPHY Isfahan. We have extremely scanty infor-
Hilyat al-awliya wa tabaqat al-asfiya, mation about him and his life. Although
ed. M.Ata, Cairo: Matbaat al-Saada, he wrote popular works in Islamic studies,
19719. and had influence on famous Muslim schol-
ars such as al-Ghazali, al-Raghibs name
Further Reading is missing from almost all the standard
Adiy, Abdulkarim Zuhur, Abu Nuaym biographical dictionaries. Despite some
al-Isfahani wa Kitabu Hilyat al-awliya, claims that he was a Mutazili scholar,
Dimashq: Majallatu Majma al-Lughat Fakhr al-Din al-Razi describes him
al-Arabiyya bi Dimashq, 1984. otherwise.
Ibn Hidayetullah, Abu Bakr al-Husayni, Al-Raghib focused mainly on Quranic
Tabaqat al-shafiyya, ed. A. Nuweyhid, studies, especially exegesis and ethics. One
Beirut: Arabic World Publishing House, of the scholars who had been mostly influ-
1982. enced by his works was al-Qadi al-Baydawi,
Ibn al-Jawzi, Abu al-Faraj Abd al-Rahman the famous commentator on the Quran.
b. Ali, Sifat al-safwa, ed. Muhammad Al-Raghibs best-known work, al-Mufradat
Fakhuri, Beirut: Dar al-kutub al-ilmiyya, fi gharib al-quran, whose influence can be
1989. traced in later tafsir traditions as well as in
Ibn Khalliqan, Wafayat al-ayan wa anba lexicography, is a unique Quranic lexicon.
al-abna al-zaman, ed. Ihsan Abbas, He is known in the Muslim world mostly
Beirut: Dar Sadr, 1977. through this work.
Ibn Qadi Shuhba, Taqiyyuddin Abu Bakr According to Yasien Mohamed, all that
b. Ahmad al-Dimeshqi, Tabaqat alis available in English is a chapter by Majid
Shafiyya, ed. A. Han, Beirut: Matbaa Fakhry, which gives only a brief descrip-
Isa al-Babi al-Halabi, 1964. tion of some of the contents of al-Raghibs
Ibn Taymiyya, Ahmad, Majmu al-Fatawa, ed. ethical treatise, al-Dharia ila makarim al-
Abd al-Rahman b. Muhammad al-Asimi, sharia (The Means to the Noble Qualities
Beirut: Matabi Dar al-Arabiya, 1977. of the Law). Al-Mufradat is one of a series
Isa, Ahmad, Mujam al-atibba, Beirut: of monographs on the Quran by him. In
n.p., 1982, p. 108. its introduction, al-Raghib refers to his
Muhsin al-Amin, Ayan al-shia, ed. Hasan previous works: Risala Munabbiha ala
al-Amin, Beirut: Dar al-Taaruf, 1983. fawaid al-Quran and Risala fi al-qawanin
Safadi, Salahuddin Khalil b. Aybek, al-dalla ala tahqiq munasabat al-alfaz.
AlWaf bi al-wafayat, ed. A. Sayyid, These are important but lost works. The
Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner, 1981. other books that are lost are al-Akhlaq,
Sharani, Abd al-Wahhab, Al-Tabaqat al-Iman wa-kufr, Tahqiq al-bayan fi
al-kubra, Cairo: n. p. 1952. tawil al-Quran, Afanin al-balagha, Kitab
Mutashabihat al-quran, and Kitab Kalimat
yusuf ziya keskin al-sahaba.
249
Ishraq
Al-Raghibs extant works are al-Dharia Muhadarat al-udaba wa muhawarat

ila makarim al-sharia (The Means to the al-shuara wa al-bulagha (Lectures of
Noble Qualities of the Law), Mufradat fi Authors and Talks of Poets and the
gharib al-quran, Tafsil al-nashatayn wa- Eloquent), 2 vols, Beirut: Dar al-arqam,
tahsil al-saadatayn, Kitab al-Itiqadat, 1999.
Muqaddimat al-tafsir, and Muhadarat al-
udaba. E. K. Rowson describes the Muha- Further Reading
darat as a comprehensive adab encyclo- Al-Sarisi, U., Al-Raghib al-Isfahani
pedia, organized in twenty-five chapters wa juhuduhu fi al-lugha wa al-adab
covering such topics as intellect, rulership, (al-Raghib al-Isfahani and His Exertions
crafts, food, courage, love, death and ani- in Language and Literature), Amman:
mals, and including poetry and short prose Maktabat al-Aqsa, 1986.
anecdotes from all periods of Islamic his- Al-Dhahabi, Siyar alam al-nubala, ed.
tory in approximately equal proportions; S. al-Arnawt, Beirut: Muassasat
particularly prominent are verses by al-Mu- al-Risala, 1993.
tanabbi and al-Sharif al-Radi and poetry and Mohamed, Y., The Ethical Philosophy
prose by Ibn Abbad. Majid Fakhry classi- of al-Raghib al-Isfahani, Journal
fies the ethics of al-Raghib as religious eth- of Islamic Studies, 6, 1 (1995),
ics rather than philosophical ethics as pp. 5175.
he considers it to be more firmly rooted in
the Quran and the traditions. In one of the harun sahin
works that is lost, Tahqiq al-bayan fi tawa
al-Quran, al-Raghib deals with a series of
standard kalam topics, such as the attributes
of God and the problem of free will, but
much of his argumentation is philosophical, Ishraq
including his conception of God as the nec-
essary existent (wajib al- wujud bi-dhatihi) The concept of illumination, ishraq, lies at
and the unmoved mover. As Rowson points the heart of most Islamic mystical philoso-
out, al-Raghib is significant as a precursor phy. The most important exponent was al-
of al-Ghazali in accepting and utilizing a Suhrawardi, who developed the notion
more diffuse form of falsafa in maintain- of al-ilm al-huduri, a form of knowledge
ing a rationalized but relatively conservative that is so direct and unmediated that it
Islamic stance. cannot be doubted. Knowledge is like light
flooding into the soul, and the wisdom of
light, hikmat al-ishraq, becomes in every
BIBLIOGRAPHY sense a form of enlightenment. Although
Al-Mufradat fi gharib al-quran (Unfamiliar Platonic and Neoplatonic philosophy also
Vocabularies in the Quran), Istanbul: discussed illumination, al-Suhrawardis
Dar al-qahraman, 1986. conceptions are probably derived from
Tafsil al-nashatayn wa tahsil al-sada, ed. earlier Indo-Persian mystical systems of
A. Najjar, Beirut: Dar al-Gharb al-Islami, thought and belief. Al-Suhrawardis genius
1988. lay in incorporating these into the existing
Kitab al-Itiqad (Book of Beliefs), ed. system of Islamic thought, providing meth-
Shamran al-Ajali, Beirut: Muassassat ods where by inner meanings and symbols
al-Ashraf, 1988. can be explored. His ideas were taken up
250
ZZET
by many others, notably Qutb al-Din al- human spirit were one and the same thing.
Shirazi. The concept of illumination was The second, called the logic, refers to the
mistrusted by some such as Ibn Sina, who period when spirit and nature are separated
thought excessive reliance on it could lead from one another, leading to a radical cleav-
to pantheism. age between spirit and nature/matter. The
third, called the post-logic, designates the
Further Reading modern period where spirit and nature have
Amin Razavi, M., Suhrawardi and the been reunited.
School of Illumination, Richmond: zzet was opposed to the social deter-
Curzon, 1997. minism of Ziya Gkalp. He argued that
al-Suhrawardi, Hayakil al-nur (The Temples Gkalps theories about society and culture
of Light), ed. M. A. Abu Rayyan, left no space for individual freedom and
Cairo: al-Maktaba al-Tijariyya invalidated moral accountability. Instead of
al-Kubra, 1957. defining social forces as the primary deter-
Walbridge, J. M., The Science of Mystic minants of human life, zzet reasoned, we
Lights: Qutb al-Din Shirazi and the should formulate a philosophy that would
Illuminationist Tradition in Islamic give equal weight to the individual as well
Philosophy, Cambridge, MA: Harvard as to society.
University Press, for the Centre for Against the followers of Gkalp, he made
Middle Eastern Studies of Harvard a distinction between nation and national-
University, 1992. ism on the one hand, and ideal and idealism
on the other. Rather than defining national-
oliver leaman ism as the collective ideology of a group of
people that belong to the same ethnic stock,
he posits an ideal to be the defining ele-
ment of national unity and nationalism. For
him, nationality is an ideal rather than a
ZZET, Mehmet(18911930) physical or racial reality. It is this ideal that
brings people of various backgrounds under
The Turkish thinker and writer Mehmet the banner of a common cause and ideal. To
zzet was born in Istanbul. He finished his further elaborate this point, zzet explained
school education at Galatasaray high school the concept of nationality within the context
where he received his training in French. of democracy, freedom, science, economy,
He received his PhD in philosophy from and politics.
Sorbonne University. He was appointed an
instructor in philosophy at the Faculty of
Arts and Sciences (Darul-fnun) in 1919. BIBLIOGRAPHY
He also taught French. Milliyet Nazariyeleri ve Milli Hayat
zzet is usually considered to be an idealist (Theories of Nationality and National
philosopher. Under the influence of the Amer- Life), Istanbul: Kanaat Ktphane ve
ican philosopher and psychologist James Matbaas, 1920.
Mark Baldwin and the German Romantics, Ictimaiyyat (Sociological Issues), Ankara:
he sought to formulate a humanistic ideal- Maarif Vekaleti, 1933.
ism. Like Baldwin, he divided human history Makaleler (Collected Essays), ed. Cokun
into three stages. The first stage, called pre- Deirmencioglu, Ankara: Kltr
logic, refers to the period when nature and Bakanl Yaynlar, 1989.
251
ZZET
Further Reading Deirmencioglu, Cokun, Mehmet Izzet

ubuku, Ibrahim Agah, Trk Dnce (18911930) ve Ulusalc Sosyal Felsefesi,
Tarihinde Felsefe Hareketleri, Ankara: Ankara: Kltr Bakanl Yaynlar, 2002.
Ankara niversitesi Basm Evi,
1986. ibrahim kalin
252
J
JABR Al-Kindi tried to get around this by asserting
that God is without attributes and is therefore
The concept of jabr (free will) has been a beyond such moral judgments as good and
perplexing one in Islamic philosophy, and evil. Ayn al-Qudat Hamadani proposed
goes right back to the time of the Prophet. that what we perceive as evil is in reality good
At its heart is the question of qadar (decree), in the long run, like taking unpleasant medi-
by which it was usually assumed that what- cine to cure an illness.
soever God decrees will come to pass, as he A more compelling argument was that of Abu
is omnipotent. This was taken by some early Bakr al-Razi. He argued that a measure of free
theologians to mean absolute predestina- will was essential if human beings were to truly
tion. However others, the imam Ali among know God, for the acquisition of knowledge
them, stated categorically that human beings is itself an act of will. In order to understand
have a measure of free will and can choose Gods guidance and turn away from evil, we
their own actions for good or evil. The early must at the same time exercise our intelligence
theological school known as the Qadarites and turn away from ignorance (jahiliyya). Free
argued that people have power over their will and knowledge thus become closely linked,
own actions, and the Mutazilites affirmed as do ignorance and evil.
that people have not only the freedom to
choose their actions, but the responsibility oliver leaman
to choose wisely.
However, just as in Christian philosophy,
this position raises the problem of where
human responsibility ends, where the buck
stops. The Mutazilites, while asserting free- JAHILIYA
dom of choice, seem to indicate that this free-
dom is granted to us by God. Ibn Hazm was The term jahiliya (ignorance) has several
later to take up much the same position; he meanings. One is a general reference to those
argued that without divine guidance, human lacking knowledge, specifically, knowledge
souls incline naturally to evil. Those who com- of the Quran and the faith of Islam, indeed,
mit evil acts do so of their own free will for knowledge of God. Opinions have been and
they have chosen to defy God, and are there- remain divided as to how to treat those who
fore punished for their disobedience. This in are ignorant, ranging from peaceful tolera-
turn leads to the problem of evil, of why God tion and pity to more forceful actions.
can permit people to act in evil ways, when Jahiliya can also mean the time of igno-
he has the power to stop them from doing so. rance, that is, the time before the Prophet.
253
AL-JAHIZ
Islamic philosophers have always had a while he was very young. His early educa-
somewhat ambivalent view of the time of tion appears to have been quite haphazard,
ignorance. Without access to the true knowl- but certainly successful since he picked up a
edge of God vouchsafed to Muhammad, good deal of philosophy from his association
these people were condemned to ignorance with the Mutazilite al-Nazzam, and a gen-
whatever their other qualities might have eral facility in the use of language by listen-
been. The partial wisdom granted to earlier ing to people in the markets and mosques.
prophets such as Moses and Jesus meant This was a period when a young man with-
that Christians and Jews, people of the out connections had to impress through his
book, were somewhat less ignorant than accomplishments in order to get on, and al-
others such as pagans and idolaters, but they Jahiz, as he came to be known (it means the
were still possessors of a sort of second-class goggle-eyed) evidently did not have good
knowledge. looks to assist him. According to a popular
On the other hand, it could not be account, the Abbasid ruler al-Mutawakkil
denied by philosophers that people of ear- engaged al-Jahiz as a tutor to his children
lier periods possessed wisdom of their own. before seeing him, and then offered to pay
Aristotle, Plato, and Neoplatonists such him off, since he thought the teacher would
as Plotinus and Proclus were undoubtedly frighten the children given his appearance.
wise, and so too were early scientists such Al-Jahiz is said to have written, before
as Ptolemy and Galen, who had worked out 202/817, a book on the imamate that was
many of the problems of the physical world. well received, and won the favor of the
Equally, there were sources of wisdom to be caliph al-Mamun. Presumably this was not
tapped in the pre-Islamic ideas and writings unrelated to the support that the book gave
of India and Persia. The wise figures from to the legitimacy of the Abbasid regime.
these worlds resemble the virtuous pagans Hence al-Jahiz moved to the capital, Bagh-
of Dante, condemned through no fault of dad, where it was rightly thought he would
their own and respected for their ideas and be an effective advocate in literature of the
wisdom. The problem facing Islamic philos- ideology of the regime. In particular his links
ophers was in many cases one of how to take with the Mutazilite al-Nazzam can have
these ideas from non-Islamic models and done him no harm in the firmly Mutazilite
make them conform to Islam and acceptable atmosphere of Baghdad, and he acquired a
to religious authorities. Quite often they number of important political figures as his
failed, which is why so many Islamic phi- sponsors and supporters. This was useful in
losophers, especially in the early period, led the tumultuous political upheavals that fre-
rather perilous lives. quently rocked the court, and al-Jahiz usu-
ally found that when a supporter fell from
oliver leaman favor, he could be replaced with someone
else. He was, however, obliged to leave the
capital and retire to Basra, where he spent
the rest of his life.
Al-Jahiz typified the world of adab, often
AL-JAHIZ(d. 255/868) translated into French as belles-lettres, a
form of literature very popular at the time,
Abu Uthman Amr ibn Bahr was born in and having more than just literary import. It
Basra, and appeared to have come from a involved graceful style and vivid expression,
humble background. His grandfather may combined with moral force and educational
have been a black slave, and his father died aims. It is difficult to describe his style, since it
254
JAHM IBN SAFWAN
is often prolix, which should make it tedious This can be observed in some of the topics
to read, but the reverse is actually the case. that al-Jahiz selected, some serious and dealt
His language is fresh and lively throughout, with lightly, and others even scatological but
perhaps even more so when he is piling up considered with all the ponderous serious-
example on example. He is able to display ness of a scientific investigation.
virtuosity even when discussing apparently Al-Jahiz is full of wit, satire, irony, and an
minor issues. For example, in his Kitab al- eclectic erudition based on sharp observa-
Hayawan (Book of Animals), he makes some tion of character. His language is both liter-
very serious observations about the animal ary and inspired by the rhythms of ordinary
kingdom that reveal a deep understanding of speech. He moves smoothly from the seri-
the relevant science. On the other hand the ous to the amusing (and back again) for the
book is very much a potpourri of facts and entertainment of his readers. His work fre-
ideas, and he spends a lot of time compar- quently has a combative aspect; he is usually
ing animals, as though it mattered whether defending some position or theory and his
sheep were superior to goats, for instance. use of digression and anecdote is an attempt
What does matter is the language he uses to at disarming his opponents.
make such implausible cases sound almost
plausible, since it is highly innovative and BIBLIOGRAPHY
stretches normal meanings as far as they will Rasail al-Jahiz, ed. A. Harun, Cairo:
go, and perhaps a bit further. A feature of Maktabat al-khanji, 1979.
many of his books is this sort of comparison, Al-Bayan wa al-tabyin, ed. A. Harun,
of one animal compared with another, of one Cairo: Maktabat al-khanji, 1985.
type of human compared with another, of Kitab al-hayawan, ed. A. Harun, Beirut:
one religious sect compared and contrasted Dar al-jil, 1988.
with another.
Al-Jahiz does try to write on language Further Reading
also from a theoretical perspective, but as Pellat, C., Le Milieu basrien et la formation
is so often the case, the practitioner is not de Gahiz, Paris: Le livre de la couronne,
that good at understanding how his skill 1953.
works and why. It might be that al-Jahiz The Life and Works of Jahiz, trans.
felt he should not plunge too deeply into the D. Hawke, London: Routledge & Kegan
theoretical issues he investigatedand there Paul, 1969.
were an enormous number of thesesince al-Hajiri, T., al-Jahiz: hayatuhu wa
this might tire or annoy the reader. He, of atharuhu, Cairo: Dar al-maarif, 1969.
course, relied on such readers to protect him, al-Hufi, A., al-Jahiz, Cairo: Dar al-maarif,
and if they became bored with his output 1980.
then that protection could be withdrawn,
not to mention the funds that accrued with oliver leaman
it. His work often suggests a clash between
coherence and style, as though a concentra-
tion of just one would be problematic. Too
much logical rigor would make the text bor-
ing, while too much concentration on style JAHM IBN SAFWAN (d. 128/745)
would make it empty of significance. It is
important in adab for content and form to Jahm ibn Safwan, also known as Abu
be matched in a harmonious way, so that the Mihriz, an early theologian and politician,
text is neither too serious nor too frivolous. was born in Khurasan. The year of his birth
255
JAHM IBN SAFWAN
is not known, but he was executed in the him to be a Mutazilite because of his ratio-
year 128/745. Jahm was a mawla, born nal interpretation (tawil) of the Quran and
into a family of slaves, but he was set free his rejection of the eternal essential attributes
and showed his gratitude to Benu Rasib. He of God.
spent his early years in Tirmidh; of his edu- Unfortunately, none of Jahms writings
cation and teachers we know nothing, but have survived; to reconstruct his views we
it seems that in his early days he worked in must wholly depend on secondary material.
Tirmidh as an administrator on the river The most important early sources which
border and a tax collector. His biographical provide detailed information about Jahm
details are not known and Ibn Kathirs claim are the Kitab al-Radd ala al-jahmiya attrib-
that he went to Kufa where he met al-Jad b. uted to Ibn Hanbal, al-Maltis al-Tanbih
Dirham, the important theologian and phi- fi al-radd ala ahl al-ahawa, al-Asharis
losopher, and studied under him, seems to Maqalat, and Khayats Kitab al-Intisar. His
be apocryphal. Instead, Van Ess maintains major themes seem to have concentrated on
that there may be some truth that he made the nature of God and his relationship to
a journey to Harran and probably met al- humanity and the world. Jahm divides exis-
Jad b. Dirham there. However, Van Ess is tence into immaterial and material objects,
inclined to think that he never actually left or the eternal and the created. God for him
the province of Khurasan. is immaterial and the only eternal, the cre-
Jahm seems indeed to have spent most of ator of all other beings. Everything save God
his life in Tirmidh, where he became popu- is corporeal and created. It seems, however,
lar and had most of his followers, as many that he lays great emphasis on Gods imma-
sources confirm. Al-Malti and other early terial nature in order to fight the anthro-
heresiographers, however, mention a journey pomorphic trend which was widespread in
to Balkh where he met Muqatil b. Sulayman, Khurasan under the leadership of Muqatil
the famous anthropomorphist and interpreter b. Sulayman. He also introduces the method
of scripture. It is not clear whether Jahm of allegorical interpretation in order to inter-
went there in order to debate with him or pret verses of the Quran which present
sought to learn from him; in any case, Muqa- Gods image in an anthropomorphic literary
til, according to Tabari, influenced Jahms style. He may have learned this method from
expulsion from Balkh. After spending some Jad ibn Dirham in his alleged journeys to
time in Tirmidh, he joined the revolt against Kufa or to Harran.
the Umayyads which was led by al-Harith b. Jahm is also linked to the group of uphold-
Surayj, and both were killed in 746/128. ers of Jabriya, Gods decreeing of all events.
The doctrines of Jahm are vague and usu- However, Jahm mainly believed in a neces-
ally confused with what is also known as sary determination of everything which pres-
Jahamiya, a group or different groups of fol- ents God as the only agent of all events and
lowers of Jahm who appear in different prov- acts. Although this determination seems to
inces: Khurasan, Jibal Baghdad, and even have been influenced by Neoplatonism, Jahm
in Medina until the end of the fourth Hijri identifies God with the events on earth and
century. Heresiographers are confused about makes him will and be responsible for them
his theological position; Nawbakhti and al- all. According to Jahiz, Jahm believed that
Ashari consider the Jahamiya to be one of this determinism cannot be related to nature,
the Murjia groups because of its belief that since to his mind God is the director and the
faith is based only on true knowledge of God only agent. This concept is also connected
and not on performing certain acts, while Ibn with his belief that God exists everywhere
Taymiyya and other heresiographers consider and in no specific place; He is therefore fully
256
JAHM IBN SAFWAN
inside and also outside the world and noth- Sumaniya: Have you touched Him?
ing escapes his presence or his power. Thus Jahm: No.
all acts, including human acts, are in reality Sumaniya: Then what makes you believe
only his own. This also explains Jahms con- that he is God?
cept of Gods invisibility to human vision;
this lies not in his immateriality and the Jahm was puzzled and for forty days did
impossibility of sense perception to perceive not know whom to worship. He finally sup-
him, as the Mutazilites believe, but simply plied an argument similar to the one used by
because of his inseparability from all things Christians. Christians allege that the spirit of
and the impossibility to be in one place Jesus is from Gods essence. Jahm argued in
alone. It is possible here to find connections the same fashion.
between his theory of the immanence of God
and the Stoic theory of pantheism; neverthe-
Jahm: Do you assert that you have a
less, Jahm makes clear that God is the cre-
spirit in you?
ator and the willing agent of all things. Thus
he is both above all things and in all things. Sumaniya: Yes.
This concept is used by Ibn Taymiyya to link Jahm: Have you seen your spirit?
Jahm with the mystical philosopher Muhyi Sumaniya: No.
al-Din ibn al-Arabi. Jahm: Have you heard it speaking?
Jahm seems also to have introduced the
Sumaniya: No.
first psychological concepts of human per-
ception. Al-Malti and al-Tabari mention Jahm: Have you sensed it in any way or
an anecdote about Jahm and his debate with touched it?
the Sumaniya, probably an Indian Buddhist Sumaniya: No.
sect who lived in Balkh and elsewhere in Jahm: Similarly with Allah.
Khurasan. (According to Van Ess, there was
a famous Buddhist monastery in the area (While Ibn Hanbal in his book considers
of Balkh before the advent of Islam, which that Jahm was using a Christian argument, a
was then destroyed and its members dissimilar debate is in fact mentioned in Platos
persed.) The debate with the Sumaniya, as Sophist.)
mentioned in Ibn Hanbals Radd and many The same story, however, is repeated by
other sources, was proposed on the condi- the late Mutazilite, Abd al-Jabbar. Here
tion that the vanquished should embrace the Jahm seemed to have asked for help from
faith of the victor. Parts of their argument Wasil ibn Ata in Basra, who agreed to
ran as follows: help him and sent him Hafs b. Salim. The
main answer to this dilemma was the expla-
Sumaniya: You assert that you have a nation that rational perception, unlike the
God? five senses, can perceive what is immate-
Jahm: Yes. rial. However, as Van Ess points out, Jahms
Sumaniya: Have you seen your God? view of human perception is quite differ-
Jahm: No. ent from this idea and from other answers
ascribed to him by his opponents. Jahm
Sumaniya: Have you smelled Him?
believes that humans are not able to perceive
Jahm: No. God, for neither the senses nor the intellect
Sumaniya: Have you sensed Him in is able to identify him. Humans know God,
anyway? not through necessary knowledge which
Jahm: No. was implanted in them from birth, as the
257
AL-JAWALIQI
Mutazilites believe, but only through the Jalal al-Din Muhammad al-Rumi,
knowledge which God bestows upon them. see al-Rumi
God chooses his people according to his
own will. Thus Jahm, through his determin-
ist theory, jabr, declares the inability of the
human intellect and senses to perceive God.
Hence this story, though mentioned in many Jangidost, Abd al-Qadir ibn Abi Salih,
sources, seems to be a legend. see al-Jilani
From Jahms opponents we also hear of
his rejection of most of the traditions which
are derived from hadith. He rejects the con-
cept of punishment in the grave due to his
objection to the eternity of Paradise and AL-JAWALIQI, Hisham b. Salim
Hell. Paradise and Hell will be the place of (d. after 183/799)
reward and punishment on the day of resur-
rection and judgment and therefore neither Abu Muhammad (or Abu al-Hakam)
is yet created; consequently it is absurd, in Hisham b. Salim al-Jawaliqi was an Imami
his view, to have punishment in the grave theologian of the second/eighth century and
before judgment. one of the two Hishams, with Hisham b. al-
The Jahmite doctrines mentioned above Hakam, from whom heresiographers derived
can be easily seen to have links with many the name of the Hishamiyya, an anthropo-
theological schools such as Mutazilism, morphist school of thought in Shii Islam.
Asharism, and philosophical mysticism. It He was from Juzjan in North Khurasan.
does seem, however, impossible that Jahm Little is known about al-Jawaliqis life. He
can have been responsible for all the theories was brought to Kufa as a slave and sold to
mentioned above while also maintaining a Bishr b. Marwan. After accepting Islam, he
clear political revolutionary position which was freed. He lived in Kufa, trading in prov-
led to his death probably at a relatively early ender. The date and place of his death are
age. It is, therefore, quite reasonable to con- unknown. However, a report displaying his
sider that many of these concepts were devel- debate with a Waqifi leader indicates that he
oped by his followers, known as the Jaha- survived the imam al-Kazim, who died in
miya, although the heresiographers do not 183/799.
specify any of their names. The term Jaha- Hisham al-Jawaliqi was a disciple of the
miya, however, survived at least until the end imams Jafar al-Sadiq and Musa al-Kazim.
of the thirteenth century, which proves the Before being introduced to al-Sadiq in Med-
existence of its adherents. ina, his first acquaintance with Shii ideas
probably took place in Zurara b. Ayans
Further Reading circle in Kufa. His stand during the crisis fol-
Ibn Hanbal, Ahmad, Al-Radd ala l-Zandiqa lowing the death of al-Sadiq seems to have
wa-l-Jahamiya, in M. Seale (ed.), Muslim been very crucial. When Abdallah b. Jafar
Theology, London: Luzac, 1964. al-Aftah, the eldest living son of al-Sadiq,
Van Ess, J., Theologie und Gesellschaft im was acknowledged as the new imam by the
2. und 3. Jahrhundert Hidschra, vol. 2, majority of the Imami party, al-Jawaliqi, with
Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter, his friend, Abu Jafar al-Ahwal, visited
1991, pp. 493571. Abdallah and questioned him on some reli-
gious matters. Abdallahs answers did not
maha el-kaisy satisfy al-Jawaliqi. His decision was that
258
AL-JAWALIQI
Abdallahs knowledge was inadequate for and thinkers who advocated the free will of
the imamate. He then went to al-Kazim with humanity.
other notables, questioned him and, being According to al-Jawaliqi, infallibility (al-
satisfied, acknowledged him publicly as their isma) was not an essential prophetic attri-
new imam. This event caused a break within bute even though the imams were necessarily
Abdallahs camp. For this reason, there were infallible. He held this on the grounds that
several attempts to assault al-Jawaliqi by the the prophets could be corrected by revela-
frustrated followers of Abdallah. His service tion and turned away from sin, whereas the
on behalf of the suppression of the activities imams had no chance to receive revelation.
of the Waqifis, who denied al-Kazims death He also defended the wasiyya, Muhammads
and declared that he had gone into ghayba testamentary appointment of Ali b. Abi
(occultation), is also worth mentioning. He Talib to the imamate. Except for his teach-
debated with Muhammad b. Bashir, the ings about the imamate, al-Jawaliqis philo-
leader of the extremist wing of the Waqifa. sophical ideas generally contradicted the
It is said that Muhammad was defeated by later authoritative Imami theology. However,
al-Jawaliqi in argument. Imami traditionists represented him as a very
Hisham al-Jawaliqi was an anthropomor- trustworthy narrator in hadith. The books
phist. According to him, God was a form attributed to him are not on theology. Three
of man, who had the qualities of limitation. nonextant works of his on the pilgrimage,
He possessed five senses and had hands, the exegesis of the Quran, and al-miraj, the
feet, eyes, ears, nose, and mouth as well as miraculous midnight journey of Muhammad
thick black hair, which he described as light to Heaven from Jerusalem, are recorded.
black. His upper part was hollow, the rest
was full and solid. Al-Jawaliqi also claimed Further Reading
that the object he worshipped as God was al-Kashshi, Abu Amr Muhammad b. Umar,
in the image of man, but he was not a body Ikhtiyar marifat al-rijal (Selections
formed from blood, flesh, and bones. He was from the Information on the Important
rather a diffused white light. However, al- Personalities), ed. H. al-Mustafawi,
Shahrastani reports on the authority of the Mashhad: Danishgah-i Mashhad, 1969.
Mutazili al-Warraq that al-Jawaliqi gave up al-Khui, Abu al-Qasim al-Musawi, Mujam
these ideas and adopted a Salafi or tradition- rijal al-hadith (Biographical Dictionary
alist line by keeping silent about anthropo- of the Hadith Narrators), 23 vols, Beirut:
morphic issues in theology. al-Marashi, 1989.
Al-Jawaliqi denied the eternal nature of al-Nashshar, Ali Sami, Nashat al-fikr
Gods attributes: Gods knowledge is pro- al-falsafi fi l-islam (Formation of the
duced and thus modifiable. His will is equiv- Philosophical Thought in Islam), 3 vols,
alent to His movement: When He wanted to Cairo: Dar al-maarifa, 19778.
make something, only He moved, and then al-Shahristani, Abu al-Fath Muhammad
it existed. All that exists in the universe, b. Abd al-Karim, al-Milal wa al-nihal
including mans acts as well as his belief and (The Religions and the Sects), ed.
disbelief, are bodies (ajsam) which exist by A.A. Mahna, A.H. Faur, Beirut: Dar
Gods will. Accidents (arad) have no real al-marifa, 1998.
existence. The ability to act (istitaa) does Watt, Montgomery W., The Formative
not mean human free ability to perform. It is Period of Islamic Thought, Edinburgh:
simply health (sihha), and every healthy man Edinburgh University Press, 1973.
has the ability to act. With these ideas, al-
Jawaliqi stands in between pure determinists m. ali buyukkara
259
AL-JILANI
AL-JILANI, Abd al-Qadir Reality (Haqiqa). In other words, revelatory

(470562/10771166) knowledge is reflected in an epistemologi-
cal division of labor between the exoteric
Born in Naif in the Persian province of Gilan, and the esoteric, the former pertaining to
south of the Caspian Sea, in 470/1077, that which is methodically derived from the
Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani was the eponymous interpretation of sacred law (by way of the
founder of one of the earliest Sufi tariqat Quran, hadith, and analogical reasoning),
(from tariqa, path, meaning a Sufi order or the latter signified by the Sufi valuation of
school), the Qadiriya. A renowned preacher, marifa (gnosis, direct intuitive under-
Hanbali jurist, and exemplar of what came standing or mystical knowledge).
to be known as sober Sufism, Jilani died in This Muhyid-din (Reviver of the Reli-
Baghdad in 562/1166. gion) and sultan al-awliya (The Sultan of
Abd al-Qadirs early life is shrouded in the Saints)among other honorific appel-
hagiographic legend, the contents of which lationsspent twenty-five years wandering
are pedagogically designed for ethical and in the desert outside Baghdad upon comple-
religious edification, not biographical elu- tion of his religious curriculum. Yet Abd al-
cidation. His father was Imam Sayyid Abu Qadirs asceticism went hand in hand with
Salih Musa Jangi Dost, his mother, Sayyida raising a rather large family (as with their
Umm al-Khayr Amat al-Jabbar Fatima. It Kabbalistic counterparts, Sufi ascetic prac-
does appear that his mother and an aunt tices need not require celibacy). Remarkably,
were formative influences on his spiritual his career as a preacher did not commence
development, a role assumed by not a few until about 521/1127, at the age of fifty-one.
women in the lives of prominent Sufis. It is this legacy of lectures over about a for-
In 488/1095, at the age of eighteen, Abd ty-year period: at the hostel, in the madrasa,
al-Qadir went to Baghdad, then the center and at the idga (open-air space), that served
of religious learning in the Islamic world, to secure his reputation as one of the most
for formal pursuit of the traditional spiritual popular saints in Islam. Many of Jilanis
sciences, hadith, kalam, and fiqh. He was manuscripts are collections of these public
schooled in Hanbali jurisprudence courtesy exhortations, notably, Al-Fath ar-rabbani
of Abu al-Wafa ibn al-Aqil (d. 513/1119) (The Sublime Revelation) and Futuh al-
and the qadi (judge) Abu Sad al-Mubarak Ghayb (Revelations of the Unseen). These
al-Mukharrimi, from whom he also received lectures, technically termed maqalat (utter-
the Sufi khirqa (the patched frock or mantle ances), are a bit more sophisticated than the
of Sufi investiture). However, his spiritual traditional khutba, the sermon accompany-
mentor in Sufism was Shaykh Hammad ing Fridays noon prayer at the mosque. And
al-Dabbas (d. 523/1131). Like Abdullah this genre of Islamic discourse is spontane-
Ansari al-Harawi (d. 481/1089) before ous, without text or notes, and may involve
him, Abd al-Qadirs spiritual practice and question-and-answer between the speaker
theology demonstrates the absence of inher- and his audience. Jilanis Al-Ghunya li-talibi
ent conflict between the Hanbali madh- tariq al-haqq (Sufficient Provision for Seek-
hab (school of Islamic law) and Sufism; ers of the Path of Truth) is a conventional
indeed, strict observance of Sharia (divine text that testifies to his exegetical skills
law) and fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence proper) as Hanbali mufti and theologian, detail-
are a necessary condition for embarking ing the variegated religious, ethical, and
on the Science of the Inner Spiritual Path social duties of a conscientious Muslim.
(tariqa), Direct Knowledge (marifa), and Although it holds fast to the aforementioned
260
AL-JILI
distinction between the exoteric and esoteric BIBLIOGRAPHY

domains of religious knowledge, the latter Al-Fath ar-rabbani (The Sublime
receives comparatively brief coverage, and Revelation), trans. Muhtar Holland,
is thus best read alongside his Kitab Sirr Houston: Al-Baz Publishing, 1992.
al-asrar wa mazhar al-anwar (The Book of Malfuzat (Utterances), trans. Muhtar
the Secret of Secrets and the Manifestation Holland, Houston: Al-Baz Publishing,
of Lights). Among the myriad themes and 1992.
topics treated is a hierarchical typology of Futuh al-ghayb (Revelations of the Unseen),
Islamic religious figures ranked according trans. Muhtar Holland, Houston: Al-Baz
to criteria of spiritual authority and attain- Publishing, 1992.
ment: messenger (rasul), prophet (nabi), Jala al-khawatir (The Removal of Cares),
friend of God (wali), shaykh, seeker trans. Muhtar Holland, Ft Lauderdale:
(murid), substitute (badal), trusted one Al-Baz Publishing, 1997.
(siddiq), and martyr-witness (shahid); and, Al-Ghunya li-talibi tariq al-haqq (Sufficient
the essential elements of the Sufi path involv- Provision for Seekers of the Path of
ing the greater jihad (mujahada) against Truth), 5 vols, trans. Muhtar Holland,
the lower self (nafs), the passions, natural Fort Lauderdale: Al-Baz Publishing, 1997.
impulses, and habits that darken ones heart Khamsata ashara maktuban (Fifteen
(qalb) and require purging through purifica- Letters), trans. Muhtar Holland,
tory ascetic practices. Hollywood, FL: Al-Baz Publishing, 1997.
Jilani was entrusted with the madrasa of Kitab Sirr al-asrar wa mazhar al-anwar
al-Mukharrimi, to which pious endowments (The Book of the Secret of Secrets and the
permitted the construction of an attached Manifestation of Lights), trans. Muhtar
ribat used to house his family and provide Holland, Fort Lauderdale: Al-Baz
services to the poor and needy. The Qadiriya Publishing, 2000.
order was not well established for some time
after his death, but several of his sons, their patrick s. odonnell
descendants and devoted followers were
instrumental in this tariqa spreading, over
the course of several centuries, from West
Africa to Southeast Asia, making it one (if
not the most) expansive of Sufi orders. The AL-JILI, Abd al-Karim
Ottoman patronage of Sulayman the Magnif- (c. 13661408 or 1417)
icent (d. 974/1566) restored his mausoleum
with a turba in 945/1535, as this sanctuary The author of the renowned work al-Insan
remains a place of pilgrimage, especially on al-kamil (The Universal Man), Abd al-Karim
his mawlid (anniversary celebration), 11 b. Ibrahim al-Jili, was born in Jil, Baghdad,
Rabi al-Thani. and became a well-known name in much of
While Jilani is reputed to have said, my the Islamic world from Turkey to Indonesia.
foot is on the neck of every saint of God, Little is known of his life. The dates of his
and although his name is intimately associ- birth and death have not been firmly estab-
ated with tales of the miraculous, perhaps lished. His family lineage goes back to Abd
neither attribution detracts from his status as al-Qadir al-Jilani, the celebrated founder
a sober Sufi, for the respective portraits com- of the Qadiriyya order of Sufism. Certain
bined may account for his singular standing passages of his spiritual autobiography scat-
among Islamic saints. tered throughout his writings indicate that
261
JILWAH
he traveled in India and lived for some time human state. Man is called the small uni-
in Yemen. Some historians credit him with verse and the universe the big man. This
introducing the Qadiriyya order into India. view takes all creation to be an act of Gods
He wrote about two dozen works. His most unveiling and self-disclosure.
famous work, however, is al-Insan al-kamil,
a classic manual of Sufi metaphysics and BIBLIOGRAPHY
spiritual psychology. De lhomme universel, trans. Titus
Jili continued the tradition of Ibn al-Arabi Burckhardt, Paris: Dervy-Livres, 1975.
(d. 1240) by expanding and commenting upon Al-Kamalat al-ilahiyya fi al-sifat
such key terms of the school of Ibn al-Arabi al-muhammadiyya (Divine Perfections in
as the unity of being (wahdat al-wujud), exte- the Attributes of Muhammad), ed. Said
rior (zahir) and interior (batin), and the self- Abd al-Fattah, Cairo: Maktabat alam
disclosure (tajalli) of God. The concept of al-fikr, 1997.
universal or perfect man was developed Al-Nadirat al-ayniyya (The Identical Rare
first by Ibn al-Arabi as a synthesis of tradi- Things), ed. Yusuf Zaydan, Cairo: Dar
tional cosmology and spiritual anthropol- al-amin, 1999.
ogy. According to al-Jili, the human state is a Sharh mushkilat al-futuhat al-makkiyya
microcosm of the various names and qualities li Ibn al-Arabi (The Explanation of the
of God. The phrase al-Insan al-kamil refers Difficulties of Ibn al-Arabi al-Futuhat
to the highest state of human perfection. In al-Makkiyya), ed. Yusuf Zaydan, Cairo:
the tradition of Ibn al-Arabi and al-Jili, the Dar al-amin, n.d.
universal man is ultimately the Prophet of Un commentaire sotrique de la formule
Islam who functions as the pole of sanctity inaugurale du Qoran: les mystres
and prophecy in the Islamic tradition. Even cryptographiques de Bismi-Llhi-
though the spiritual master is occasionally r-Rahmni-r-Rahm, Bism Allah
referred to as the universal man, the title is al-Rahman al-Rahim ed. and trans. Jabir
reserved primarily for the Prophet. Clment-Francois, Beirut: Les ditions
One of the central themes of Jilis work Albouraq, 2002.
is the relationship between God and his
creation on the one hand, and God and the Further Reading
human world, on the other. The first question Schimmel, A., Mystical Dimensions of
pertains to the multiplicity of the world in Islam, Chapel Hill: University of North
view of Gods absolute unity, which underlies Carolina Press, 1975.
Islams strict monotheism. Jili explains the
relationship between Divine unity and mani- ibrahim kalin
fest multiplicity by referring to such concepts
as the transcendent unity of being and the
theophany or self-disclosure of God. Draw-
ing on Ibn al-Arabi, Jili develops a doctrine
of unity-in-diversity and diversity-in-unity. JILWAH, Mirza Abul-Hasan
Gods absolute being and unity, however, (12381314/182296)
transcends all multiplicities and contingen-
cies and is not tainted by them. The second One of the prominent philosophers of the
question, that is, the relationship between nineteenth century, Mirza Abul-Hasan Jilwah
God and man, is explained by considering or Jilwa was born in 1238/1822 in Ahmad-
the human state as a microcosm of the uni- abad in Gujarat, India. Jilwas father had
verse and the universe as a macrocosm of the migrated to India and held some government
262
AL-JUNAYD
positions there. When he returned to Isfahan Universal and Its Divisions); Risala fi wujud
with his son, Jilwah was a young boy. Jilwah al-suwar al-nawiyya (Treatise on the Being
received his education in religious sciences, of the Forms of the Species); Risala fil-wujud
philosophy, and medicine in Isfahan. Jilwah (Treatise on Being).
studied with Aqa Mirza Hasan Chini Ali al- Jilwahs other works include glosses
Zahiri, Akhund Mulla Abd al-Jawad al-Tuni (taliqah) on Sadras Asfar, in which he
al-Khurasani, and Mulla Muhammad Jafar shows the sources of some of Sadras ideas;
Langharudi. In 1856, he moved to Tehran a gloss on Ibn Turkah Isfahanis Tamhid al-
where he taught until his death in 1896. He qawaid (Arrangement of Principles); a gloss
trained many students, some of whom con- on Sabziwaris Sharh al-manzumah (Com-
tinued to teach Islamic philosophy until the mentary on the Manzumah); a gloss on
first part of the twentieth century. Mulla Sadras Sharh al-hidayah (Commen-
Unlike many of his contemporaries, Jil- tary on the Hidayah [of Abhari]), al-Mabda
wah was a straightforward Peripatetic phi- wal-maad (The Beginning and the Return),
losopher. Even though he studied and taught and Kitab al-Mashair (The Book of Meta-
the works of al-Suhrawardi and Mulla physical Penetrations); a gloss on Ibn Sinas
Sadra, his forte was in the works of Ibn Shifa (Cure); a gloss on Rumis Mathnawi;
Sina. Jilwah displays no particular taste for a gloss on Abd al-Rahman Jamis Misbah
the kind of mystical philosophy we find in al-uns (The Key to the Souls of People); and
the later interpretations of Suhrawardi and a gloss on Dawud al-Qaysaris commentary
Sadra. In his glosses on Sadras Asfar, he on Ibn al-Arabis Fusus al-hikam. Jilwah
criticized Sadra for taking ideas from differ- has also a diwan of poetry.
ent philosophers and not acknowledging his
sources. Jilwah was unusually diligent with Further Reading
the classical texts he studied and taught. He Ashtiyani, S., Introduction, in Mulla
has even corrected the texts of Ibn Sinas Sadra al-Shawahid al-Rububiyyah with
Shifa, Rumis Mathnawi, and Ibn Turkah Sabziwaris Commentary, ed. Ashtiyani,
Isfahanis Tamhid al-qawaid. His rational- Mashhad: Mashhad University Press, 1966.
ist predilection did not prevent Jilwah from Nasr, S., From The School of Isfahan
composing poetry in the traditional style. to School of Tehran, Transcendent
Jilwah wrote a number of treatises of his Philosophy, 2, 4 (December 2001),
own and glosses on the classical philosophi- pp. 126.
cal texts he taught in his career as a teacher. Saduqi Soha, M., Tarikh-i Hukama
Almost all of his works deal with the prob- wa Urafa-yi Mutaakhkhir, Tehran,
lems of traditional ontology, epistemology, Intisharati Hikmat, 2002.
and theology. His own works include the
following: Risala fi bayan kayfiyyat istijabat ibrahim kalin
al-dua (Treatise Explaining the Nature of
Gods Response to Prayers); Risala fil-tarkib
wa ahkamihi (Treatise on Composition and
Its Principles); Risala fil-jism al-talimi (Trea-
tise on the Mathematical Object); Risala AL-JUNAYD, Abu al-Qasim
fil-harakat al-jawhariyya (Treatise on Sub- (215296 to 298/827908 to 910)
stantial Motion); Risala fil-rabt al-hadith
bil-qadim (Treatise on Connection Between Abu al-Qasim al-Junayd was born and
the Temporally Generated and the Eternal); brought up in Baghdad, where his ancestors
Risala fil-kulli wa aqsamihi (Treatise on the had emigrated from the Persian province of
263
AL-JUNAYD
Jibal. His date of birth can be conjectured derived his Sufi system from Neoplatonic
based on different accounts as 215/827, and sources which were also available in this early
his death was almost certainly between 296 period. The school of al-Saqti was deeply
and 298/908 and 910. Al-Junayds father immersed in doctrines which had as their
died while he was still a boy. His uncle, the aim and hope unification with God. Unfor-
famous Sufi Sari al-Saqti, adopted him and tunately we possess no writings either from
brought him up as his own son. Al-Junayd Saqti nor from Maruf; our main source here
was a somewhat reserved person by nature; is the anecdotes reported by al-Junayd. The
he preferred the company of the small cir- relationship between al-Saqti and al-Junayd
cle of his uncles followers. His education is rightly reported as a Socratic-Platonic
was mainly in Baghdad and concentrated association. The teaching of al-Saqti seems
on Islamic traditional sciences such as to be in the form of questions to stimulate
hadith and fiqh. After completing his stud- al-Junayd and other followers in order to let
ies he became a recognized jurist, though he them produce the desired mystical system.
never, in fact, practised this career. Instead It also seems that much of what we know
he immersed himself in studying Sufism in about al-Saqti comes more or less from al-
his uncles school. Later he himself led the Junayd, although it seems to come from the
school and became a distinguished Sufi mas- lips of al-Saqti. Nevertheless, it seems clear
ter. Several important Sufis studied under that al-Saqti was the godfather who inspired
him, such as Shibli, Jurayri, Jafar al-Khuldi most of al-Junayds doctrines.
(who recorded some parts of his teaching Al-Junayds school was of particular
in his book Hikayat al-awliya), and Abu importance in introducing Gnostic mys-
Said al-Arabi. Abu Yazid al-Bistami and ticism, which is rooted in a belief in the
-Hallaj, in addition, seem to have been
al eternity of the human soul and its hope of
influenced greatly by al-Junayd but they were returning to an unification with its source.
probably rejected as students in his school This Sufi tendency, although it started in
because of their concept of hulul, indwelling. Baghdad, became one of the important fea-
Toward the end of his life, al-Junayd and his tures of Persian Sufism and gave an impulse
school were attacked by the orthodox tradi- to the illuminative mystical philosophy of
tionalists and accused of heresy, and some of Suhrawardi and ibn al-Arabi.
his students were brought to trial. Afterward Al-Junayd left a good number of works
al-Junayd withdrew completely from public and his writings are apparently the first of
life and remained with his closest disciples their kind, which, despite their clear sense
until his death. of being inspired and their mysterious terms
Baghdad in the time of Junayd was known and concepts, are clear and introduces his
for its two important Sufi schools: the school teachings systematically. His main output is
of al-Muhasibi, which taught traditional in the form of letters and short treatises dedi-
Sufism based on the Quran and Sunna, and cated to his closest students. He also wrote
the school of Sari al-Saqti which, although some works on the following subjects: the
also traditionally based, introduced a kind Godhead (al-Uluhaiya), unification (tawhid),
of Gnostic Sufism which aims at unification annihilation (fana), the divine covenant
with God. Al-Saqti himself was a student of (mithaq), and sobriety (sahaw).
the famous Gnostic Sufi Maruf al-Karkhi Al-Junayds main doctrines are based on
(d. 200/812). Maruf came probably from the concept of tawhid and seem to have
a Sabaean family which was influenced by been introduced by his uncle al-Saqti. In
Manichean Gnosticism, though Abd al- his book Kitab al-Tawhid, he explains that
Qadir considers that Maruf could well have God as the first and the last of everything
264
AL-JUNAYD
has produced the souls of all beings in him- concept was also an important principle for
self, but at some point in the process of cre- al-Junayd and his school. This led al-Junayd
ation these souls have experienced separa- and his followers to reject Sufis such as Bis-
tion from their source. Hence these souls are tami and al-Hallaj, who publicly spoke of
strangers in this world and seek salvation their mystical experience.
through re-unification with God. This unifi- Abd al-Qadir, the editor of al-Junayds
cation restores them to unity and is the true treatises and short books, provides some
expression of the Islamic concept of tawhid. links and points out the differences between
Tawhid, for al-Junayd, has four levels: (1) al-Junayds mysticism and the Neoplatonic
the concept held by the masses of the non- mystical interpretation of the position of
association of any god beside God; (2) the the human soul vis--vis the universal soul
realization by the pious that tawhid comes and its happiness at returning to its ori-
through discarding the worship of anything gin. Of particular importance, however,
else besides God; (3) the tawhid of the Sufis is al-Junayds drawing on Quranic verses
who hope only to see God but still preserve linked to concepts such as the mithaq (cov-
their feeling of individuality; and finally (4) enant), the covenant which God makes with
the tawhid of the Sufi saint who has totally the human soul before it exists. In his book
lost his individuality and became fully one Kitab al-Mithaq he shows that the founda-
with God. This concept of unification has tion of mithaq is found in Quran 7:171:
influenced many Sufis since al-Junayd; an then the Lord drew forth from the children
example of this influence is al-Ghaza- of Adam from their loins their descendants
lis explanation of tawhid in the fourth and made them testify concerning them-
volume of his book Ihya Ulum al-Din, selves: am I your Lord? They said: yea we
which is taken completely from al-Junayd. do testify; lest ye should say on the day of
From another angle, tawhid, according to judgement: of this we were never mindful.
al-Junayd, is the separating of the eternal This demonstrates the Islamic and Quranic
from what has its origins in time. By this he side of his mysticism.
means the absolute recognition of God, for The Quranic picture of God, according
he is not as humans perceive him; the abso- to al-Junayd, suggests a clear awareness of
lute recognition of God again is reserved for the human souls existence in God and of
the elect of the Sufis alone. However, while his plan for them; it implies their rejection
tawhid, the absolute aim of this kind of or acceptance of his guidance. The link-
Sufism, is the hope of a return to the origin ing of these verses to his mysticism is deep
of humanity in the divinity, the re-separating enough to present Gods perception and will
and return from the stage of unification to as they touch the whole story of human exis-
the earthly realm has its importance and tence: its origin, creation, infidelity, faith,
its place in al-Junayds system. This stage and finally its return. This insight expresses
he calls sahow, sobriety. It is the return in neither Greek nor Neoplatonic philosophy
a new garment unveiling the richness of the and is clearly inspired by concepts based on
Sufis unique experience to his true disciples. religion. Most Sufis after al-Junayd made
This final stage reminds us of Platos system similar use of these verses of the covenant; in
in which the philosopher returns to the cave his Kimiya al-saada, al-Ghazali presents the
after he has experienced the light, demon- same image of the human soul on the basis
strating the role of the philosopher toward of these verses.
his disciples. The concealing of the mystical Although this kind of Sufism was adopted
experience of tawhid from the public who by many different kinds of Sufis and in some
do not possess the capacity to grasp such a ways strayed into pantheistic directions,
265
AL-JURJANI
al-Junayd encouraged his followers to pre- Junpuri became an enthusiastic Sufi, join-
serve their rituals and to support their expe- ing the Qadariyya order under the teaching
riences by the Quran and the Sunna. This of Miyan Mir Lahori. Shah Jahan was also
stood to his credit among many orthodox sympathetic to this order, and Junpuri took
theologians, such as Ibn Taymiyya and oth- the Emperors son Muhammad Shuja to
ers. There is no doubt that al-Junayd was the Bengal to meet Shaykh Nimat Allah Fay-
first Sufi to introduce the concept of unifi- ruzpari, an important thinker in the move-
cation and the absolute annihilation of the ment. Despite the rather critical attitude of
soul in clear and systematic mystical and the Sufis to the court and its extravagances,
philosophical writings which contributed to Junpuri seems to have had no problems in
and stimulated a new understanding of the maintaining both his mystical contacts and
relationship between God and humanity. having good relationships with the authori-
ties. He was certainly highly regarded by his
BIBLIOGRAPHY contemporaries, and his death in 1062/1652
Kitab al-Tawhid and Rasail al-Junayd, shocked many. His output consists mainly of
in The Life, Personality and Writings of commentaries and textbooks that became
Al-Junayd, ed. and trans. A. Abdel-Kader, much used and influential in philosophical
London: Luzac, 1976. training.
Further Reading Further Reading

Fakhry, M., A History of Islamic Bilgrami, M., Maathir al-kiram, Lahore:
Philosophy, 2nd edn, New York: Matba-i Dukhani-yi Rifa-i Amm, 1971.
Columbia University Press, 1983. Khan, A., India, in S. H. Nasr and
O. Leaman (eds), History of Islamic
maha el-kaisy Philosophy, ch. 62, London: Routledge,
1996, pp. 105175.
Mubarakpuri, Q., Diyar-e purub main ilm
awr ulama, Delhi: n.p., 1979.
JUNPURI FARUQI, Mulla oliver leaman

Mahmud(101562/160352)
Mulla Mahmud Junpuri ibn Shaykh Muham-

mad Junpuri was born in Junpur in Rama-
dan 1015/1603. His father died while he AL-JURJANI, Abd al-Qahir
was young and he was raised by his mater- (d. 471/1078 or 474/1081)
nal grandfather Shaykh Shah Muhammad, a
distinguished scholar. He moved on to work Abd al-Qahir Abu Bakr b. Abd al-Rahman
with Shaykh Muhammad Afdal and Mulla Majd al-Din al-Jurjani was born and raised
Shams Bronvi, and Junpur became some- in Jurjan and died in 471/1078 or 474/1081
thing of an intellectual center during this in the same city. Though information about
period. Perhaps the most significant step he his life and his time is very limited, it is clear
took was to visit Mir Damad in Safavid Per- that he was a Shafii jurisconsult (theolo-
sia in Isfahan en route to Mecca for the hajj. gian) and Ashari mutakallim; but he was
Although from what we are told, the two primarily known as a grammarian and adib
thinkers were often in disagreement, they are (orator) in the field of balagha (rhetoric) in
said to have respected each other deeply. the Islamic intellectual milieu.
266
AL-JURJANI
His teacher was Muhammad b. al-Husayn In his works, especially in Dalail ijaz,
al-Farisi, whose reputation was very high in he tried to find a common ground between
the Islamic world in the eleventh century. the Mutazilite and the Asharite approach
His most famous students were Ali b. Abi to the issue of the created or uncreated sta-
Zayd al-Fasihi, Abu Nasr Ahmad b. Ibra- tus of the Quran. Being one of the most
him al-Shajari, Yahya b. Ali Abu Zakari- salient figures in medieval Arabic literary
yya al-Tabrizi, and Ahmad b. Abdullah theory, he strongly advocated the study of
al-Darir. poetry in order to understand correctly the
Al-Jurjani was a proud man and lived a ijaz (inimitability) of the Quran. One of his
pious life. He might have tried to gain the outstanding successes in what is now known
favor of political power holders, especially as literary theory was the treatment of dis-
that of the great vizier of the Seljuq state, course (kalam) composed of lafz (wording or
Nizam al-Mulk, but this attempt became expression) and mana (meaning). His treat-
abortive. Being a faqih and nahwi (gram- ment of mana is extended to include the
marian), he probably considered himself a categories of epistemic content and esthetic
candidate for a variety of official posts in mode, both of which he suggested are inher-
the Nizamiyya madrasa system. The Seljuq ently connected to each other. Thus, the
leaders were in general extremely pro-Hanafi Quran is inimitable, for it has both unique
and, therefore, anti-Ashari and anti-Shafii and special content and a distinctive mode
in their religio-cultural attitudes. The Ghaz- of expression. With this literary paradigm,
navids, especially the Sultans Mahmud and he replaced the hyperbolic emphasis on out-
Masud, were also Hanafi and distributed ward form (lafz) at the expense of content or
official appointments mainly among the meaning (mana), and in the art of poetry he
Hanafis as well. His affiliation to the Shafii allowed equal importance both to the idea
school of fiqh may have worked against and to the way it was expressed.
him in Seljuq, Iran, where the Hanafi legal Al-Jurjanis constructions and reconstruc-
school was to a great extent practised. tions of literary terminologies, such as sura
Thus, the rationalist methodology of the (form), takhyil (imagery), nazm (composi-
Asharite theologians was excluded from tion) and its precursor damm (joining of
the religio-cultural policies of the Sultanate. words), ramz (cipher or allusion), and the
What is more, his intellectual frame of mind like contributed to his persistent influence
and methodology seem to have prevented in medieval and modern Islamic literary
him from holding any official position and theory. His Asrar al-balagha (Secrets of Elo-
appointment. His disenchantment with the quence) deals with the literary techniques
era he lived in led him to a degree of intel- which make metaphor work. He develops
lectual seclusion. his theory further in Dalail al-ijaz (Proofs
Among his works are Dalail ijaz al- for the Miracle) where, while referring to the
Quran (Proof of the Inimitability of the miraculous nature of the Quran, he pres-
Quran) and Asrar al-balagha (Secrets of ents for the first time in Arabic esthetics an
Rhetoric), and his broad and short com- account of meaning that is entirely presented
mentaries on Abu Ali al-Farisis al-Idah on the basis of syntax. A traditional defense
(Amplification): Kitab al-Mughni (Book of of Islam is the presence of the Quran, which
the Clarification) and Kitab al-Muqtasad is taken to be so perfect a text that only God
(Book of the Concise Explanation) along could have produced it. Yet it is surely pos-
with Kitab al-Amil (Book of the Efficacious) sible to replace many of the sentences in the
and Kitab al-Jumal (Book of the Abridged text with different sentences that have the
[Version]). same meaning. How then could the text be
267
JURJANI
miraculous or inimitable? Al-Jurjani argues JURJANI, Mir Sayyid Sharif(b. 740/1339)

by contrast that only one syntactic combi-
nation could express the meaning that is Our knowledge about the life of Jurjani is
required of it, the very combination of words rather sparse. We know his family was origi-
that we find in the Quran. This set off a nally from Astarabad and that he was born
wide series of similar books seeking to prove in Gurgan in 740/1339. His contemporaries
that the Quran is inimitable in style, and referred to him as Mir Sayyid Sharif Jurjani.
al-Jurjani very much establishes the model He was a contemporary of Taftazani, a
for what was to become an enduring literary pupil of Qutb al-Din Razi and the teacher of
and theological theme in Islamic thought. Jalal al-Din Dawani. Jurjani was both a great
theologian and a Sufi who, in the tradition of
BIBLIOGRAPHY many other great sages, traveled extensively
Asrar al-balagha (Secrets of Rhetoric), to different parts of the Islamic world. Hav-
ed. H. Ritter, Istanbul: Matbaat wizarat ing lived in the Timurid era (766/1365) he
al-maarif, 1954. traveled to Herat, then to Egypt, and then
Die Geheimnisse (Asrar al-balagha) des to Constantinople in 776/1375. From there
Abdalqahir al-Curcani, trans. H. Ritter, he traveled to Shiraz where Shah Shuja
Wiesbaden: Bibliotheca Islamica, Band appointed him as the tutor to the children of
19, 1959. dignitaries. Following the death of Tamerlane
Kitab al-Muqtasad fi sharh al-idah (Book in 1405, Jurjani, who had spent a few years
of the Concise Explanation on the in Samarqand, returned to Shiraz where he
Commentary of al-Idah), ed. K. Bahr spent the last few years of his life.
al-Murjan, Baghdad: Dar al-rashid There is some controversy about his sectar-
lil-nashr, 1982. ian affiliation. Even though by most accounts
Dalail ijaz al-Quran (Proof of the Jurjani was a Sunni, some have argued he
Inimitability of the Quran), ed. Mahmud was a Shiite. In his major work Majalis
Muhammad Shakir, Cairo: Maktabat al-muminin (The Assembly of Believers),
al-khanji, 1984. Qadi Nur Allah Shustari, the Safavid Shiite
scholar, aligned a number of scholars to the
Further Reading cause of the Imamate, one of whom was Jur-
Abu Deeb, K., Al-Jurjanis Theory of Poetic jani. Also, Sayyid Muhammad Nurbakhsh,
Imagery, Warminster: Aris & Phillips, the eponym of the Nurbakhshi Sufi tradition,
1979. and the philosopher Ibn Abi Jumhur Ahsai
Abu Zayd, N. H., Mafhum al-nazm inda both considered Jurjani to have been a
Abd al-Qahir al-Jurjani, qiraa fi daw Shiite.
al-uslubiyya, Fusul (al-Uslubiyya), 5, 1 Jurjanis major work Sharh al-mawaqif
(1984), pp. 1124. (Commentary on the Stations) is a detailed
Leaman, O., Islamic Aesthetics: An commentary on al-Ijis Kitab al-mawaqif
Introduction, Edinburgh: Edinburgh (The Book of Stations). In this work, Jurjani
University Press, 2004. treats the question of good and evil and their
Margaret, L., The Theology of Meaning: relationship to religious laws and in doing
Abd al-Qahir al-Jurjanis Theory of so he quotes Mutazilite views. Among his
Discourse, New Haven: American other works we can name Kitab al-Tarifat
Oriental Society, 1995. (The Book of Definitions), a lexicon of tech-
nical and philosophical terminology which
sevket yavuz attracted the attention of Western orientalists
oliver leaman in the early part of the nineteenth century.
268
JUWAYNI
Jurjani also wrote Risala al-wujud (Treatise teaching and preaching. As a result of this, a
on Being). In this treatise, Jurjani discusses number of scholars, including Juwayni and
the doctrine of the Unity of Being and Qushayri, left their country. Juwayni first
attempts to synthesize the doctrines of the went to Baghdad and then in 450/1058 he
Unity of Being associated with the school reached the Hijaz. He lived in Mecca and
of Ibn al-Arabi and the Illuminationist Medina for four years where he continued
philosophy (ishraq) of Suhrawardi. his teaching, and as a result received his hon-
orary title of imam al-Haramayn (imam of
BIBLIOGRAPHY the two holy cities).
Risala al-wujud (Treatise on Being), ed. After the death of Tughrul Beg, the new
Nasr-Allah Taqawi, Tehran: Rangi Press, sultan Alp Arslan replaced the vizier Amid
1321 ah. al-Mulk with the famous vizier Nizam al-
Sharh al-mawaqif, ed. Ahmad al-Mahdi, Mulk. The new vizier favored the Asharis
Cairo: Maktab al-azhar, 1977. and invited them to return home. He also
founded a number of madrasas called
mehdi aminrazavi Nizamiyya in different cities such as Baghdad
and Nishapur, to spread the Asharite ver-
sion of Islam. Upon this invitation, Juwayni
returned to Nishapur and was appointed to
the Nizamiyya where he taught to the end of
JUWAYNI, Imam al-Haramayn his life. His courses were followed by a num-
(41978/102885) ber of students, among whom al-Ghazali is
worth mentioning here.
Abul Maali Rukn al-Din Abd al-Malik b. Juwayni spent all his life studying, teach-
Abd Allah was born in the village of Bush- ing, and writing. Although he was interested
tanikan near Nishapur on Muharram 18, in different branches of the Islamic sci-
419/February 17, 1028, and died in the same ences, Juwayni was particularly important
village on Rabi al-Thani 25, 478/August in jurisprudence (usul al-fiqh) and theol-
20, 1085. He was an important thinker in ogy (kalam). In jurisprudence, though he
the Asharite tradition of Sunni Islam. followed the Shafiite tradition, he tried to
Juwayni received his first education from develop his own methodology. This can be
his father, who was a famous teacher in seen in his Kitab al-Burhan fi usul al-fiqh
Nishapur, and from his uncle, Ali b. Yusuf. (Book of Demonstration on Jurisprudence).
When his father died in 438/1047, Juwayni Juwayni contributed more to the develop-
took his fathers teaching post at a very ment of kalam than to any other branches
young age while he was still continuing his of the Islamic sciences. In kalam, he can
education. While teaching, he took courses be considered as a link between the old
in different branches of Islamic science (mutakaddimun) and new (mutaahhirun)
from the leading figures of the region. He theologians. Juwayni generally followed the
also took part in scholarly discussions and Asharite tradition, but on a number of issues
became a leading defender of the Asharite he gave the tradition a new orientation. He
tradition, which was gaining strength in the used philosophical methods more than any
region. However, the political situation pre- of his predecessors. Hence, he considered
vented this development. The Seljuk sultan rational enquiry about Gods existence to
Tughrul Begs vizier Amid al-Mulk, who was be a religious duty. To solve the problem of
a Shiite-Mutazilite supporter, banned the Gods attributes, Juwayni inclined toward
Asharites and other opposing groups from the Mutazili Abu Hashims theory of modes
269
JUWAYNI
(ahwal). Although he used the argument BIBLIOGRAPHY

from the createdness of atoms and accidents Al-Irshad (Guidance), ed. and trans.
and from the finitudes of time to prove the J. Luciani, Paris: Leroux, 1938.
createdness of the world, he considers the Al-Shamil fi usul al-din (Summa on
argument from particularization (takhsis), the Principles of Religion), eds. A. S.
which is the combination of the argument Nashshar and F. Budayr Awn,
from createdness and from contingency, as S. Mukhtar, Alexandria: Munshaat
the strongest for the purpose. His rejection al-Maarif, 1969.
of determinism prepared the way for his stu- Kitab al-Burhan fi usul al-fiqh (Book of
dent al-Ghazali to develop it in more detail. Demonstration on Jurisprudence), ed.
Juwayni wrote a number of works on fiqh, A. Al-Dib, Cairo: Dar al-Ansar, 1972.
usul al-fiqh, and kalam. On Shafiite fiqh, he Luma al-adilla fi qawaidi ahl al-sunna
wrote Nihayat al-madlab fi dirayat al-mad- (Radiance of Proofs on the Creed of the
hhab (End of the Quest in the Knowledge People of the Sunna), ed. F. H. Mahmud,
of the School). On jurisprudence, he wrote Cairo: n. p., 1965: trans. M. Saflo,
a number of works among which Kitab al- Al-Juwaynis Thought and Methodology.
Burhan fi usul al-fiqh (Book of Demonstra- With a Translation and Commentary on
tion on Jurisprudence) is worth mentioning Luma al-Adilla, Berlin: Klaus Schwarz
here. Juwayni also wrote a number of works Verlag, 1974.
on theology and the creed. His al-Shamil Nihayat al-madlab fi dirayat al-madhhab
fi usul al-din (Summa on the Principles of (End of the Quest in the Knowledge of
Religion) and al-Irshad (Guidance) give a the School), ed. A. Al-Dib, Cairo: Dar
systematic discussion of kalam issues. In al-Ansar, 1979.
al-Aqida al-nizamiyya (Nizamian Creed) Al-Aqida al-nizamiyya (Nizamian Creed),
and Luma al-adilla fi qawaidi ahl al-sunna ed. M. al-Kawthari, Cairo: al-Maktaba
(Radiance of Proofs on the Creed of the Peo- al-Azhariyah lil-Turath, 1992.
ple of the Sunna) he briefly gives the creed
of Sunni Islam. Juwayni is an important fig- muammar skenderolu
ure not only within the Asharite school but
also within Muslim theology in general. He
is a representative figure of the intermediate
period between the old and new methods of
theology. al-Juzjani, Hisham b. Salim,see al-Jawaliqi
270
K
KALAM Further Reading
Beelo, I., The Medieval Islamic Controversy
The term kalam means literally speech or Between Philosophy and Orthodoxy,
words. In philosophy it is usually translated Leiden: Brill, 1989.
as theology or speculative theology,
and refers to discussions of religious ques- oliver leaman
tions and issues. Kalam is usually taken to
be a form of philosophy, since it uses many
of the tools and methods of philosophy, even
though followers of kalam were usually keen
to distance themselves from falsafa, or Greek- KAM, mer Ferit(12801363/18641944)
inspired philosophy, which is closer to how
many Western scholars understand the term. Ferit Kam was born in Istanbul in 1280/1864
Quite early on, it became common to refer and died in Ankara in 1363/1944. Kams
to kalam as a science, and the Mutazilites father Ahmet Muhtar Paa was a military
among others used scientific methods of physician, and his grandfather Sadk Efendi
inquiry to understand theological problems. was a retired scribe at the military council.
This notion of kalam as science has led His maternal father Mderris Sleyman
some to posit that it too has Greek or Syr- Efendi happened to be the adopted child of
ian origins, and shares common ground with the mother of Sultan Abdlhamit II. Kam had
the Graeco-Roman methods of debate and his first education in Beylerbeyi Rdiyesi
exegesis used by the early Christian Fathers. and also received some private lessons. In
But it is also suggested that there are east- 1880 in accordance with his fathers wishes,
ern influencesmost schools of kalam, for he enrolled at Mekteb-i Tbbiyeyi Mlkiye
example, hold to a form of atomismand (the school of medicine). However, two years
it seems clear that much of the development later, having realized that he was not medi-
of kalam came within the later Islamic tradi- cally inclined, he left the school of medicine
tion, for example, the split between the fol- and enrolled at Mektebe-i Hukuk (the school
lowers of al-Ashari and the Mutazilites. of law). Because of his fathers sudden death
Whatever its sources, however, kalam relies in 1883, he had to halt his education once
on rational thought and inquiry for the solu- again. During that time he took some pri-
tion of problems. It thus occupies a middle vate lessons on Arabic, Persian, and French.
ground between Arisotelian and Platonic In pursuing self-education he received great
falasifa and mystical schools of thought such help and support from Nzhet Efendi, one
as the Illuminationists. of the well-known scholars of his time. He
271
AL-KASHANI
also attended lessons at Fatih Camii and was is recorded that he managed to overcome it
granted, in 1905, the icazetname (teaching with the help of Rumis Mathnawi. Kams
license in Islamic sciences) from Mderris intellectual interests and his writings were
Mustafa Asm Efendi. focused on three areas: literature, religion
Kam had several jobs throughout his career. and philosophy. He believed that philosophy
First, he worked in the department of transla- should be a combination of ideas that con-
tion at the Foreign Office between 1886 and firms religion. He was particularly interested
1888 and later was appointed as a teacher of in the history of literature and examined the
French in Beylerbeyi Rdiyesi. In 1905 he was works of famous Turkish poets. His Asar-
granted the imperial order of Shir u Khurid Edebiye Tetkikat Dersleri (Lectures on the
(Lion and Sun) by the Iranian government, for Study of Literary Works), in which he dis-
his successful translation of a Persian poem cusses the relation between art and ethics,
written by Rza Dan Han, ambassador of and erh-i Mutun (Commentary on Literary
Iran in Istanbul, on the occasion of the Lahey Texts) were based on his lectures that he gave
Peace Conference. The same year Kam received at Darulfunun and the Faculty of Literature,
a promotion as a senior teacher, and in 1908, respectively. Kams other works on literature
became a deputy head teacher. In 1914 he was include ran Edebiyat Tarihi (History of Ira-
given a higher position as a professor of Turk- nian Literature) and Sabit ue Baki Hakknda
ish literature at the Darulfnun (Academy of nceleme (Study on Sabit and Baki). Some of
Art) but later in the same year he decided to his important works on religion and philoso-
retire from his post. In 1917 he taught history phy are: Felsefe Tarihi Notlar (Postscripts on
of philosophy at Sleymaniye Medresesi, and the History of Philosophy), in which he com-
one year later became a member of the Darul- pares the studies conducted on eastern and
Hikmetul-slamiye (Academy of Islam). Western philosophies; lm-i Ahlak (The Art
After the World War I when his lessons of Ethics), a work on the study of ethics; and
were removed from the program due to uni- Vahdet-i Vcud and Dini ve Felsefi Musaha-
versity reform, Kam had to stop teaching. But beler (Conversations on Religion and Philos-
in 1919 he returned to academia to give lec- ophy), both of which are based on his articles
tures at the Faculty of Literature. In 1922 he published in several journals and magazines.
became a member of the Tetkikat ve Telifat-
slamiye Heyeti (Society of Islamic Research s. leyla grkan
and Writing) in Ankara. During that time he
had some of his works published. In 1924 he
was appointed back to the Darulfnun as a
professor of history of Iranian literature. In Al-Kashani,see Afdal al-Din
1924 when the Darulfnun was closed down
to give way to new universities, he left aca-
demia again. From 1933 to 1943, with bit-
ter feelings of redundancy and loneliness, he
spent his days reading and doing research. AL-KASHANI, Afdal al-Din
Eventually in 1943 the Ministry of Education (c. 100690/15981679)
appointed him as a professor at the Faculty of
Language, History and Geography in Ankara. Afdal al-Din al-Kashani, who was either
This was his last post before his death. born in 1006/1598 or a year later and died in
Kam, having an extraordinarily investiga- 1090/1679, did a great deal to place Sufism
tive mind and an extremely suspicious nature, on a metaphysical basis. As his name sug-
went through a serious intellectual crisis. It gests, he was born in Kashan, and his family
272
AL-KAYSERI
was wealthy and intellectually distinguished, 2 Safar 751/on March 11, 1350. He was a
so the young Fayz had no difficulty finding prominent Ottoman thinker and Sufi as well
books to read. He moved later on to Isfa- as a scholar. We know little about his family.
han and Shiraz to study and was certainly But we know that he first started his early
a member of the circle of Baha al-Din al- education in Kayseri and that he moved to
Amuli, and was perhaps associated with Egypt in order to advance his knowledge of
Mir Damad also. In 1029/1620 he went to the religious sciences. When he moved to and
Mecca on hajj and stayed there for a time returned from Egypt is not known. But it is
before returning to Iran to take up residence known that he got acquainted with Abdur-
in Qom with Mulla Sadra. This was obvi- razzaq al-Kashani, probably in Iran. When
ously a highly profitable period for Kashani the Ottoman Sultan Orhan established the
and allowed him to fuse the Ishraqi thought first Ottoman university (madrasa) in znik
of Mulla Sadra, the Sufism of Ibn al-Arabi, in 736/1336, he appointed Dawud al-Kay-
and the legal approach of the traditionists seri as the rector (mudarris). He served until
whom he had encountered in Mecca. his death, around fifteen years later, as a pro-
Shah Abbas II appointed Kashani to head fessor, and as the rector of the first Ottoman
a madrasa in Isfahan, and he became a prayer university. He taught not only Islamic sci-
leader in the city, even praying in front of the ences such as fiqh and hadith but also ratio-
king on occasion. He remained in Isfahan nal sciences such as logic and philosophy.
after the death of the king, eventually return- Al-Kayseri became a prominent Sufi
ing to Kashan for his last years. Although he thinker. In his Sufi thought, he was heavily
often had the support of the king, Kashani influenced by Ibn Farid, Ibn al-Arabi, and
had difficult times in Iran, especially in his Abdurrazzaq al-Kashani. Dawud al-Kayseri
relationship with a clergy very suspicious of made great use of the doctrine of the tran-
Sufism, which they regarded as largely a Sunni scendent unity of being (wahdat al-wujud).
doctrine. Perhaps his greatest contribution He was really the first Sufi thinker to put
was his transformation of al-Ghazalis Ihya forward a philosophical account of the doc-
into an apparently Shii text, something that trine of the transcendent unity of being. His
Kashani did by thoroughly weeding the book attempt to criticize Aristotle as well as Abul
of its specifically Sunni references such as the Barakat al-Baghdadi gives us some hint of
Traditions approved by the Sunni authorities, the breadth of his philosophical talent. Intel-
and replacing them with Traditions and other lectually he was a committed follower of
references that fitted in well with the Shii. Ibn al-Arabi.
In the thought of Dawud al-Kayseri, the
Further Reading universe, which is defined as a totality of
Al-Bahrani, Yusuf ibn Ahmad, Luluat the spiritual and corporal things, is seen as
al-baharayn, Najaf: Maktabaat a theophany (tajalliyat) of Gods names and
al-numan, 1966. attributes. According to him, everything in
the universe is composed of atoms (juz) and
oliver leaman molecules (murakkab). He employed the lan-
guage of the Quran to develop a philosophy
of nature, taking energy to be the essence of
matter, and water to be the essence of ani-
AL-KAYSERI, Dawud(658751/12601350) mate things. He interpreted this not from the
perspective of science but from the perspec-
Dawud al-Kayseri was born in Kayseri (Tur- tive of theosophy, particularly in the context
key) around 658/1260 and died in znik on of the transcendent unity of being. Criticizing
273
KHAYYAM
Aristotle and Baghdadis notion of time, he Through the works of Khaydar al-Amuli he
attempted to develop his own philosophy of has also been influential on some Iranian
time drawing on Sufism. He also defended thinkers.
the concept of the love of God against the
criticism of jurists (fuqaha) who considered Further Reading
such a notion inappropriate. The concept of Bayraktar, M., Kayserili Davud (Dawud
unity of God (tawhid) played an important al-Kayser), Ankara: Kltr ve Turizm
role in his philosophy. This unity has three Bakanl Yaynlar, 1988.
aspects, religious, rational, and ontological. Ko, T., (ed.), Uluslararas Davud
The unity of God is achieved through follow- el-Kayseri Sempozyumu (The Proceedings
ing the teachings of religions and the proph- of International Symposium on Dawud
ets and this can be called religious unity. To al-Kayseri), Ankara: Kayseri Bykehir
reach the existence of God through rational Belediyesi Kltr Yaynlar, 1998.
analysis can be considered rational unity. To
experience nature through the consciousness adnan aslan
that God is everywhere can be seen as onto-
logical unity.
The most significant writing of Dawud
al-Kayseri is his commentary on Fusus al-
hikam of Ibn al-Arabi. This book, which KHAYYAM, Omar(c. 1048c. 1122)
was called Matlau husus al-kilem fi maani
fususi al-hikem, contains his philosophi- Abul Fath Omar ibn Ibrahim Khayyam,
cal Sufism. The introduction of this book known as Omar Khayyam (or Khayyami),
is quite original and therefore sometimes was a Persian philosopher, astronomer, and
studied and copied independently from the mathematician of the twelfth century. Known
rest of the book. It was first published in for his quatrains (Rubaiyyat), he was born
Bombay in 1299/1882. Another important around 1048 and died around 1122. He was
book, which mainly contains some issues of born in the district of Shadyakh of the old city
Sufism, is Sharhu qasida al-taiyya. This is a of Nayshabur in the province of Khurasan in
commentary of a poem (qasida) composed the eastern part of todays Iran. Khayyam,
by Ibn Farid. Sharhu al-qasida al-mimiyya is meaning the tent maker, may have been
another commentary of a poem (qasida) writ- the profession of his father, Ibrahim.
ten by Ibn Farid. He also wrote a number of Omar Khayyam studied first with Imam
treatises. One, which is on time, was called Qadi Muhammad, who taught the young
as Nihayat al-bayan fi dirayat al-zaman. Omar Arabic grammar, literature, and
Another, which was named as Tahkik ma Quranic studies. He next became a pupil of
al-hayat wa kashfu asrar al-zulumat, is on Khawjah Abul-Hasan al-Anbari with whom
al-Khadir. His Kashf al-hijab an kalami Rab he studied branches of mathematics, astron-
al-Arbab is on Islamic theology. His treatises omy, and traditional cosmological doctrines,
are mainly in manuscript form and have not in particular, the major work of Ptolemy,
been published yet. the Almagest (Mujasta). Khayyam pursued
Dawud al-Kayseri was a typical Ottoman his advanced studies with Imam Muwaffaq
thinker in combining theology and philoso- Nayshaburi, who taught him Quranic sci-
phy on the one hand, and Sufism on the ences and jurisprudence; he never showed
other. His influence on Ottoman and central any interest in the latter subject. Finally, he
Asian Turkish scholars has been significant. pursued his interest in philosophy under the
274
KHAYYAM
direction of Shaykh Muhammd Mansur, Discourse), Risala fil-kawn wal-taklif (On

who taught Khayyam the writings of Ibn Being and Necessity), Darurat al-tad.ad fil-
Sina, particularly the al-Isharat wal-Tanbi- alam wal-jabr wal-baqa (The Necessity of
hat (Directives and Treatments). Contradiction in the World, Determinism,
Khayyam, who was given such titles as and Subsistence), Risala hal-diya al-aqli
Hujat al-Haq (The Evidence of Truth), fi mawdu al-ilm al-kulli (The Light of the
Ghiyath al-Din (The Patron of Faith), and Intellect on the Subject of Universal Knowl-
Imam indicating his significance as a reli- edge), Risala dar ilm kulliyat-i wujud (On
gious figure, did not participate much in the the Knowledge of the Universal Principles
scholarly debates and circles of the time, and of Existence), and Risala fil-wujud (On
remained aloof from public life. Among the Existence).
scholars with whom he did associate we can Khayyams contributions in mathemat-
name Khayyams son-in-law, Imam Muham- ics were significant. He wrote very little,
mad Baghdadi, Ahmad al-Mamuri al-Bay- but what he did write was groundbreaking.
haqi, Muhammad Ilaqi, Nizami Arudi His works in this domain are Al-qawl ala
Samarqandi, Muhammad Hijazi Qani, ajnas al-ladhi bil-arbaa (On the Proposi-
and Abd al-Rafi Hirawi, who may have tion that Says Genera Are of Four Types),
been the author of Noruz namah, a trea- Risala fi sharh mashkal min mus.adarat kitab
tise usually attributed to Khayyam. There uqlidus (On the Elaboration of the Problems
were also the poet Sanai, the great theo- Concerning the Books of Euclid), Risala fi
logian Zamakhshari, Maymun ibn Najib, qisma rub al-daiira (On the Division of a
and Imam Muzaffar Isfizari, with whom he Quadrant of a Circle), Risala fi barahin ala
collaborated to make a new calendar, and masail al-jabr wal-muqabala (On Proofs for
finally Abu Hamid al-Ghazali. It is reported Problems Concerning Algebra), Treatise on
that Khayyam may have taught Abul-Maali Dividing the Quarter of a Circle, and Risala
Abdallah ibn Muhammad al-Miyanji, also fil- ihtiyaj limarifat miqdari al-dhahab
known as Ayn al-Qudat al-Hamadani, but wal-fid.ah fi jism murakkab minh (On the
this is highly unlikely. Deception of Knowing the Two Quantities
In 1076, Nizam al-Mulk, the grand vizier of Gold and Silver in a Compound Made of
of the Seljuq royal court, arranged a meeting the Two).
between Khayyam and Sultan Malik Shah Whether Khayyam was actually the
in the city of Marv, where Khayyam was author of the famous Rubaiyyat (quatrains)
commissioned to work on a new calendar. has been the subject of great debate. Schol-
With the assistance of Maymoun ibn Najib ars seem to agree that a limited number of
Waseti, Abul-Muzafar Isfizari, Abul-Abbas the Rubaiyyat may have been written by
Lawkari, and Abd al-Rahman Khazeni, Khayyam himself, but the majority of what
Khayyam produced a new calendar known is extant today are attributed to him. His
as Jalali Calendar, which is still today the Rubaiyyat presents a cynical view of life,
official calendar of Iran. human existence, and major tenets of faith
Philosophically, Khayyam, who refers to such as life after death. Some have interpreted
Ibn Sina as his teacher, was a Peripatetic. his Rubaiyyat as advocating an agnostic-
As indicated by the title of Khayyams six hedonist view, and others interpreted them
philosophical treatises, he treated most of as the symbolic utterances of a Sufi master.
the traditional Peripatetic problems. These His Rubaiyyat became renowned in the
were addressed in Khutbah al-ghurra Ibn West when Edward FitzGerald, the out-
Sina (A Translation of Avicennas Lucid standing English poet, made a rendition of
275
AL-KHARAKANI
them. The Rubaiyyat became popular in and little or no education. He seems to have
America, and through such organizations as boasted of his lack of education, being ummi
Omar Khayyam Club of London and later (illiterate) like the Prophet, and he was also
Omar Khayyam Club of America, it became someone very disinclined to travel. At his
the basis of a literary tradition. remote spot he received many distinguished
visitors working within the Sufi tradition,
Further Reading visitors such as Abu Said ibn Abil-Khayr,
Ahmad, N., Some Less Known Writings Abd Allah al-Ansari al-Harawi, and Abul-
of Umar Khayyam, Oriental College Qasim al-Qushayri, and he is even said to
Magazine, 35, 3 (1959), pp. 124. have been visited by the great faylasuf Ibn
Aminrazavi, M., The Wine of Wisdom: Sina, although this is unlikely.
The Life, Poetry, Philosophy and Science Al-Kharakanis status did not depend on
of Omar Khayyam, Oxford: Oneworld his acquisition of academic qualifications
Press, 2005. or the granting of a khirka from an exist-
Archibald, R. C., Notes on Omar ing Sufi shaykh. It was more indirect, based
Khayyam (10501122) and Recent on a dream in which Abu Yazid Tayfur
Discoveries, Pi MU Epsilon Journal, I al-Bistami conferred this spiritual status
(1953), pp. 3508. on him. This form of transmission is not
Beveridge, H. I, Omar Khayyam, Journal that unusual within Islamic tradition, and
of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1, (1909), Shihab al-Din al-Suhrawardi even cred-
pp. 1245. its al-Kharakani with being someone who
Bowen, H., Umar Khayyam and a Relative transmitted to him esoteric knowledge from
of the Nizam al-Mulk, The Bulletin Iranian pre-Islamic sources.
of the School of Oriental and African Given his lack of academic background,
Studies, 6 (1930), pp. 2745. it is not surprising that al-Kharakani did
Gai, B. M., Omar Khayyam Poet and not write any books, but his sayings are
Philosopher, Indo-Iranica, 8, 3 (1955), well known through their reproduction in
pp. 3748. the works of Rumi and Attar. They pro-
Nasr, S. H., Science and Civilization in vide evidence of a strong commitment to
Islam, Cambridge: Harvard University an unintellectual form of Sufism, where any
Press, 1968. success one might acquire on the mystical
path is entirely dependent on the will of
mehdi aminrazavi God. Al-Kharakani stresses the significance
of asceticism and humility, and yet some-
times he seems rather confident that he has
access to the unseen world and the ability to
represent people before God. On the whole
AL-KHARAKANI, Abul-Hasan his approach to Sufism is dour, and he has
(d. 4251033) a negative view of the likelihood of suc-
cess for the searcher after truth to achieve
Abul-Hasan Ali ibn Ahmad al-Kharakani, his goal. Again, it is this emphasis on the
as his nisba suggests, came from Khara- overwhelming power of God to accept or
kan in Iran, not far from Astarabad. There reject whom he wills that makes the mys-
are not many details of his early life, and tical process so difficult. Al-Kharakani is
like many Sufis he was said to have had a convinced that most Sufis underestimate the
humble occupation, that of a herdsman, difficulties of extinguishing the self (fana)
276
AL-KHOI
and remain too attached to the created His writings covered Islamic law, religious
world. His thoughts on this topic survive to biographies, philosophy, and commentary
a degree in reports of later thinkers such as of the Quran. Particularly significant are
Attar and Rumi. He died on 10 Muharram/ his smaller and more popular works that
December 5, 1033. have been transmitted throughout the Shii
world and serve as a source of inspiration to
Further Reading that community. He was obviously a skilled
Attar, Tadhkirat al-awlia, ed. M. Istilami, administrator. He presided over Najafs
Tehran: Zawwar, 1986. theological school, known as al-hawza al-
Rumi, Jalal al-Din, The Mathnawi of ilmiyya, the school of knowledge and schol-
Jalaluddin Rumi, trans. R. Nicholson, arship, in 1970 after being elected successor
London: Luzac, 1982. to the late Ayatullah al-Uzma Sayyid Muhsin
al-Tabatabai al-Hakim. Al-Khoi attained
oliver leaman the title of Ayatullah when he was in his
early thirties.
The hawza at al-Najaf has been attract-
ing students from all over the world for the
Khayr al-Din al-Tunisi,see Hayreddin past ten centuries. The main topics taught
Paa of Tunis at the hawza are philosophy, theology, and
jurisprudence, and the number of its stu-
dents and teachers has reached 10,000. It
is famous for its libraries and also for the
concentration of scholars in the city, but
AL-KHOI, Ayatullah al-Uzma Sayyid many depredations took place at the hands
Abul-Qasim(13171413/18991992) of the Baathist government and during the
fighting after Saddam Husseins fall and
Al-Khoi was born on 15 Rajab 1317 the American occupation of Iraq. Al-Khoi
(November 19, 1899) at Khoi in Iranian himself was imprisoned by Saddam Hus-
Azerbaijan. On Saturday 8 Safar 1413 sein, albeit briefly, and spent the last ten
(August 8, 1992), Ayatullah al-Uzma (Grand years of his life under house arrest. When
or Supreme Ayatullah, the highest theo- he died the government tried to prevent
logical degree in Shia Islam) Abul-Qasim large public displays of grief and cut off the
al-Khoi died at his Kufa home of heart cities of Najaf and Kufa, but prayers were
failure. As a child al-Khoi was well versed conducted by Ayatullah Ali al-Sistani, and
in religious Persian and Arabic poetry and there was a considerable degree of obvious
languages, including Turkish. In 1330/1912 public grief at his demise. The institutions
al-Khoi, then only thirteen years old, moved he established, both in Najaf and overseas,
to al-Najaf, known to the Shia as al-Najaf continued to pursue their educational and
al-Ashraf (the distinguished) in Iraq, to fur- charitable aims, and his works remain clas-
ther his education. He was to stay there for sics in modern Shii philosophy.
seventy years, making this higher education
center into what it subsequently became, the BIBLIOGRAPHY
leading center for Shii studies in the world, Prolegomena to the Quran, trans. A.
and in particular graduate studies, where he Sachedina, New York: Oxford University
took on the legacy of Shaykh al-Ansari and Press, 1998.
continued the tradition of teaching the prin-
ciples of law and religion. oliver leaman
277
AL-KINDI
Khwaja Abdullah Ansari,see al-Harawi arithmetic, and geometry, on calculating

the times of prayer, and on astronomy and
geography. It is clear that for astronomy and
geography he had access to Ptolemy, but
it is not at all certain that he knew about
AL-KHWARIZMI, Abu Jafar Muhammad Euclid when he wrote on geometry. One of
ibn Musa(early third century/c. 780850) the interesting and novel aspects of his work
is that he obviously used the translations of
The presence of al-Khwarizmi in Abu Jafar Sanskrit material on mathematics that were
Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmis name produced in Baghdad. It is the combination
may seem to indicate that he hailed from of Indian and Greek work on mathematics
Khwarizm, south of the Aral Sea in Central that makes his work so innovative. That
Asia. But al-Tabari gives him the additional he was able to produce such rich theoreti-
epithet al-Qutrubbulli, indicating that he cal material is evidence of the breadth of
came from Qutrubbull, a district between research that was taking place in Baghdad at
the Tigris and Euphrates not far from Bagh- the time of al-Mamun.
dad, so perhaps his ancestors, rather than
he himself, came from Khwarizm. Another Further Reading
name given to him by al-Tabari, al-Majusi, Rashed, R., Algebra, in R. Rashed (ed.),
would seem to suggest that he was an adher- Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic
ent of the old Zoroastrian religion, yet this Science, vol. 2, London: Routledge, 1996,
was either in the past, or perhaps refers to pp. 34955.
his ancestors, since he makes the appropriate
Islamic references in the preface of his book oliver leaman
on algebra.
Harun al-Rashid became the fifth caliph of
the Abbasid dynasty on September 14, 786,
about the time that al-Khwarizmi was born.
Harun ruled, from his court in the capital AL-KINDI, Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn
city of Baghdad, over the Islamic empire Ishaq(185252/80166)
which stretched from the Mediterranean to
India. He brought culture to his court and Abu Yusuf Yaqub b. Ishaq al-Kindi, known
tried to establish the intellectual disciplines as the philosopher of the Arabs, was born
which at that time were not flourishing in around the beginning of the ninth century,
the Arabic world. He had two sons, the probably in 185/801, and died in 252/866
eldest al-Amin and the younger al-Mamun. in Baghdad. Al-Kindis origins were prob-
Harun died in 809, following which there ably in the famous south Arabian tribe of
was an armed conflict between the brothers. Kinda. Ibn al-Nadim and Ibn Usaybia give
Al-Mamun won the armed struggle and al- a long list of his ancestors, the most impor-
Amin was defeated and killed in 813. Fol- tant of whom was al-Ashath b. Qays, who
lowing this, al-Mamun became caliph and was an important leader in the army of Abu
ruled the empire from Baghdad. He greatly Bakr. There were also al-Ashath b. Qays
encouraged the sciences and philosophy, and son Muhammad and grandson Abd al-
it is not surprising to expect that he would Rahman b. al-Ashath, the latter being the
have supported al-Khwarazmi. one who led the famous revolt against the
Much of al-Khwarizmis work was Umayyad rulers in the time of the caliph
on mathematics. He wrote on algebra, Abd al-Malik b. Marwan. In the time of
278
AL-KINDI
the Abbasid dynasty, al-Kindis family were himself from the political stage and led noth-
able to win the favor of the Abbasid caliphs ing more than an intellectual life until he
and his father became the governor of Kufa. died in 252/866.
But he unfortunately died while al-Kindi Al-Kindi was one of the most important
was still a boy. mathematicians, physicians, astronomers,
The details of al-Kindis early life are and philosophers of the time. Although he
not known to us but he probably studied was mainly known later as the philosopher
in Basra, an important cultural center for of the Arabs, his actual specializations were
the study of Islamic theology and Arabic astronomy/astrology and mathematics. How-
literature and grammar, the subjects which ever, he was the first to introduce Greek phi-
al-Kindi is known to have studied at first, losophy with its long curriculum into Islamic
like most Arab men of noble family. How- scholarship, even though the Mutazilites
ever it seems that he also studied philosophy before him had also been acquainted with
in Baghdad, where he probably met Syrian some of the Greek philosophical works.
and Persian scholars who pursued the learn- It was he who introduced the Greek meta-
ing of Greek sciences in the new capital. physical and theological works through his
Scientific studies in this early period were many commentaries on the works of Aristo-
mainly mastered by Christian and Persian tle and by introducing the Neoplatonic work
scholars; al-Kindi is the first Muslim Arab (Enneads 4-6) wrongly attributed to Aristo-
who immersed himself in the Greek sciences tle known as the Theologia Aristotelis.
in depth and followed the Greek curriculum However, the importance of al-Kindi
of mastering logic, mathematics, physics, does not only lie in the fact that he was the
metaphysics, and theology. Whether he also first to introduce Greek philosophy to Arab
learned the Greek and Syriac languages is thought, but also in his attempt to reconcile
in dispute; some sources mention that he some important Islamic concepts with it.
translated many Greek and Syriac works This reconciliation was not limited to the
into Arabic and also corrected the Arabic sentences which he includes at the beginning
of the work known as Theologia Aristote- of his important work On the First Philoso-
lis, which was falsely attributed to Aristo- phy, in which he maintains that philosophy
tle. Other sources, however, mention that and revelation present the same truth, but
he commissioned the translation of some comes mainly from his adding at the end
Greek works especially for himself, which of the same work his own theory of evalu-
would mean that his knowledge of Greek ation. Al-Kindi believed that the human
was poor. intellect, though it receives enlightenment
Al-Kindi had won the patronage of the from the First Intellect (by which he prob-
caliphs al-Mamun and al-Mutasim and was ably meant the Active Intellect), is not able
appointed as the private teacher of Ahmad, to reach absolute truth. It is revelation which
the son of al-Mutasim. However, when can unveil the positive truth about God and
al-Mutawakil became the new Abbasid this is, therefore, superior to philosophy.
caliph, al-Kindi lost favor in the court due Having confirmed this theory at the end of
to intrigues against him by the two brothers his On the First Philosophy, al-Kindi pres-
Ahmad and Hassan of the famous scientific ents in the same work a kind of metaphysics
family of Banu Musa. As a result, al-Kindi which follows Aristotle. Although al-Kindi
was dismissed from the caliphs service and follows Aristotelian metaphysics, he argues
his library was confiscated. Later, however, that the world with its material and intellec-
his books were restored, but not his posi- tual beings is created according to a willing
tion with al-Mutawakil. Thus, he withdrew creator.
279
AL-KINDI
Before presenting al-Kindis argument, it is presents a metaphysics which partly agrees

appropriate here to give a brief summary of with some Aristotelian concepts and partly
the Aristotelian world as it is described by al- seeks to prove the Quranic concepts of cre-
Kindi. The world consists of three kinds of ation out of nothing, he rejects, as Ivry points
beings: sensible, intellectual, and Mover(s) out, the Aristotelian eternal Immovable
(God). The sensible beings are all those which Mover, demonstrating the difficulty for phi-
consist of matter and form (humans, animals, losophy of proving the existence of an eternal
and plants); intellectual beings are concepts attribute to any entity. Here he makes clear
which have no matter and form as in the case that the human intellect is not able to prove
of sensible beings but have the function of or to perceive God and therefore while we
arranging and explaining the sensible world, can know what God is not, we cannot affirm
such as time, movement, place, genus, species, any of his qualities. Thus God is only accessi-
morality (good and evil), etc. Intellectual con- ble by revealing himself to humanity through
cepts, which exist secondarily and in absolute revealed scriptures. In the same manner, al-
connection with sensible beings, exist only in Kindi shows that the concept of the resur-
the mind and have no world of their own. rection of the human body is best argued for
God is the only immaterial non-sensible being in the Quran: who shall quicken the bones
who exists eternally and independently of the when they are decayed? Say: He shall quicken
sensible world. Here, al-Kindi is arguing that them, who originated them the first time
all beings save God are finite and created. For (36: 789). He suggests that the Quranic
Aristotle, in contrast, whatever exists had argument here is strong because it proves that
previously a state of potential existence. This if there was a first creation then the second or
state of potentiality is simply called matter, re-creation is even more plausible.
which functions as the basic possibility of Moreover, al-Kindi also proves the unity
existence for whatever actually exists. Since of God in a Platonic manner in Chapters 3
matter is possible existence which has always and 4 of the First Philosophy, showing that
existed, the role of God for Aristotle is mainly nothing in the world is simple and invisible
to provide the power of movement which except the only eternal One (God); all created
transfers matter from its potential existence beings have the feature of being combined
into an actual existence. This process has and divisible. In addition, al-Sijistani presents
happened eternally, since matter is the pos- in Siwan al-hikma some of al-Kindis sayings
sibility which eternally exists; consequently, in which he accepts Gods knowledge of His
movement and time, which surround each creatures and opposes those who reject such
material actual existence, are also eternal. knowledge. These arguments establish the
Al-Kindi argues here, and in his treatise uniqueness of al-Kindi as an independent
On the Unity of God and the Finitude of the philosopher, demonstrate the depth of his
Body of the Universe, against this Aristote- belief in the Quranic concepts concerning
lian proposition in a manner which is based the reality of God and His relation to cre-
on John Philopponus in his argument against ation. Later philosophers were accused of
Proclus in On the Eternity of the World having denied these principles and moving
Against Proclus. His main argument is that beyond Islamic beliefs, as al-Ghazali shows
finite bodies cannot exist infinitely or become in his Tahafut al-Falasifa.
a part of the infinite body of the universe and Many interpreters consider al-Kindi as
since all bodies are finite their movement is mainly a Mutazili philosopher rather than
also finite; consequently time, which mea- an independent philosopher. Walzer and Abu
sures this movement, is also finite. Although Rida have produced some evidence in sup-
al-Kindi in the two treatises mentioned above port of this possibility. The fact that al-Kindi
280
AL-KINDI
was supported by all the caliphs who were the and in the future, to the movements of the
patrons of the Mutazilites and who treated spheres and the different positions of the
their rational theology as the official state the- various stars and planets, thus attaching
ology is considered here as evidence that he a natural universal determinism to earthly
was probably also considered by the caliph to events. This is supported by the fact that
be a Mutazilite. The internal evidence comes al-Kindi dedicated many treatises to astrol-
mainly from the points mentioned above, ogy and astronomy, which were his areas of
which show the Islamic side of al-Kindi. specialization. Unfortunately, al-Istitaa, the
Davidson argues, however, that the reason for only treatise of his which could shed light on
the similarities of the Mutazilites arguments this subject, is lost.
concerning the finitude of the created world Al-Kindi was above all a scientist in the
to those of al-Kindi is that both depend on the fields of mathematics and astronomy as well
argument of John Philopponus. Ivry, in addi- as a physician. Ibn al-Nadim mentions in his
tion, shows that although al-Kindi adopts the Fihrist some 260 works of his, and Atiyeh
concept of creation ex nihilo, he also accepts identified the places where manuscripts of
the Aristotelian concept of the incorruptible his work are held and gave an account of
nature of the different spheres, inserting the published editions of about forty-seven of his
condition that this happens by Gods will. works. Unfortunately, most of the rest is lost.
While Ivry is willing to accept the affin- They seem mainly to have consisted of short
ity of al-Kindi to some of the Mutazilites treatises; the longest work which has reached
concepts of his time, he argues at the same us is the first part of On the First Philosophy
time that there are vital differences between mentioned above. His works covered all
the two which prove the independence of branches of knowledge: logic, physics, meta-
al-Kindi from the beliefs of the Mutazilites. physics, mathematics, astronomy, astrology,
Al-Kindi, after all, rejected the physical inter- politics, ethics, and even Arabic literature
pretation of the world through the concept and grammar. His treatises on human psy-
of atomism (a theory which explains that chology are an important contribution. He
everything can be divided into atoms and composed in this field seven treatises but
that these atoms function through different unfortunately only three have survived,
qualities and accidents which God creates in namely: On the Soul Abridged from the
them) and believed that there is no evidence Books of Aristotle and Plato and from the
for the existence of an indivisible atom; the Other Philosophers, On the Intellect, and A
only simple indivisible substance or being is Discourse on the Soul. In the first treatise, al-
to his mind the First Cause (God). Instead al- Kindi tries to reconcile the opinions of Plato
Kindi adopts a type of Aristotelian cosmol- and Aristotle and other philosophers on the
ogy which demonstrates the independence of concept of the soul but, in fact, he inclines to
the series of causes and effects from the First the views of Plato. However, al-Kindi does
Cause; this conflicts with the Mutazilite cos- not seem to believe, like the Neoplatonists,
mology in which God is constantly creating in a separate collective concept of a Univer-
the different accidents which cause change sal Soul which is the source of all souls and is
and corruption. Moreover Atiyeh, the author the place where all souls hope to return.
of Al-Kindi the Philosopher of the Arabs, Nevertheless, he was the first to intro-
makes another important point which sepa- duce the immateriality and substantiality
rates al-Kindi from the Mutazilite theol- of the human soul to Islamic theology and
ogy. He shows that al-Kindi adopts a kind philosophy. Muslim theologians, including
of astrology which relates the circumstances the Mutazilites, seem to have believed in the
of each human and earthly event, both now material nature of the soul and its presence
281
KIRMANSHAHI
in the body; they probably relied on their that the acquired second human intellect can
belief in the unity of the soul and the body recognize them. In other words, it guides the
and the supporting belief in the resurrection acquired intellect in its perception but the
of both soul and body after death. Al-Kindi, actual process of perception depends on the
in his treatise That There Exist Substances unification of the acquired intellect with uni-
Without Bodies, refutes the materialistic versal concepts so that it becomes one with
ideas of the Epicureans and the Stoics who them. Thus the universal concepts are the
believed in the material nature of the soul. chains which connect the First Intellect to the
The soul for al-Kindi is an immaterial sub- human process of knowledge. This process
stance which, though it exists in the body, is later, however, modified by Ibn Sina, who
does not merge with it but rather uses it as considers that the Active Intellect (First Intel-
its instrument and its window to the material lect) is the one which provides theoretical
world. The body is considered as its prison; knowledge to the human mind through direct
the earthly world is only a bridge which the intuition. This understanding of the human
soul uses to reach its ultimate hope of being intellect and its functions guided all philoso-
near to its creator. This basic mystic under- phers and many theologians after al-Kindi.
standing of the soul became an important
concept for many Muslim philosophers and BIBLIOGRAPHY
Sufis after al-Kindi, such as Ibn Sina and al- Rasail al-Kindi al-Falsafiya, ed. M. Abu
Ghazali. His treatise On the Intellect also Rida, Cairo: Dar al-Fikr al-Arabi,
proved to be an important guide for many 19503.
thinkers after him and introduced to Islamic On the First Philosophy, ed. A. Ivry,
thought the Aristotelian analysis of the New York: Albany: State University of
human perception of knowledge. New York Press, 1974.
Al-Kindi presents here four kinds of Intel-
lect. The first of these is obscure; he calls it Further Reading
the First Intellect but he seems to be referring Atyiyeh, G., al-Kindi: The Philosopher of
to a separate intellect which is similar to the the Arabs, Karachi: al-Karimi, 1966.
Aristotelian Active Intellect. (Nevertheless, in Klein-Franke, F., al-Kindi, in S. H. Nasr
his metaphysics al-Kindi rejects the concept and O. Leaman (eds), History of Islamic
of the existence of separate immaterial enti- Philosophy, ch. 11, London: Routledge,
ties such as the Universal Intellect or Univer- 1996, pp. 16577.
sal Soul or the world of Platonic Ideas.) All
the other three intellects exist in the human maha el-kaisy
soul and represent the different stages of per-
ceiving knowledge. The first of the human
intellects is the intellect in its potential form
before it receives any knowledge; the second
of these is the acquired intellect and represents KIRMANSHAHI, Aqa Mirza Muhammad
the stage of the intellect when it acquires the Hasan(d. 1336/1918)
universal concepts (movement, place, growth,
decay) which subsist in material things, and Aqa Mirza Muhammad Hasan Kirmanshahi
the third human intellect is the stage when was born as his name suggests in Kirmanshah,
knowledge is preserved in the intellect and Iran. After completing his early education, he
can be called upon when the soul wishes. The moved to Tehran where he studied philoso-
function of the separate First Intellect seems phy with Ali Zunuzi and Abul-Hasan Jilwa.
to be to shed light on universal concepts so When Zunuzi died, Kirmanshahi succeeded
282
KONUK
him as the chief instructor at the Siphasalar parents when he was around nine years
madrasa in Tehran. He taught there until his old, he received a good education, learned
death in 1336/1918. Arabic and Persian as part of his early
Kirmanshahi was trained in traditional education, and memorized the Quran. He
philosophy and became a major expositor also spoke French. He became a student
of the works of Ibn Sina and other Muslim of Zekai Dede, considered to be one of the
Peripatetic philosophers. As part of the tra- greatest composers of classical Turkish and
dition of studying philosophy, however, he Sufi music. Konuk composed around forty
also read Ibn al-Arabis Fusus al-hikam classical songs including three Mawlawi cer-
(Bezels of Wisdom) and Mulla Sadras al- emonies (ayin). He also designed two new
Asfar al-arbaa (The Four Journeys). Even musical maqams. His compositions are still
though this shows his interest in and presum- performed in the Mawlawi Sufi centers in
ably considerable knowledge of transcen- Turkey.
dent philosophy (al-hikmat al-mutaaliya) In addition to his musical career, Konuk
as developed by Sadra and his later follow- produced a large number of works on
ers, his forte was in the Peripatetic works. Sufism. He translated Rumis Mathnawi into
He was known for his exceptional mastery Turkish and wrote a commentary on it. His
of Ibn Sinas Shifa and other works. In this Mathnawi commentary in thirty-six volumes
sense, he represents the Peripatetic wing in is the largest commentary written on Rumis
the Tehran school of philosophy which was magnum opus. He also translated Ibn al-
mostly dominated by the works of Mulla Arabis Fusus al-hikam into Turkish and
Sadra and his followers. wrote a major commentary on it. His other
Kirmanshahis few works that have sur- works include the Turkish translation of and
vived consist of glosses of Ibn Sinas Shifa commentaries on Ibn al-Arabis Tadbirat
and Mulla Sadras Asfar. al-ilahiyyah, Rumis Fihi Mafihi, and Iraqis
Lamaat. Konuk represents an important
Further Reading synthesis of the Mawlawi and Akbari lines
Saduqi Soha, M., Tarikh-i Hukama of Sufi thought in the late Ottoman and
wa Urafa-yi Mutaakhkhir, Tehran, early Republican era. His four-volume com-
Intisharati Hikmat, 2002. mentary on Ibn al-Arabis Fusus al-hikam,
written in Ottoman Turkish, combines the
ibrahim kalin perspectives of the two Sufi masters to whom
Konuk was equally attracted. He also wrote
a small treatise in which he rejected Ahmad
al-Sirhindis accusations of pantheism and
idolatry against Ibn al-Arabi. This work has
KONUK, Ahmet Avni(18711938) not been published.
A. Avni Konuk, one of the last great Turkish BIBLIOGRAPHY

commentators on Rumi and Ibn al-Arabi, Fsusul-hikem Tercme ve erhi, ed. M.
was born in 1871. He received his law degree Tahral and S. Eraydn, 4 vols, Istanbul:
in 1898. He worked as a legal consultant in Marmara niversitesi lahiyat Fakltesi
various government positions. He retired Vakf, 1994.
from his position in 1933. He also taught at Fihi Mafihi, ed. S. Eraydin, Istanbul: z
Istanbul Technical University. Yaynclk, 1994.
Konuk was a member of the Mawlawi
Sufi order. Even though he lost both of his ibrahim kalin
283
AL-KUBRA
AL-KUBRA, Abul Jannab Ahmad ibn whose later stature as prominent Sufi mas-
Umar Najm al-Din(540617/11451220) ters and writers brought fame to this formi-
dable teacher. And both the teacher and his
Najm al-Din al-Kubra was born in students are liable for the equally remark-
Khwarazm in Central Asia in 540/1145, able number of derivative initiatic lines: the
and died at the hand of the Mongols during Firdawsiyya, Nuriyaa, Rukniyya, Ashrafiyya,
their conquest of Khwarazm in 617/1220. A Ightishashiyya, Hamadaniyya, Dhahabiyya,
renowned Sufi shaykh, Najm al-Din justly and Nurbakhshiyya among others. From the
earned the sobriquet Wali-tarash, sculptor ranks of those fashioned by Najm al-Din we
of saints, as many of his disciples stood out find worthy of mention Sad al-Din Hammuya
as Sufis of distinction in their own right. He (d. 650/1253), a Persian Kubrawi master,
was, directly or indirectly, the founder of Majd al-Din Baghdadi (d. 616/1219), mas-
the tariqa (order) that bears his name, the ter of Najm al-Din Razi (d. 618/1221), Sayf
Kubrawiyya. al-Din Bakharzi (d. 659/1261) of Transoxi-
Although born in Khwarazm, Najm al- ana, and Radi al-Din Ali Lala of Samarqand
Din travelled throughout the Muslim world (d. 642/1244).
of his time, pursuing a vocation as a scholar Kubra penned a lengthy commentary
of Islamic Traditions (hadith) and theology on the Quran left unfinished by his death
(ilm al-kalam). In Egypt, his attention was but picked up by Najm al-Din Razi and
drawn to Sufism by the Persian shaykh Ruz- a later Kubrawi, Ala al-Dawla Simnani
bihan al-Wazzan al-Misri (d. 584/1188), (d. 736/1336) (oft-cited for his confident
a disciple of Abd al-Qahir Abu Najib al- critique of Ibn al-Arabis formulation of
Suhrawardi (d. 564/1168) and to whom wahdat al-wujud, Oneness of Being or
the Suhrawardiyya order traces its lineage. Unity of Existence). One of several simi-
In furtherance of his theological studies lar treatises is a short work entitled al-Usul
Najm al-Din ventured to Tabriz, only to al-ashara (The Ten Principles) which cov-
find himself deepening his acquaintance ers Sufi norms of conduct (adab), incorpo-
with Sufism under the tutelage of one Baba rating eight rules previously laid down by
Faraj Tabrizi. Still in Tabriz, he became a the great Persian mystic and master of the
murid (Sufi novice) under two masters Sufis of Baghdad, Abul Qasim al-Junayd
from whom he received the ritual khirqa (d. 298/910). To Junayds fundamental dis-
(sign of investiture, initiation ceremony): ciplinary rules Kubra adds sleep as little
Ammar ibn Yasir al-Bidlisi (d. ca. 596- as possible and observe moderation
7/1200) and Ismail al-Qasri (d. 589/1183). when breaking the fast. This manual cir-
Upon returning to Egypt, Shaykh Ruzbihan culated widely beyond the Kubrawi order.
granted him spiritual authority to teach and But far and away Kubras greatest work is
initiate disciples. While he was no longer the Fawaih al-jamal wa fawatih al-jalal
preoccupied with the traditional Islamic sci- (loosely, Aromas of Beauty and Pream-
ences, training therein led to disputational bles of Majesty), a didactic journal that
skills believed responsible for the surname includes details of his visions and ecstatic
Kubra, from the Quranic phrase al-Tam- experiences re-told for the benefit of the
mat al-kubra (79, 34), meaning the Great murid. This manual of mystical psychology
Calamity. prepares the novice for the possible states
Najm al-Din eventually came back to his (ahwal), stations (maqamat), and interior
native Khwarazm, establishing a khanaqah events (waqia) such as dreams or visions
(Sufi cloister and hostel) from which emerged that may be encountered on the Sufi path. In
a comparatively large number of individuals effect, it provides the language with which
284
KUU
to make sense of spiritual experiences and BIBLIOGRAPHY

the criteria necessary for discriminating the Die Fawaih al-gamal wa-fawatih al-galal,
real from the illusory, the significant from ed. F. Meier, Wiesbaden: Steiner, 1957.
the trivial, the para- or non-rational from Al-Usul al-ashara (The Ten Principles),
the irrational. This process of discernment trans. Abd Ghafur Lari, ed. Najib Mayil
and discrimination is not the solitary enter- Harawi, Tehran: n.p., 1984.
prise of the student, but requires the experi-
ence and wisdom of a spiritual teacher. Thus Further Reading
what has been called Kubras hermeneutics DeWeese, Devin, Sayyid Ali Hamadani
of gnostic supra-formal perception, enun- and Kubrawi Hagiographical
ciates a common conceptual vocabulary for Traditions, in Leonard Lewisohn
the master and murid whereby the psycho- (ed.), The Heritage of Sufism, Vol. II:
logical, moral, and spiritual attributes and The Legacy of Medieval Persian Sufism
perspectives that mark degrees of spiritual (11501500), Oxford, UK: Oneworld,
growth can be represented and identified. 1999, pp. 12158.
In so doing, lines are drawn that serve to Waley, Muhammad Isa, Najm al-Din
differentiate the aspirants spiritual experi- Kubra and the Central Asian School of
ences from debilitating symptoms of mental Sufism (The Kubrawiyyah), in Seyyed
illness or the narcissistic display of private Hossein Nasr (ed.), Islamic Spirituality:
fantasy. Manifestations, London: SCM Press,
Details of the luminous and colorful 1991, pp. 80104.
visions and/or auditory perceptions experi- A Kubrawi Manual of Sufism: The
enced by the interior organs of perception Fusus al-adab of Yahya Bakharzi, in
(lataif) can differ in details from student Leonard Lewisohn (ed.), The Heritage of
to student, another reason for invoking the Sufism, Vol. II: The Legacy of Medieval
analytical prowess of the murids shaykh. Persian Sufism (11501500), Oxford,
The bodys seven subtle organs of percep- UK: Oneworld, 1999, pp. 289310.
tion are purified by dhikr (literally recol-
lection, mentioning, or remembering God; patrick s. odonnell
ritual recitation of formulaic prayers to
God) and other disciplinary exercises and
ascetic practices. If successful, this pro-
gressive unveiling will reveal the angelic
world, satan, both Hell and Paradise, even KUU, Ali(d. 879/1474)
the Divine Throne itself, as found within
the heart of the mystic (Meier 1957: 32). Alaaddin Ali ibn Muhammed Semerkandi
The Kubrawiyya proceeded to develop an Ali Kuu is believed to have been born in
elaborate color symbolism and Kubrawi Samarkand, a region in Uzbekistan which
saints influenced mysticism on the Indian was then the center of the Mongol Empire of
subcontinent, perhaps in part owing to the the Timurids, in the beginning of the fifteenth
elective affinity of Kubras mystical psychol- century. He died in Istanbul on 7 Shaban
ogy with the psycho-physiology of yoga. 879/December 16, 1474. He was a signifi-
Najm al-Din Kubra died while physically cant Turkish astronomer and mathemati-
resisting the Mongol conquest of Khwarazm cian. Alis father Muhammad was the chief
in 617/1220. The Kubrawiyya would later falconer of Ulugh Beg (Ulu Bey), the ruler of
extend itself throughout Central Asia and as Turkestan and a grandson of Timur (Tamer-
far east as the Muslim regions of China. lane). Because of his fathers occupation Ali
285
KUU
received the nickname kuu (kushji), Ali Kuu was not only a leading astron-
which means related to birds in Turkish. omer and mathematician of his time but
Ali had his first education in mathematics also a distinguished teacher who greatly
and astronomy from Bursal Kadzade Rumi contributed to the education of well-known
(d. after 844/1440), Ghiyathaddin Jamshid Turkish astronomers, such as Mirim elebi,
al-Kashi (d. 832/1429), and Ulugh Beg (d. who was also his grandson, Hoca Sinan
853/1449), who was also a learned astrono- Paa and Molla Ltfi. Alongside his cel-
mer and mathematician. After his first edu- ebrated writings on the subjects of math-
cation Ali secretly went to Kerman to further ematics and astronomy he produced some
his study, which angered Ulugh Beg. There important works on kalam and philology
he wrote his Sarh al-Tacrid, a commentary as well. Among the latter are his commen-
on kalam, and Risala fi hall ashkal al-qamar, taries on Nasiruddin al-Tusis Tacrid al-
a treatise on the movements of the moon, kalam and Adududdins Risala al-adudiyya,
which would later be treated with great and a philological work called Unkud al-
respect by Ulugh Beg. After having com- zawahir fi nazm al-jawahir. The former
pleted his study in Kerman he returned to commentary, which is later called Sarh al-
Samarkand and, upon the death of Kadzade jadid, is what won Ali Kuu the title of
Rumi, became the new director of the famous al-Muallif al-thani. However, he still owed
observatory built by Ulugh Beg in 823/1420. his well-deserved reputation particularly to
Ali also assisted him in his work called Ziyj, those writings that he wrote on astronomy
which is an astronomical table showing the and mathematics, such as Risala fi haya
locations and movements of the planets. (861/1457), a celebrated astronomical
After Ulugh Begs assassination in treatise, and Risala fi al-hesab (876/1472),
853/1449, Ali left his post in the Samar- another important treatise on algebra and
kand madrasa and fled to Tabriz. There he calculations. Both works were written in
was well received by Uzun Hasan, the ruler Persian and later, to be offered to Sultan
of the Akkoyunlu State, and was convinced Mehmet II, translated into Arabic as Risala
to stay and work for him. During a visit as al-Fathiyya and Risala al-Muhammadiyya,
emissary to the Ottoman Empire, Ali had an respectively. There was also a famous com-
even stronger impact on Sultan Mehmet II mentary on Ulugh Begs Ziyj and an ency-
(Fatih), the Conqueror, who invited him to clopedic work called Mahbub al-hamail fi
live in Istanbul to enrich the scientific life in kashf al-masail.
the citys madrasas. Ali accepted that invi-
tation on the condition that he would first Further Reading
complete his duty in Tabriz. Such a reaction Chelebi, Katib, Kashf al-Zunun, Istanbul:
only increased the Sultans admiration, as it n.p., 1967.
proved that Ali was not only a learned man Cunbur, Mjgan, Ali Kuu Bibliyografyas
of science but also possessed good manners (lmnn 500. Yldnm
and idealism. Two years later he returned Dolaysyla), Ankara: Babakanlk
to the capital of the Ottoman Empire with Basmevi, 1974.
his family and companions. At his arrival Osmanl Astronomi Literatr Tarihi
he was welcomed with a big ceremony and (History of Astronomy Literature During
was immediately appointed as a mudarris in the Ottoman Period), vol.1, ed. E.
the Ayasofya (Hagia Sophia) Medresesi with hsanoglu et al., stanbul: IRCICA, 1997,
a good salary. He also became the director pp. 2738.
of the Sultans personal library and retained
those positions until his death in 879/1474. s. leyla grkan
286
L
LAHBABI, Muhammad Aziz(192293) Lahbabis philosophical works are devo
ted to the development of an Islamic per-
The Moroccan writer and philosopher sonalism as a philosophy of liberation.
Lahbabi was born in Fez. He received his In the Le Personnalisme musulman (1964),
academic education in Paris. His doctoral Lahbabi sought to assert the centrality of
dissertation was published in two volumes as the person or the individual through
De ltre la personne (From Being to Per- such concepts as the autonomy of the
son, 1954) and Libert ou libration (1956). person, self-consciousness, and individual
Upon his return to Morocco, he taught at responsibility. His personalist methodol-
the University of Rabat, Muhammad V Uni- ogy borrows elements from the writings of
versity, and the University of Algiers. He such French philosophers as Henri Bergson
founded the Union of the Arab Writers of and Emmanuel Mounier, as well as from
the Maghrib and became an editor of the the Quran and other traditional Islamic
review Afaq (Horizons). sources.
Lahbabi played an important role in the In Libert ou libration?, Lahbabi formu-
intellectual and academic life of Morocco in lates his realist personalism and attempts
the second half of the twentieth century. The to give a full account of the ontology of
Moroccan thinker Muhammad Abid al- the individual without falling into the trap
Jabri wrote his doctoral dissertation under of individualism and subjectivism. As in his
Lahbabis supervision. other works, he relies heavily on Bergson,
As a prolific writer, Lahbabi wrote a num- and seeks to present a philosophy of per-
ber of works on contemporary thought in sonalism that leads the individual from a
Arabic and French, including several books moment of liberty to a process of libera-
of poetry and a novel entitled Espoir vaga- tion. Like Bergson, Lahbabi considers the
bond (1972). He authored a book on the eco- unity of spirit and matter to be a condition
nomic history of Morocco called Lconomie and ultimate goal of liberation.
marocaine: notion essentielles (The Moroc-
can Economy: Essential Elements, 1977), BIBLIOGRAPHY
the first volume of which is Les Fondements Le personnalisme musulman, Paris: Presses
de lconomie marocaine (The Foundations Universitaires de France, 1964.
of the Moroccan Economy, 1977). He also Ibn Khaldun, Paris: Seghers, 1968.
gave his assessment of the Third World De ltre la personne; essai de person
in his Le Monde de demain: le Tiers-Monde nalisme raliste, Algiers: Socit
accuse (The World of Tomorrow: the Third nationale ddition et de diffusion,
World Challenges, 1980). 1974.
287
LAHIJI
Libert ou libration?: A partir des liberts is probably Lahijis most important work in
bergsoniennes, Algiers: Socit nationale philosophical kalam. His commentary on
ddition et de diffusion, 1974. Suhrawardis Hayakil al-nur (Temples of
Douleurs rythmes, Algiers: Socit Light) points to Lahijis interest in the Illu-
nationale ddition et de diffusion, minationist tradition. Like Suhrawardi and
1974. Mulla Sadra before him, Lahiji develops
Le monde de demain: le Tiers-Monde a doctrine of mundus imaginalis (alam al-
accuse, Casablanca: Dar-el-Kitab, 1980. mithal) as an intermediary stage between the
La crise des valeurs, Rabat: Editions Okad, world of pure spirits/intelligible substances
1987. and the world of corporeal existence. He
Faces et prefaces, Rabat: Editions Okad, distinguishes the world of archetypes from
1991. the world of Platonic Forms by saying that
while the Platonic Forms are completely dis-
ibrahim kalin engaged from matter and designate univer-
sal forms of knowledge, the beings of the
archetypal world are particular forms that
are separate from matter but by no means
from all material envelopes.
LAHIJI, Abd al-Razzaq(d. 1072/1662) Lahijis two Persian works are Gawhari
Murad (The Desired Substance) and Sar-
Abd al-Razzaq b. Ali b. Husayn Gilani al- maya-yi Iman (Faiths Capital). These are
Lahiji was one of the major scholars of the devoted mostly to the development of a phil-
late Safavid period. Little is known of his osophical kalam with strong Illumination-
life other than the fact that he was a student ist and mystical tendencies. In the Gawhar,
and son-in-law of Mulla Sadra. He wrote Lahiji compares and contrasts the methods
a number of works on philosophy and phil- of the philosophers and the mystics without
osophical kalam. His overall philosophical necessarily opting for one over the other.
tone is less mystical than that of Mulla Sadra. Nevertheless, in comparing the two paths
Furthermore, he did not fully agree with the of the exoteric (zahir) and esoteric
two key ideas of Sadra, that is, the principal- (batin), he says that the former leads one
ity of being (asalat al-wujud) and substantial to the knowledge of God whereas the latter
motion (al-harakat al-jawhariyya). But he to the Divine himself. Lahiji also discusses
sought to reformulate the concept of hik- representational (ilm husuli) and presen-
mat as philosophical wisdom and theology, tial knowledge (ilm huduri) as two distinct
a train of thought whose roots can easily be modes of knowledge.
found in Sadra. Lahiji was also a poet of some stature and
His philosophical works combine ele- wrote a diwan containing over five thousand
ments from Ibn Sina, Suhrawardi, Nasir verses. Like many of his colleagues in the
al-Din al-Tusi, and his own teacher Mulla School of Isfahan, Lahijis poetry is more
Sadra. His Hashiya-yi Kitab-i Isharat (Gloss mystical than his prose writings.
over Ibn Sinas Isharat) is a commentary
on Tusis commentary on the Isharat, Ibn BIBLIOGRAPHY
Sinas last major work. Tusis influence on Shawariq al-ilham fi sharh tajrid al-kalam
Lahiji is also to be seen in his commentary Isfahan: Intisharat-i Mahdawi, 1980.
entitled Shawariq al-ilham fi sharh tajrid al- Diwan-i Feyyaz (The Divan of Feyyaz),
kalam (The Dawn of Intuition in the Com- Tehran: Muassasa-yi wa Intisharat-i
mentary on al-Tusis Tajrid al-kalam). This Danishgah-i Tehran, 1993.
288
AL-LAWKARI
Gawhari Murad. Z. Qorbani (ed.), Tehran: its putative heterodoxy. Larijani was saved
Sazman-i Chap va Intisharat-i Vizarat-i by being declared insane and so he was
Farhang va Irshad-i Islama, 1993. left alone. He found refuge in the home of
Excerpts from Gawhar are translated Mirza Ismail Gurgani, who had influence in
in Henry Corbin, Spiritual Body and the Qajar court, and lived for the last years
Celestial Earth: From Mazdean Iran of his life in Tehran. Larijani had a lot of
to Shiite Iran, trans. Nancy Pearson, influence on thinkers like Qumshai and did
Princeton: Princeton University Press, a great deal to institute the teaching of Ibn
1993, pp. 1715. al-Arabi alongside Mulla Sadra, something
that has remained a feature of Persian phi-
Further Reading losophy ever since.
Corbin, H., Abdorrazzaq Lahiji, in
S. J. Ashtiyani (ed.), Anthologie des Further Reading
philosophes iranien, Teheran: Department Aminrazavi, M., Persia, in S. H. Nasr
dIranologie de lInstitut Franco-Iranien and O. Leaman (eds), History of Islamic
de Recherche, 1991. Philosophy, ch. 61, London: Routledge,
Lewisohn, L., Sufism and the School of 1996, pp. 103750.
Isfahan: Tasawwuf and Irfan in Late Saduqi Soha, M., Tarikh-i hukama
Safavid Iran (Abd al-Razzaq Lahiji and wa urafa-yi mutaakhkhir, Tehran:
Fayd-i Kashani on the Relation of Tasa Intisharati Hikmat, 2002.
wwuf, Hikmat and Irfan), in Leonard
Lewisohn (ed.), The Heritage of Sufism, oliver leaman
vol. 3, Oxford: Oneworld Publications,
1999, pp. 63134.
ibrahim kalin
AL-LAWKARI, Fadl b. Muhammad
(d. 517/11234)
Lawkari was a famous student of Bahman-

LARIJANI, Aqa Sayyid Radi yar b. Marzuba, who himself was the most
(d. 1270/18534) celebrated student of Ibn Sina. Lawkari
was born in Lawkar and flourished during
A thinker who, as his name suggests, hailed the twelfth century. The dates of his birth
from Larijan near the Caspian Sea, Larijani and death have not been fully determined.
traveled to Isfahan to be taught by Mulla Ali Lawkari wrote mostly to explain in simple
Nuri and Mulla Ismail Isfahani. The curric- terms the ideas of his master Bahmanyar
ulum seems to have been very much based and those of Ibn Sina. As an advocate of
around the thought of Mulla Sadra. Lari- philosophy, he trained many students. Bay-
jani became well known for his philosophi- haqi, a classical biographer and the author
cal skill, and the way he combined it with an of the Tatimat siwan al-hikmah, refers to
interest in mysticism and hidden knowledge, Lawkari as having played a significant role
in particular the works of Ibn al-Arabi. He in the spread of philosophy in the Khurasan
became even more famous for his esoteric region. He collaborated with several schol-
knowledge, and this caused him some dif- ars of his time, including Abu al-Fath Umar
ficulties with the authorities, suspicious as Khayyam, Maymun b. Najib al-Wasiti and
they were of this form of Islamic thought for Abul-Muzaffar Isfazari, to establish a solar
289
LOGIC AND ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY
calendar at the request of the Saljuqid sul- is devoted to theology or divine science
tan Jalal al-Din Malik-shah. It came to be (al-ilm al-ilahi), and comprises the follow-
known as the Jalali calendar, and is still in ing subjects: God as the necessary, perfect,
use today. and absolute Being, the oneness of God, his
Lawkari was well trained in the philosoph- Names and Qualities, Avicennan cosmology,
ical sciences of his time. In addition to his the emanation of multiplicity from the One
mastery of logic, metaphysics, and cosmol- through a series of hierarchical beings, theo-
ogy, he was well-versed in mathematics and dicy, resurrection, prophecy, and revelation,
astronomy. Biographical sources describe and the necessity and benefits of prayers.
him as a pious person. Lawkaris most In addition to his Bayan, Lawkari wrote
important work is Bayan al-haqq bi-diman an index (fahrasa) for Ibn Sinas al-Taliqat.
al-sidq (The Explanation of Truth from the Lawkari also has a small divan of poetry
Point of View of Trust). It is a restatement of comprised of Arabic and Persian poems.
the basic teachings of Ibn Sina as interpreted
by Bahmanyar. In his exposition, Lawkari BIBLIOGRAPHY
seeks to reconcile the differences between Bayan al-haqq bi-diman al-sidq, ed. and
al-Farabi and Ibn Sina. The Bayan, how- int. S. Ibrahim Dibaji, Tehran: The
ever, also contains quotations from Aristotle Office of the Academic Representative of
and Bahmanyar. International Institute of Islamic Thought
The Bayan consists of three books: logic, and Civilization, 1995.
natural philosophy, and metaphysics. The
book on logic begins with a definition of ibrahim kalin
knowledge and its parts, and discusses the
main concepts of traditional logic in nine
sections, which include the single terms used
in logic, categories, phrases, analogy, dem-
onstration, dialectic, sophistry, eloquence LOGIC AND ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY
of speech, and poetry. The second book is
devoted to natural philosophy and comprises Is logic acceptable in Islam?
the following sections: heavens and the uni-
verse, generation and corruption, minerals, One of the things that interested the early
effects of supra-lunar beings on the sub-lunar Islamic world in Greek culture was logic.
world, psychology, plants, and animals. The Greeks had of course been working
The third book comprising metaphysics is on logic for a long time and had developed
divided into two parts. The first part deals complex and detailed theories of argumen-
with the definition of metaphysics (ma bad tation, theories that showed in satisfying
al-tabia) as universal science (al-ilm always how one gets from certain statements
kulli), which contains the principles of all to other statements in a secure and valid
sciences. It discusses being (wujud) and its manner. This was useful not only to ensure
divisions, substance and accident, matter and that ones arguments were based on some-
form, causality, oneness, unity, multiplicity, thing solidthus proving to be the basis of
individuation and relationality, potential- science and the advance of knowledgebut
ity and actuality as they pertain to corpo- also to provide people with ways to per-
real beings, the universals, and the Platonic suade each other of the truth of what they
Forms. The second part of the book of meta- believed. One of the tasks of the new religion
physics, which Lawkari calls uthulujiyyah, of Islam was to persuade those outside the
referring to the pseudo-theology of Aristotle, religion to embrace it, since force was not
290
always appropriate nor even desirable. As may use an implement from an unbeliever in
the Quran advises, people should be intro- order to carry out some useful task, it is just
duced to Islam with beautiful preaching as permissible to use a technique that stems
(16:125; 29:46). One aspect of this is often from the world of the unbelievers if it can
taken to be solid argument and rational per- add value to what is being done. Yet there
suasion since there are few if any religions is another view of logic, and this is to see
that put such an emphasis on argument as it as bringing with it a whole range of pre-
does Islam. The Quran is full of suggestions suppositions and principles that do not have
that readers and hearers consider what they a neutral effect on what they touch. On the
are told and assess it. In any case, the Mus- contrary, logic transforms the material on
lims advancing through the civilized world of which it works and so should be kept at a
the Middle East and beyond did not want to distance lest it infects the pure material of
seem like hicks and as if they were incapable religion. So the first debate that took place
of holding their own in discussions with the was whether logic is a tool and something
locals. So it was important to learn the rules that can be used independently of philoso-
of argument, and since the Greeks had spent phy, or whether it is part of philosophy and
a lot of time working on these, one might as thus replete with theoretical assumptions.
well acquire this information and use it for In the debate, the argument of al-Sirafi
the cause of promoting Islam, or for what- that logic is undesirable often takes on
ever other purpose one might have in mind. rather unpleasant xenophobic strains, since
In Ibn Sinas view, three kinds of assent he complains of the project of importing
(mentioned below) are similar to wisdom, this new technique as though it represented
beautiful preaching, and arguing in a good the invasion of a foreign set of ideas. His
way that are found in the following passage opponent Bishr ibn Matta is a Christian and
(16: 125): invite all to the way of your Lord not a native Arabic-speaker, and that is not
with wisdom and beautiful preaching, and ignored in the debate by his Muslim oppo-
argue with them in a way that is the best nent either, but al-Sirafi does make a sensible
and most gracious. For him, wisdom in this point when he wonders whether a logic that
verse resembles demonstration, beautiful stems from the Greek language can really
preaching resembles rhetorical assent, and deal with issues in Arabic. The argument
disputing in a better way resembles topic that seems to have won out is later on quite
(jadal). The reason why beautiful preaching brilliantly expressed by al-Farabi who says
is placed before disputing in a better way is logic represents the deep structure of all lan-
due to its benefits for society (Kitab al-Shifa, guages, and so the language in which logic is
al-Mantiq, al-Hataba, pp. 56.) expressed is irrelevant to understanding how
This was one approach to logic, and it it operates. After all, logic can be translated
prevailed as the argument that allowed the into purely formal language, a language of
relevant texts to be translated into Arabic symbols which is completely independent
and incorporated in the educational system of all natural language. It was in this spirit
of the Islamic world. Yet the introduction that logic entered the Islamic world, as an
of logic was not uncontroversial. There was abstract and effective methodology for
a celebrated debate in front of the court in assessing arguments, in just the same way
Baghdad on the merits of a logic that comes that any useful article or practice might be
from outside the Islamic world and seeks taken up and adapted to local use.
to impose itself on Arabic culture. Those Yet it is worth mentioning here three
who defended logic saw it as just a tool or very significant critiques of Greek logic that
instrument and argued that just as a Muslim arose within the Islamic world, one from
291
the perspective of Sufism, a second from clear in our use of concepts; we can refine
the Salafiyya or traditionalists, and a third our concepts and use them subsequently to
finally from the Ishraqi or Illuminationist define what we find in the world. We can
thinkers. The Iberian thinker Ibn Sabin was use concepts even if there are no instances
highly suspicious of logic for its tendency of them in the world, and thus even ficti-
to break things down into their elements, tious concepts have essential and accidental
which he saw as interfering with the basic features.
unity of everything in God. The principle Ibn Taymiyya is a determined nominalist,
of unity or tawhid is crucial to Islam, and and argues that universals or general terms
some Sufis take this to mean that it is a mis- should be analyzed in terms of the individu-
take to divide the world up into parts, since als who constitute them. We can construct
everything is one. Yet what Aristotelian logic universals, but we should always be aware
does is precisely to break up a statement that they are merely a shorthand for group-
into its parts, assess the links between those ing together particulars, and possess no inde-
parts and use it to derive other statements, pendent existence of their own. The problem
which themselves are then reduced to their is that we tend to use universal notions as
parts and then put together again in such a though these represent something which
way that we can work out how to get from really exists. We should be aware, he tells us,
one statement to another in an acceptable of the role of God in creating the particulars
and valid manner. What is wrong with that? out of which the universals are abstracted,
Nothing logically, of course, but metaphysi- and not go on to make the next mistake of
cally it suggests that things are really made assuming that the universals have indepen-
up of their parts and it is only if we exam- dent existence and in fact influence or restrict
ine those parts that we really understand the activity of God. The universals are things
the things. Yet for Ibn Sabin precisely the we construct, and they bear no more reality
reverse is the case, it is only if we look on than anything else that we put together from
the world as just one thing, a thing indistin- what we find around us.
guishable from its creator, that we approach When we use definitions we think we
having a clear and true view of it. have really grasped a concept, since we
Of course, what Ibn Sabin is criticizing is have aligned it with its necessary properties.
not only the use of logic, but what amounts But how do we know what is essential to a
to the whole of kalam or theology, which concept? If we put together various diverse
certainly cannot proceed without argument things to make one broader concept how do
and, accordingly, rules of argumentation. we know which of those things is essential
Ibn Taymiyya took this point up directly and which is accidental? This is a vital aspect
and attacked the Aristotelian notion of defi- of the theory of definition, that we can work
nition (hadd) for assuming that there is a out what properties a thing has to have to be
basic distinction between the essential and the thing it purports to be. This is the prob-
accidental properties which a thing has. In lem with the notion of definition, in that we
order to understand what a thing is on the never know whether we get it right in dis-
Aristotelian account, we have to be able to tinguishing between its essential and its acci-
distinguish between its essential and merely dental properties, since our experience will
accidental qualities. The essential properties not provide us with this sort of information.
are those it must have to be the thing it is, Experience gives us evidence of the existence
while the accidental properties are those it of objects, but it does not provide informa-
can have but need not. What is useful about tion about what features they must possess
this approach to logic is that we can then be and what they could do without and still be
292
the same sort of object. So our experience between things depend on degrees of lumi-
and reasoning faculties are insufficient to nosity or light, not on their essences. Again
provide us with knowledge, even knowledge we see a philosophical argument that sets
of abstract ideas such as those produced by out to work without Aristotelian logic,
logic. We need divine assistance if we are to since the argument is based on very different
know anything, and for this we need to look presuppositions.
at the Quran and other sources of religious
knowledge, not to Greek logic. The ontology
with which Ibn Taymiyya is working is one Islamic philosophy and theOrganon
of an atomistic world, whose deity is solely The Peripatetic (mashshaun) philosophers,
responsible for creating the facts that we see the falasifa like Ibn Rushd and his predeces-
around us. In this case the reification of con- sors such as al-Farabi and Ibn Sina, used the
cepts is even more extravagant than when Organon of Aristotle as an example of how
treating the material world as though it were arguments may vary in form and, in particu-
independently subsistent and real, since when lar, in the universality of their conclusion.
we construct our concepts we pretend to our- The Organon is an account of the variety of
selves that we have the power to understand deductive techniques that apply to concepts,
what we see before us. Asharite thinkers see resulting in a hierarchy of argumentative
the world as constituted of atoms and acci- strength, with demonstration at the summit,
dents, with no independent existence, and where we operate with true premises and use
so entirely dependent on Gods grace for its them to arrive at valid and entirely general
continuing existence. conclusions. Next comes dialectic, where the
Illuminationist (Ishraqi) thought is also premises we use are those supplied by the
suspicious of logic and sets out to replace side with which we are debating, and so we
Peripatetic thought by replacing the notion have no reason to think they are true. They
of definition with that of immediate or intui- might be, but they might not, and we might
tive knowledge. The Aristotelian or Peripa- not be able to find out. After this a number
tetic view is that reasoning starts with defi- of other argument types follow; rhetoric and
nition in terms of genus and differentia, a poetry, for example, where the point is to
process of explaining something by breaking change peoples mind by the use of imagi-
it down into its smaller parts. Illuminationist nation and appeals to emotions, and where
thinkers such as al-Suhrawardi (115491) the validity of the conclusion may be limited
argue that this amounts to explaining the only to a particular audience within a partic-
unknown in terms of something even less ular context on a particular occasion. That
known than itself, which is pointless. They does not mean that there is anything wrong
also replace deductive knowledge, the sort of with the argument. It is a perfectly accept-
knowledge we get from using the principles able argument of its type, but not up to the
of Aristotelian reasoning, with knowledge standard of demonstration or even dialectic.
by presence, which they describe as knowl- The Quran is full of such arguments;
edge that is so immediate that it cannot be arguments that appeal to our understanding
doubted. The notion of light is used here of what is in our interest and how we should
with the idea being that such immediate live our lives. These are indeed arguments,
knowledge is lit up in a way which makes but we should bear in mind the warnings of
it impossible to doubt, and this is a result the falasifa who acknowledged that they are
of the way in which light flows through the only as strong as their premises are true. The
universe and brings to existence and aware- falasifa are quite clear on this, and in their
ness different levels of being. The differences analysis of different sorts of writing and
293
speech they sharply distinguish between dif- all participants understand entirely where
ferent levels of logical strength in the variety the truth lies. On the other hand, if we are
of language forms that are available to us, dealing with lawyers, by contrast, then the
and they argued that each form of argument form of argument will be dialectical, since
is appropriate to a particular kind of human they operate on the basis of the law, which
activity. So, for example, poetry, which they is a series of rules laid down in a specific way
argued has a logical form just like any other and at a specific time and in a specific place.
argument, is often intended to produce not There is no need for those rules to be good
a conclusion but an emotion; similarly, rules, or based on a rational analysis of what
rhetoric might also be expected to produce is needed, and the job of the lawyer is to act
agreement with an opinion, albeit perhaps on the basis of whatever the rules are, and
not agreement based entirely on the logic of follow the implications of those rules. The
the argument. Agreement might be evinced argument form should be rigorous, but can
through someone being persuaded of the only work from the nature of the premises,
truth of the argument whereas a stricter and if these premises are imperfect, then this
examination of the argument might reveal affects the status of the conclusion we can
gaps and problems. So for example a politi- draw from them. A state which is run on
cal leader may move a crowd to action by dialectical premises will suffer accordingly,
telling them things that have an emotional since the nature of debate will be based on
impact, yet if those things were to be exam- what are accepted as the right premises, and
ined closely they would not seem like good if these are imperfect then so will be the
reasons for taking that particular action. In state.
this case, the connection between the prem- This does not mean that all arguments
ises and the conclusion is certainly logical ought to be demonstrative, since this would
in the sense that there is a rational connec- not be suitable for the variety of people who
tion, yet the argument is not as powerful as exist in society. For many people, demon-
a demonstrative argument, the gold stan- strative argument is not appropriate since
dard of argument, where the argument starts they would not understand it, and in any
with premises we know to be true, or even case it might not be appropriate for the
necessarily true. In a political or rhetorical emotional side of their lives. The function
argument we start with premises that are far of religion is to express to the community at
weaker, perhaps dealing with the desirability large what the truth is in a way that can be
of a particular kind of living arrangement or generally recognized, while for a small num-
a kind of political organization. ber of intellectuals a more rational approach
In their political works the falasifa often would be appropriate. Is this to suggest
point to the links between different kinds that the Quran is not using the best form
of argument, different kinds of professional of argument, demonstrative argument, as
activity, and different kinds of state. For its main argument form? On the contrary,
example, if the government is run by philos- as a religion it employs a whole variety of
ophers, the best possible arrangement, then what from a logical point of view have to
the standard of conversation will be demon- be called weaker forms of argument: rhetori-
strative, insofar as this is possible, and the cal, sophistical, poetic, and so on. The justi-
state will be organized in the most efficient fication would be to point out that different
and generally satisfactory way. After all, audiences and different situations call for
with demonstrative reasoning we have a per- different sorts of argument. One of the ways
fectly clear and rigorous form of argument in which tafsir or commentary often operates
that exposes all aspects of the issue, and so is to discuss the particular situation in which
294
a sura was revealed. So if it occurred at a philosopher and the believer both grasp the
certain time and place, perhaps in Medina same thing, the prophet, and analyze what
after a particular event, then we can under- they see differently, but both judgments are
stand what the text was designed to do. It is true. It would even be wrong to see one of
helpful to understand the context if we are the judgments as primarily intellectual and
to understand the sura. The audience of the abstract and the other as popular, since
time would have had certain experiences at the sort of language that surrounds religious
that point, and so they would be addressed description is hardly simple and perspicuous.
in a certain way which takes account of Often theology is more complex than philos-
where they are. ophy, and the views of the ordinary believer
Although the precise dating of the suras is more complicated than those of the thinker
often difficult to make, it does seem broadly who can organize his thought into clear and
clear which are Meccan and which Medinan, distinct categories. The falasifa argued that
and what the order of revelation is. This is each way of talking is valid, although there
important if we are to understand why pas- can be little doubt that they thought that the
sages are expected to work when they do, philosophical account is more accurate than
and why they are constructed in a particular many of its competitors. What we see here
way. But if the argument in the text is per- yet again is the idea that there is an underly-
fectly clear, why do we need to know any- ing logic to language which beneath the sur-
thing about the context? The answer is that face works to explain the validity of what is
the argument is not perfectly clear, since if being asserted and how it links up with other
it were the audience would not understand statements. That is how very different forms
it; what they can understand is an argument of language can all be said to have a similar
that links up with their own background and logical structure, because the form of argu-
the situation in which they find themselves. ment that language rests on is independent
The logic of religion then pays particular of the natural language itself, a point made
attention to the more popular forms of argu- early on by Bishr ibn Matta when trying to
ment, since this is going to be most effective justify the applicability of logic to any form
in reaching the widest possible audience. of linguistic expression.
The logic of the argument we find in
scripture lies in the production of reasons
that make a particular conclusion plausible, Universals and definition
albeit perhaps not compelling. This is also Porphyrys Eisagoge was taken by Islamic
an important topic for the falasifa, since for philosophers to serve as an introduction to
them many issues and ideas can be seen from Aristotles categories, and one of the advan-
a variety of perspectives each of which rep- tages of this view is the neatness of the
resents what works for the individual, each approach to universal statements that Por-
of which links up with the truth, but none of phyry notes. The five predicables, as they
which looks like the other. To take an example came to be known consist of genus, species,
from al-Farabi, the normal religious idea of difference, property, and accident. Genus
the prophet is that he is someone of sterling refers to the common nature of all the spe-
moral character chosen by God to transmit cies that fall under it, such as ambulant for
a message. From the philosophical point of sheep, dog, cat, and so on. The genus
view he is someone of sterling moral char- informs us of what the general nature of a
acter whose mind is in line with the active thing is. Species refers to the common nature
intellect and so knows how to persuade an of all the individuals that fall under it, such as
audience of a particular point of view. The philosopher for Ibn Sina, Ibn Rushd,
295
and so on. The species gives us information the technique is applied to an existing sub-
on what the specific nature of a thing is. Dif- ject matter and so is intrinsically secondary
ference is what differentiates the members of and reflective on something already exist-
the genus, such as mortal, which differen- ing. This idea led him to posit also a sharp
tiates the species of being a physical creature distinction between existence and essence, a
from other species of thing; differentiation distinction that was to play a large role in
tells us what thing something is. These three later Islamic and European philosophy. He
universals are essential to a thing, for with- also did a lot to construct the theory behind
out them the thing will not have the prop- modal logic, the area that operates with the
erties that define it. Then there are proper- concepts of possibility and necessity. Later
ties of a thing that it can either have or not thinkers developed views on the nature of
have, they are not essential to it, and these the syllogism, the issue of universals, the link
are called property and accident. Property between predication and existence, and the
is something that necessarily attaches to one constant issue of logic and its relationship
universal only, such as can tell jokes for with grammar.
humanity. Accident refers to a quality that One of the problems of logic in Arabic is
attaches to more than one universal, such as the absence of the copula from the Arabic
white for swan. A definition represents language, something that must have been
the essence of a thing by laying out its gen- very noticeable to the majority of Islamic
eral and specific essential qualities, that is, philosophers who were in any case usu-
its genus, species, and difference. A looser ally Persians. There is a copula in Persian,
account of the thing is based on the prop- so translating Greek logic into Persian was
erty instead of the difference. As a result it much simpler than translating it into Arabic,
is incomplete since it produces a description the scholarly language of the Islamic world
that could apply to a lot of things, not just during the early centuries of Islam. There is
things whose definition falls under a certain also in Arabic a clear distinction between
essence. the existential and predicative functions of
terms, so that it is clear when something
is being said to exist and when it is said to
Logic in Islamic philosophy
have some quality or other. This is often said
A number of features characterize logic in to have interfered with an appropriate dis-
Islamic philosophy. First of all there was the tinction in Arabic and Islamic philosophy
development of a tradition of commentary between being and existence, by contrast
on the major Greek logical texts, commen- with Greek which is rich in such ontological
taries that often were very perceptive in their abstract ideas. However, the evidence does
scope. Some of these were to be translated not suggest that this proved to be much of a
into Latin and become much used in Chris- problem for the Islamic thinkers, who were
tian Europe when philosophy was taken up usually immediately aware of the issue of
there, a long time later than its career in the how Greek and Arabic differed in these ways.
Islamic world. Some thinkers were far more In fact, if we look at the technical vocabulary
than commentators, though. Ibn Sina (Avi- that came to be created to discuss these terms
cenna) made several bold moves away from it becomes immediately obvious how the dis-
the Greeks, developing the notion of sec- tinctions are made logically when not made
ond intentions or secondary concepts naturally in the language. As we have seen,
by contrast with first intentions. The sec- this is entirely in line with the theory of logic
ondary nature is a characterization of the as a technique that lies behind language, and
second order activity of the logician, in that so the issue of creating neologisms to express
296
logical ideas not present directly in grammar Ibn Taymiyya position that will have been
is only to be expected, and as far as we know obvious, and that is, how can one argue to a
was not regarded at the time as in any way conclusion that logic ought to be excluded,
perplexing. However, the history of Islamic since any such argument is either valid or
philosophy displays a constant fascination otherwise, and how would one know with-
with the concepts of being and existence and out employing logic of some kind? Although
thinkers used these to characterize their phi- Ibn Taymiyya is very critical of both logic
losophies and their differences from those of and philosophy, he argues very well for his
their opponents. This is not only true of the conclusions, and expects others to accept
early period of Peripatetic thought, but con- his arguments. Presumably then he adheres
tinued into the era of Ishraqi (Illumination- to some theory of how arguments work and
ist) philosophy in Persia, where these onto- what makes them valid, and that is what
logical terms become very much the main logic is, of course.
topics of controversy. The two main Ishraqi To a certain extent Ibn Taymiyya rejects
thinkers, al-Suhrawardi and Mulla Sadra, the notion of definition because it implies the
take diametrically opposed views on how independent existence of essences. However,
being and existence are to be explicated, it might be argued that there is no problem
and this gives us a clear view of how crucial in being a nominalist and combining this
basic logical distinctions are in characteriz- with the Aristotelian notion of a universal.
ing philosophical positions. The followers of There is nothing wrong with generalizing
each philosopher usually start by describing over individuals and constructing as a result
the ontological position they are upholding a universal concept, which then represents
and why, and how the thinker they are lining the common features which all the particu-
up behind presented the correct view of the lars possess. Of course, for a nominalist like
relationship between being and existence. Ibn Taymiyya the problem would be that one
could never be sure that one really had an
accurate view of what all those particulars
The influence of logic on theology have in common, so that any such construc-
It is worth saying something about the influ- tion of universals would need to be provi-
ence of logic on theology, since this gives us sional. This is the problem with the notion
an example of how philosophical discus- of the definition; we would never know
sions moved into the wider cultural sphere whether we had got it right in distinguish-
of the Islamic world. Some theologians like ing between the essential and the accidental
Ibn Taymiyya, as we have seen, rejected properties, since our experience cannot help
the use of logic and so their theology is us here. Experience would give us evidence
ostensibly logic-free. Other thinkers such of the existence of objects, but what features
as al-Ghazali argued that while philoso- they must possess and what they could do
phy was objectionable, logic was acceptable without, and still be the same sort of object,
since it is only an instrument and not part of has nothing to do with experience. In fact,
philosophy itself. His position here did a lot it is what Ibn Sina calls an issue of second-
to naturalize logic within the Islamic world ary intention, it reflects on the concepts
while philosophy itself was in disgrace. Al- produced through experience, not on expe-
Ghazali even goes so far as to argue that rience itself. For Ibn Taymiyya, knowledge
one can create a logic out of an examina- has to be based on experience and its basis in
tion of the Quran itself, since the work itself divine grace. One should trust certain kinds
demonstrates how reasoning is supposed to of authority on the meaning of the Quran
operate. This brings out a difficulty in the by going straight to the interpretive tradition
297
itself based on theology, as opposed to rea- his Fasl al-maqal where he suggests that the
son (aql). All that can be learned through ultimate authority on theological issues is
reason is confusion and contradiction. It is not the theologian but the philosopher, since
revelation which provides a secure source only the philosopher has the skill to under-
of information and instruction, and any stand the appropriate syllogistic principles
attempt to replace or supplement revelation that lie behind interpretive issues in religion,
with recourse to logic is undesirable. The and only he can resolve such issues once and
issue is who is to have the authority to inter- for all. This would place logic ahead of the-
pret texts, and who is able to assess argu- ology in terms of who has the right to claim
ments and understand the world. He rightly an understanding of religion; however, the
perceives that the logician sets out to acquire idea that they are basically redundant did
this authority, and the logician bases this not seem to impress the theologians. Logic is
claim on no theological background at all. necessary for everyone who wants to reach
As Ibn Taymiyya was well aware, the early true knowledge, according to Ibn Sina, and
Greeks were certainly not Muslims, nor if this is accepted then the balance of power
even monotheists on the whole. If they could between theologians and logicians will be
be looked up to as intellectual authorities, radically changed.
what need is there for religion and religious
authorities to help us resolve issues of what Further Reading
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A slightly different attack on the use Arabic Language in Al-Farabi, Albany:
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302
M
AL-MAARRI, Abul Ala his maid and managed to live off the other
(363449/9731058) half. Al-Maarris uncles in Aleppo offered
their support to him as well.
Al-Maarri was born in Maarra al-Numan, A turning point in al-Maarris life was
an ancient Syrian town between Aleppo and his move to Baghdad. This was the city of
Hims, in 363/April 27, 973, and died in libraries and intellectual gatherings where
the same town in 449/May 1058. He was a theological, philosophical, and literary dis-
famous Arabic prose author and poet. cussions took place. Ibn Khallikan reports
Al-Maarri was the second child of three. that al-Maarri traveled to Baghdad twice.
When he was four years old he lost his eye- The reason for this odd account may be the
sight due to smallpox. His early Islamic historical fact that al-Maarri left Maarra at
training was given by his parents at home. the end of the year 398/1007 and arrived
He then studied linguistics and literature in Baghdad only the following year: in
with the scholars from Maarra and Aleppo 399/1008. Al-Maarri attended many intel-
such as Muhammad b. Abdullah b. Sad. lectual assemblies, recited his poems, and
Additionally, there are reports that he trav- found the opportunity to involve himself in
eled to Antioch, Latakia, and Syrian Tripoli, the lively discussions there. It is even argued
worked in their libraries and was involved that al-Maarri attended some of the meet-
in discussions with men of letters and clergy. ings of the Ikhwan al-Safa (the Bretheren
However, the historical facts that the Byzan- of Purity). Generally speaking, he was
tine authorities expelled Muslims from Anti- regarded highly by scholars during his stay
och and that there was neither a library nor in Baghdad.
a scholar from which to acquire knowledge Having stayed seventeen months, al-
there at that time seem to conflict with these Maarri left Baghdad in 400/1010. One
reports. A similar historical difficulty lies reason, perhaps the most likely, for his leav-
with the accounts that he visited the library ing might have been the shortage of money.
in Tripoli. Since the first one was built in Since he did not approve of living by writ-
472/1079, there was no library there at that ing eulogies, the amount coming from the
time. On the other hand, two couplets of al- trust scarcely covered his expenses, and as
Maarri cited in Mujam al-buldan suggest a result he was forced to return to Maarra.
that he may have visited Latakia. An impor- Another factor reported to have led to al-
tant event in al-Maarris life was his fathers Maarris departure from Baghdad was his
death. Having lost his father, al-Maarri disagreement with some people there such
lived off thirty dinars a year which came as Nakib al-Ashraf al-Murtada. In a liter-
from a family trust. He gave half of this to ary assembly, when al-Murtada criticized
303
AL-MAARRI
the famous Arab poet al-Mutanabbi, whom Al-Maarri is the author of more than
al-Maarri held in high regard, the latter seventy works, the majority of them written
responded by praising al-Mutanabbi. As during his secluded life in Maarra. They can
a result al-Maarri was dragged out of the be classified into two groups, prose writings
salon by his feet. Immediately after this and poems. One of his first collections of
event he is said to have left Baghdad. An odd poems is Saqt al-zand (The Spark from the
historical account for al-Maarris departure Flint), which was written before his journey
is, according to some, his opposition to the to Baghdad. This divan comprises of sixty-
Shafii jurists for their ruling of hand exci- three eulogies amounting to 3,000 couplets,
sion for theft. However, no other historian which are brought together without any
reports such an event. historical and subject order. The themes in
For whatever reason al-Maarri returned Saqt are mainly panegyric, wisdom, and
to Maarra and lived a secluded life at piety. Daw al-saqt (Light of the Spark which
home till his death even though his uncles Falls) is al-Maarris commentary on Saqt al-
insisted that he should stay in Aleppo with zand, which was written before he set out
them. The only exception to his seclusion for Baghdad. This work includes a group
was his mediation between the inhabitants of poems called al-Diriyyat. It is devoted
of Maarra and Salih b. Mirdas, the ruler of to armor, and monologues are put into the
Aleppo. A woman from Maarra accused her mouths of armor and its owner.
Christian employer, a winehouse owner, of Luzum ma la yalzam (Obligation For
molestation. The townsmen destroyed the What is Not Obligatory) or Luzumiyyat
winehouse; and Salih imprisoned the lead- (Obligations), also known as al-Anat, al-
ing figures of the uprising among whom Tashtit, and al-Tadyiq, is al-Maarris poeti-
was al-Maarris brother Abu al-Majd. The cal collection written in an unconventional
inhabitants of Maarra persuaded al-Maarri form. The title refers to the self-imposed
to intercede with the ruler. Salih spared the duty with regard to rhyme. While the last
city when he recognized al-Maarri. The last letter of the second line of each couplet usu-
phase of al-Maarris life was the most fruit- ally forms a rhyme in classical Arab poems,
ful period since he devoted his whole time to al-Maarri composed his poems in Luzumi-
producing his writings and training students. yyat using the last two letters as rhymes. The
Khatib al-Tabrizi, Abd b. Muhammad al- poet starts with an introduction where he
Abhari, Abu Tammam Galib b. Isa al-An- explains his motives for writing this work,
sari, and Hilal b. Abd al-Jabbar al-Qazwini the topics covered, and his notion of poetry.
were among his disciples. The poems in Luzumiyyat deal with many
There are conflicting views about Abul areas of knowledge, ranging from belief in
Alas worldview. Some describe him as a God, the problem of evil, the meaning of
skeptic and agnostic; others see him as a life, death and the hereafter, soul and body,
faithful, pious, and godly person. He has reincarnation, reason and faith, individual
been occasionally accused of being the arch- and social ways of living to ascetic life.
heretic in Islam. Some of these aspects were Al-Maarri dictated Rahat al-luzum, Bahr
attributed to him by those who were jealous al-zajr, and al-Rahila as commentaries and
of his prominence in Arabic language and explanatory annotations to Luzumiyyat.
poetry. However, he had a pessimist outlook Risala al-ghufran (The Epistle of For-
apart from his views on God, and this gloomy giveness) is al-Maarris satire written
prospect seems to have kept him away from in 424/1033. In this work al-Maarri
human beings and worldly pleasures. approaches various ethical, philosophical,
304
AL-MAARRI
and psychological problems through a liter- and disciples he had a great impact on
ary style. Here a hypocritical scholar called Arabic literature.
Ibn Qarih, namely Ali b. Mansur al-Halabi,
is taken to Heaven first, and then to Hell, BIBLIOGRAPHY
where he meets scholars and poets. In the first Luzum ma la yalzam: al-Luzumiyyat
abode al-Maarri has him meet some angels, (Obligation of What is not Obligatory:
Adam, and famous men in literature such as Obligations), ed. Ibrahim al-Arabi,
Asha, Hassan b. Sabit, and Kisai; and in the Beirut: Maktabatu sadr, 1952.
latter Satan, demons, and the heretic poets Risala al ghufran (The Epistle of
such as Imrul-Kays, Antara, and Bashshar Forgiveness), ed. Aisha Abdurrahman
b. Burd. There he asks whether they are for- Bint al-Shati, 8th edn, Cairo: Dar
given or condemned. Al-Maarris presenta- al-maarif, 1977.
tion of Heaven and Hell has many similarities Risala al-sahil wa al-shahij (The Epistle of
with that of the Quran. One can see simi- the Neigher and the Brayer), ed. Aisha
larities also with Ibn Shuhayds (426/1035) Abdurrahman Bint al-Shati, 2nd edn,
Risala al-tawabi wa al-zawabi and Dantes Cairo: Dar al-maarif, 1984.
(1265/1321) Divine Comedy. Although the Saqt al-zand (The Spark from the Flint), ed.
resemblance between these works are strik- Ahmad Shamsaddin, Beirut: Dar al-kutub
ing, we have no concrete information that al-ilmiyya, 1990.
al-Maarri was aware of al-Shuhayds Risala Risala al-malaika (The Epistle of Angels),
or Dante of al-Maarri. ed. Muhammad Salim al-Jundi, Beirut:
Al-Maarris Risala al-sahil wa al-shahij Dar sadr, 1992.
(The Epistle of the Neigher and the Brayer)
is a recently discovered fable in which he Further Reading
speaks through the mouth of a horse, a mule, Atiyyatullah, Ahmad, al-Qamus al-islami,
and other animals. It was written for the Cairo: Maktabatu al-nahd al-misriyya,
amir Aziz al-Dawla Abu Shuja b. Abdal- 1970.
lah, the Fatimid governor of Aleppo. Here Bint al-Shati, Aisha, Maa abi al-ala fi
al-Maarri discusses some political problems rihlati hayatihi, Beirut: Dar al-kitab
of the time. Risala al-malaika (The Epistle al-arabi, 1983.
of Angels) is al-Maarris work on Arabic Al-Hamawi, Yakut, Mujam al-Udaba,
morphology and etymology. It was written 2nd edn, Beirut: Dar ihya al-turas
as a response to the questions asked by Abu al-arabi, n.d.
al-Qasim Ali b. Muhammad b. Humam. Al- Karaarslan, N. Unal, Ebul-Ala el-Maarri,
Maarris account of the origin of words like 2nd edn, Erzurum: Atatrk niversitesi
angel (malak), Munkar, Nakir, or Azrail is Fen Edebiyat Fakltesi Yaynlar,
the topic of the epistle. It is widely accepted 1989.
that this work displays al-Maarris knowl- Al-Qifti, Jamaluddin Abi al-Hasan Ali b.
edge of Arabic language at its most sophis- Yusuf, Inbah al-ruwah fi anbah al-nubah,
ticated level. ed. Muhammad Abu al-Fadl Ibrahim,
Al-Maarris works reflect his rational as Cairo: Dar kutub al-misri, 1950.
well as religious views on God, the world, Yazci, Kamal, Abu al-Ala: Arauhu fi
human beings, ethics, and the political situa- al-Luzumiyatihi, Beirut: Lajnatu al-talif
tion of his age. His prose writings and poems al-madrasi, 1964.
are also examples of his high command of
the Arabic language and through his works muhsin akba
305
AL-MAQASSARI
Al-Makassari, Yusuf,see al-Maqassari and published many times. In al-Tanbih, al-

Malati based the classification of the Muslim
sects on the well-known seventy-two sects
hadith (Prophetic saying) which reads that
the Jews are divided into seventy-one sects
AL-MALATI, Abu l-Husayn(d. 337/987) and the Christians into seventy-two, but my
community will be divided into seventy-
Abul-Husayn Muhammad b. Ahmad Abd three sects. Like other heresiographers after
al-Rahman al-Malati was born at Malatya, him, al-Malati adopted various devices to
a city in the southern part of modern Tur- ensure that the number of heretical sects was
key. His date of birth is unknown. He died exactly seventy-two.
at Asqalan in 337/987, hence the nisba of
al-Asqalani which he also bears. He was BIBLIOGRAPHY
a Shafii faqih (jurist), theologian, and spe- Kitab al-Tanbih wal-radd ala ahl al-ahwa
cialist in Quranic recitation. He received wal-bida, ed. S. Dedering, Istanbul:
his early education in his home town of Matbaat al-dawla, 1968.
Malatya. Due to political turmoil in the
city, some of the citizens of Malatya immi- Further Reading
grated to the neighboring cities. Al-Malati Ibn Asakir, Ali b. Hasan, Tarikh Madina
and his family moved to Syria. He attended Dimashq (The History of the City
the courses of qiraa (Quranic recitation) of Damascus), 19 vols, Amman: Dar
in Aleppo, Harran, and Antioch. Adiyy b. al-bashir, n.d.
Abd al-Baqi, Haysama b. Sulayman, and Strothmann, R., On the History of Islamic
Ahmad b. Masud al-Vasiti were among his Heresiography, Islamic Culture, 12
teachers. Al-Malati left Syria for Asqalan, (1938), pp. 1016.
Egypt, and stayed there until his death in al-Subki, Tac al-Din, Tabaqat al-Shafiiyye
337/987. al-kubra (Comprehensive Biographical
Al-Malati was accused of being an anthro- Dictionary of Shafiites), ed. Muhammad
pomorphist due to his interpretation of some al-Hulvi, 10 vols, Cairo. n.p., 196474.
mutashabih (obscure) verses about God in a
literal sense and sharing the ideas of Muqa- ibrahim hakki inal
til b. Sulayman about the anthropomorphic
nature of God. Al-Malati was against indulg-
ing in political disputes regarding the posi-
tion of the caliph and also did not approve
of revolt against the ruler. He advocated lit- AL-MAQASSARI, Muhammad Yusuf
eral interpretation of and obedience to the (10361110/162699)
Prophetic sayings.
Al-Malati wrote a qasida (an ancient Ara- Yusuf al-Maqassari was born in Gowa in
bic poem) of fifty-nine verses on Quranic south Sulawesi in 1036/1626, and died in
recitation. Some books on Islamic law were 1110/1699 in Cape Town in South Africa.
attributed to him. However, he is best known In the Malay world, he is remembered as a
for his book, the Kitab al-tanbih wal-radd scholar, a brave warrior who fought against
ala ahl al-ahwa wal-bida (The Book of the Dutch, and an eminent Sufi shaykh
Warning and Refutation of the People of with special powers (karama). His tombs
Desire and Innovation), one of the oldest (maqam) in both Gowa and Cape Town are
treatises on heresiography. It has been edited still venerated today.
306
AL-MAQASSARI
Al-Maqassaris life story is full of legends Haji, who had the Dutch as his ally. The old
due to the veneration accorded to him. He sultan and al-Maqassari were defeated, and
grew up in Gowa and had his early educa- fearing further rebellions from al-Maqassari,
tion there. In 1054/1644, al-Maqassari left the Dutch had him and his followers
the island of Sulawesi to further his edu- exiled to Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka) in
cation in the Arabian Peninsula, where he 1094/1684, and later in 1104/1694 to the
spent the next twenty years studying the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. While
various Islamic disciplines under several in Ceylon and South Africa, al-Maqassari
important teachers. Among his teachers continued to write and to spread the teach-
were Nur al-Din al-Raniri (d. 1068/1658), ings of Islam and tasawwuf. Al-Maqassari
the Hadhrami scholar who was extremely died on May 23, 1699, in South Africa,
influential in seventeenth-century Aceh; where he was buried. His burial place is
Muhammad Baqi al-Mizjaji al-Naqshbandi, referred to as Maqam Shaykh Yusuf by
a leading scholar in Yemen; Ibrahim al- the local population. Even before his death,
Kurani (d. 1101/1690) in Medina who the Sultan of Gowa requested the Dutch sev-
had numerous students and disciples from eral times to allow al-Maqassari to return to
many parts of the Islamic world; and Ayub Sulawesi but to no avail. However, the sul-
al-Dimashqi al-Khalwati (d. 1071/1661). tans request that al-Maqassaris remains be
From these teachers al-Maqassari not only brought back to Gowa was honored by the
learned the Islamic sciences but was also Dutch. Thus, Shaykh Yusuf al-Maqassaris
initiated into several Sufi orders or turuq. remains are buried in his birthplace, Gowa,
He was initiated into the Qadiriyya tariqa where a special tomb was built to mark his
by al-Raniri, the Shattariyyah by Ibrahim final resting place.
Kurani, the Naqshibandiya by his teacher During his lifetime, al-Maqassari wrote
in Yemen, and the Khalwatiyyah by Ayub twenty-one works, mostly dealing with Sufi
al-Dimashqi. Yusuf al-Maqassari also bears doctrines and practices such as Matalib al-
the title of Taj al-Khalwati (The Crown salikin (That Which is Sought by the Seek-
of Khalwati). ers), Taj al-asrar fi tahqiq masrab al-arifin
Armed with two decades of Islamic learn- (The Crown of Secrets at the Drinking Place
ing both exoteric and esoteric, and with the of the Gnostics), and Fath kayfiyyat al-dhikr
permission to instruct and initiate others into (Explanation on the Method of the Remem-
the Sufi path, Yusuf al-Maqassari returned to brance of God).
Maqassar and later moved to Banten in West Like Abd al-Rauf al-Singkili (d.
Java where he married the sultans daughter. 1105/1693), another venerated Malay
He was appointed to the highest religious Sufi shaykh of the seventeenth century, al-
office, that of the mufti or chief judge of the Maqassari emphasized the transcendence
sultanate, and also viceroy. As chief judge of God over his immanence in creation, and
and viceroy, al-Maqassari was extremely the supreme importance of the Sharia in
influential, and given his knowledge of Islam the practice of tasawwuf. He also believed
and involvement in Sufism, he gained a large that only the intellectually and spiritually
number of followers and was instrumental qualified should be taught Sufi doctrines and
in the spread of Islamic teachings in general metaphysics.
and of Sufism in particular, not only in Java
but also in Sulawesi. BIBLIOGRAPHY
In 1092/1682, al-Maqassari was involved Tudjimah, Syekh Yusuf Makasar: Riwayat
in a power struggle between the old sultan dan Ajarannya, Jakarta: University
Ageng and his newly appointed son Sultan Indonesia, 1997.
307
AL-MARWAZI
Further Reading this offer since it seemed to him to be like

Azra, Azyumardi, The Transmissions selling himself.
of Islamic Reformism to Indonesia: Mardini left the city in 589/1193. While
Networks of Middle Eastern and Malay- returning to Mardin, he visited Aleppo and
Indonesian Ulama in the Seventeenth and met al-Malik al-Zahir Ghazi. Upon the
Eighteenth Centuries, PhD dissertation, insistence of al-Malik, Fakhraddin stayed
Columbia University, 1992. in Aleppo and lectured in various subjects.
He then returned to Mardin, where he spent
zailan moris the remainder of his life. Before his death,
he donated his rich collection of books to
the madrasa of Artuqid Husam al-Din. Ibn
al-Raqiqa, one of his students of philosophy
and medicine, later noted that the famous
MARDINI, Fakhraddin(51294/111898) founder of the school of Illumination (al-
ishraq) al-Suhrawardi met al-Mardini and
Fakhraddin Mardini was born in Mardin became his student. The young Suhrawardi
in 512/1118 and died in Mardin on 21 with his ability in philosophy and with his
Dhul-Hijja 594/October 24, 1198. He was courage drew Fahraddins attention. When
a scholar of the medical sciences, as well as Suhrawardi was executed, Mardini was
philosophy. His family was originally from upset and said that he predicted such an
Jerusalem. When the Artuqid commander event would occur.
Najm al-Din il-Ghazi conquered Jerusalem,
he invited Fakhraddins grandfather Abdur- Further Reading
rahman to Mardin, where the family then Usaybia, Ibn Abi, Uyun al-anba fi tabaqat
settled. His father was known as a jurist. al-atibba (Sources of Information about
Fakhraddin grew up in the tolerant atmo- Classes of Physicians), ed. N. Rida,
sphere of the Artuqid period. He studied Beirut: Dar al-maktaba al-hayat, 1965.
philosophy with Najm al-Din Abu al-Futuh
Ahmad bin Sirri, known as Ibn al-Salah, and adnan aslan
the medical sciences with Ibn al-Tilmidh,
who was then a famous doctor in Baghdads
Adud al-Dawla Hospital. Together with
his teacher Ibn al-Tilmidh, he examined al-Marwarrudhi,see al-Marwazi
Ibn Sinas al-Qanun and suggested some
amendments. After that he became known
as a master of al-Qanun. In return for learn-
ing medical science from Ibn al-Tilmidh, he
taught the latter the logic of Ibn Sina. He AL-MARWAZI, al-Husayn ibn Ali
spent most of his time in the court of his (d. after 306/918)
sponsor Najm al-Din il-Ghazi, teaching
him medicine. He later went to Damascus, The amir al-Husayn ibn Ali al-Marwazi was
where he taught the famous doctor Muhad- a powerful supporter of the Ismaili move-
hab al-Din Abd al-Rahim bin Ali known ment, and he eventually became the chief
as Dahvar. However, Fakhraddin was not dai or missionary in his region of Khurasan.
happy in Damascus and wanted to leave. He collected around him an intellectual
His student Dahvar offered him a substan- circle of some distinction, including Abu
tial salary in order to stay, but he rejected Zayd al-Balkhi and the amirs successor
308
AL-MASUDI
as dai, Muhammad al-Nasafi. Al-Marwazi of Aphrodisias, Themistius, Proclus, and

financed al-Balkhis work until the latter Philoponus and their Islamic successors such
came out with views that were held to be too as al-Kindi. He traveled to most of Persia,
non-Ismaili to pass muster. He himself may Syria, Arabia, Central Asia, East Africa,
well have written a work entitled Sulwat and India, and possibly beyond, and wrote
al-arwah (Consolation of Souls), in which about his journeys, expanding on each area
it is argued that generation occurs through by classifying the people in terms of climate,
a causal process where the agent may have ecology, astrological projects, and so on,
nothing in common with the effect. So the and producing a very witty discussion of
species of rational being, for example, need the varieties of humanity and their environ-
not itself be brought about by a rational ment. He also wrote histories that follow a
being. similar, but less extravagant structure, and
Al-Marwazi had an exciting career in local his work is often said to be characterized by
politics. He succeeded Abu Said al-Sharani the adab spirit of urbanity, erudition, toler-
and moved his center of operations from ance, and curiosity. Although his accounts of
Nishapur to Khorasan. During the rule of non-Muslims are generally condescending,
Ahmad ibn Ismail (295301/90714), he there is obviously an effort to be objective in
commanded the Samanid forces in Sijistan much of his work, and the style is splendid
in 298/910 and again in 300/913. Abu throughout.
Zayd al-Balkhi (235322/850934) wrote Al-Masudi died in Cairo and was said to
his Suwar al-aqalim in 308/920, and men- have aligned himself with the Alids, although
tions al-Marwazi. It is said that al-Marwazi we do not know how reliable such reports are.
hoped to be appointed governor of Sijistan His Muruj al-dhahab (Meadows of Gold) is
as a result of his public service, but was dis- a tremendous ragbag of information, reliable
appointed. His career ended when he lost or otherwise, anecdote, personal remark,
a battle near Marw in 306/918. He was account of adventures, measurements, inter-
imprisoned in Bukhara, but was spared views, reflections, scientific speculation,
and allowed to return to Khorasan, where account of something wonderful, historical
he resumed his activities on behalf of the discussion, religious enquiry, and so on.
Ismailis.
oliver leaman BIBLIOGRAPHY

Meadows of Gold: The Abbasids, trans.
E. Lunde and C. Stone, London: KPI,
1989.
AL-MASUDI, Abu al-Hasan

(c.283345/896956) Further Reading
Khalidi, T., Islamic Historiography: The
Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn al-Husayn al-Masudi Histories of al-Masudi, Albany: State
was born in Baghdad and is chiefly known as University of New York Press, 1975.
an adib or man of letters, whose very enter- Shboul, A., Al-Masudi and His World: A
taining works bring out the self-confidence Muslim Humanist and His Interest in
and curiosity of this period in the Islamic Non-Muslims, London: Ithaca Press,
world. He was certainly well acquainted 1979.
with the wide range of translated texts then
available of Plato, Aristotle, Alexander oliver leaman
309
MATURIDI
MATURIDI, Abu Mansur the theological views of Abu Hanifa, the

(c. 247333/c. 861944) term Hanafiyya gradually began to be
applied to the legal school only, while the
Abu Mansur Muhammad b. Muhammad b. term Maturidiyya became the name of
Mahmud was born at Maturid, a locality in the theological school. Maturidi produced a
Samarkand, Transoxiana. The exact date of number of works, not only in theology but
his birth is unknown, but it seems that he also in Quranic commentary and jurispru-
was born during the reign of Caliph Mut- dence, and taught a number of students such
awakkil (23247/84761). He died in the as Ishaq b. Muhammad al-Samarkandi, Ali
same city in 333/944. He was a founder of a b. Said al-Rustughfani, Nasr b. Muhammad
theological school within the Sunni tradition al-Samarkandi, and Abd al-Karim b. Musa
of Islam which bears his name. al-Bazdawi.
There is not much information about Maturidis theological views can be found
Maturidis life. There is a report which traces in his masterpiece, the Kitab al-Tawhid
his descent back to Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, (Book of Unity). Maturidi opens his work
a renowned Companion of the Prophet, by explaining that blindly following oth-
and claims an Arab origin. However, this ers teaching is unacceptable. A true faith
claim does not have any strong backing in must be based on intellectual arguments. For
his writings nor in the writings of the biog- Maturidi, there are three sources of knowl-
raphers. There is no record of Maturidis edge: reports (khabar), sense experience,
travel outside of Samarkand or Transoxiana. and reason; Maturidi tries to support the
Hence, it seems that he lived all his life in principles of religion through these sources.
his hometown which was under the rule of Hence, the createdness of the world can be
the Samanids. During his lifetime, the fol- established through these three ways. For the
lowers of various Muslim sects, such as the Quran clearly states that everything is cre-
Mutazila, Karramiyya, Hashwiyya, Shia, ated. Again, perceptual arguments, such as
and Ismailis, as well as other religions, were arguments from dependency, corruptibility,
active in the region. composition, finititude, change, and annihi-
Maturidi received his Islamic education lation all indicate that the world is created.
from the Hanafite scholars of his region. Further, he supports the createdness of the
Thus, he studied with Abu Nasr Ahmad b. world with the arguments from the nature
Abbas al-Ayadi, Abu Bakr Ahmad b. Ishaq of matter, time, motion and rest, potentiality,
al-Juzjani, Muhammad b. Muqatil al-Razi, causality, celestial spheres, and the nature of
and Nusayr b. Yahya al-Balkhi. There is the mixture of good and evil in the world.
little information about these scholars. It Hence, the world is created. Then, it must be
seems that they specialized in Islamic law created by an eternal, living, knowing, and
and jurisprudence (fiqh and usul al-fiqh) and powerful agent who cannot be other than
theology. Through them, the chain of Matu- God. Maturidi tries to establish the existence
ridis teachers reaches back to Abu Hanifa. of God by means of cosmological and teleo-
Hence, there is a close link between the theological arguments. He then tries to establish
logical views of Abu Hanifa and those of Gods attributes. God is not a body, he is not
Maturidi. He became a leading exponent of in a place nor in time. However, God will be
the Hanafite school in the region of Transox- seen in Heaven. Maturidi does not feel it is
iana. He defended the Sunni doctrine against appropriate to inquire into what was stated
other groups in the region, and with his help in scripture since it must be accepted with-
the Sunni tradition was gradually estab- out qualification and without knowing how
lished. Since he elaborated and systematized it means what it says (bila kayf). Similarly,
310
AL-MAWARDI
Gods sitting on the throne must be accepted, ethical problems, Maturidi holds that values
but this does not mean that he is in a place. have an objective existence, that they can be
God is eternal, everlasting, self-sufficient, and known through reason. However, his ratio-
unique. Attributes such as knowledge, life, nalism differs from that of the Mutazilites.
hearing, sight, speech, omnipotence, will, cre- For him both the objective reality of a thing
ation, mercy, and other attributes of essence and reason come from God. In that case,
and attributes of actions must be ascribed to there cannot be a conflict between the reality
God. Both these kinds of attributes are eternal. of things and the ethical judgment of God.
In defining faith (iman), Maturidi states Maturidi developed a theological system
that it consists of assent (tasdiq). Belief does which, together with the system of his con-
not presuppose knowledge about the object temporary al-Ashari, became one of the
of belief, nor is it conditioned by good deeds. mainstream schools of Sunni Islam. In deal-
Faith is grounded in our trust in God, his ing with theological issues, he took more of
angels, and his prophets. Maturidi tries to a rational stand than al-Ashari. However,
establish the necessity of sending a prophet he also avoided the excessive rationalism of
in a number of arguments. Although we can the Mutazilites. Consequently, he presented
reach some knowledge of reality through a new kind of a synthesis between revelation
reason, we cannot reach all the knowledge and reason.
which is necessary. Hence, we need some-
one who can receive necessary knowledge BIBLIOGRAPHY
through revelation and inform others. Again, Kitab al-Tawhid (Book of Unity), ed. F.
the existence of disputes among people neces- Kholeif, Beirut: Dar al-mashriq, 1970.
sitates the sending of someone who can arbi- Kitab Talwihat al-quran (Book of
trate among them in accordance with justice, Interpretations of the Quran), ed.
and this man cannot be other than a prophet I. Awadayn and S. Awadayn, Cairo:
who is supported with a divine revelation. n. p., 1971.
Maturidi tries to establish the prophecy of
Muhammad through his miracles as well as Further Reading
by indicating his perfect moral life and the Ceric, M., Roots of Synthetic Theology in
superiority of his teachings. Islam: A Study of the Theology of Abu
In discussing mans actions, Maturidi Mansur al-Maturidi, Kuala Lumpur:
states that man is free in determining his ISTAC, 1995.
own actions and that he knows this psycho-
logically. The actions of man are created by muammar skenderolu
God, but they are acquired (kasb) by man. In
this sense, Maturidi affirms power in man to
make him responsible for his actions. Since
actions are created by God, whether good
or evil, they are predetermined (qadar) and AL-MAWARDI, Abul Hasan
decreed (qada) by him. However, the com- (364450/9741058)
mission of them is not the work of God, but
of humanity. Hence, Maturidi affirms on the Abul Hasan Ali b. Muhammad was born
one hand the actual power in human beings in Basra in 364/974 and died in Baghdad
and on the other hand tries to preserve the on 30 Rabi al-Awwal 450/May 27, 1058.
absolute power of God. In this sense, his posi- He was an important faqih (legal thinker) in
tion can be seen as intermediate between the the Shafiite tradition and a famous political
Mutazilites and the Asharites. In treating theorist and moral thinker of Sunni Islam.
311
AL-MAWARDI
There is not much information about his main duties of the imam. These include such
family and his early life. His father was a man- principles as defending religion, and estab-
ufacturer. Al-Mawardi received his early edu- lishing and distributing justice in the Muslim
cation in Basra where he studied hadith with lands. The discussion of imamate is followed
Hasan b. Muhammad al-Jabali, Muhammad by the discussion of different issues related
b. Adiy al-Makri, Muhammad b. al-Azdi, to governance.
Jafar b. Muhammad al-Baghdadi, and fiqh His Adab al-dunya wal din (Right Con-
with Abu Qasim al-Saymari. He then went to duct in Secular and Religious Matters) is
Baghdad where he studied fiqh with Ahmad one of the most important works on Muslim
b. Tahir al-Isfarayini. He also studied other morality. It is divided into five main chap-
branches of religious and secular sciences and ters: He starts with the discussion of the vir-
became a teacher. Ahmad b. Ali, known as tue of reason and then goes on to the discus-
Khatib al-Baghdadi, was one of his famous sion of the virtue of knowledge, in particular
students. In addition to his teaching post, al- religious knowledge. This is followed by the
Mawardi also worked first as a judge in dif- discussion of the rule of religious conduct,
ferent towns, then as a chief judge in Ustuwa, secular conduct and finally personal con-
near Nishapur, and then in Baghdad. There duct. In the al-Hawi al-kabir fi fiqh madhhab
he was given the honorific title of judge of al-imam al-shafii (The Great Compendium
the judges. From 381 to 991 onward alon the School of Imam Shafii), al-Mawardi
Mawardi took part in a number of diplomatic presents in detail the legal system of the
missions between the Abbasid rulers of Bagh- Shafiite school to which he belonged. In the
dad and the Buyids who were ruling in Iran. Alam al-nubuwwa (Evidences of the Proph-
Although he was a Sunni scholar, al-Mawardi ecy), he discusses some theological issues
was also respected by the Shiite Buyids who related to prophecy. In the al-Nukat wal
consulted him on difficult issues. uyun (Anecdotes and Sources), al-Mawardi
Al-Mawardi produced a number of works, comments on the ambiguous verses of the
most of which have come down to us. In Quran. He generally presents the interpreta-
the al-Ahkam al-sultaniyya (The Laws of tions of earlier scholars and avoids entering
Islamic Governance), al-Mawardi presents into theological discussions.
his theory of imamate and discusses in detail Al-Mawardis main contributions to
various issues related to it. He also discussed Islamic thought were in the field of Islamic
similar issues in his Adab al-wazir (The Right governance and religious morality. With his
Conduct of the Vizier) and Adab al-qadi theory of imamate he tried to find a solution
(The Right Conduct of the Judge). In these to the troubled status of the caliphate, and
works, al-Mawardi tries to establish for the his theory influenced subsequent thinkers.
first time in the history of Islam a theory of His work on morality presented the spirit of
governance. For him from the religious point Islamic morality in a more direct way than
of view, it is necessary that there be a leader those of many other Muslim theologians or
of the Muslim community who is a succes- Muslim philosophers.
sor to the Prophet and has the responsibil-
ity to manage the affairs of the community. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Imamate is not something that is inherited or Adab al-wazir (The Right Conduct of the
divinely appointed, but is determined by the Vizier), Cairo: Maktabat al-khanji, 1929.
election of the community. The candidate Adab al-qadi (The Right Conduct of the
must possess such qualities as justice, knowl- Judge), ed. Muhyi Hilal al-Sarhan,
edge, health, courage and must be from the Baghdad: Riasat diwan al-awqaf,
Quraysh tribe. Al-Mawardi enumerates the 19712.
312
AL-MAWDUDI
Alam al-nubuwwa (Evidences of the al-quran and his tafsir or commentary on

Prophecy), ed. M. M. al-Baghdadi, the Quran, Tafhim al-quran, very much his
Beirut: Dar al-kutub al-lubnani, 1987. lifes work. This interesting work is on the
Adab al-dunya wal din (The Right Conduct one hand just a commentary, but on the other
in Matters Worldly and Religious), ed. it is also a lively presentation of his political
Abu Hudhayfa Ibrahim b. Muhammad, and philosophical views as he develops them
Tanta: Dar al-sahaba lil-turath, 1990. from the Quranic passage and other sources
Al-Nukat wal uyun (Anecdotes and that he admired.
Sources), ed. Sayyid b. Abd al-Maqsud Al-Mawdudi argues for an Islamic state,
b. Abd al-Rahim, Beirut: Dar al-kutub and considers Pakistan merely a stage on the
al-ilmiya, 1992. way to world rule by Islam, as advocated by
Al-Hawi al-kabir fi fiqh madhhab al-imam his political party the Jamaat-i-Islami which
al-Shafii (The Great Compendium on he founded in 1941 and which has been
the School of Imam Shafii), eds. Ali influential in opposing anything that is seen
Muhammad Muawwad, Adil Ahmad as un-Islamic in Pakistan and elsewhere. The
Abd al-Mawjud, Beirut: Dar al-kutub sort of Islamic state that Mawdudi advocates
al-ilmiya, 1994. involves the toleration of non-Muslims, but
Al-Ahkam al-sultaniyya: The Laws of only in a subservient role, and he sees justice
Islamic Governance, trans. Asadullah and an end to poverty only coming when the
Yate, London: Ta-Ha Publishers, 1996; rulers of a country are wholeheartedly trying
Cairo: Dar al-Fikr, 1983. to recapture the original principles of Islam.
Government has to be based on Islam, as does
Further Reading the law, since Islam represents a perfect way
Khan, Q.,Al-Mawardis Theory of the State, of life, and it is the right, and indeed duty, of
Lahore: Islamic Book Foundation, 1983. Muslims to struggle violently if necessary to
Mikhail, H., Politics and Revelation: establish such a desirable state of affairs.
Mawardi and After, Edinburgh: Like al-Banna, whom he no doubt read,
Edinburgh University Press, 1995. and later thinkers such as Sayyid Qutb and
Shariati, he sees a revolutionary message in
muammer skenderolu Islam that needs to be embodied in political
action. Mawdudi played a leading role in the
development of the idea of an Islamic state,
an idea that was much discussed in the early
centuries of Islam and which was revived in
AL-MAWDUDI, Sayyid Abul Ala the twentieth century.
(190379)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Sayyid Abul Ala al-Mawdudi was born in Selected Speeches and Writings of Maulana
Aurangabad in India, and displayed a preco- Mawdudi, trans. Zakir Aijaz, Karachi:
cious intelligence, translating Qasim Amins International Islamic Publishers, n. d.
Al- mara al-jadida from Arabic into Urdu at
the age of fourteen. In 1926 he received his Further Reading
ijaza, his certification that he was an alim, Ahmad, A., Islamic Modernism in India
a Muslim scholar. He took a radical stance and Pakistan 18571964, London:
on the nature of Islam and how Muslims Oxford University Press, 1967.
should behave politically, and disseminated Ali, R. (ed.), Pioneers of Islamic Revival,
these ideas through the journal Tarjuman London: Zed Books, 1994.
313
MEANING IN ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY
Haddad, Y., Islamists and the Challenge MEANING IN ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY

of Pluralism, Washington: Center
for Contemporary Arab Studies at Before we look at the concept of meaning in
Georgetown University, 1955. Islamic philosophy, it would be useful to see
Kepel, G., Jihad, the Trail of Political Islam, what role that concept played in Islam itself.
London and New York: Taurus, 2002. As is normal in religion, issues of meaning
McDonough, S., Muslim Ethics and are paramount. A religion based on a book
Modernity: A Comparative Study of has to determine what the book means, and
the Ethical Thought of Sayyid Ahmad although this might have been crystal clear to
Khan and Mawlana Mawdudi, Waterloo, those who were around when the revelation
Ontario: Wilfred Laurier University Press, of the Quran was given in the seventh cen-
1984. tury, it certainly is not after that date. There
is evidence that it was not entirely clear to
oliver leaman the early Muslims either since they asked
Muhammad for advice on interpretation
very frequently, and out of these questions
arose many of the hadith, the traditional
Mawlana Jalal al-Din al-Rumi,see al-Rumi sayings of the Prophet and those close to him
which are used to make sense of the letter of
the text. There is nothing unique to Islam in
this, all language requires interpretation and
all religions divide up into different groups
AL-MAWSILI (c. thirdfourth often based on different interpretations of
centuries/tenth century) the text. In fact, there is a famous hadith
in which the Prophet predicts that after his
Bakr ibn al-Qasim ibn Abi Thawr is known death Islam will divide up into seventy-three
only as the author of Fil nafs, a book on sects, and all will go to Hell except for one.
the soul. This was written between 278/900 He acknowledges that this process of break-
and 328/950 and deals with the nature of ing up into sects is not only true of Islam,
the rational soul, using Platos Phaedo to but also of Christianity and Judaism. Exam-
suggest that we do not acquire our ideas ining the different strategies for determining
through contact with a transcendent being meaning often gives us the parameters for
but by self-reflection. Through clear ratio- the different groupings in religion.
nal thought we can avoid the obscurities of
imagination and grasp the central and basic
Grammar versus logic
truths that never change or decay.
An early debate in Islam took place between
Further Reading those who thought that the grammar of Ara-
Davidson, H., Alfarabi and Avicenna on bic is enough to resolve issues of meaning,
the Active Intellect, Viator, 3 (1972), and those who thought that it needed to be
pp. 10978. supplemented by something else such as logic.
Pines, S., La Doctrine de lintellect selon This is discussed in the entry on logic, and
Bakr al-Mawsili, in Studi Orientalistici here it will be examined from the perspective
in onore di Giorgio Levi della Vida, of what it tells us about the structure of the
Rome: Istituto per lOriente, 1956. debate on meaning. The issue came down to
who was the right person to determine issues
oliver leaman of meaning, those who understood the alfaz
314
or literary aspects of the text, or those who may well be some similar passages which are
were best able to assess the maani or mean- worth comparing. The hadith themselves are
ings. We would normally not distinguish classified in terms of degrees of reliability
between these notions, and indeed they are and we may differentiate them not only in
linguistically closely linked, since the way in terms of the reliability of the chains of trans-
which words are used clearly relates to the mission but also based on the status of those
meaning they present. On the other hand, making the report or the judgment. Was it the
the logicians pointed out that different lan- Prophet or a lesser person? Then, depending
guages can use different symbols to make on what sort of Muslim one is, one can go
the same point, and so there is something to particular authorities like imams, ulama
to be said for the idea that the meaning of (scholars), and fuqaha (lawyers) in order to
a text is something that lies behind the text resolve the issue. Each of the legal schools
and which is common to a variety of distinct in Islam have developed rules in terms of
languages. Such a meaning is very general which scripture is to be understood, and one
and is not the prerogative of the grammar- would pass the passage through the rules of
ian since the grammarian is only concerned the particular madhhab or school to which
with the grammar of one or two languages, one belonged. Finally, some Muslims think
while the logician is interested in how mean- that the door to interpretation was closed a
ing is involved in all languages. To derive long time in the past, but others do not; so
this meaning one would need to add another it might be that an individual or community
range of hermeneutic techniques to the syn- would think they were in a position to make
tax and semantics itself, and it looks very an independent judgment on the meaning of
much as though the philosopher would have the passage despite competing versions. A
to be acknowledged as the specialist in this. religion changes over time, and in this way
However, before we take this line it is remains vibrant and relevant, so interpreta-
worth saying something about how the rules tions have to change in order to ensure this
of interpretation of the Quran may make a happens, or so it might be argued. In fact,
strong claim to be the only viable route to the issue of whether the door of interpreta-
the meaning of the Book. It is difficult to tion is open or closed is a bit of a red herring.
overemphasize the range of techniques that Even those who think it is closed and who
may be applied in the case of the need to claim that there is no possibility now for
interpret a particular passage. First of all, independent judgment might operate with
the language of the passage is examined and the existing hermeneutical material in a very
the words are related to other similar pas- original way, and so in fact do what is said
sages in the Book. The examples of jahaliyya to be ruled out.
(pre-Islamic) language may also be studied This is not the place to discuss the inter-
if they are relevant. Then the question will pretation of the Quran, but it obviously
arise of the context in which this revelation proved to be something of a paradigm of
arose. Was it given in Medina or Mecca, and how to determine meaning for Muslims.
what was the precise context? This is very The debate between philosophers and theo-
important since it gives another dimension to logians became so heated because the lat-
the passage; after examining its syntax and ter felt with some justification that their
semantics, we run the passage through prag- approach to the assessment of meaning was
matics in order to try to understand it. Then so complex and sophisticated that nothing
we examine the hadith or Traditions that else could compare with it for accuracy. Yet
have arisen and are relevant to the text, if many theologians had a theory in accor-
there are any;, and if there are not then there dance with which it is a mistake to seek
315
to limit Gods power in any way, except in it does not burst into flame. We can imag-
the sense that even God could not break ine someone without a head writing a book
the rules of language. God could not make because if God were to legislate that heads
a circle square, since we mean something were no longer required by human beings,
entirely different from squareness when then we could carry on with our normal
we talk about circles, and the same would tasks headless. He is right in the sense that
need to be the case for God. But the rules we can imagine these states of affairs, and if
of nature, the objects in the world and our we can imagine them this means that they
experience of how things work are all muta- are possible, since anything logically pos-
ble phenomena, they only take the form they sible is within Gods power. If they are pos-
do due to divine grace and at any time they sible, then this shows that the meaning of
could change and go in different directions. the terms we use when contemplating such
The world that appears to us to be a realm changes in the normal courses of things are
of stable and persisting objects is in fact a unaffected by the change.
mass of atoms held together by God, and it Ibn Rushd responds to this claim by
is only his action that gives us the impres- arguing that the course of nature and mean-
sion we have of the world. We form general ing are connected. What we mean by the
notions of what exists, but again this is very words we use is not unaffected by how
much something we do and it has no back- what they refer to in the world behave.
ing in reality, which in fact exists in what- For example, we have a word in our lan-
ever way God desires, and anything there guage that means human being and the
can happen. meaning of that word is connected with
what we know about human beings. One
of the things we know about them is that
Meaning and ontology they cannot do things without heads. Yet
Yet are ontology and meaning connected? we just had the example from al-Ghazali of
That is, must the theory of what exists the headless writer. It is also not an infre-
impinge on the theory of meaning? Surely quent event in horror movies for someone
God can do whatever he wishes, since he is to lose his head and carry on as, or better
the creator of the world, and having created than, normal, so does this not suggest that
it he remains in control of it. In the same heads for human beings are optional? Ibn
way that I can organize my desk in any Rushd suggests that if we really contem-
way I want, he can organize the world in plate a world in which human beings oper-
any way he wants. This is something that ate without heads then we shall have to
al-Ghazali discusses in his Tahafut al- change our idea of what a human being is.
falasifa, where he suggests that there is no This is because Ibn Rushd thinks of meaning
such thing as natural necessity. The philoso- in terms of definition, and everything must
phers speak, he argues, as though the world have a precise definition in terms of which it
has to be the way it is, and if that were the is the thing that it is and not another thing.
case then the power of God would be thor- We do not have to share his enthusiasm for
oughly threatened. He would be constrained definitions to agree with him that there is a
by the way in which the world has to be, link between meaning and how things actu-
and would be consigned to the sidelines as ally behave in the world. If I came across
a spectator rather than actor. How does a headless person writing I would be justi-
this theory affect meaning? According to al- fied in wondering whether this was really a
Ghazali, we can imagine God making it hap- human being, since it is a fairly basic aspect
pen that fire touches a piece of cotton and of our concept of human being that people
316
have heads. We could change our concept, it is spread and suspended in time in pure
and perhaps we should were the world to air. Then you will see that it notices noth-
change, but the concept as we have it now ing, except that it observes the constancy of
cannot be stretched too far in any direction its oneness (anaiyya) (Ibn Sina 1957, Pt 2,
without breaking and turning into a differ- pp. 31920). This experiment is supposed to
ent sort of concept. show that the I is always present to itself,
What Ibn Rushd is arguing is that the this is basic to our consciousness and does
classic logical distinction made by all the not need to be proved since we directly per-
philosophers, and by him also, between ceive it in experience.
tasdiq (assent) and tasawwur (conceptu- We can discover this through imagination.
alization) should not be taken too far. The But can we? Another reading of this expe-
distinction says that what we say about a rience would be that without any external
thing and whether it exists or not are two experience we would not know what to say,
separate questions. Al-Ghazali is operat- and the inner feelings we feel might not be
ing on a theory of meaning taken from Ibn assigned to a unitary consciousness. It is not
Sina, in accordance with which the concepts the same as waking up suddenly and not
in our language have a range of meanings knowing where we are, since in that case we
in abstraction from their truth-value. What know who we are and what preceded that
something is and whether it is are two dif- experience, and what is likely to follow. In
ferent issues. Ibn Rushd agrees with the logi- Ibn Sinas example of the mind existing and
cal distinction, but claims that it is only a experiencing itself without the body, it is not
logical distinction, and issues of existence obvious that we should share his interpreta-
do affect meaning. A human being who tion of what we would experience or con-
could operate without a head would not clude on its basis. Another reading is that
be a human being, a piece of cotton that the mind without the body would have no
remained unburnt after contact with fire idea what to make of what was happening,
is not what we mean by a piece of cotton, and so the basic unity of the person that
and so on. The meaning that we apply to Ibn Sina thinks would still be experienced
words is linked with how the objects those might be entirely missed or misinterpreted.
words refer to in the world behave, Ibn What would we mean by a mind without
Rushd argues. Imagination is really a poor experience of a body or anything apart
indication of what is possible in terms of from oneself? This has been much discussed
meaning, since it creates a symbolic world by philosophers, and several like Kant and
in which a thing seems to be able to do Strawson are dubious of its possibility
very different things as compared with our as being what we call a mind. Whoever is
world, yet when we think about it would we right here is not that crucial to the discus-
really apply the normal term to that thing sion, for we are not assessing the detail of
given that strange behavior? In The Book of Ibn Sinas example, but the very notion of
Remarks and Admonitions Ibn Sina makes such an example as showing anything about
the following thought-experiment: Exam- meaning. Ibn Rushd would say that it is only
ine your soul and say, when you are fit, or when we relate the mind to our ordinary
even not, but accurately know what is hap- world and our ordinary selves that it makes
pening, did it ever happen that you did not sense. So the meaning of the terms we use
know yourself or did not comprehend your is connected to the way in which the world
soul. . . . Imagine that your self has just been is, which suggests that imagination about
created and is in its right mind and charac- how the world might change would result in
ter, but does not see any of its parts . . . but equal changes in meaning.
317
Meaning and divine attributes him as having those qualities perfectly, and
we might well not understand all aspects
One of the main issues in Islam is how we can
of what is involved in that, since we do not
talk about God. This became a very contro-
know what it would be to be, for example,
versial theological issue, the problem being
perfectly just, perfectly good, and so on. But
in knowing how to talk about someone who
we can form a vague idea of it through work-
is so different from us while using the same
ing from what we count as just and good,
language we use when we talk of ourselves.
and the process of working from where we
On the one hand we have in the Quran lan-
are to where God is will be more than cumu-
guage about God which makes him out to
lative. The important thing is that enough
be rather similar to us in that he does things
connection semantically can be taken to hold
and feels emotions. On the other hand we
between our use of a term when applied to
have a lot of reasons to urge that God must
us and when applied to God for it to make
be distinguished from his creation, and that
sense for us to use it in both those ways.
treating him as though he were just like us,
but more so, is not far from idolatry (shirk).
Al-Ghazali is not sure which direction to go Meaning and Sufism
in, since he wants to give God a role of power
and influence in line with the descriptions When al-Ghazali writes from a Sufi perspec-
that are provided in the Quran, and yet he tive, he becomes much more sympathetic
realizes how unsophisticated these descrip- to the idea that there are real difficulties
tions are when compared with the stature in stretching meaning to cover both divine
and uniqueness of the deity. Nonetheless, and human attributes. The whole mysti-
he insists that there is no difficulty in apply- cal enterprise involves stretching language
ing predicates or qualities to God, and they and creating a whole range of neologisms
are taken to mean what they mean when we that are supposed to explain stages on the
apply them to ourselves, but of course there way to spiritual advance. How far Sufism
is a big difference in terms of quantity. Ibn can be communicated in language and how
Rushd does not accept this approach, espe- far it just has to be experienced is a moot
cially since he agrees with Aristotle that there point, and one that applies across the mysti-
can be no priority or posteriority within the cal tradition. One of the aims of Sufism is
same genus, which surely God is. Just apply- to go beyond Peripatetic philosophy which
ing predicates to God would not work since claims that we can go no higher in perfecting
we would end up with someone too close to our consciousness than the active intellect,
us, an entirely unsatisfactory prospect. which really is not that high in the meta-
But it is important that we can say some- physical order. It is often represented by the
thing about God, and Ibn Rushd suggests moon, the lowest planet in our galaxy. Sufis
treating him as like us equivocally, so that think they can approach God much more
there is no direct line from us to him. Then closely, and in their language they reject
his possession of qualities may be seen as the knowledge of the philosophers for what
paradigmatic, and our possession of them they call the taste (dhawq) which is their
is merely a pale reflection of something per- description of valuable knowledge. Taste is
fect. We can get some idea of what it is like the right description since their path involves
for him to have those properties because we both understanding and experience, and the
know what it is like for us to have them, but combination is important. But we come to
we cannot simply think of him as having examples of language that seem quite mys-
the same things. Rather, we should think of terious, since familiar words are often used
in very unfamiliar ways, and it is not always
318
obvious that they have maintained enough Let us give as an example here: the issue
of their ordinary meaning for them to be of the afterlife. As is well known, the Quran
extendable in this way. There is a tendency provides a graphic account of a physical
for Sufis to say that if one is on the path to afterlife that is going to occur to everyone,
perfection, then one would understand what either in Paradise or in Hell, and there is a
the words mean, but otherwise not, and the waiting period also in a realm which might
higher on the path the more one understands. be compared to limbo. Al-Ghazali objects to
This is reasonable, especially when certain the philosophers, saying that their account
sorts of esoteric experience are important as of the afterlife, where they have one, is
components of the words, but it leaves the something entirely spiritual, yet the Quran
unenlightened at a bit of a loss in trying to is quite clear on the corporeal nature of the
work out what the Sufis mean. afterlife, and it might be said that for many,
the idea of an afterlife that is not physical
is not of much interest, since I might want
Meaning and politics to think that it is me, body and soul, that
What is the link between religious and philo- survives death, not just some pale shadowy
sophical language? It is often argued by the bit of me like my soul. There are two diffi-
falasifa that the religious thinker and the culties with this objection, and one actually
philosopher are doing the same thing, but occurs to al-Ghazali when he discusses the
they express themselves in different ways afterlife from the perspective of Sufi thought.
because they have different audiences in How far is the meaning of the language deal-
mind. The philosopher addresses an intellec- ing with the afterlife to be treated as sym-
tual elite capable of understanding rigorous bolic or metaphorical, and how far should
argument while the religious speaker deals it be taken literally? Careful examination
with the community as a whole, where it of the Quranic verses mentioning houris
would not be right to expect to have such an suggests that they are placed in the text in
audience. Yet the meaning of what they say a very specific order, to reveal a transition
is the same, or so it is argued. This comes from a more material form of description to
very much to the fore in the thought of Ibn something more spiritual. In the first Mec-
Rushd who as Averroes was often credited in can period (from the first to the fifth year of
Christian Europe with a double truth theory, the Prophets mission, 61217) we find refer-
in accordance with which something that is ences to very desirable young ladies awaiting
true in one area (philosophy) is not true in the virtuous, but by the time of the Medi-
any other (religion) and yet both truths can nan Period (i.e., 62232) the language has
be held together at the same time. Such a the- changed even more, and so we get references
sis cannot be found in Ibn Rushd, although to purified spouses (2:25; 3:15 and 4:47).
many of the things he said do give some jus- One way of understanding this development
tification for taking such an interpretive line. is by suggesting that they represent a transi-
The truth must be the same for everyone and tion from a more material to a more spiritual
yet the explanation of the truth can easily awareness of the nature of the next world.
be different. There are words that are loose The pagans of Mecca required the sort of
enough to encompass a variety of meanings, language we find used during that period,
and these are the main tools of religion. They while by the time of the Medinan revelations
enable us to address the public at large in a more abstract form of imagery became
a reasonable manner while keeping contact feasible. This is perfectly in line with what
with the meaning of the word at the philo- the philosophers often said about the way in
sophical level. which religion works, that it is based largely
319
on imaginative language, and imagination is and al-Ghazali in terms of which meaning is

a faculty linked to our lives as material crea- expressed in terms of definition. In this case
tures. Images themselves only make sense to if we had different accounts of the afterlife
creatures who can visualize things in physi- it would be plausible to suggest that we had
cal forms. We can progressively perfect our at least two different meanings in opera-
thinking about religious topics and make tion. But Ibn Rushd creates a more subtle
that thinking less material and more abstract, theory of meaning in terms of which terms
and one can see this happening in the case of may shade into each other and one may be a
discussions of the houris. At first they were paradigmatic instance and other uses of the
described in ways that would resonate with term may be linked with it, but not identical.
a public fascinated with material images and This is after all how language works when
appetites, but once they had become more applied to God and to his creatures, accord-
refined in their thinking, and possibly more ing to Ibn Rushd.
confident of their religious attitudes, they In comparing the two uses of the term
could be introduced to a more abstract and afterlife, we need, according to him, to
sedate notion of what houris actually are. examine the user of the term. The point
So there is plenty in the text of the Quran of the afterlife in religion is not (only) to
alone to suggest that we ought to ask ques- describe a fact, some future realm of exis-
tions about how we should understand the tence, but to establish why such an idea is
meaning of that text. Even so, it has to be important. It is important because we need
admitted that the account of the afterlife to realize that our actions have consequences
provided by the philosophers, and in par- that range more widely than our own expe-
ticular by Ibn Rushd, are very distant even riences and even our life, since they affect
from the Medinan rendering. For Ibn Rushd, others and resonate on the life of the com-
not only is the afterlife not physical, it is munity as a whole. This is quite an abstract
not even individual, since he contemplates idea, and for many not capable of moving
the merging of all consciousnesses into one them to act in appropriate ways, since for
thinking thing united in its contemplation of them it is material ideas that establish how
an abstract subject matter. Is there a problem one is to act, since for many people it is
in identifying the meaning of this thesis with matter, their physical selves, that dominates
what looks like the very different thesis in their thinking. For them we need to provide
the Quran? an explanation of the notion of the afterlife
Ibn Rushds Kitab fasl al-maqal wa taqrir in physical terms, and the Quran sets out
ma bayna al-sharia wa al-hikma min al- the story in terms of Paradise and Hell, and
ittisal (Decisive Treatment Establishing the the barzakh which serves as a sort of wait-
Connection Between Law and Wisdom) ing room en route. For the philosophers the
argues that the world of discourse of wis- afterlife may be seen as entirely spiritual, or
dom (that is, philosophy) and law (reli- for Ibn Rushd as one common conscious-
gion) are distinct. So the rules of operation ness concentrating on the abstract, and that
within philosophy and theology are differ- conception might be rejected by many as not
ent and it would be wrong to expect there capable of motivating them to behave in one
to be some general principle that one would way rather than another. How are the two
have to apply to both disciplines. But does notions of the afterlife linked? According
that not mean that the meanings of com- to Ibn Rushd, they both express the same
mon terms like afterlife are in fact also truth, but they express it in different ways;
distinct? This would be the case in a theory hence they are linked in meaning, but not in
of meaning like that expressed by Ibn Sina expression.
320
MIR DAMAD
Of course, we might as many do take a Ibn Sina, Al-lsharat wa al-tanbihat (Book

cynical interpretation of this strategy and of Remarks and Admonitions), ed.
understand by what Ibn Rushd says as an S. Dunya, Cairo: Dar al-maarif,
attempt to conceal his real opinion. This is 195760.
that the stories in religion about the afterlife Leaman, O., Averroes and His Philosophy,
are just myths and are designed to make peo- Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988.
ple behave themselves, while the philosophers Philosophy vs. Mysticism: An Islamic
can understand what scope there really is for Controversy, in M. McGhee (ed.),
an afterlife. This would make the meanings Philosophy, Religion and the Spiritual
of afterlife when used by the philosopher Life, Cambridge: Cambridge University
and the ordinary believer distinct. But there Press, 1992, pp. 17788.
is no need to adopt this approach since it is Ghazali and Averroes on Meaning,
neatly sidestepped by the theory of mean- Al-Masaq, 9 (1997), pp. 17989.
ing that Ibn Rushd adopts. Words are seen Logic and Language in Islamic
by him as having a wide range of meanings, Philosophy, in B. Carr and I.
and we can only rule out a role for the word Mahalingam (eds), Companion
along that continuum of uses if it really bears Encyclopedia of Asian Philosophy,
no link with other more standard uses of the London: Routledge, 1997, pp. 95064.
word. As we have seen this is not the case (ed.), The Quran: An Encyclopedia,
for afterlife which clearly does have a range London: Routledge, 2006.
of interpretations, some more material and Mahdi, M., Language and Logic
some more spiritual and abstract. They all in Classical Islam, in G. E. von
can be seen as linked, and this shows that it Grunebaum (ed.), Logic in Classical
would be a mistake to argue that words with Islamic Culture, Wiesbaden:
new meanings are being created here. So Ibn Harrassowitz, 1970, pp. 5183.
Rushd does establish a plausible argument Zebiri, K., Towards a Rhetorical Criticism
for a subtler theory of meaning that can of the Quran, Journal of Quranic
make sense of the reconciliation of religious Studies, 5 (2003), pp. 95120.
and philosophical language.
oliver leaman
Further Reading
Abed, A., Aristotelian Logic and the Arabic
Language in Alfarabi, Albany, NY: State
University of New York Press, 1991.
Al-Ghazali, Tahafut al-falasifa, in Ibn MIR DAMAD (9501041/15431631)
Rushd (ed.), Tahafut al-tahafut (The
Incoherence of the Incoherence), trans. Mir Burhan al-Din Muhammad Baqir Asta
S. Van den Bergh, Averroes Tahafut rabadi, later known as Damad, was born
al-Tahafut, London: Luzac, 1978. into a distinguished family. His father Mir
Ibn Rushd, Fasl al-maqal (Decisive Shams al-Din was the son-in-law of the
Treatise), ed. and trans. G. Hourani, famous Safavid Shii thinker Ali ibn Abd al-
Averroes on the Harmony of Religion Ali, and the title Damad or son-in-law
and Philosophy, London: Luzac, 1976. stayed in the family to acknowledge this,
Tahafut al-tahafut (The Incoherence of along with Astarabadi to represent the
the Incoherence), trans. S. Van den Bergh, town of Astarabad from where the family
Averroes Tahafut al-Tahafut, London: stemmed. Mir Damad himself was born in
Luzac, 1978. Astarabad but educated in Mashhad, where
321
MIR DAMAD
he received a solid grounding in the thought the source of being, God. Within this model
of Ibn Sina. many Shii ideas were also introduced, and
Mir Damad reached prominence in Isfahan, the ideas of imams of ascending ranks help-
where he was recognized as the outstanding ing to bridge the gap between the higher and
thinker of his age, labeled the shaykh al-Is- the lower worlds is obviously highly func-
lam between 1621 and 1631. He conducted tional within such a system of thought.
the coronation of the Shah Safi in 1629. He Mir Damad was famous for the obscu-
died on pilgrimage to Karbala, and is buried rity of his expression, an obscurity that may
in Najaf. He was often known as the third have been based on prudence and taqiyya, or
teacher, i.e. the third in importance after perhaps on the difficulty of the thoughts he
Aristotle and al-Farabi. He had very impor- was trying to express. Mystical philosophy is
tant pupils like Mulla Sadra who went on to not generally known for its clarity, and Mir
revolutionize the study of philosophy in Iran, Damad used the full extent of language to
and his main contribution to philosophy lies express the complexity of the structure of real-
in the fusion of the Peripatetic traditions with ity as he understood it. Yet his work did lead
the Illuminationalist trend, a combination to a great outpouring of philosophical talent
that has led to a great deal of creativity in in what followed it, and the combination of
Persian thought ever since. He founded what mysticism and analyticity that it embodied
came to be known as the School of Isfa- represents the attraction of the approach of
han. Not only did he have famous students, the School of Isfahan. During his life a partic-
but his friends at the court of Shah Abbas ular important factor was the support of the
included two of the most notable thinkers of Shah for him and the other intellectuals at the
the time, Mir Findiriski and Shaykh Bahai. court, since without that support they would
His son-in-law Sayyid Ahmad Alawi (d. have quickly fallen into the hands of their
1651) and Mulla Shamsa Gilani (d. 1687) enemies among the more literally minded
were also significant students. clergy. Before his time, philosophy in Iran
Mir Damad wrote many books, but his was often attacked and its study discouraged,
al-Qabasat (Sparks) is particularly signifi- and after his time thinkers believed to favor
cant. The theme is the nature of the creation philosophy often had difficult lives. Even Mir
of the world and its relationship with God. Damads pupil Mulla Sadra was obliged once
Like al-Suhrawardi, but unlike his pupil to withdraw to an obscure town in order to
Mulla Sadra, Mir Damad argues that essence evade the attentions of zealous clerics intent
is more basic than existence. But what is on opposing the introduction of philosophy
remarkable about this work is not the par- into local academic life. The support of the
ticular line of argument but the conceptual ruler for philosophy during this brief period
distinctions that Mir Damad makes in it, enabled it to get established again in the coun-
especially those between different notions of try and to flourish afterward, as the ideas of
time, createdness, and cause. These Mir Damad and the School of Isfahan estab-
brought into existence a whole philosophical lished the philosophical curriculum in the
industry that took up these concepts and ran country for a long time to come.
with them. In particular, Mir Damad takes
up the idea of different levels of being, and BIBLIOGRAPHY
different stages on the level of reality and in Kitab al-qabasat (Book of Embers), eds.
our relationship with God. He can then ana- M. Mohaghegh, T. Izutsu, M. Bihbahani
lyze different stages of knowledge and spiri- and I. Dibaji, Tehran: McGill University,
tual growth with stages on a hierarchy of Institute of Islamic Studies, Tehran
being, either getting us closer or further from Branch, 1977.
322
MISKAWAYH
Further Reading of the Prophet) and a long line of scholars

Ashtiyani, S., Muntakhabati az athar-i based in Shiraz. He was educated by many
hukama-yi ilahi-yi Iran: az asr-i of the best local thinkers, including Jamal
Mir Damad va Mir Findiriski ta al-Din Mahmud, who in turn studied with
zaman-i hadir (Selection from Iranian Dawwani and with Amir Ghiyath al-Din
Metaphysical Thinkers: Mir Damad, Mir al-Dashtaki. Mir Fath both taught in
Findiriski and Their Contemporaries), Shiraz and advised the ruler, a role which
Tehran and Paris: Dpartement he changed for something similar in Bijapur,
dIranologie de lInstitut Franco-Iranien India, where he was invited by the local
de Recherche, 1972. ruler, Adil Shah. In 991/1593 he moved to
Awjabi, A., Mir Damad: Bunyan-gudhar-i the court of the emperor Akbar, Adil Shah
hikmat-i yamani, Tehran: Intisharat-i having died, and directed the religious affairs
Sahat, 2003. ministry. This put him in charge of the reve-
Corbin, H., En Islam iranien: Aspects nue for the religious institutions in the state,
Spirituels et Philosophique (Iranian Islam: and his competence in this area of work led
Spiritual and Philosophical Aspects), to swift promotion to being in charge of the
4 vols, Paris: Gallimard, 1972. revenue as a whole. But his main significance
Dabashi, H., Mir Damad and the founding lies in his reorganization of the education
of the School of Isfahan, in S. H. Nasr system, a system that had become rather
and O. Leaman (eds), History of Islamic ossified and old-fashioned. Mir Fath sup-
Philosophy, London: Routledge, 1996, ported the introduction into the local philo-
pp. 597634. sophical curriculum of his subjects of study
Hadi, A., Sharh-i hal-i Mir Damad va Mir in Shiraz, including Taftazani, al-Jurjani,
Findiriski (Commentary on the Thought of Dawwani, al-Dashtaki, and others. He him-
Mir Damad and Mir Findiriski), Isfahan: self wrote important commentaries on many
Maytham Tamar Publications, 1984. of their works.
Savory, R., Iran: Under the Safavids,
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Further Reading
1980. Khan, A., India, in S. H. Nasr and
Tunikabuni, M., Qisas al-ulama (Stories of O. Leaman (eds), History of Islamic
the Scholars), Tehran: Intisharat-illmiyya Philosophy, ch. 62, London: Routledge,
Islamiyya, 1985. 1996, pp. 105175.
Turkuman, I., Tarikh-i alam-ara-yi
Abbasi, ed. I. Afshar, Tehran: Intisharat-i oliver leaman
Ittilaat, 1971.
oliver leaman
MISKAWAYH, Ahmad ibn Muhammad

Ahmad ibn Muhammad(c. 320421/
c.9321030)
MIR FATH ALLAH SHIRAZI
(d. 998/1590) Ahmad ibn Muhammad Miskawayh was
born in Rayy around 320/932, and accord-
Mir Fath Allah Shirazi was one of the most ing to Yakut, died on 9 Safar 421/February
influential Moghul philosophers. He was 16, 1030, at the age of 100. Miskawayh
born into a family of Sayyids (descendant was born in Rayy in Persia, and traveled to
323
MISKAWAYH
Baghdad, where he studied and worked, and our normal categories of description from
was well known there for a time. Then he getting a grip on it, and so underpins the
returned to live in Isfahan, in Persia, for a ban on shirk or idolatry. He really fails to
period of time; it was here that he died and distinguish between emanation and creation.
was buried. His full name was Abu Ali According to him, God produces the active
Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Yaqub Misk- intellect, the soul, and the heavens without
awayh, and not Ibn Miskawayh, but he is intermediaries. This rather defeats the pur-
often known as Ibn Miskawayh. pose of an emanation model, since it is based
Miskawayh had a successful political on the need for intermediaries and a scale of
career as secretary and a librarian to the being, something that Miskawayh tends to
viziers al-Muhallabi (34052/95063), ignore.
Abul Fadl (35360/95170), Abul Fath His major contribution to philosophy lies
(3606/9706), and finally for the Buyid in his work on ethics. His Taharat al-araq
Adud al-Dawla (d. 372/983). Miskawayh (Purity of Dispositions), better known as
was part of the intellectual elite of his time, Tahdhib al-akhlaq wa-tathir al-araq (Refine-
and this was a period often labeled as that ment of Character and Purification of Dis-
of Islamic humanism, in that there was positions), explains how the individual is to
a certain commitment to reason and uni- acquire appropriate dispositions to behave
versality among the educated community. both morally well and effectively in order to
Miskawayh numbered among his friends acquire the good things of this world.
and colleagues al-Tawhidi, al-Amiri, Ibn Miskawayh uses a Platonic concept of the
Sadan, al-Sahib ibn Abbad, Abu Sulayman nature of the soul, seen as a self-subsisting
al-Sijistani al-Mantiki, Badi al-Zaman, entity or substance as opposed to the Aris-
Abu Bakr al-Khwarazmi, and many oth- totelian notion, to distinguish human beings
ers. He studied the works of the great his- from animals and other living things. The
torian Ibn Tabari with Ibn Kamil, who had soul cannot be an accident (or property of
been the historians student. Working in the the body) because it has the power to dis-
Islamic Neoplatonic tradition, Miskawayh tinguish between accidents and essential
placed a great deal of importance on eth- concepts and is not limited to awareness of
ics. He formulated rules for the preserva- accidental things by the senses. As we know,
tion of moral health and described ways in it can apprehend a great variety of imma-
which the various parts of the soul can be terial and abstract entities. He argues that
brought together into harmony. This gave if the soul were only an accident, it would
him the opportunity to combine his interest not be able to carry out these sophisticated
in theory with practical observations about and intellectual tasks, since it would only
people, and also to use history and anecdote be able to perform in limited ways like the
to produce examples that could be used to physical parts of the body. The soul is not an
explain psychology. accident, and when we want to concentrate
Miskawayh wrote on a wide variety of top- upon abstract issues the body is actually an
ics, ranging from history to psychology and obstruction that we must reject if we are to
chemistry, but in philosophy his metaphysics make contact with intelligible reality at a
were firmly Neoplatonic. He argued that the higher realm of being. The soul is an immor-
Greek philosophers were just as much theists tal and independent substance that controls
as Muslims, so that Aristotles identification the body. Its essence is opposite to that of
of the creator with an unmoved mover is the the body, and so cannot die; it is involved in
concept of a creator acceptable to Islam, and an eternal and circular motion, replicated by
the distinct nature of such a being prevents the organization of the heavens.
324
MISKAWAYH
This motion is directed either upward, that are essentially transitory and variable
toward reason and the active intellect, or (in particular those based upon pleasure)
downward, toward matter. Our happiness and those based upon the intellect, which are
arises through upward movement, our mis- also pleasurable but not in a physical way.
fortunes through movement in the opposite Our souls can recognize similarly perfected
direction. The more we perfect ourselves, the souls, and as a result enjoy intense intellec-
more unified our experience and vice versa. A tual delight. This is very different from the
good example of this can be given when con- normal kind of friendship, in which people
sidering the nature of justice. Human justice form relationships with each other because
is variable and depends upon the changing they want to get something out of it in terms
nature of particular states and communities of physical or transitory pleasure. However,
in which people live. The law of the state is even those capable of the most perfect form
based upon the contingent and variable fea- of relationship have to involve themselves in
tures of the time, while divine law specifies the less perfect levels of friendship, since they
what is to be done everywhere and at every must live in society if they are to achieve per-
time. fection, and so must satisfy at least some of
Miskawayhs discussion of virtue is both the expectations of society. The highest form
Aristotelian and Platonic. Virtue is the per- of happiness exists when we can abandon
fection of the aspect of the soul (reason) that the demands of this world and are able to
represents the essence of humanity and dis- receive the emanations flowing from above
tinguishes it from lower forms of existence. that will perfect our intellects and enable us
Our virtue increases insofar as we develop to be illuminated by Divine light. The ulti-
and improve our ability to deliberate and mate aim is to restrain our physical exis-
apply reason to our lives. We should do this tence and pursue completely spiritual aims
in accordance with the mean, the point most in mystical contemplation of the deity. Since
distant from two extremes, and justice results according to Miskawayh this mystical level
when we manage to get the balance right. of happiness ranks higher than mere intel-
Miskawayh combines the Platonic division lectual perfection, and certainly higher than
of virtues with an Aristotelian understanding practical virtue, he is actually very interested
of what virtue actually is, and adds to this the in how to cultivate the ordinary capacity for
principle that the more these virtues can be virtue. The cultivation of moral health is like
treated as a unity, the purer and better they the cultivation of physical health, requiring
are. This is because, he argues, that unity is measures to preserve our moral equilibrium.
equivalent to perfection, while multiplicity We have to keep our emotions under con-
is equivalent to a meaningless plurality of trol and carry out practices that help both
physical objects. Miskawayh argues further to restrain us on particular occasions and at
that the notion of justice when it deals with the same time develop personality traits that
eternal and immaterial principles is a simple will play a part in maintaining that level of
idea, while human justice by contrast is vari- restraint all the time. Faults can be countered
able and depends upon the changing nature by investigating their causes and undertak-
of particular states and communities. The ing to replace them with more appropriate
law of the state is based upon the contingent causes that do not lead to faults. A good
features of the time, while the divine law example of how to do this is to consider the
specifies what is to be done everywhere and fear of death, which Miskawayh regards an
at every time. inappropriate attitude. We fear death because
Miskawayh uses the notion of friendship we do not really understand it, but once we
to distinguish between those relationships come to appreciate that everything comes
325
MISKAWAYH
to an end we should have no more fear of his arguments are often rather suspect,
death. If what we really fear is pain, then we they do illustrate his views well, and are
can isolate that fear and deal with it by seek- very enlightening on the apparent role
ing to avoid the pain, or by acknowledging of the moral agent at his time. He is also
its inevitability and take steps to ensure that an interesting thinker in his use of Greek
if it occurs it is short-lived. We have to use authors, not just Plato and Aristotle, but a
reason to work out what we should do and whole range of lesser thinkers like Pythago-
feel, since any other approach means that ras, Porphyry, Alexander of Aphrodisias,
we are at the mercy of our transient feelings Galen, and Bryson, whose writings he often
and the haphazard influences that come to us incorporated in his own books.
from outside ourselves.
This emphasis on the role of reason, and BIBLIOGRAPHY
the relative lack of emphasis on religion, led Deux ptres de Miskawayh (Two
Mohammed Arkoun to call him a human- Treatises of Miskawayh), vol. 17, ed.
ist. Al-Ghazali was infuriated by Misk- M. Arkoun, Bulletin dEtudes Orientales
awayhs explanations for some basic Islamic (Institut Franais de Damas), 19612,
duties. Miskawayh suggests that the point pp. 774.
of communal prayer is to use the natural Tahdhib al-akhlaq (Cultivation of Morals),
gregariousness of human beings to buttress ed. C. Zurayk, Beirut: American
religion. This seemed to al-Ghazali to dispar- University of Beirut, 1966; trans.
age the religious enterprise, since he argued C. Zurayk, The Refinement of Character,
that the significance of religious rituals is Beirut: American University of Beirut,
that God has told us to perform them. We 1966.
should not expect to understand the reasons
for religious practices, since they have their Further Reading
ground in the completely free decision of the Arkoun, M., Contribution letude de
deity. By contrast, for Miskawayh the rea- lhumanisme arabe au IVe/Xe sicle:
son for ritual is that it has a part to play in Miskawayh, philosophe et historien
helping us adapt to religious life, using the (320/325421) = (932/9361030)
dispositions that are natural to us, so that (Contribution to the Study of Arab
the rules and customs of religion are essen- Humanism in the 4th/10th Century:
tially reasonable, as are those of ethics. If we Miskawayh, Philosopher and Historian),
are to understand how to behave we can cer- Paris: Vrin; revised 2nd edn, 1982.
tainly follow the rules of religion, but there Fakhry, M., The Platonism of Miskawayh
are other rules we can consider also, those and its Implications for his Ethics,
that appeal to our reason. Studia Islamica, 43 (1975), pp. 3957.
Miskawayhs thought came to be influ- Goodman, L., Friendship in Aristotle,
ential largely due perhaps to the attractive- Miskawayh and al-Ghazali, in O.
ness of his style. He manages to combine Leaman (ed.), Friendship East and West:
abstract thought with practical ideas and Philosophical Perspectives, Richmond:
that went down well with the reading pub- Curzon, 1996, pp. 16491.
lic, as did his tendency to include aspects of Kraemer, J., Humanism in the Renaissance
wisdom literature in his texts. The fact of Islam: a Preliminary Study, Journal
that much of this literature was originally of the American Oriental Society, 104, 1
Greek widened the interest in his work, (1984), pp. 13564.
and suggested that his ideas had a basis far Leaman, O., Ibn Miskawayh, in S. H.
beyond the boundaries of Islam. Although Nasr and O. Leaman (eds), History of
326
MODERN ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY
Islamic Philosophy, ch. 18, London: the European powers were largely in control
Routledge, 1996, pp. 2527. of the Middle East in one form or another,
Islamic Humanism in the Fourth/Tenth and a contrast became visible between the
Century, in S. H. Nasr and O. Leaman powerful and progressive Christian world,
(eds), History of Islamic Philosophy, on the one hand, and the Islamic world on
London: Routledge, 1996, pp. 15561. the other. Much of the Arab world was in
Secular Friendship and Religious the nominal control of the Ottoman Empire,
Devotion, in O. Leaman (ed.), and the level of economic and political devel-
Friendship East and West: Philosophical opment was perceived as far lower in that
Perspectives, Richmond: Curzon, environment than was the case in the Euro-
pp. 25162. pean countries. The word that was used a lot
was decadence, the idea that the culture of
oliver leaman the Islamic world that had in the past been
so powerful and influential intellectually and
militarily was now very much in decline.
The Nahda movement tried to bring about
Al-Muallim al-Thani (The Second Master), two results. It did not want to turn its back
see al-Farabi on the modern ideas coming from Europe,
since it saw these ideas as perfectly compat-
ible with Islam. Islam had in the past always
been open to new ideas, indeed, Islamic
philosophy as a whole was very much cre-
MODERN ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY ated in partnership with new ideas coming
from the Greek world, and there was no rea-
It is often said that philosophy came to an son why modernity should be rejected just
end in the Islamic world after the death of because it emerged in a non-Islamic envi-
Ibn Rushd in the twelfth century, but this is ronment. That was the positive side of the
not true. Today there is a lively philosophical revival movement. The more negative side
presence in most of the Islamic world, and a was the attempt to defend Islam and Islamic
whole range of ideas like logical positivism, ideas in their confrontation with modernity,
hermeneutics, pragmatism, Hegelianism, and to show that Islam could adapt to the new
so on have become part of the normal philo- world and continue to play a leading part in
sophical curriculum in the Islamic world. the lives and thought processes of the local
Much philosophy takes place within the populations even while the latter became
Islamic world in just the way it takes place more involved in the scientific and cultural
anywhere, without making any reference to European world.
religion or the local culture. On the other The major thinkers were al-Tahtawi,
hand, the notion of philosophy itself as being al-Afghani, and Muhammad Abdu, who
Islamic, or being taught in the Islamic world, all in different ways sought to institutional-
has itself become a controversial notion, one ize modernity in the Islamic world by sanc-
we shall examine here. The place to start tifying it from a religious point of view. One
when thinking about modern Islamic phi- motive was something that is easily forgotten
losophy is the Nahda (rebirth, renaissance) nowadays, and that is the perceived threat
movement which started in Syria, became from Christian missionaries who descended
established in Egypt, and from there spread on the Islamic world and sought to convert
out through the Arab world, and beyond. the local population. We can see now how
This was a period of colonialization when unsuccessful their efforts turned out to be,
327
but it was not unreasonable for local Mus- The disunity in the Islamic world was
lims to wonder whether the influence of the helpful to the foreign powers in dominat-
new powerful rulers of their countries might ing it, of course, and anything that could
not lead to widespread desertion from Islam be done to end that disunity was helpful to
and the embracing of Christianity instead. the idea of a resurgent Islam. In Egypt fig-
Today it is obviously difficult for Christians ures like Abdu in al-Azhar and al-Tahtawi
to operate in the Islamic world, but then this in the education department encouraged
was far from the case, and we still do not reform through changes in what the state
appreciate quite why the missionary move- and its organs did. The latter had traveled
ment proved to be so unsuccessful when the to Paris, a journey he describes in detail in
Christian world had such a hegemonic hold his Talkhis al-ibriz fi talkhis baris, and it was
over the Islamic world. often this contact with the modern world
At the time, the arguments against Chris- that inspired the desire for change. On the
tianity were many and forceful, and they other hand, it could also produce quite the
took the line that Islam was just as rational opposite effect, leading to a rejection of
as any other religion, indeed more ratio- Europe and the United States and everything
nal than most, and so perfectly well suited they represented. In Tunisia, Khayr al-Din
to modern people. Science and technology (Hayreddin) al-Tunisi (181089) initiated
could flourish in an Islamic environment secular education in his country (defended
and Muslims did not need a new religion in his 1867 Aqwan al-masalik), based on
to be modern. We need to distinguish here the same ideas that progress meant science
between enthusiasm for Islam and Arabism, and was not incompatible with Islam. This
the latter movement including not only Mus- spirit of reform was widespread throughout
lims but obviously restricted to the Arab part the Middle East, and small groups of intel-
of the Islamic world. The idea of an Arab lectuals campaigned in favor of both science
nation, and indeed in wider terms, an Islamic and Islam.
nation which brought together the commu- Muhammad Abdu (18491905) was
nity (umma) in a unified way so that it could head of al-Azhar, the leading theological
confront the power of the imperialists, was university in the Sunni Islamic world, and
also part of the Nahda movements ideol- this gave him a pivotal platform from which
ogy. Unfortunately for the Arabs, there was to broadcast the message of the Nahda that
already a degree of unity in the Islamic world the Islamic world should accept modernity
brought about by the Ottomans and the while at the same time not rejecting Islam.
caliph in Istanbul, nominally the head of that He contrasted the progressive nature of
world, or at least the Sunni part of it. Yet the Islam with the period of stagnation which
caliph was widely perceived as weak and the he identified with the tenth to the fifteenth
Ottoman Empire in decline, and the Turkish centuries, which was a time when the early
rulers were not always taken to be the right scientific and philosophical progress of the
government for the Arab countries either Islamic cultural world came to an end and
separately or together. There were attempts when the political and religious authorities
at reviving the Ottoman Empire, especially had a mutual interest in restricting the intel-
by Turkish reformers, but the major thinker lectual curiosity of those over whom they
involved in this project was undoubtedly ruled in order to increase their degree of
Jamal al-Din al-Afghani (183897) who control. As he points out, it is a mistake to
spent time working with both the Ottoman link a particular religion with scientific prog-
and Persian rulers trying to establish some ress, or lack of progress, since Christianity
form of pan-Islamic political organization. has far more of an intellectual commitment
328
to the transcience of the material world than applied them to what they see as the lead-
Islam, and despite this has managed to pro- ing issues of the day within their cultural
vide an environment for great advances in environment. Finally, traditional ways of
our understanding of that world. doing philosophy have remained in business,
Reformist ideas from Egypt came into the although some gestures at incorporating
Dutch East Indies, which is the Indonesia of more diverse theoretical material have some-
today, and the Muhammadiya movement times been made also.
was set up by Ahmad Dahlan (18681923), The Egyptian philosopher Mustafa Abd
who had lived in Egypt and met Abdu. al-Raziq extended the ideas of the reform-
Abd al-Rahman al-Kawakibi (18541902), ers and suggested that all the main Islamic
who lived for most of his life in Syria, took schools of thought, even the mystical schools
the modernist ideology in a more radical of Sufism which were much suspected by
direction, advocating liberalism, and also the Nahda thinkers, are inherently rational
pan-Islamism, but within the context of and in no way opposed to the science and
leadership by the Arabs, not the Ottomans, rationality which are such an important fea-
criticizing the latter for their love of despo- ture of Western culture. On the other hand,
tism and conservatism. he takes a significant swipe at the idea that
Within Islam itself various sects arose, Islam should itself constitute a political sys-
including the Ahmadis in India and the tem in his al-Islam wa usul al-hukm (Islam
Bahai in Iran, and despite persecution they and the Principles of Government), pub-
survived and to a degree provided an alter- lished in 1925 shortly after the abolition of
native to standard forms of Islam. Mahd- the caliphate in Turkey. He argues that apart
ism, the search for a savior, also became a from the case of the first three caliphs, about
popular form of reaction and resistance to whom there is general agreement, there is no
the encroaching power of the colonial pow- justification for basing government on reli-
ers. The relative lack of power of the Islamic gion, and in the past it has in fact been based
world brought out what was to become a on power rather than anything else. Abd
major topic in modern Islamic philosophy, al-Raziq looked to reason as the appropriate
namely, how distinctive Islam itself should source of political inspiration, not religion,
be taken to be when compared with other and argued that this is in fact the Islamic
approaches to understanding reality. This position also. It was the political authorities
contrast with the outside world became even who encouraged the idea that their rule was
more extreme in the twentieth century with based on Divine approval, and so they had
the success of Zionism and its imposition of religious backing for their regimes. A result
a Jewish state at the heart of the Arab world, of their manipulation of Islam is that they
thus displaying as a constant theme the impo- brought about a state of affairs in which
tence of Islam and the Islamic world to resist stagnation, authoritarianism, and worship
the encroachments of the outside world. of tradition prevailed, an atmosphere that
brought spiritual and material disaster to
the Islamic world. There is nothing in Islam
Philosophy in the Arab world itself to explain what happened, it was just a
A number of themes have become promi- matter of politics.
nent in recent Islamic philosophy. One is Some Arab thinkers have been more skepti-
the relationship Islamic philosophy should cal of this point. Muhammad Abd al-Jabri is
have with Western thought. Further, some critical of much traditional Islamic thought,
thinkers in the Islamic world have used arguing that we need to form a clear view of
their understanding of philosophy and have the reasons for the decline of the Arab world.
329
In Nahnu wal-turath (Our Heritage, 1985) the philosophers in al-Andalus, such as Ibn
he is critical of the reformist credentials of Bajja and Ibn Rushd. The philosophers
the reformers of the Nahda. For one thing, from the East needed to link philosophy
glorifying the past of Islamic philosophy in and religion closely together for local politi-
terms of Ibn Rushd and Ibn Sina is, accord- cal reasons, whereas in the West they could
ing to him, merely to enshrine foreign influ- be more uninhibited in how they discussed
ence in Islamic culture, since their thought is that relationship, and they were. This comes
entirely dominated by Greek ideas and argu- out particularly in Ibn Rushds boldness in
ments. Secondly, defending Islam by urging laying out as the job of the philosophers the
the application of past history to modern interpretation of the Quran, his particu-
problems is to use a theory of the relevance lar job the interpretation of Aristotle, and
of the past to the present which is without finally his description of both philosophy
justification. We should not seek to revive and religion as equally valid and indepen-
the former Arab mind, but deconstruct that dent of each other. The Eastern philosophers
heritage to abandon what is negative in it, are conservative and so to side with them is
while keeping what can take us forward. to ignore the changes that have taken place
In his Buniyat al-aql al-arabi (Structure in the world since their time. On the other
of the Arab Mind) he identifies three nega- hand, the Western Islamic thinkers were
tive features of Arab tradition. The first is taken up enthusiastically by the non-Islamic
the worship of words, the second the desire world and founded the intellectual source
for authority, both human and Divine, and of the rapid advances that European culture
the third the idea that anything can happen. was to undergo. If the modern Arab world
The result is that language comes to replace is to advance it must recapture the spirit of
reality, power gets in the way of freedom, Ibn Rushd in particular, and incorporate his
and a lack of trust in the causal nature of thought into the practical organization of
the world in favor of a reliance on arbitrary society.
action. Al-Jabiri makes the very interesting Fuad Zakariyya also argues that Arab
remark that the failure of Islamic philosophy failure is connected with the disinclination
in the sense of falsafa to continue beyond a to criticize heritage (turath). He contrasts
relatively short period is due to its failure to those who are uncritically proud of the Arab
reflect on its own history, that is, Arab his- cultural heritage in the past with those who
tory; it is so Greek-orientated that it can call for a complete change in thinking since
only meditate on Greek culture, something the Arab consciousness is seen as resting on
of which it is not a part. Western philosophy, superstition and blind obedience to authority.
by contrast, has constantly reflected on its Zakariyya rejects both alternatives. It is not
own history and has not been frightened to true that Arab thought produced the major
challenge what it did not like. The so-called scientific discoveries of the West, nor is it full
Islamic Renaissance was not really a revival of irrational and unscientific thought. He
of anything worth reviving, but a return to points out quite rightly that Europe had to
the past, a past that has failed and will con- cope with plenty of its own superstitions and
tinue to fail in the future. the persecution of those with new ideas, and
So what is the way forward? To deter- yet managed to emerge as advanced and pro-
mine that al-Jabiri argues we need to under- gressive despite all these problems. He lays
stand the past. Philosophy in the past is the blame on the way in which the religious
characterized by main features. There is the authorities have managed to delegitimize
dream of al-Farabi, realized by Ibn Sina, anything as un-Islamic which they cannot
and then the break from that approach by control, sometimes labeling it as materialist
330
and sometimes as foreign or imperialist. The from public life, since he sees Islam as having
very bases of science are often questioned in over time become progressively corrupted,
the Islamic world as denying an appropri- until now it is only a pale shadow of its for-
ate role for God in the world, whereas in mer self. This is a frequent conclusion by
Europe this debate has been put behind pub- religious thinkers also, but Khalid takes it to
lic consciousness a long time ago. An Arab show that the reason why religion is in such
or Islamic awakening (the title of one of a mess now is due to the wiles of the cleri-
his books, al-Sahwa al-islamiyya) can only cal establishment, which he contemptuously
come about through a dissemination of sci- labels as the kahana. They have obscured the
ence and its attitudes in society as a whole. original cooperative message of Islam, some-
In a strong attack on the Nahda movement thing which is shared by other religions and
Zakariyya criticized the claim that social spiritual leaders. He develops this argument
relations have to be validated in religious in his Muhammad wal-masih (Muham-
terms, and that Islam provides its followers mad and Christ, 1985) and Kama tahadd-
with eternal truths. This suggests that Islam ath al-quran (As the Quran Says). Religion
cannot be questioned or interpreted in a new is opposed to blind obedience (taqlid) and
way, yet everything does change all the time, ethnic rivalry, and exhibits a progressive
and religion has to change with it. Islam and liberating message of unity and mutual
needs to stay out of politics if society is to assistance.
move forward. A reaction to this liberal and humanist
Fazlur Rahman, originally from Pakistan, perspective was not missing in the Islamic
took this thesis in a more radical direction, world, and Sayyid Qutb produced tren-
arguing that Islam goes hand in hand with chant criticism of those interpretations of
social progress, and anything that suggests Islam that he saw as inauthentic and aping
something different must be wrong. He also the West. Qutb had visited the United States
spends a lot of time discussing attitudes and returned to his native Egypt disturbed
toward history, which for him is a record of by what he experienced there. His thought
constantly changing reality, and Islam has to often touches on the relationship between
change in tandem with it if it is to remain Islam and Christianity and their respective
dynamic and relevant. All too often there has merits. Christianity has an ascetic character,
been a tendency to construct an unchanging he argues, and is naturally going to distin-
and perfect past that contrasts poorly with guish between the secular and the religious.
today, and Muslims spend their time try- This distinction does not exist in Islam, he
ing to get back to a past that in fact never suggests, since it is so clearly based on social
reached the level of excellence claimed of it. justice and the appropriate organization of
Instead of society trying to make sense of the state. This has an activist message since
the future, much exertion in Islamic society it implies that Muslims have to struggle for
is directed toward a past that is not under- justice and cannot leave this task to oth-
stood historically but just accepted as hav- ers. The problem with traditional Islamic
ing a high status, and as a result Islam may philosophy was it gave too much respect
fail to develop in line with rapidly changing to Greek thought and so did not represent
social and political realities. genuine Islamic thought, which can only be
Khalid M. Khalid started from the same found in the Quran and in the Traditions
position as Rahman in his Min huna nabda of the Prophet and his Companions. Islamic
(We Start From Here), but he came to far philosophy should help us work out how
more secular conclusions. He argues for the the message of Islam defines once and for
complete exclusion of the religious world all the appropriate relations we are to have
331
with others in society, and it is based on the of divine law throughout the world. In fact,
holistic view that the main texts of Islam struggle is appropriate when any obstacle
propounds. stands in the way of the march of Islam,
The problem with Western civilization is and any regime that is not based solely on
that it is based on a materialist and atomist God is illegitimate. A particular target was
view of humanity. A symptom is the unhap- the secular and nationalist government of
piness of people who feel disconnected with Nasser in Egypt, and the Muslim Broth-
the rest of the world, a world in which they ers were a potent opposition to the regime.
find no meaning and where they become Sayyid Qutb was executed in 1966, and as a
progressively more and more detached from martyr only increased in stature as a result.
each other and even from themselves. He His books are quite brilliantly written and
borrows some of the language of Marxist make for lively and persuasive reading, and
dialectical materialism (with which he his influence has become very important in
strenuously disagrees) to suggest that Islam the Islamic world ever since.
is inevitable as the solution to the problems A significant influence on him, and on the
of modernity and that the Islamic state will wider community, is the Pakistani theolo-
inevitably emerge from what precedes it. In a gian Abul-Ala Mawdudi, who like Qutb
remarkable prediction of the collapse of com- was very hostile to the West and demanded
munism (when it was at its height of power significant changes in attitudes to Islam also.
and influence) Qutb explains how some will Mawdudi advocated vigorous action against
see in this doctrine a solution to the worlds the enemies of Islam, and in favor of the right
problems, but it is doomed to destruction due leaders who could take proper charge of the
to its misinterpretation of human nature and community and promote its happiness. He
its inability to operate with the support of disapproved of everything about modernity
its citizens. Western countries are also spiri- since he saw it as taking attention away from
tually impoverished, however rich they may God and the total submission to him which is
seem to be, and can be rescued by the rise appropriate from his creatures. Western civi-
of Islam throughout the rest of the world. lization puts the emphasis on the individual,
Although they look highly resistant to such whereas Islam posits the individual in a com-
a message, at their core is a great emptiness munity gathered together to serve God, and
which just calls out to be filled by Islam. The thus provides a meaning for the life of the
other ideology that he criticizes is national- individual and society as a whole. Although
ism, again politically rather dominant in the the views of Qutb and Mawdudi seem very
mid-twentieth century when he was writing. different from those of more liberal Mus-
Islam advocates the unity of the whole of lims, it is worth pointing to a view that they
humanity and rejects national groupings as all share, and that is that there is something
the ultimate form of community. very wrong with the state of Islamic society
Qutb calls for Islam to be revived in his as it stands in modern times. There are vary-
time if it is to play the role for which it was ing prescriptions for what is perceived as the
created, that of advancing the world spiri- disease, but all these thinkers are linked to
tually. For this, action is required as well the Nahda in that they all share a problem-
as thought, together with the throwing off atic and seek a solution to it.
of the ways of thinking that are generally These ideas were taken up by many think-
taken as appropriate, but which in fact are ers, and two are worth discussing, Muham-
based on ignorance and un-Islamic atti- mad al-Ghazali and Yusuf al-Qaradawi. The
tudes. Struggle (jihad) is required to bring former died in 1996 and was a powerful con-
about this liberation and the dissemination servative thinker in Egypt. In his al-Aqidat
332
al-muslim he lays the blame on Greek phi- oppose their secular governments, and had
losophy for dominating Islamic philosophy varying degrees of success. Often the attempt
and theology, and credits its foreign origins to defend Islam in these contexts led to ter-
as explaining why it never became a popular rible acts of violence and terrorism, actions
or accepted form of thought in the Islamic totally out of line with the basic principles
world. Not surprisingly, though, when of Islam. Ostensibly Islamic governments are
he comes to present what he claims is the very far from Islamic and do not give a role
Islamic creed it looks pretty similar to previ- to the participation of the local populations
ous Sunni theological versions, and the only in ways that are demanded by Islam. As
difference between his approach and that always, the positive side of his argument is
of much earlier thinkers is that he includes difficult to understand as very different from
a huge amount of directly quoted Quranic any other prescription for reviving Islam.
material and hadith sources, as though this Al-Qaradawi is keen on democracy and the
shows directly what the creed actually is. rights of minorities, but the details of his
He is more interesting in his critique of the work makes clear that democracy can only
great orientalists from the West whom he be accepted if it is in line with Islam, and
accuses of misleading Muslims and others in minorities would be expect to pay the poll
their analysis of Islam, and of working on tax if they expected to receive a protected
behalf of the colonizers and the missionaries. (dhimmi) role, reminiscent of the situation in
In particular he credits the orientalists with the past in the Islamic world. He is certainly
emphasizing the apparent doctrinal divisions interested in dialogue, even with the West that
in Islam in order to confuse Muslims and he is so suspicious of, and he is contemptu-
present the religion as essentially disunited ous of those secularists in the Islamic world
and confused, an aspect of a policy of divide who argue for the separation of mosque
and conquer. Al-Ghazali also accuses orien- from state. They fail to understand Islam, he
talists of attacking the Arabic language, in argues, confusing it with Christianity and its
an attempt at getting at the roots of Islamic separation of religion from the state. On the
reasoning, and in working to demarcate other hand, he is also critical of those Mus-
between secular and religious language they lims who regard everyone not in agreement
seek to diminish the significance of the lan- with them as infidels and calls for a rational
guage of the Quran. However, al-Ghazali approach to the nature of religious law and
should not be taken to be an extreme con- the organization of the state. Al-Qaradawi is
servative, since even he thinks that the door very much in favor of avoiding extremism in
of interpretation is open at least in practical the justified response of sincere Muslims to
matters. It is certainly true, he argues, that nationalism, secularism, and liberalism.
basic doctrinal and ritual issues have been It would be wrong to give the impression
settled a long time ago, but we can still make that all philosophers in the Islamic world
new decisions in the field of social and prac- were obsessed with religion, since some
tical relations, and need to if we are to adapt presented views which really have nothing
to changing circumstances. to do with Islam at all. For example, Zaki
A useful way of looking at all the recent Naguib Mahmud, who died in 1975, sought
attempts to revive (tajdid) Islam in the twen- to construct a philosophy based on scientific
tieth century is through the work of Yusuf principles. He distinguishes between what
al-Qaradawi, who discusses Hasan al-Banna he calls the metaphysical thinker whom he
and the Muslim Brothers, al-Mawdudi, Abd identifies as someone who thinks he per-
al-Hamid ibn Badr in Algeria, and Said ceives the truth that lies behind appearance,
Nursi in Turkey. These thinkers all tried to and who is able to understand the very
333
general principles that operate and structure the place of the definition in the Aristotelian
reality. The empirical thinker, by contrast, is account. The sort of language that results has
fully representative of the scientific age and little relevance to the way in which the world
bases his ideas on what counts as evidence, actually goes, since it does not describe that
what can be verified. He uses clear and direct world but by contrast merely describes itself.
language, by contrast with the extravagant We need to break out of this prison of words
prose of the metaphysician. Of course, the and concepts which have no roots in reality
philosopher is not in the business of gath- and become more scientific in our approach
ering evidence like the scientist, but like the by paying close attention to the facts of our
scientist he can be careful to say only that experience.
which he can justify on the basis of empirical There are thinkers who have been very
evidence. Like so many Islamic philosophers, much influenced by French philosophy, and
Mahmud identifies the Aristotelian notion of some of the theories that were popular in
definition as the source of the problem, since France. Muhammad Arkoun, for example, is
that encourages us to work from a word to difficult to understand unless one first of all
its meaning, and that can have no basis in follows the philosophy of Foucault. Moham-
the facts themselves. Mahmud advocates by med Arkoun was born in 1928 in Kabylia,
contrast starting with experiences and then Algeria, and spent much of his career at the
developing their meanings as part of their Sorbonne in Paris. His early work in philoso-
definitions. phy was in the history of Islamic philosophy,
Mahmud seeks to diminish the status of and in particular the thought of the Persian
the philosopher by giving him the role of the philosopher Miskawayh, an interesting
under-laborer, in true Lockean fashion, so choice since Miskawayh was a thinker who
that he is not a creative or general thinker, was definitely part of several different intel-
but someone who concentrates on describ- lectual worlds. Like so many modern Arab
ing what other people who are involved in philosophers, Arkoun is in the Islamic world
scientific work do and what it means. This and also the secular European world. How to
has a moral side to it, in that Mahmud is reconcile these worlds has been a persisting
keen on the philosopher being humble and issue. Arkoun has in general been very sup-
particular in his work, as compared to the portive of lacit, the determined secularism
grand and vacuous thinkers of the past. It is of France that he argues preserves the free-
not difficult to see how this could be applied dom of all to follow their specific religions.
to the issue of where the Islamic world went On the other hand, he has strongly attacked
wrong, and in this case the blame yet again the ways in which the Islamic and the non-
rests on Aristotle and his notion of how to Islamic worlds have cast each other in the
do philosophy, a view that was popular in role of the Other and enemy. He describes
the early centuries of Islamic philosophy. The in his work how a tradition creates a uni-
Aristotelian method is based on the notion verse of discourse, and at the same time also
of the definition and on how we can derive cuts us off from other forms of discourse. So
propositions from that definition, and this traditions, and in particular religious tradi-
leads to a circle of language in which all sorts tions, can be seen to have both positive and
of abstract ideas are developed and used as negative features, and Arkoun suggests that
though we understand them. Arab turath or it is not acceptable for a tradition to rule
heritage is based on this spinning out of ideas out some ways of thinking, since in order to
from basic texts, the Quran and the hadith, understand the whole range of alternatives
for example, and implies reliance on some that lie before us we really need to contem-
principle or idea or authority here taking plate a wide range of options. We need then
334
to be able to think outside the tradition, yet Islam with existentialism (in his 1947 work,
the tradition is set up in such a way as to Al-Islamiya wal-wujudiya fil-fikr al-islami),
prevent us from doing so. since both prioritize existence over essence,
According to Arkoun, traditions are not and also respect the subjective experience
pure, and so do not have fixed boundaries. over the objective concept. In his extensive
They need to be applied to the world of expe- work on the nature of time (Al-Zaman al-
rience and this means that they will inevita- wujudi, 1955) he rejects the idea of time as
bly have to examine their relationship with something standing outside us, or something
that world on occasion. It often becomes we are in, for a notion of how we interpret
clear that traditions are not that dissimilar our experience in terms of change. Hasan
from each other, and so a program of secu- Hanafi, born in 1935, is an influential con-
larism is not necessarily in opposition to reli- temporary Arab philosopher, and he is com-
gion, but could be seen as providing space mitted to phenomenology as a philosophical
for religions, and for the principle of separa- approach, and uses it to develop and analyze
tion of church and state (lacit), to flourish the concept of tawhid or unity. He argues that
and understand themselves. He argues that Islam is broad enough to extend this notion
Islams renaissance in the nineteenth century so that it can provide a common principle of
is a project that remains unfinished, and that unity and equality for everyone. He is not
Muslims should continue to examine the that impressed with the intellectual contri-
foundations of their faith employing among bution made by the West, finding the idea
other models those taken from the West. As of Western progress no longer particularly
with so many of his fellow thinkers in the valid, and suggesting that the West itself is
Islamic world, Arkouns work really cen- now entering into a period of decadence and
ters around the significance of history. His- is looking for inspiration toward the East.
tory suggests that doctrines like Islam are He finds unacceptable the idea that Islam
continuing projects that remain to be fully is based on fixed rules. Rather, he believes,
developed, and history also shows that the it is based on a revelation appropriate to its
antagonisms and conflicts between differ- own time and place. But now other interpre-
ent ways of looking at the world are not tations of the message can be used to align
fixed. An investigation of history enables the religion with present conditions. What is
us to ground our understanding of ideas significant in looking at Islam and the Arab
within a particular context and so we can heritage is to appreciate that it is constructed
acquire a critical understanding of them. on a particular notion of humanity, and it
There is a tension in such a thesis, which has is by adopting a proper historical perspec-
much to do with the thought of Foucault, tive of the past that we can understand how
and the transcendent role that any religion Islam can change in order to cope with the
like Islam seeks to establish for itself. Much present and the future. Modernity should
of Arkouns work tries to find a middle posi- not be seen as a threat, but as something that
tion between religion and secularism in order Muslims and Arabs should have no prob-
to prevent a clash between these two appar- lems in accepting, provided that they do not
ently contrary intellectual positions. insist on an unchanging character for their
Some thinkers like Badawi and Lahbabi religion.
were much influenced by existentialism. Some of the thinkers in the Arab world
Badawi in particular argues that we need to such as Sadiq al-Azm, a Syrian thinker, are
get away from abstract ideas that only exist very much opposed to religion. His Naqd al-
in thought to a practical and direct interac- fikr al-dini (Critique of Religious Thought)
tion with the world. He identifies the Sufis in attempts to demolish religion by arguing
335
that it was completely overtaken by scien- post-colonial world, especially in North

tific ways of thinking and remains only as a Africa. Laroui is particularly interested in
technique of ruling classes to preserve their how history should be written, and how we
power. It directs the populations attention can understand the cultural life of a group
away from important social and economic of people through their history. One of his
issues toward ideological issues of no real major achievements is in analyzing the prob-
significance. A problem which the Marx- lematic nature of some of the key concepts
ists have is in establishing links with Arab of Arab culture as they have arisen in the
nationalism and the specific Islamic ideology contemporary world, including modernity,
current in the Arab world, since to criticize the state, authenticity, continuity, rationality,
religion may seem rather close to criticizing and tradition. He points out that the Arab
Islam, and the specific ideology of the Arab world cannot simply adopt the Western con-
world as it has developed. Abdallah Laroui cept of the state since this is an essentially
(b. 1935) faces this head-on, and suggests secular notion and abstracts itself from the
distinguishing between different aspects of past, while for Arabs the connection with
Islam, as a historical phenomenon, as a cul- Islam and their history is a defining facet of
ture, and as an ethical system. These need to political legitimacy. In any case, the state is
be distinguished, since otherwise we cannot only a part of the whole Islamic umma or
form an objective view of the Arab heritage. community, and we have to take on board
The intellectual is torn between identification also the idea of an Arab umma which leads to
with the local culture and the alternative of a nexus of relationships existing within what
Westernization. To this dilemma Marxism would necessarily have to be a very differ-
proves to be the solution since it provides a ent sort of state from the Western model. As
way of resisting both religion and the West, with his predecessor Ibn Khaldun, Laroui
but it will be different in the Middle East has an approach to understanding society
since it will be based on the Arab heritage that involves the construction of a theoreti-
rather than on specific economic and political perspective that is capable of placing a
cal factors. A number of writers presented particular social structure within an appro-
varying models of what they called Arab priate historical and cultural context. His
socialism or Islamic socialism, and clearly thought has moved from its earlier Marxist
in all such models it is the cultural heritage phase to produce a more nuanced approach
of Islam that plays a significant part in the to the philosophy of history and the under-
progressive state, whereas in more devel- standing of culture. He is part of a significant
oped countries one would not expect this to movement in the modern Arab world that
happen. seeks to define Arab culture and its unique
A Moroccan intellectual, Abdullah Laroui features by using theories both from within
taught at Mohammed V University in Rabat and without the region.
and was one of a distinguished group of
Moroccan thinkers such as M. A. Lahbabi
and M. A. al-Jabri. Like much modern phi- Philosophy in Iran
losophy in the Islamic world, his work is Although much Islamic philosophy has
broad and encompasses a variety of theoreti- always been written in Arabic, most of it
cal and disciplinary perspectives, including was actually produced by Persians, and phi-
history, sociology, philosophy, and litera- losophy has experienced a much greater con-
ture. His thoughts on modernity and ideol- tinuity in the Persian world than it did in the
ogy strike at the heart of many of the issues Arab world. There really were no gaps in the
that are important for Arab culture in the Persian world, and the same cannot be said
336
of the Arab world, where there were long only on the personal level but politically also
periods when philosophy was very much in since they are intent on establishing a state
retreat, albeit not forever. The commentary of affairs characterized by freedom, equal-
tradition, which developed, in part, as phi- ity, and justice. Islam does not change in its
losophers wrote on Ibn Sina and, in part, essentials, Shariati argues, but it does change
as Ishraqi (Illuminationist) thinkers wrote in the ways in which it presents itself since
on al-Suhrawardi and Mulla Sadra, has it has to do this to fit in with changing cir-
been part of the traditional curriculum in the cumstances.
theological training centers in what is today Ali Shariati did not live to see the Islamic
Iran and the Persian-speaking world. Today, Revolution in Iran of 1979, but he was defi-
philosophy is not only to be found in the nitely one of its intellectual fathers. Like
theological schools but is firmly represented many Iranians in the twentieth century, he
in the universities, and philosophy of all combined an education in the traditional
kinds flourishes. There is a continuation of religious sciences in Iran with a secular phil-
the study of the major Islamic thinkers and osophical training within a Western context,
traditional problems, and also very much a in his case Paris. His connections with the
divide between philosophers committed to anti-colonialist movement in Paris led him to
logical positivism and those interested in argue that Islam is a basically revolutionary
continental philosophy. and liberating doctrine. He did not abandon
A good example of the use of modern tech- religion as many of his fellow radical Irani-
niques on persisting problems can be seen ans did, nor did he go along with reverence
in the work of Mehdi Hairi Yazdi, whose for the imam or spiritual leader so prevalent
work on knowledge brings in Russell and in Shii Islam. This set him firmly aside from
Wittgenstein as well as Ishraqi thinkers like Khomeini and the ideology of the Islamic
al-Suhrawardi. He takes the idea of knowl- Revolution itself as it was to emerge.
edge by presence, a form of knowledge that Shariati managed to combine a range of
cannot be doubted because it is so present ideas and principles that are otherwise con-
to us, so lit up as it were, that it is impos- trary to each other, so that while he rejected
sible to challenge. He tries to use this as his the dialectical materialism of Marxism, he
grounding principle for a great deal more did use the idea of history having a direction
than can be derived from it, and the creative and a pattern, albeit one based on Divine will,
use of both old and modern thinkers is an and class struggle is seen as the community
intriguing idea that shows what can be done progressively perfecting its consciousness.
once philosophers have the confidence and Islam is a religion based on liberation, and
ability to range more widely in their work. he reads the Quran as a book representing a
A much more political thinker, Ali Shari- community struggling permanently to achieve
ati (193377), bases his metaphysics on the social justice, a fraternal society, and freedom.
Ishraqi schools view of the human being as Shariati was not impressed with the power of
having God as its essence while maintain- imported ideologies to generate political soli-
ing the scope to determine its own form of darity among the people against oppressive
existence. The notion of unity (tawhid) is regimes. His version of Shiism placed empha-
developed by him as socially revolutionary sis on Imam Ali as a revolutionary leader as
as well as spiritually therapeutic, and it is well as a religious thinker. This view of Shiism
appropriate to establish as a harmonious is very different from that of the religious
institution a combination of personal and orthodoxy, especially as it places authority in
political justice. He sees the main figures of the opinion of the individual, a vindication of
Shiite Islam as exemplars for humanity not ijtihad, or independent judgment rather distant
337
from normal understandings of the notion in school of Qom, who suggested that Soroush
Shii Islam. He goes along here with Jean- had misapplied the theories of Popper, Stal-
Paul Sartre and the existentialist emphasis on naker, Watkins, and Hempel and who saw
the importance of authentic decisions being his incorrect view of the philosophy of sci-
made by totally free agents. Shariati argued ence as meaning that his criticisms of Islam
that Islam could be vindicated as a faith if it were fallacious. It is worth noting that the
is seen as involving autonomous choices by debate was ostensibly about the appropriate
individuals and a genuine progressive direc- interpretation of a group of Western think-
tion in both social and personal policies. This ers, and the religious relevance of the topic
theory proved to be a potent mixture in Iran, was not the point of interest, but its depen-
since it attracted those opposed to the Shahs dence on the appropriate understanding of
regime on both the right and the left, those philosophy of science. Soroush not only
who saw themselves as religious and those stirred up the school of Qom, but also the
who were aligned with Marxism. With Shari- supporters of Heidegger in Iran, of whom
ati we find an approach that appears to com- there are many, so that he was quite isolated
bine all shades of ideology, which is of course intellectually. Philosophy continues to have
the underlying strength of a philosophy that is a strong presence in Iran, where it has never
built on religion. really been out of fashion.
It is very much a theme of much modern Perhaps the best-known Iranian thinker
Islamic philosophy that a sign of the excel- outside the country is Seyyed Hossein Nasr.
lence of Islam is its failure to separate the He is highly critical of Western science, prais-
political from the personal. This is well rep- ing some of its achievements but pointing to
resented by Ayatollah Khomeini, the Shahs the ecological consequences of a worldview
successor who became both the spiritual and which does not acknowledge the presence of
the temporal ruler of the Islamic Republic of God at the center of that view. Science with-
Iran. He argued, and this remains the ide- out spirituality is without limits, since there
ology of the Islamic Republic of Iran, that is nothing which it holds sacred, and it bases
religion is not only relevant to private moral- itself entirely on measurements of quantities,
ity but must also be incorporated in the state not on the quality of existence. More spiri-
as a whole. The only appropriate leaders of tual philosophies are harmonious and inte-
the state are the religious authorities, and grative, they embed spiritual values in the
the community will only flourish if they are technological agenda and so make ecological
in charge. He was a member of the school disasters less likely. For him, the question is
of Qom, as were also Muhammad Hossein not what the East should take from the West,
Tabatabai, Murtaza Mutahhari, and but vice versa. Along with this view he has
Muhammad Taqi Misbah Yazdi, all impor- established in some detail the theoretical pre-
tant religious Shiite thinkers who nonethe- suppositions of Sufism, the school of mysti-
less were quite open to ideas coming from cism in Islamic thought, and his historical
the West. There is no problem for them in accounts of this doctrine have played a large
using foreign techniques and ideas to invigo- role in its increasing domestication outside
rate Islamic philosophy. of the traditional Islamic world. An interest-
But they uniformly disapproved of the ing feature of his work is that he sees Islamic
work of Abdul Soroush, who took a criti- thought as just one aspect of what he calls
cal view of religion when he brought up perennial philosophy, which he takes to be a
against it the arguments of Popper, Moore, constant thread of spiritual thought in both
and Wittgenstein. Soroush was opposed by Eastern and Western philosophy. Nasr criti-
Sadiq Larijani, the chief representative of the cizes recent developments in philosophy for
338
ignoring this thread and claims that philoso- Esposito, John L. and Voll, John
phy will only regain its authenticity when it O., Hasan Hanafi. The Classical
establishes links again with this traditional Intellectual, in The Makers of
form of thought. Contemporary Islam, ed. J. Esposito,
New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.
Further Reading Fakhry, Majid, Al-Harakat al-fikriya
Abdu, M., Risalat al-tawhid, Cairo: Dar fi miat sana, Beirut: Dar al-Nahar
al-manar, 1963. lil-Nashr, 1992.
Al-Islam din al-ilm wal-madaniya, Hahn, L., Auxier, R. and Stone, L. (eds),
Cairo: Dar Qubba, 1963. The Philosophy of Seyyed Hossein Nasr,
Abd al-Raziq, Al-Islam wa usul al-hukm La Salle, IL: Open Court, 2001.
(Islam and the Principles of Government), Hairi Yazdi, M., The Principles of
Beirut: Maktabat al-hayat, 1966. Epistemology in Islamic Philosophy:
al-Afghani, Al-Radd alal-dahriyin Knowledge by Presence, Albany,
(The Refutation of the Materialists), in NY: State University of New York Press,
M. Imara (ed.), Amal al-kamila 1992.
(Complete Works), Beirut: Muassat Hanafi, H., Muqaddima fi ilm al-istaghrab,
al-arabiyya li al dirasat wa al nashr, 1972. Cairo: Al-dar al-fanniyya, 1991.
Akhavi, Shahrough, The Dialectic in Islam in the Modern World, Cairo:
Contemporary Egyptian Social Thought: Anglo-Egyptian Bookshop, 1996.
The Scripturalist and Modernist Hourani, A., Arabic Thought in the Liberal
Discourses of Sayyid Qutb and Hasan Age 17981939, Cambridge: Cambridge
Hanafi, International Journal of Middle University Press, 1982.
Eastern Studies, 19 (1997), pp. 377401. al-Jabiri, Bunyat al-aql al-arabi (Structure
Arkoun, Muhammad, Rethinking Islam: of the Arab Mind), Beirut: Markaz
Common Questions, Uncommon Answers, Dirasat al-Wahda al-Arabiyya,
Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1944. 1987.
The Unthought in Contemporary Islamic Ishkaliyat al-fikr al-arabi al-muasir
Thought, London: Saqi, 2002. (Perspectives on Contemporary
al-Azm, S., Naqd al-fikr al-dini (Critique of Arab Thought), Casablanca, al-Dar
Religious Thought), Beirut: Dar al-Talia, al-Bayda:Muassasat Bansharah
1969. til-Tibaah wal-Nashr, 1989.
Boroujerdi, M., Iranian Intellectuals and Takwin al-aql al-arabi (Formation
the West: The Tormented Triumph of of the Arab Mind), 4th edn, Beirut:
Nativism, Syracuse: Syracuse University Markaz Dirasat al-Wahda al-Arabiyya,
Press, 1996. 1989.
Boullata, I., Trends and Issues in Contem Al-aql al-siyassi al-arabi (The Arab
porary Arabic Thought, Albany, NY: Political Mind), Beirut: Markaz Darasat
State University of New York Press, 1990. al-wihda al-arabiyya, 1990.
Campanini, Massimo, Hasan Hanafi e la Arab-Islamic Philosophy: A
fenomenologia: per una nuova politica Contemporary Critique, trans.
dellIslam, Oriente Moderno, 4, 13 A. Abbassi, Austin, TX: The Center
(1994), pp.10320. for Middle Eastern Studies, University
Cooper, John, Nettler, Ronald and of Texas, 1999.
Mahmoud, Mohamed (eds), Islam Kadivar, M., Hukumat-i vilaii (Theocratic
and Modernity: Muslim Intellectuals Government), Tehran: Nashr-i Nay,
Respond, London: Tauris, 2000. 1998.
339
Keddie, Ned, Scholars, Saints and Sufis, Naqdi bar qiraat-i rasmi-yi din (A
Berkeley: University of California Press, Critique of the Official Reading of
1972. Religion), Tehran: Tarh-i Naw, 2000.
An Islamic Response to Imperialism: Nasr, S. H. and Leaman, O. (eds), History of
Political and Religious Writings of Sayyid Islamic Philosophy, London: Routledge,
Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, Berkeley: 1996, chaps. 61, 63, 64, 65, 69, 71.
University of California Press, 1983. Al-Qaradawi, Y., Al-Hulul al-mustawrada,
Kedourie, E., Afghani and Abduh: An Cairo: Maktabat Wahba, 1977.
Essay on Religious Unbelief and Political Fi al-tariq ila Allah, Cairo: Maktabat
Activism in Modern Islam, London: Wahba, 1998.
Frank Cass, 1966. Ummatuna bayna qarnayn, Cairo: Dar
Khalid, M., Min huna nabda, Cairo: al-shuruq, 2000.
Muassat al-Kharji, 1950. Qutb, S., Al-Islam wa mushkilat al-hadara,
Khatami, M., Ain va andisha dar dam-i Cairo: n.p., 1962.
khudkamagi. Sayri dar andishih-i Maalim fil-tariq, Ramallah: Dar
siyasi-yi musalmanan dar faraz va furud-i al-kutub al-thaqafiyya, 1966.
tamaddun-i Islam (Creed and Thought in Rahman, F., Islam and Modernity:
the Trap of Arbitrariness. An Exploration Transformation of an Intellectual
of the Political Thought of the Muslims Tradition, Chicago: University of Chicago
through the Rise and Decline of Islamic Press, 1982.
Civilization), Tehran: Tarh-i Naw, 1999. Rida, R., Kitab al-manar wal Azhar, Cairo:
Khomeini, Imam, Islam and Revolution, Matbaat al-Manar, 1934.
trans. Hamid Algar, London: KPI, Salvatore, Armando, The Rational
1985. Authentification of the Turath in
Kurzman, C., Modernist Islam: A Source Contemporary Arab Thought: al-Jabiri
Book, New York: Oxford University and Hasan Hanafi, The Muslim World,
Press, 2002. 85 (1995), pp. 191215.
Laroui, Abdullah, Crisis of the Arab Shariati, Ali, On the Sociology of Islam,
Intellectual: Traditionalism v. Berkelely: Mizan Press, 1979.
Historicism, trans. D. Cammell, Berkeley: From Where Shall We Begin?, Houston:
University of California Press, 1976. Book Distribution Press, 1980.
Mahmud, Z., Falsafa wa fann, Cairo: Marxism and Other Western Fallacies,
Anglo-Egyptian Bookshop, 1963. Berkeley: Mizan Press, 1980.
Nahwa falsafa ilmiya, Cairo: Maktabat Fatima is Fatima, trans. L. Bakhtiar,
al-Anjlu al-Misriyah, 1980. Tehran: Shariati Foundation, 1980.
Mardin, S., The Genesis of Young Ottoman Surush, A., Siratha-yi mustaqim (Straight
Thought: A Study in the Modernization Paths), Tehran: Sirat, 1998.
of Turkish Political Ideas, Syracuse: (1999) Bast-i tajrubih-i nabavi
Syracuse University Press, 2000. (Expansion of the Prophetic Experience),
A Short History of the Revivalist Tehran: Sirat, 1999.
Movement in Islam, trans. al-Ashari, Zakariya, F., Al-Sahwa al-islamiya, Beirut:
Lahore: Islamic Publications Ltd, Dar al-tanwir, 1985.
1981. Khitab ilal-aql al-arabi (Discourse on
Mujtahid-Shabistari, M., Henneneutic, Arabic Rationality), Kuwait: Majallat
kitab va sunnat (Hermeneutics: The Book al-arabi, 1987.
and Tradition), Tehran: Tarh-i Naw,
1996. oliver leaman
340
AL-MUAYYAD FIL-DIN SHIRAZI
MUAMMAR AL-SULAMI (d. 215/830) establish the exact date of his birth, it is likely
that he was born around the middle or end
Muammar ibn Abbad al-Sulami, who died of 390/999 in Shiraz, and died in 470/1077
in 215/830, was a leading Mutazilite thin in Cairo, where he is buried in the courtyard
ker in Basra. We know of his works and his of the University of Cairo. His early years
life through reports from later sources. He is are somewhat of a mystery, but we do know
said to have been a pharmacist and to have that he came from a family of missionaries.
had a fairly unsettled career, and he was He rose up from the ranks and became the
certainly centrally positioned in the lead- head of the missionaries of Shiraz and the
ing philosophical debates of the time. His hujjat for the greater Persia.
central works dealt with the nature of con- The caliph regarded him initially as
cepts, contingency, and science, and his most a threat but then befriended him. How-
famous pupil was Bishr ibn al-Mutamir, ever, the courtiers who feared his popular-
the leading figure in the Basra school of ity among people remained hostile to him.
Mutazila. He was involved in a protracted Al-Muayyad had become more than just a
controversy with al-Nazzam over the role scholar and dai, he had become involved in
of God in the universe. For Muammar, the political game with various viziers and
God does not really have much to do, since courtiers of his time. Perhaps it was due to
nature has its own character and runs inde- the hostility of the courtiers that al-Muayyad
pendently of the deity. The extensive series decided not to reside in Shiraz for too long,
of causes that lies behind natural change is and traveled virtually all his life. Before leav-
capable of operating by itself. Accordingly ing Persia, he went to Ahwaz but finally left
God is not to be held responsible for what for Egypt out of fear for his life. It was in
happens in the world, and it is perhaps this Egypt where he saw the Ismaili imam and
which led to the prolonged debate with al- wrote in great detail of his spiritual experi-
Nazzam, who had the opposite view. ence as the result of his encounter with the
imam. He then went to Aleppo in 442/1067
Further Reading and in 450/1058, where he was promoted
Valiuddin, M., Mutazilism, in to the position of dai al-duat (mission-
M. M. Sharif (ed.), A History of ary of missionaries). Shirazi had sought this
Muslim Philosophy, Delhi: Low Price position all his life.
Publications, 2004, pp. 199220. Shirazi not only trained numerous pupils
among whom one can name such great fig-
oliver leaman ures as Nasir-i Khusraw, Hasan ibn Sab-
bah, and Lamak ibn Malik, but also left
behind a legacy as a statesman, politician,
and missionary. Thanks to the diligent work
of one of his students, Hatim ibn Ibrahim
AL-MUAYYAD FIL-DIN SHIRAZI al-Hamidi from Yemen who compiled the
(c. 390470/9991077) bulk of al-Muayyads sermons under the
title Jamiat al-haqaiq, we now have what
Hibatallah ibn Musa ibn Dawud Salmani amounts to an encyclopedia of Ismailism.
Shirazi was a significant figure in the Ismaili Shirazi was not a philosopher in the Peri-
tradition and the chief dai of the fifth/elev- patetic sense, but he should be regarded as a
enth centuries. Throughout the Ismaili theologian and an Ismaili intellectual. He was
works, he is referred to as Sayyiduna al- a hermeneutician who elucidated on the eso-
Muayyad fil-Din. While it is difficult to teric secrets of the Quran. His commentaries
341
AL-MUBASHSHIR
on such concepts as the esoteric symbolism dispute with Thalab, the latter taken to
of Heaven, divine namesin particular rah- be representative of the Kufan theory of
man (mercy)the meaning of salam, and the language, while al-Mubarrad defended the
spiritual guardianship (vilayat) of Ali are theory of his native Basra. His main text is
among the themes he treats. The concept of the Kitab al-Kamil fil adab which deals with
vilayat (spiritual guardianship) and the role the principles of literary expression, a rather
of Imam Ali as the interpreter of esoteric haphazardly organized text with many fas-
Islam are among the salient features of his cinating reflections of language. His other
discourse. Propagating the central Ismaili works are even more variegated in content,
notion of talim, Shirazi wrote a treatise on probably being collections of lectures, again
how True Faith in the Unity of God Can- on a variety of themes, but often reflecting
not be Achieved Without the Guidance of on language and its structure.
the Imams and in another treatise titled The
True Meaning of the Tradition, he argued Further Reading
that it is only with the aid of the imam that Baalbaki, R., Grammar and Grammatical
such meaning is unveiled. Theory in the Medieval Arabic
Tradition, Journal of Islamic Studies,
BIBLIOGRAPHY 16 (2005), pp. 36671.
Life and Lectures of the Grand Missionary Bernands, M., Changing Traditions:
al-Muayyad-fid-Din al-Shirazi, trans. Al-Mubarrads Refutation of Sibawayh
J. Muscati and K. Bahadur Mouvi, and the Subsequent Reception of the
Karachi: Ismailia Assocation of West Kitab, Leiden: Brill, 1977.
Pakistan, 1950.
oliver leaman
Further Reading
Muscati, J., Life and Lectures of the
Grand Missionary al-Muayyed-fid-Din
Al-Shirazi, Karachi: Islamic Association
Press, 1969. AL-MUBASHSHIR (fifth/eleventh century)
mehdi aminrazavi Al-Mubashshir ibn Fatik came from Dam

ascus and moved to Egypt, where in
440/10489 he wrote a compendium of the
sayings of wise men of antiquity. He is said
to have composed a vast history, which is
AL-MUBARRAD, Abul Abbas no longer extant. His main surviving work
(d. c. 286/900) is the Mukhtar al-hikam wa-mahasin al-
kalim (Selected Wise Statements and Beauti-
Al-Mubarrad was born in Basra in 210/826, ful Sayings). This includes a long series of
or perhaps earlier, and was a participant in mainly Greek sayings, starting with sup-
the discussions over the nature of language, posed Egyptian thinkers and ending with
literature, and the Quran that were such hot Galen. The work was very popular in Ara-
topics at that time. In Basra he came into con- bic, and it was translated into several Euro-
tact with al-Jahiz and al-Tawwazi. He then pean languages, including French, Spanish,
traveled to Samarra in 246/847, ending up Latin, and English.
in Baghdad where he died around 286/900. These sayings, together with the accom-
Central to his career was the prolonged panying biographies, bear only a loose
342
MUDARRIS
relationship with the truth, but the work is he refers to Kant and some of his views when
very nicely written and served as a model responding to certain questions asked by the
for many similar works in both the Islamic Qajar prince Badil-Mulk. This is one of the
world and Christian Europe. The fact that earliest cases of an encounter between tradi-
it was often translated into European lan- tional Islamic and modern Western philoso-
guages attests to the popularity of this genre phy in Iran.
of writing and is a good example of a kind of In addition to being a famous teacher,
popular philosophy that places the emphasis Ali Mudarris was also a prolific writer. He
more on style than on content. It also proved has written a number of glosses (taliqa) on
to be long-lasting in the Islamic world, some of the major texts of traditional phi-
being employed by both al-Sharastani losophy and authored treatises of his own
and al-Shahrazuri in their accounts of in both Arabic and Persian. Usul al-hikma
the thoughts of the classical thinkers of the (The Principles of Wisdom) is a commentary
Greek world. on the pseudo-Aristotelian text Uthulujiya
also known as the Theology of Aristotle.
BIBLIOGRAPHY Badayi al-hikam (The Splendors of Wis-
Mukhtar al-hikam wa-mahasin al-kalim, ed. dom) is his most important work and con-
A. Badawi, Madrid: Publicacines del sidered among the classics of philosophical
Instituto Egipcio de Estudios Islmicos, literature in Persian. The book consists of
1958. responses to a series of questions by Mirza
Imad al-Dawla, a close associate of the
oliver leaman Qajar prince Badil-Mulk. Ali Mudarriss
other short treatises include Risala fil-
tawhid (Treatise on the Divine Unity), a
number of glosses on Mulla Sadras Asfar;
Risala haqiqat al-muhammadiyya (Treatise
MUDARRIS, Aqa Ali(12341307/181889) on the Muhammadan Truth), a short work
on the spiritual role of the Prophet of Islam;
One of the most well-known philosophers Risala hamliyya (Treatise on Predication),
and teachers of his time, Aqa Ali Mudarris another gloss on the Asfar; Risala fi ahkam
was born in 1818. He received his early al-wujud wal-mahiyya (Treatise on the
education from his father Mulla Abd Allah Principles of Being and Quiddity), a trea-
Mudarris, who was a prominent teacher. He tise on being and quiddity written from the
studied Arabic, logic, kalam, and Islamic point of view of the school of Mulla Sadra;
jurisprudence. He also studied with his Risala fi tariqat al-siddiqin (Treatise on the
father the works of Ibn Sina, Nasir al-Din Path of the Trustworthy Ones), another
al-Tusi, and Mulla Sadra. He traveled to short gloss on the Asfar; Risala fil-illah
Najaf, Isfahan, and Qazwin and finally set- wal-malul (Treatise on Cause and Effect),
tled in Tehran. Here Ali Mudarris became a gloss on the sections of the Asfar dealing
a famous teacher and taught at the Qasim with causality; and Sabil al-rashad fi amr al-
Khan and Sipahsalar madrasas. He trained maad (The Path of Guidance in the Ques-
numerous students until his death in 1889. tion of Resurrection), a gloss on the parts of
Ali Mudarris is one of the earliest phi- the Asfar dealing with bodily and spiritual
losophers in Iran in the nineteenth century resurrection.
who had some knowledge of and interest in Ali Mudarris has also written a large num-
Western philosophy. In his Badayi al-hikam, ber of glosses on the texts he taught during his
considered to be his most important work, long teaching career. These include glosses of
343
AL-MUHASIBI
Mulla Sadras Asfar, Mulla Sadras commen- al-Muhandis al-Basri,see Ibn al-Haytham
tary on the Metaphysics (Ilahiyyat) of Ibn
Sinas Shifa (The Cure), Mulla Sadras com-
mentary on Suhrawardis Hikmat al-ishraq
(The Wisdom of the Orient), Mulla Sadras
commentary on Abharis Hidaya (Guidance), AL-MUHASIBI, Abu Abdillah al-Harith
Mulla Sadras al-Shawahid al-rububiyyah (c. 165243/c. 781857)
(The Divine Witnessings), Lahijis Shawariq
al-ilham (The Dawnings of Intuition), and a Abu Abd Allah Harith b. Asad al-Anazi al-
gloss on Mulla Abd Allah Zunuzis Lamaat-i Muhasibi was born in Basra about 165/781
ilahiyya (The Divine Glimpses). Ali Mudar- and died in Baghdad around 243/857. He
ris also has a diwan of poetry. All of Mudar- was a famous Shafii legist and theologian,
ris works except Badayi al-hikam have been but was first and foremost a major philoso-
published in Muhsin Kadiwars three-volume pher-mystic of the formative stage of Islamic
edition of his works. philosophy. He was also regarded as the
founder of the Baghdad branch of specula-
BIBLIOGRAPHY tive mysticism. He is generally known by
Majmua-yi musannafat-i hakim-i Muassas his nickname, al-Muhasibi, self-examiner,
Aqa Ali Mudarris Tihrani, ed. Muhsin which might have been given to him by his
Kadiwar, 3 vols., Tehran: Intisharat-i contemporaries on account of his routine
Ittilaat, 1999. and keen practice of muhasaba, namely the
Badayi al-hikam, Tabriz: Danishgah-i introspection of his conscience and examina-
Tabriz, 2001. tion of his actions.
The information provided in the bio-
Further Reading graphical sources about the life of Muhasibi
Nasr, Seyyed Hossein, From The School is scarce and scattered. It is recorded that his
of Isfahan to School of Tehran, Trans father, as one of the richest residents of Basra,
cendent Philosophy, 2, 4 (2001), pp. 126. bequeathed a fortune to al-Muhasibi, who in
Saduqi Soha, M., Tarikh-i Hukama turn refused and returned it instead to the gov-
wa Urafa-yi Mutaakhkhir, Tehran: ernment, because he believed that his father
Intisharati Hikmat, 2002. was a heretic or a Qadarite. When he was
young, he moved to the capital city, Baghdad,
ibrahim kalin where he studied first the hadith, a very popu-
lar discipline of the time, then the sciences of
kalam (Islamic theology) and philosophy, and
finally Sufism. Such a pattern of study was
Muhammad Arshad,see al-Banjari almost replicated, two and a half centuries
after him, by one of his great admirers and
the most renowned theologian-philosopher-
mystic of Islam, al-Ghazali (d. 1111). The
latters life in fact exhibits a number of other
Muhammad ben Bagia,see Ibn Bajja striking features that are distinctly noticeable
in the very life of Muhasibi himself. Hence the
impact of the latter on al-Ghazali is profound.
Prior to his study of theology, or Mutazili
Muhammad b. Karram,see Ibn Karram theology to be more precise, Muhasibi had
344
AL-MUHASIBI
received a well-rounded formation in the field on guard and not to let him fall into the error
of hadith, though he had at times incurred the of trances and ecstatic utterances. It is only
wrath of Ahmad ibn Hanbal, the founder the intellect, he proclaims, that enables man
of the conservative Hanbali legal school, due to distinguish what is the useful and what is
to his so-called wholesale acceptance of the detrimental and also guides him to the cor-
hadiths and also because of his seemingly rect understanding of the teachings of the
unorthodox mystical teachings or even for his Quran and the hadith. Apart from the doc-
strict practice of self-examination. Possibly trine of self-examination, al-Muhasibi has
to avoid further hostility from his Hanbali supplied philosophical definitions for a vari-
critics, he is said to have fled back to his native ety of key mystical concepts, such as maqam
town, Basra. There he stayed for a short period (station), hal (state), rida (satisfaction), faqr
of time, and then returned again to Baghdad (poverty), ghina (wealth), hudur (presence),
where he pursued the study of the Mutazili ghayba (absence), and so on.
theology and learned in-depth rational argu- Along with his Hanbalite critics such as
ments and dialectical methods employed by Abu Zura al-Razi, Ibn al-Jawzi, and Abd
the prominent Mutazili thinkers. But later, al-Rahim al-Iraqi, al-Muhasibi had also
he not only abandoned their theology but many disciples, some of whom, in their
also tried to refute it by using their techniques turn, became great thinkers and Sufis. The
against them. In spite of his criticism, al-Mu- most famous disciple of his was no doubt
hasibi remained under the influence of the -Junayd, the eminent representative of
al
Mutazili rational theology for a long time. sober Sufism, who offered vivid accounts
He always stressed the use and importance of of his masters scholarly teaching methods.
reason (aql) in his oral and verbal discourses. It was through first al-Junayd and then al-
His opposition was directed at their doctrine Ghazali that al-Muhasibis mystical doctrines
of the createdness of the Quran, which, he have continued to exercise their influence on
argues, was based on their abstract rational- the development of Islamic mysticism. As
ism. Be that as it may, his departure from the remarked by M. Smith, al-Muhasibi might
Mutazili theology led him to live the life of have had some impact, via al-Ghazali, on the
a contemplative mystic, confining himself to development of medieval Christian and Jew-
his house and imparting his knowledge to his ish mysticism.
pupils through a one-to-one relationship. Al-Muhasibi was indeed a prolific author.
Al-Muhasibi was an early original thinker, Among numerous works that are attributed
possessed of an extensive knowledge of both to him, only seventeen have survived. Many of
the theology and philosophy of his time. He his writings seem to be composed in the form
has elaborated his mystical concepts within of counsels and responses to the questions
theological and philosophical discourses. posed to him by a disciple. They deal mostly
His most original contribution to Sufism of with self-examination, self-discipline,
course lies in his famous doctrine of self- and observances required of a devotee on his
examination (muhasaba), a doctrine which journey to God. The most important, most
stipulates the necessity of assessing ones past comprehensive and the longest of all of his
actions and repenting for all the errors result- works is the Kitab al-Riaya li huquq Allah
ing from those actions, and the purification (The Book of Observance Concerning the
of the human soul from all that displeases Rights of God), which has been edited first
God. In both cases, al-Muhasibi stresses the by Margaret Smith and then by Abdulqadir
important function of the intellect (aql) as Ahmad Ata. This masterpiece of al-Muha-
an indispensable tool to keep man sober and sibi, which consists of sixty-two chapters,
345
MULLA ABD ALLAH ZUNUZI TABRIZI
each ramified with numerous subsections, is Al-Wasaya (Counsels), ed. Abd al-Qadir
well known among the Sufis as the Kitab al- Ahmad Ata, Beirut: Dar al-kutub
Riaya fi Tasawwuf (The Book of Observance al-ilmiyya, 1986.
on Sufism). The influence of this work upon
the later philosophers and mystics of Islam is Further Reading
immense. In particular, al-Ghazali modeled Massignon, L., Essai sur les origines
his magnum opus Ihya Ulum al-Din on the du lexique technique de la mystique
Kitab al-Riaya. Again, al-Muhasibis other musulmane, Paris: P. Guethner,
important work, Kitab al-Wasaya (or Kitab 1922.
al-Nasaih) (Book of Counsels), which con- Schoonover, Kermit, Al-Muhasibi and His
tains a series of mystical sermons about the Al-Riaya, Muslim World, vol. 39, 1,
personal reflections of the author, also exer- (1949), pp. 2635.
cised considerable impact on al-Ghazali, who Smith, M., An Early Mystic of Baghdad:
in turn produced his famous autobiography A Study of the Life and Teaching of
al-Munqidh min al-dalal. In the Wasaya, Harith b. Asad al-Muhasibi, London:
al-Muhasibi speaks about his quest for the Sheldon Press, 1935.
path of salvation out of the seventy and more Al-Sulami, Abu Abdurrahman, Tabaqat
sects into which the Muslim community had al-sufiyya (Generations of the Sufis),
fallen according to a saying attributed to the ed. Nur al-Din Shariba, Aleppo: Dar
Prophet Muhammad. The way of the Sufis, he al-kutub al-nafis, 1986.
concludes, is the true way, both in theory and Van Ess, Josef, Die Gedankenwelt des
practice, which guides to salvation. Another Harith al-Muhasibi, Bonn: Selbstverlag
significant work by al-Muhasibi is the Kitab des orientalischen Seminars der
al-Tawahhum (The Book of Representa- Universitt Bonn, 1961.
tion), which is concerned with death, dooms-
maha el-kaisy
day, and eschatological issues regarding the
Beatific Vision. Al-Masail fi amal al-qulub
wal-jawarih is another significant writing of
al-Muhasibi, which is composed of a series of
epistles written on a variety of pivotal con-
cepts of Sufism. One of them is devoted to the MULLA ABD ALLAH ZUNUZI TABRIZI
exposition of the nature and meaning of intel- (d. 1257/1841)
lect, Risala mahiyyat al-aql wa mana.
Mulla Abd Allah Zunuzi Tabrizi was a
BIBLIOGRAPHY famous exponent of the school of Mulla
Kitab al-Riaya li huquq Allah (The Book Sadra in nineteenth-century Qajar Iran. He
of Observance Concerning the Rights was a student of Mulla Ali Nuri, another
of God), ed. Margaret Smith, London: famous philosopher of the period. Accord-
Luzac, 1940. ing to a short biography written by his son
Risala mahiyyat al-aql wa mana (The Mulla Ali Zunuzi, Mulla Abd Allah Zunuzi
Epistle on the Nature and Meaning of was born in the town of Zunuz near Tabriz.
Intellect), ed. Abd al-Qadir Ahmad Ata, He studied Arabic in Khoy and traveled
Beirut: Dar al-kutub al-ilmiyya, 1969. to Karbalah, Najaf, and Qom to study the
Une vision humaine des fins dernires: principles of jurisprudence. He then went
le Kitab al-Tawahhum dal-Muhasibi, to Isfahan where he studied the philosophi-
ed. and trans. Andr Roman, Paris: cal sciences under Mulla Ali Nuri. He also
Klincksieck, 1978. studied mathematics.
346
MULLA ABD ALLAH ZUNUZI TABRIZI
According to this account, when the Qajar Sadra. The primary focus of the book is
King Fath Ali Shah invited Mulla Ali Nuri metaphysics in its particular sense (ilahi-
to Tehran to teach at the Khan-i Marwi yyat bi-manal-khass). In twenty chapters,
madrasa, Ali Nuri declined the invitation Zunuzi addresses all of the major problems
on the grounds that he did not want to leave of theology in highly accessible Persian.
his students in Isfahan without a teacher, The topics discussed include the proofs for
and sent in his stead Mulla Ali Zunuzi. the Necessary Being, existence and essence
According to some contemporary schol- as it pertains to the Divine Being, the abso-
ars, Zunuzis emigration from Isfahan to lute oneness of God, different degrees and
Tehran marks the gradual shifting of major meanings of Divine unity, Gods knowledge
philosophical activity in Iran from Isfahan of things with a preceding discussion of the
to Tehran and, with it, the beginning of the meaning of knowledge and knowing, and
School of Tehran. the Divine qualities of power, will, life, see-
Zunuzi wrote extensive glosses on the ing, hearing, speech, generosity, wisdom,
major works of Mulla Sadra including the and justice. As a hallmark of this school
Asfar, al-Shawahid al-rububiyya, al-Mabda of thought, the Lamaat contains numer-
wal-maad, and Asrar al-ayat. His glosses ous references to Islamic and pre-Islamic
on the various sections of the Asfar have philosophers from Plato and Aristotle to
been printed in the 9-volume edition of the Ibn Sina, Suhrawardi, Fakhr al-Din al-
Asfar. These glosses played a significant role Razi, Ibn Rushd, Nasir al-Din al-Tusi,
in the continuation and further study of the Ibn Kammuna, Mir Damad, Mulla Sadra,
philosophical works of Mulla Sadra, a tra- Abd al-Razzaq Lahiji, and the Shiite
dition that continues in present-day Iran. In imams.
addition to his extensive analyzes and expo- Zunuzis Muntakhab al-khaqani fi kashf
sition of the works of Mulla Sadra, Zunuzi haqaiq irfani (Royal Selections Concerning
wrote glosses of Ibn Sinas Shifa and Lahijis the Unveiling of Gnostic Truths) is another
Shawariq al-ilham. treatise on philosophical theology dealing
What established Zunuzi as a major fig- with the proofs for the Necessary Being and
ure of traditional philosophy in the nine- Gods names and attributes.
teenth century, however, are his own philo-
sophical works written in Persian. Anwar-i BIBLIOGRAPHY
jaliyya (Manifest Lights) is a commentary Anwar-i jaliyya, ed. S. Jalal al-Din
on Kumayl b. Ziyad al-Nakhais question Ashtiyani, Tehran: n.p., 1976.
What is the truth? and Ali b. Abi Talibs Lamaat-i ilahiyya, ed. S. Jalal al-Din
response to it. Zunuzi wrote the Anwar at Ashtiyani, Tehran: n.p., 1976.
the request of Fath Ali Shah. In his commen-
tary, Zunuzi provides an extensive analysis Further Reading
of the question asked and the answer given Nasr, S. H., From The School of Isfahan
by Ali b. Abi Talib. Taking Alis response to School of Tehran, Transcendent
as his starting point, Zunuzi traverses a vast Philosophy, 2, 4 (2001), pp. 126.
field of numerous philosophical and theo-
logical problems from existence and light to ibrahim kalin
theodicy, resurrection, and the unity of the
intellect and the intelligible.
Lamaat-i ilahiyya (Divine Flashes) is
a work of philosophical theology written
from the point of view of the school of Mulla Mumin al-Taq,see Abu JaFar al-Ahwal
347
MULLA GRANI
MULLA GRANI (81393/141088) Mulla Granis independent mind led to

his being exiled to Bursa. He is reported to
The famous Ottoman shaykh al-Islam have torn up an official edict (ferman) of
and the tutor of Mehmet II, Sharaf al-Din Mehmet II, which he had found incompat-
(erefeddin) Ahmad b. Ismail b. Othman, ible with Islamic law. For several years, he
known more commonly as Mulla Grani, left the Ottoman territories and went on pil-
was born in Guran in upper Iraq. He trav- grimage. Upon his return, he was reinstated
eled in Iraq, Syria, Egypt, and Turkey to as the qadi of Bursa. In 14801, he succeeded
complete his religious education, and studied Mulla Hsrev as the shaykh al-Islam of the
with such famous teachers as Ibn Hajar al- Empire, a position he held for eight years until
Asqalani and Qalqashandi. While in Egypt, his death in 1488. He is buried in a quarter
he became a distinguished scholar and was of Istanbul named after him. Together with
respected by the Mamluk rulers. He was Molla Hsrev and Akemseddin, Fatihs
appointed as a professor to the Barkukiyya spiritual teacher, Grani was one of the
madrasa. prominent and well-known figures of his
After having quarreled with Hamid al- time. Even though he was a scholar of the
Din Numani, a descendant of Abu Hanifa, law and seems to have no interest in Sufism,
the founder of the Hanafi school of law, ordinary people attribute a saintly status to
and cursing Abu Hanifa and probably the him in Turkey today.
Hanafi madhhab, he was exiled to Syria. He Granis works are primarily in the field
then joined the Ottomans during the reign of Quranic commentary and jurisprudence.
of Murad II and changed, at the request of In his commentary entitled Ghayat al-amani
the sultan, his school of law (madhhab) from fi tafsir sab al-masani (The Most Reliable
Shafii to Hanafi, the most dominant school of Book in the Explanation of the Seven Cou-
Sunni law in the Ottoman Empire. He taught plets), he criticizes such traditional exegetes
in Bursa. He became a tutor to Mehmet II, as Zamakhshari and Baydawi. The book
who was then a prince in the city of Manisa. was dedicated to Mehmet II. He wrote a
According to some sources, when Murad II gloss on Baydawis Quranic commentary
appointed Mulla Grani as the tutor of his and authored a treatise called Risala fi tafsir
young son Mehmet II, the future conqueror ayat al-kursi (Treatise on the Explanation
of the city of Istanbul, he gave Grani per- of the Verse al-Kursi). In the field of hadith,
mission to use, if necessary, severe measures he wrote a commentary on Bukharis Sahih
to discipline the latter. When Grani related entitled al-Kawthar al-jari ala sahih al-
this to the prince, Mehmet is reported to have bukhari (The Continuous Bounty on the
laughed, upon which Grani exercised his Sahih of al-Bukhari) in which he gives a
authority as the princes tutor and beat him brief account of the life of the Prophet
with the stick that Murad II had given him. Muhammad and introduces Bukhari as a
After this incident, the prince Mehmet and hadith scholar.
his teacher Grani developed a close bond. Grani wrote several short treatises on
When Mehmet rose to the throne in 1451, the recitation (qiraa) of the Quran. These
Mulla Grani was appointed as a religious include Kashf al-asrar an qiraat al-aimmat
judge or qadiasker, a high religious post in al-akhyar (The Unveiling of Mysteries in
the Ottoman Empire. When Mehmet the the Quranic Recitation of the Foremost
Conqueror entered the city of Istanbul, Mulla Reciters), Lawami ghuwar fi sharh fawaid
Grani stood next to his pupil and wrote a al-durar (The Best Lights in the Commen-
letter to the sultan of Egypt, declaring and tary on the Benefits of the Pearl), and Daf
celebrating the conquest of Constantinople. al-hitam an waqf hamza wa hisham. In the
348
MULLA SADRA
field of jurisprudence, he wrote a commen- study with such figures as Mir Damad, Baha
tary entitled al-Budur al-lawami sharh jam al-Din al-Amili, and Mir Abul-Qasim
al-jawami (The Shining Full Moons in the Findiriski. But it was also here that Sadra
Commentary on [al-Subkis] Jam al-jawami) encountered the fierce opposition of some
on the famous jurist and scholar Taj al-Din Shiite jurists to his Sufi inclinations. When
al-Subkis Jam al-jawami fil-usul. He also Sadra began his philosophical career in Isfa-
wrote a treatise called Risala fil-wala (Trea- han, the cultural and religious framework of
tise on Custodianship) or Risala fi radd the Safavid Iran had been to a large extent
risalat al-wala (Treatise on the Rejection of consolidated, and the process of establishing
the Treatise on Custodianship) in which he Twelve Imam Shiism as the official religious
criticized Mulla Khusraws Risalat al-wala. code of Iran, begun in 1501 by Shah Ismail,
Mulla Grani also tried his luck in poetry the founder of the Safavid dynasty, had been
and wrote a book of poetry called Shafiya. completed.
The book contains 600 couplets and was The infamous Akhbari-Usuli debate
dedicated to Mehmet II. within Shiism reached a climax in this
period, especially with the revival of Akh-
Further Reading barism by Mulla Muhammad Amin Astara-
Uluam, M., Grani (Molla, Ahmed badi (d. 1627). The Akhbari traditionalism,
emseddin Efendi), in Osmanllar Ansiklo grounded in a pietistic anti-intellectualism,
pedisi, vol. I, stanbul, 1999, pp. 4902. was particularly opposed to mystical and
Yildiz, S., Fatihin Hocas Molla Grani ve philosophical interpretations of the Quran
Tefsiri, Istanbul: Sahaflar Kitap Saray, n.d. and the sayings of the Shiite imams. Its fol-
lowers considered it sufficient to rely on the
ibrahim kalin literal authority of the sayings of the imams,
bolstering, in turn, the socio-religious status
of rulers and scholars who claimed family
descent from Shiite imams. The proponents
of the Akhbari movement, who had gained
MULLA SADRA (c. 9791050/ the unmistakable favor of the Safavid court
c. 15711640) until the reign of Shah Safi (162942) and
Shah Abbas II (164266), came to be called
Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Yahya al- the people of the exterior (ahl-i zahir) and
Qawami al-Shirazi, known more commonly the scholars of the skin or surface (ula-
as Mulla Sadra and Sadr al-mutaallihin, ma-yi qishr) by their opponents.
was born in Shiraz in 97980/15712. His It was against this background that
father is reported to have been the governor Sadra gave himself to the thorough study
of the province of Fars. Sadra received his of intellectual sciences in Isfahan. He stud-
early education in the transmitted sciences ied with the most celebrated teachers of the
(al-ulum al-naqliyya), which included such time, among them especially Sayyid Baqir
disciplines as grammar (nahw), Quranic Muhammad Astarabadi, known as Mir
exegesis (tafsir), jurisprudence (fiqh), and Damad (d. 1040/1631), and Baha al-Din
the science of the sayings of the Prophet and Muhammad al-Amili, known more popu-
Shiite imams (ilm al-hadith). larly as shaykh-i Bahai (d. 1031/1622).
After completing his formal education in Some sources add Mir Abul-Qasim Findi-
Shiraz, Sadra left his hometown for Isfahan. riski (d. c. 1050/16401) to the list of the
The vivid intellectual environment of Isfahan masters with whom Sadra studied in Isfahan
was to offer Sadra a unique opportunity to but no direct historical connection between
349
MULLA SADRA
the two has been established in a satisfactory times. Aqa Muhammad Bidabadi (d. 1783),
manner. Qadi Said Qummi, Mulla Ali ibn Jamshid
In his autobiographical essay, Sadra states Nuri (d. 1830), Mulla Abdullah Zunuzi (d.
that after mastering the views of the previ- 1841), Mulla Muhammad Ismail Isfahani
ous philosophers and whatever I was able (d. 1860), Mulla Muhammad Jafar Lan-
to find in the books of the Greeks, he was garudi, Mulla Ismail Khajui, Mulla Hadi
confronted with the fierce opposition of Sabziwari (d. 1873), Mulla Ali Mudarris
some simple-minded scholars of the Sharia, Zunuzi (d. 1889), Aqa Muhammad Rida
that is, the akhbaris, whom he compares to Qumshai (d. 18889), Mirza Mahdi Ashti-
the Hanbalite scholars of hadith, known in yani, and most recently Muhammad Husayn
Islamic history for their strict literalism and Tabatabai are among the most prominent
anti-intellectualism. He uses strong language figures of the school of Mulla Sadra.
in describing the feeble-mindedness of such In addition to these figures, Sadra also
people, and admonishes them for failing to influenced a number of prominent scholars
understand his grand philosophical system and philosophers. Here we can mention
which he calls transcendent wisdom (al- Muhammad Baqir Majlisi (d. 1111/1699
hikmat al-mutaaliya). This opposition seems 1700), the great Shiite theologian and the
to have been a major factor in Sadras deci- author of the monumental Bihar al-anwar,
sion to retreat from the public life of both Mulla Haydar Khwansari (d. 1099/1688),
Isfahan and his hometown Shiraz. the author of the Zubdat al-tasanif, Mulla
Sadras retreat to Kahak, a small village Salih Mazandarani (d. 1080/1669), and
near Qom, constitutes the second phase of Shaykh Ahmad Ahsai (d. 1241/1826). The
his life. During this time, Sadra continued most interesting figure in this list is Shaykh
his studies in solitude and completed the Ahmad Ahsai, the founder of a school
groundwork for the composition of his major known as Shaykhism. Ahsai wrote com-
works. After terminating his solitary years in mentaries on Sadras Kitab al-Mashair and
Kahak and upon the request of Shah Abbas al-Hikmat al-arshiyya but also criticized the
II, Sadra returned to Shiraz to teach at the two principal ideas of his ontology, namely
Khan madrasa built for him by Allahwirdi the primacy of being and the idea that a sim-
Khan. The third phase of Sadras life begins ple being contains in itself all levels of real-
here in the Khan madrasa, whose building is ity. Ahsais connection to Sadra, however, is
still extant in Shiraz. It was here that Sadra particularly interesting for the role it played
composed his major works and trained his in the rise of Babism and, later, Bahaism. No
choice students. As a devout philosopher, he compelling case, however, has been made as
went on pilgrimage on foot to Mecca seven to how Sadras ideas might have influenced
times, and died in Basra in 1050/1640 on or contributed to the establishment of the
his way back from his seventh pilgrimage. Shaykhi school. The scanty references to
Among the students whom Sadra trained, Sadra, his works, ideas, or school in the
Mulla Muhsin Fayd Kashani (d. 1680) and current literature of Babism and Bahaism
Abd al-Razzaq ibn al-Husayn Lahiji (d. are too general and indirect to warrant any
1662) are particularly significant. Both reasonable link.
Kashani and Lahiji married Sadras daugh- Sadra called his new school of philoso-
ters, carrying their master-disciple bond to a phy transcendent wisdom (al-hikmat al-
personal level. Sadra had a long list of fol- mutaaliya). Even though the variations of
lowers after his death as his ideas continued this term have been used by Ibn Sina and
to influence the Persian and Indian worlds others before, it signifies the new philosophi-
in the post-Safavid period into the modern cal synthesis Sadra sought to create in his
350
MULLA SADRA
writings and especially the monumental al- with Suhrawardis essentialist metaphysics
Hikmat al-mutaaliya fil-asfar al-aqliyya based on the primacy of essence (asalat al-
al-arbaa (The Transcendent Wisdom in the mahiyya). Suhrawardi held that existence
Four Intellectual Journeys). Sadras synthe- is a common term applicable to individual
sis includes elements from the four major beings. In this sense, existence is nothing
branches or perspectives of the Islamic intel- more than a secondary intelligible, that is, a
lectual tradition: Peripatetic philosophy, the universal to be found only in the mind. What
school of Illumination, Ibn al-Arabi and gives identity to things is their essence rather
his students, and Sunni and Shiite kalam. As than their existence because, Suhrawardi
the followers of Mulla Sadra later describe, thought, to know that both man and horse
transcendent wisdom seeks to dovetail exist adds nothing to our knowledge of them.
three kinds of knowledge: revealed knowl- Existence is thus a common term between
edge (Quran), demonstrative knowledge man and horse. What distinguishes them
(burhan), and mystical or realized knowl- from one another is their essence or quiddity
edge (irfan). As a hallmark of the post- which defines horse as animal and man as
Avicennan Islamic philosophy in the eastern rational animal.
lands of Islam, Sadra places more emphasis Against Suhrawardis essentialism as well
on revealed knowledge as an essential com- as the kalam notion of being as an accident
ponent of philosophy, and uses quotations (arad) residing in an essence, Sadra develops
from the Quran and hadith more frequently an elaborate language of being, introduces
than many other philosophers. Demonstra- several new terms, and revises some old con-
tive knowledge represented by the Peripatetic cepts of traditional metaphysics. First of all,
tradition is accepted in large measures but he makes a distinction between the concept
revised considerably in regards to some spe- (mafhum) and reality (haqiqa) of being. As
cific problems in philosophy and mysticism. a concept, being is not different from any
Finally, Sadra establishes realized knowl- other concept such as unity, humanity, and
edge as the basis of his spiritual epistemol- genus. Like other concepts, it is a secondary
ogy where he complements Suhrawardis intelligible which the mind abstracts from
somewhat unfinished project of combining the set of individual beings and properties
philosophical investigation (bahth) with that it observes. In this sense, being shares
taste (dhawq) in one single philosophi- the qualities of a universal in that it is appli-
cal vision. Given this synthetic nature cable to many objects univocally, does not
of transcendent wisdom, Sadras works change from one subject to another, and is
contain an in-depth analysis and critique of ultimately an abstract concept. The reality
the Islamic intellectual tradition, on the one of being, however, defies any such qualifica-
hand, and display highly eclectic tendencies, tions because the ground of all that there is
on the other. cannot be a mental concept only.
Sadras philosophical edifice is based The problem is further compounded
on an elaborate metaphysics of being by the fact that we can give neither a full
(wujud). Like Ibn Sina, he makes a distinc- description (taswir) nor a logical definition
tion between being and existent (mawjud). (hadd) of being. A logical definition is based
But unlike Ibn Sina, who was ambiguous as on genus (jins) and specific differentia (fasl).
to what to do with this distinction, Sadra In the case of man, for instance, definition
establishes being as the principal reality that is comprised of animal, that is, the genus,
precedes and constitutes everything that is. and rational, that is, the specific differen-
This view is known as the primacy of being tia. But this does not apply to being because
(asalat al-wujud) and contrasted usually a logical definition always includes certain
351
MULLA SADRA
things and excludes others. When we say vitality, and intelligence. Logically and
that man is a rational animal, for instance, grammatically, we use the copula is for
we are also saying that man is not a plant. all things that exist: the tree in my garden,
But, Sadra says, there can be nothing outside stars, my pen are or simply exist. But
being, namely, a proper definition of being ontologically, that is, from the point of view
cannot leave anything out. In a similar way, of the truth/reality of being, there is a differ-
being cannot be described because descrip- ence in the way various beings exist. To use
tion is based on an epistemic move from Suhrawardis celebrated example, the sun,
what is known to what is less known and less the moon, the candle, and the reflection of
familiar. But for Sadra there is nothing more the moon on the pool all have light in them.
known and apparent than being. The gist of But in each one of them, the intensity of light
Sadras arguments is that being has neither is different. At this point, Sadra introduces
definition nor description, and its reality can the concept of the gradation of being
be known only through intuitive knowledge. (tashkik al-wujud); another key term of his
To explain this special kind of understand- ontology. The gradation of being, which is
ing, Sadra uses a number of terms, includ- also translated as the systematic ambiguity
ing illuminative presence (hudur ishraqi), of being, states that being is predicated of
essential witnessing (shuhud ayni), and beings equivocally (haml bil-tashkik) and
unveiling (kashf). not univocally (haml bil-tawati).
For Sadra the reality of being not only This view holds that the degree of being
establishes individual beings and func- we find in individual existents increases or
tions as their ontological ground but also decreases in proportion to what sorts of
saturates them with meaning. This is borne ontological properties they possess. Just as in
out by the polysemic Arabic word haqiqa, the case of light, God as the Necessary Being
which can be translated as both truth and and man as a contingent being exist with dif-
reality. According to this, the more being- fering degrees of ontological intensity. Sadra
ful a thing is, the more reality and mean- thus establishes a gradational ontology
ing it contains. Sadras favorite example for whereby he applies the principle of grada-
this is the three kingdoms of plant, animal, tion to all things within the great chain of
and human worlds. Plants have more prop- being. This culminates in a view of meta-
erties and attributes than inanimate objects physics that sees everything as a symphony
but still fall short of the fullness of the of the infinite modalities and manifestations
animal state. With the capacities of motion of one single being/reality. This is further
and sensation, animals belong to a higher underlined by the ontological simplicity
ontological state than plants but still come of being, according to which being as an
under the human kingdom. The human absolutely simple reality permeates the entire
state contains the essential elements of the spectrum of existence from inanimate objects
two kingdoms below it, but surpasses them to God. Sadra expresses this idea with his
through such uniquely human qualities as celebrated phrase that a simple being-real-
language and reason. For Sadra, this points ity is (i.e., contains) all things (basit al-haq-
to an ontological hierarchy that permeates iqa kull al-ashya). This, in turn, leads to a
the entire cosmos from God to inanimate metaphysics of relations whereby individual
objects. entities are always seen as part of a whole
While all things partake of being in some and never in isolation from the kind of onto-
way, they do not exist univocally. As the logical relations in which they are found. It is
example of the three kingdoms shows, not all also at this point that Sadra incorporates Ibn
beings display the same level of complexity, al-Arabis notion of the transcendent unity
352
MULLA SADRA
of being (wahdat al-wujud) into his philo- everything other than God is subject. For
sophical thought. Sadra, accidental change cannot be other
The constant dynamism of the reality of than a change in the substance itself because
being as opposed to the static universality of an accident is by definition something that
the concept of being leads Sadra to develop depends on a substance for its survival.
a comprehensive cosmology. Even though Change in accidents is a manifestation of a
Sadras cosmology agrees with the main out- deeper change that occurs in the substance.
lines of traditional cosmology, one key differ- Furthermore, when a being undergoes sub-
ence is the concept of substantial motion stantial change, it does not lose its essen-
(al-harakat al-jawhariyya). Sadra uses this tial identity. Rather it becomes something
novel concept to introduce a number of new more or less, and Sadra understands
themes in cosmology on the one hand, and these changes in terms of ontological inten-
to revise a host of other issues in traditional sity and diminution. Things that undergo
psychology and eschatology, on the other. substantial change preserve their iden-
Following Aristotle, the Peripatetic phi- tity thanks to the successive movements
losophers and Suhrawardi had vehemently of change. Since Sadra equates final dif-
rejected change in the category of substance, ferentia, which defines the ultimate telos
accepting it only in the categories of quan- of particular entities, with being (wujud),
tity (kamm), quality (kayf), position (wad), what ensures the integrity of things as
and place (ayn). The philosophers view was they undergo substantial change is their
based on the idea that change in substance being. This leads Sadra to argue for change-
leads to the destruction of things. For them, in-permanence and permanence-in-change.
change in substance is not change but a pro- While the entire cosmic order retains its
cess of generation (kawn) and corruption essential identity, it is in constant change to
(fasad). When the substance of something reach its universal telos.
changes, it no longer preserves its identity This highly dynamic view of the cosmos
but rather dissolves into something else, enables Sadra to construe all beings in the
leading to the emergence of a new being. universe as a continuum of events rather
Against these criticisms, Sadra estab- than as opaque physical structures. Rela-
lishes change-in-substance as an intrinsic tions rather than solidified objects take on
quality of things. Instead of defining change a prime significance in Sadras cosmologi-
as a system of external relations and as an cal analyses, and he applies the idea rather
accident, he posits substantial motion as profusely to numerous problems of tradi-
an essential property of the way things are. tional Islamic philosophy. His concept of the
This turns nature into an abode of change soul is a case in point. Sadra believes that
and permanence all at once. In fact, the the soul is a physical substance in its origi-
specific nature (tabia) of individual beings nation, but becomes a spiritual being after
is now posited as the immediate cause of going through the successive stages of sub-
their change. In its basic sense, substantial stantial motion. Sadras celebrated phrase
motion denotes change in substance. Sadra that the soul is bodily in origination, spiri-
traces all change to a deeper transforma- tual in subsistence (jismaniyyat al-huduth
tion that takes place in the very substance ruhaniyyat al-baqa) expresses this point. As
of beings. Things change, says Sadra, due a Muslim thinker and medieval philosopher,
to various external factors as we see in Sadra rejects any kind of materialism that
the case of accidental change or coerced would reduce either the soul or the spirit
motion. What really accounts for change, to matter. But he is also aware of the subtle
however, is the substantial motion to which relationship that exists between the soul and
353
MULLA SADRA
the matter of the human body. His doctrine disembodiment (tajarrud) of intelligible
of bodily origination and spiritual subsis- forms from actually existing things. For
tence can be seen as a compromise between Sadra, such a definition of knowledge leads
the two views. to something less than the reality of things
Yet, this particular teaching of Sadra also because abstraction implies leaving out
points to a dynamic view of the soul. Just certain properties of things and carrying
like the entire universe, Sadra considers the only some mental attributes to the mind. The
human soul to be in a continuous journey epistemic gap that the theory of abstrac-
from the rungs of inanimate existence to the tion creates between the knower and the
world of the pure intelligibles. In contrast to known leads to ignorance, not knowledge.
the Peripatetic philosophers, who subscribed To overcome the difficulties of reducing
to a passive and unchanging notion of the knowledge to a mental construct, Sadra turns
soul, Sadra places the soul at the intersection to his gradational ontology and subsumes all
of various epistemic, psychological, and spir- knowledge under the all-inclusive reality of
itual effects. In its various states and modes, being. For him, the ultimate object of knowl-
the soul does not remain an untouched sub- edge is being (wujud) particularized through
stance in its journey from being a potential a myriad of modes and states. In fact, in
intellect to its unification with the intelligible many places, Sadra defines knowledge sim-
form of the things it knows. Each time the ply as a mode of being (nahw al-wujud):
soul, which at this point can be taken to when we say that we know something, we
mean the self, receives an effect from affirm or deny the existence of something,
within or outside itself, it undergoes some and this something cannot be ultimately
transformation for better or worse. At any other than being. In this generic sense, being
rate, the soul is not a passive receptacle of is the standing condition of all knowledge,
material, sensate, and intellectual effects but and precedes the discursive considerations of
rather transformed by them. For Sadra, the the knowing subject.
ascending journey of the soul continues even At this point, Sadra criticizes the kalam
after it departs the human body. thinkers and especially Fakhr al-Din al-Razi
Sadras concept of knowledge weaves for defining knowledge as a relation (idafa)
together the major elements of his ontology, between the knower and the known. When
cosmology, and psychology outlined above. we define knowledge as a relation we deprive
Sadra incorporates many elements from the both the knowing subject and the object
Peripatetic and Illuminationist schools. Like known of any cognitive content before their
Ibn Sina, he defines demonstrative knowl- epistemic encounter. But this is not true,
edge (burhan) as based on sound proofs says Sadra, because being is saturated with
arrived at through a careful analysis of meaning and intelligibility whether a sub-
logical concepts. He also accepts Ibn Sinas ject knows it or not. Furthermore, to know
notion of intuition (hads) as quick appre- something is to grasp and appropriate its
hension, and posits it as the ultimate basis intelligible form (al-surat al-maqula). For
of self-evident truths that cannot be further Sadra, the intelligible forms are not mere
based on some other truths. At this point, concepts, notions, or contents of the mind
Sadra agrees with Ibn Sina that knowledge but substances that belong to the world of
is both constructed (logical demonstration) the intelligibilia. Following the Platonists
and discovered (intuitive apprehension). But before him, Sadra establishes the world of
he criticizes the Peripatetic philosophers for the intelligibilia as an independent realm of
defining knowledge as the abstraction or existence where the forms and archetypal
354
MULLA SADRA
realities of things reside. In a hierarchical where what is conceived as a conceptual

scale of being, the intelligible world occupies representation corresponds to an external
a place higher than the physical and/or sen- reality. The proposition that it is raining
sate world, which is construed to be only a outside is such a representation and it is true
dim reflection of the world of Platonic Ideas. provided that it is really and actually raining
In Sadras words, material forms are noth- outside. But my representation of rain and
ing but icons and moulds of these disembod- the actual state of raining are two separate
ied [i.e., intelligible] forms. Since the Ideas realities. What links them together in any
or what Sadra calls intelligible forms exist meaningful statement is a veridical corre-
in an immutable world above the world spondence between the two. This kind of
of generation and corruption, they enjoy knowledge encompasses all demonstrative
universality and permanence. knowledge and meets the demands of our
Knowledge as participation in the intel- daily epistemic needs.
ligible world is underscored by Sadras cel- But there are certain cases in which we
ebrated defense of the unification of the cannot make such a clear distinction between
intellect and the intelligible (ittihad al-aqil an entity or state which is the object of a
wal-maqul). Both Ibn Sina and Suhrawardi proposition and the subject expressing or
were diametrically opposed to any unifica- formulating such a proposition. My feeling
tion between the intellect and what it knows. of pain is a case in point. As Suhrawardi and
Ibn Sina had attributed this idea to Porphyry later Wittgenstein would state, when I say
and called it a mere sophistry. For him, that I am in pain, there is no distinction
what can happen between any two things is between the I who utters this sentence and
a conjunction (ittisal) at best, not a unifica- the I who is in pain. It is true that the state-
tion (ittihad) because unification implies the ment of pain is a second-order conceptual-
transformation of two separate substances ization and different from the actual pain.
into one single being. By contrast, Sadra But it remains that the subject who feels the
posits the unification of the intellect and the pain and expresses it is one and the same.
intelligible as a condition for veritable knowl- Sadra takes this to mean that in such cases
edge for he considers the ultimate meaning the subject-object dichotomy is overcome.
of things to lie not in the things themselves, He calls this knowledge by presence (al-
as the majority of the Peripatetics would ilm al-huduri) where knowledge is based on
assume, or in the mind, as some kalam the presence of what is known rather than
thinkers would argue, but in the world of a representation of it. Although knowledge
the disembodied intelligibles. In this regard, by presence applies to sense perception
the proper locus of knowledge is beyond the and can be compared in this limited sense
individual mind and perhaps somewhere in to Russells knowledge by acquaintance,
the encounter between the knowing subject Sadra extends it to intellection and Gods
and the intelligible world. knowledge of the world. His defense of the
All these considerations lead Sadra to unification of the intellect and the intel-
make a clear distinction between two types ligible is thus closely related to knowledge
of knowledge, a distinction that he borrows by presence, and this leads him to develop
from Suhrawardi. The first, which Sadra a concept of knowledge that can be called
calls knowledge by representation (al-ilm mystical rather than purely demonstrative
al-irtisami) and can be compared to Rus- and philosophical.
sells knowledge by description, is based Another major field in which Sadra has
on a correspondence theory of knowledge written extensively is eschatology. Sadra
355
MULLA SADRA
gives detailed descriptions of the posthu- to bring his transcendent wisdom into
mous state and various eschatological events conformity with the religious ideas derived
by using his own philosophical formulations. from the Quran and hadith.
We already mentioned that Sadra considers
the gradual perfection of the soul to con-
tinue after death through substantial motion BIBLIOGRAPHY
whereby the soul, depending on her acts of Huduth al-alam (Temporal Origination of
virtue, reaches higher degrees of spiritual the World), ed. with a Persian translation
fulfillment. On the question of resurrection, by Muhammad Khwajawi, Tehran:
Sadra clearly defends bodily resurrection Intisharat-i Mawla, 1343 ah.
(hashr jismani) which comprises the spiri- Sharh usul al-kafi (Commentary on the
tual (ruhani) but adds that after death, each Usul al-Kafi), ed. Muhammad Khwajawi,
individual is given a subtle body or being Tehran: n.p., 1366 ah.
(al-jism al-latif). Ones actions in this world Majmua-yi rasail-i falsafi-yi Sadr
determine ones subtle body, its proximity to al-mutaallihin, ed. Hamid Naji Isfahani,
the Divine, and so on. Tehran: Intisharat-i Hikmat, 1375 ah.
In addition to his philosophical works, Al-Mazahir al-ilahiyya fi asrar al-ulum
Sadra also wrote several works on the al-kamaliyya (Divine Manifestations in
Quranic exegesis and hadith. His incom- the Secrets of the Sciences of Perfection),
plete yet extensive commentary on the ed. Sayyid Muhammad Khamanei,
Quran is a tour de force example of Tehran: Bunyad-i Hikmat-i Islami-yi
philosophical exegesis and combines four Sadra, 1378 ah.
major schools of Quranic hermeneutics: Al-Hikmat al-mutaaliya fil-asfar
Sufi commentaries represented chiefly by al-aqliyya al-arbaa (The Transcendent
Ibn al-Arabi, Shiite interpretations of Wisdom in the Four Intellective
the Quran and hadith represented by the Journeys), 9 vols with commentaries
sixth Shiite imam Jafar al-Sadiq, Sunni of Sabziwari, Qumshai, Zunuzi,
and Shiite theological commentaries Tabatabai and others; preface by
going back to such figures as Fakhr al-Din M. Rida al-Muzaffar, Tehran: n.p.,
al-Razi and Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, and 1383 ah.
finally philosophical commentaries that Al-Shawahid al-rubabiyya (Divine
go back, inter alia, to al-Farabi and Ibn Witnesses), ed. S. Jalal al-Din Ashtiyani,
Sina. While Sadras own interpretations are Mashhad: al-Markaz al-jami lin-nashr,
quite eclectic, they are clearly tilted toward 1981.
Sufism. In addition to this commentary, Al-Hikmat al-arshiyya, trans. James
Sadra has written three other works on W. Morris, The Wisdom of the Throne:
Quranic hermeneutics, all of which deal An Introduction to the Philosophy
with the principles and philosophical foun- of Mulla Sadra, Princeton: Princeton
dations of reading the revealed text. The University Press, 1981.
works in this category include Mafatih al- Kitab al-mashair, ed. Henry Corbin with
ghayb, Mutashabihat al-quran, and Asrar French translation as Le Livre des pn
al-ayat. Mention should also be made of trations mtaphysiques, Tehran: Institut
Sadras three-volume commentary on the Francais dIranologie de Thran,
famous Shiite hadith collection Usul al- 1982.
kafi, compiled by Kulayni. This incomplete Tafsir al-quran al-karim, 7 vols, ed,
yet impressive commentary attests to the Muhammad Khwajawi, Qum: Bidar
fact that Sadra made a deliberate attempt Press, 198790.
356
MNIF PAA
Further Reading figures of the Union and Progress (Ittihat

Akgen, Alparslan, Being and Existence ve Terakki) movement of the time, Mnif
in Sadra and Heidegger, Kuala Lumpur: Paa remained close to the seat of politi-
International Institute of Islamic Thought cal power. This enabled him to play a key
and Civilization, 1993. role in introducing the school reforms of the
Corbin, Henry, En Islam Iranien, vol. 4, Abdulhamid era. He formulated a semi-con-
Paris, Gallimard, 1972, pp. 52122. servative yet eventually modernist discourse
Kalin, Ibrahim, An Annotated with the hope of making a transition to a
Bibliography of the Works of Mulla modern Ottoman state that would preserve
Sadra with a Brief Account of His Life, its territorial integrity on the one hand, and
Islamic Studies, 42, 1 (2003), pp. 2162. respond to the reform calls of the period, on
Between Physics and Metaphysics: the other.
Mulla Sadra on Nature and Motion, Mnif Paa founded the Ottoman Society
Islam and Science, 1 (2003), pp. 6593. of Science (Cemiyet-i Ilmiye-yi Osmaniye)
Mulla Sadras Realist Ontology and the in 1862. Like the other education institu-
Concept of Knowledge, The Muslim tions of the time, the Societys goal was to
World, 94, 1 (2004), pp. 81106. educate the new generation of Ottomans
Knowledge in Later Islamic Philosophy: about various issues. The Societys newspa-
Mulla Sadra on Existence, Intellect, and per Mecmua-i Fnun (18627) functioned
Intuition, Oxford University Press, 2010. as an encyclopedia for the general reader,
Nasr, Seyyed Hossein, Sadr al-Din Shirzzi whose ultimate goal was to teach ordinary
and His Transcendent Theosophy, people about everything from history to sci-
Tehran: Institute for Humanities and ence and political developments. Mnif Paa
Cultural Studies, 1997. and his generation of intellectuals saw this as
Rahman, Fazlur, The Philosophy of Mulla an essential component of their evolutionary
Sadra, Albany, NY: State University of process of reform. In many ways, this can be
New York Press, 1976. seen as a direct influence of the eighteenth-
Ziai, H., Mulla Sadra: His Life and century encyclopedists.
Works, in S. H. Nasr and O. Leaman Mnif Paa also played an active role in
(eds), History of Islamic Philosophy, ch. the opening of the Faculty of Arts and Sci-
35, London: Routledge, 1996, pp. 63543. ences (Darul-fnun) under the patronage of
Abdulhamid II. The Faculty was inaugurated
ibrahim kalin by Jamal al-Din al-Afghani. But Afghanis
speech caused an uproar among some Otto-
man thinkers, and Abdulhamid was forced
to send Afghani to Europe. Due to the lack
of students, the school was closed shortly
MNIF PAA, Mehmet Tahir after its opening. The school was re-opened
(182894 or 1910) in 1870, this time under the supervision of
Hoca Tahsin Efendi.
The Ottoman writer and statesman Mnif As an admiring student of the Enlighten-
Paa lived and flourished during the reign ment, Mnif Paa published translations
of Abdulhamid II. Having been trained as from the works of such European writers
a bureaucrat, he held various government as Voltaire, Fontenelle, and Fenelon. His
positions and became the minister of culture Muhaverat-i Hikemiyye (Conversations in
in 1877. For some time, he was also the min- Wisdom) is a compilation of short essays by
ister of commerce. Unlike the revolutionary these European philosophers.
357
MUSTAFA ALI
BIBLIOGRAPHY In 963/1556 Mustafa Ali went to Istanbul

Mecmua-yi fnn: Eser-i Cemiyet-i to enter a medrese. During his medrese years,
lmiye-i Osmniye (Journal of Sciences: he maintained his interest in poetry. Among
The Works of the Ottoman Society of his schoolmates, there were famous Otto-
Science), 18627. man poets such as Baki, Ruhi, and Srri. He
completed his medrese training in 967/1560.
Further Reading Having appreciated the difficulty of follow-
Akun, Adem, Mnif Paa ve Trk Kltr ing an academic occupation, Mustafa Ali
Tarihindeki Yeri, Ankara: Atatrk tried his luck in the Ottoman bureaucracy.
Kltr, Dil ve Tarih Yksek Kurumu, After he presented his book Mihr u mah
1999. (The Sun and the Moon) to Prince Selim, he
Budak, Ali, Mnif Paa, Istanbul: Kitabevi, took the job of a chancery secretary (divan
2004. katibi) first in Konya and then in Ktahya,
Doggan, smail, Tanzimatn ki Ucu: Mnif probably in 969/1561. Later Mustafa Ali
Paa ve Ali Suavi, Istanbul: z Yaynclk, returned to Istanbul and then became a
1991. chancery secretary of Lala Mustafa Paa and
worked six years in Aleppo and Damascus.
ibrahim kalin In 976/1568 he moved to Egypt together
with Lala Mustafa Paa. After the dismissal
of Lala Mustafa Paa, he went to Manisa to
seek a favor from Prince Murad by present-
Muslihiddin Mustafa (Hocazade), ing his book Nadirl meharib (Rarity of
see Hocazade Warriors). He then came to Istanbul with
the ambition of getting a more prestigious
post. For this purpose he presented his book
Heft meclis (The Seven Scenes) to Sokullu
Mehmed Paa, hoping for a secretarial post
MUSTAFA ALI (9481008/15411600) at court. Instead Sokullu assigned him to
serve as chancery secretary to the governor
Mustafa Ali Efendi was born in Galipoli of Bosnia, Ferhat Paa, in 978/1570, and he
(Turkey) on 2 Muharram 948/April 25, stayed seven years in Bosnia.
1541, and died in Jeddah in 1008/1600. After the ascension of Sultan Murat III,
He was one of the outstanding Ottoman Mustafa Ali left Bosnia and returned to
bureaucrats and intellectuals. His father was Istanbul to seek an appointment in court.
Ahmed b. Abdullah, a Muslim merchant. His He dedicated Zbdetl-tavarih (Choicest of
mother was from a family which belonged to Histories) to the sultan to obtain a bureau-
the ilmiye (scholarly community). His formal cratic position. Mustafa Ali joined Lala
education began when he was only six years Mustafa Paas campaign to irvan as pro-
old. He was sent to an elementary school to tocol officer in 986/1578. In the same year,
learn Arabic grammar. When he was twelve, Mustafa Ali was appointed as a tax registrar
he was already well grounded in Arabic. In for the province of Aleppo. He started this
his early years Mustafa Ali also studied Per- job in 989/1581 and remained there until
sian. He grew up in an Ottoman intellectual 991/1583. He then returned to Istanbul and
and cultural environment. His father Ahmed presented a series of short treatises hoping
had contact with local scholars and poets. to attain a high post in the Ottoman bureau-
Mustafa Ali met several poets and intellectu- cracy. In 992/1584, he was appointed to the
als in his home. finance directorship of Erzurum and served
358
MUTAHHARI
there for two years. He then became finance sixteenth century, written in 10008/15919.
director (defterdar) of Baghdad. This book was divided into four chapters. In
Six months later, Mustafa Ali was dis- the first, Mustafa Ali described the creation
missed from this post and returned to Istan- of world, in the second, a history of the
bul. In 997/1589, he was appointed as the prophets and Arabs, in the third, a history of
finance director of Sivas. Returning again Turks and the Mongols; the fourth chapter,
to Istanbul, he was appointed as a secre- which was bigger than the sum of the previ-
tary of the Janissary corps in 1000/1592 ous chapters, discusses Ottoman history from
but dismissed after less than four months in the beginning up to 1005/1596. His Nadirl
office. In the same year he became registrar meharib (Rarity of Warriors), which was
of the Imperial Council (defter emini). After written in 15679, narrates the Konya war
the accession of Sultan Mehmed III, Ali was and various events that took place up to the
again appointed secretary of the Janissary ascension of Prince Selim. Zbdett-tavarih
corps, but he resigned his post and asked to (Choicest of Histories) and Heft Meclis (The
be given the finance directorship of Egypt. Seven Scenes), and also Nushat us-selatin
Instead of Egypt he was appointed as district (Counsel for Sultans), were other important
governor of Amasya and finance director of books about Ottoman history.
Sivas. Finally he was appointed to a district Mustafa Ali also wrote many books on lit-
governor of Jeddah where he died in the first erature. His two divans, one in Turkish and
part of the year 1008/1600. the other in Persian, were considered signifi-
Mustafa Ali was not a typical Islamic cant books in this field. Some of his books
scholar and thinker. He was primarily an in literature are Mihr u mah (The Sun and
Ottoman bureaucrat, then a historian, an the Moon), Sadef-i sad gher (The Lustre of
intellectual as well as a poet. In his various a Hundred Jewels), Tuhfet l-uak (Curios
writings he reflected sixteenth-century Otto- of the Lovers), Enis l-kulub (The Hearts
man society which he had served in a number Familiar), Rahat n-nufus (The Carnal
of different roles. He was a sensitive observer Souls Comfort), and Mihr vefa (Affection
of the society to which he belonged. He was and Fidelity).
concerned over the course his society seemed
to be taking in the late sixteenth century. He Further Reading
was conscious of rapid economic, social, and Fleischer, Cornell H., Bureaucrat and
political changes in his society. He diagnosed Intellectual in the Ottoman Empire,
the problems which triggered Ottoman Princeton: Princeton University Press,
decline and put forward the prescriptions to 1986.
reverse that decline. By combining his per-
sonal experience and his theoretical view of adnan aslan
the state, he displayed his intellectual capac-
ity in producing policies to improve Ottoman
administrative practices. He himself believed
in the Ottoman meritocratic promise, yet he
was disappointed since he felt that his abili- MUTAHHARI, Murtaza(192079)
ties had gone unrewarded.
Mustafa Ali wrote both in the field of his- Mutahhari was born in Fariman, Khorasan
tory and in literature. His most important province, in Iran on February 2, 1920, and
book in the field of history is Knhl-ahbar spent his life in the educational system, leav-
(Essence of History) which is the most coming Mashshad in 1937 for Qom. There he
prehensive source of Ottoman history in the worked with some of the main theological
359
MUTAZILA
teachers of the time, people such as Aqa theological leader Khumayni and his support-
Hussayn Burujirdi, Tabatabai, and Khu- ers in Iran, and was very active in the 1970s in
mayni. Khumayni was particularly impor- supporting the movement that ultimately led
tant to him, the young lecturer conducting a to the overthrow of the Shah and the Islamic
small class on Mulla Sadra and Sabziwari Revolution. Forces opposed to the new regime
which Mutahhari attended from around assassinated him on May 1, 1979.
1946 onward until he left for Tehran. Mutahhari wrote on a wide variety of top-
There is not much evidence in Mutahharis ics. One of his books follows the traditional
writings of a commitment to Illuminationist form of the commentary, his commentary
thought as derived from Mulla Sadra, and on Tabatabais Usul-i falsafa va ravish-i
it must have been the class with Tabatabai rialism (The Principles of Philosophy and the
from 1950 to 1953 on Ibn Sinas Shifa that Method of Realism). Others are obviously
really had a significant influence on him. This collections of lectures, some for students
is not so much because of the substance of and others for professional groups in Iran
the course, but the method, because it taught whom Mutahhari hoped to influence in their
him how to use the rational and impersonal struggle against the regime. His writings are
techniques of falsafa, philosophy in the style marked by a calm and organized approach,
of the Peripatetic (mashshai) thinkers, and and they clearly owe a great deal to the
he applied that method to some very untradi- Peripatetic philosophers, the mashshaiun,
tional topics. These topics included material- rather than to Ishraqis, who played such a
ism in all its forms, including Marxism, since large role in the thought of Khumayni, for
these were both important factors in Persian example. There is no hint of mysticism in his
thought at his time. The government was try- work, and few personal references. Mutaha-
ing to orient the country toward the West, rri obviously had a difficult relationship with
and so toward science and materialism, and the thought of another important revolution-
radical opponents of the regime were often ary thinker of the time, Ali Shariati.
enthusiastic about Marxist approaches to
politics. In order to defend the role of Islam BIBLIOGRAPHY
within Iran, Mutahhari had to attack both Fundamentals of Islamic Thought, trans.
Westernizing influences in Iran and also the R. Campbell, Berkeley, CA: Mizan Press,
theoretical presuppositions of the Marxists. 1985.
He also sought to persuade his theological
colleagues that modern issues needed to be Further Reading
addressed, and if they were not addressed by Fihrist-I asar-I ustad-I shahid Murtaza
the madrasa then they would be addressed in Mutahhari, Yadnamapyi ustad-I shahd
other and less Islamic places, and the madrasa Murtaza Mutahhari, ed. A. Souroush,
would cease to appear to be relevant. Tehran, 1981, pp. 435552 (complete
Mutahhari came to Tehran in 1952 and bibliography).
took up a number of teaching positions, in
1954 joining the university to teach philoso- oliver leaman
phy. But his political career really started
in the uprising of June 4, 1963, against the
Shah. He was arrested and imprisoned inter-
mittently, but despite this, during his periods MUTAZILA
of freedom he organized some of the main
mosques against the government. He was very The founder of the Mutazila movement is
much the point of contact between the exiled generally believed to have been Wasil ibn
360
MYSTICAL PHILOSOPHY IN ISLAM
Ata in the eighth century, but it is clear that concept of a created and eternally changing
much of what became known as Mutazila world, however, remains the movements
was developed after Wasils time. The name most important legacy.
means those who withdraw themselves,
and probably refers to the practice of these Further Reading
early scholars of dedicating themselves to Hourani, G., Reason and Tradition in
study and discussion rather than playing an Islamic Ethics, Cambridge: Cambridge
active role in public affairs. They enjoyed University Press, 1985.
the patronage of several early caliphs, nota- Nader, A. N., Le systeme philosophique
bly al-Mamun, and the movement spread des Mutazila, Beirut: Dar el-machreq,
from its initial base in Basra to Baghdad 1984.
and other parts of the Islamic world. The
caliph al-Mutawakkil rejected Mutazilite oliver leaman
teachings, but this did the school no imme-
diate harm.
More damaging was the assault of al-
Ashari and his followers on the Mutazilite
position. From the tenth century on, Asha MYSTICAL PHILOSOPHY IN ISLAM
riyya gained ground, and Mutazila was
no longer the orthodoxy. Despite this Mystical philosophy has long been a pow-
Mutazilite schools continued to flourish in erful sub-stratum running through Islamic
Basra and Baghdad, the former surviving philosophy. It has sometimes been proposed
until the Mongol invasion in the thirteenth that Islamic philosophers and theologians
century. Though Sunni Muslims regarded turned to mysticism as a counterweight to
the Mutazila as heretical, their ideas contin- the influence of the more rational philos-
ued to influence Shii thinkers in Persia. ophies derived from classical Greece, Aris-
The objective of Mutazila was to reach totelianism, Platonism, and Neoplatonism.
a rational understanding of the Quran This is to mistake the case on several lev-
and the Islamic faith. Faith alone was els. First, most thinkers who attacked
not enough; reason was also needed to classical philosophy, the most important
truly understand God and his will. The being al-Ghazali, did so not because they
Mutazila were the first to introduce atom- rejected rationalism in philosophy per se,
ism into Islamic thought, and this legacy but because they felt that rational philoso-
persisted in the beliefs of the Ashariyya phy was reaching the wrong conclusions
and many succeeding schools. They also about the nature of creation, the world,
stressed the unity of God and, not very God, the soul and so on. Few rejected ratio-
successfully, principles of divine mercy nalism itself; they often employed rational
and justice. Here they fell foul of what is tools of their own.
known in Christian theology as the prob- Second, the falasifa or Peripatetics them-
lem of evil, for they failed to reconcile selves used mystical elements in their
Gods divine goodness with the evil of thought, drawing not just on Neoplatonism
men. For this they were taken to task by but on Eastern traditions. The oriental phi-
al-Ashari. Other elements of Mutazilite losophy of Ibn Sina is an often-cited exam-
belief included the duty of all Muslims to ple. Third, it is simply erroneous to see mys-
combat evil wherever they found it, a ver- ticism and rationalism as being constantly
sion of which has resurfaced in the mod- opposed. There was at least as much sympa-
ern Wahhabi movement. Atomism and the thy as there was opposition between the two
361
concepts. Attempts at synthesis include such latter becomes that of one who helps pre-
notable works as those of al-Suhrawardi, pare the spirit for the journey to knowledge,
Mir Damad, Mulla Sadra and, much later, rather than transmitting knowledge directly.
Shah Wali Ullah. Finally, of course, mys- Illuminationist philosophy became hugely
tical philosophy in Islam was hardly itself a popular in the twelfth century and continues
harmonious whole, and the concept covers a to be so to this day, exercising much influence
wide range of schools of thought, including in Persian-speaking regions in particular,
the Ismailis, al-Suhrawardis Illumination- thanks to later expansions and developments
ist philosophy, and the great range of con- of the school and its teachings by the likes of
cepts and ideas that is found in philosophical Mulla Sadra and Mir Damad.
Sufism. Sufi philosophy is an incredibly complex
The sources of mystical philosophy range world which ranges from conservative tra-
from Neoplatonism and other classical ditions more or less aligned with Sharia, to
schools of thought such Pythagoreanism and more radical schools of thought which have
Hermeticism, to Eastern traditions. There is challenged Islamic law. Not surprisingly, the
almost certainly some influence of Zoroas- latter have often been persecuted by the reli-
trian philosophy, and the philosophy of its gious and civil authorities. However, much
related sects such as Mithraism, in Islamic of philosophical Sufism can be traced back
mystical thought. Hindu and Buddhist to the works of two scholars, Ibn al-Arabi
thought probably have indirect influence and al-Ghazali. Ibn al-Arabis influence
as well. However, too much emphasis on has been profound. His ideas on the unity
the sources risks overshadowing the highly of being and the imaginal world lie at the
original and intricate evolution of mystical heart of nearly all later Sufi teachings. Al-
philosophy in Islam itself. It may be profit- Ghazali and his followers argued the case
able to a point to unravel the skein of influ- for revelation as leading to a truer and
ences upon al-Suhrawardi or the Sufis, but more accurate knowledge of God and the
not to the extent that it overshadows their self than could be achieved through reason
own originality. alone. But again, though they privileged
Illuminationist philosophy, as developed revelation over reason, they did not reject
by al-Suhrawardi, most notably in his the latter entirely.
Hikmat al-ishraq (The Philosophy of Illumi- To conclude, mystical philosophy has been
nation), is perhaps the most famous school of and remains a very strong current within
mystical philosophy in Islam. Al-Suhrawardi Islamic philosophy, but it has made its stron-
held that knowledge can be acquired in two gest and most effective appearances when it
ways: the first is through reason and rational is harmonized and synthesized with rational
thinking, and the second is through ishraq philosophy. Many of the great Islamic phi-
(illumination). This latter usually represents losophers of past and present have sought
a higher order of knowledge, but it is not this synthesis, to bring reason and revelation
available to everyone; only those with pure into line with each other rather than keep
minds and spirits can receive illumination. them distinct and separate.
Thus, to become illuminated one first has to
prepare ones mind and spirit to receive the Further Reading
light. Transcendent knowledge then comes Chittick, W., The Sufi Path of Knowledge,
through the grace of God, without the need Albany, NY: State University of
for an intermediary teacher; the role of the New York Press, 1989.
362
Nasr, S. H., The Islamic Intellectual de la sagesse orientale, Paris: Verdier,

Tradition in Persia, Richmond: Curzon, 1966.
1996. Ziai, H., Knowledge and Illumination,
al-Suhrawardi, Shihab al-Din, Hikmat Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1990.
al-ishraq (The Philosophy of
Illumination), trans. H. Corbin, Le livre saria abbas
363
N
AL-NABULUSI, Abd al-Ghani a reverence and respect that is not appar-
(10501143/16411731) ent in his reference to other scholars quoted
in his work. Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-
Abd al-Ghani b. Ismail al-Nabulusi was Tahtawi (d. 1816), the al-Azhari shaykh of
born in Damascus in 1641 into a family of the Hanafi school in his Hashiya of Maraqi
Islamic scholars. His father, Ismail Abd al-Falah, refers to al-Nabulusi as The
al-Ghani, was a jurist in the Hanafi school. knower of Allah, my master Abd al-Ghani
Abd al-Ghani at the age of twenty was both (al-arif billa Sayyidi Abd al-Ghani). The
teaching and giving formal legal opinions. breadth of al-Nabulusis thought is particu-
He taught in the Umawi Mosque in Damas- larly evident in his book Wujud al-haqq (On
cus and the Salihiyya Madrasa, his fame as True Being), which details his Sufi ontology.
an accomplished Islamic scholar apparently Yet he was often accused of heresy by those
becoming well established. He died in 1731 hostile to Sufism, and he certainly in his
at ninety years of age, having left behind writings was aware of the potentiality for
hundreds of written works in virtually all the such a charge, and that no doubt encour-
Islamic sciences (there is a list of eighty-five aged him to explain why Sufism was per-
titles in Brockelmann). fectly compatible with the exoteric aspects
Al-Nabulusi stated in al-Hadiqat an-na- of Islam. One of the useful aspects of his
diyya (vol. 2, p. 103) that Jamaa is rahma, commentary on Ibn al-Arabi, his Sharh
that is, the union of Muslims on truth brings jawahir al-nusus which deals with the Fusus
Gods compassion. Tafriqa is adhab, that is, al-hikam, is that he produces a great many
separation from the Community of Muslims distinctions dealing with ontological issues,
brings about punishment from God. As a questions about the nature of being, and
prolific contributor to Hanafi fiqh, there is these do genuinely throw light on the often
hardly a work in the school that appeared rather confusing language of Ibn al-Arabi
after him that does not depend on or use his himself.
legal opinions. In the well known and basic
text in Hanafi fiqh, Radd al-mukhtar, com- BIBLIOGRAPHY
monly known as the Hashiya (gloss) of Ibn Al-Sufiyya fi shiri ibn al-Farid, ed.
Abidin, the author and imam of the school H. Abbud, Damascus, 1988; trans.
in his time, Muhammad Amin ibn Abidin E. Dermenghem, Lloge du vin, al
(d. 1836), frequently quotes the legal opin- Khamriya: pome mystique de Omar
ions of Abd al-Ghani, referring to him with ibn al-Faridh et son commentaire par
364
AL-NADIM
Abdelghani an Nabolosi, Paris: Editions encyclopedist. He seems to have spent most

Vega, 1933. of his life in Baghdad, had at least one son,
Al-Hadiqa al-nadiya sharh al-tariqa and according to his own account traveled
al-muhammadiya, Lahore: n.p., 1997. to Mosul to visit libraries there. He fitted in
al-Bureni and al-Nabulusi, Sharh diwan ibn well with the court, he was a Shii as was
al-farid, Beirut: Dar al-kutub al-ilmiyya the current regime, the Buwayhids. There
lubnani, n.d. are certainly many gaps in his work, and he
often points to them by leaving blank spaces
Further Reading and asking his readers to fill them in with the
Sirriyeh, E., Sufi Visionary of Ottoman requisite information, but the whole work is
Damascus: Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulusi, a fascinating survey of the existing literature
16411731, London: RoutledgeCurzon, of the time, by no means restricted to Islamic
2004. material but encompassing the widest reli-
gious and theoretical literature that was then
oliver leaman known to exist.
One of the delightful features of the text
is that it is written very much from the point
of view of a bookseller. So al-Nadim tells
readers how many pages there are in each
AL-NADIM, Abul Faraj volume, whenever he knows this, to help
(c. fourth/tenth century) them avoid being cheated by being sold an
incomplete book. The text itself is a catalog
Al-Nadim, Abul Faraj M. ibn Abi Yaqub of books written in Arabic, and is divided
Ishaq al-Warraq is chiefly famous for his into ten parts. These consist of the holy
book al-Fihrist al-ulum (Catalogue of books of the Muslims, Jews, and Christians,
the Sciences), which is basically a catalog grammar and philology, history in its wid-
or index of the sciences as known at his est sense, poetry, theology, and law. The
time, both modern and ancient, written in next four parts do not have anything to do
377/987. He was probably born in Baghdad with monotheistic religion, but consists of
around 320/932 and died there probably philosophy and science, legends and sto-
between 377/987 and 403/1007. He came ries about magic, the polytheistic religions,
from a family devoted to copying and deal- and finally alchemy. It could well be that
ing in books; his fathers name refers to his the book was at first merely a tool of his
occupation as a bookseller, and they seemed fathers bookselling business, but later on
to enjoy a high social status. His bookshop became much more important than that. In
in Baghdad became the center of intellectual many ways it became an encyclopedic com-
life in the city, and many of the most famous panion to medieval Islamic culture. It must
intellectuals of the time were known to have have annoyed the religious authorities had
regularly met there and discussed issues of they noticed it, since it not only discussed
the day. He refers to al-Sirafi, Ali b. Harun other religions but also magic and even por-
b. al-Munadhdhim, and Abu Sulayman nography.
-Sijistani al-Mantiqi as his teachers. It
al
is not clear to whom he owes his name (the BIBLIOGRAPHY
companion) but it was undoubtedly to some- The Fihrist of al-Nadim: A Tenth Century
one well known at the time, and al-Nadim Survey of Muslim Culture, trans. B.
may well have used his important con- Dodge, New York: Columbia University
tacts to carry out efficiently his work as an Press, 1970.
365
AL-NAJJAR
Kitab al-fihrist, ed. R. al-Mazandarani, the other Murjiis, al-Najjar did not con-
Beirut: Dar al-masira, 1988. sider amal (act or deed) as part of iman
(belief). For him, belief is knowledge of
oliver leaman God, his Apostle, and his commandment,
reverence for him, and verbal confession.
Anyone who neglects one of these tenets
of belief becomes an infidel. He also holds
that every single tenet is not necessary for
AL-NAJJAR, al-Husayn b. Muhammad the presence of belief; rather, all elements
(d. 220/835) as a whole make up belief. Al-Najjar does
not declare anyone who neglected one of
Al-Husayn b. Muhammad al-Najjar was these to be an infidel just because of his
born in the city of Bamm where he lived negligence. He believes in the possibility of
throughout his life. His date of birth is a difference between believers in terms of
unknown. He worked as a weaver at Dar merits. For him, faith increases but does not
al-tiraz (the embroidery house). He was a decrease. The fact of belief disappears only
follower of the Murjii theologian Bishr al- through non-belief.
Marisi in theology, and a follower of Abu Again, al-Najjar thinks that the works of
Hanifa in fiqh (Islamic law). men are created by God; men are their agents.
Al-Najjars doctrine became well known There is nothing in Gods realm except what
toward the end of the reign of al-Mamun he wills. The power (istitaa) to act may not
(198218/81333) in the region of Rayy precede the act. God has imposed on the
in the eastern provinces. Reports concern- unbelievers duties which they are unable to
ing his doctrinal identity in Islamic heresio- fulfill. The man who dies at his term (ajal),
graphic literature are not unanimous. Al- and the man who is killed is killed at his
Ashari classifies him among the Murjia, term. So everything that happens is divinely
while al-Shahrastani places him among arranged.
the Jabriyya (determinists), and stresses The Mutazilites al-Murdar and al-Iskafi
that most of the Mutazila around the Rayy wrote books against him. It is reported that
region were faithful to his doctrine. On the his death followed defeat in a debate with
other hand, several reports associate him the Mutazilite al-Nazzam. Al-Najjar had
with the Mutazila, while others classify followers in Jurjan and Rayy. His follow-
him and his followers as belonging to the ers were called Najjariyya or Husayniyya,
ahl al-ithbat (the affirmationists: that is, and were divided into three groups, the Bur-
those who affirm Gods qadar). The lack of ghuthiyya, Zaghfaraniyya, and Mustadrika.
unanimity is due to the fact that his opin- None of his books are extant. He is said to
ions on the theological questions which have written a Kitab al-Irja.
interested the ahl al-kalam (scholars of the-
ology) were not all alike: on some issues his Further Reading
opinions suited those of the ahl al-sunna al-Ashari, Abul-Hasan Ali b. Ismail,
(Sunnis), while on others they suited the Maqalat al-Islamiyyin (The Ideas of the
views of the Mutazila. The Sunni scholars Muslims), ed. M. Abd al-Hamid, Beirut:
continued to consider al-Najjar as the clos- Maktabat an-nahda, 1969.
est to them among all the other doctrinal Al-Baghdadi, Abd al-Qahir, al-Farq
streams. bayn al-firaq (The Difference Between
Al-Najjar followed the main Murjii posi- Erroneous Groups), ed. M. Badr, Cairo:
tion in the definition of iman (belief). Like Matbaa al-maarif, 1910.
366
NASAFI
al-Samani, Abd al-Karim b. Muhammad In discussing the issues, Nasafi develops a

al-Tamimi, al-Ansab (Lineages), ed. semantic analysis, a method not used or really
M. Al-Hulv, Beirut: Dar al-jinan, 1988. developed by his followers. The Tabsirat al-
adilla begins with the theory of knowledge.
ibrahim hakki inal Then Nasafi discusses the problem of the
creation of the world and goes on to estab-
lish the existence of its Creator. The unity of
God and the rejection of opposing views is
the next topic. This is followed by the dis-
NASAFI, Abul-Muin cussion of Gods attributes, in particular his
(c.438508/c.10461115) speech (kalam) and creative power (takwin).
Nasafi goes on to discuss prophecy, the rela-
Abul-Muin Maymun b. Muhammad was tion of God and humanity, human freedom
born in Nasaf around 438/1046 and died and responsibility, predetermination, and
in the same city in 508/1115. He was an definition of belief (iman) and finishes with
important theologian in the Maturidite a discussion of rulership. In his discussions,
school of Sunni Islam. Classical sources give Nasafis treatment of other schools is very
no information about his life. We know that severe. Even the Asharites were not consid-
he lived in Nasaf, a city which produced a ered by him as belonging to Sunni Islam.
number of scholars. His grandfather was Nasafi lived in an age in which Muslim
famous as a theologian, lawyer, and Sufi theology was reaching its peak, and he con-
who was reported to have written a number tributed to this development. An evaluation
of works. of his works together with those of Juwayni
Although there is no information about and Ghazali will clarify the differences of
his life, Nasafis main works have come method, style and the culture between the
down to us. In his Bahr al-kalam fi ilm Maturidites and the Asharites.
al-tawhid (Ocean of Discussions on the
Science of Unity), Nasafi presents the clas- BIBLIOGRAPHY
sical theological issues in a systematic way. Bahr al-kalam fi ilm al-tawhid (Ocean of
Al-Tamhid fi qawaid al-tawhid (Introduc- Discussions on the Science of Unity),
tion to the Principles of Unity) seems to be Cairo: n.p., 1965.
a summary of Nasafis masterpiece, the Tab- Al-Tamhid fi qawaid al-tawhid
sirat al-adilla (Instructing the Evidences). (Introduction to the Principles of Unity),
The Tabsirat al-adilla can be considered ed. Hasan Ahmad Habibullah, Cairo:
as the second most important work of Dar al-tibaat al-muhammadiyya, 1986.
the Maturidite school, the first being the Tabsirat al-adilla (Instructing the
Kitab al-Tawhid. Nasafis presentation of Evidences), ed. C. Salame, Damas:
the issues in this work is more systematic Institut Franais de Damas, 1990.
and his style is more accessible than that of
Maturidi. It is probably because of this Further Reading
style that Sabuni, a later representative of Madelung, W., Abul Muin al-Nasafi and
Maturidite school, states that Nasafis work Ashari Theology, in C. Hillenbrand (ed.),
was his main source. In his explanations, Studies in Honour of C. E. Bosworth, The
Nasafi follows closely the views of Maturidi Sultans Turret: Studies in the Persian and
and sometimes gives direct quotations from Turkish Culture, Leiden: Brill, 2000.
him. He also gives the views of his oppo-
nents in a fairly objective way. muammar skenderolu
367
NASIR-I KHUSRAW
NASIR-I KHUSRAW (394470 or of the Uniting of the Two Wisdoms). The

481/100477 or 1088) book was composed in 1070 at the request
of Ali b. Asad, the ruler of Badakhshan, to
The Ismaili philosopher, traveler, and poet explain and respond to the critical questions
Abu Muin Nasir b. Khusraw b. Harith al- of a tenth-century Ismaili philosopher and
Qubadiyani al-Marvazi, better known as poet Abul-Haytham Jurjani. The two wis-
Nasir-i Khusraw, was born in Qubadiyan, doms here refer to Greek philosophy and the
Balkh, in present-day Afghanistan into a tenets of Islamic religion. Nasir-i Khusraws
family of government officials. He served attempt to show the essential compatibility
possibly as a tax collector first under the of religion and philosophy can be seen as a
Ghaznavids and then the Saljuqids. Having response to the growing criticism of Greek
enjoyed the benefits of a successful career philosophy in the eleventh-century Muslim
in politics as well as intellectual sciences, world. Though not related to al-Ghazalis
Nasir-i Khusraw underwent a spiritual cri- attack on the Peripatetic philosophers, Jami
sis at the age of forty. This was a watershed deals with a set of similar issues and pur-
event in Nasir-i Khusraws life as it led him ports to show that the truth of philosophy
to leaving his government post, setting out and the truth of religion are in essence one
on his famous travels, and eventually join- and the same.
ing the Ismaili faith. In his autobiography Among Nasir-i Khusraws other works
as well as the Safarnamah, he gives a vivid on philosophy is Gushayish wa Rahayish
account of this spiritual upheaval and trans- (Unfettering and Setting Free, translated
formation. into English as Knowledge and Liberation),
Nasir-i Khusraw came to the Fatimid which deals with a number of cosmologi-
capital Cairo in 1047 where he received his cal, ontological, and eschatological issues.
formal training in the Ismaili doctrines. He Wajh-i din (The Face of Religion) is a tour
became an Ismaili missionary (dai) and de force statement of Ismaili philosophy and
was appointed as the Hujjat of Khurasan. spiritual hermeneutics (tawil) as understood
In 1050 he settled in Yumgan, present-day by the Ismaili philosophers. It deals with a
Afghanistan, where he developed a close number of religious issues from the point of
relationship with the ruler of Badakhshan, view of the exterior (zahir) and inner (batin)
Ali b. Asad, who was also an Ismaili. It was dimensions of religion. Khwan al-ikhwan
here that Nasir-i Khusraw spread the Fatimid (The Feast of the Brethren) is also a religio-
dawa until his death in 1077 or 1088. philosophical tract dealing with the issues
Nasir-i Khusraw left a number of works of resurrection and the human soul. Shish
from his travel accounts to Ismaili doctrines fasl (Six Chapters) is an exposition of the
and philosophy. His book of travels is called Ismaili doctrine of creation within a clearly
Safarnamah and gives a detailed account of delineated Emanationist context. Zad al-
his travels through the greater Khurasan, musafirin (The Provision of the Travellers)
Syria, Egypt, Mecca and Medina, and Iran. is an exposition of the spiritual journey of
Nasir-i Khusraw was also a major poet of the soul.
the Persian language. Due to the enduring
legacy of his poetry and treatises on Ismaili BIBLIOGRAPHY
spirituality, he continues to be revered as a Kitab Jami al-hikmatayn, eds. H. Corbin
pir among the Ismailis of Iran, Afghanistan, and M. Muin, Tehran and Paris: Institut
and Tajikistan. Franais de Recherche en Iran, 1984.
His most important work on philosophy is Gushayish wa rahayish, ed. S. Nafisi, Tehran:
entitled Kitab jami al-hikmatayn (The Book Nashr-i Jami, 1984; trans. F. M. Hunzai,
368
AL-NAYSABURI
Knowledge and Liberation, London and available about al-Naysaburi, but his tal-
New York: I. B. Tauris, 1998. ent, character, cultural background and
Diwan-i Nasir-i Khusraw, Tehran: contribution can be gleaned from his exist-
Azadmihr, 2002; selections from the ing works. His nisba, Nishapuri, suggests
Diwan translated by A. Schimmel, Make he came from Nishapur, the center of the
a Shield from Wisdom: Selected Verses Ismaili dawa in Khurasan, particularly
from Nasir-i Khusraws Divan, London: noted for its use of rationalistic philoso-
I. B. Tauris, 2001; trans. P. L. Wilson and phy. It was in this social and intellectual
Ghulam Reza Awani, Forty Poems from milieu that al-Naysaburi was to develop his
the Divan, Tehran: Imperial Academy of unique philosophical approach to the issues
Philosophy, 1977. and challenges of the time.
Safarnamah, Tehran: Intisharat-i Zavvar, Al-Naysaburis several works illustrate
1990; trans. W. M. Thackston, Naser-e that he was equally prolific at writing his-
Khosraws Book of Travels (Safarnama), tory, theology, and eschatology as well as
Albany, NY: Bibliotheca Persica, 1986; literature. He was very much part of the
trans. Charles Schefer, Sefer nameh; relation intellectual renaissance that was taking place,
du voyage de Nassiri Khosrau en Syrie, en and his importance can be determined from
Palestine, en gypte, en Arabie et en Perse, the fact that a number of his works have sur-
pendant les annes de lhgire 437444 vived, allowing us to capture and understand
(10351042), Paris: E. Leroux, 1881. not only the significance of his own thought,
Wajh-i din, Tehran: Imperial Academy of but also the beliefs of his age.
Philosophy, 1977. Al-Naysaburis works include the Istitar
Zad al-musafirin, Tehran: Ibn-i Sina, 1958. al-imam, an important historical text, the
Risala al-mujaza, a work on adab litera-
Further Reading ture, al-Zahira fi marifat, an eschatological
Hunsberger, Alice, Nasir Khusraw: The treatise, and the Kitab al-Tawhd and the
Ruby of Badakhshan, London and Ithbat al-Imama, which are both theological
New York: I. B. Tauris, 2000. works. Among these, the Ithbat al-Imama is
Ivanow, W., Nasir-i Khusraw and Ismailism, of particular significance to the philosophi-
Leiden: Brill, 1948. cal curriculum of medieval Muslim thought,
Nasr, Seyyed Hossein and Aminrazavi, for it is here that he applies rational tools to
Medhi (eds), An Anthology of Philosophy explain and expound his theology.
in Persia, 2 vols, Oxford: Oxford In his Ithbat, al-Naysaburi begins with the
University Press, 2001. premise that supreme leadership, the imam-
ate, is the pole and foundation of religion.
ibrahim kalin He uses a number of approaches to establish
his thesis, ranging from the ten philosophi-
cal categories of Aristotle to numerous natu-
ral metaphors that exist in minerals, plants,
trees, and animals. He relates that just as
AL-NAYSABURI, Ahmad ibn Ibrahim the substance (jawhar) is the summit of all
(fl. early fifth/eleventh centuries) other nine accidents (arad) namely quan-
tity (kammiyya), quality (kayfiyya), relation
A distinguished Shii Ismaili scholar, (idafa), place (makan), time (zaman), pos-
Ahmad al-Naysaburi lived during the session (jida), posture (nusba), action (fail),
golden period of the Fatimid dynasty in and reaction (maful), which are established
Egypt. Very little personal information is through it, similarly the imam is like the
369
AL-NAZZAM
substance in relation to other ranks within Bulletin of the Faculty of Arts, vol. 4,
the hierarchy of the dawa. part 2 (University of Egypt), 1936,
According to al-Naysaburi, God created pp. 93107; trans. W. Ivanow in Ismaili
each genus and species with a uniqueness, Tradition Concerning the Rise of the
distinction, and an advantage that does Fatimids, London: Oxford University
not exist in another. All are endowed with Press, 1942, pp. 15783.
a capacity that propels them to seek that
which removes their deficiency. Accepting Further Reading
that there are differences and disparities in Lalani, Arzina R., Degrees of Excellence:
every genus and species, he gives paradigms A Fatimid Treatise on Leadership in
of perfect examples in each variety, demon- Islam: An Arabic Edition and English
strating in a parallel manner that the imam translation of Ahmad al-Naysaburis
is at the apex of humanity. Kitab Ithbat al-Imama, London: I. B.
Al-Naysaburi uses these Platonic degrees Taurus in association with the Institute of
of excellence as the strongest indicators and Ismaili Studies, 2006.
proofs for supreme leadership in the world. al-Majdu, Ismail b. Abd al-Rasul,
He infers that just as the body is in need Fahrasat al-kutub wal-rasail, ed.
of the various elements from which it has Alinaqi Munzavi, Tehran: n.p., 1966.
been created, similarly the soul, spirit, and
religious noetic forms need the imam. This arzina r. lalani
is a testimony of the symbol (mathal) for
the symbolized (mamthul). He argues that
people would not anthropomorphize, doubt,
or drift away from God if they were to give
the same importance to the soul as they do AL-NAZZAM(c. 145 to 150230/c. 760
to the body. Illustrating his theory, al-Nay- to 765845)
saburi gives various examples of degrees of
excellence, in particular the suns superiority Al-Nazzam, Ibrahim b. Sayar b. Hani, was
among the planets, relating it to the imams known as Nazzam because of his talent for
position in religion, and cites analogies from writing poetry. The details of his life are
mineral substances, precious stones, and given neither by Mutazilite biographers nor
grains. Al-Naysaburi gives further examples by his opponents. However, from what is
from the plant and animal kingdoms that given about him it is possible that he was
have attained the pinnacle of refinement. He born and educated in Basra. Abu al-Hudhayl,
develops a case that just as humans have com- the famous Mutazilite theologian, is known
mand over all minerals, plants, and animals, to be his uncle (the brother of his mother),
so too the imam, being the quintessence of but his father came from an enslaved family
mankind, has supremacy over all humanity. from a clan near Yemen who emigrated to
Basra after the rise of Islam. Some sources
BIBLIOGRAPHY mention that he was a pupil of the philolo-
Al-Risala al-mujaza al-kafiya fi adab gist Khalil b. Ahmad (d. 162/776), which
al-duat, facsimilie edition in Verena endorses Watts conjectural date for his
Klemm, Die Mission des fatimidischen birth as 14550/7605. But he must have
Agenten al-Muayyad fi ddin in Siraz, died before the writing of Kitab al-Hayawan
Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 1989, pp. 20577. of al-Jahiz, his student, in 232/847; his
Kitab Istitar al-imam wa tafarruq al-duat death (in Baghdad) was probably in the year
fil-jazair li-talabi-hi, ed. W. Ivanow, in 230/845.
370
AL-NAZZAM
Nazzam seems to have gained the admira- unquestionable for a Being who possesses
tion of his teachers at an early age and he such a nature. Of particular importance,
claimed to have learned Aristotles works however, is his attempt to introduce Aristo-
by heart. He was known to have acquired telian causality instead of the atomist the-
knowledge from many different groups. ory which was held by Abu al-Hudhayl.
Early in his career, he was a student of his He explains that the atom as an indivisible
uncle Abu al-Hudhayl, then he studied phi- entity does not exist because the potential-
losophy with Yahya the Barmakid. He seems ity to changewhich means to be infinitely
also to have studied with the Rafidite theo- dividedexists always either really or logi-
logian Hisham ibn al-Hakam. Nazzam is cally. Therefore an entity such as an atom can
said to have suffered poverty in Basra; some never exist without the possibility of chang-
sources mention that he was selling nickels ing and therefore being divisible. However, it
in the market. However, his great reputation seems that he uses this argument in order to
as a poet and a theologian must have been demonstrate that the theory of atoms cannot
gained before his move to Baghdad. In Bagh- be used to explain the nature of the world.
dad he gained the patronage of al-Mamun, For him, the world was created all at once
and it is said that he received a high salary but appears in different stages, each at the
as an entertainer and poet for the Khali- appropriate time. He uses the Greek theory
fat court. His encounter with the famous of hide and appear which was known, as
poet Abu Nawas must have influenced him Wolfson points out, in the Aristotelian tra-
greatly and he probably became his stu- dition as potentiality and actuality. How-
dent. His poetry was famous for combining ever, he clearly holds that the world is Gods
metaphors and theological terms. Ibn Hazm creation and is not subject to pure chance
rightly describes al-Nazzam as having the or is in itself an eternal entity. The stron-
ability to describe material things as if they gest attack on his doctrines came from his
were spiritual entities. contemporaries, such as the scholar Ibn al-
Unfortunately, none of Nazzams com- Rawandi. The latter produced the strongest
plete works have survived, but some frag- arguments against Nazzams theories which
ments of his Kitab al-Nakt were collected were used by later Asharite theologians to
and published by Josef Van Ess. A great attack the Mutazilites rationalist tendency
many of his doctrines are also collected in and their use of inappropriate philosophical
Khayats famous book al-Intisar. Many concepts.
other Asharite biographers have attempted In conclusion, Nazzams theorizing was an
to reconstruct his concepts in order to show early attempt to produce a scientific philo-
up their weaker side and their insufficiency sophical system which would support and
for Islamic theology. His main theories, how- provide rational arguments for Islamic doc-
ever, are collected in the Kitab al-Haywan of trines such as creation ex nihilo and would
al-Jahiz, a faithful student of Nazzam. define the unity of God.
Nazzam was the first to have seriously
attempted to use philosophical concepts BIBLIOGRAPHY
in answering some difficult theological Kitab al-Nakt, ed. J. Van Ess, Gttingen:
problems. As a good Mutazilite, Nazzam Vandehoeck and Ruprecht, 1972.
attributed to God pure goodness, but also
added his incapacity to produce evil. This Further Reading
concept seems to picture the nature of God Al-Hajiz, Abi Uthman, Kitab al-Hayawan,
as pure goodness rather than describing Damscus: Maktabat mustafa al-babi
Gods abilities; hence the practice of evil is al-halabi, 19659.
371
NEOPLATONIST PHILOSOPHY, INFLUENCE OF
Van Ess, J., Theologie und Gesellschaft im them also. The works of Proclus and Por-
2. und 3. Jahrhundert Hidschra, vol. 3, phyry were translated into Arabic and widely
Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter, disseminated. So too was the work mislead-
1991, pp. 297441. ingly titled Theology of Aristotle, which
Wolfson, H., The philosophy of Kalam, is actually based on part of the Enneads.
Cambridge: Harvard University Press, Before long, Islamic writers were beginning
1976. their own attempts to develop and synthe-
size Neoplatonist ideas. The Liber de Causis
maha el-kaisy (Book of Causes), written by an unknown
Islamic scholar some time in the ninth cen-
tury, probably in Baghdad, draws heavily on
both Proclus and Plotinus, drawing on their
classifications and theories of ultimate causes
NEOPLATONIST PHILOSOPHY, and interpreting these in the light of kalam
INFLUENCE OF and Islamic scholarship more generally.
These two works became among the most
The school of philosophy known as Neopla- important channels of transmission of Neo-
tonism became highly influential in the later platonist ideas for the later Islamic world.
classical world. Emerging in the third and A key feature of Neoplatonic thought
fourth centuries around such leading figures that was emanation. Rejecting the Aristo-
as Plotinus, Proclus, and Porphyry, it was telian concept of God as the First Mover,
highly influential on early Christian philoso- who creates forms out of eternally existing
phy, which was of course emerging around matter, the Neoplatonists saw God as a kind
the same time. Neoplatonic texts were wide- of source of creative energy, from whom all
spread throughout the Byzantine Empire, created things flowed. Although this was not
and Alexandria and Harran were principal the same as the Quranic/kalam view of cre-
centers of thought. ation ex nihilo, it was still rather closer than
Key themes in Neoplatonist thought the Aristotelian view. Al-Kindi considered
included explorations of the relationship this idea when developing his conception of
between the conscious and unconscious the four faces of God. Later al-Farabi would
self, the seen and unseen world, perception adopt Neoplatonic concepts such as emana-
and knowledge. The nature of knowledge tion on a large scale, to the extent where
was widely discussed, and was seen as a al-Farabis metaphysics must be consid-
means to salvation; knowledge of the self- ered largely Neoplatonic; he has often been
led ultimately to knowledge of God. The described as the founding father of Islamic
Neoplatonists advanced a key role for inner Neoplatonism. Ibn Sina also adopted many
knowledge, gnosis, but they also employed Neoplatonic concepts including emanation,
reason and rational knowledge and often and there is at least as much Neoplatonist
sought to create a fusion of the two. influence in Ibn Sinas work as there is the
The conquest of Syria and Egypt by Mus- influence of Aristotle.
lim Arab armies in the seventh century meant At the same time as the falasifa were
that the major centers of Neoplatonist learn- absorbing Neoplatonist influences, so were
ing were now drawn into the Islamic world. other more mystical thinkers. Both Ibn al-
In Alexandria especially, Islamic scholars Arabi and Shihab al-Din al-Suhrawardi
eagerly explored Neoplatonist texts, and used the notion of emanation in their own
found in the Neoplatonist discussions echoes concepts of knowledge. For Suhrawardi,
of themes that were beginning to perplex emanation takes on a physical form; it
372
AL-NISABURI
becomes light, or illumination (ishraq). Brand, D. I., The Liber de Causis:

Although both thinkers were probably draw- Translated from the Latin with an
ing on much older Eastern traditions which Introduction, Marquette, WI: Marquette
linked light to gnosisto be fair, so also were University Press, 1984.
the original Neoplatoniststhe influence of DAncona Costa, C., Recherches sur le
Neoplatonic thought in Illuminationist phi- Liber de causis, Paris: Vrin, 1995.
losophy continued to be very strong. Nanji, A., Ismaili Philosophy, in S. H.
The high-water mark of Neoplatonist Nasr and O. Leaman (eds), History
influence came within the Ismaili movement, of Islamic Philosophy, ch. 9, London:
where scholars and theologians picked up Routledge, 1996, pp. 14454.
on emanation in particular and made it their
own metaphysics. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it andreas soler
was under the Ismaili rulers of Egypt, the
Fatimids, that Islamic Neoplatonism flour-
ished and Alexandria became once again
a center of Neoplatonist scholarship. This
ended with the fall of Fatimids and the AL-NISABURI, al-Fadl ibn Shadhan
conquest of Egypt by Salah al-Din (Sala- (d. 260/874)
din). It was at around this very time that al-
Suhrawardi was executed, also at the orders Abu Muhammad al-Fadl b. Shadhan b.
of Salah al-Din. It is probably going too far Khalil al-Azdi al-Nisaburi, one of the cel-
to suggest that Salah al-Din was opposed to ebrated theologians of early Imami kalam,
Neoplatonism, but it is probable that he, like was born in the last quarter of the second
many conservative Muslims, rejected Ema- century/791816, the exact date of his birth
nationist ideas. being uncertain. He originally belonged
It is interesting to note that two of the to the Arabian Azd tribe, but was born
great polemicists of medieval Islamic phi- and grew up in Nisabur, now Nishapur, in
losophy, al-Ghazali and Ibn Rushd, both Khurasan. Little is known about al-Fadl
rejected Neoplatonism and argued against b. Shadhans life. After migrating with his
it, from two opposing viewpoints. The for- family to Iraq, young al-Fadl began his
mer believed that Neoplatonism suggested education in Baghdad and continued it in
that, despite the power of emanation given Kufa, then in Wasit. He studied under the
to God, the world was eternal; he felt that well-known scholars of the time such as al-
the Neoplatonists had merely disguised Aris- Hasan b. Ali b. al-Faddal, Nasr b. Muza-
totelianism or tried to make its ideas more him, Safvan b. Yahya, and Hammad b. Isa.
palatable. Ibn Rushd, that ardent defender He returned to his country, where he settled
of the Aristotelian system, believed that the and carried on his scholarly activities. He
Neoplatonist idea of creation was simply was sent into exile by the Tahirid govern-
wrong. Thus the one attacks the Neopla- ment for the accusation of being a Shii. The
tonists for being too Aristotelian, and the exile did not last very long, and he returned
other attacks them for not being Aristote- to Nishapur. During his stay in Bayhaq near
lian enough. Nishapur, he was persecuted by the Kharijis.
He fell ill in hiding and died soon after in
Further Reading 260/874 in Nishapur, where his mausoleum
Bello, I. A., The Medieval Islamic is located.
Controversy Between Philosophy and Al-Fadl b. Shadhan is recorded to have
Orthodoxy, Leiden: Brill, 1989. been a disciple of the imams Ali al-Rida,
373
AL-NISABURI
Muhammad al-Jawad, Ali al-Hadi, and to have been written by him are lost. By con-
al-Hasan al-Askari. However, his meet- sidering the titles of some of his works and
ing with al-Rida is not well documented his documented scholarly activities, al-Fadl
and must be treated historically as suspect. clearly does not seem to be a typical Akh-
On the other hand, during his long stay in bari. Beside books on several subjects on
Iraq, he probably met with al-Jawad and al- the imamate doctrine, he wrote on huduth
Hadi and narrated many traditions on their al-alam (createdness of the universe), arad
authorities. It is indisputable that al-Fadl, wa jawahir (accidents and substances),
as an eminent Shii scholar, was a respected and istitaa (human ability to act). He also
representative of these imams in Khurasan. wrote refutations against gross anthropo-
Although he was much more seen as a tradi- morphists called the Hashwiyya, extrem-
tionist, his fame came for his proficiency in ist Shiis (ghulat), Qarmatians, Murjiites,
theology. His father Shadhan was the pupil dualists (thanawiyya), philosophers, al-
of Yunus b. Abd al-Rahman. Probably for Hasan al-Basri, the Mutazili Abu Bakr al-
this reason, al-Fadl used to regard himself Asamm, and Ibn Karram, the founder of the
as the last representative of the early Imami Karramiyya sect.
school of kalam which had been mainly
promoted by Hisham al-Hakam and two
of his students, Muhammad al-Sakkak and BIBLIOGRAPHY
Yunus b. Abd al-Rahman. Anthropomor- Al-Idah (The Explanation), ed.
phism was the most important peculiarity J. al-Husayni al-Urmawi, Tehran:
of this school and al-Fadl obviously held Danishgah-i, 1984.
similar ideas. He accepted that God was Mukhtasar ithbat al-raja (Summary of the
sitting on his Throne (al-arsh) as liter- Confirmation of the Raja), ed. Basim
ally expressed in the Quran. Like Hisham al-Musawi, vol. 2/15, Turathuna, 1989,
al-Hakam, al-Fadl defined God as a body pp. 20122.
(jism), but he did not set up a resemblance
between him and worldly bodies. How-
ever, he affirmed the attributes of God and Further Reading
added that they were not perceived by rea- al-Kashshi, Abu Amr Muhammad
soning, so knowledge about them could b. Umar, Ikhtiyar marifat al-rijal
only be obtained through all that came (Selections from the Information on
from God, that is, the verses of the Quran the Important Personalities), ed.
directly, and the traditions of prophets and H. al-Mustafawi, Mashhad: Danishgah-i
imams indirectly. Mashhad, 1969.
According to al-Idah (the Explanation), al-Khui, Abu al-Qasim al-Musawi, Mujam
the book attributed to al-Fadl b. Shadhan, rijal al-hadith (Biographical Dictionary
application to reasoning in religious sub- of the Hadith Narrators), Beirut:
jects caused diversity within the community, al-Marashi, 1989.
which was forbidden in the Quran. There- Nima, Abdallah, Falasifat al-shia
fore, the only way to reach truth is to consult (Philosophers of the Shia), Beirut: Dar
sacred texts (nusus) which are immutable al-fikr al-lubnani, 1987.
and indisputable. Given these views, later Pakatchi, Ahmad, Ibn Shadhan, Dairat
Imami literalists, the Akhbariyya, considered al-Maarif-i Buzurg-i Islami, 4 (19912),
him to be their leader. However, the attribu- pp. 502.
tion of al-Idah to al-Fadl is unproven and
more than 180 treatises which are reported m. ali buyukkara
374
AL-NUMAN
AL-NUMAN, Al-Qadi(d. 363/974) legal compendia culminating in the Daaim

al-Islam (The Pillars of Islam) to collec-
The foremost Ismaili jurist and founder tions of hadith, works on tawil and esoteric
of Ismaili jurisprudence, Abu Hanifa al- Ismaili doctrine, such as Asas al-tawil (The
Numan b. Muhammad al-Tamimi, better Foundations of tawil) and Tawil al-daaim
known as al-Qadi al-Numan, was born (Esoteric Interpretation of the Pillars), as
around 290/903 into a learned family in well as historiography, notably the Iftitah al-
Qayrawan, in North Africa. Very little is dawa (Commencement of the Mission) cov-
known about his family, childhood, and edu- ering the background to the establishment of
cation. His father Abu Abdullah Muham- the Fatimid state.
mad b. Mansur b. Ahmad b. Hayyun was Al-Qadi al-Numan is, however, best
evidently a convert to Ismaili Shiism from known as the founder of a juridical system
Maliki Sunnism, the prevalent Sunni school for a Shii state reflecting the universalist
of law in Ifriqiya. aspirations of the Fatimid caliph-imams
Educated as an Ismaili, in 313/925 al- while recognizing the minority status of the
Numan entered the service of Abdullah al- Ismailis within the larger Muslim society
Mahdi (d. 322/934), the Ismaili imam who of North Africa. He codified Ismaili law
had founded the Fatimid caliphate in Ifriqiya by drawing on Imami and Zaydi as well as
in 297/909. He served the first four Fatimid Sunni sources; and his efforts culminated
caliphs in different capacities, such as the in the compilation of the Daaim al-Islam,
keeper of the palace library, and as the judge in two volumes on the acts of devotion
of Tripoli and Mansuriyya, the new capital (ibadat) and worldly affairs (muamalat),
from 337/948 under the Fatimid caliph- supervised closely and endorsed by al-
imam al-Mansur. Al-Numans advance- Muizz as the official legal code of the
ment under the Fatimids culminated in his Fatimid state. As developed by al-Numan,
appointment in 337/948 by al-Mansur to Ismaili law accorded special importance to
the position of chief judge (qadi al-qudat) of the central Shii doctrine of the imamate,
the Fatimid state. The fourth Fatimid caliph- providing Islamic legitimation for a state
imam al-Muizz confirmed al-Numan in ruled by the family of the Prophet Muham-
that post, and in 343/954 also entrusted him mad, or the ahl al-bayt. The Daaim has
with the grievances proceedings (mazalim) continued throughout the centuries to
throughout the Fatimid caliphate. In addi- serve as the principal legal authority for
tion, he was authorized by al-Muizz to hold the Tayyibi Mustali branch of Ismailism,
the sessions of wisdom (majalis al-hikma) including the Ismaili Bohras of South
every Friday in the royal palace to instruct Asia. Al-Numan was also the founder of
Ismaili audiences in the esoteric Ismaili sci- a distinguished family of chief judges in the
ences, known as hikma, as well as the tawil Fatimid state.
or esoteric interpretations of the Quran and
the commandments of the Islamic law. Al- BIBLIOGRAPHY
Qadi al-Numan accompanied al-Muizz to Asas al-tawil, ed. Arif Tamir, Beirut: Dar
Egypt in 362/973 and died in Cairo, the new al-thaqafa, 1960.
Fatimid capital, on the last day of Jumada Tawil al-daaim, ed. M. H. al-Azami,
al-Thani 363/March 27, 974; his funeral Cairo: Dar al-maarif, 196772.
prayer was led by al-Muizz himself. Iftitah al-dawa, ed. W. al-Qadi, Beirut: Dar
Al-Qadi al-Numan distinguished himself al-thaqafa, 1970.
as a most prolific author. More than forty of Daaim al-Islam, Cairo: Dar al-Maarif,
his works are extant, ranging from numerous 195161; English trans. The Pillars of
375
NURSI
Islam, vol. 1, trans. Asaf A. A. Fyzee, Under Shaykh Muhammed Jalali, Said
revised by I. K. Poonawala, New Delhi: Nursi completed the medrese syllabus
Oxford University Press, 2002. and was awarded his diploma (ijazat) in
1309/1892. He then began to challenge the
Further Reading scholars to debate. He immediately gained
Poonawala, I. K., Biobibliography of fame with his knowledge and courage and
Ismaili Literature, Malibu: Undena hence he was given the name Bediuzzaman
Publications, 1977, pp. 4868. (Wonder of the Time). He moved to Mardin,
Al-Qadi al-Numan and Ismaili then to Bitlis, and finally to Van, and stayed
Jurisprudence, in F. Daftary (ed.), there until 1325/1907. During this time he
Mediaeval Ismaili History and Thought, started to form conclusions about the major
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, problems facing the Muslim world. He
1996, pp. 11743. started to refute doubts raised about Islam.
Within two years he had memorized around
farhad daftary forty major texts in the Islamic sciences.
In Van also, Nursi founded his own
medrese in order to put into practice his
ideas on education. He planned to establish
a university which teaches both the natural
Numan b. Sabith,see Abu Hanifa
and religious sciences in combination. At the
end of 1325/1907, Nursi arrived in Istanbul
to seek official support for his university plan
as well as for the development of the east-
Nur al-Din al-Raniri,see al-Raniri ern provinces. On the proclamation of the
Second Constitution on 24 Jumada al-Thani
1326/July 23, 1908, Nursi made public
speeches supporting freedom and the consti-
tution and their conformity with Islam. He
NURSI, Said(12941379/18771960) was active in the Society for Muslim Unity
(ttihad- Muhammedi) and following the
Said Nursi was born in the village of Nurs, March 31 Incident (31 Mart Vakas) he was
in Bitlis, one of the eastern provinces of the arrested and spent some twenty-four days in
Ottoman Empire in 1294/1877 and died in captivity.
Urfa on 25 Ramadan 1379/March 23, 1960. Between 1328/1910 and 1329/1911,
He was an original thinker and scholar who Nursi traveled from Istanbul to Van via the
made an important contribution to con- Black Sea and Tiflis, Georgia, then to the
temporary Islamic thought. His father was Arab world and Damascus. In his travels,
Mirza Efendi and his mother Nuriye Hanm. Nursi propagated the benefits of constitu-
Although his father was not an educated tionalism and how it could be made the basis
man, he encouraged his four sons and three of the progress and unity of Islamic world.
daughters to have a traditional education. In In Damascus, in the Umayyad Mosque he
1303/1886 Said Nursi started his education delivered his celebrated Damascus Sermon.
by studying the elements of Arabic gram- In 1329/1911, he remained in Istanbul
mar (sarf and nahiw) in the various village for some time and then returned to Van in
medreses (schools). In 1308/1891 he moved 1330/1912 in order to start his plan for
to Doubeyazd to undertake more serious building a university on the shores of Lake
studies. Van. He laid the foundation of it, but it could
376
NURSI
not be finished. In Van, he continued teach- he was sent to Kastamonu. During this time,
ing at his old medrese. During World War I, despite appalling conditions, he kept writing
he was appointed the local commander-in- his works, which were called Risale-i Nur
chief, and with his students took part in the (Treatises of Light). In 1362/1943 Nursi was
defense of the town of Pasinler against the arrested in Kastamonu and sent to Denizli
Russians. He was eventually captured by the prison where he remained for nine months.
Russians and sent as a prisoner of war to a On his release from Denizli, he was sent to
camp at Kosturma on the Volga. He escaped, Emirda, a town situated north of Afyon. He
and in 1336/1918 he arrived in Istanbul. completed his work in conditions that were
Nursi started to write books and was little better than house arrest. Nursi stayed
also involved in social activities. He was there until 1367/1948 when he was once
appointed to the Darl-Hikmetil-slamiyye again arrested, and sent to Afyon prison
(Institutions for Islamic Wisdom) and he also where he spent twenty months in harsh con-
became the founder member of the Green ditions. In 1368/1949 Nursi was released.
Crescent Society (Hilal- Ahmar Cemiyeti). In 1369/1950 when the Democrat Party
During 1338/1920 and 1339/1921, Nursi won general elections, more freedom pre-
withdrew into solitude and underwent a vailed in Turkey. Consequently, all the
profound mental and spiritual transforma- restrictions on him theoretically were lifted.
tion. He continued to write during this time. Between 1369/1950 and 1379/1960, Nursi
In the autumn of 1340/1922, Nursi was spent his time mostly visiting his students and
invited to Ankara, and given an official cer- consequently traveling to Eskiehir, Isparta,
emony in the National Assembly and invited Konya, Istanbul, and Ankara. On Ramadan
to make a speech to congratulate war vet- 1379/March 1960, Nursi traveled to Urfa
erans and offer prayers. He declined Mus- where he died peacefully in the early hours
tafa Kemals offers of various posts and left of the morning.
Ankara for Van. Said Nursi is perhaps the most influential
Between 1341/1923 and 1343/1925 thinker in the social and intellectual develop-
political changes in Turkey forced Nursi to ment of Islam in modern Turkey. His works
retire from politics and social affairs into a generated a social Islamic movement in Tur-
life of seclusion. Keeping with him only a key. If Nursis works are nothing more, they
small number of his students, he immersed are exegeses of the Quran. Nursi draws his
himself in worship and contemplation. In thought from three sources, namely Sufism,
1343/1925 Nursi was sent into exile first kalam (Islamic theology), and the contempo-
to the west Anatolian town of Burdur, then rary positive sciences. In a traditional sense,
to Isparta and then to the remote village of he cannot be considered a typical Islamic
Barla. His writings evoked a powerful pop- scholar; he is not a mufassir, mutakallim, or
ular response and began to spread secretly mutasavvuf. He developed an original way
through the region. The authorities exerted of approaching the Quran and Islam. For
pressure on Nursi and finally he was sent Nursi, since one of the major causes of unbe-
back to Isparta, where he was kept under lief was the natural sciences, he put great
strict surveillance. In 1354/1935 Nursi and effort into understanding and discussing the
one hundred and twenty of his students were natural sciences. He was quite confident that
arrested and sent to Eskiehir prison. They by the spiritual as well as intellectual power
were charged with opposing the new repub- of his works, he would not only revive
lics reforms and belonging to a secret politi- Islamic intellectual tradition, but also con-
cal organization. Nursi was sentenced to struct a new community. His search for truth
eleven months imprisonment. On his release, led him to concentrate on the meaning of the
377
NURSI
Quranic verses; his contemplation on the of what the Islamic sciences contained in a
Quranic verses led him to a kind of medita- different form. In this respect, Nursi and his
tion on the universe. According to Nursi, the works are revolutionary. Nursis Risale-i Nur
universe displays divine power and beauty, collection was gradually written in order to
whereas the Quran deciphers the secrets of give a proper response to the problems of the
the universe. For him, the natural sciences age. It abandons the propositional and syllo-
can only be instruments for expounding the gistic style of discourse. Instead it developed
Quranic truths. He wanted to read the nat- its own intimate existential style. Secondly,
ural sciences as a kind of knowledge about the Risale did not attempt to offer solutions
God. Through this kind of approach to the to the problems of age through employing
natural sciences, he tried to protect religious Islamic sciences, such as fqh and kalam.
faith from attacks from positivistic scientific Instead, Nursi addressed problems directly
ideas and also make them serve religious and offered solutions to them depending on
ends. He was quite conscious of material- his own reactions to the Quran. Therefore,
isms moral and spiritual destruction of indi- the Risale cannot be assimilated to any of the
viduals and society. Therefore he tried to traditional Islamic sciences. The Risale-i Nur
defend both personal religious faith and the collection is composed of many treatises,
integrity of community. including Szler (Words), Mektubt (Letters),
Nursi values knowledge in accordance Lemalar (Flashes), ualar (Rays), Muhake-
with its subject matter. Philosophy, in a pro- mat (Reasonings), Mnazarat (Debates),
fane sense, is useless since it could not prop- Isharat al-ijaz, al-Mathnawi al-arabi al-
erly convey the knowledge of the Creator. nuri, al-Khutba al-shamiyya (Damascus Ser-
Instead, philosophy surrenders to reason mon), and other small treatises. The main
and to non-religious forces. By severing rea- corpus of the Risale is written in classical
son from its divine source, modern European Ottoman Turkish. Those parts written in
philosophy has given it the status of shirk Arabic were translated into Turkish.
(idolatry). He insists that reason, if it were In 1329/1911 in his Damascus Sermon,
properly employed, arrives naturally at the Nursi offers six remedies from the Quran
glorious Names of God. Whatever reason dis- for the illnesses of the Muslim world. The
covers from the secrets of nature displays the Arabic text of the sermon was printed twice
divine power and will. For him, everything is soon afterward and published in the follow-
a mirror of the All-Glorious Makers Names. ing year in Istanbul. Mnazarat, published
Reason is a means of reinforcing and even in 1331/1913, contains his political ideas
coming to more appropriate understanding about the benefits of constitutionalism, about
of what was revealed in the Quran. Reason progress and unity of Islamic world. In these
is a creation of God. Like other creations works, he also speaks about his project of
of God, it should lead to a better under- educational reform and his plan for estab-
standing of God himself. Reason is given to lishing a university. Muhakemat, published
humanity both to improve the conditions of in 1331/1913, deals with a number of issues
life and to reach a better understanding of causing confusion in the minds of scholars.
God. But, according to Nursi, a proper use It is written in the form of an introduction
of reason will always seek guidance from the to the Islamic sciences just like ordinary
knowledge that was already revealed in the tafsir (Quranic exegesis) and akaid (Islamic
Quran. tenets). Nursi started to write Isharat al-Ijaz
Nursi emerged from the tradition of as a Quranic commentary in 1331/1913
Islamic sciences, but he presented the essence and he continued to write during World
378
NURSI
War I even at the front. Isharat deals with spiritual experience. It aims to create an inti-
the rules of rhetoric, logic, the principles of mate relationship between his followers and
religion, and other sciences. It aims to sup- God, which was considered a sign of reach-
ply proofs and explanations of the Qurans ing perfection in belief. ualar, which was
miraculousness. It speaks of belief, unbelief, generally written between 1355/1936 and
and worship. 1359/1940, marks the final form of reflec-
Nursi wrote al-Mathnawi al-arabi al- tive thought on the universe. It is the most
nuri between 1340/1922 and 1341/1923. important part of the Risale, which repre-
Al-Mathnawi is a metaphysical work which sents the mature metaphysical thought of
explains divine unity by means of the uni- Nursi. It aims to purify human spirit through
verse and its beings. It is an account of his leading it to meditate upon nature, to reach
own spiritual journey in which he describes a consciousness of divine unity. It speaks
how he battled with two idols, ego in man of a spiritual journey, and also contains a
and nature in the outer world. He wrote defense of his writings against charges made
Szler between 1344/1926 and 1347/1929. by Turkish government officials.
It represents Nursis mature thought and can Nursi was an original thinker whose writ-
be described as a commentary of Quranic ings not only have shaped contemporary
meanings. In it, Nurs displays his own origi- Islamic thought but also have been one of
nal style. For him, his entire works were writ- the important sources for a religious and
ten through the inspiration of the Quran. social movement that has become a signifi-
In Szler, various theological and religious cant dynamic of modern Turkish society.
issues were explained through allegori-
cal comparison. By employing a persuasive BIBLIOGRAPHY
style and convincing arguments Nursi aims The Words, trans. . Vahide, Istanbul:
to develop a spiritual consciousness, which Szler, 1933.
detects the signs of the Creator not only in The Rays Collection, trans. . Vahide,
the human soul but also in nature. It touches Istanbul: Szler, 1988.
upon various theological subjects. It speaks
of the issue of the hereafter, resurrection, the Further Reading
miraculousness of the Quran, predestina- Badll, Abdulkadir (ed.), Bedizzaman
tion, ascension of the Prophet, miracles, and Said-i Nursi Tarihe-i Hayat (A History
the oneness of God with regard to the created of His Life), stanbul: Tima Yaynlar,
world. Nursi then wrote Mektubat between 1990.
1347/1929 and 1350/1932. It was written Cobb, Kelton, Revelation, the Discipline
in order to offer response to the various theo- of Reason, and Truth in the Works
logical questions. Therefore it is more inti- of Said Nursi and Paul Tillich, in
mate and more informal. It speaks of various Ibrahim M. Abu-Rabi (ed.), Islam at the
issues, such as rituals, Islamic brotherhood, Crossroads: On the Life and Thought
miracles of the prophet, the spiritual status of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Albany,
of the prophets companions, his own spiri- NY: State University of New York Press,
tual development, his attitude toward poli- 1993, pp. 12950.
tics and other worldly things, justice, predes- ahiner, Necmeddin, Bilinmeyen
tination, and interpretations of dreams. He Tarfalaryla Bedizzaman Said Nursi,
wrote most of Lemalar between 1350/1932 stanbul: Yeni Asya Yaynlar, 1990.
and 1353/1934. This work speaks of vari- Vahide, kran, A Chronology of
ous religious issues depending upon his own Said Nursis Life, in Islam at the
379
NURSI
Crossroads: On the Life and Thought Toward an Intellectual Biography of

of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, in Ibrahim Said Nursi, in Ibrahim M. Abu-Rabi
M. Abu-Rabi (ed.), Islam at the (ed.), Islam at the Crossroads: On the
Crossroads: On the Life and Thought Life and Thought of Bediuzzaman Said
of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Albany, Nursi, Albany, NY: State University of
NY: State University of New York Press, New York Press, 1993, pp. 132.
1993, pp. xiixiv.
adnan aslan
380
P
PLATONIC PHILOSOPHY, are presented as the foundations for a form
INFLUENCE OF of wisdom argued to be superior to wisdom
based on revelation or prophecy. This roused
The direct impact of Plato and his writings the ire of those Islamic scholars who argued
on classical Islamic philosophy was very for the primacy of revelation over rational
limited. According to Rosenthal (1975), wisdom.
only four of Platos works were translated The most important direct influence of
in Arabic: the Republic, Timaeus, the Laws, Plato was undoubtedly on al-Farabi, whose
and the Sophist. Of these, probably the most al-Madina al-fadila (The Virtuous City)
important and influential was the Republic. draws, in places quite heavily, on the Republic.
Platonic philosophy reached the zenith of its Although he uses Neoplatonic concepts here
influence in Baghdad during the ninth and as well, al-Farabi is clearly struck by Platos
tenth centuries, and can be seen in the works conception of an ideal state, and seeks to
of Ibn Sina and, particularly, al-Farabi. recast that ideal state in a form acceptable
Islamic scholars and philosophers cer- to Islamic philosophy. We see in particular
tainly knew of Plato through other sources, the role that al-Farabi assigns to knowledge
and accorded him a good deal of respect. in creating this virtuous state, contrasting it
He is sometimes referred to as the sublime to al-madina al-jahiliyya, the city (or state)
Plato, and collections of sayings attrib- where ignorance rules. It is notable too that
uted to him can occasionally be found (not just as political leaders in the classical world
always of correct provenance). However, rubbished Platos ideas as impractical and
these scholars had on the whole very little unworkable, so Islamic scholars and rulers
knowledge of the corpus of Platonic ideas. alike pointed out the impossibility of ever
Rather, Plato became a kind of emblematic achieving the Virtuous City; at least, not by
figure, a seeker after truth and knowledge the methods advocated by al-Farabi.
on whom later philosophers might model Plato continued to be a popular figure
themselves. much revered among Islamic scholars, but
Particularly influential was the Platonic real knowledge of his works did not come
discussion of knowledge, and such related until much later. There were revivals of inter-
subjects as logic and grammar. Here, and est in Platonic scholarship in later years, nota-
often working at second or third hand from bly in sixteenth-century Ottoman Turkey, by
his original works, Islamic scholars used Pla- which point the bulk of his works had been
tonic concepts to form their own ideas on translated into Latin from the West; it was
hikma (wisdom). Particularly in the work of from these translations that the little band
Ibn Sina, Platos views on logic and reason of Ottoman scholars worked, rather than
381
POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
directly from the Greek. There was another Virtuous City), which incorporates a num-
revival in the nineteenth century, before ber of ideas from the Republic (as well as
attention turned to more modern European from other sources). In particular, al-Farabi
schools of thought. repeatedly argues that the ruler must be a
philosopher, and vice versa. In a manner
Further Reading almost reminiscent of Confucius descrip-
Alon, I., Socrates in Medieval Arabic tion of the sage-king, al-Farabi argues that
Literature, Leiden: Brill, 1991. all types of wisdom are but different aspects
Rosenthal, F., The Classical Heritage in of the same thing, and that the wisdom of
Islam, London: Routledge, 1975. the ruler, the philosopher, and the religious
savant are all simply parts of the same whole.
andreas soler And by partaking of that whole rather than
sampling the parts, the ruler becomes virtu-
ous, and has then the ability to instill vir-
tue in his people. This creates the Virtuous
City of the title, contrasted with the city of
POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY ignorance (al-madina al-jahiliyya) where vir-
tue is absent and ignorance and wickedness
Early Islamic political philosophy devel- prevail.
oped out of a need to present the original This emphasis on the character and virtue
revelations of Muhammad, as evinced in of the ruler becomes a running theme in sub-
the Quran and hadith, in a form that could sequent Islamic political philosophy. In his
give specific guidance to legislators and rul- commentary on the Republic, Ibn Rushd
ers. How did one create and rule an Islamic argues again for rule by the philosopher-
state, according to the precepts that Muham- king, who, like al-Farabi, he also sees as
mad had revealed? The problem became synonymous with the prophet. Ibn Rushd
particularly acute with the establishment of goes so far as to suggest that by employ-
the caliphate and the very rapid spread of ing a philosophical approach, the ruler can
Islam over a wide geographical area. Apart achieve a form of justice beyond that which
from the Quran and the hadith themselves, is provided by the law. Recognizing that the
the early caliphs and their viziers had very law and justice are not always the same, Ibn
little to go on. By chance, the most impor- Rushd reckons that wisdom also leads to
tant manual of statecraft from the classical temperance and mercy, two pre-requisites
Graeco-Roman world, Aristotles Politics, for a wise ruler.
was not known to Islamic scholars or politi- Rejection of this view can be found in the
cal leaders, and it does not appear that they allegorical Hayy ibn Yaqzan (The Living Son
had access either to Indian manuals such as of the Vigilant) by Ibn Tufayl. He takes a pes-
the Arthashastra of Kautilya, developed in simistic view of human nature and believes it
the Mauran kingdom a century or so after is impossible for the philosopher-king to lead
Aristotle. by example, as people simply will not follow;
The major pre-existing model, therefore, he implies that rule always needs an element
was Platos Republic, and it was on the con- of coercion and force. He has sometimes been
nection between wisdom and virtue as a pictured as a precursor to Machiavelli. Other
necessary ingredient for successful statecraft writers such as Ibn Bajja also note the need
that many early Islamic scholars focused. for strong rule as well as wise rule, to pro-
The most important and powerful exam- tect the state from disruptive elements inside
ple is al-Farabis al-Madina al-fadila (The as well as out. Ibn Bajja notes that law itself
382
POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
is not sufficient for rule, and the ruler must prevail in Egypt and Turkey, a renewed inter-
guide and direct the law. est in the religious-political link in Iran led
Later Islamic philosophers turned to polit- to philosophers such as Allamah Tabatabai
ical philosophy in attempts to both guide developing the modern philosophy which
new states and to try to revive old ones. helped to guide the Iranian revolution of
There was a revival of interest in the subject 1979. Political philosophy continues to
in the sixteenth century in Ottoman Turkey, flourish in many parts of the Islamic world.
especially in the reign of Sultan Suleyman I,
known as the Law-Giver. Suleyman backed Further Reading
his wide-ranging legal reforms within the Butterworth, C. E. (ed.), The Political
empire by encouraging scholarship in legal Aspects of Islamic Philosophy,
and political philosophy. In the nineteenth Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
and early twentieth century, a new kind of Press, 1992.
political philosophy based in part on West- Galston, M., Politics and Excellence:
ern movements such as positivism helped The Political Philosophy of al-Farabi,
fuel the Young Turk movement, and was Princeton: Princeton University Press,
met in turn by opposition reaction which 1990.
argued that the Ottoman Empire could only Keddie, N., Sayyid Jamaluddin Afghani: A
be revived by grounding politics once more Political Biography, Berkeley: University
in Islamic values. of California Press, 1972.
That same notion of re-establishing the Kerr, M., Islamic Reform: The Political and
link between politics and faith had some ear- Legal Theories of Muhammad Abduh
lier exponents, notably Shah Wali Ullah in and Rashid Rida, Berkeley: University of
Delhi in the eighteenth century. However, it California Press, 1966.
was to take light in the late nineteenth and Rosenthal, E., Political Thought in
early twentieth century across the Arab Medieval Islam, Cambridge: Cambridge
world, notably in the works of Muhammad University Press, 1962.
Abdu and al-Afghani, and later Hasan al-
Banna, the founder of the Muslim Broth- andreas soler
erhood. While secular politics later came to
383
Q
QASHQAI, Jihangir Khan QAZWINI, Sayyid Abul-Hasan
(12431327/18271909) (131596/18971975)
One of the most famous teachers of Iran in Qazwini was born in Qazwin in 1315/1897
the nineteenth century, Qashqai was a philos- and studied there initially, moving to Tehran
opher in the tradition of the school of Mulla and Qom for his higher education. He stud-
Sadra and his transcendent wisdom (al-hik- ied with the leading authorities of the time,
mat al-mutaaliya). After receiving his primary Mirza Hasan Kirmanshahi, Mirza Hashim
education in the religious sciences, he studied Ashkiwari, Sayyid Muhammad Tunaka-
philosophy and medicine. He also studied and buni, Shaykh Ali Rashti, and Shaykh Abd
performed music as a tar player. He is described al-Karim Hairi. In both philosophy and
as having lived the life of a hermit (darwish). jurisprudence, Qazwini became very well
He traveled to Isfahan to continue his respected, eventually being promoted to the
studies but finally settled in Tehran. Among rank of Ayatollah. A specialist in the thought
the major books he taught and for which he of Mulla Sadra, he did not write much, and
became well known are Mulla Sadras Asfar, his influence came largely due to the many
some of Ibn Sinas works, and the Nahj al- students he taught and the effect he had on
balagha (The Way of Eloquence), a collection them through his dignified presence and the
of sermons and sayings by Ali b. Abi Talib, hint of a deeper awareness of the meaning of
the first Shiite imam and the most impor- the text that lay behind his exposition of its
tant figure of Shiite Islam after the Prophet exoteric argument.
Muhammad. Most of Qashqais lectures were
on ethics and spirituality. Considering that Further Reading
Nahj al-balagha is one of the most important Aminrazavi, M., Persia, in S. H. Nasr
sources of what we might call Shiite spiritu- and O. Leaman (eds), History of Islamic
ality, it is not surprising that Qashqais lec- Philosophy, ch. 61, London: Routledge,
tures on the Nahj al-balagha attracted many 1996, pp. 103750.
students of philosophy and practical ethics. Amuli, H., Ittihad-i aqil wa maqul,
Terhran: Markaz-i Intisharati-ilmi wa
Further Reading farhangi, 1410 ah.
Saduqi Soha, M., Tarikh-i Hukama wa Saduqi Soha, M., Tarikh-i hukama
Urafa-yi Mutaakhkhir, Tehran: wa urafa-yi mutaakhkhir, Tehran:
Intisharati Hikmat, 2002. Intisharati Hikmat, 2002.
ibrahim kalin oliver leaman
384
QUHISTANI
QUHISTANI, Abu Ishaq Nizari literature of the early post-Alamut

(ninth/fifteenth century) period. This book, comprising seven chap-
ters with an initial autobiographical one,
Few biographical details are available on deals with a range of subjects reflecting the
Abu Ishaq Ibrahim Quhistani, a prominent Nizari teachings of the time. It contains
Nizari Ismaili author and missionary (dai), chapters on the seventy-two erring sects in
who flourished in the second half of the Islam; the saved community (firqa-yi naji);
ninth/fifteenth century and died not too long on prophethood, the revelation (tanzih) of
after 904/1498. He was born in the district the Quran and its esoteric interpretation
of Muminabad, to the east of Birjand, in (tawil); on the imamate and the eras of con-
Quhistan, the medieval name of the south- cealment (satr), manifestation (kashf), and
eastern region of Khurasan. He evidently resurrection (qiyamat); on the spiritual and
spent his entire life in that part of Persia. physical worlds, origination and return, and
As mentioned in his sole surviving work, the hierarchy of the dawa, from mustajib or
Haft bab, or Seven Chapters (pp. 24, 63), responding novice to imam; and, finally, on
a treatise written at the beginning of the certain esoteric interpretations or tawilat.
tenth/sixteenth century and preserved by the The Haft bab (pp. 412) also contains a
Nizaris of Central Asia, Abu Ishaq was a con- unique description of the declaration of the
temporary of the thirty-fourth Qasim-Shahi qiyamat or spiritual resurrection which took
Nizari imam, Mustansir billah, also known place at Alamut on 17 Ramadan 559/August
as Gharib Mirza (d. 904/1498), whose 8, 1164. Abu Ishaqs Haft bab was evidently
mausoleum is still preserved in the village later plagiarized by another Nizari author,
of Anjudan in central Persia. As explained Khayrkhwah-i Harati (d. after 960/1553),
in the first autobiographical chapter of his who now called it the Kalam-i pir and
Haft bab (pp. 49), Abu Ishaq was born into attributed it to the eminent Persian poet and
a non-Ismaili (probably Ithnaashari) fam- Ismaili dai Nasir-i Khusraw. Abu Ishaq
ily and converted to Nizari Ismailism in his Quhistani evidently produced other works,
youth by a local dai. Subsequently, he was including Tarikh-i Quhistan, or History of
appointed to a post in the dawa or mission- Quhistan, which do not seem to have sur-
ary organization of the Quhistani Nizaris vived.
by the regions chief dai, a certain Khwaja
Qasim. BIBLIOGRAPHY
For about two centuries after the Mon- Haft Bab or Seven Chapters, ed. and trans.
gol destruction of the Nizari Ismaili state W. Ivanow, Bombay: Ismaili Society, 1959.
in 654/1256, the Nizari dawa remained
inactive in Persia while the imams were in Further Reading
hiding. But from around the middle of the Daftary, F., The Ismailis: Their History
ninth/fifteenth century, the imams of the and Doctrines, Cambridge: Cambridge
Qasim-Shahi branch of Nizari Ismailism University Press, 1990, pp. 439, 46970.
emerged from their obscurity and established Ivanow, W., Ismaili Literature: A
themselves in Anjudan, initiating a revival in Bibliographical Survey, Tehran: Ismaili
the dawa and literary activities of their com- Society, 1963, pp. 141, 1423, 1623.
munity. Abu Ishaq Quhistanis Haft bab is Poonawala, I. K., Biobibliography of
perhaps the earliest major Nizari doctrinal Ismaili Literature, Malibu, CA: Undena
treatise written in Persian during this Anju- Publications, 1977, pp. 26970, 276.
dan revival lasting some two centuries; and
as such, it occupies an important place in the farhad daftary
385
QUMSHAI
AL-QUHISTANI, Hakim Nizari of developing the correct attitude about

(645721/12471321) how to live as compared with following
precise doctrinal rules. On the other hand
Hakim Nizari al-Quhistani was an impor- on many occasions he does also emphasize
tant poet of the Mongol period whose work the importance of adhering to the laws of
is replete with philosophical ideas. We know faith. The complexity of his work brings out
about his life only through his own biog- the thorough ways in which philosophy had
raphy. He was born in Fudaj near Birjand entered other forms of literary expression
in southeastern Khurasan. He had a tradi- during the Mongol period in the Persian
tional religious education and joined the cultural world.
court of Shams al-Din Khart in northern
Iran when in his twenties. He then moved to Further Reading
Herat and worked as a tax collector for the Lewisohn, L., Sufism and Ismaili Doctrine
Kart regime, which in turn was employed in the Persian Poetry of Nizari Quhistani
by the Mongols to extract money from (645721/12471321), Iran, 41 (2003),
the local population. He appears to have pp. 22951.
come to disapprove of his occupation and
in 679/1280 traveled to Quhistan and then oliver leaman
went all around the Caspian Sea, finally
returning to Herat in 681/1282. He then
officially resigned and retired to Birjand to
enjoy a peaceful domestic life. In 694/1294
the local ruler employed him as the court QUMSHAI, Muhammad Rida
poet, but he only managed to keep the job (12411306/182588)
for a couple of years, thoroughly annoying
the people at court through his criticisms of One of the most important figures of nine-
their lifestyle. teenth-century Islamic thought in Iran,
Al-Quhistanis poetry follows a variety of Muhammad Rida Qumshai was born in Isfa-
forms, variously based on different Persian han and completed his early studies there. He
styles and often being very intemperate in studied with such figures as Mulla Muham-
content. He seems to have been fascinated mad Jafar b. Sadiq Lahiji, Mirza Hasan b.
by wine, whether the real drink or as a sym- Akhund Mulla Ali Nuri, the son of Mulla
bol of mystical gnosis, one does not know. Ali Nuri, Aqa Sayyid Mazandarani, and
Sufi and Ismaili themes are present in much Sayyid Radi Larijani. Among these, Larijani
of his work, references for example to the was the most important in teaching Qumshai
imam, to different ranks of spiritual aware- both theoretical knowledge and ascetic prac-
ness, to the significance of the esoteric and tices. After teaching in Isfahan for many
to the predominance of emotion over rea- years, Qumshai migrated to Tehran around
son. Not surprisingly, in his poetry there is 1877 for reasons that are not completely
usually no clear theoretical doctrine that is clear. This move, however, seems to follow
being presented, but al-Quhistani is clearly the trend by other philosophers of the same
articulating a number of philosophical period who migrated to Tehran, including
ideas in ways that he thinks makes sense Mulla Abdullah Zunuzi, Aqa Mirza Hasan
of human experience, in particular his own Hakim, and Aqa Mirza Abul-Hasan Jilwah.
experience and life. He is especially elo- Qumshais career in Tehran was a major fac-
quent on the significance of religiosity as tor in the gradual shifting of philosophical
compared with religion, on the importance activity from Isfahan to Tehran toward the
386
QUNAWI
end of the nineteenth century. He died in Teh- the nine-volume edition of the Asfar, and
ran and was buried near the city of Rayy. they attest to Qumshais mastery of Mulla
Like many of his contemporaries, Sadras thought.
Qumshai studied and taught the works
of Ibn Sina, Suhrawardi, and Mulla Further Reading
Sadra. What distinguishes him among the Ashtiyani, S. J. (ed.), Introduction, in
nineteenth-century Persian philosophers, Mulla Sadra al-Shawahid al-Rububiyyah
however, is his mastery of the works of Ibn with Sabziwaris Commentary, Mashhad:
al-Arabi. He was occasionally referred to Mashhad University Press, 1966.
as the second Ibn al-Arabi and consid- Nasr, Seyyed Hossein, From The School
ered by his students to be among the most of Isfahan to School of Tehran,
prominent members of the school of Ibn al- Transcendent Philosophy, 2, 4 (2001),
Arabi along with Sadr al-Din al-Qunawi pp. 126.
and Dawud al-Qaysari (Kayseri). Saduqi Soha, M., Tarikh-i hukama
Qumshai was known as a man of piety wa urafa-yi mutaakhkhir, Tehran,
and a high degree of spirituality. Many of Intisharati Hikmat, 2002.
his students considered him to have reached
the highest states of realization in irfan. He ibrahim kalin
lived a simple life. He is said to have given
all of his property and other possessions to
the poor before migrating to Tehran. This
manner of living attracted many people and
students from different parts of Iran. As a QUNAWI, Sadr al-Din(60573/120774)
result, Qumshai taught hundreds of stu-
dents and there are numerous accounts of his The disciple and first major expositor of
piety, knowledge, and spirituality. He is also the teachings of Ibn al-Arabi, Sadr al-
remembered as a mystical poet, but almost Din Muhammad b. Ishaq b. Muhammad
all of his poems have been lost. b. Yunus al-Qunawi was born in Qunya
Qumshais works that have survived (Konya), Turkey. In spite of his influence
include a short treatise on sainthood and significance, the details of his life remain
called Risala fil-wilaya (Treatise on Saint- unknown. Qunawis father Majd al-Din
hood/Custodianship), a treatise on Ibn al- Ishaq al-Rumi had befriended Ibn al-Arabi
Arabis concept of the unity of being, which in Mecca. Ibn al-Arabi then traveled to
carries the interesting title Risala fi wahdat Anatolia with Qunawis father. Accord-
al-wujud bal al-mawjud (Treatise on the ing to some sources, Ibn al-Arabi married
Unity of Existence or Rather the Existent), Qunawis widowed mother when his father
and another short work on the relation- died. Qunawi remained with his master Ibn
ship between Gods Essence and Quali- al-Arabi until the latters death in 1240.
ties called al-Khilafat al-kubra (The Great Qunawi was a contemporary of Jalal al-
Vicegerency). In addition to these works, Din al-Rumi and must have known him per-
Qumshai also wrote commentaries and sonally. There is, however, very little in the
glosses on Ibn al-Arabis Fusus al-hikam sources that indicate any relation between
(Bezels of Wisdom), Qunawis Miftah al- the two. Compared to both Ibn al-Arabi
ghayb (The Key to the Invisible World), and Rumi, Qunawi appears to have much
and Ibn Turka Isfahanis Tamhid al-qawaid greater interest in philosophy and mystical
(The Arrangement of Principles). His notes theology. His writings are thoroughly mysti-
on Sadras Asfar have been published in cal and emphasize intuitive and experiential
387
QUNAWI
knowledge. But they also display a notice- commentary on the Miftah called Misbah
able concern for presenting the main teach- al-uns bayn al-maqul wal-mashhud fi sharh
ings of Ibn al-Arabi in a more systematic miftah al-ghayb al-jam wal-wujud.
and intellectual manner. Qunawis exchange Qunawis Kitab al-Fukuk (The Book of
of two letters with Nasir al-Din al-Tusi is Redemptions) is a commentary on Ibn al-
indicative of this predilection in Qunawis Arabis Fusus al-hikam. Like the Fusus, it
thought. In the correspondence initiated by begins with Adam and ends with Muham-
Qunawi, Qunawi asks Tusi several questions mad, explaining each prophets wisdom in
and the two scholars exchange ideas on a Qunawis typical style of writing. In this
number of ontological and epistemologi- sense, the Fukuk is as much a commentary
cal issues. Qunawi says that his goal in this as an independent work in its own right.
correspondence was to show the essential Qunawis commentary on the opening chap-
unity of the mystical path, represented by ter of the Quran, called Ijaz al-bayan fi
himself and his teacher, and the philosophi- tafsir umm al-quran (Miraculous Expla-
cal method represented by the most famous nation in the Commentary of the Mother
Peripatetic of the thirteenth century. of the Quran), also called Tafsir al-fatiha,
Qunawis writings can be read as both is not only a commentary but also a state-
elaborations of Ibn al-Arabis teachings and ment of the principles of Qunawis spiritual
as independent works on their own. The hermeneutics and remains one of the most
main thrust of his thought comes from Ibn important commentaries produced by the
al-Arabi. Such central themes as the cos- school of Ibn al-Arabi. Qunawis other
mos as a theophany (tajalli) of Gods names works such as al-Nusus (Chapters) elaborate
and qualities, degrees of being and knowl- on the themes mentioned above. Al-Nafahat
edge, knowledge as intuition and experience al-ilahiyya (Divine Breathings) is a collec-
rather than as representation are carefully tion of metaphysical reflections on a num-
articulated in Qunawis works. But com- ber of breaths (nafha) that al-Qunawi has
pared to Ibn al-Arabis works that cover an received by way of mystical illumination.
enormous amount of subjects, Qunawis cor-
pus is much more limited and focused in its BIBLIOGRAPHY
scope. In this category of works, Qunawis Al-Nusus, ed. S. J. Ashtiyani, Tehran:
Miftah al-ghayb (The Key to the Invisible Markaz-i Nashr-i Danishgahi, 1983.
World) is considered his masterpiece. The Sharh al-arbain hadithan (Commentary
Miftah starts out like a typical book on on Forty Hadiths), ed. H. Kamil Ylmaz,
traditional philosophy with a discussion of Qom: Bidar Publications, n.d.; also
knowledge, concept (tasawwur), and judg- Istanbul: IFAV, 1990.
ment (tasdiq). It then proceeds to establish Miftah al-ghayb, ed. M. Khwajawi, Tehran:
metaphysics or divine science (al-ilm al- Intisharat-i Mawla, 1996.
ilahi) as the foundation and ultimate end of Ijaz al-bayan fi tafsir umm al-quran,
all knowledge and sciences. ed. by A. Atta Cairo: Dar al-kutub
The central theme of Qunawis metaphys- al-haditha, 1996; Persian translation
ics is what he calls the principal or origi- by M. Khwajawi, Tehran: Intisharat-i
nal order of being (al-tartib al-wujudi al- Mawla.
asli), and it can be read as an elaboration on Kitab al-fukuk, ed. with a Persian
Ibn al-Arabis sophisticated system of the translation by M. Khwajawi, Tehran:
degrees of being (maratib al-wujud). The Intisharat-i Mawla, 1413 ah.
famous Ottoman jurist, Sufi, and shaykh Al-Nafahat al-ilahiyya, ed. M. Khwajawi,
al-Islam Molla Fenari wrote an important Tehran: Intisharat-i Mawla, 1417 ah.
388
AL-QUSHAYRI
Further Reading b. Muhammad, an eminent scholar of

Chittick, W., The School of Ibn Arabi,in hadith, who initiated him into the study of
S. H. Nasr and O. Leaman (eds), the discipline. At a later date of his youth
History of Islamic Philosophy, London: he went to Nishapur to study accounting in
Routledge, 1996, pp. 51026. order to reduce the hefty tax imposed upon
Keklik, Nihat, Sadredin Konevinin the village of his deceased father.
Felsefesinde Allah, Kainat ve nsan, Nishapur was then politically, commer-
Istanbul: . . Edebiyat Fakultesi, 1967. cially, and intellectually the most active city
Khwajawi, Muhammad, Do Sadraddin: of Khurasan. All the existing traditional
Sadr al-Din Qunawi, Sadr al-Din Shirazi, Islamic disciplines and fine arts were stud-
Tehran: Intisharat-i Mawla, 1420 ah. ied in depth there. As his study of account-
Schubert, Gudrun, Annaherungen ing was in progress in Nishapur, al-Qushayri
(al-Murasalat): Der mytisch- met the celebrated Sufi master Abu Ali al-
philosophische Briefwechsel zwischen Daqqaq, a well-known representative of
Sadr ud-Din-i Qonawi und Nasir Junayd al-Baghdadis sober Sufism. This
ud-Din-i Tusi, Beirut: Bibliotheca encounter with al-Daqqaq, who later gave
Islamica, 1995. him his daughter Fatima in marriage, was a
turning point in al-Qushayris life, for he at
ibrahim kalin once became a close disciple of the former
and under him embarked upon his long mys-
tical journey. It was part of his mystical train-
ing, as directed by his master al-Daqqaq, that
al-Qushayri studied all the religious sciences
AL-QUSHAYRI, Abul-Qasim Abdulkarim from the prominent scholars of the time, for
ibn Hawazin(376465/9861072) instance, fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) from
the Shafii jurist Abu Bakr Muhammad al-
Abul-Qasim Abdulkarim b. Hawazin was Tusi (d. 460/1067), kalam (Islamic theology),
born in Ustuwa, a small town in northeast- especially the Ashari school from Abu Bakr
ern Iran in the month of Rabi al-Awwal ibn Furak (d. 406/1015) and Abu Ishaq al-
376/July 986 and died in Nishapur on 16 Isfaraini (d. 418/1027), and hadith from
Rabi al-Thani 465/December 30, 1072. He Hakim al-Nisaburi, Abul-Husayn al-Haffaf,
was a renowned Sufi thinker, a theologian, and Abul-Hasan al-Ahwazi. The discipline
and a hadith scholar in the tradition of Sunni of hadith, among all others, occupied the
Islam. most significant place and the longest time in
Abul-Qasim al-Qushayri, on both mater- al-Qushayris overall scholarship. His rapid
nal and paternal sides, was of Arab descent, advancement in this particular field made
his father from the tribe of the Bani Qushayr him an estimable authority and numerous
and his mother from the Bani Sulaym. His students attended his daily hadith circles and
family was both wealthy and learned. When transmitted ahadith from him.
he was very young, his father died. As a result Al-Qushayris fame, however, rests rather
al-Qushayri was brought up under the care on his mastery in Sufism and particularly
of one of his relatives, Abul-Qasim al-Ya- in his accomplishment in demonstrating
mani, who taught him the Arabic language the conformity of Sufism with the Sharia.
and general culture (adab). In his youth al- His mystical training had begun with al-
Qushayri also acquired extraordinary skills Daqqaq, and proceeded, upon his teachers
in horsemanship and weaponry. It was his death (405/1015), with other prominent
maternal uncle, Abu Uqayl Abdurrahman Sufis such as Abu Abdurrahman al-Sulami
389
AL-QUSHAYRI
(d. 412/1021). Al-Qushayri, as the succes- his people. Al-Qushayri then left the city,
sor of his master al-Daqqaq, continued to together with some other Asharite scholars,
preside over daily sessions and give mys- for Baghdad in 448/1056, where he began
tical discourses in the madrasa originally to deliver lectures on hadith at the palace
founded by the latter and later known as of the Abbasid caliph al-Qaim bi Amril-
the madrasat al-qushayriyya. In due course lah. In the meantime he had also a short
of time al-Qushayri became a staunch advo- sojourn with his family in Tus. Upon the
cate of orthodox Sufism, so much so that he death of Tugril in 455/1063 and the acces-
exerted immense efforts to legitimize and sion of Alp Arslan to the Seljukid throne,
support it with the help of the hadith and who executed al-Kunduri and filled his
the Sunna and thereby laid the groundwork vizierial post with the appointment of the
for al-Ghazali to complete the task. He Shafii-Asharite, Nizam al-Mulk, al-Qush-
was at the same time an ardent exponent of ayri returned to Nishapur and spent the rest
Asharite theology and a faithful member of of his life there comfortably. At the same
the Shafiite legal school. time, until his death in 465/1072 he carried
When the control of the city of Nishapur on his mystical discourses and hadith lec-
passed from the Ghaznavids onto the Seljuks tures at his madrasa, where he was buried
in 429/1038, al-Qushayri found himself in next to his master and father-in-law, Abu
the midst of the conflicts that arose between Ali al-Daqqaq. To his name is attributed a
the Ashari-Shafiites and the Hanafites, due Sufi order, tariqat al-Qushayriyya, which is
to the one-sided policies of al-Kunduri, the said to have attracted followers, especially
minister of the first Seljuk ruler, Tugril Beg. in India, up to the end of the eighteenth cen-
He took a firm stance against the adverse tury. Al-Qushayri left behind six sons, three
campaigns of al-Kunduri who, as a stern from his first wife and three from his second
Hanafi and a mild Mutazili, branded the wife, and five daughters, one from the first
founder of the Asharite school of theology, and four from the second. His first wife,
Abul-Hasan al-Ashari (d. 324/935), and Fatima, was a learned Muslim woman.
his followers as innovators (ahl al-bida). Several of his sons became great scholars in
Outraged by such unwarranted critiques, al- their own right.
Qushayri issued a religious verdict (fatwa) in Al-Qushayris influence on his contempo-
436/10445, declaring that al-Ashari was a raries as well as on later Muslim thinkers
faithful member of the Sunni community and was immense. His contributions to Islamic
that his doctrines were in perfect accord with thought and sciences are manifold: transmis-
the Sunni creed. He further wrote a lengthy sion of hadith in traditional forms and train-
letter entitled Shikayat ahl-sunna bima nal- ing many students in this discipline, elucida-
ahum min al-mihna (The Grievance of the tion of the Asharite theology, and allegorical
Sunni Community Concerning the Persecu- interpretation of the Quran. As attested by
tion That Has Harmed Them), by which he many early and later Muslim scholars, al-
complained to the Muslim scholars (ulama) Qushayris prominence lies in the formidable
about the ill-treatment of the Asharites and role he played in providing a comprehen-
the ungrounded allegations directed espe- sive account of the lives of the early Sufis
cially against al-Ashari himself. and their teachings and a solid definition
As a result, al-Qushayri was arraigned and systematic formulation of the classical
and imprisoned in Nishapur by the order key Sufi concepts and practices, which are
of al-Kunduri, but after a couple of weeks consulted as references by even todays writ-
he was rescued and released through the ers on Sufism. By his deep mystical thought
efforts of the Shafiite leader Abu Sahl and and invaluable ideas he left a far-reaching
390
AL-QUSHAYRI
impact on many great thinkers and Sufis, another valuable work by him and avail-
such as al-Ghazali (d. 555/1111), Farid able in print. It expounds the grammatical
al-Din Attar (d. 617/1220), Jalal al-Din rules of Arabic language within mystical dis-
Rumi (d. 672/1273), and Ismail Ankaravi course. He also devoted several writings to
(d. 1041/1631). delineating certain specific topics of Sufism.
Al-Qushayri composed a variety of sig- Kitab al-Miraj, for instance, analyzes the
nificant works in various fields. The most phenomenon of the ascension and its impor-
important and most influential of all is his al- tance for the Sufis. Again, Tartib al-suluk fi
Risala, mostly known as al-Risala al-Qush- tariqilla, which is available in Arabic edition
ayriyya (The Treatise of al-Qushayri), an side-by-side German translation done by
indispensable reference book for those who Fritz Meier, discusses the ethical aspects of
study and specialize in Islamic mysticism. It Gods remembrance (dhikr). Moreover, al-
was written in 438/10456 and has been Qushayri has added a few works of impor-
published in several editions and translated tance to Islamic theology and in particular to
in various languages, including English, Per- the Asharite school of theology. Al-Luma
sian, Turkish, and Urdu. Through this work fil-itiqad, though small in size, takes pre-
the author appears to have accomplished at cedence over others in terms of its lucidity
least two chief objectives: to provide a solid and precision.
structure for Sufism, along with its termi-
nology and principles, and to demonstrate BIBLIOGRAPHY
the conformity of Sufi beliefs and practices Kitab al-Miraj, ed. A. H. Abdel Kader,
with the norms of the Sharia. In achieving Cairo: n.p., 1964.
the latter goal he quotes a number of verses Tarjuma-yi Risala-yi Qushayriya, Persian
and hadith that are relevant to the topics. trans. Abu Ali Hasan b. Ahmad
Toward the end of the work he tackles cou- al-Uthmani, Tehran: Intisharat-I
rageously such crucial issues as sama (Sufi Bunqah-I Tarjumah va Nashr-I Kitab, 1966.
music) and tries to prove its lawfulness from Risale, 2 vols, Turkish translation, Istanbul:
the standpoint of the Sharia. Al-Qushayri Tahsin Yazici, 1966.
has also made an outstanding contribution Lataif al-isharat (Commentray on the
to the field of mystical Quran commentar- Quran), 4 vols, ed. Ibrahim Basyuni,
ies through his work Lataif al-isharat bi Cairo: n.p. 196770.
tafsir al-quran (Subtleties of the Indications Sharh al-risala (Commentary on Risala),
[alluded] in the Exegesis of the Quran). ed. Shaykh al-Islam Zakariya al-Ansari,
Inspired and influenced profoundly by Sula- Beirut: Dar al-saa, 1987.
mis celebrated Sufi commentary, Haqaiq Al-Risala al-qushayriyya (The Treatise of
al-tafsir, the author began writing it a few al-Qushayri), eds. Maruf Zariq and
years before his Risala, in 434/10423, and Ali Abdulhamid Baltaji, Beirut: Dar
completed it nearly at the same time with the al-khayr, 1988.
latter, in 437/1045. It is available in print in Principles of Sufism by Al-Qushayri, trans.
four volumes. B. R. Von Schlegel with introduction by
Al-Qushayris Al-Tahbir fil-tadhkir is H. Algar, Berkeley, CA: Mizan Press, 1990.
perhaps the first of its kind in the history of
Islamic thought as a mystical commentary Further Reading
that examines at length each of Gods ninety- Ahmad, Rashid, Abu Al-Qasim
nine names and also explains the significance al-Qushairi as a Theologian and
of their contemplation. It has been published Commentator, Islamic Quarterly, 13
in two different editions. Nahw al-qulub is (1969), pp. 1669.
391
QUTB
Arberry, A. J., Al-Qushairi as hope he would become more accepting of

Tradionalist, Studia Orientalia Ioanni Western culture. Qutb spent about two years
Pedersen, Hauniae: E. Munksgaard, in the United States, where he studied educa-
1953, pp. 1220. tion in Washington, DC, Colorado, and Cal-
Basyuni, Ibrahim, Nahw al-qulub al-kabir, ifornia (at Stanford). Qutb received a mas-
Cairo: Alam al-fikr, 1994. ters degree in education from the University
Frank, R. M., Two Short Dogmatic Works of Northern Colorado at Greeley, Colorado.
of Abul-Kasim al-Qushayri, MIDEO, 15 His greater education was apparently in
(19823), pp. 5374; 16 (1983), pp. 6194. what he saw of sexual mores, racism, and
Meier, Fritz, QusayrisTartib al-Suluk, materialism in American life. He returned to
Oriens, 16 (1963), pp. 139. Egypt in 1951, spending time in Europe on
Turan, Abdulbaki, Kueyri ve Letaiful- his way home.
iaret isimli Tefsiri, Seluk Universitesi Initially a member of the Muslim Broth-
Ilahiyat Fakultesi Dergidi, 4 (1991), erhood and privy to plans of the Nasserists
pp. 3554. who overthrew monarchial rule by military
government, Qutb fell out with them in
bilal kupnar 1954. In 1955 he was sentenced to prison in
a general sweep against the brotherhood. He
was released in 1964, then rearrested later
that year. After a closed trial he was sen-
tenced to death for terrorism and sedition.
QUTB, Sayyid(190666) The book Maalim fi al-tariq (Milestones)
advocated change by persuasion and purifi-
Sayyid Qutb Ibrahim Shadhili was born cation, not force; nevertheless Maalim was
on October 9, 1906, in Musha, a village of used as the main evidence against him. Two
Asyut (Egypt). He died on August 29, 1966, other brotherhood leaders were also exe-
in Cairo, having been executed after being cuted with him. Consequently he is viewed
declared a violent activist by the Egyptian as a martyr for fundamentalist Islam and his
government. Although hanged for sedition, influence remains tremendous.
Sayyid Qutb wrote extensively on the the- In Qutbs reaction to the United States,
ory of Islamic society and the relationship one can see the inability of an already
of humans to God in that utopian society. formed adult mind to move beyond the
Initially an educator, journalist, and liter- exterior surface in a foreign society and
ary critic, Qutb later wrote an unmediated, the further inability to judge any subtleties.
non-traditional exegesis of the Quran and In his letters to the Egyptian press he rails
also wrote extensively on bringing about against men and women dancing in public
an Islamic state. He is most famous for his at church socials. Whatever the public state-
rigid, fundamentalist view that the world ments about free love in American society,
is either jahili (ignorant) or Islamic. In con- he was apparently unaware of a deeper soci-
trast, Qutbs contemporary Abu al-Ala etal debate about the proper role of men and
al-Mawdudi considered that the world women in a modern society. Sayyid Qutbs
included jahili and Islamic elements in differ- analysis of American materialism, like the
ent proportions. Qutb represents an extreme Marxists, only describes work in terms of
view, which does not see gradations in soci- wage production, entirely neglecting the idea
ety, but defines it as one or the other. of work for self-fulfillment or satisfaction.
In 1948 the Ministry of Education sent Like the Khawarij, Qutb is an extremist who
Qutb to the United States, perhaps in the pushes his analysis to the ultimate end.
392
QUTB
His most influential works are: Maalim fi In the Shade of the Quran, Leicester:
al-tariq and Fi zilal al-quran. Some of his The Islamic Foundation, 1999.
most important ideas are that jahiliyya is an
ahistorical condition; that the early Muslims Further reading
were the most noble generation and con- Moussalli, A. S., Radical Islamic
temporary Muslims must struggle to purify Fundamentalism: The Ideological and
themselves; that Muslims do not owe alle- Political Discourse of Sayyid Qutb,
giance to an un-Islamic government; and, Beirut: American University of Beirut,
in some ways less obviously, that modern 1992.
Muslims such as Qutb, were able to inter- Shepard, W. E., Sayyid Qutbs Doctrine
pret the Quran in light of direct inspiration, of Jahiliyya, International Journal of
ignoring generations of commentators. Middle East Studies, 35 (2003),
pp. 52145.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Maalim fi al-tariq (Milestones), Beirut: Dar kiki kennedy-day
al-shuruq, 1980; trans. with a foreword
by Ahmad Zaki Hammad, Indianapolis:
American Trust Publications, 1990.
Fi zilal al-quran (In the Shade of the
Quran), Beirut: Dar al-shuruq, 19734; Qutb al-Din Ahmad al-Rahim,
trans. M. A. Salahi, and A. A. Shamis, see Wali Allah
393
R
RABIA AL-ADAWIYYA AL-QAYSIYYA and the construction of a simple hut for
(95 or 99185/714 or 717801) devotional retreat. She defined for the Sufi
novice the requisite path of renunciation, the
Rabia al-Adawiyya was born in Basra, the underlying rationale for which is a single-
city of date palm forests and salt marshes minded and wholehearted love (mahabba)
at the head of the Persian Gulf, in 95/714 of God.
or 99/7178. She died in the former garri- Physically frail and frequently ill, Rabia
son town in 185/801. Rabia represents the was no less renowned for the rigors of her
pinnacle of the Basran tradition of womens asceticism (both ill-health and longevity
ascetic spirituality within Islam. Within have been attributed to her vigilant asceti-
Sufism, she is one of the (if not the) earliest cism!). She is reputed to have refused several
exponents and dramatic exemplars of love- offers of marriage, preferring the celibate
mysticism. life. Although no school was founded in
The accretion of legend and tales of the her name, women, and more often men,
miraculous fill out the stories of Rabias life came for spiritual advice and instruction in
from the earliest accounts, crystallizing in the deference to her informal mastery of early
comprehensive biography provided by Farid Sufi doctrine and practice. Notable among
al-Din Attar (d. c. \1221) in his Tadhkirat those seeking her guidance on a wide array
al-Awliya (The Memoirs of the Saints). Tra- of subjects is Sufyan ibn Said ath-Thawri
dition holds that Rabias parents died when (d. 161/7778), a respected traditionist
she was a child, the young orphan seized and and significant figure in early Islamic juris-
sold into slavery. It is likely that her (non- prudence. And no less than Abu al-Qasim
Arab) family converted to Islam and this, al-Qushayri (d. 465/1073), Abu Hamid
or Rabias piety and devotion, secured her al-Ghazali (d. 1111), and al-Suhrawardi
status as a freed slave and client (mawlat) of (d. 587/1191) saw fit to discuss in some
the clan of al-Atik (hence no patronymic), a detail her teachings. The picture of a high-
subclan of Adi ibn Qays. ly-strung and emotional recluse painted by
Aptly described as an ascetic of extreme an early biographer seems to suffer in com-
otherworldliness (Smith 2001: 105), Rabias parison with Sulamis portrait of Rabia in
life was bound by an ascetic triune of prayer, his Dhikr an-niswa al-muta abbidat as sufi-
poverty (faqr), and seclusion that encom- yyat (Memorial of Female Sufi Devotees):
passed the triune prescription of Sufi con- a rational and disciplined teacher who
duct: little food, little sleep, little talk. demonstrates her mastery of important mys-
Her uncompromising and lifelong ascetic tical states, such as truthfulness (sidq), self-
regimen required periodic desert sojourns criticism (muhasaba), spiritual intoxication
394
RAGHIB PASHA
(sukr), love for God (mahabba), and gnosis final unveiling of the Beloved to his lover(s).
(marifa) (Cornell 1999: 62). And it is thus mahabba that, in the end,
No matter how wondrous, Gods works are makes possible knowledge (marifa) of God.
but veils obscuring the beauty and essence of Ascetic practice serves both to heighten the
God, obstacles in the way of eventual union sense of separation from, and intensify the
of the lover with the Beloved. Thus Rabias longing for, the Beloved: acute awareness of
conception of repentance (tawba) is more the sin of separation assuming the form of
than mere remorse for sinning and the corre- grief and sorrow in Basran mysticism. Such
sponding resolve to sin no more: repentance lamentation was often vividly expressed
denotes the determination to turn away from including by Rabiathrough incessant
all save God. Yet, perchance paradoxically, weeping (buka), the prolonged practice of
for Rabia tawba is a gift [of grace] from which sometimes led to blindness (Cornell
God. As such, it is a prelude to or neces- 1999: 61).
sary condition for a host of psycho-spiritual Although love for the Creator turned
virtues and emotional dispositions; but most her away from love of created things, she
importantly, tawba allows for the abnega- faced her separation from the Beloved with
tion of personal will in the will of God (logi- a patience (sabr) and gratitude (shukr) that
cally derived from tawhid, the oneness of transcended any feelings of grief and sorrow,
God). In addition to the longing of the lover befitting one enthralled by a vision of even-
for the Beloved (shawq), or the yearning tual union with the Divine.
of the soul purged of nafs (baser passions,
selfish desires) to experience intimacy with Further Reading
God (uns), Rabias love mysticism therefore Cornell, Rkia E. (trans.), Early Sufi Women:
entails utter acquiescence of the lover in the Dhikr an-niswa al-muta abbidat as
will of the Beloved (rida, literally content- sufiyyat, by Abu Abd ar-Rahman
ment or satisfactionno erotic union or as-Sulami, Louisville, KY: Fons Vitae, 1999.
marriage of equals here!). Not surprisingly, el-Sakkani, Widad, First Among Sufis: The
rida signifies Gods satisfaction with his lov- Life and Thought of Rabia al-Adawiyya,
ing servants obedience, which is metaphysi- the Woman Saint of Basra, London:
cally if not logically prior to the subjective Octagon Press, 1982.
experience of rida, that is, the lovers con- Smith, Margaret, Muslim Women Mystics:
tentment with her lot in life, her share of The Life and Work of Rabia and Other
misfortune, adversity, or suffering. Like the Women Mystics in Islam, Oxford:
God of the Hebrew Bible, Rabias God is a OneWorld, 2001.
jealous God who will suffer none to share
with Him that love which is due to Him patrick s. odonnell
alone (Smith 2001: 131). Finally, disinter-
ested love of God means the obedient ser-
vant is ideally motivated by neither hope for
eternal reward (Paradise), nor fear of eternal
punishment (Hell). In an Islamic variant of RAGHIB PASHA, Mehmed
Euthyphros question, Rabia asks, Even if (111176/16991763)
Heaven or Hell were not, does it not behove
us to obey Him? Mehmed Raghib Pasha was born in Istan-
While a foretaste of the union of the lover bul in 1111/1699 and died in the same city
with the Beloved is possible in this vale of on 24 Ramadan 1176/April 8, 1763. He
tears, only death can bring about kashf, the was a great statesman, an eminent scholar,
395
RAGHIB PASHA
a renowned poet, and a distinguished politi- with the various factions of the Mamluks;
cal thinker of the eighteenth-century Otto- and the governor of Rakka, Aleppo, and
man state. His original name was Mehmed. Damascus until 1170/1756.
On account of the penname Raghib that he Having augmented amply his professional
employed in his poetry, he was generally experience during all these years of govern-
known as Koja Raghib Pasha. mental service and having accomplished
Being a son of the scribe Mustafa Shawki many significant results, Raghib Pasha was
Efendi, a middle-class father who had been finally promoted by the sultan Osman III to
in charge of the Ottoman Registry Office, the post of grand vizier on 20 Rabi al-Awwal
Raghib Pasha received a good traditional 1170/December 13, 1756. He was in fact the
instruction under the private tutelage of sev- seventh and the last grand vizier of Osman
eral prominent teachers of the time, though III, who had given little power to his viziers
little is known about the details of his formal and dismissed them with no genuine excuses.
training. His exceptional intelligence and But cautious and clever as he was, Raghib
ability were soon discovered by his family Pasha was unaffected by the moody charac-
and the people around him, and thus he was ter of Osman III. Upon the latters death he
employed at a young age in the same office was retained in the same post by the succeed-
where his father was working. In a short ing Sultan Mustafa III, with whom he shared
time he not only grasped the techniques almost similar ideas concerning domestic and
and skills of an able administrator but also international issues and with whom he also
demonstrated an impeccable performance established a family tie by means of his mar-
in his work. As a result, in 1135/1724 he riage with the formers widowed sister, Saliha
was appointed secretary to the governor Sultan. It was only during Mustafa IIIs reign
of Van, Arifi Ahmed Pasha, and remained that Raghib Pasha reached the zenith of his
quite active in this post serving for the two administrative career as the last outstand-
subsequent governors, Koprulu-zade Abdul- ing grand vizier of the Ottoman State. In
lah Pasha and Hekim-zade Ali Pasha, until this post which he held for seven years until
1141/1729. Upon his return to Istanbul he his death, he unfailingly discharged his duties
was sent to Baghdad as deputy responsible and courageously implemented his decisions.
for the management of fief and military rev- He introduced, with the support of the sul-
enues. This was followed by his appointment tan, a number of improvements and new
there as head of the Treasury (defterdar). He regulations in the Ottoman administration,
went on to hold many key positions in vari- as well as in the management of the finances
ous capacities at various places. Some of the of the treasury. By appointing inspectors, he
positions which he occupied until he was pro- controlled the operation of the civil institu-
moted to the post of grand vizier, the highest tions and the religious endowments and thus
office in the Ottoman state, were as follows: ensured that the revenues accrued from them
the chief secretary of the financial affairs in were spent for their stated noble objectives.
Istanbul in 1145/1733; the head of the pro- When he died in 1176/1763, he was buried
vincial treasury in Erzurum in 1148/1736; in the garden of his own library, located in
an active peace-negotiator in Nimirov in the district of Laleli, Istanbul.
1149/1737; the minister of foreign affairs Besides being a leading statesman and a
(reisul-kuttab) in charge of the sultans cor- great scholar, Mehmed Raghib Pasha was
respondence with foreign ambassadors and also a distinguished poet and a renowned
governments in 1153/1741; the governor of political thinker and historian. He devoted
Egypt in 1156/1744, where he secured order most of his time to reading books and debat-
and peace after having wrestled for five years ing and deliberating on intellectual matters.
396
RAHMAN
The library founded by him bears an obvi- Turkish, as well as his proficiency in the
ous testimony to his profound intellectual- writing of both prose and poetry styles at
ity. At the same time a master calligrapher, the same time. It is a collection of numerous
he offered patronage to many artists and well-articulated poems depicting certain eth-
craftsmen of his time. By his poetical and ical notions and a few duly selected epistles
prose writings, which are replete with grace- delineating various aspects of sciences such as
ful maxims of wisdom and philosophical geometry, algebra, and geomancy. His poetic
themes, he contributed immensely to the masterpiece, Divan, contains his poems.
classical Turkish literature. Among the Turk- Among his other works, the Munshaat,
ish poets he was hailed as the last and best sometimes known as Talkhisat, is of great
representative of Nabis school. Although significance to political historians, for it pro-
he was well versed in the traditional Persian vides many diplomatic letters and official
literary forms, he used a direct and lucid documents written by Raghib Pasha when he
Turkish vocabulary in illustrating his points. had been holding the post of foreign minis-
His works, covering all available fields of ter. He has also made considerable contribu-
the time, reflect the synthesis of the old and tion to Turkish literature by his translations
contemporary ideas. His fame rests mostly of two Persian histories, Mirkhands Rawdat
on his state documents and political and his- al-safa and Abd al-Razzaq al-Samarkandis
torical writings, some of which were used as Matla al-sadayn.
exemplary models for diplomatic correspon-
dences. By his poetry he has influenced some Further Reading
of his contemporaries as well as some of the Karaaliolu, S. Kemal, Trk Edebiyati
famous poets in the following generations, Tarihi: Balangitan Tanzimata, Istanbul:
such as Fitnat Hanim, Hamet, Snbl-zade Inkilap ve Aka, 1980.
Vehbi, and zeet Molla. Mehmed Tahir Bursali, Mehmed, Osmanli
Raghib Pasha has produced works in both Mellelifleri I-III, Ankara: Bizim Bro
Arabic and Turkish and also translated two Basimevi, 2000.
historical texts from Persian into Turkish. Mustakim-zade, Sadeddin, Tuhfa-i
Safinat al-Raghib wa Dafinat al-Matalib is Hattatin, Istanbul: n.p., 1928.
one of his important works, written in Ara- Uraz, Murad, Koca Raghib Pasha, Istanbul:
bic in a lecture form, dealing with various n.p., 1940.
subjects of humanity and religion. A sizable
portion of it is devoted to the question of the bilal kupnar
creation of the world and the human being.
Tahqiq wa Tawfiq, composed of three major
parts along with an introduction and a con-
clusion, is his other eminent work in which al-Rahim, Qutb al-Din Ahmad,
he imparts his personal views and observa- see Wali Allah
tions concerning the religio-political relations
between Nadir Shahs Iran and Mahmud
Is Ottoman Turkey. This work occasion-
ally attempts at resolving and harmonizing
the differences between the doctrines of the RAHMAN, Fazlur(191988)
Sunnis and those of the Shiites. Perhaps
his Majmua is the only work that exhibits Fazlur Rahman was born in 1919 in the
Raghib Pashas mastery in the employment Hazara district, which was then in India
of three languages, Arabic, Persian, and and is now in northwest Pakistan. His father
397
RAHMAN
Mawlana Shahab al-Din was a graduate of doctrines of prophethood. He rejects both of

the Deoband school, and was thus consid- them. He realizes that while traditions are
ered a religious scholar with a traditional valuable for living religions in that they pro-
madrasa education. Fazlur Rahman started vide matrices for the creative activity of great
his early education in traditional Islamic minds and spirit, they are also entities that
thought under the guidance of his father. ipso facto isolate that tradition from the rest
After memorizing the entire Quran in his of humanity. Rahman then develops out
tenth year, Rahman continued with stud- of this predicament the synthesis that all
ies in Arabic, Persian, rhetoric, literature, traditions need constant revitalisation and
Aristotelian logic, philosophy, Islamic the- reform. There are, for Rahman, two kinds
ology (kalam), law (fiqh), hadith, and tafsir of revivalist trends in Islam: one is concerned
(Quranic Exegesis). When he was fourteen with the system of beliefs and thus is theoret-
years old, in 1933, his family moved to ical and intellectual; the other is moral, prac-
Lahore where he went to a modern school. tical, and thus activist. Rahman emphasizes
Fazlur Rahman received his BA in 1940 both the activist and intellectual revival.
and MA in 1942 from Punjab University. The practice of the Muslim community,
He later studied at Oxford University under argues Fazlur Rahman, shows that Sunna
Professors S. Van den Bergh and H. A. R. is mainly a concept based on the exemplary
Gibb, and completed his PhD in 1949 with a conduct of the Prophet. What the Muslim
thesis on the medieval philosopher Ibn Sina. community inherits from previous genera-
The thesis was published by Oxford Univer- tions he also calls the living sunna. The
sity Press as Avicennas Psychology in 1952. content of Sunna, however, has been contin-
In the 1950s, Rahman taught first at the Uni- ually developed by the activity of the early
versity of Durham in England, and later at scholars.
McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Fazlur Rahman argues that toward the
During his education and teaching in middle of the second century, the transmis-
England, Fazlur Rahman realized there was sion of hadith had advanced. This movement
a gap between traditional Islamic and mod- had developed into a formal discipline. As
ern education. As a result of this conflict, he textual materials continued to increase, the
confessed to an acute scepticism brought power of hadith against the living sunna
about by the study of philosophy, which increased as well. Therefore, Fazlur Rah-
finally shattered his traditional beliefs. After man argues, hadith became the tool not only
completing his PhD at Oxford, Rahman con- of legal norms but also of religious beliefs
tinued his research in the history of Islamic and principles. Hadith literature, therefore,
prophecy. The result of this research was should be re-evaluated and reinterpreted
a book, Prophecy in Islam, which treated under contemporary moral and social con-
critically, in its historical setting, the doc- ditions. Fazlur Rahmans methodological
trine of prophecy developed by Muslim analysis with regard to hadith and Sunna
thinkers. When preparing this work, Fazlur brought him to think that the early concep-
Rahman delved into the Muslim Peripatet- tion of the living Sunna represented by the
ics (mashshaun). He again came across first generations of Muslims needs to revive,
conflict between their doctrine and that and to establish a dynamic living Sunna for
of such orthodox scholars as al-Ashari, the contemporary Muslim community.
al-Ghazali, and Ibn Taymiyya. As a thinker, Fazlur Rahman was inter-
Rahman was, however, dissatisfied with ested in theological issues so far as they had
both the philosophical and traditional a contemporary relevance. This approach to
398
RAHMAN
contemporary Islamic issues can be seen in whole so that the theological sections of the
his academic work, even during his teaching Quran and the ethical parts become a uni-
career at Durham University. He published fied whole.
several articles and works which are devoted As part of understanding the Quran as a
to the contemporary challenge of ideas and unity, it becomes essential to understand the
social issues to Islam. urf (customs), institutions and the general
In the early 1960s Fazlur Rahman was way of life of the Arabs; in particular, the sit-
called to Pakistan to head the new Institute uation in Mecca immediately before Islam.
of Islamic Research in Karachi. He founded We must try not only to understand pre-
and for several years edited the journal Islamic Arab religion but also, as we have
Islamic Studies and was intensely engaged in said, their social institutions, economic life,
Islamic affairs in Pakistan, both as a scholar and political relationships. The prominent
and as an influential theorist of opinion role of the Quraysh and its religious and
and policy. When a new regime took over economic superiority among Arabs must be
the country in the late 1960s his position understood. The Quran has therefore to be
became difficult given his modernist tenden- understood in its proper context.
cies. Rahman was offered the opportunity During his PhD, Fazlur Rahman had
to teach at the University of California, Los noted the lack of historical thinking in Mus-
Angeles; he moved there, with his family, in lim intellectuals. Fazlur Rahman maintained
1968. In 1969 he was appointed professor that the Quran should be studied in histori-
of Islamic thought at the University of Chi- cal order to appreciate the development of
cago, where he remained until his death in its themes and ideas; otherwise one is apt to
the summer of 1988. be misled on certain important points. One
Rahman argues that the imperfection and should then study it in its socio-historical
imprecision of medieval Islamic methodol- backgroundthis applies not only to indi-
ogy cannot help us understand the Quran. vidual passages, for which there were what
Classical and medieval commentators on the the Quran commentators call occasions
Quran treated it verse by verse. Commenta- of revelation, but also to the Quran as a
tors have recognized that the principal parts whole, for which there was a background in
of the Quran interpret other parts. They pagan Mecca that can be called the occa-
have also written numerous works on the sion of the Quran.
methods or principles of Quran interpreta- The formulation of Fazlur Rahmans sys-
tion, which are called usul al-tafsir. In the tem of hermeneutics, according to his Turk-
formulation of this science, Muslim scholars ish student, Alpaslan Ackgen, falls into
have given great service to the understand- three periods. First is the crisis period, which
ing of the Quran, particularly in bringing covers the time of his education until his
out the style and idiom of the Quran, and early teaching career at Durham. Second is
its literal and metaphorical use of the lan- the synthesis period, beginning in 1958 when
guage, for example in distinguishing verses he began teaching at McGill and lasting until
that are of general import from those that his resignation in 1968 from the directorship
are particular in their meaning. These of the Central Institute at Lahore. And third
approaches, according to Fazlur Rahman, is the resolution period, which covers his
are indeed essential for an understanding of teaching career at the University of Chicago
the text of the Quran. Nevertheless we need (196988).
a hermeneutical theory that will help us to By the crisis period, Ackgen means the
understand the meaning of the Quran as a period in which Fazlur Rahman became
399
RAHMAN
aware of the conflict between his early tradi- meaning of an ancient text can be studied
tional education and the modern variety. In through objective historical enquiry. How-
order to solve this conflict, Fazlur Rahman ever, when Rahman reinterprets the Quranic
had suggested reform and revival in Islam. verses with regard to contemporary issues,
He would later try to find out how Islamic such as bank interest, womens rights and so
tradition could be reformed. In the second on, he is very much under the influence of his
stage (195868), he aimed to concentrate own active historical concerns. Fazlur Rah-
on solutions rather than developing a theo- man passed away in July 26, 1988, having
retical formulation of his method. The first made an enormous contribution to Islamic
theoretical formulations of his methodology and Western thought in general, and philos-
were to come during his directorship of the ophy in particular.
Central Institute of Islamic Research, Kara-
chi (19628). These methodological consid- BIBLIOGRAPHY
erations first appeared as a series of articles, Prophecy in Islam: Philosophy and
which were collected later in a book entitled Orthodoxy, London: George Allen and
Islamic Methodology in History. Unwin, 1958.
Fazlur Rahman developed his methodol- Islamic Methodology in History, Islamabad:
ogy in the last period (196988), with the Islamic Research Institute, 1965.
publication of his Major Themes of the Islam, Chicago: University of Chicago
Quran while teaching at the University of Press, 1966.
Chicago. In a later work entitled Islam and Islamic Modernism: Its Scope, Method
Modernity, Rahman formulated his method and Alternatives, International Journal
theoretically. He suggests two main steps in of Middle East Studies, 1 (1970),
the interpretation of the Quran using his- pp. 31733.
torical methods. The first step is to under- Major Themes of the Quran, Minneapolis:
stand the meaning of a given statement by Bibliotheca Islamica, 1980.
studying historical situations. The second Islam and Modernity: Transformation
step is to generalize those specific answers of an Intellectual Tradition, Chicago:
and pronounce them as statements of gen- University of Chicago Press, 1982.
eral moralsocial objectives that can be Interpreting the Quran, Inquiry,
distilled from specific texts in light of the 3 (May 1986), pp. 4550.
socio-historical background and the often-
stated ratio legis. Rahman suggests this Further Reading
approach in order to generalize the Quranic Ackgen, Alpalan, The Thinker of
response to socio-historical situations and to Islamic Revival and Reform: Fazlur
apply them to contemporary situations. This Rahmans Life and Thought, Islami
is according to him what is called ijtihad in Arastirmalar, 4, 4 (1990), pp. 23252.
the Islamic sciences. Yet Rahman believes Denny, Frederick M., The Legacy of
that ijtihad is an essential element in Islamic Fazlur Rahman, in Y. Y. Haddad (ed.),
methodology and that its definition clearly The Muslims of America, New York,
demonstrates that Islamic historicism pre- Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991,
dates the Wests development of the method- pp.96108.
ology. At the same time, he expresses agree- Sonn, Tamara, Fazlur Rahmans Islamic
ments with Western thinkers. Methodology, The Muslim World, 81
Rahmans methodology is based on the (1991), pp. 21230.
hermeneutical theory devised by Betti, which
insists on objective study. For Betti the necmettn gkkr
400
AL-RANIRI
AL-RANIRI, Nur al-Din(d. 1068/1658) population in Islamic law and theology, only
to discover that the Malays were more inter-
Nur al-Din al-Raniri was born, date ested in Sufism. It should be noted that the
unknown, in Ranir, a famous old port in Hadhramis of India were active missionaries
Gujarat, India, which had a sizable com- who played an important role in the Islam-
munity of Muslims from the various parts ization of the Malays.
of the Islamic world. He died there on 22 In 1047/1637 when Iskandar Thani
Dhul- Hijja 1068/September 21, 1658. He ascended to the throne and became the sul-
was a Sufi, an Asharite theologian, a histo- tan of Aceh, al-Raniri arrived in Aceh on 6
rian, and a zealous missionary who exerted Muharam/May 31 of the same year. Almost
a tremendous influence on the Islamic life immediately upon his arrival, al-Raniri was
and thought of the Malay world, particu- appointed to the highest office of shaykh
larly in the kingdom of Aceh, which was a al-islam by the new sultan. Al-Raniris pro-
major intellectual and trading center in the ficiency in the Malay language and excel-
eleventh/seventeenth century. lent standing with the sultan, which led to
Of Hadhrami descent (and probably mixed his rapid rise and influence at the sultans
with Indian ancestry) from the noble Hamid court, have led many scholars to believe that
clan in Ranir, al-Raniri received his early al-Raniri had a previous close relation with
Islamic education in his birthplace in India. the sultan and had visited and stayed in Aceh
Since it was a common practice among his and other parts of the Malay world, specifi-
community to visit and maintain close con- cally Pahang in the Malay peninsula, prior to
tact with their place of origin, most scholars 1047/1637. This view finds support in the
believe that when al-Raniri made the pilgrim- fact that al-Raniri had started writing books
age to Mecca and Medina in 1030/1621, he in Malay, such as the well-known al-Sirat
also traveled to Hadhramaut and in all likeli- al-mustaqim (The Straight Path) which he
hood stayed there for a certain period of time began in 1044/1633; and he also possessed
to continue his Islamic education. In addi- a thorough knowledge of the genealogy of
tion to this, it is also believed that he traveled the sultans of Pahang as demonstrated in
to the Malay world, to Pahang in the Malay his major work, Bustan al-salatin (Garden
peninsula and to Aceh in north Sumatra, of Kings). Furthermore, Iskandar Thani
since his family had close contacts with these belonged to the Pahang royal family.
two places. Al-Raniri was initiated into the The first task al-Raniri undertook as
Rifaiyya Order by Sayyid Abu Hafs Umar the shaykh al-islam of Aceh was to refute
ibn Abd Allah Ba Shayban (d. 1066/1656), the metaphysical and spiritual or wuju-
a Hadhrami born in India, whose spiritual diyya teachings of Hamzah Fansuri (d.
genealogy may be traced back to Sayyid Abu c. 1000/1600) and Shams al-Din al-
Bakr al-Aydarus (d. 919/1509), the great Sumatrai Sumatrani (d. 1039/1630)
saint of Aden: hence, al-Raniris reference which were popular and widespread among
to himself as belonging to the school of the local Malays. In debates held at the sul-
al-Aydarus. tans palace, al-Raniri succeeded in proving
On the issue of al-Raniris connection with the heretical nature of their teachings and
the Malay world, some scholars contend that had their writings burnt and many of their
his mother may have been a Malay, although followers persecuted. Al-Raniris polemics
there is no conclusive evidence to support with the wujudiyya school are documented
it. However, his uncle Muhammad Jaylani in several of his works, the most important
Hamid visited Aceh in the 1580s, with the among them being the Hujjat al-siddiq li
intention of instructing the local Muslim daf al-zindiq (Proofs of the Truthful in
401
AL-RAZI
Refuting the Heretics). Apart from his the wujudiyya school were not only instru-
polemical writings which center on the fun- mental in the destruction of their writings
damental issue of the ontological relation and a reduction in their followers, but also
between God and the universe, al-Raniri provide us with the references to the sources
also wrote books of a theological and juridi- used by the early Malay Sufis, and their com-
cal nature in which the essential principles prehension of Sufi doctrines. His books on
of the Islamic religion and their practical the basic essentials of the Islamic religion
applications in many aspects of life are elu- provide the much-needed standard texts for
cidated for the benefit of the Malays. These the instruction and practice of the religion
works constitute among the first writings of in the Malay world. Thus, al-Raniri like his
this nature in Malay and they were instru- forefathers, the Hadhrami sayyids of India,
mental in clarifying and consolidating the played a major role in the Islamization of the
Malays comprehension of the fundamen- Malays.
tals of the religion. His Sirat al-mustaqim
which discusses practical matters on wor- BIBLIOGRAPHY
ship, marriage, divorce, burial, and so on is Bustan al-salatin, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan
still in use in the madrasas in Malaysia and Bahasa dan Pustaka, 1966.
Indonesia today. Al-Raniri is also attributed Hujjat al-siddiq li daf al-zindiq, in S. M. N.
with the achievement of producing the lon- al-Attas (ed.), Raniri and the Wujudiyyah
gest Islamic religious work in the Malay of 17th Century Aceh, Singapore:
language. His Bustan al-salatin consisting Monographs of the Malaysian Branch of
of seven books is a kind of encyclopedia of the Royal Asiatic Society, No. III, 1966.
universal history covering the creation of
the world, the history of the prophets, kings, Further Reading
saints, and sages, and, in general, of human- Al-Attas, S. M. Naquib, A Commentary
ity. He also wrote an important work on the on the Hujjat al-Siddiq of Nur al-Din
various religious beliefs in Tibyan fi marifat al-Raniri, Kuala Lumpur: Ministry of
al-adyan (An Exposition of the Under- Culture, 1986.
standing of Religions). Altogether there are
twenty-nine works attributed to al-Raniri. zailan moris
When Iskandar Thani died in 1050/1641,
his queen Sultanah Safiyyat al-Din ascended
to the throne. Al-Raniri continued to enjoy
the Acehnese royal patronage, but not for
long. In 1054/1644, in a series of debates AL-RAZI, Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn
with the resurgent wujudiyya school under Zakariyya(c. 250313 or 323/c. 854925
its new and competent leader, a Minangka- or 935)
bau scholar by the name of Sayf al-Rijal, al-
Raniri appeared to have been defeated and Abu Bakr Muhammad b. Zakariyya al-
was dismissed from his office. He left Aceh Razi, known as Rhazes in Christian Europe,
for his birthplace, Ranir, where he lived for was a physician, philosopher, and alche-
another fourteen years. mist. He was born in Rayy and his educa-
Al-Raniri, whose official stay in the Malay tion included the Greek sciences, music, and
world lasted for a brief seven years, never- medicine. He made great use of Galen but
theless left a lasting legacy and a definite took a more empirical approach in both
influence among the local population. His medicine and alchemy than the Greeks,
refutations of the metaphysical teachings of whose language it is said he learned and
402
AL-RAZI
could even write. He was head of the hospi- The Tibb al-ruhani, also dedicated to al-
tal in Rayy and later Baghdad. Mansur, promotes an ascetic lifestyle based
His books were often dedicated to local on the idea that every pleasure is only pos-
rulers, in the custom of the time, so his medi- sible due to its contrast with a preceding
cal handbook the Mansuri, translated into pain. The best we can hope for, then, is some
Latin by Gerard of Cremona in the twelfth level of contentment or peace of mind. There
century, was dedicated to Mansur b. Ishaq, is no point in trying to expand our level of
the Samanid governor of Rayy; his Mulukior pleasure since this will only expand the sorts
Regius was likewise dedicated to Ali b. Wah- of pains to which we are subject, and so be
sudhan of Tabaristan. He claimed to have self-defeating. Death itself is not to be feared
written 200 books in his autobiography the since it means the cessation of pain and as
Sira al-falsafiyya (Philosophical Way of Life) such might be welcomed as a perfectly pain-
and here he immodestly, but again in keeping less state of affairs. Even if the soul is mortal,
with the style of the times, commented on his death is nothing to fear, since when it comes,
hard work, scholarship, and skill as a physi- our suffering goes, and for al-Razi this is
cian. He also expressed great concern for his something very much to be welcomed. We
patients and their welfare. It is certainly true irrationally fear something that is very much
that he was very productive, his notebooks in our interests, and this is due to the over-
being edited in twenty-five volumes, as the whelming of our rationality by passion, our
Kitab al-Hawi fil-tibb, at the instance of Ibn passionate desire to keep on living.
al-Amid, the vizier of Rukn al-Dawla, and Al-Razi is very critical of traditional reli-
were translated as the Continens in 1279 by gion. He claims that the argument that a
the Jewish physician Faradj b. Salim (known benevolent deity would always send a guide,
as Farraguth) for King Charles of Anjou, a familiar claim in Islamic thought, is out-
a text that became very popular and often weighed by the argument that God has
reprinted. given us reason enough to work out how to
His main work on medicine, the Kitab behave. The sorts of behavior that religion
al-Jami al-kabir, or Great Medical Com- involves is often based on blindly following
pendium, really strikes new ground. Given others or tradition, something offensive to
the importance he gives to empirical inves- reason, according to al-Razi.
tigation and independent thought, he even His chief claim to fame is as a scientist, in
challenges Galen on occasion. Al-Razi is particular as a physician, and his works were
very much a philosopher-physician, treating translated into Latin and he was known in
medicine as an aspect of the wellbeing of the Christian Europe as Rhazes. Much of his
whole person and stressing the significance effort was directed toward supporting the
of not relying on tradition to arrive at the Abbasid caliphate, shortly to be destroyed
truth, something that was to make some of by the Mongols, but a more lasting contri-
his reflections on religion very controver- bution to Islamic cultural life was the way
sial. From what we know of the titles of his in which he wrote on the Islamic sciences
books, no longer extant in the main, they more than what precisely he had to say. His
dealt with logic, cosmology, theology, math- method, combining aql (reason) and naql
ematics, and alchemy as well as medicine (tradition), was very much followed by his
and philosophy. They often had challenging successors. His skill in debate and waspish
theses that went against the existing ortho- style made him a model of how to conduct
doxies in theoretical thought in a wide range a vigorous controversy and lent a rather fre-
of disciplines, so al-Razi was obviously not netic air to much subsequent philosophical
disinclined to provoke his audience. work.
403
RAZI, ABU HATIM
BIBLIOGRAPHY of Abu Bakr al-Razis Tibbal-Ruhani,

Rasail falsafiyya li-Abi Bakr Muhammad Arabica, 24 (1977), pp. 913.
ibn Zakariyya al-Razi, Cairo: Stroumsa, S., Freethinkers of Medieval
al-Maktaba al- murtahiyya, 1939; Islam: Ibn al-Rawandi, Abu Bakr al-Razi,
French trans. in P. Kraus, Raziana I: La and Their Impact on Islamic Thought,
conduite du philosophe, Orientalia, 4 Leiden: Brill, 1999.
(1935), pp. 30034.
The Spiritual Physick of Rhazes, trans.
oliver leaman
A. J. Arberry, London: Murray, 1950.
Munazarat bayna al-raziyayn, trans.
L. Goodman, Razi vs. Razi Philosophy
in the Majlis, in H. Lazarus-Yafeh, M.
Cohen and S. Griffith (eds), The Majlis:
Interreligious Encounters in medieval RAZI, ABU HATIM(d. 322/934)
Islam, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1999,
pp. 84107. Abu Hatim Ahmad ibn Hamdan Razi
(d. 322/934) was an eminent Ismaili phi-
Further Reading losopher and the chief dai (missionary) of
al-Biruni, Risala fi Fihrist kutub M. Rayy, who became the leader of the dawa
b. Zakariyya al-Razi, ed. P. Kraus, in the Jibal area. He is credited with expand-
Paris, 1936; ed. with Persian trans. ing Ismaili missionary activities in Persia
M. Mohaghegh, Tehran, 19845, partial but had to go into hiding in Tabaristan
German trans. Ruska, Isis, 5 (1922), after the Sunni Samanids conquered Rayy in
pp. 2650. 313/925. Abu Hatim succeeded in convert-
Fakhry, M., A Tenth-Century Arabic ing a number of local rulers while he was in
Interpretation of Platos Cosmology, Daylam, among the more notable figures one
Journal of the History of Philosophy, can mention the governor of Rayy, Ahmad
6 (1968), pp. 1522. ibn Ali, Ashraf ibn Shirwayh, and Mahdi
Goodman, L., The Epicurean Ethic of ibn Khusraw Firuz.
M. b. Zakariya ar-Razi, Studia Abu Hatim was keenly interested in the
Islamica, 34 (1971), pp. 526. concept of the hidden imam and the date of
Razis Kitab al-Ilm al-Ilahi and the Five his appearance, which he had predicted. His
Eternals, in Abr-Nahrain, vol. 13, 1973, interest in this subject matter can be deci-
pp. 1623. phered from his correspondence with figures
Razis Myth of the Fall of the Soul: such as Abu Tahir al-Jannabi, who were also
Its Function In His Philosophy, in expecting the appearance of the Mahdi. It
G. Hourani (ed.), Essays on Islamic was Abu Hatims false prediction of the date
Philosophy and Science, Albany, NY: of the Mahdis return that angered his patron,
State University of New York Press, Mardawij, who may even have claimed to be
1975, pp. 2540. the representative of the hidden imam himself.
Muhammad Zakariyya al-Razi, in This may have been the reason for the famous
S. H. Nasr and O. Leaman (eds), debate between Abu Hatim Razi and Zakar-
History of Islamic Philosophy, iyya Razi which took place in Mardawijs
ch. 13, London: Routledge, 1996, presence as reported by al-Kirmani.
pp. 198215. Abu Hatim Razi, and a number of other
Gutas, D., Notes and Texts From Cairo Ismaili thinkers such as Nasafi and Abu
mss. I. Addenda to P. Kraus Edition Sulayman al-Sijistani who belong to the
404
AL-RAZI
Persian school of Ismailim, did not accept Further Reading

the imamate of Ubayd Allah. Abu Hatim Corbin, H., De la gnose antique la gnose
Razi and many of the above figures are to be ismalienne, in Oriente ed Occidente nel
credited for bringing philosophical discourse medioevo: Atti del XII convegno Volta,
and rationalization into such concepts as Rome, 1957, pp. 13843; reprinted in
prophecy, imamate, cosmology, and meta- his Temps cyclique, Paris: Berg, 1982.
physics. Razi should also be regarded as a pp. 2038; trans. J. W. Morris, From
venue through whom much of Neoplatonism the Gnosis of Antiquity to Ismaili
entered systematically into Ismaili doctrine, Gnosis, in Corbin, Cyclical Time and
in particular the concept of the unknowable Ismaili Gnosis, London: Kegan Paul
God, emanation, and the hierarchical chain International in association with Islamic
of being. He was careful to exclude many Publications, 1983, pp. 18793.
Neoplatonic ideas which were inconsistent Daiber, H., Political Philosophy, in S. H.
with Islam. Nasr and O. Leaman (eds), History of
Razi, like many other Ismaili thinkers, Islamic Philosophy, London: Routledge,
expanded the Ismaili cosmological and ch. 50, 1996, pp. 84185.
metaphysical doctrines that had already been Poonawala, I. K., Biobibliography of
discussed by Nasafi. Razis role went beyond Ismaili Literature, Malibu, CA: Undena
that of only a commentator. In his al-Islah, Publications, 1977, pp.369.
he improves upon the central propositions of al-Sijistani, Abu Sulayman, Kitab
Neoplatonic thought in Nasafi concerning al-iftikhar, ed. M. Ghalib, Beirut:
creation. Razi, in the long-standing tradition Dar al-fikr, 1980, pp. 4356.
of spiritual hermeneutics (tawil), synthesizes
metaphysical concepts and the science of let- mehdi aminrazavi
ters. For example, he applies the concept of
emanation to the cosmological notions of
kuni and qdr, arguing that the three letters
of qdr are derived from the first three letters
of the word kuni; Razi identifies the former AL-RAZI, Fakhr al-Din(543606/
notion with the soul and the latter with the 11491209)
intellect. The human soul, Razi says, is a
trace of the higher soul, which is perfect like Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Umar ibn
the intellect. al-Husayn, more often known as Fakhr al-
Among the central themes that Razi Din al-Razi, was born at Rayy in Iran. His
treats in his works, especially in his Alam early education was carried out by his father
al-nubuwa, are prophecy, the nature of a who was an educated man and brought
prophets knowledge of the world, and the up his son within the Shafii tradition of
nature of revelation in respect of the Proph- law and the Asharite theological school.
ets intellect. A glance at the title of some of After his fathers death, Fakhr al-Din con-
the chapters of Alam al-nubuwa reveals the tinued his studies with Kamal al-Din Sim-
extent to which Razi was concerned with nani in Simnan, where he worked on law,
epistemological issues. Among the titles are and then on theology and philosophy with
The Prophets are the Origin of Scientific Majd al-Din al-Jili, following him to Rayy
Learning and Bequeathed It to the Sages, and Maragha. After his studies he traveled
The Origin of Astronomical Observation, widely around the eastern part of the Islamic
The Origin of the Known Drugs, and All world, teaching and debating wherever he
Knowledge Goes Back to the First Sage. went. Fakhr al-Din was clearly a combative
405
Religion, philosophy of in Islam
individual who enjoyed engaging his oppo- but not an uncritical course, and al-Razi often
nents, whether they were Mutazilites, Kar- veers off to attack the position which he has
ramites, Hanbalis, or Ismailis. He describes spent so long building up because of some
in his writings his various journeys and how aspect of it with which he disagrees. His books
he was sometimes treated well and some- have played a crucial role in the nature of phi-
times far from well, depending on the alle- losophy in the Persian cultural world since he
giances of the local ruler. Around 600/1203 spent so much time discussing Ibn Sina and
he moved to Herat where he founded an presented serious doubts about the whole
academy and was strongly supported by the value of the Peripatetic enterprise, while at
local authorities. the same time being part of that enterprise for
Fakhr al-Din wrote on a vast number of the purpose of attacking it, rather like his pre-
topics, including grammar, history, medi- decessor al-Ghazali who clearly had a huge
cine, theology, philosophy, and Quran influence on his thought.
commentary. He was certainly the outstand-
ing theologian of his time, using the works BIBLIOGRAPHY
of al-Ghazali to argue that theology was Itiqadat firaq al-muslmin wal-mushrikin,
respectable from a religious point of view A. al-Nashshar, Cairo: Maktabat
if carried out in the right sort of way, and al-nahda al-misriyya, 1938.
that Muslims have the duty to investigate the al-Tafsir al-kabir, Tehran: Dar al-kutub
theoretical issues that arise in their faith. He al-ilmiyya, n.d.
shared al-Ghazalis suspicion of philosophy,
and yet incorporated it much more directly Further Reading
into his output than did his predecessor. He Johns, A. H., Razis Treatment of the Quranic
also was keen to demarcate between philos- Episodes Telling of Abraham and His
ophy and theology, and he does not accuse Guests: Quranic Exegesis with a Human
philosophers of theological sins, although he Face, MIDEO, 17 (1986), pp. 81114.
does often chide them for what he thinks are Kholeif, F., A Study on Fakhr al-Din al-Razi
their mistakes of reasoning which are also and his Controversies in Transoxania,
theologically suspect. Beirut: Dar El-Machreq, n.d.
Fakhr al-Din was one of those Islamic Street, A., Concerning the Life and Works
thinkers who constantly criticized philosophy of Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, in Peter
while using it a great deal in his work. So his G. Riddell and Tony Street (eds), Islam:
critique of Ibn Sina and his thought, and of Essays on Scripture. Thought and
logic and metaphysics are really philosophical Society, Leiden: Brill, 1997, pp.13546.
works attacking a particular set of arguments.
Even his theological works, and there are oliver leaman
many of these, employ a sophisticated meth-
odology in which philosophy is not far from
the surface. It is his use of philosophy that
makes his theology so impressive and gives
it a satisfyingly rational structure, making
it difficult to attack. In particular, he argues
The standard conception of philosophy of
that theology can not only prove the existence
religion
of God, but that this proof is incumbent on
the believer, thus really sanctioning the use of In their helpful introduction to the subject,
rational techniques in theology. In his theol- Michael Peterson et al. (1991: 8) suggest
ogy he steers a course close to the Asharites, that the enterprise of philosophy of religion
406
be defined as the attempt to analyse and mortem encounter with God with reference
critically evaluate religious beliefs. Taken to what the Quran says about the matter.
as a broad understanding of the discipline, By contrast, philosophy of religion seeks
this definition serves its purpose, for, by vir- to ascertain the veracity of religious belief
tue of the nature of philosophy as involving without presupposing the truth (or falsity)
a critical examination of issues relevant to of any religious framework. It is, as David
human thought, it is certainly true that phi- Stewart explains, a second-order activity
losophers of religion are interested in assess- focused on the fundamental issues of a given
ing the coherence and plausibility of religious religion ... [that] submit[s] claims ... made by
beliefs. Their critical examination is, how- religions to a thoroughgoing rational inves-
ever, given a sharper focus in much of the tigation (Stewart 1980: 6).
contemporary philosophizing over religious To be clearer, one might find it useful
belief in accordance with two prevailing (incorporating Stewarts terminology) to
but certainly not the onlysuppositions in speak of a second-order epistemological
the field. concern in the philosophy of religion that
First, it is widely held that the critical com- distinguishes it from theology. So a philoso-
ponent of present-day philosophy of religion pher of religion, qua philosopher of religion,
relates to what may be called the epistemo- will seek to address concerns about whether
logical concern over religious beliefs. That is, or not we will meet God after our earthly
at the heart of critical inquiry into religious lives come to an end by inquiring into the
beliefs is concern over whether they can rea- rationality of belief in God, belief in life
sonably be held to be true, where questions after death, and so on, without appealing to
of reasonableness are typically expressed any scriptural claims and with reference to
in terms of epistemic rationality or jus- religiously neutral considerations only (for
tifiability. The epistemological concern is example, current scientific views about the
what distinguishes the philosophy of religion possibility of survival after bodily death).
from other disciplines, such as the sociology, Second, the religious content to which the
anthropology, and history of religion since epistemological concern in contemporary
these latter disciplines focus mainly on the philosophy of religion is mainly affixed is
phenomenology of religion, and do not raise specifically a theistic one, viz., the theistic
questions regarding the reasonableness and concept of God, where God is generally
truth of religious belief. It is important to understood to mean, in the words of Rich-
see that the epistemological concern (prop- ard Swinburne, [a] person without a body
erly explicated) also distinguishes the phi- (i.e. a spirit) who is eternal, free, able to
losophy of religion from theology (or even do anything, knows everything, is perfectly
philosophical theology). Although theol- free, is the proper object of human worship
ogy is concerned, indeed deeply concerned, and obedience, the creator and sustainer
with the truth of religious belief (consider, of the Universe (Swinburne 1993: 1). A
for example, the trepidation in the Abraha- basic inspection of the current, relevant lit-
mic religious traditions regarding idolatry, erature reveals that, for most philosophers
worship of something other than the true of religion, the main topic of contention is
God), it raises the question of truth within whether or not the theistic God (as described
a context that already presupposes that a by Swinburne) exists.
certain religious framework is true. Thus, Taking the epistemological concern in
a Muslim theologian, if she wants to give a conjunction with a theistic construal of the
theological answer, may reply to concerns religious content yields what I shall call the
about whether or not there will be a post- standard conception of the philosophy of
407
religion: critical inquiry into the epistemic about their religious beliefs? In what fol-
rationality or justifiability of belief in the lows, I shall argue that there is at least a
existence of the theistic God. Furthermore, prima facie case in favor of the standard con-
according to most philosophers of religion ception of philosophy of religion, and ipso
writing today, the epistemic rationality or facto that the concerns of Muslim thinkers
justifiability of the belief that God exists is should intersect with those of contemporary
closely tied to the availability of the appro- philosophers of religion.
priate evidence, where evidence refers To begin with, note that an answer to the
(typically) to good arguments. One way of question why philosophizing over religious
making the standard conception of present- belief is important (or, more specifically
day philosophy of religion more explicit, given the standard conception, why critically
then, would be to suggest that it primarily assessing arguments for and against Gods
involves critical assessment of the relevant existence is important) can only be given rel-
arguments for and against the existence of ative to a number of different perspectives.
the theistic God. This, at any rate, appears There are, it seems to me, four basic classes
to be an apt description of the fundamental of people who might express interest in the
endeavor in the philosophy of religion today, (standard conception of) philosophy of reli-
as practised in the predominantly Anglo- gion. Here they are, in no particular order:
American analytic tradition. There is, first of all, the perspective of the
Now, an unfortunate aspect of the cur- apologetic theist. Individuals who fall into
rent work in philosophy of religion is that this class are mainly interested in arguments
little attention is given to an arguably impor- for and against the existence of God because
tant prior question, viz., why wouldor they either want (1) to provide philosophi-
shouldanyone be interested in philoso- cal arguments in favor of theism in order
phizing over religious belief? In terms of the to rationally persuade non-theists (atheists,
standard conception presented above, the agnostics, etc.) to become theists or (2) to
question becomes this. Why is it important rebut philosophical arguments against the-
to undertake an assessment of arguments for ism to show that those who are already
and against the existence of the theistic God? committed theists need not worry about
Messer, for example, rightly expresses sur- the rationality of their theistic convictions.
prise at the lack of major Anglo-American So philosophy of religion might play an
thinkers who [address] in any depth the important (perhaps major) function in the
prior question of whether the project tra- enterprise of theistic apologetics. For exam-
ditionally undertaken by advocates of the ple, speaking in defense of philosophizing
Proofs, namely the rational justification of about the coherence of theism in a Christian
the existence of God, [is] one that should be context, Swinburne writes: the religious man
taking place at all (Messer 1993: 2). If, as I . . . has . . . on the Christian view, a duty to
am about to argue, Muslim thinkers should convert others. If they are to believe, those
take the project of philosophy of religion others need to have explained to them what
seriously, an answer to this question needs the theists claims mean. They often doubt
to be given. Otherwise, it becomes relatively the coherence of these claims. If the religious
easy for some of them to avail themselves of man could show the claims to be coherent,
the following sort of objection at this point. he would remove a stumbling block which
If there is no good reason to think that we stands in the way of the conversion of the
should philosophize over religious beliefs in unbeliever (Swinburne 1993: 6).
general, then why think that Muslims in par- It should be clear that both the tasks of per-
ticular should be philosophically concerned suasion and rebuttal in theistic apologetics
408
have to be second-order ones. To see why, can occur. Especially since the eighteenth
consider, for instance, the fact that the apolo- century, advances in philosophy, science,
getic theist cannot try to rationally persuade and the historico-critical method of scrip-
an atheist that God exists on the basis of a tural exegesis, have repeatedly encroached
philosophical argument if the argument in on the theists comfort zone. Pressure may
question already presupposes some truth of be put on the reflective theist from criticisms
the theistic worldview (for example, that a emerging from these disciplines to the point
book of revelation is a source and criterion of where, upon reflection, she is haunted by the
truth). As Descartes observed in his address possibility that her entire theistic perspec-
to the faculty of theology in Paris: although tive is false (i.e., that the proposition God
it is absolutely true that we must believe that exists is false and therefore so is every
there is a God, because we are so taught in other conjunctive theistic proposition where
the Holy Scriptures, and, on the other hand God exists is incorporated as a conjunct).
that we must believe the Holy Scriptures Although theists will, of course, contest criti-
because they come from God . . . we never- cisms of theism and reject the atheistic claim
theless could not place this argument before that God does not exist, few of them can
infidels, who might accuse us of reasoning in deny the fact that several seemingly intel-
a circle (Descartes 1997: 123). ligent and rational thinkers voice criticisms
A similar point obviously applies to defen- of theism today, and that plenty of people
sive apologia presented against philosophical assent to such criticisms. It no longer seems
criticisms of theism. Suppose it is argued that foolish (as it might once have been several
some alleged discrepancies in Scripture count centuries ago) to say, as Kai Nielsen does,
against the claim that it is divinely revealed, that belief in God is irrational for a philo-
and therefore count as evidence against Gods sophically sophisticated and scientifically
existence. The apologetic theist is unlikely to knowledgeable person in our cultural space
quell doubts that this argument might instill (Nielsen 1989: 239). Of course, whether this
in the minds of certain theists by arguing on is actually the case is still a contested issue.
the basis that Scripture itself assures us of its In order for her to be satisfied that this is not
consistency (see, for example, Quran 15: 9). so, the reflective theist needs some indepen
Rather, what is indeed is a second-order veri- dentsecond-orderconfirmation that her
fication of this scriptural claim. belief in the theistic worldview, at its most
A second perspective is that of the reflec- fundamental level, can rationally be adhered
tive theist. The principal interests of people to. So the reflective theist may be interested
in this class are not apologetic. That is, in philosophical arguments for the truth (or
reflective theists are not primarily concerned falsity) of the conclusion that God exists
with rationally persuading non-theists to from a religiously neutral standpoint (I will
become theists, or in allaying uncertainties develop the perspective of the reflective the-
some other theists might have about theist in greater detail below).
ism, by way of philosophical argumentation. Thirdly, there is the non-theistic parallel of
The reflective theist is self-reflective, and so the apologetic theist, namely, the perspective
her main concern is whether she is rational of the apologetic non-theist (by non-theist,
in holding her theistic beliefs. In this post- I shall take to mean someone who is simply
Enlightenment era that is still feeling the not a theist, so this will include both atheists
powerful effects of thinkers such as Hume, and agnostics). Apologetic non-theists are for
Kant, and Darwin, it cannot be denied that the most part interested in arguments for and
conscientious doubts about the truth of against the existence of God because they wish
ones own theistic beliefs (if one is a theist) (1) to provide philosophical arguments in
409
favor of atheism or agnosticism to rationally should ever form any correct idea,
persuade theists to become non-theists or either as to the place they occupy, or
(2) to rebut philosophical arguments against of their manner of acting. There is not,
atheism or agnosticism to show that those there can be nothing out of that Nature
who are already committed to the atheistic which includes all beings.
or agnostic point of view have nothing to be (DHolbach 1868: 11)
concerned about in relation to the rationality
of their stance. Since apologetic non-theists But this is to assume the very thing that is in
share with their theistic counterparts the question. It needs to be shown that nature
common goal of apologetics, the former too is all there is before the existence of God
may be interested in philosophy of religion can be precluded as chimerical. In response
for the pursuit of certain atheistic apologetic to DHolbach, Voltaire correctly observed
goals, for example, in extirpating what they in his sharp criticisms that the latter begs
take to be the disease of religious belief. the question here (and indeed on all crucial
To adequately discharge the burden of proof issues relevant to the theist-atheist debate)
for both the specified tasks of persuasion and by trying to show that nature is not the work
rebuttal, the apologetic non-theist must pur- of intelligence merely by postulating its self-
sue the same kind of second-order approach existence (Collins 1960: 154).
adopted by the apologetic theist. This will Finally, the fourth perspective is the
restrict the kinds of arguments he can for- non-theistic parallel of the reflective theist,
mulate to those that do not contain premises namely, the perspective of the reflective non-
which already presuppose the truth of some theist. Like the reflective theist, the reflective
part of the non-theistic worldview. Although non-theists main interest is not in apologetic
this last point is an obvious one, it is often argument, but rather self-reflective inquiry
not recognized when considering atheis- into the rationality of her belief in non-the-
tic apologetics; the charge of circularity is ism (whether this is agnosticism or atheism).
often thought to occur in theistic apologetics Although theism does indeed face a challenge
only. But this is not true. For instance, an from various quarters today, as noted in the
often-rehearsed popular objection to the- discussion of the reflective theist earlier, it is
ism is the question-begging argument for the not as though the intellectual case for a the-
conclusion that God does not exist or that istic worldview is obviously a lost cause. On
there is no need to postulate a God based the contrary, several philosophers of religion
on the premise that nature explains all there have, in recent decades, formulated power-
is. Consider the opening lines of the Baron ful arguments for theism. Writing in 1991,
DHolbachs famous work, System of Nature Richard Gale speaks of the startling resur-
(1770): gence of theism within philosophy during
the past thirty years or so (Gale 1991: 2).
Man is the work of Nature. For a And approximately a decade before Gales
being formed by Nature, and circum- comment, Steven M. Cahn and David Shatz
scribed by her laws, there exists noth- made the following remarks:
ing beyond the great whole of which he
forms part, of which he experiences the A survey of the field today will surprise
influence. The beings which he pictures those who assume that contemporary
to himself as above nature, or distin- philosophers are uniformly hostile to
guished from her, are always chimeras religion and do nothing more than repeat
formed after that which he has already well-known criticisms of a limited set of
seen, but of which it is impossible he familiar religious claims. In fact, recently
410
the situation has been quite the con- the standard conception of philosophy of
trary. Many of the most highly regarded religion can be made as follows. The collec-
scholars in the field are themselves reli- tive interest of people in all four classes is
gious believers. In numerous books and whether the truth or falsity of theism can be
articles they have sharpened many tra- demonstrated or shown to be probable from
ditional doctrines and provided sophis- a religiously neutral, second-order perspec-
ticated defenses of them, thus posing a tive. From this observation, it can be argued
formidable challenge to those who do that the only discipline that can cater for
not share their commitments. such an inquiry is the philosophy of religion.
(Cahn and Shatz 1982: v) The interest in truththe epistemological
concernwill mean that disciplines such as
Given this recent rejuvenation in the case for the sociology, anthropology, and history of
philosophical theism, it is certainly conceiv- religion cannot be of direct service (although
able, and indeed plausible, that reflective they may play an auxiliary role in the inves-
non-theists may be challenged by some of tigation). And since the epistemological con-
the recent philosophical arguments for Gods cern over theism for people in these groups
existence, and as a result, they may question is specifically a second-order one, theology,
the rationality of their belief in a non-theistic or even philosophical theology, cannot pro-
worldview (e.g., atheistic Naturalism). Once vide the framework in which the inquiry is
in doubt about their non-theism, reflective to be conducted (insofar as both of these dis-
non-theists can mitigate their uncertainties ciplines presuppose the truth of theism). So
only by arguments whose premises do not here is an initial answer to our earlier ques-
already presuppose the truth of the non- tion. Philosophizing over religious belief (or
theistic standpoint. Like the reflective the- critically assessing arguments for and against
ist, then, the reflective non-theist may be the existence of God, on the standard con-
interested in philosophical arguments for ception of philosophy of religion) is impor-
the truth (or falsity) of theism from a neutral tant because there are several sorts of peo-
perspective. ple (the sorts specified by the four classes)
These four classes of people seem to be who wish to know whether, independently
representative of those who might express of their theistic or non-theistic framework,
interest in the (standard conception of) phi- there are reasons supporting the truth or fal-
losophy of religion and seek to resolve the sity of theism.
truth or falsity of theism from a second-order Muslim theists need to take the project of
perspective by evaluating arguments for and philosophy of religion seriously, and we shall
against the existence of God. It should be continue to develop the prima facie case for
borne in mind that we are not claiming that the standard conception of philosophy of
people belong neatly to one class or another. religion further with reference to the cat-
In approaching the question of whether or egory of reflective theists, of which of course
not God exists, a person might have both reflective Muslim theists will form a subset.
apologetic and reflective strains in her. More- Circumstances can arise when a (Muslim)
over, transitions can occur to and from one theist becomes a reflective (Muslim) theist,
of the four classes to another. For instance, and so may be interested in philosophical
an apologetic theist might, after repeated inquiry into the truth of theistic (Islamic)
failure in her apologetic attempts, become a belief.
reflective theist. At the outset, it seems clear that theists
Based on the existence of the four classes of whatever stripe should have no problem
specified, the prima facie case in favor of with the philosopher of religions concern
411
over the truth of theistic belief. There are whether, for example, I need to visit the uni-
several reasons, secular as well as those from versity today.
within the theistic traditions, as to why hold- Once we see this link between belief and
ing true religious beliefs is important. If these action, the reason for holding true beliefs
reasons provide good grounds for thinking becomes apparent. People have several
that the truth about theism matters, then it intentions and purposes which lead them to
is a short step from this to the epistemologi- carry out various actions. But these actions
cal concern central to the philosophy of reli- can be accomplished only if accompanied by
gion. Given that we are interested in the goal true beliefs. Suppose I wish to go to the gro-
of obtaining the truth about theistic belief, cery store across the road to buy some food.
we should also be interested in the means to I can carry out this action, and not have my
it, namely, the epistemic rationality or jus- intentions and purposes frustrated, only if
tifiability of theistic belief by way of good I act on true beliefs about where the store
evidence or arguments. So what are these is, whether it is currently open, whether I
reasons for thinking that holding true beliefs presently have enough money on me, etc.
about theism is important? The function of true beliefs in allowing us
We will begin with some of the secular to fulfill our intentions and purposes in vari-
reasons. These reasons provide an indirect ous actions becomes all the more important
answer to our question, since they are rea- when we realize that many of our actions
sons for holding true beliefs generally speak- have moral implications and so we are mor-
ing. One reason why we care about the truth ally responsible for them. If I have a moral
of beliefs is that the holding of (mainly) obligation to help my ill, bed-ridden neigh-
true beliefs seems to be an integral part of bor, then I need to have true beliefs about
human nature. As Aristotle writes in the what sorts of medicine will help her, where
opening lines of his Metaphysics, All men I can obtain such medicine, etc. Acting on
by nature desire to know. And, of course, false beliefs is risky and may often result in
if I have a desire to know whether p, then I actual harm. If I act on the false belief that
will be interested in the truth about p (since, a certain medicine will aid in improving my
according to the prevalent understanding of neighbors health, when, in fact, it is pre-
the concept of knowledge as formulated by cisely the sort of medicine that should not
epistemologists today, my knowing that p be administered to people suffering from the
entails that p is true). But, quite apart from particular ailment my neighbor has (since it
any intrinsic value the holding of true beliefs only worsens the symptoms), then I will be
might have, there are other important rea- morally accountable for the harm I bring to
sons for having beliefs which are true. These her. Speaking generally, then, given the link
reasons become salient once we consider between belief and action, the holding of
the fact that there is a connection between true beliefs is important because it allows us
belief and action. Beliefs typically influence to fulfill various actions, some of which have
the actions we take; they are, as Frank Ram- moral significance, that is, our moral respon-
sey put it using his famous metaphor, maps sibility for these actions hinges on us acting
by which we steer (Ramsey 1931: 238). If on true beliefs (and avoiding false ones).
I hold the belief that p, then I will typically We can now apply these considerations in
employ that belief in my practical reasoning favor of holding true beliefs to theism specifi-
toward any action where whether it is the cally. Firstly, it does seem that the knowledge
case that p is relevant. My belief that I have of whether or not God exists is intrinsically
a lecture to give this morning will be incor- valuable. For, as Swinburne writes: what
porated into my practical reasoning toward more central piece of knowledge could there
412
be about the origin, nature and purpose of God (2:147) and that the Word of God finds
man and the Universe, than whether they its fulfillment in truth (6:115). On the Day of
depend for their being on a God who made Judgment the truthful will profit from their
them, or whether the Universe, and all that truth (5:119).
is in it, and the laws of their operation, just So there are a good number of reasons
are, dependent upon nothing? A true belief for thinking that holding true beliefs about
here, whether theistic or atheistic, is of enor- theism matters. Although we may take this
mous importance for our whole world-view to be an uncontroversial claim both for the
(Swinburne 1981: 80). theist and non-theist, we have nevertheless
The impact of knowing whether or not given sufficient grounds for believing it to be
God exists is not confined merely to influ- true; or, at the very least, sufficient reason
encing our outlook on life; it is obvious that to shift the burden of proof on those who
it will affect the way we act (think of how doubt it to show otherwise. The next step in
often one hears about conversion experi- the extension of the prima facie case in favor
ences, where the new convert often proof the standard conception of philosophy of
claims that becoming, say, a Muslim theist religion is to argue that the truth of theism is
has changed her life). Swinburne plausibly susceptible to reasonable doubt.
argues that, if there is a God, human beings In the earlier discussion of the reflec-
have certain moral obligations which they tive theist, we noted that, in our post-
would not have if God did not exist, for Enlightenment era, circumstances may arise
example, worshipping God and being obe- in which the theist questions the truth of her
dient to him (Swinburne 1981: 7980). Ful- belief that there is a God. It seems to me that
filling these moral obligations requires true most theists, if they spend some time in a
beliefs about Gods existence, what he has moment or two of quiet reflection, will see
commanded, and so on. that there is one state of affairs in our world
We can now also take into account some which contributes toward casting reasonable
further reasons from within the theistic tra- doubt on the existence of God, namely, the
dition which clearly state the importance of phenomenon of religious diversity. We use
holding true beliefs about theism (of course, the term religious diversity in a broad
for the theistic traditions, the most fundamen- sense, so as to include even agnostic and
tal true belief about theism is that it is true, atheist beliefs. Hence, by religious diversity,
i.e., that there is a God). Since we are gear- we do not mean simply that there is diversity
ing the present discussion primarily toward among religious beliefs, but, more broadly,
Muslim theists, it will be useful to refer to that there is diversity in beliefs about reli-
some reasons found within the Islamic tra- gion or beliefs about religious matters, as
dition. Let us consider the most important Robert McKim (2001: 128) has put it. Here
source of authority in Islam, the Quran, in is McKims initial account of why religious
which one finds numerous passages that can diversity (in the broad sense) poses a prob-
be quoted to support the conclusion of some lem for the reflective theist (and, indeed, to
of the philosophical arguments we have been all people who hold beliefs about religion):
considering for thinking that the truth about
theism matters. We find, for example, that How is it that, say, Northern Irish Pres-
one of Gods Names is The Truth (6:62). byterians are so sure that they are right
God commands his people that they should in their religious beliefs and so sure
cover not truth with falsehood, nor conceal that, for instance, the intelligent Roman
the truth when [they] know (what it is) Catholics all around them are deeply
(2:42). We are told that the truth is from mistaken, and vice versa? How can the
413
unreflective Muslim be so sure that her is evident once we recognize the three con-
views about religion are right when all stituents of the problem of religious diversity
around her there are, for instance, con- just mentioned. As McKim explains: It is
vinced Jews, Christians, Hindus, Bud- clear, therefore, that large numbers of people
dhists, atheists, and so forth? How is have held, and now hold, false beliefs in the
it that the beliefs of other groups, the area of religion: for, to state a truism as true
conviction and assurance that they have as they come, if two views are incompatible,
of being right, is not seen to raise fun- at most one of them can be true. So on many
damental questions about the beliefs of of the issues on which there is disagreement,
ones own group about religious mat- many of the disagreeing groups hold utterly
ters? Is there a sort of blindness, a fail- mistaken views (McKim 2001: 131).
ure of imagination, involved in being It is typical for those who hold certain
unable to appreciate the appeal of the beliefs about religion to think that the beliefs
worldviews of others? of those who are within their group are
rational and intellectually responsible, whe
It is not just the fact that there are
reas those of people outside their group
diverse beliefs that is striking: it is the
are not. Yet, if many, perhaps the major-
fact that wise people who think care-
ity, of seemingly rational and intellectually
fully and judiciously, who are intel-
responsible people who fall outside that
ligent, clever, honest, reflective and
group hold false beliefs about religion, then
serious, who avoid distortion, exag-
this observation can generate doubts about
geration, and confabulation, who admit
the truth of ones own beliefs (If all these
ignorance when appropriate, and who
seemingly rational and intellectually respon-
have relied on what have seemed to be
sible people hold false beliefs about religion,
the relevant considerations in the course
then what assurance do I have, even though
of acquiring their beliefs, hold these
I regard myself as fairly rational and intellec-
diverse beliefs.
tually responsible, that I havent got it wrong
(McKim 2001: 129)
either?).
Now, the problem of religious diversity
There are three facts (one of which is calls for an explanation. Why does a state
implicit) in this quote from McKim, which, of affairs obtain in our world that permits
when taken together, give rise to what we a multitude of seemingly rational and intel-
shall term the problem of religious diver- lectually responsible people to hold diverse,
sity. Firstly, there is the great diversity in contradictory, and several false beliefs about
beliefs about religion. Secondly, several of religion? A number of thinkers have sug-
the beliefs about religion are incompatible gested that what gives rise to the problem
with the others (this is the implicit point in of religious diversity, as we have presented
the passage quoted from McKim); for exam- it, is the religious ambiguity of our world.
ple, the Muslim belief that there is a God is According to McKim, the fact of religious
incompatible with the Buddhist belief that diversity and the fact of religious ambiguity
there is no God. Thirdly, several seemingly are intimately linked. That there is ambigu-
rational and intellectually responsible peo- ity is a very promising explanation of the
ple hold these diverse beliefs about religion. phenomenon of diversity, although there are
One facet of the problem of religious diver- other possible explanations (McKim 2001:
sity, thus understood, is that several seem- 130). So what does it mean to say that reli-
ingly rational and intellectually responsible gious ambiguity obtains in our world? One
people hold false beliefs about religion. This definition is given by John Hick in his work
414
An Interpretation of Religion, in which Hick religious ambiguity is that his understand-

defines religious ambiguity as the view that ing of what constitutes the religious and
our universe is capable from our present naturalistic views of our universe is too
human vantage point of being [rationally] restricted. As Penelhum correctly observes,
thought and experienced in both religious the religious and naturalistic hypothe-
and naturalistic ways (Hick 1989: 734). ses (understood, respectively, as the affirma-
For Hick, both the religious and naturalis- tion and denial of the existence of God) take
tic interpretations are equally rational in the on a plurality of forms. There are, on the
deontological sense; that is, a person does religious side, Jewish, Christian and Muslim
not violate any doxastic obligations or intel- interpretations of God, for example. Natu-
lectual duties in holding either interpretation. ralism, too, can be expressed in more than
The deontological parity here is primarily one way: consider, as examples, the Freudian
a function of epistemic parity. Both the and Marxian systems of thought. Penelhum
religious and naturalistic interpretations of does not reject Hicks claim that ambiguity
our world lack a secure epistemically ratio- obtains between theism and atheism. Rather,
nal foundation. As Hick explains, religious he thinks that the scope of Hicks ambigu-
ambiguity emerges due to the inconclusive- ity thesis needs to be extended. Thus, we
ness of the various philosophical arguments are not faced with a simple theist-naturalist
on both sides [i.e. for both the religious and ambiguity . . . we are faced, rather, by a
naturalistic interpretations of our world] world that exhibits multiple religious and
(Hick 1989: 75). ideological ambiguity (Penelhum 1993:
Hick understands the religious hypoth- 170). Hicks thesis of religious ambiguity
esis as synonymous with the claim God (i.e., simple theist-naturalist ambiguity) is,
exists. In contrast to this is the naturalis- therefore, a component of what Penelhum
tic hypothesis, which claims that the mate- calls multiple religious ambiguity. In what
rial world of space and time is all there is follows, we are interested in Penelhums ver-
(and is therefore ipso facto committed to the sion of the ambiguity thesis. For the sake of
claim God does not exist). Understanding brevity, however, we shall henceforth refer to
the religious and naturalistic hypotheses in multiple religious ambiguity simply as the
this manner means that, for Hick, religious thesis of religious ambiguity.
ambiguity obtains between theism and athe- Prima facie, there is good reason to think
ism. Although this may be true, such an that the religious ambiguity of the world is
interpretation of religious ambiguity does the best explanation for why we are faced
not have wide enough an explanatory scope with the problem of religious diversity. For, if
as an account of the problem of religious our world truly does exhibit religious ambi-
diversity. guity, none of the fundamental beliefs of each
It is precisely on this point that Terence of the various religious or naturalistic para-
Penelhum, another thinker who subscribes digms are secured on an epistemically ratio-
to a version of the thesis of religious ambigu- nal foundation. This fact would certainly
ity, contends that Hicks expos of the theory explain why lots of seemingly rational and
is seriously defective (Penelhum 1993: intellectually responsible people hold (and
168). The main reason for thinking this, he have held) diverse and often contradictory
says, is that Hicks account is unaccept- beliefs about religion. That is to say, as Penel-
ably parochial and monocultural. It neglects hum puts it, the various religious or natural-
completely the diversity in the religious tra- istic interpretations of our world are each
ditions of the world (Penelhum 1993: 168). capable of rational support, and which [sic]
The problem with Hicks interpretation of are each held by people who need not have
415
violated any doxastic obligations in adhering is susceptible to reasonable doubt. A reli-

to them (Penelhum 1997: 1). If our world giously ambiguous world would mean that
was not religiously ambiguousif a certain belief in God cannot be judged epistemically
religious or naturalistic interpretation of it, rational, but certain people who do believe
call it x, were unambiguously truethen in God and a number of those who do not
we would not have the problem of religious are equally deontologically rational in their
diversity. In this case, beliefs about interpre- theism or atheism (i.e., they are not violating
tation x would have a secure epistemic any doxastic obligations in having theistic
foundation. People who came to learn about or atheistic belief) even though one of these
those beliefs and understood them, and were two groups of people must of logical neces-
also apprised of the epistemic basis of those sity be wrong. So lots of people who appear
beliefs, would then be irrational in rejecting to have done their best in meeting their dox-
them. This sort of situation, however, does astic obligations or intellectual duties are
not appear to be the case in our world. There nevertheless mistaken in their beliefs about
seem to be plenty of informed and reasonable religious matters. A theist who comes to
dissenters relative to the fundamental beliefs think that our world is religiously ambigu-
of each of the various religious or natural- ous will very likely at some point start to
istic paradigms. So there are, for example, wonder whether her beliefs about theism are
informed and reasonable atheists who reject true. As William P. Alston notes, the diver-
Christianity, informed and reasonable Chris- sity in, and mutual incompatibilities among,
tians who reject Islam, informed and reason- beliefs about religion poses a serious and
able Muslims who reject Judaism, and so on. well-advertised problem for the claims of
Hence, it looks as if there is no religious or each community (Alston 2000: 193). But it
naturalistic interpretation of our world that is not just this fact about religious diversity.
is unambiguously true, or, in other words, Although he is not an advocate of the ambi-
our world exhibits religious ambiguity. guity thesis, Alston does seem to appreciate
Of course, it may be that there are other the prima facie case for a version of it. After
and better explanations of the problem of all, he says, it looks as if Moslems, Hin-
religious diversity than the thesis of religious dus, and Buddhists have grounds of the same
ambiguity. Indeed, most adherents within general sort (revelation, religious experience,
each of the various religious or naturalistic miracles, authority, etc.) as my fellow Chris-
paradigms that exist in our world reject the tians and I have for the truth of our respec-
ambiguity thesis. But all we are claiming at tive systems of doctrine (Alston 2000: 193).
present is that the ambiguity thesis is prima If this is the case, then it does appear that we
facie a good explanation as to why we are have a problem. Alston goes on to explain:
faced with the problem of religious diversity, But then, unless I have sufficient reason for
and no more. We are simply saying that our supposing that Christians are in a superior
world gives us, at the very least, the surface position for discerning the truth about these
impression that it is religiously ambiguous, matters, why should I suppose that we are
and that this would be true even if, upon sus- right and they are wrong? How can I be jus-
tained rational inquiry, it turns out that the tified in continuing to affirm my Christian
Buddhists were right all along! beliefs? (Alston 2000: 193)
Once we entertain the thesis of religious Apart from the point made by Alston,
ambiguity as an explanation of the problem there is another reason why accepting the
of religious diversity, even if only as a prima (prima facie case for the) ambiguity thesis is
facie account, one should see that a corol- likely to cast doubt on the truth of theism for
lary of this thesis is that the truth of theism some people.
416
The great theistic traditions of Judaism, cannot be an option at all; it is blindness

Christianity, and Islam have in the main and error. No preacherunless his ortho-
rejected the ambiguity thesis. If our world doxy were suspectcould admit that the
is religiously ambiguous, then belief in God world can retain an optional appearance
cannot be judged to be epistemically ratio- even to the sincere seeker. In our age, and
nal. But orthodox Jews, Christians, and I dont speak of the age of Pascal or the
Muslims have typically denied this, and it age of St. Paul, the concession that the
does seem like their respective traditions do world is religiously neutral is asymmetri-
support them in their rejection of the thesis cally damaging to theism, i.e. it damages
of religious ambiguity. The Psalmist declares theism more than atheism.
in the Old Testament, The fool hath said (Akhtar 1987: 172)
in his heart, There is no God (Ps. 41.1).
Musing over this passage, St Anselm would Insofar as a theist thinks that rejecting the
later ask, Why indeed, except precisely ambiguity thesis is an integral part of the
because he is stupid and foolish? And in theistic worldview, but also comes to think
the New Testament, the Apostle Paul writes: that there is some force behind the case for
For since the creation of the world Gods it, she may then have doubts about theism.
invisible qualitieshis eternal power and The prima facie case in favor of the
divine naturehave been clearly seen, being standard conception of philosophy of reli-
understood from what has been made, so gionfrom the perspective of the reflective
that men are without excuse (Rom. 1.20). theistcan now be completed in the follow-
In a similar vein, the author of the Quran ing manner. If it is important to hold true
asks rhetorically, Can there be any doubt beliefs about theism, and if, as a result of
concerning Allah, the Creator of the heav- prima facie considerations over religious
ens and the earth? (14:10). In the Jewish, ambiguity, the truth of theism may reason-
Christian, and Muslim traditions, the preva- ably be doubted, then (given a plausible
lent view appears to be that the existence mediating premise to the effect that one
of God is an obvious fact that no rational should make an effort to discover the truth
person can deny. Although some thinkers about important matters if they are suscepti-
in these traditions have conceded that our ble to reasonable doubt), it follows that one
world is religiously ambiguous and have should make an effort to critically examine
gone to systemically work out a theistic beliefs about theism to come to the truth of
position that incorporates the ambiguity the matter regarding Gods existence. In a
thesis, introducing religious ambiguity into situation where we are faced with the prob-
the picture does appear to be an aberra- lems of religious diversity and ambiguity, it
tion of the (orthodox) theistic framework. seems that there is, as Penelhum states, a
As the Islamic philosopher Shabbir Akhtar doxastic duty to disambiguate if we can
explains: (Penelhum 1995: 133). A good argument
either for or against Gods existence could
The acknowledgement that men can certainly contribute toward disambiguating
indeed sincerely experience ambivalence our world (Penelhum 1995: 113, 133), and
in their commerce with mundane reality the reflective theist can then look at such
is ultimately damaging to the religious arguments to settle for herself the question
outlook. Religious believers are rightly of whether or not she is rational in holding
reluctant to concede that atheism can be theistic belief. And this, as explained earlier,
a genuine rational option for even the is fundamentally what occurs in contempo-
conscientious seeker. Atheism, they aver, rary philosophy of religion.
417
In the history of religious thought, how- unaccompanied by other, independent reli-

ever, there have been certain individuals who gious claims (Rowe 1984: 95).
have maintained that the project of phi- In asking the question of whether or not
losophy of religion, or at least the standard an Islamic philosophy of religion is possible,
conception of it, is in some way misguided, I mean, generally, whether it is possible, from
inappropriate, or hopeless, and indeed such within an Islamic context, (1) to engage in
attitudes can be found among some thinkers philosophical argumentation about stan-
today. The purpose of the preceding discus- dard theism and (2) show via philosophical
sion was to show that, even if the criticisms considerations that belief in restricted the-
against the appropriateness of the enterprise ismthe truth of which is, of course, central
of philosophy of religion turn out to be cor- to the Islamic worldviewcan rationally
rect, it is certainly not obvious that the dis- be adhered to. As we saw earlier, the main
cipline involves a fundamentally misguided focus of the standard conception of con-
endeavor and that therefore it is a waste of temporary philosophy of religion is whether
time to engage in it. Good arguments need the truth or falsity of (restricted) theism can
to be given by the critics for thinking that be settled by way of good arguments for or
this is indeed the case. Rather than make against the existence of God. On a general
an attempt to state the objections and argu- interpretation of my question, we are inter-
ments that have been raised against phi- ested in whether the rationality of belief in
losophizing over religious beliefs in general, God can be vindicated based on such argu-
we shall instead focus on the more feasible ments from an Islamic perspective. On a spe-
task of mentioning some of those objections cific interpretation, however, the question is
that have been raised specifically within an whether it is possible, again, from within an
Islamic context. But before that, let us con- Islamic context, (1) to engage in philosophi-
sider what precisely an Islamic philosophy of cal argumentation about standard theism
religion would amount to. and (2) show via philosophical consider-
ations that beliefs about Islamic expanded
theism can rationally be adhered to. Note
Is an Islamic philosophy of religion that this specific question takes us beyond
possible? the standard conception of the philosophy
According to William Rowe, standard the- of religion, and also exposes a lacuna in it.
ism is any view which holds that there For, understood this way, the question of
exists an omnipotent, omniscient, omnigood whether an Islamic philosophy of religion is
being who created the world (Rowe 1984: possible will depend on whether philosophi-
95). Rowe explains that there are two types cal considerations can be adduced not only
of standard theism: Letting O abbrevi- in favor of restricted theism (i.e. the belief
ate an omnipotent, omniscient, omnigood that God exists), which is the primary focus
being, standard theism is any view which of the standard conception of philosophy
holds that O exists. Within standard the- of religion, but also other beliefs that are
ism, we can distinguish restricted theism part of Islamic expanded theism (the belief
and expanded theism. Expanded theism is that the Quran is the Word of God, that
the view that O exists, conjoined with cer- Muhammad is Gods Messenger, etc.).
tain other significant religious claims, claims So, an affirmative answer to the question
about sin, redemption, a future life, a last of whether an Islamic philosophy of religion
judgment, and the like. (Orthodox Chris- is possible, interpreted generally or specifi-
tian theism is a version of standard theism.) cally, will depend on whether both of the
Restricted theism is the view that O exists, two conditions specified are met:
418
1 It is possible to engage in philosophical uniform: There was no renaissance, refor-

argumentation about standard theism mation or voyages of transoceanic discov-
from an Islamic perspective and ery, therefore no transition at this time to a
2 It is possible to show via philosophi- modern period (Hourani 1985: 34). Based
cal considerations that (i) belief in on this observation, Hourani maintains that
restricted theism or (ii) beliefs about the term medieval is meaningless in rela-
Islamic expanded theism can be ratio- tion to Islamic history (Hourani 1985: 4).
nally held. So not only is there a notable absence of
contemporary Islamic literature in the field
These conditions are individually necessary of philosophy of religion, one will also find
and jointly sufficient for answering yes to a virtual absence of Muslim contributions
our question. to other areas of philosophy today, such as
What, then, do present-day Muslims have epistemology, ethics, and logic. But since our
to say about whether it is possible to formu- focus is on the philosophy of religion, let us
late and defend an Islamic philosophy of reli- concentrate on that for now. It seems fair
gion? One difficulty that a person who wishes to say that theistic philosophers of religion
to investigate an answer to this question will today are predominantly situated within
encounter is the paucity of contemporary the Christian tradition. When one considers
literature (at least in Western societies) on some of the best theistic philosophers of reli-
the topic of Islamic philosophy in general. gion writing today, such as William Alston,
Although there are a number of descrip- William Lane Craig, Alvin Plantinga, and
tive works, such as accounts of the history Richard Swinburne, to name only a few, one
and development of philosophical thought can see that all of them have the common
in Islam, these works are usually not philo- denominator of being Christians. Islamic
sophical in themselves. Rather, they merely philosophers of religion seem nowhere to be
provide a narrative of events in the history of found. The lack of contribution from Mus-
Islamic philosophy. One will be hard pressed lims (and, to be fair, thinkers from other reli-
to find prescriptive works, which discuss gious traditions as well) to the philosophy
what Muslims ought to believe based on var- of religion is certainly one reason why the
ious philosophical considerations in relation discipline is not variegated and why most
to Islamic beliefs. As Majid Fakhry observes discussions of expanded theism give primary
in his A History of Islamic Philosophy, the attention to Christianity. In a recent work on
main body of Islamic thought, insofar as it the philosophy of religion, Paul Helm, him-
has any relevance outside the scope of Islam, self a Christian philosopher, writes: [The]
belongs to a remote past. . . . Islamic philoso- interactions between [Christianity] and phi-
phy is and continues to be, even in the twen- losophy have been so rich. The interactions
tieth [now twenty-first] century, fundamen- between philosophy and religion are, by
tally medieval in spirit and outlook (Fakhry contrast, feeble and impoverished, and are
2004: ix). Indeed, one might even argue that likely to remain so. Hence in what is to
the term medieval philosophy does not follow I make no further apology for con-
apply to any part of the Islamic intellectual centrating, from time to time, on the particu-
tradition. For, as George F. Hourani has larities of Christianity. (Helm 2000: 2)
pointed out, the classical Islamic civilization, Helm is certainly right to say that the inter-
which spanned from approximately 870 actions between Christianity and philosophy
1870 ce (during which much of the mate- have been rich, and he is clearly entitled to
rial that makes up the available literature on concentrate on the particularities of Christi-
Islamic philosophy was written), was highly anity. After all, a philosopher of religion can
419
hardly be faulted for focusing on that partic- Europe, while it continued to flourish in
ular religion the tenets of which are adhered the Muslim world. It is not sufficiently
to by most theistic philosophers doing any realized by most students of the history
decent philosophy of religion today. Nor is of philosophy in the Middle Ages that
any apology needed from Helm for direct- the Little Renaissance in thirteenth-
ing his attention on Christianity. It is not as century Europe was triggered by the
though he is ignoring any glaringly obvious Latin translations of the writings of al-
and significant contribution to present-day Farabi, al-Ghazali (called Algazel), Ibn
philosophy of religion by writers from some Sina (Avicenna), Abu Mashar and Ibn
religion other than the Christian one, and is Rushd (Averroes), with the consequent
therefore open to the charge of parochial- revival of Aristotelianism, the corner-
ism. For, as we have just noted, most theistic stone of Latin scholasticism.
philosophers of religion writing today are (Fakhry 1998: 4)
Christian theists. All of this is fine.
What I do wish to take Helm to task on, But if this is true, then one wonders what
however, is his assertion that the interac- happened to the Islamic philosophical tra-
tions between philosophy and religion dition and where the Islamic philosophers
are feeble and impoverished, and that no are today? Where are the Islamic philoso-
change in this situation seems likely in the phers of religion? Why is it that contem-
future. Helms claim seems to be that if we porary anthologies on the subject contain
remove Christianity from the rubric of reli- virtually no works by Islamic philosophers,
gion (where religion is understood in a apart from the occasional inclusion of Ibn
general sense), then the relationship between Rushds (Averroes) Fasl al-Maqal (On The
philosophy and religion will come across Harmony of Philosophy and Religion) writ-
as a poor one. But is this correct? If we just ten over 800 years ago? In his A Faith for All
focus on Islam, which surely forms a large Seasons, Akhtar writes:
chunk of what we understand by religion in
general, then one can respond to Helm by Modern Muslims are, as a group of peo-
pointing out that the interactions between ple, embarrassingly unreflective: it were
Islam and philosophy have arguably been as though Allah had done all the think-
just as rich as those that took place between ing for his devotees. Friedrich Nietz-
the Christianity and philosophy. Indeed, not sches acid comment on his compatriots
only does Fakhry put the Islamic philosophi- in Twilight of the Idols also applies with
cal tradition on the same rank as the Greek peculiar justice to the Muslim com-
and Christian one, he also notes the influ- munities of the modern world: The
ence of the Islamic philosophers on the later Germansonce they were called the
thinkers of medieval Europe: nation of thinkers: do they still think at
all? After developing a great rational
Prior to modern times, when philoso- philosophical tradition, the adherents
phy was completely Europeanized, so of Islam have lapsed into an intellectual
to speak, the great moments in philoso- lethargy that has already lasted half a
phys history were the Greek-Hellenistic, millennium.
the Arab-Islamic and the Latin-Chris- (Akhtar 1990: i)
tian. Following the fall of the Roman
Empire in 476, Greek philosophy was Now, of course, any adequate explanation
almost completely forgotten in Western of the decline of a great intellectual tradition
420
will take into account various historical theist is a person who has reasonable doubts
and social factors, as it must. But there are about the rationality of her belief in a theis-
sometimes causes that are internal to a tradi- tic worldview but is nevertheless a theist. But
tion (especially a religious tradition!) which according to the influential Pakistani theo-
emerge in opposition to intellectual and logian Sayyid Abul Ala Mawdudi, there
philosophical speculation. There can be no can be no situation of the reflective theist
doubt that some such internal factors have in an Islamic framework. He explains that
been responsible for the decline in, and now a believer would never seek arguments and
virtual absence of, serious Islamic philo- justification and whoever seeks arguments
sophical thought. and justification cannot be a true believer
William Montgomery Watt observes (Maududi 2000: 218). For Maududi, the
that traditionalist Muslims today know seeking of arguments and justification within
of no philosophy since Averroes, and are an Islamic context eo ipso renders a persons
completely unaware of the new challenges iman inauthentic. One can understand the
to religious belief produced by men like motivation behind Maududis remark if
Hume and Feuerbach, not to mention our we take iman to entail certainty: why seek
twentieth-century philosophers (Watt 1988: arguments and justification for something
5). But, generally speaking, Muslims today one is certain of? Taking their cue from an
are not simply ignorant of or indifferent to understanding of iman based on certitude,
philosophical thought. Rather, one will find other Muslim thinkers have denied that the
several Muslim thinkers who argue against truth of theism is susceptible to reasonable
the viability of philosophical speculation doubt and hence have denied the need for
within an Islamic context. Here, we shall philosophical argumentation over its truth.
consider an assortment of objections (some For instance, in response to those who deny
of which may be implicit) against the pos- the existence of God, Hammudah Abdalati
sibility of an Islamic philosophy of religion writes: Those who deny God claim to rely
from popular Muslim thinkers. on science, philosophy, of special theories of
One category of objections is based on a knowledge. Their arguments are sometimes
specific understanding of faith or iman in inapplicable, sometimes irrelevant, always
Islam. Although iman, as a description of the complex, and often incomprehensible. How-
cognitive component of adherent to Islamic ever, the developed free mind will finds its
doctrine, is typically understood as faith, way to God (Abdalati 2000:1).
Ismail Raji al Faruqi insists that the Mus- Abdalatis comments here reflect an atti-
lim should never call his iman belief or tude that is typical among many Muslims,
faith (al Faruqi 1995: 40). For, accord- which is that, in the end, no one can really
ing to al Faruqi, words such as belief and have serious and reasonable doubts about
faith carry today within them an impli- the truth of (Islamic) theism. As another
cation of untruth, of probability, of doubt Muslim thinker, Frithjof Schuon, observes:
and suspicion (al Faruqi 1995: 40). Instead,
iman is a conviction that is absolutely free The intellectual and thereby the rational
of doubt of probability, of guessing and foundation of Islam results in the aver-
uncertainty (al Faruqi 1995: 40). Given age Muslim having a curious tendency
this understanding of iman, some Muslim to believe that non-Muslims either
thinkers have not taken seriously the pre- know that Islam is the truth and reject it
dicament of the reflective theist considered out of pure obstinacy, or else are simply
earlier. As we have depicted her, the reflective ignorant of it and can be converted by
421
elementary explanations; that anyone instance, although Maududi does not deny
should be able to oppose Islam with a that reason and argument have a role to
good conscience quite exceeds the Mus- play in bringing a person to faith, he thinks
lims imagination, precisely because that this role is a very limited one. Even if
Islam coincides in his mind with the a man is equipped with the highest faculties
irresistible logic of things. of reason and intellect and possesses match-
(Schuon 1961: 64) less wisdom and experience, he says, the
chances of his formulating the correct views
Another category of objections to philoso- on existence are slight (Maududi 2000: 43).
phizing over Islamic belief comes from the What, then, is a person to do? According to
view that the Quran and Sunna (the path Maududi, in the same way as one follows the
of the Prophet as recorded in reports known authority of certain qualified individuals in
as the hadith) are the ultimate authority for secular matters (doctors, lawyers, etc.), one
a Muslim. As Sayyid Qutb writes: A Mus- must follow the authority of the Prophet in
lim has not the authority to seek guidance Divine Matters (Maududi 2000: 445).
and light from any other source and well- Other thinkers, such as Muhammad Fazl-
head except the Divine one in any matter ur-Rahman Ansari, have argued that there
that pertains to faith, the general concept of can be no Islamic philosophy of religion
life, rituals, morals and dealings, values and (in the sense we have described it) because
standards, politics, and assembly, principles philosophy is in principle unable to provide
of economics, or the explanation of human answers to cosmic questions involving God
history (Qutb 2000: 199). and the universe (Ansari 1973: 40ff). In dis-
Since Muslims are bound by Divine rev- cussing philosophy, Ansaris primary focus
elation, says Qutb, there is no need for phil- is on formal rationalism and empirical
osophical speculation, which arises out of rationalism. The former cannot provide
jahili [ignorant] beliefs and fetishes (Qutb any answers to ultimate questions because
2000: 199). It has been pointed out by those it rests wholly on logic, and so the starting
Muslims who push the line of thought given point of formal rationalism is nothing more
by Qutb that the Quran itself says that it is than a supposed idea that is unverifiable.
the criterion (or furqan in Arabic) of judg- If it is unverifiable, it is uncertain; and if it is
ment between right and wrong (3:4, 25:1). uncertain, any conclusions logically inferred
If the Quran is indeed the furqan, then, from it must be uncertain. Thus, the knowl-
the objection runs, how can it be subsumed edge of ultimate problems given by Formal
under the authority of reason? Neither the Rationalism cannot be sure and accurate
contents of the Quran or the Sunna can be (Ansari 1973: 41). Empirical rationalism
judged by the bar of unaided reason. Some- fares no better, since its starting point rests
times, Quran 33:36 is quoted as support: It on scientific facts based on sense experience.
is not fitting for a Believer, man or woman, But as sense experience is unable to provide
when a matter has been decided by God and any certain insight into ultimate problems,
His Apostle to have any option about their using it as an uncertain starting point for
decision: if any one disobeys God and His philosophical inquiry into ultimate ques-
Apostle, he is indeed on a clearly wrong tions will mean that the conclusions arrived
path. at will also suffer from the same shortcom-
A third and final category of objections ings (Ansari 1973: 41). Ansari concludes
we will consider is based on the inability of his discussion of philosophy by claiming
philosophical inquiry to arrive at the truth that it (along with science) is incapable of
of the matter regarding Islamic belief. For giving accurate answers to our ultimate
422
questions on the basis of sure knowledge and G. Ross (eds), Descartes: Key
(Ansari 1973: 44). Like Maududi, he goes on Philosophical Writings, London:
to say that one needs to turn to revelation for Wordsworth, 1997.
answers to our ultimate questions. DHolbach, Baron, System of Nature,
Such, then, are the objections against phi- New York: Burt Franklin, 1868.
losophizing over Islamic belief that one will Fakhry, Majid, A Short Introduction
encounter from a number of Muslim think- to Islamic Philosophy, Theology and
ers today. The history behind Islamic opposi- Mysticism, Oxford: Oneworld, 1998.
tion to philosophical thought, however, is a A History of Islamic Philosophy, 3rd
long one. Perhaps the most famous and well- edn, New York: Columbia University
known criticism of Islamic philosophy is the Press, 2004.
one given by the eleventh-century giant of al Faruqi, Ismail Raji, Al Tawhid: Its
Islamic thought, Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, Implications for Thought and Life, Kuala
in his Tahafut al-falasifa (Incoherence of the Lumpur: International Institute of Islamic
Philosophers). So there are what we might Thought, 1995.
call classical as well as modern objec- Gale, Richard, On the Nature and
tions to philosophizing over Islamic belief. Existence of God, Cambridge:
Any venture in constructing an Islamic phi- Cambridge University Press, 1991.
losophy of religion must first respond to Helm, Paul, Faith with Reason, Oxford:
them. Clarendon Press, 2000.
Hick, John, An Interpretation of Religion:
Further reading Human Responses to the Transcendent,
Abdalati, Hammudah, Islam in Focus, London: Macmillan, 1989.
International Islamic Federation of Hourani, George F., Reason and Tradition
Student Organizations, Falls Church, VA: in Islamic Ethics, Cambridge: Cambridge
World Assembly of Muslim Youth, 2000. University Press, 1985.
Akhtar, Shabbir, Reason and the Radical Maududi, Sayyad Abul Ala, Fallacy of
Crisis of Faith, New York: Peter Lang, 1987. Rationalism, in Mandoor Moaddel and
A Faith for All Seasons, Chicago: Ivan Kamran Talattof (eds), Contemporary
R. Dee, 1990. Debates in Islam, New York: St Martins
Alston, William P., Religious Diversity Press, 2000.
and Perceptual Knowledge of God, in McKim, Robert, Religious Ambiguity and
Philip L. Quinn and Kevin Meeker (eds), Religious Diversity, Oxford: Oxford
The Philosophical Challenge of Religious University Press, 2001.
Diversity, Oxford: Oxford University Messer, Richard, Does Gods Existence
Press, 2000. Need Proof?, Oxford: Clarendon Press,
Ansari, Muhammad Fazl-ur-Rahman, The 1993.
Quranic Foundations and Structure of Nielsen, Kai, God, Scepticism and
Muslim Society, Karachi: n.p., 1973. Modernity, Ottawa: University of Ottawa
Cahn, Steven M. and Shatz, David (eds), Press, 1989.
Contemporary Philosophy of Religion, Penelhum, Terence, Reflections on the
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1982. Ambiguity of the World, in Arvind
Collins, James, God in Modern Philosophy, Sharma (ed.), God, Truth and Reality:
London: Routledge andd Kegan Paul, Essays in Honour of John Hick, London:
1960. Macmillan, 1993.
Descartes, Ren, Meditations on First Reason and Religious Faith, Boulder, CO:
Philosophy, in Elizabeth S. Haldane Westview, 1995.
423
RIDA
Response to Chappell, Religious based on the views of a local shaykh, Husayn

Studies 33 (1997), pp. 11519. al-Jisr, who based the curriculum on the idea
Peterson, Michael, W. Hasker, that there was no incompatibility between
B. Reichenbach, and D. Basinger, Reason Islam and modernity. While in Lebanon
and Religious Belief: An Introduction he digested the views of al-Afghani and
to the Philosophy of Religion, Oxford: Muhammad Abdu and in 1897 he moved
Oxford University Press, 1991. to Cairo to be with the latter and support his
Qutb, Sayyid, Islam as the Foundation of project of reviving the Islamic world within
Knowledge, in Mandoor Moaddel and a modern context. He established a highly
Kamran Talattof (eds), Contemporary influential journal al-Manar (The Lighthouse
Debates in Islam, New York: St. Martins or Beacon) which he operated from 1898
Press, 2000. until his death. Although there is no doubt
Ramsey, Frank Plumpton, The Foundation that he had enormous respect for Abdu and
of Mathematics and Other Logical the whole Nahda movement, he tended to
Essays, ed. R. B. Braithwaite, London: try to move the campaign back into a more
Routledge, 1931. traditionalist mode, rejecting as dangerous
Rowe, William, Evil and The Theistic what he saw as an overdone emphasis on
Hypothesis: A Response to Wykstra, modernity at the expense of religion. There
International Journal for Philosophy of is no doubt that some more radical enlight-
Religion 16 (1984), pp. 95100. eners did display more conviction about sci-
Schuon, Frithjof, Stations of Wisdom, ence and technology than about Islam, and
London: John Murray, 1961. for them Rida had many words of warning.
Stewart, David, Exploring the Philosophy A particular interest for Rida was the
of Religion, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: state of the caliphate, in total decline due
Prentice-Hall, 1980. to the collapse in 1923 of the Ottoman ver-
Swinburne, Richard, Faith and Reason, sion of that institution. He argued that it
Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1981. is very important for the Islamic world to
Responsibility and Atonement, Oxford: be united in order to preserve its integrity.
Clarendon Press, 1989. Were it not to be united, then the forces of
The Coherence of Theism, revised edn, modernity might overwhelm it. To a degree,
Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993. his rather more cautious attitude to the West
Watt, William Montgomery, Islamic as compared with al-Afghani and Abdu is
Fundamentalism and Modernity, New a reflection of the different times in which
York: Routledge, 1988. he lived as compared with them. He actually
experienced the fall of the caliphate and the
imran aijaz complete dominance of the European pow-
ers in the Middle East, and felt this needed
to be resisted. However, like them he empha-
sized the significance of independent thought
Rhazes,see al-Razi, Abu Bakr (ijtihad) and the compatibility between Islam
and modernity.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
RIDA, Rashid(18651935) Kitab al-manar wal Azhar, Cairo: Matbaat
al-Manar, 1934.
Muhammad Rashid Rida (Ridha) was born Huquq al-nisa fi al-islam (Womens Rights
in Tripoli, Lebanon, and attended a school in Islam), Beirut: Dar al-Hijra, 1987.
424
AL-RUMI
Further Reading Islam, Balkh had established itself as a center

Enayat, H., Modern Islamic Political of culture, piety, and learning by producing
Thought, Austin: University of Texas noted scholars both in philosophy and mys-
Press, 1982. ticism.
Hourani, A., Arabic Thought in the Liberal Al-Rumis father, Baha al-Din Walad,
Age, 17981939, Cambridge: Cambridge whose full name was Muhammad b. Husayn
University Press, 1993. al-Khatibi al-Bakri al-Balkhi, maintained
Kerr, M., Islamic Reform: The Political himself to have come paternally from the
and Legal Theories of Muhammad direct descendants of Abu Bakr, the first
Abduh and Rashid Rida, Berkeley, caliph of Islam. His mother Mumina Kha-
CA: University of California Press, tun, also known as Modar-e Sultan or
1966. Modar-e Mawlana, is believed to be from a
Kurzman, C. (ed.), Modernist Islam, certain local ruling family called Khwarizm-
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003. sahs. Today, her resting place lies in the
direction of the Kaba at the Mosque of
oliver leaman Aktekke in Karaman, Turkey, and presents
an interesting mixture of religion, life, and
death. Originally it was a tekke (a dervish
monastery), but later, probably through res-
toration and enlargement, it was turned into
AL-RUMI, Jalal al-Din(60472/120773) a mosque as a sign of respect to both Baha
al-Walad and al-Rumi. Because of the high
It is usually reported that Muhammad Jalal esteem with which she is held in the eyes
al-Din was born on September 30, 1207 of his followers, half of the mosque is liter-
(6 Rabi al-Awwal 604), in Balkh, Afghani- ally full of the graves of the whirling Maw-
stan, and died on December 17, 1273 lawi fathers and dervishes who most likely
(5 Jumada al-Thani 672), in Konya (Iconia), wanted to be buried next to the mother of
Turkey. However, recent studies suggest that their sultan, al-Rumi. Consequently, for cen-
he might have been born some years earlier, turies the mosque has been functioning both
in about 1200. After the Prophet, he is prob- as a tomb and a mosque.
ably the most widely known and influential It appears that his father Baha al-Din was
Muslim saint, mystic, and poet both in the a more important figure in al-Rumis spiri-
Muslim East and the Christian West. His tual and intellectual development than is
most famous mystical, poetical, didactic usually acknowledged. Baha al-Din, whose
work is Mathnawi, often labeled the Quran father was also a prominent theologian, was
of the Persian language. a well-known religious scholar and mystic
Both Mawlana and Rumi are his titles. for he was given the title of the Sultan of
The former, which means our master, was the Scholars (ulama). His book Maarif
given by his followers after his fame grew (Book of Gnosis), a fascinating and color-
and became well established in Konya. The ful collection of his teachings and sermons
latter, which means hailing from Rum, refers with a combination of ethics and the con-
to Anatolia as it was then known, due to his templative life, was one of the main sources
settling down there at an early age. Afghani of inspiration behind al-Rumis prolific writ-
people, however, call him Balkhi, for they ings. In about 1219, Baha al-Din decided to
knew that he was from Balkh and not some- leave Balkh for a quieter place, which after
where in Rum (Anatolia). Despite its remote- a long and adventurous journey happened to
ness from the hinterlands of mainstream conclude in Konya.
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AL-RUMI
There are three stories related to why Al-Rumi was about twelve years old at that
Baha al-Din wanted to take his family time but intellectually well on the way to
out of Balkh. The apparent reason was the follow in his fathers footsteps and mature
absence of security due to the forthcoming enough to remember everything that hap-
unstoppable Mongol invasion of the area, pened. Their first stop was Nishapur, where
which in fact took place a year after they left. al-Rumi met the famous Sufi poet Farid al-
The other two were about jealousy resulting Din Attar, who, recognizing the signs of a
from the fight for royal favor and power. promising great Sufi, gave him a copy of his
Baha al-Din and Fakhr al-Din al-Razi were book Asrar-nama (Book of Secrets). Al-Rumi
equally competent scholars contending to studied the book carefully and in later years
win royal favor, though arguing for different was happy to quote from it in his Mathnawi.
causes. Baha al-Din did not like philosophy The next destiny of the caravan was Baghdad,
and chose the way of the Sufis; al-Razi, on the capital city of Islam, where they stayed
the other hand, believed in the importance of only three days, heading toward Mecca to
philosophy and was decidedly fighting for it perform the hajj pilgrimage. Having carried
in the royal circles. It is reported he was able out their holy duty, they went to the other
to win the battle and turn the sultan Muham- famous cultural center of the time, Damas-
mad Takish Khwarizmshah against the Sufis. cus. Although it cannot be known exactly
In the meantime, Baha al-Din, the outspo- how long they stayed in Damascus, it is pos-
ken critic of philosophy, kept on attacking sible that al-Rumi studied there for a while
philosophy and the philosophers and the and encountered the famous Sufi Ibn al-
perverted ideas they injected into the com- Arabi. From Damascus via Aleppo, they set
munity. There is another story according to foot for their final destination, Anatolia, first
which the sultan was uneasy about the high staying at the eastern city of Arzanjan (pres-
respect Baha al-Din had in the public eye ent-day Erzincan, Turkey) for some time and
and the power it provided him. The sultan, then moving to Karaman (then Laranda), sit-
influenced by the lobbying of al-Razi, sent uated at a distance of thirty-five miles to the
a message to Baha al-Din, which, in allu- southeast of Konya. During their residence
sive language, pointed out that there could of seven years in Karaman, some important
not be room for two sultans in one country. events took place for both the father and the
The sultan wanted to make a deal by offer- son. The first was the marriage of al-Rumi
ing him his sultanate, with all its armies and with the daughter of Lala Sharaf al-Din of
lands; the alternative was that he must move Samarqand, Gawhar Khatun, in 1225. They
to another country. Baha al-Din, compre- had known each other since their childhood
hending the graveness of the situation, sent and were raised together, for Sharaf al-Din
his reply back swiftly. He said that he was was one of the closest followers of Baha al-
not after perishable worldly treasures for he Din. Right after the wedding, though, the
was a true dervish, and he was about to leave wife of Baha al-Din, Mumina Khatun, and
the sultanate soon. The sultan, seeing the his elder son, Muhammad Ala al-Din, died.
Mongol invasion coming, realized that he After a short while, a third death occurred.
had upset Baha al-Din and tried to win his This time it was al-Rumis mother-in-law, the
support back. When this failed, he pleaded wife of Sharaf al-Din, who also had served as
for him to leave quietly and not cause a pub- the midwife at his birth. Nevertheless, con-
lic uproar. Baha al-Din agreed. solation did not take long to arrive when in
On a Friday morning after prayers, Baha 1226 al-Rumis first son was born, followed
al-Dins caravan started on its journey. with a second one not long after. Al-Rumi
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AL-RUMI
named the first after his father as Muham- From 1240 to 1244, al-Rumi spent his
mad Baha al-Din, renowned as Sultan time serving as a traditional religious scholar
Walad, and the second after his brother as teaching at his fathers college and preach-
Ala al-Din Muhammad, known as Ala al- ing at the pulpit. However, these years were
Din Chalabi. As his fame rose higher, Baha also turbulent times for Anatolia where the
al-Din, though weak and old in his late sev- Mongol invasion was gradually drawing
enties, was invited to his final destination to nearer. In October 1244 an event took place
find peace at last. The Anatolian Seljuk sul- that changed the entire fabric of al-Rumis
tan Ala al-Din Kayqobad I had repeatedly personality inwardly and outwardly. The
requested the aged Baha al-Din to honor the incident was his meeting with the wandering
capital of Konya by moving there and teach- dervish Shams al-Din (Sun of Religion) of
ing in one of the famous colleges. He agreed Tabriz, who reports in his Maqalat (Essays)
to do so but did not live long enough to serve seeing and recognizing al-Rumi the first time
the sultanate, for he died two years later on in Damascus when he was there to study.
January 12, 1231 (18 Rabi al-Thani 628). Shams was directed toward al-Rumi and
Al-Rumi inherited his fathers post both sought after him ever after. When they met
intellectually and spiritually. at last, the experience turned al-Rumi into a
A year later, one of Baha al-Dins disci- totally different human being. Sultan Walad
ples and a close associate arrived at Konya. mentions their meeting as like the meeting
This was Seyyed Burhan al-Din Muhaqqiq, of Moses and Khidr, the hidden saint whose
who taught al-Rumi in Balkh for a while but story has been taken to represent an aspect
later fled to his native Tirmidh due to the of the way to God (Quran 18: 6480).
Mongol assault. When he heard of Baha They sat opposite each other for a while
al-Dins journey and eventual settlement in and Shams opened the session with a ques-
Konya in peace and security, he came to join tion on whether Muhammad the Prophet or
him, but the latter had died a year earlier. Abu Yazid al-Bistami was greater. Al-Rumi,
However, his presence proved to be decisive startled with the absurdity of the question,
for both the intellectual and in particular the replied that there can be no comparison
spiritual development of al-Rumi. He took between them for Muhammad was obvi-
up his teaching of al-Rumi from where he ously greater. If that was the case, Shams
left off in Balkh. He told al-Rumi that he continued, how do you explain the differ-
was as good as his father with regards to ence between Muhammads and al-Bistamis
the traditional sciences, but his father was statements? The former said that his heart
also skilled in the spiritual realm, and he gets corroded for which he asks Gods for-
suggested that al-Rumi should follow his giveness seventy times a day, whereas the lat-
father. Al-Rumi concurred. They spent nine ter exclaimed Praise be to Me, how great is
years together and even might have traveled My Majesty! Al-Rumis answer was equally
to Syria to study in Aleppo and Damascus. telling. He maintained that Muhammad was
During this period, al-Rumi also studied passing seventy spiritual stations a day and
the Persian poetry of Hakim Sanai, which asking for pardon for his previous lower posi-
would provide a significant input into al- tion, but al-Bistami was intoxicated at the
Rumis poetry. Burhan al-Din died in Kay- station he was in due to its graveness and so
seri (Caesarea), Turkey, in 1242, leaving uttered such paradoxical expressions. With
behind all his possessions, which contained this response they embraced each other and
Baha al-Dins manuscripts of Maarif, to his the divine love bond between them sparkled.
beloved student al-Rumi. They took refuge in Salah al-Din Zarqubs
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AL-RUMI
home and spent days and weeks without see- no trace. It is almost certain that he was
ing anybody else. The effect of the meeting assassinated in a plot involving perhaps al-
on al-Rumi was powerful; he dropped offi- Rumis younger son Ala al-Din Chalabi. Al-
cial dress, ceased teaching his students, and Rumi knew what had happened but refused
giving public sermons. Shams introduced al- to accept it. Here the metaphor of the sun
Rumi to the special sama (whirling mystical functions well again, for it is thought that it
dance) session, which he immediately took as never ceases to exist. It is reported that al-
his rite. After some time, from six months up Rumi went to Syria to look for his beloved
to three years according to different reports, lost friend but returned with a conviction
jealousy broke out among al-Rumis students that Shams resided in himself, glowing like
and disciples, for they were now deprived of the moon.
their beloved masters teachings, sermons, Al-Rumis reaction to the disappearance
and conversations. Eventually, Shams left of Shams this time was different, however.
Konya. He did not look for peace in seclusion for he
Despite his habitual suspicion of poetry, probably found annihilation (fana) in Shams
the agonies of heartache and separation already. He was tranquil and calm now.
transformed al-Rumi into a spontaneous He left his public sermons and devoted the
poet from whose mouth verses started pour- remaining years of his life to his ever-growing
ing down naturally without even trying to legions of disciples and the voluminous mys-
look for a rhyme or meter. Anything could tical work he produced. Nevertheless, after
set off the start of a poem, such as a view, Shams bodily evaporation, al-Rumi still
an event, or a sound. He declared that he needed a spiritual companion and a mirror
himself was unable to comprehend what had to reflect the Shams in himself. That mirror
happened to him. In fact, it was the soul of was first Salah al-Din Faredun Zarqub; after
the beloved who made him sing, not his own his death, Husam al-Din Chalabi took over
desire. These early poems are audacious and the duty. Al-Rumi had known Salah al-Din
paradoxical. The prevailing theme is gener- for quite a long time, for he too was a former
ally the ordeals of the state of love and of the disciple of Burhan al-Din and his successor
beloved, which he never names but refers to after his death. Salah al-Din did not have a
it as the sun. Certainly, the metaphor of sun formal education and was earning his life as
has a double function in that it firstly denotes a goldsmith. Al-Rumi strengthened his ties
his beloveds name, the literal meaning of with him by arranging a marriage between
Shams name in Arabic, and also symbolizes his elder son Sultan Walad and Salah al-Dins
the double-edged nature of love, beautifying daughter, to whom al-Rumi addressed sev-
or destroying but always altering. eral beautiful letters.
When news of Shams presence in Damas- Husam al-Din Chalabi, in addition to
cus reached al-Rumi, who was suffering by being al-Rumis third spiritual soul mate
now from the loss of his dear companion after Salah al-Din, was not only one of the
and burning with the fire of love, he asked best and brilliant students and disciples of
Sultan Walad to persuade Shams to come al-Rumi but also the most influential source
back. Shams returned to Konya and the two of inspiration behind the composition of
parties made a truce; the students repented Mathnawi. In 1256 he suggested al-Rumi
and were pardoned. For a while everything write a mystical book, similar to Attars and
seemed to be going perfectly well. However, Sanais, so that his adherents could read and
similar gossip about Shams erupted again. study his thought. Al-Rumi then started recit-
Shams vanished once more, this time with ing the first eighteen introductory lines of
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AL-RUMI
Mathnawi, famous as the Song of the Reed, gave them a religious meaning and by doing
expressing the souls yearning for home, and so, revolutionized the mystical understand-
wrote them down. After that Husam al-Din ing current up to his time in the Islamic
shouldered the job of writing for the next world. He considers the primordial cov-
seventeen years or so, except for four years enant of God with the yet-uncreated souls,
when Salah al-Din died (1258) and Husam [A]m I not your Lord? and their answer
al-Din lost his wife. The composition con- [Y]es (Quran 7:172) as the starting point
tinued throughout right until the death of of the eternal dance, that is, stepping into the
al-Rumi on December 17, 1273. His death realm of existence from the realm of non-
was sad news for all the residents of Konya, existence. Everything that is, such as trees,
including Christians and Jews. stones, flowers and clouds, partakes in the
Husam al-Din, already appointed as eternal dance. The Mawlawi whirling dance
the successor during al-Rumis life time, is just another branch participating in this
remained as such until his death in 1284. eternal dance. To him, loves food is music
Sultan Walad led the movement next and put and dance. Music was the beating of the
it in the form of a Sufi order, known as Maw- heart overflowing with divine love, and the
lawi, the Whirling Dervishes. The structure s[a]ma, the ecstasy and movement of this
and sequence of the mystical dance, sama, love. Poetry was loves voice, the oil of the
with which the order is identified, was estab- hearts lamp. When these three aesthetic ele-
lished by Sultan Walad and practised as such ments were united together a bubbling brook
since then. of love poured spontaneously from M[aw]
If one can summarize al-Rumis work in one lanas soul, drowning even his own being
sentence, it would be the religion of love, the (nder 1990: 1734). The recurring theme
expression which he himself uses explicitly in related to love is that one must first suffer,
his Mathnawi. For him, love is the heart and burn, and die in order to be purified and
kernel of religion, the fundamental theme of then acquire a new spiritual state. He illus-
all spirituality. Al-Rumi believes that love is trates this beautifully with many instances
one of the attributes of God. Consequently, like the melting of the sun, the boiling of
whatever or whoever a human being loves, chickpeas to be consumed and be part of a
the love is actually directed to God for the human body, and last but not least the bro-
attributes of God are at work there. The rich ken heart. The heart must be broken with
imagery he employs in his poetry indicates turbulence, anger, and the agonies of love so
that love comes in different forms. It can be that it can find the hidden treasure residing
a mother, a child, a bird, a dragon, a flower, in itself, that is, God.
a season, and so on. Al-Rumis style is very In al-Rumis view, real love is the feeling
interesting in that it picks up a very ordinary of attachment to God in the personhood of
subject and or a commonly known story and a perfect human being (al-insan al-kamil) or
interprets it in such a way that manifests the seeing ones perfection in him. Once the state
underlying loving relationship in all that is of ecstasy is over, this love permeates over
taking place. His sole purpose is to enlighten all creatures, human beings, animals, and the
and open a door to living things by showing living environment, commanding goodness,
them the wonders of love. Most of all, he beauty, maturity, and unity in all for all.
wanted the heart of every human being to What makes al-Rumi so unique, well known,
catch the fire of love. and the most widely read Sufi is probably his
By putting love, along with dance, sama, extension of mercy and gentleness to every-
and music, at the center of spiritual path, he thing that exists. It is closely related to the
429
AL-RUMI
common Sufi interpretation of the Divine does not possess a consistent philosophy of
Attributes as theophanies mirrored in the existence. Certainly, al-Rumi, like every true
universe. They are usually divided into two Muslim, believed that behind the multiplic-
groups. On the one hand, we have those ity of existence lays the Unity that can be
related to Mercy (rahmat) or Gentleness of seen and heard in every aspect of life; his
God and on the other; we see those related songs give voice to this belief. But the dif-
to Wrath (ghadab) or Severity of God. Since ference between Ibn al-Arabi and al-Rumi
God declared in the Quran (7:156) that is that contrary to the former, the latters
My Mercy encompasses all things, unlike primary concern is not to talk about meta-
Wrath, Mercy is his essential nature. Like the physics, theology, cosmology, or philosophy.
theophanies of all other Names and Attri- Rather, al-Rumi expresses his views on these
butes, Mercy and Wrath are represented in freely as he continues along singing songs of
the universe. Prophets and saints have a per- love. The project of seeing al-Rumi with the
fect balance between Mercy and Wrath; in glasses of Ibn al-Arabi will quench the burn-
fact, Mercy dominates over their character. ing fire of love in al-Rumis poetry.
Angels and Satans have the theophanies of Al-Rumis spiritual journey can be read
Mercy and Wrath successively. At the micro- as an ideal three-step model for a mystics
cosmic level, the intellect (aql) corresponds development: ascending, realizing, and
to Mercy, while Wrath is symbolized by the descending. His meeting with Shams com-
ego (nafs); thus, human beings are trapped pletely reduced him into a state of annihi-
between intellect and ego, angel and devil. lation, after which came a relatively serene
In this sense, Satan and evil are necessary period during his companionship with the
elements in the functioning of the cosmic goldsmith Salah al-Din. This was a time of
equilibrium. One should, in al-Rumis view, rediscovering his transformed self. Then, we
put his trust in the hands of God with an see the mature al-Rumi descending from the
unwavering faith in Him and keep on prac- heights of mystical experiences and talking
tising ones religion. Al-Rumi frequently of the wonders of the spiritual life in the
stresses and convincingly illustrates this by form of the Mathnawi with the assistance
citing examples from everyday life that what of his obedient disciple Husam al-Din. This
makes human beings particular is that they process can also be clearly seen in the differ-
have free will, so they can choose whatever ent styles of the Diwan and the Mathnawi,
path they want to pursue. and also in the way they are appreciated by
In trying to understand al-Rumis work, the Muslim community.
a common mistake is usually repeated, even In addition to the Quran and the hadith,
by such leading experts as R. A. Nichol- it is said that al-Rumis work carries strong
son. Probably due to his meeting with Ibn influences from four different sources,
al-Arabi during his studies in Syria and which can be divided into two categories.
also his good relationship with Sadr al-Din One group consists of the poets Sanai (the
al-Qunawi, Ibn al-Arabis stepson and first poet using mathnawi, literally rhyming
best interpreter, there is a general tendency couplets, as a form of mystical writing) and
toward interpreting al-Rumis thought in the Attars writings. The second group is com-
light of Ibn al-Arabis doctrine of wahdat prised of his fathers Maarif (Book of Gno-
al-wujud (the unity of being). This approach sis) and Shams Maqalat (Essays).
is inadequate since al-Rumi never liked the Al-Rumi produced five works, two of
theoretical systematization of Ibn al-Arabi. which are poetry (Diwan and Mathnawi)
This is not to suggest, however, that al-Rumi and the rest is prose. Of those, Mathnawi
430
AL-RUMI
is the most renowned, frequently cited and, of the table talk of al-Rumi, inspirational
probably, assiduously studied both in the prose pieces covering similar issues as in
East and in the West. It comprises of six Mathnawi. Maktubat (Letters) contains
volumes, containing about 26,000 verses more than a hundred and fifty letters dic-
(25,618 precisely), composed in a very sim- tated on different occasions such as when
ple meter. It was dictated to Husam al-Din either recommending somebody for a job
by al-Rumi volume by volume, and at the or when answering someones problems.
end of each volume read back to be checked It is an interesting document indicating
and corrected if necessary, except for the the human and social aspects of a leading
last volume for which al-Rumis life did Sufi master in his day-to-day relations with
not suffice. Although simple in its didactic people surrounding him from various levels
style, it is a difficult work to comprehend of society. Majales-e Saba (Seven Gather-
and interpret, not because of its complex ings/Sermons), a slightly less-known minor
content (it has very little of the Sufis tech- work, composed long before the emergence
nical terminology and theory) but because of Shams, also has a mystical character with
of the looseness and freely utilized materi- strong emphasis on ethics.
als. The stories, usually intertwined with Al-Rumi was, has been, and will be a tow-
others, go on and on and are woven with ering figure for humanity, not to mention
verses from the Quran, sayings from the Islam. He will be remembered forever not
Prophet and anecdotes from the saints, leg- only for his personality and works but also
ends, and so on. Typically, it is a cultural for the legacy of the religion of love he pro-
storehouse of the East and a testament of a vided to humanity regardless of boundaries,
perfect human being (al-insan al-kamil) to ethnicity, language, and color. As long as
lead others to God. It has been translated people consult him for inspiration, his light
into many languages in the East and from will continue to enlighten them ceaselessly.
1800 onward, in the West too, notably by
R. A. Nicholson. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Diwan-e Shams is a collection of lyri- Mathnawi of Jalaluddin Rumi, ed. and
cal poetry, outpouring directly from the trans. R. A. Nicholson, London: Luzac,
ecstatic experience of al-Rumi after his 192540.
meeting with Shams, in the form of tradi- Selected Poems from the Divan-i Shams-i
tional ghazal with monorhymes. The gen- Tabriz, ed. and trans. R. A. Nicholson,
eral theme in the ghazals is love, focusing Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
on the joys of union with and the agonies 1952.
of separation from the Beloved. The style is Fihi Ma Fihi, ed. B. Z. Furuzanfar, Tehran:
more lucid, daring, and artistic compared to Chapkhana-yi Majlis, 1969; trans. A. J.
Mathnawis simplicity, as if the poet seeks Arberry, Discourses of Rumi, London:
to demonstrate his mastery of language, John Murray, 1961.
history, and religious writing. Defining the Divan, ed. B. Z. Furuzanfar, 10 vols,
exact number of verses is extremely dif- Tehran: n.p., 1977.
ficult because of the pseudonyms al-Rumi
used and of the mix up in names in man- Further Reading
uscripts, but it is about 35,000. Another Chittick, W., The Sufi Path of Love: The
important work of al-Rumi is Fihi Ma Fihi Spiritual Teachings of Rumi, Albany,
(literally, in it what is in it, translated NY: State University of New York Press,
into English as Discourses) comprises 1983.
431
AL-RUMI
Glpnarl, A. B., Mevlana Celaleddin: nder, M., Mevlana Jelaleddin Rumi, trans.
Hayat, Eserleri, Felsefesi (Mawlana Jalal P. M. Butler, Ankara: Publications of
al-Din: His Life, Works and Philosophy), Culture Ministry, 1990.
Istanbul: nklap, 1999. Schimmel, A. M., The Triumphal Sun,
Iqbal, A., The Life and Thought of London: Fine Books, 1978.
Mohammad Jalalud-Din Rumi, Lahore:
n.p., 1956. rifat atay
432
S
SABAHATTIN, Prens(12931367/ followers in a separate organization, Adem-i
18771948) Merkeziyet ve Teebbs- ahsi Cemiyeti
(Society for Decentralization and Private Ini-
Prens Sabahattin was born in Istanbul in tiative). He also got involved in La Science
1293/1877, and died at Neuchtel, Switzer- Sociale, wrote for a journal called La Revue
land, in 1367/1948. He was a well-known and from 1906 to 1908 published a monthly
Turkish sociologist and political theorist. periodical, the Terakki. After the 1908 Con-
His father Damat Mahmut Celalettin Paa stitutional Revolution he returned to Istan-
was the son of Grc Halil Rfat Paa, the bul. In 1327/1909, immediately after the
minister of marine, and his mother Seniha 31 Mart event, he was arrested but, through
Sultan was the daughter of Sultan Abdl- intervention of some powerful paas, was
mecit and the younger sister of Sultan Abdl- soon released.
hamit II. Celalettin Paas influence can be Despite the fact that Prens Sabahattin and
seen through his two sons lives, from their his followers acted together with the ttihat
first education to their later involvement in ve Terakki Cemiyeti during the second Con-
politics. gress of Young Turks held in Paris in 1907,
Prens Sabahattin and his elder brother the difference of opinion between the two
Prens Ltfullah were privately educated in groups were too fundamental to overcome.
natural sciences, foreign languages, and lit- Unlike the ttihat ve Terakki members who
erature. When Celalettin Paa, due mostly understood the problem of the Ottoman
to his disagreement with the sultan Abdl- Empire as one of administration, Prens Saba-
hamit, moved to Paris in 1316/1899, Prens hattin spotted the problem as a structural one
Sabahattin and his brother accompanied and insisted on some fundamental changes.
him. In Paris, Prens Sabahattin developed His ideas found many supporters among the
an interest in politics and led a group of liberal circles and parties but he never joined
Ottoman liberals called the Young Turks any of these. He had to leave the country
(Jn Trkler). In 1319/1902 he took the when he was accused of involvement in the
initiative in organizing the first Congress murder of the Vezir-i Azam (grand vizier)
of Young Turks. After a split from the Mahmut evket Paa in 1331/1913. After
centralist-nationalist Young Turk move- the World War I he returned once again but,
ment of Ahmed Rza, namely the ttihat having been banned from Turkey as a mem-
ve Terakki Cemiyeti (Committee of Union ber of the Ottoman dynasty, he had to leave
and Progress), Prens Sabahattin, represent- Turkey permanently in 1342/1924. He died
ing the liberal-revolutionist line, united his in Switzerland in 1367/1948 where he lived
433
SABBAH
a life of exile. Four years later his bones were SABBAH, Hasan(d. 518/1124)
brought to Istanbul and buried in Eyp.
Prens Sabahattin is considered to be the Hasan Sabbah was born in Qum, Persia, in
founder of individualist sociology in Turkey the mid-440s/1050s and died in the fortress
that opposed the Durkheimian school of Ziya of Alamut on 26 Rabi al-Thani 518/June
Gkalp. Individual sociology was inspired 12, 1124. He was a prominent Ismaili dai
by the ideas of Frederic Le Play and Edmond or religio-political missionary and founder
Demolins, arguing that what lay at the foun- of the Nizari Ismaili state. A trained theolo-
dation of society and state were individuals. gian and philosopher, Hasan Sabbah was at
This is why the starting point of sociology the same time an outstanding organizer. The
should be the individual and not society or events of Hasans life and career as the first
state. He also believed in the importance of ruler of Alamut are documented in the Sar-
applied science and experimentation in edu- gudhasht-i Sayyidna (Biography of our Mas-
cation and supported the idea of reforming ter), the first part of which may have been
the educational system to make it fit for the autobiographical. This chronicle has not sur-
training of productive individuals. He wrote vived, but it was used extensively by certain
many articles in various journals. Some of Persian historians of the Mongol Ilkhanid
his ideas and letters were later published in period, notably Juwayni (d. 681/1283) and
Trkiye Nasl Kurtarlabilir (How Can Tur- Rashid al-Din (d. 718/1318), who remain
key Be Rescued?), Grlerim, and ttihat our chief sources on Hasan Sabbah.
ve Terakki Cemiyetine Ak Mektuplar Hasans father, Ali b. Muhammad b.
(Open Letters to the Committee of ttihat ve Jafar al-Sabbah al-Himyari, a Twelver Shii
Terakki). claiming Himyari Yamani origins, had lived
in Kufa before migrating to Qum, a tradi-
BIBLIOGRAPHY tional stronghold of Imami Shiism. Sub-
Trkiye Nasil Kurtarilabilir ve zahlar, sequently, the Sabbah family settled in the
trans. Fahri Unan, Ankara: Ayra nearby city of Rayy, where the youthful
Yaynevi, 1999. Hasan received his early religious educa-
Grlerim, compiled by Ahmet Zeki tion as a Twelver Shii. There, Hasan was
zger, stanbul: Buru Yaynlar, 1999. introduced to Ismaili teachings and con-
verted to Ismaili Shiism around the age of
Further Reading seventeen. Soon afterward, in 464/1072,
Baydur, Mithat, Gemiten Gnmze he was appointed to a post in the dawa or
Prens Sabahattin ve Adem-i missionary organization by Abd al-Malik
Merkeziyetilik, in Trkiye Gnl, b. Attash, the chief Ismaili dai in Persia,
vol. 22, Ankara, 1993, pp. 1216. who had been impressed by the novice. In
Ege, Nezahat Nurettin Prens Sabahaddin: 469/1076 Hasan left for Fatimid Egypt to
Hayat ve lmi Mdafaalar, stanbul: further his Ismaili education. After spend-
Faklteler Matbaas, n.d. ing three years in Cairo and Alexandria, in
Reyhan, Cenk, Trk Siyasal Dncesinde 473/1081 he returned to Isfahan, the secret
Yol Ayrm: Aykr bir Aydn Prens headquarters of the Ismaili dawa in Persia.
Sabahaddin ve Dncesi, in Trkiye Subsequently, Hasan traveled for nine years
Gnl, vol. 21, Ankara, 1992, pp. 1216. to different parts of Persia in the service of
Ttengil, Cavit Orhan, Prens Sabahattin, the dawa, also formulating his own revo-
stanbul: stanbul Matbaas, 1954. lutionary strategy against the Saljuq Turks,
whose alien rule was detested by Persians of
s. leyla grkan all social classes. By around 480/1087, he
434
SABRI EFENDI
had chosen for his headquarters the fortress be none other than the Ismaili imam of the
of Alamut, in the central Alburz mountains time. The anti-Ismaili polemics of the con-
of the Rudbar region in northern Persia. temporary Sunni establishment, led by Abu
His seizure of Alamut in 483/1090 by a Hamid al-Ghazali, revolved around this
clever plan of infiltration marked the com- doctrine of talim, which served as the cen-
mencement of the open revolt of the Persian tral teaching of the early Nizari Ismailis.
Ismailis against the Saljuqs and also the
effective foundation of the Nizari Ismaili Further Reading
state of Persia and Syria, comprising a num- Daftary, F., The Ismailis: Their History
ber of scattered territories and networks of and Doctrines, Cambridge: Cambridge
mountainous strongholds. Hasan also estab- University Press, 1990, pp. 32471.
lished an important library at Alamut. Hasan-i Sabbah and the Origins
The dispute over the succession to the of the Nizari Ismaili Movement, in
Fatimid caliph and Ismaili imam al-Mustan- F. Daftary (ed.) Mediaeval Ismaili History
sir, who died in 487/1094, split the Ismailis and Thought, Cambridge: Cambridge
into rival Nizari and Mustali factions, named University Press, 1996, pp. 181204.
after the deceased imams sons who claimed Hodgson, M. G. S., The Order of Assassins,
his heritage. Hasan Sabbah supported the The Hague: Mouton, 1955, pp. 4198.
cause of Nizar (d. 488/1095), who had been Juwayni, Ata Malik, Tarikh-i jahan-
denied the Fatimid caliphate, and recognized gusha, ed. M. Qazwini, vol. 3, Leiden:
him as his fathers successor to the Ismaili E. J. Brill, 1937, pp. 186216, 26973;
imamate. Hasan had now founded the inde- trans. J. A. Boyle, The History of the
pendent Nizari Ismaili dawa. After Nizar, World-Conqueror, vol. 2, Manchester:
the Nizari imams remained hidden for sev- Manchester University Press, 1977,
eral decades, and Hasan and his next two pp. 66683, 71921.
successors at Alamut served as the supreme al-Shahrastani, Abul-Fath Muhammad,
heads of the Nizari dawa and state, with the Kitab al-milal wal-nihal, vol. 2, ed.
rank of hujja, or chief representative, of the A. M. al-Wakil, Cairo: Muassasat
hidden Nizari imam. al-Halabi, 1968, pp. 1958; trans. A.
From early on, outsiders gained the K. Kazi and J. G. Flynn, Muslim Sects
impression that the movement of the Persian and Divisions, London: Kegan Paul
Ismailis led by Hasan Sabbah represented International, 1984, pp. 16770.
a new preaching (al-dawa al-jadida) in
contradistinction to the old preaching (al- farhad daftary
dawa al-qadima) of the Fatimid Ismailis.
But the new preaching was merely the
reformulation by Hasan Sabbah of the old
Shii doctrine of talim, or authoritative
teaching of the imam. In a Persian treatise SABRI EFENDI, Mustafa(18691954)
entitled The Four Chapters, which has
been preserved only fragmentarily by our The last shaykh al-Islam of the Ottoman
Persian historians as well as al-Shahrastani Empire, Mustafa Sabri Efendi, was born in
(d. 548/1153), Hasan argued in a series Tokat, Turkey. He completed his education
of four propositions for the inadequacy of in Kayseri. He became a teacher at the Fatih
human reason in knowing God and for the mosque. He attended the huzur classes held
necessity of an authoritative teacher as the in the sultans court, and worked as a librar-
spiritual guide of humankind, who would ian for Abdulhamid II. He was elected to the
435
SABRI EFENDI
Parliament in 1908. From 1908 to 1912, he political modernism, especially in regards to

was the chief editor of the journal Beyanul- such concepts as parliamentary democracy,
hak (Explanation of Truth). After the politi- the rule of law, freedom, and equality.
cal events of 1913, he fled to Egypt and then In the Masalat al-tarjamat al-quran,
went to Rumania. He was exiled for a time Mustafa Sabri takes up the issue of using
to Bursa. He became the shaykh al-Islam in the translation of Quranic verses in ritual
1919, but he resigned from this post in 1920. prayers. The book is a direct response to Atat-
He went to Rumania for a second time where urks attempt to have all prayers performed
he published the journal Yarn (Tomorrow). in modern Turkish rather than in their origi-
In the early 1930s he went to Egypt, where nal form in Arabic. M. Sabri adduces numer-
he stayed until his death in 1954. ous arguments against the permissibility of
As a conservative scholar, Mustafa Sabri using non-Arabic phrases in ritual prayers,
produced a number of works. In his writ- and rejects Ataturks proposal as an oppres-
ings, he opposed both secular modernism sion of the Islamic religious tradition. On
and Islamist reformism. Like the Islamists of the question of women, he espoused a tra-
his time, he proposed a program of Islamiza- ditional and conservative view, rejecting the
tion before and after the fall of the Ottoman modernism of Qasim Amin and others.
Empire. He remained within the context of
the traditional Asharite theology and Otto- BIBLIOGRAPHY
man madrasa system. In Egypt, he wrote Yeni slam Mctehidlerinin Kymet-
several books in Arabic in response to such lmiyyesi (The Scholarly Value of the
modernist thinkers as Farid Wajdi and Abbas New Muslim Reformists), Istanbul:
Mahmud al-Aqqad as well as Jamal al-Din Darul-Hulefay-i lmiyye, 1916.
Afghani and Muhammad Abdu. His four- Dini Mceddidler (Religious Reformists),
volume Mawqif al-aql wal-ilm wal-alim Istanbul: Sebil Yaynevi, 1994; originally
min rabb al-alamin wa ibadihil-mursalin published in 1922.
(The Position of Reason, Knowledge, and Al-Nakir ala munkari al-nimah min
the Scholar in regards to the Lord of the al-din wal-khilafah wal-ummah
Worlds and His Divinely Sent Servants) is (The Rejection of Those who Reject the
devoted to a detailed analysis and criticism Blessing of Religion, Caliphate and the
of many issues of twentieth-century Islamic Muslim Community), Beirut: al-Matbaa
modernism. al-Abbasiyya, 1923.
One central issue that underlies Sabris Masalat al-Tarjamat al-Quran (The
works is the question of how to understand Question of the Translation of the
the Islamic tradition without compromising Quran), Cairo: Maktabat al-Salafiyya,
its religious principles. He was relentlessly 1932.
opposed to both Western secularism and Mawqif al-bashar tahta sultan al-qadar
Islamic modernism/reformism. For instance, (The Position of Mankind under the Rule
he criticized A. Mahmud al-Aqqad, the of Destiny) Cairo: n. p., 1933.
author of a literary work on the prophet Mawqif al-aql wal-ilm wal-alim min
Muhammad, for praising him because of his rabb al-alamin wa ibadihil-mursalin
genius (abqariyya) rather than because of (The Position of Reason, Knowledge and
the fact that he was a prophet sent by God. the Scholar in regards to the Lord of the
Sabri considered such modern readings of Worlds and His Divinely Sent Servants), 4
Islam as devaluing its divine origin and mis- vols, Beirut: Dar Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi,
sion. But he accepted the general outlines of 1981.
436
SABUNI
Al-Asrar al-khafiyya wara ilgha al-khilafat He also had lively discussions with Fakhr
al-Uthmaniyyh (The Hidden Secrets behind al-Din al-Razi, a leading representative of
the Abolition of the Ottoman Caliphate), Asharite theology of his time. According to
Alexandria: Dar al-Dawa, 1989. Razis report, at the end of these discussions,
Hilafet-i Muazzamay- slamiyye: Hilafet ve Sabuni said that all his knowledge of kalam
Kemalizm (The Great Islamic Caliphate: was based on the work of Abul Muin al-
Caliphate and Kemalism), ed. by Nasafi; he also admitted to his own weak-
S. Albayrak, Istanbul: Aratrma ness in the science but said he was too old to
Yaynlar, 1992. start again.
Qawli fil-mara wa muqaranatuhu Sabuni wrote a number of works, some
bi-aqwal muqallidat al-gharb (My Views of which are still in manuscript. In his al-
on Woman and her Comparison with Muntaqa min ismat al-anbiya (Selection
the Views of the Imitators of the West), from the Infallibility of the Prophets), he
Beirut: Dar al-Qadiri, 1993. summarizes the work of Abul Husayn
Muhammad b. Yahya. It starts by saying
Further Reading God sending a prophet is the result of His
Kara, smail, Mustafa Sabri Efendi, in wise purpose, that prophets must be human,
Osmanllar Ansiklopedisi, vol. 2, and that some of them are superior to oth-
Istanbul: Kap Kredi, 1999, pp. 3223. ers. Then after discussing their number and
al-Kaysi, al-Shaykh Mustafa Sabri, Riyadh: their infallibility, he goes on to discuss each
Markaz al-Malik Faysal lil-Buhuth wal- individual prophet, starting with Adam and
Dirasat al-Islamiyya, 1997. ending with the last prophet Muhammad.
His al-Kifaya fil hidaya (Sufficient in Guid-
ibrahim kalin ance) is a longer version of his al-Bidaya fi
usul al-din (Introduction to the Principles
of Religion). As he states in the introduc-
tion of the latter work, some of his friends
found the Kifaya too long and asked him to
SABUNI, Nur al-Din(d. 580/1184) summarize it, and, consequently, he wrote
al-Bidaya. Through these works, Sabuni
Ahmad b. Mahmud, known as Nur al-Din, closely follows and defends the views of
was born in Bukhara probably at the begin- al-Maturidi. The al-Bidaya begins with
ning of sixth/twelfth century, and died in the a discussion of the sources of knowledge.
same city on 16 Safar 580/May 30, 1184. Then, al-Sabuni tries to establish first the
He was one of the theologians within the createdness (huduth) of the world, then
Maturidite school of Sunni Islam. There the existence of its Creator. This is fol-
is not much information about his life. He lowed by a discussion of Gods attributes.
seems to have belonged to a respected family Al-Sabuni also deals with the issues that are
in Bukhara, where he spent much of his life. controversial between the Asharites and
He received his education in the same city the Maturidites, such as the attribute of
and became a leading defender of the Matu- creating (takwin) and supports the position
ridite theology of his time. He had made a of al-Maturidi. The discussions of proph-
trip to Mecca to perform hajj and on his way ecy, degree, predetermination, and human
to Mecca, he visited Khurasan and Iraq and actions are followed by other traditional
had discussions with the scholars of these theoretical issues. All these topics are pre-
regions. sented in a concise and accessible way.
437
SAID HALIM PAA
BIBLIOGRAPHY principles of Mulla Sadras thought. He

Al-Bidaya fi usul al-din (Introduction to the wrote a commentary on the poem, Sharh
Principles of Religion), ed. with Turkish al-manzuma, and for a long time these two
translation by Bekir Topalolu, Ankara. works have been the staple fare in Shii
1991. madrasas. A vast number of commentaries
and textbooks have been written on them
muammer skenderolu in Persian. Al-Sabzawari is remarkable in
being able to condense so much complex
philosophy within these two texts, and for
the attractiveness of his style.
Sahib al-Taq,see Abu Jafar al-Ahwal
Bibliography
The Metaphysics of Sabzavari/Sharh
al-manzuma fi al hikma, trans. M.
Mohaghegh and T. Izutsu, Delmar, NY:
AL-SABZAWARI, Al-Hajj Mulla Hadi Caravan Books, 1977.
(121289/17971873) Asrar al-hikam (Secrets of the Wisdoms),
ed. H. M. Farzad, Tehran: Intisharat-e
Al-Hajj Mulla Hadi al-Sabzawari was born Mawla, 1982.
in 1212/17978 in Sabzavar in northeast- Sharh al-manzuma (Commentary on the
ern Iran. He was the outstanding Iranian Poem (Manzuma), the Ghurar al-faraid),
philosopher of the Qajar period. He started ed. H. al-Amuli and M. Talibi (eds),
his studies in Sabzavar and then moved to Tehran: Intisharat-i Hikmat, 1995.
Mashhad to work on logic, mathematics,
law, and metaphysics. He then traveled to Further Reading
Isfahan to study for seven years with Mulla Akhtar, W., Sabzawaris Analysis of Being,
Ali Nuri (d. 1246/18301), and there he al-Tawhid, 2, 1 (1984), pp. 2965.
was introduced to the thought of Mulla Izutsu, Toshihiko, The Fundamental
Sadra, very much the dominant figure in Structure of Sabzawaris Metaphysics, in
Persian philosophy. He returned to Mashhad T. Izutsu (ed.), The Concept and Reality
to teach for five years, and on his way back of Existence, Tokyo: Keio Institute of
from pilgrimage (hajj) he stayed for a year Cultural and Linguistic Studies, 1971,
in Kirman, where he married, before return- pp. 57149.
ing to Sabzavar where he remained until his
death teaching and writing. Muslim students oliver leaman
from all over the world came to work with
him there. Even the ruler Nasir al-Din Shah
visited him in 1284/1867, but al-Sabzawari
did not accept royal patronage, committed
as he was to an ascetic and private lifestyle. SAID HALIM PAA (18631921)
There are many stories of events connected
to his life to establish his saintly reputation. The Ottoman statesman and thinker Mehmed
He died in 1289/1873. Said Halim Paa was born in Cairo, Egypt.
His Ghurar al-faraid (The Blazes of the He was a descendant of the famous Egyptian
Gems) is the work on which his academic ruler Mehmed Ali Pasha. His father Halim
reputation really rests, since it represents in Paa was a vizier in the Ottoman Empire.
poetic form what he takes to be the main He received a good education and completed
438
SAID HALIM PAA
his undergraduate education in Switzerland assigned limited power to the sultan and
with a degree in political science. This period envisioned everyone as equal before the law,
would have a deep impact on Said Halims that is, the Sharia.
future political ideas and profound criticisms In his philosophical thought, Said Halim
of both Western and Islamic modernism. Paa saw Islam as a middle path between
He held various offices before becoming idealism and positivism and criticized both
foreign minister in 1913 and grand vizier ideologies as presenting an incomplete pic-
from 1913 to 1917. His relations with the ture of reality. As an intellectual, he sought
members of the Society for Union and Prog- to bridge the gap between the intellectual
ress became very tense after the beginning of elite and the public at large. Said Halims
the World War I. In 1917, he resigned from most important contribution lies in his pro-
his position as the grand vizier. In 1919, he found critique of the various reform move-
was tried on charges of leading the Ottoman ments in the Muslim world. He criticized
Empire into war and exiled to Malta. He the nationalist and pro-Western reformists
was released in 1921 and went to Sicily. His for failing to understand the philosophi-
requests to return to Istanbul were rejected cal, cultural, and religious underpinnings
by the government. He then went to Rome, of the social institutions that developed
where he was assassinated by an Armenian in the West and which the nineteenth-
in 1921. His body was brought to Istanbul century reformists were trying to import
and buried there. to the Muslim world. Implicit in this is the
Said Halim was a reformist Islamist rejection of the commonly held idea that
thinker. Against the secular nationalism of civilization is universal whereas culture
the Young Turks and the radical Westernism is local, suggesting that Muslim societies
of Abdullah Cevdet and others, he empha- can and should adopt Western civilization
sized the Islamic identity of the Empire and without necessarily adopting European cul-
its subjects. Like the Islamists of his time, he tural mores.
charged Muslim societies for failing to adapt
themselves to the new circumstances. He BIBLIOGRAPHY
believed that the historic animosity between Buhranlarmz (Our Crises), Istanbul: ems
Islam and the West was a major obstacle pre- Matbaas, 1917.
venting Muslims from keeping up with the slamlamak (Islamization), Istanbul:
changes taking place in Europe. Unlike many Hukuk Matbaas, 1920.
of the second-rate intellectuals of his time, LEmpire Ottoman et la guerre mondiale,
Said Halim Paa had a first-hand exposure to Istanbul: Les Editions Isis, 2000.
European ideas in the nineteenth century.
Within an Islamist political context, he Further Reading
advocated the ideas of freedom, equal- Kara, smail, Trkiyede slamclk
ity, and solidarity, and defined freedom as Dncesi, vol. 1, Istanbul: Risale
a duty rather than right. He developed an Yaynlar, 1986.
Islamic meritocracy and emphasized the Said Halim Paa, in Osmanllar
use of individual reason. He defined his ideal Ansiklopedisi, vol. 2, Istanbul: Kap
Islamic polity as democratic in its concept Kredi, 1999, pp. 4878.
of equality and aristocratic in its support of Seyhun, Ahmet, Said Halim Paa: Ottoman
individual talent, virtue, and knowledge. His Statesman and Islamist Thinker, Istanbul:
political program was based on the idea of Isis Yayincilik, 2000.
democratizing the ruling elite and imbu-
ing people with aristocratic values. He ibrahim kalin
439
SANAI
SANAI, Majdud ibn Adam al-Ghaznawi manner of patrons, it is not unreasonable to

(d. 525/1131) characterize this as a sensible survival strat-
egy, without contradiction or conflict with
The Persian poet Hakim Sanai was born the Malamati spirituality of Sufism familiar
in the last quarter of the fifth/eleventh cen- to Sanai. It hardly seems a mark against
tury in the city of Ghazna (eastern part of him that he could not boast like Farid al-Din
present-day Afghanistan). He breathed his Attar (d. ca. 1220) of never having sought
last in this home of the Ghaznavid sultans, a kings favor or stooping to pen a panegy-
most likely on 11 Shaban 525/July 9, 1131. ric. In any case, the following from Sanais
Sanai represents the fusion of the Persian Diwan (collection of poetry) suggests the
poetic imagination with Sufism, initiating sincere Sufi trumped the obsequious poet:
the severance of literary bonds historically Abu Hanifa has not taught love, Shafii has
circumscribed by the patronage and protec- no traditions about it.
tion of the Persian court. Sanais Diwan attests to his mastery of
What little we know of Sanai is inferred the forms, images, rhetorical devices, motifs,
from his own poetry. His father was a and genres common to Persian court poetry.
muallim (either a Quran teacher or master His lyrical poems include not a few instances
craftsman), while the sons career began as of the Persian ghazal (song, elegy of love), an
a minor poet with patronage ties to vari- Arabic form adopted by the Persian poets.
ous elite social groups. Among those who Sanai metaphorically transmutes its baser
afforded him protection for his literary themes into religious topics. And in his hands
craft were prominent scholars of the Hanafi the Persian qasida, heretofore indissolubly
madhhab. For reasons that remain obscure, linked to courtly life, becomes didactic and
Sanai left Ghazna for the eastern Per- homiletical verse, a vehicle of love mysti-
sian province of Khurasan, visiting Balkh, cism. The Litany of the Birds in particu-
Nishapur, and Herat. In the latter town he lar bears mention, with each bird singing its
met the Sufi descendants of Khwaja Abdul- unique praise of God. It has been cited as
lah Ansari (d. 481/1089). But it was an one of the possible sources of inspiration for
extended stay in Sarakhs that clearly marks Attars later, longer, and better-known mys-
a decisive re-orientation in the subject matter tical poem, Mantiq al-tayr (The Conference
of his poetry. of the Birds).
In Sarakhs, the celebrated preacher, Hanafi Sanai clearly deserves credit as the first
scholar, and chief justice (qadi l-qudat), Sayf Persian poet to exploit the qalandar [lit-
al-Din Muhammad ibn Mansur, provided erally a vagabond of scandalously offen-
the patronage necessary for Sanai to forsake sive behavior] motif to the full (de Bruijn
the secular poetry of the Persian court tradi- 1999: 78), here toward the ends of Mala-
tion. mati spirituality. But Sanais literary fame
It is unclear to what extent Sanais turn owes more to his pioneering reliance on
to religious poetry reflects a personal conver- the mathnawi (rhymed couplets) genre for
sion to Sufism or is simply indicative of the didactic purposes, exemplified in Hadiqat
poets ability to respond to the demands of al-haqiqa (The Garden of Ultimate Reality).
religious patrons. Some of his better poems Written near the end of his life following a
identify the Hanafi jurisprudent as both pro- return to Ghazna (c. 520/1126), this homi-
tector and spiritual guide. And although his letic discourse merits attention for several
mystical verse is often side-by-side panegy- reasons. The poem tells the ancient Asian
rical lines that point to dependence on all story of the blind men and the elephant, to
440
SANAI
which Sanai appends an allegorical supple- identified as the old quarrel between poetry
ment designed to inform his readers of the and philosophy:
futility of theological casuistry and polem-
ics. Pious reverence is paid to both leading Of all the poets major and minor
figures of Sunni jurisprudence and Ali ibn Only I know the words of the Prophet.
Abi Talib (d. 661) and the People of the My poetry is a commentary on the reli-
House (Alis family and descendants). gion and the law,
Mystical knowledge of metaphysical mat- And that is what the truthful poet does.
ters is deemed fundamental, while an alle- Of all the poets, only I
gorical section of the poem finds our poet am the Prophets by Almighty God
guided by the active (or agent) intellect I am the slave of the religion, obedient
found among falasifa (philosophers) like in piety.
-Farabi and Ibn Rushd (Averroes). In
al A truth-telling poet am I, coveting nothing.
short, Sanai here manages to cover a motley (quoted in Lewisohn 1999: 172)
variety of topics, the organizing narrative
principle of which is generously described BIBLIOGRAPHY
on the order of a Pilgrims Progress (de Diwan-i Sanai-yi Ghaznawi, ed. Mudarris
Bruijn 1999: 370). The whole, in this case, Radawi, Tehran: Intisharat-i Danishgah,
is not any greater than the sum of its parts, 1975.
a risk inherent in didactic poetry, and for the Hadiqat al-haqiqat wa sharia al-tariqat
very same reason Platos dialogues are not (The Garden of Truth), ed. Mudarris
completely satisfying as works of art: their Radawi, Tehran: Intisharat-I Danishgah-I
unity is not first and last an esthetic one, but Tihran, 1980.
a function of the ends of the philosopher
(the Platonic philosopher is a bad poet, but Further Reading
for this reason he makes better use of poetry de Bruijn, J. T. P., Of Piety and Poetry: The
than any poet). Interaction of Religion and Literature in
The Garden of Ultimate Reality is the ear- the Life and Works of Hakim Sanai of
liest and most influential of mystical math- Ghazna, Leiden: Brill, 1983.
nawis, an emulative model for both Attar and Comparative Notes on Sanai and
Rumi (d. 1273). And it is hard to imagine the Attar, in Leonard Lewisohn (ed.), The
Sufi epics of Attar, or the ecstatic ghazals and Heritage of Sufism, Vol. I: Classical
didactic mathnawis of Rumi, without Sanai. Persian Sufism from Its Origins to Rumi
For these and other reasons, Sanais place in (7001300), Oxford: Oneworld, 1999.
the pantheon of major Sufi poets who wrote The Qalandariyyat in Persian Mystical
in Persian, Attar, Rumi, and Jami, is secure. Poetry from Sanai Onwards, in
A consensual if not fair assessment compar- Leonard Lewisohn (ed.), The Heritage of
ing The Garden of Ultimate Reality to The Sufism, Vol. II: The Legacy of Medieval
Conference of the Birds finds Sanai undeni- Sufism (11501500), Oxford: Oneworld,
ably patchy and dull (Davis 1984: 15). But 1999.
while Sanais chronological pre-eminence Davis, D., Introduction, in Farid ud-Din
is not equivalent to poetic excellence, he Attar (ed.), The Conference of the
remains notable for his literary inventiveness Birds, trans. Afkham Darbandi, London:
on several fronts. Finally, we might want to Penguin Books, 1984.
view his religious poetry as a noble attempt
to address, in an Islamic context, what Plato patrick s. odonnell
441
AL-SARAKHSI
AL-SARAKHSI, Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Marwazis (d. 334/945) Mukhtasar al-

(40083/100990) Kafi (The Abridgement of Kafi), which was
a summary of Muhammad Hasan al-Shay-
Shams al-Aimma Muhammad b. Ahmad b. banis book of al-Asl (The Foundation). Al-
Abi Sahl Abu Bakr al-Sarakhsi was born Mabsut was a masterpiece of Hanafite legal
in Sarakhs, a place between Mashhad and doctrine in which he explored the doctrinal
Marw, around 400/1009 and died in Far- views of the Hanafite school. It is comprised
gana (Marghinan) around 483/1090. He of six popular books of al-Shaybani, known
was one of the prominent Hanafite jurists as Zahir al-riwaya (the Reliable Transmis-
of Transoxiana. There is little information sion). Sarakhsis another book in this field
about his life. Because of local political prob- (furu al-fiqh) was Sharh al-siyar al-kabir
lems, he was imprisoned in Uzcand (Ozkent) (The Commentary on the Compendium of
for nearly fifteen years. According to the the Regulations), which was a commentary
biographies, he was imprisoned because he on Muhammad Hasan al-Shaybanis work
spoke out against the ruler while addressing of al-Siyar al-kabir (The Compendium of the
him. He produced his books in prison by Regulations). It deals with international law
dictating them to his disciples. and the laws of war. His book of al-Nukat
Upon his release from prison, Sarakhsi (The Commentarial Notes) was also a com-
stayed in Fargana where he remained till mentary on al-Shaybanis book of Ziyadat
the end of his life. He received his education al-ziyadat (The Supplements of the Supple-
in Bukhara. He studied theology (kalam), ments). The Kitab al-Usul (Book of Islamic
Islamic law (fiqh), and jurisprudence (usul al- Legal Methodology) was a work dealing
fiqh). He received his education from promi- with the legal methodology or theory of
nent teachers of that region such as Abu the Hanafite school. Sharh al-mukhtasar
al-Hasan Ali al-Sughdi, Abu Hafs Umar al-tahawi fi al-fiqh (The Commentary of
b. Mansur al-Bazzaz, and Shams al-Aimma the Abridgement of Tahawi on Fiqh) was a
Abd al-Aziz b. Ahmad al-Halwani, who was commentary on Tahawis al-Muhktasar. He
his most influential mentor in Islamic law. took down by dictation Sifat ashrat al-saa
Sarakhsi attended his masters study circles wa maqamat al-qiyama (The Attributes of
for a long time in Bukhara. He was consid- the Day of Judgements Conditions and the
ered one of the three leading scholars, along Status of Doomsday) from his master Hal-
with Dabusi Pazdawi, of the Hanafite school wani. In this book he deals with theologi-
of law in the field of jurisprudence (usul cal subjects and eschatology. According to
al-fqh). They were the referential sources of one of his biographers, he was a theologian,
the Hanafite scholars of the following gen- jurist, and polemicist. However, most of his
erations. He taught a number of students, works are related to Islamic law (fiqh) and
among whom we can mention the names legal theory (usul al-fiqh).
of Burhan al-din Abd al-Aziz b. Umar b.
Maza, Mahmud b. Abd al-Aziz al-Uzcandi, BIBLIOGRAPHY
Rukn al-Din Masud b. Hasan al-Kashani, Kitab al-usul (Book of Islamic Legal
Abu Bakr Muhammad b. Ibrahim al-Hasiri, Methodology), ed. Abu al-Wafa
and Uthman b. Ali al-Bikandi. al-Afghani, Cairo: Dar al-Kitab al-Arabi,
Sarakhsi produced a number of books in 1954.
the fields of Islamic substantive law (furu Sharh al-siyar al-kabir (The Commentary
al-fiqh) and jurisprudence (usul al-fiqh). on the Compendium of the Regulations),
His Kitab al-Mabsut (The Expanded Book) ed. Salahaddin Munajjid, Cairo: Jamiat
was a commentary on al-Hakim al-Shahid al-duwali al-arabiyya, 1971.
442
SEMNANI
Al-Nukat (The Commentarial Notes on al-Semnani, who turned out to be a delegate

al-Ziyadat ziyadat), ed. Abu al-Wafa of Nur al-Din Abd al-Rahman-e Esfarayeni,
al-Afghani, Beirut: Alam al-kutub, 1986. the Kobravi Sufi shaykh residing in Baghdad.
Kitab al-Mabsut, (The Expanded Book), In the summer of 687/1288, on his way to
Beirut: Dar al-Maarifa, 1993. join Esfarayeni himself in Baghdad, he was
arrested in Hamadan and brought back
muharrem kl to Arghuns camp in Sharuyaz, the future
Ilkhanid capital Sultaniyya, where he was
again exposed to Buddhist indoctrination,
only to become more fervent in his rejection
of any doctrine he deemed non-Islamic. Some
SEMNANI, Ala al-Dawla three months later, he tried to escape secretly
(659736/12611336) but was soon followed by a Sufi called Hajji
Amoli, who had been dispatched by his
Rokn al-Din Abul-Makarem Ahmad b. uncle, then vizier of Arghun, to keep him
Sharaf al-Din Mohammad al-Biyabanaki from turning to Baghdad while allowing him
al-Semnani, better known as Ala al-Dawla to go back to Semnan. During their common
al-Semnani, was a major Sufi thinker and journey, Amoli taught him important ele-
author of substantial works, an influential ments of esoteric Islam which apparently left
Sufi shaykh of the Kobravi order, and a poet their mark on his own thinking. However,
of some distinction. Semnanis life is known he distrusted the man, unmasking him as
in some detail thanks to frequent autobio- an unbeliever, even threatening to have him
graphical indications in his works. Born in killed by a Turcoman Muslim attendant, and
Dhul-Hijja 659/November 1261 to an aris- continued his journey back home alone.
tocratic family of wealthy landlords from Meanwhile, Esfarayeni, who was being
Biyabanak, a village near Semnan (roughly kept informed of the developments through
200 km east of Tehran), he joined the court Akhi Sharaf al-Din, had already begun
of the future Ilkhan Arghun (reigned from advising him on spiritual matters through an
683/1284 to 690/1291) at the age of fifteen exchange of letters, which in fact continued
(674/127576). Arghun, who was a Bud- for some thirty years until Esfarayenis death
dhist, had evidently taken a personal liking in 717/1317 and thus constitutes a first-hand
to him. He exposed him to discussions with source for the study of their spiritual rela-
Buddhist monks close to himself, and also tionship. In Ramadan 688/September 1289
took him along in the battle of 683/1284 Semnani met Esfarayeni for the first time per-
against his rival and predecessor turned sonally in Baghdad and received from him
Muslim, Ahmad Teguder. within a few days his formal initiation to the
This apparently provoked a religious cri- Kobravi dhikr practice. Immediately after-
sis in Semnanis life, and he decided to quit ward he went for pilgrimage to Mecca and
court service as a result of visionary experi- Medina. On his way back, he stayed again
ences convincing him of the absolute supe- for a short while with Esfarayeni, who now
riority of Islam. He returned in 685/1286 formally authorized him to act as a Sufi mas-
with Arghuns permission to Semnan, devot- ter and sent him back to Semnan. From then
ing himself now to the study of classical Sufi on, his life appears to have taken a much less
literature, until his attention was caught by dramatic course. Based in his newly founded
the unusual way to practise dhikr (remem- retreat near Semnan, though by no means cut
bering God) as performed by a certain off from the world of political, religious, and
Akhi Sharaf al-Din Sad Allah b. Hanuya intellectual developments, he devoted his life
443
SEMNANI
to intensive meditations as well as teaching Moqaddema Tafsir al-Qoran

and writing, surrounded by an increasing (Introduction to the Quranic
number of disciples. He died on 21 or 22 Commentary), ed. P. Nwyia, Al-Abhath,
Rajab 736/March 5 or 6, 1336. vol. 26, 19737, pp. 14157.
Semnani is well known for his concern Deux opuscules de Semnani sur le
to curb the growing influence of the school moi thophanique, ed. H. Landolt,
of Ibn al-Arabi on Persian Sufism. In his Mlanges offerts Henry Corbin,
numerous systematic works, many among ed. S. H. Nasr, Tehran: McGill
which still remain to be published, he devel- Institute of Islamic Studies, 1977,
oped a highly personal Sunni theology and pp. 279319.
an original theory of mystical experience Al-Orwa le-ahl al-khalwa wal-jalwa
based on the traditional Sufi scales of lataef (Handle for the People of Seclusion and
(subtle centers within the human being), Splendour), ed. N. M. Heravi, Tehran:
which he expanded in breathtaking struc- Entesharat-e Mawla, 1983.
tural analogies to cover the entire cosmos. Divan-e kamel-e ashar-e farsi va arabi
His theory of a mystical ascent through such (Collected Poems in Persian and Arabic),
scales was even further elaborated by later ed. A. -R. Haqiqat, Tehran: Sherkat-e
Sufis. Against Ibn al-Arabi, Semnani argued moallefan va motarjeman-e Iran,
that Gods real being cannot be identified 1985.
with absolute being (wojud motlaq) since Opera minora, ed. W. Thackston Jr.,
the latter, in his view, was applicable to the Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
act of bestowing existence rather than to Press, 1987.
the absolutely transcendent acting subject. Chehel majles ya Resala-ye Eqbaliya (Forty
This transcendentalist argument, already Meetings, recorded by Amir Eqbal-e
used in classical Ismaili negative theology Sejestani), ed. N. M. Heravi, Tehran:
(Sijistani, Nasir-i Khosraw), was much Entesharat-e Adib, 1987; German
later to play a similar role in other critical trans. H. Cordt, Die Sitzungen des Ala
reactions to monistic trends, notably as ad-dawla as-Simnani, Zurich: Juris,
voiced against Mulla Sadras philoso- 1977.
phy of the primacy of existence by the Mosannafat-e farsi (Persian Writings), ed.
Shii traditionalist Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsai N. M. Heravi, Tehran: SIIF, 1990.
(d. 1241/1826), himself the founder of a A Kubrawi Treatise on Mystical Visions:
new school of mystical thought. The Risala-yi nuriyya of Ala ad-dawla
as-Simnani, ed. and trans. J. J. Elias,
BIBLIOGRAPHY Muslim World, vol. 83, 1993, pp. 6880;
Manazer al-mohader lel-monazer al-hader revised edn Maarif (Tehran), 13, 1
(Views of the Witness for the Prepared (1996), pp. 326.
Discussant), published as Un trait de
Ala ad-Dawla Simnani sur Ali b. Abi Further Reading
Talib, ed. and French trans. M. Mol, Corbin, H., The Man of Light in Iranian
Bulletin dEtudes Orientales, 1961, vol. Sufism, trans. N. Pearson, Boulder, CO:
16, pp. 6199. Shambala Press, 1978.
Correspondance spirituelle change entre Elias, J. J., The Throne Carrier of
Nuroddin Esfarayeni et son disciple God: The Life and Thought of Ala
Alaoddawleh Semnani, ed. H. Landolt, ad-dawla as-Simnani, Albany, NY:
Tehran, Paris: Institut franco-iranien, State University of New York Press,
1972. 1995.
444
AL-SHAARANI
Landolt, H., Simnan on wahdat is any incompatibility between Sufism and

al-wujud, in M. Mohaghegh and the rules and regulations of Islam. One of
H. Landolt (eds), Collected Papers on the characteristics of his style is a very real
Islamic Philosophy and Mysticism, commitment to realpolitik, so his works are
Tehran: McGill Institute of Islamic frequently down-to-earth and practical. He
Studies, 1972. emphasizes that Sufis do not avoid the state,
and even gives advice on how to be defer-
hermann landolt ential to those in authority. He was obvi-
ously successful in this practice, being richly
rewarded by the Ottoman rulers, which
increased greatly the wealth of his zawiya
and the property connected to it. His autobi-
AL-SHAARANI, Abd al-Wahhab ibn ography is remarkable for its self-praise, but
Ahmad(c. 898973/c. 14931565) then al-Shaarani argues that as his talents
are a gift from God it is his religious duty
Abd al-Wahhab ibn Ahmad al-Shaarani to praise God through enumerating those
was a descendant, he says, of Musa Abu talents. Here his approach owes much to
Imran, the son of the sultan of Tlemcen and al-Suyuti, whom he holds in great respect,
a follower of the Sufi shaykh Abu Madyan but whose literary style he does not manage
Shuayb (d. 594/1197). The shaykh sent his to emulate. On the other hand, al-Shaarani
ancestor to Egypt and they settled in the vil- does write with a vivacity and earthiness that
lage of Sakyat Abu Shara in the Minufiyya is very attractive, and it is not difficult to see
province, and that is how he acquired that why he was successful in gaining adherents.
nisba Sharani or Sharawi. Al-Shaarani From the point of view of philosophy his
moved to Cairo when he was twelve and main contribution is his explanatory work
here he worked on understanding the full on Ibn al-Arabi. The latter is famous for
variety of different approaches to Sufism and the obscurity of his expression, and that had
also to law. He was a prolific author with helped it to fall into some disfavor among
an attractive style, and apparently became the guardians of orthodoxy. Al-Shaarani
wealthy through his association with the explained clearly the various different theo-
ruling Ottoman powers in Egypt at the time. ries of Ibn al-Arabi, and had a knack for
Despite this association he was actually extracting the kernel of rationality from the
directed by a shaykh famous for his lack of often rather confused prose of the thinker
culture and education, Ali al-Khawwas al- himself. He often accomplishes this by sug-
Burullusi (d. 939/15323); the laqab means gesting that Ibn al-Arabi should not be
palm leaf plaiter. He died on 12 Jumada taken at face value, or that only mystics will
al-Awwal 973/December 5, 1565, or there- really understand what he says, so there is
abouts, and was buried in the community no doubt that he provides a rather simpli-
that he had founded in the city. His circle of fied interpretation of the thought of this
followers passed on the orders traditions to difficult philosopher. He is much more com-
new members; the order was in existence at plimentary about Ibn al-Arabi than he is
least until the nineteenth century. about Ibn Farid, another highly significant
Most of his works are on Sufism and law, writer in the Sufi canon on whom he com-
and he is a heated advocate of moderation ments, although for the latter also he finds
in religious affairs. He is very critical of an interpretation which links him with what
those Sufis that he regards as going too far he takes to be orthodoxy. Al-Shaarani was
in their practices, and he denies that there pushing against an open door here, since the
445
SHABISTARI
Ottomans were on the whole committed to centers of Persian literary culture and mysti-
Sufism, so they were no doubt enthusiastic cism in Mongol Persia.
about his defense of the compatibility of Author of two books of mystical poetry
Sufism with Islamic law. and a single theosophical treatise, Shabi-
staris fame rests mainly on the Garden of
BIBLIOGRAPHY Mystery, which he composed in December
Lataif al-minan wal-akhlaq fi wujub 1317 in rhyming couplets amounting to
al-tahadduth bi-nimat Allah ala al-ihlaq about 1,000 distiches. This poem was writ-
(Book of the Gracious Merits and ten in response to seventeen queries concern-
Virtues Bestowed on Me by God and ing various intricacies of Sufi metaphysics
the Absolute Necessity to Repeat his posed to the Sufi masters of Adharbayjan by
Blessings), Cairo: Alam al-fikr, 19389. another great Sufi of his day, Rukn al-Din
Husayni Harawi (d. 718/1318).
Further Reading He is famous mainly for his 1000-line Sufi
Reynolds, D., Shaykh Abd al-Wahhab poem Gulshan-i raz (Garden of Mystery).
al-Sharanis Sixteenth Century Defence Composed in a highly symbolic language,
of Autobiography, Harvard Middle and drawing upon the lexicon of several
Eastern and Islamic Review, 1-2 centuries of Persian symbolic poetry, the
(19978), pp. 12237. Garden of Mystery sets forth the dicta of the
Winter, M., Society and Religion in Early Sufis on a variety of themes such as thought
Ottoman Egypt: Studies in the Writings (fikr), the soul (nafs), knowledge (marifat),
of Abd al-Wahhab al-Shaarani, New multiplicity and unity of the realms of being,
Brunswick: Transaction Books, 1982. hierarchical levels of being, the spiritual voy-
age (sayr) and methodical progression on
oliver leaman the Sufi path (suluk), nearness (qurb) and
distance from God (bud), and the evolution
of the soul. It was one of the most frequently
commented upon works in all of Persian Sufi
literature; by the middle of the sixteenth cen-
SHABISTARI, Mahmud(d. after 1340) tury close to thirty commentaries had been
written upon it by a number of Persian mys-
The celebrated Persian Sufi poet Sad al-Din tics, both renowned and obscure, the most
Mahmud ibn Abd al-Karim Yahya Sha- important of these being the Mafatih al-ijaz
bistari (d. after 1340) was born in the last fi sharh-i Gulshan-i raz by Muhammad
half of the thirteenth century at Shabistar, a Lahiji (d. 1507).
small village northwest of Tabriz, located a The poem was first brought to the attention
few miles inland from Lake Urumiya in the of Western orientalists by the French travel-
present-day province of eastern Adharbayjan ers Chardin and Bernier, who visited Persia
in Iran. Almost nothing is known of his life, in the seventeenth century and reported the
wife, children, or family ancestors. According poems reputation in learned circles there
to his own admission he spent many years of as a somme thologique. A prcis of the
his life traveling through Egypt, Turkey, and poem was subsequently translated into Latin
Arabia in pursuit of knowledge. However, in 1821 by Tholuck in his Sufismus, later to
from his frequent references to other poets be followed in 1825 by his translation into
and mystics of Tabriz in his Saadat-nama German of a third of the poem in his Blt-
(Book of Felicity) it is evident that most of hensammlung aus der Morgenlndischen
his life was passed in Tabriz, one of the main Mystik. The Gulshan-i raz entered into the
446
SHABISTARI
mainstream of Western Islamic studies when embraces without reservation the teachings
the Persian text was published in 1838 with a of Ibn al-Arabi, in the Saadat-nama he
German verse translation by J. von Hammer- is more cautious and raises certain objec-
Purgstall. In 1880 this text was revised and tions to him, relying mainly on al-Ghazali
collated, with several manuscripts omitted, (d. 1111). His religious orientation (as well
by Hammer; it was republished in England as the outlook of some of his contemporary
accompanied by an English translation by Kubrawi masters Nur al-Din Isfarayini,
E. H. Whinfield. It has since been translated Semnani, and Maghribi (d. 810/1408)
into English several times, although none of reflected that of the Kubrawi Sufi order, to
these translations have added anything sub- which he probably belonged. He adhered to
stantial to Whinfields rendition. a philosophical tradition followed by Sufis,
Shabistaris only other Sufi epic poem was theologians, and philosophers alike; a tra-
the Saadat-nama (Book of Felicity), a work dition which emphasizes that knowledge
largely devoted to the deliberate poeticiza- can be attained by one or a combination
tion of subjects which properly belong to of three means: revelation (wahy), reason
the science of kalam, Islamic scholastic (aql), and kashf (unveiling), corresponding
theology. He composed a single theosophi- to the methods pursued respectively by the
cal treatise, the Haqq al-yaqin, divided theologians, philosophers, and Sufis. In the
into eight chapters (abwab, Gates, cor- works of later Persian mystical philosophers
responding to the eight Gates of Paradise), ranging from the fourteenth to the twenti-
each of which is between two to five pages eth century, such as Sain al-Din Turkah (ibn
in length. These Gates, in turn, are subdi- Turka), Isfahani (d. c. 830/1427), Mulla
vided into discrete paragraphs with a sepa- Sadra (d. 1050/1640), Abd al-Razzaq
rate lemma heading the text. Some of the Lahiji (d. 1072/16612), Mulla Abdullah
lemmata typically featured include reality Zunuzi (d. 1257/1841), and Hadi Sabziwari
(haqiqat); an illustration (tamthil); nota (d. 1295/1878), verses from Shabistaris
bene (tabura); corollary (far); infer- Gulshan-i raz are frequently cited to illus-
ence (natija); a subtle mystery (sirr-i trate metaphysical concepts and encapsulate
nazurk); natural consequence (lazima); their views on the subtler points of ontology,
beneficial proposition (fayida); and sub- ethics, or epistemology.
tlety (daqiqa). The book is thus subdivided
into small passages, some of which are only BIBLIOGRAPHY
a short paragraph, expounding a philosoph- Gulshan-i raz, ed. S. Muwahhid, Majmua-i
ical point or metaphysical truth, followed athar-i Shaykh Mahmud Shabistari,
by a citation from the Quran. Neither of Tehran: Kitabhana-i tahuri, 1986.
the Saadat-nama nor the Haqq al-yaqin
have been translated into any European Further Reading
language. Izutsu, Toshiko (ed.), The Basic Structure
A follower of Ibn al-Arabi, all the poetic of Metaphysical Thinking in Islam,
and prose work of Shabistari shows a peer- in his Creation and the Timeless Order
less flair for metaphysical penetration com- of Things: Essays in Islamic Mystical
bined with an aphoristic skill in synthesiz- Philosophy, Ashland, OR: White Cloud
ing intricate dilemmas of Islamic theological Press, 1994, pp. 137.
and theosophical thought. He is unrivaled Lewisohn, Leonard, Beyond Faith and
by any other medieval Persian Sufi poet in Infidelity: The Sufi Poetry and Teachings
brevity of output and profundity of content. of Mahmud Shabistari, London: Curzon,
While in the Garden of Mystery Shabistari 1995.
447
AL-SHADHILI
Vitray-Meyerovitch, Eva de (trans.), said to have, and for them to continue with
La Roseraie du Mystre (suivi du their ordinary occupations. The reason
Commentaire de Lahiji), Paris: Sindbad, for this is the idea that it is blasphemous
1991. to deny ourselves the enjoyment of what
God provides, as one might imagine this
leonard lewisohn sort of injunction won many followers. The
prayers and conversation of al-Shadhili are
moving, expressing total faith in the power
and love of God, and His control over our
lives.
AL-SHADHILI, Abul Hasan The order of Sufism named after him, the
(c. 583656/c. 11871258) Shadhiliyya, started as a result of his visit
around 640/1242 to Tunis and his preach-
Abul Hasan Ali ibn Abd al-Jabbar al-Sha- ing there. Although he quickly gained sup-
dhili was born in Ghumara in Morocco, in porters, there were those who opposed him
the Rif area of the Atlas mountains, of dis- also, and a local faqih Abul-Qasim ibn
tinguished ancestry. He had a traditional reli- Bara is said to have denounced him to the
gious education and quite quickly indicated sultan Abu Zakariyya, labeling him a pos-
an interest in Sufism, being inducted into the sible threat to his political power. But the
movement by Abu Abd Allah ibn Harazim charge was quickly shown to be invalid,
(d. 633/1236), a disciple of Abu Madyan. since al-Shadhili displayed no interest in
He traveled to Tunis to broaden his educa- personal power at all, or any concern with
tion and joined the Maliki school of law. anything unrelated to the religious. The ruler
Al-Shadhili spent a lot of time traveling, to does seem to have generally been support-
Egypt, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, and of course ive of him, which certainly was not always
Mecca for the hajj, spending a good deal the case between local rulers and their Sufi
of time in the vicinity of the village of Sha- communities. However, it was in Egypt that
dhila, between Kairouan and Tunis, hence he really got his movement underway, and
his name. He is said not to have stayed in what really gave it impetus was the recruit-
the village itself, but in a cave in a mountain ment of some outstanding individuals such
(Zaghwan) close to it in order to strengthen as Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi, who succeeded
his spirituality. Fourteen years before his al-Shadhili as head of the tariqa, and Ibn
death he went to Egypt, dying there near the Ata Allah, who in turn took over from al-
Red Sea in Humaythira, having earlier lost Mursi in 686/1287.
his sight.
While he was in Iraq, al-Shadhili informed
Further Reading
everyone he met that he was searching for
Abu-Rabi, I. and al-Sabbagh, M., The
the Qutb or pole, that is, the mainstay of
Mystical Teachings of al-Shadhili, Albany,
faith in the Islamic world, and was directed
NY: State University of New York Press,
back to the Maghreb where he identified
1994.
Abd al-Salam ibn Mashish (d. 622/1225)
Mahmud, A., al-Madrasa al-shadhiliyya
as the Qutb. Al-Shadhili is not known to
al-haditha wa imamuha abu al-hasan
have left any books at all, but his various
al-shadhili, Cairo: Dar al-kutub
prayers and invocations are famous and
al-haditha, 1969.
quickly became popular. He seems to have
taught that Sufis should not go to extremes
of asceticism, although on occasion he is oliver leaman
448
AL-SHAFII
AL-SHAFII, Muhammed ibn Idris (qiyas), and consensus (ijma). He was a lead-
(150204/767819) ing orthodox authority in legal theory of his
time. For him, analogical reasoning (qiyas)
Abu Abdullah Muhammed b. Idris al- and independent legal reasoning (ijtihad) are
Qurashi was born in Gaza or Asqalan in two terms used for the same idea. He argued
150/767 and died in Cairo in 204/819. He for analogical reasoning (qiyas) as a fourth
was the founder of the Shafiite legal school authoritative source of religious decisions
in Islam. His family belonged to the Quraysh and beliefs. This approach has been recog-
tribe. His father died when Shafii was two nized widely by Islamic orthodoxy. Shafii
years old. The family then moved to Mecca severely criticized recourse to the methods of
where he grew up with his mother. Shafii juristic preference (istihsan). He condemned
started his education in Mecca, where he istihsan as pleasing oneself (taladhdhudh).
learned language and poetry until he con- His theological teaching has been described
centrated on fiqh, beginning with Tradition by some as a prefiguration of Asharism and
(hadith). He memorized the Quran and the as a prefiguration of Hanbalism by others.
Muwatta of Malik at a very early age. When Shafii avoided any interpretation of the
he was thirteen, he went to see Malik who verses pertaining to the attributes of God. In
was deeply impressed by his memory and relation to the attributes of God, Shafii left
intelligence. the meaning of the texts of the Quran and
Shafii learned classical Arabic and old Traditions uninterpreted.
Arabian poetry through his intercourse Shafii produced a number of works in dif-
with the tribe of Hudhayl in Mecca. Then ferent branches of Islamic science. His mas-
around 170, he moved to Medina and stud- terpiece was al-Risala fi al-usul (A Treatise on
ied Islamic law (fiqh) under Malik b. Anas. Legal Theory) which is considered as the first
After the death of Malik, he continued his book on the foundations of fiqh. It was written
studies in Baghdad under Hanafite teach- at the request of Abd al-Rahman b. Mahdi,
ers. He continued his education with one of who was a traditionist of Basra at that time.
the Hanafite scholars Muhammad b. Hasan Kitab al-Umm (The Motherbook) consists of
Shaybani and Ahmad ibn Hanbal. Then he his legal opinions (fatawa) given in Egypt. His
formulated his own legal system in Bagh- Kitab al-Hujja (Book of the Evidence) con-
dad. In 200/814 he went to Egypt where sists of his legal opinions given in Baghdad.
he changed his whole theoretical direction He had some other books such as Kitab al-
and formulated a new legal system. These Ihtilaf al-hadith (Book of the Conflicts of the
two schools are known in the terminology Traditions) and Isbat al-nubuwwa wa raddi
of jurists as the old (al-qadim) and the ala barahima (The Proving of Prophethood
new (al-jadid), corresponding to his views and Refutation of the Brahmans).
in Iraq and Egypt. Some of Shafiis pupils
like al-Buwayti, al-Muzani, and al-Bulqini BIBLIOGRAPHY
transmitted the new legal system in the Jama al-ilm (The Compendium of
Kitab al-Umm. The most prominent trans- Knowledge), ed. Muhammed Ahmed
mitters of the old legal system were Ibn Abdlaziz, Beirut: Dar al-Kutub
Hanbal, al-Zafarani, and Abu Thawr, in the al-Ilmiyya, 1984.
Kitab al-Hujja. Al-Risala fi al-usul (A Treatise on Legal
In his legal theory, he tried to restore the Theory) ed. Ahmad Muhammad Shakir,
sources of Islamic law. He laid emphasis on Cairo: Dar al-Turath, 1979; trans. Majid
the four main sources, namely the Quran, Khadduri, Cambridge: The Islamic Texts
Tradition (hadith), analogical reasoning Society, 1987.
449
SHAH MUHAMMAD
Kitab al-Umm (The Motherbook), ed. creation of the Madrasa-yi Rahmaniyya

Mahmud Mataraji, Beirut: Dar al-Kutub in Kotla Fayroz Shad near Delhi. This col-
al-Ilmiyya, 1993. lege came to importance during Shah Wali
Kitab al-Ihtilaf al-hadith (Book of the Allahs stay there, since it enabled him to
Conflicts of the Traditions), ed. Mahmud influence many students who came to study
Mataraci, in Kitab al-Umm, Beirut: Dar with them there. It also brought in students
al-Kutub al-Ilmiyya, 1993. from all the surrounding countries, and
Kitab Ibtal al-istihsan, (Book of the much farther afield, and sent them back
Negation of Juristic Preference), ed. with a sound education in the classics of
Mahmud Mataraci, in Kitab al-Umm, Islamic philosophy. The influence of Mughal
Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyya, 1993. India was thus projected around the Islamic
world.
Further Reading
Burton, J., The Sources of Islamic Law, Further Reading
Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, Khan, A., India, in S. H. Nasr and
1990. O. Leaman (eds), History of Islamic
Macdonald, D. Black, Development of Philosophy, ch. 62, London: Routledge,
Muslim Theology Jurisprudence and 1996, pp. 105175.
Constitutional Theory, London: Darf Shah Waliullah, Anfas al-arifin, trans.
Publishers Ltd, 1985. S. Faruqi al-Qadiri, Lahore: Ashraf, 1974.
Schacht, J., The Origins of Muhammadan
Jurisprudence, Oxford: Clarendon Press, oliver leaman
1975.
muharrem kl
SHAH MUHAMMAD(9921072/
15841661)
SHAH ABD AL-RAHIM (10561131/ Shah Muhammad ibn Abd Ahmad was born
16461718) in Arkasa, in Badakhshan, and spent his first
two decades there. He then moved to Balkh
Shah Abd al-Rahim was born in 1056/1646 and Kabul in search of a shaykh, ending up
and studied with his older brother Abd al- in Lahore in 1023/161415, when he met
Rida Muhammad initially. It seems to have and was impressed by Miyan Mir. Mir sug-
been a broad education, including not only gested that he move to Kashmir, and Mullah
the religious sciences but also some philoso- Shah, as he was generally known, complied,
phy such as the works of Siyalkoti, Tafta- spending his summers there and his winters
zani, and Jurjani, and he went to work in Lahore. He died in Lahore and is buried in
with Mirza Muhammad Zahid Harawi in a small mosque not far from the mausoleum
Lahore. Like so many of his peers, though, built for Miyan Mir.
after receiving a sound training in philoso- He was a popular thinker in royal circles,
phy he moved into mysticism, being initiated attracting both Dara Shikoh and his sister,
into the Naqshibandiya order by Abd Allah two of the most significant Mughal indi-
Akbarabadi. viduals. No doubt the tendency of Mulla
The main significance of Abd al-Rahim Shah to stress the commonality of religious
lies not so much in his writings but in his views across the various faiths fitted into the
450
AL-SHAHRASTANI
popular mood of the times at the court, but stayed in Baghdad, where he taught in the
it did not endear him to Aurangzeb, when he Nizamiya madrasa, preached in the mosque,
ascended the throne. Mulla Shah managed and attended disputations for three years. He
to compose verse to celebrate the occasion then returned to Khurasan where he entered
and so escaped retribution, but there is no into the service of Abul Qasim Muhammad
doubt that the more orthodox members of b. al-Muzaffar, vizier of the Saljuk sultan
the community of the time were often rather Sanjar. In 526/1131, he went to Tabriz and
shocked by the pantheistic flavor of his stayed there for a while and then returned
thought, as evidenced by his verse. to Shahrastan where he spent the rest of his
life. He taught a number of students, though
oliver leaman none of them became famous.
His best-known work is the Kitab al-milal
wal nihal (Book of Religions and Sects).
In this work, al-Shahrastani classifies the
Shah Wali Allah of Dehalawi, people of the world according to their reli-
see Wali Allah gions and philosophical views. He first gives
the views of Muslim sects in detail. Then he
discusses, first, the views of the people of
the book, the Christians and the Jews, then
Shah Waliyullah,see Wali Allah the views of the Mazdeans and Manichae-
ans. His presentation of these religions is
more objective than any presentation of the
historians of religions of his age. The discus-
sion of religions is followed by the discus-
AL-SHAHRASTANI, Abul Fath sion of the views of the Sabians and of the
(c. 479548/c. 10871153) ancient philosophers. Al-Shahrastani then
discusses the views of Muslim philosophers
Abul Fath Muhammad b. Abd al-Karim b. in more detail, and in that chapter he mainly
Ahmad was born in Shahrastan, a town on reflects the views of Ibn Sina. The work fin-
the north of Khurasan, around 479/1087 ishes with the discussion of the views and
and died in the same town in 548/1153. customs of the Arabs and the Indians. In
He was an important Asharite theologian the Nihayatu iqdam fi ilmil-kalam (The
and historian of religious and philosophical Furthest Steps in the Science of Theology),
doctrines. There is little information about Shahrastani discusses in twenty chapters the
his life. He seems to have received his first classical theological issues. He evaluates the
education in his hometown where he studied views of Muslim sects on these issues from
Arabic, logic, and arithmetic. Then he went the Asharite point of view and directs most
to Nishapur where he studied fiqh with Abul of his criticism to the Mutazilites and the
Muzaffar al-Khawafi, kalam and philosophy Muslim philosophers. However, he does not
with Abul Qasim Salman b. Nasir al-An- give blind allegiance to the views of the early
sari, hadith from Ali b. Ahmad al-Madayni, Asharites; in some cases he accepts the view
and fiqh and kalam from Abu Nasr Abd al- of their opponents if it seems more accept-
Rahim al-Qushayri. From Nishapur he went able from a rational point of view. In other
to Khawarizm where he continued studying cases, he does not discuss the issue from a
religious sciences as well as philosophy. In philosophical point of view and considers
510/1117 he went to Mecca to perform it as simply a matter of religious principle.
the hajj and on his way back al-Shahrastani In his Musaraat al-falasifa (Struggling With
451
SHAHRAZURI
The Philosophers), Shahrastani attempts to Al-Shahrastani and St. Thomas Aquinas,

give a detailed criticism of Ibn Sinas meta- in Bulletin of the School of Oriental
physics. His approach in this work is dif- and African Studies, vol. 13, 1950,
ferent from the polemical approach of al- pp. 55180.
Ghazali in his Tahafut al-falasifa, which
was also written in criticism of Ibn Sinas muammar skenderolu
philosophy.
Shahrastanis incomplete work, the
Mafatih al-asrar wa masabih al-abrar (Keys
to the Mysteries and the Lights of the Righ-
teous) is a commentary on the Quran. In SHAHRAZURI, Shams al-Din Muhammad
this work, and in some other works, al- ibn Mahmud(d. after 687/1288)
Shahrastani shows an inclination toward the
teachings of the Shiites, but this indicates The Ishraqi philosopher Shahrazuri was a
his openness toward different views. As an famous commentator of Suhrawardi, the
Asharite theologian, he does not hesitate founder of the school of ishraq, and a his-
to accept the views of the other theologi- torian of philosophy. Given the fact that
cal schools or of the philosophers. He tries Shahrazuri wrote an important history
to harmonize these views within his under- of philosophy in which he has given the
standing of Sunni Islam. biographies of 122 philosophers from the
pre-Islamic and Islamic periods, it is rather
BIBLIOGRAPHY ironic that virtually nothing is known about
The Summa Philosophiae of Al-Shahrastani: his life. His date of death is usually consid-
Kitab Nihayatul-Iqdam fi Ilmil-Kalam ered to have been after 687/1288. Shahra-
(The Furthest Steps in the Science of zuris Illuminationist conversion has led
Theology), ed. and trans. A. Guillaume, to the compilation of a number of works
London: Oxford University Press, 1934. which grant him a special place in the long
Kitab al-Milal wal nihal (Book of Religions list of Illuminationist philosophers.
and Sects), ed. M. Fath Allah Bardan, Shahrazuris philosophical works that
Cairo, 1956; partial English translation have survived to this day include a major
by A. A. Kazi and J. G. Flynn as Muslim commentary on Suhrawardis Hikmat al-ish-
Sects and Divisions: The Section on raq, a history of philosophy entitled Nuzhat
Muslim Sects in Kitab al-Milal wal al-arwah wa rawdat al-afrah fi tarikh al-
Nihal, London: Kegan Paul, 1984. hukama wal-falasifa (The Pleasure Place
Mafatih al-asrar wa masabih al-abrar (Keys of Spirits and the Garden of Rejoicing in
to the Mysteries and the Lights of the the History of Sages and Philosophers), in
Righteous), Tehran: Markaz-i Intishar-I which we find the most detailed account
Nusakh-I Khatti, 1989. of Suhrawardis life, a commentary on
Musaraat al-falasifa (Struggling With The Suhrawardis al-Talwihat, another work
Philosopher), ed. and trans. Wilferd on the philosophy of illumination called
Madelung and Toby Mayer, London: I. B. al-Rumuz wal-amthal al-lahutiyya fil-anwar
Tauris, 2001. al-mujarrada al-malakutiyya, and his impor-
tant encyclopedia of philosophy, al-Shajarat
Further Reading al-ilahiyya fi ulum al-haqaiq al-rabbani-
Guillaume, A., Christian and Muslim yya (The Divine Tree in the Sciences of the
Theology as Represented by Truths of the Lord), which has been edited
452
SHARIATI
as a doctoral dissertation (1996) but remains Further Reading

unpublished to this day. Privot, Michael, Some Notes on the
Shahrazuri played a significant role in Typology of the Works of al-Shahrazuri
the further articulation and spread of the al-Ishraqi, The Oxford Journal of
ideas of Suhrawardi. In his philosophical Islamic Studies, 12, 3 (2001), pp. 31221.
books as well as in the history of philoso- Walbridge, John, The Leaven of the
phy mentioned above, Shahrazuri adopts Ancients: Suhrawardi and the Heritage of
and develops the main perspective of the the Greeks, Albany, NY: State University
school of Illumination. Like Suhrawardi, of New York Press, 2000.
he believes that the world is never bereft Ziai, Hossein, The Manuscript of
of wisdom (al-hikmat) and a person who al-Shajara al-Ilahiyya: A Philosophical
holds it through proofs and evident truths. Encyclopedia by Shams al-Din
In his discussions of various philosophical Muhammad Shahrazuri, Iranshenasi,
problems, Shahrazuri displays an in-depth 2, 1 (1990), pp. 89108.
knowledge of the history of philosophy, and
provides fair assessments and summaries of ibrahim kalin
previous philosophers.
His most important philosophical work,
al-Shajarat al-ilahiyya, is divided into five
sections: methodology and divisions of sci- Shams Al-Aimma,see al-Sarakhsi
ences, logic, practical philosophy, physics,
and metaphysics. In the Shajarat, Shahrazuri
brings together the most important issues
of traditional philosophy but analyzes them
from the point of view of such tenets of SHARIATI, Ali(193377)
the school of Illumination as knowledge by
presence, light and its degrees, and the pri- Ali Shariati was born in Mazinan, a sub-
macy of quiddity (asalat al-mahiyya). Like urb of Mashhad, Iran, and went to school
Suhrawardi, he constructs a hierarchical view in Mashhad. He then went to the Teachers
of the universe with a corresponding scale of Training College, working as a teacher at
intellectual and spiritual beings. the age of eighteen. After graduating from
college in 1960, on a scholarship he pur-
BIBLIOGRAPHY sued graduate studies in France. He received
Nuzhat al-arwah wa rawdat al-afrah fi tarikh a PhD in sociology in 1964 from the Sor-
al-hukama wal-falasifah, ed. Khurshid bonne, and was thereafter generally referred
Ahmad, Haydarabad: Matbaat majlis to as Dr Shariati. When he returned to Iran
dairat al-maarif al-uthmaniyya, he was arrested as soon as he entered the
1976. country due to his activities with the opposi-
Sharh hikmat al-ishraq (Commentary on tion while in France. Released in 1965, he
the Philosophy of Illumination), ed. with began teaching at Mashhad University. He
an introduction by Hossein Ziai, Tehran: saw himself very much as a Muslim sociolo-
Institute for Humanities and Cultural gist, and sought to combine a fairly Marxist
Studies, 2001. approach to the resolution of social issues
Al-Shajarat al-ilahiyya fi ulum al-haqaiq with a strong commitment to Islam. He
al-rabbaniyya, ed. N. Grgn, Istanbul: moved on to Tehran when the authorities
n.p. 2004. prevented his teaching in Mashad, and here
453
SHAYKH MUFID
he managed to attract large numbers of stu- or independent judgment rather than in the
dents. His opposition to the Shah and the hands of the religious authority. Here he
authorities persecution of him only attracted was undoubtedly influenced by Jean-Paul
more followers, and his books became widely Sartre, and he took seriously the existential-
read in Iran. ist emphasis on the importance of authentic
Eventually his teaching institution, the decisions being made by free agents. Shari-
Hossein-e-Ershad Institute, was entered by ati argued that Islam could be vindicated as
the police and he and many of his support- a faith both socially and intellectually if it
ers were arrested. He went to prison yet is seen as involving autonomous choices by
again, being released on March 20, 1975. individuals and a determined progressive
His freedom was limited since he was still direction in its approach to the improvement
under the surveillance of the police, and he of the position of the masses.
left for England, where he was assassinated
on June 19, 1977, by persons unknown. His BIBLIOGRAPHY
literary output is interesting for its blend of On the Sociology of Islam, trans. H. Algar,
Marxism and Islam, a mixture that proved Berkeley, CA: Mizan Press, 1979.
potent and was designed to show young peo- Art Awaiting The Saviour, trans. H.
ple that one could be on the side of the poor Farjadi, Tehran: Shariati Foundation and
and oppressed without being a communist Hamdami Publishers, 1979.
and rejecting religion. He thus managed to Marxism and Other Western fallacies,
annoy both the political right and the left, trans. R. Campbell, Berkeley, CA: Mizan
and his murder remains a mystery, since he Press, 1980.
clearly got thoroughly on the nerves of many Fatima is Fatima, trans. L. Bakhtiar,
important Iranian political groups. Tehran: Shariati Foundation and
Shariati was a great adapter of ideas that Hamdami Publishers, 1980.
he took and then developed in his own way. Man and Islam, trans. Dr Fatollah Marjani,
Thus while he rejected the dialectical mate- Houston: Filinc, 1981.
rialism of Marxism, because of its material-
ism, he did use the notion of history having oliver leaman
a direction and a pattern, albeit one based on
the divine will, and the idea of class struggle
by individuals progressively perfecting their
consciousness and bringing about a better
society. Islam is a religion based on libera- SHAYKH MUFID(338413/9491022)
tion, and he sees the Quran as a book repre-
senting a community struggling permanently Shaykh al-Mufids full name was Abu Abd
to achieve social justice, a fraternal society, Allah Muhammad b. Muhammad b. Numan
and freedom. Shariati was not impressed al-Harithi al-Baghadi al-Ukbari. He was
with the power of imported ideologies to brought up in a village, but his father took
produce political solidarity among the peo- him to Baghdad for his education. There
ple against oppressive regimes. he largely worked with Shii and Mutazili
His interpretation of Shiism placed empha- scholars. He showed such promise that one
sis on Imam Ali as a revolutionary leader as of his teachers recommended that he study
well as a religious thinker. This is certainly under one of the leading scholars of the
not how the religious orthodoxy saw Shiism, period, Ali b. Isa al-Ramani. He also stud-
especially as it places authority in the opin- ied under the leading Shii traditionists of the
ion of the individual, a vindication of ijtihad time, al-Shaykh al-Saduq. The Buyids were
454
AL-SHIRAZI
in power and much more tolerant of Shiism Shaykh Yusuf al-Maqassari,

than some previous and subsequent rulers, so see al-Maqassari
this was a good time for someone with Shii
affiliations to work in Baghdad. He acquired
his name due to his skill in argument, and
especially for the subtle distinctions that Shaytan al-Taq,see Abu JaFar al-Ahwal
he managed to draw in theological debate.
He had three pupils who were to go on to
positions of significance in Shii thought.
These were al-Sharif al-Radi, al-Sharif al- Shihaboddin Yahya,see al-Suhrawardi,
Murtada, and the future shaykh al-Taifa, Shihab al-Din
Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-Tusi.
Shaykh al-Mufid wrote a large number
of books in a wide variety of areas. He
died in the month of Ramadan in the year
413/1022. Al-Sharif al-Murtada led the AL-SHIRAZI, Qutb al-Din
funeral prayers and gave a eulogy. After (634710/12361311)
being buried in his own house, his body was
later removed and buried in al-Kazimayn, Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi received a philosophi-
which is currently a part of Baghdad, near cal education in which he worked with the
the shrine of two imams who are known as outstanding thinkers of his time. He stud-
the kazimayn. ied Ibn Sina with Nasir al-Din al-Tusi and
Shaykh Mufids work is largely limited Dabiran Katibi, and so had a solid back-
to theology but it had a vast significance, ground in Peripatetic thought. Through his
since he really put Shii thought on a new father, a disciple of Umar al-Suhrawardi
conceptual level. It became as systematic and (d. 632/12345), he acquired a solid ground-
logically organized as Sunni thought after his ing in Sufi thought, and he is reported to have
efforts, and both schools in Islam developed met both Jalal al-Din Rumi and his son-in-
in tandem. law Sadr al-Din al-Qunawi, his follower
and the founder of a school based on Rumis
Further Reading thought. Al-Shirazi is perhaps best known
Amir-Moezzi, M. A., The Divine Guide for his commentary on al-Suhrawardis Hik-
in Early Shiism, trans. David Streight, mat al-ishraq which came to dominate the
Albany, NY: State University of New textbook market from then on, replacing the
York Press, 1994. commentary by Shahrazuri. What is char-
Madelung, W., The Succession to acteristic of his approach here and also in his
Muhammad: A Study of the Early Durrat al-taj li-ghurrat al-dubaj (The Pearly
Caliphate, Cambridge: Cambridge Crown for the Brow of Dubaj) is his gener-
University Press, 1997. ally Peripatetic (mashshai) approach to the
Meir M., Scripture and Exegesis in Early issues he considers, and this came to validate
Imami Shiism, Jerusalem: Magnes Press, a form of interpretation of Ishraqi philoso-
1999. phy which brought the philosophy closer to
Momen, M., An Introduction to Shii Islam, the sort of work which went on in the form
New Haven, CN: Yale University Press, of Islamic philosophy that based itself on
1985. the Greeks, as opposed to the more mystical
approach of many of al-Suhrawardis com-
oliver leaman mentators.
455
AL-SIJISTANI
Further Reading famous philosophical feasts of Bagh-

Cooper, J., From al-Tusi to the School of dad. In a Socratic fashion, he preferred oral
Isfahan, in S. H. Nasr and O. Leaman teaching and philosophical conversation
(eds), History of Islamic Philosophy, to writing. As a result, we have only some
ch. 33, London: Routledge, 1996, fragments that have survived from Sjistanis
pp. 58596. works. Almost all of his ideas are preserved
Walbridge, J., The Science of Mystic in the reports and writings of his students.
Lights: Qutb al-Din Shirazi and the The most important among these students
Illuminationist Tradition in Islamic is Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi who recorded
Philosophy, Cambridge: Harvard Sijistanis philosophical discourses and con-
University Press, 1992. versations in two separate works, al-Imta
wal-muanasa (The Book of Pleasure and
oliver leaman Conviviality) and al-Muqabasat (Conver-
sations). Sijistanis most well-known work
is Siwan al-hikmat (The Cupboard of Wis-
dom), a collection of sayings from the Greek
and Islamic philosophers. The attribution of
AL-SIJISTANI, Abu Sulayman Siwan to Sijistani, however, has been ques-
(c. 32091/c. 9321000) tioned, and it is often considered to be an
ongoing work produced by different mem-
Abu Sulayman Muhammad b. Tahir b. Bah- bers of Sijistanis later group of followers.
ram al-Sijistani was born in Sijistan (Sistan) It is hardly an exaggeration to say that
and went on to spend his youth in the region. Sijistani was the most famous philosopher
The details of Sijistanis life before his arrival of his time. Yet he had very little impact on
in Baghdad are scarce. He studied tradi- the later Muslim philosophers. Nor was he
tional religious sciences with a concentration known in the West, even though his Siwan
in jurisprudence (fiqh). The sources indicate may have granted him a decent place in the
that he was a Hanafi by madhhab. After history of philosophy. Contemporary schol-
moving to Baghdad, the most important cen- ars tend to see him as a link between al-Farabi
ter of learning in the tenth century, around and Ibn Sina, and question his originality.
the age of twenty-five, Sijistani joined the Sijistanis importance, however, should be
circle of Yahya b. Adi, who was a Mono- seen in his ability to combine, articulate, and
physite Christian and a famous student of represent the most important philosophical
al-Farabi. Sijistani studied with another trends of his time. For instance, as a leitmo-
famous philosopher of the time, Abu Bishr tiv of the post-Farabian Islamic philosophy,
Matta b. Yunus, who was a Nestorian Chris- the relationship between religion and phi-
tian and a celebrated logician. It was not too losophy, or more specifically the articles of
long before Sijistani established himself as Islamic faith and Neoplatonic-Aristotelian
the most brilliant and articulate philosopher philosophy, appears to be an issue of major
of the intellectual life of tenth-century Bagh- concern to Sijistani, and his deliberations
dad. Because of his interest and expertise in on the issue must have given support to the
logic, he was given the nickname al-mantiqi, widely accepted view that there is no dishar-
the logician, just like Yahya b. Adi. mony between the demands of religion and
Through the patronage of the Buyid the postulates of philosophy. Furthermore,
prince Adud al-Dawla (reigned 97883), the multi-religious context of Sijistanis circle
Sijistani immersed himself in philosophy, was an important part of the philosophical
and became the most-wanted figure of the culture of the period. Finally, the openness of
456
AL-SIJISTANI
such philosophers as Sijistani to ideas from orderly existence specific to [intellect], and
a wide array of sources has led some to call the natural existence that is allotted to sensi-
this period the Islamic Humanism of the ble existents, particular and general, by soul,
tenth century. which emits nature into them.
In the Siwan al-hikma, we find Sijistani as In all these realms, the intellect is posited
a historian of philosophy rather than a phi- as the principle of vitality, order, intelligibil-
losopher in his own right. Even though the ity, and value. Man, or rather the human
Siwan shows Sijistanis interest in the forma- state, is the epitome of all of these qualities,
tion of various philosophical ideas extend- and this is what makes him or his state spe-
ing from ancient to Islamic times, it is in the cial in creation. In talking about the human
reports of his student Tawhidi that Sijistani state as the microcosm and emblem of the
comes forward as a thinker with an acute universe, Sijistani also refers to the concept
philosophic mind. His views on the major of the perfect or universal man. Instead
issues of the philosophy of his time display of employing the Sufi term al-insan al-kamil,
influences from the Platonic, Aristotelian, however, he uses the words al-ashkhas al-
Neoplatonic, and Islamic religious sources. kamila and al-shakhs al-ilahi, meaning
In his view of the soul, Sijistani reiterated the respectively, the perfect individuals and
Neoplatonic notion that the human soul as the divine individual. The ultimate refer-
an individual being is part of a larger soul- ent of Sijistanis divine individual is not
being called the Universal Soul. In its Neo- difficult to reconcile with the universal
platonic context, this is the celebrated doc- man of the Sufis. Given that the treatise in
trine of monopsychism. Yet, in its Islamic which Sijistani discusses this issue was writ-
religious context, it can be understood as an ten for the Buyid prince Adud al-Dawla,
affirmation of the idea that man as a micro- however, Sijistanis use of the term is also
cosm of the universe is endowed with nature, distinctly political when he says that the
intelligence, and soul all at once. divine individual appears in the vocation
Like the other Muslim philosophers, in which he is most fit for governance. [The
Sijistani insisted on the intellect as an onto- spheres] influence by manifesting the virtues
logical principle of meaning, order, value, emitted from the Primal Principle, by which
and intelligibility. In his treatise on the spe- this individual is distinguished for governing
cial perfection of the human species, he says nations, managing kingdoms, and establish-
that the intellect is the cause of the order ing laws.
of existents and their harmonious combina- Sijistani divides knowledge into four kinds,
tion, giving each of them its determined exis- and lists them in a hierarchical order. The first
tence. In this context, the intellect assumes is sensible knowledge acquired by animals
two ontological functions. The first is the that do not have the faculty of reasoning.
intellects bestowal upon beings their spe- The second is purely intelligible knowledge
cific forms, that is, granting them their intel- that is possessed only by the celestial bod-
ligible form, which makes beings what they ies. This is also where the Platonic forms
are. The second is what [intellect] performs reside. The third combines both sensible and
by means of soul, by conferring life upon intelligible knowledge but remains imperfect
everything ready to receive it. The soul as because it is still limited by the imaginative
the form that occurs in the animate being faculty of those who have not reached the
is bestowed by the intellect. Furthermore, purity of the intelligible world. The fourth
the intellect is what gives order to the three kind is what properly belongs to human
realms of being to which Sijistani refers: the beings, and combines sensible and intellec-
divine existence sustaining all existents, the tual knowledge which the human acquires
457
SIJISTANI
through sensation and intellection. But in the BIBLIOGRAPHY

end Sijistani places intuition above all other Fi mabadi al-mawjudat (On the Origins of
forms of knowledge. Beings), in G. Troupeau (ed.), Un trait
In his treatise on the first mover, Sijistani sur les principes des tres attribu Abu
presents his natural philosophy from both Sulayman al-Sigistani, Pensamiento, 25
physical and metaphysical points of view. He (1969), pp. 25970.
states that the most suitable investigation Siwan al-hikmah wa-thalath rasail, ed.
concerning the first mover combines discus- A. Badawi, Tehran: Bunyad Farhang,
sion of physical inquiry with metaphysical 1974.
inquiry. According to Sijistani, motion is an The Muntakhab Siwan al-Hikmah of
essential component of natural bodies. In other Abu Sulaiman as-Sijistani: Arabic Text,
words, every body that contains the principle Introduction and Indices, The Hague:
of its motion is a natural body. In keeping Mouton, 1979.
with his dual point of view, Sijistani contin-
ues to explain the physical and metaphysical Further Reading
meanings of such terms as form and nature. Daiber, H., Der Siwan al-Hikma und Abu
In natural philosophy, the term form indicates Sulaiman al-Mantiqi as-Sigistani in der
the entity that occurs in matter, whereas in Forschung Abu Sulayman al-Mantiqi
metaphysics it refers to that which informs al-Sijistani, Arabica, 31 (1984),
matter, bestowing its forms upon it. In a sim- pp. 3668.
ilar way, the physical definition of nature Jadaane, F., La philosophie de Sijistani,
is that it is the principle of motion and rest Studia Islamica, 33 (1971), pp. 6795.
in the thing in which it resides primarily and Kraemer, J., Philosophy in the Renaissance
essentially, not accidentally. Its metaphysical of Islam: Abu Sulayman al-Sijistani and
meaning is that it is a power that pervades His Circle, Leiden: Brill, 1986.
bodies, bestowing forms on each of them. Leaman, O., Islamic Humanism in the
In the Muqabasat, Tawhidi reports 106 Fourth/Tenth Century, in S. H. Nasr
questions and answers from the famous phil- and O. Leaman (eds), History of Islamic
osophical gatherings of Sijistani and his cir- Philosophy, London: Routledge, 1996,
cle. Almost all of the questions are answered pp. 15564.
by Sijistani. This is where we find Sijistani al-Tawhidi, Abu Hayyan, al-Imta
not only as a philosopher but also as a belles- wa-al-muanasa, eds. A. Amin and
lettres figure with interests in and knowledge A. al-Zayn, Beirut: al-Maktaba
of a vast number of subjects. The issues about al-Asriyya, 1953.
which Sijistani is asked and gives answers al-Muqabasat, ed. T. Husayn, Baghdad:
include the purification of the soul and its Matbaat al-Irshad, 1970.
meaning for intellectual perception, astrol-
ogy as a science, the ethical qualities of man ibrahim kalin
that conflict one another, whether the acts of
God are necessary or voluntary, music and its
impact on the soul, relationship between logic
and language, time and space, motion and
rest, whether knowledge about God is neces- SIJISTANI, Abu Yaqub(Late fourth/tenth,
sary and self-evident or demonstrative, and early fifth/eleventh)
the differences between the philosophers and
the theologians where Sijistani criticizes the Abu Yaqub Ishaq ibn Ahmad Sijistani was
theologians for their vanity and arrogance. by some accounts the leading philosopher
458
SIJISTANI
of the early period of Ismaili intellectual materials in his own work Kitab khvan al-
thought in Persia. Whereas by all accounts ikhwan.
he belongs to the Persian School of Among the topics which Sijistani treats
Ismaili thought, reports about his life are in his works are divine unity and absolute
sketchy at best. The date of his birth is not purity of God from the attributes of being
known but we know that Amir Khalaf ibn and non-being, the problem of the Intellects
Ahmad of the Saffarid dynasty may have imperishability, its quiescence, its position
executed him sometime between 361/971 as the first originated being prior to which
and 393/1002. The only other evidence nothing can be conceived, its immateriality
concerning the date of his death is in Rashid and how it communicates with the soul. The
al-Din Fadlallahs Jami al-tawarikh. He intellect, according to Sijistani, is the sum
has been referred to by a variety of names of all existent beings which he refers to as
such as Yaqub, Abu Yaqub Ishaq, alal-sabiq (that which preceded), a standard
Sijzi, and Khayshafuj, among others. He name in the Ismaili dawa literature.
was a contemporary of al-Farabi and Ibn In the typical Neoplatonic scheme of
Sina and may have succeeded Abu Hatim thought, the soul, Sijistani argued, ema-
Razi as the dai in Rayy and Muhammad nated from the intellect and is regulated
Nasafi as the person in charge of dawa in and directed by it. When the soul is guided
Khurasan. exclusively by the intellect as opposed to
Sijistani had mastered the available body corporeal influences (e.g. passion), the
of Islamic thought as well as Greek philoso- soul returns to the intelligible and spiritual
phy and Neoplatonism. Although Sijistani world. Knowledge for Sijistani therefore is
does not acknowledge the contributions of more than the apprehension of intelligibles
Abu Hatim Razi and Muhammad Nasafi, and corporeals; rather, it is the recognition
philosophically he is indebted to them and of how the intellect operates through its
much of what he writes about is treated influence on the soul. The epistemic result of
by his predecessors. Even though Sijistani this process is that the soul preserves in itself
did not compose a work on the question of rational qualities and human beings appre-
imamat, he must have been concerned about hend the results of the intellect through the
the continuous elevation of the status of part of the soul in us which contains the
the imam. While he does not directly chal- intellect.
lenge the personal authority of the living In addition to the empirical and intui-
imam, he did not even use the name imam tive, Sijistani proposes that there is a third
to refer to Muhammad ibn Ismail to whom category of knowledge; that is the revealed
Ismailis trace their origin. Instead, his sup- truth granted exclusively to the muayyadun
port for prophecy was based on philosophi- (divinely guided, or inspired, i.e., the knowl-
cal arguments. edge of the prophets). This is so that they can
His magnum opus was Kashf al-mahjub guide human souls closer to the intelligible
(The Unveiling of the Hidden) and Kitab spiritual world.
al-yanabi (The Book of Wellsprings). Both
of these works represents important sources BIBLIOGRAPHY
for Ismaili thought in the Fatimid dawa. Kitab al-yanabi, ed. and partially trans.
These significant works had an impact on into French by H. Corbin in Trilogie
a number of thinkers among whom we can ismalienne, Tehran-Paris: Institut
name Nasir-i Khusraw who either trans- franais de Recherche en Iran, 1961.
lated fully or paraphrased all forty chapters Kashf al-mahjub, Le Dvoilement des
of al-Yanabi in Persian and used some of the choses caches, ed. H. Corbin, Tehran:
459
AL-SINGKILI
Institute francais de Recherche en Iran, AL-SINGKILI, Abd al-Rauf

1949; repr. as Abu Yaqub Sejestani, Ie (c.10241105/161593)
Dvoilement des choses caches (Kashf
al-Mahjub): Recherches de philosophie Abd al-Rauf al-Singkili was born in
ismaelienne, trans. H. Corbin, Paris: 1024/1615 in the coastal town of Singkel
Lagrasse,1988). (This work is a Persian in west Sumatra, which was subject to the
translation or paraphrase quite possibly Aceh sultanate, and died in 1105/1693. He
by Nasir-i Khusraw; the Arabic original was the last great Malay Islamic thinker
has not been found.) and scholar of eleventh/seventeenth-century
Aceh.
Further Reading Al-Singkili who may have been a blood
Altmann, A. and Stern, S. M., Isaac Israeli: relative of the renowned Malay Sufi,
A Neoplatonic Philosopher of the Hamzah Fansuri (d. c. 1000/1600) spent
Early Tenth Century, Oxford: Oxford his early Islamic education in his home-
University Press, 1958. land which was then abound with the bit-
al-Amiri, A. H., A Muslim Philosopher on ter controversies between the proponents of
the Soul and Its Fate: al-Amiris Kitab the Wujudiyya school of Hamzah Fansuri
al-Amad ala al-abad, ed. and trans. and Shams al-Din al-Sumatrai (Falimbani)
E. K. Rowson, New Haven, CT: (d. 1039/1630) and the shaykh al-islam of
American Oriental Society, 1988. Aceh, Nur al-Din al-Raniri (d. 1068/1658).
Biruni, Abu Rayham, Kitab tahqiq ma lil As was the tradition among the Malay youth
Hind, revised edn, Hyderabad, 1958; who were intellectually inclined, al-Singkili
trans. E. C. Sachau, Alberunis India, traveled to Arabia in 1052/1642 to further
Delhi, 1964. his religious education. His nineteen-year stay
Daftary, F., The Ismailis: Their History as a student in Arabia is well documented in
and Doctrines, Cambridge: Cambridge his Umdat al-muhtajin (The Support of the
University Press, 1990. Needy) in which he mentions the places he
Ivanow, W., The Alleged Founder of visited, the contacts he made and the teach-
Ismailism, Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1952. ers under whom he studied. The two most
The Early Ismaili Missionaries in notable of his teachers and who were very
North-West Persia in Khurasan and influential in al-Singkilis life and thought
Transoxania, Bulletin of the School of were Ahmad al-Qushashi (d. 1070/1660) of
Oriental and African Studies, 23 (1960), Medina who was a spiritual guide or shaykh
pp. 5690. to many Indian Sufis in the eleventh/seven-
Studies in Early Ismailism, Leiden: E. J. teenth century, and his disciple and succes-
Brill, 1983, pp. 22033. sor Ibrahim al-Kurani (d. 1100/1690) with
whom al-Singkili had a close relation. Al-
mehdi aminrazavi Singkili received instruction in tasawwuf or
Sufism from Ahmad al-Qushashi and was
appointed as a khalifa of the Shattariyyah
and Qadiriyyah Sufi orders, a position which
enabled him to instruct and initiate others
Simnani,see Semnani
into Sufism and the Sufi path. It is through al-
Singkili that the Shattariyyah Order became
influential and widespread in Sumatra, Java,
and the Malay peninsula, although this order
Sincere Brethren,see Ikhwan al-Safa did not survive in Arabia.
460
AL-SIRAFI
Al-Singkili returned to Aceh in 1661 Further Reading

after the death of his teacher al-Qushashi, Johns, A. H., Daqaiq al-Huruf by Abd
but continued to maintain a close relation al-Rauf of Singkel, Journal of the Royal
with Ibrahim al-Kurani. Al-Singkili wrote Asiatic Society, 87, 34 (1955), pp. 5573,
to al-Kurani seeking his views and counsel 13958.
on several religious matters of particular Riddell, P. G., The Sources of Abd
significance in his homeland, Aceh, such al-Raufs Tarjuman al-Mustafid, Journal
as the violent polemics between the Wuju- of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal
diyya Sufis and Nur al-Din al-Raniri, and Asiatic Society, 57, 2 (1984), pp. 11318.
the correct relation between the Sharia and Transferring a Tradition: Abd al-Rauf
tasawwuf or exoteric and esoteric Islam. al-Singkilis Rendering into Malay of the
Beginning with these requests, there came Jalalayn Commentary, Berkeley: Centers
to be written several works by Haramayn for South and Southeast Asian Studies,
scholars in the seventeenth century which University of California, 1990.
specifically addressed the problems faced by Islam and the Malay-Indonesian World:
the Malay Muslim community in Southeast Transmissions and Responses, Singapore:
Asia. Thus, al-Singkili was instrumental in Horizon, 2001, pp. 125232, 1617.
strengthening and intensifying the intellec-
tual and spiritual ties between Malay Mus- zailan moris
lim scholars and the Haramayn scholars.
Furthermore, it is through al-Singkili that
the more Sharia-oriented Sufism began
to spread and gain ground in the Malay
world. AL-SIRAFI(279 or 289368/892 or
Abd al-Rauf al-Singkilis name is also 90279)
associated with the first translation and com-
mentary (tafsir) of the entire Quran in the Abu Said al-Hasan b. Abd Allah b. Al-Mar-
Malay language. His Tarjuman al-mustafid zuban was born at Siraf between 279/892
compiled around 1085/1675 is based on and 289/902. At first al-Sirafi studied in
the Tafsir al-Jalalayn (Commentary of the his hometown Siraf and then in Uman,
Quran by the Two Jalals) by Jalal al-Din Askar, and finally Baghdad. Al-Sirafi studied
al-Mahalli (d. 869/1459) and his renowned Islamic law with Abu Abd Allah Muham-
student, Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (d. 915/1505). mad b. Umar al-Saymari (d. 315/927), Ara-
For almost 300 years, al-Singkilis Tarjuman bic grammar with Abu Bakr ibn al-Sarraj (d.
al-mustafid was the only Malay transla- 316/928), Quranic sciences with Abu Bakr
tion and commentary of the Quran, thus it b. Mujahid (d. 324/936), and lexicography
exerted a tremendous influence on the his- with Abu Bakr Muhammad b. al-Hasan ibn
tory of instruction and study of the Quran Durayd al-Azdi al-Basri (d. 321/933).
specifically, and on Islamic religious and Al-Sirafi was a Hanafi judge and mufti and
spiritual education generally in the Malay at the same time taught traditional Islamic
world. In addition, it played the critical role sciences. Ibn al-Nadim (d. 385/995), the
of expanding the registry of Islamic religious author of the well-known Kitab al-Fihrist,
terms in Malay, as well as the model peda- mentions al-Sirafis name among his teach-
gogical method for the understanding of the ers. Al-Sirafi seems to be the direct source for
language and meanings of the Quran by al-Fihrists grammatical section. Al-Sirafis
the Malay Muslim community in Southeast son Abu Muhammad Yusuf b. Hasan al-
Asia. Sirafi (d. 385/995) also benefited from his
461
SIRHINDI
fathers knowledge of grammar as his writ- Grammar, Journal of the Royal Asiatic
ings on the Arab grammar shows a similar Society, 37, 1 (1905), pp. 79129.
style to his fathers work. Of the ten books Al-Tawhidi, Abu Hayyan, Kitab al-Imta
that have been attributed to al-Sirafi, most wa al-Muanasa, eds. Ahmad Amin and
of which are in the field of Arabic grammar, Ahmad al-Zain, 2nd edn, vol. 1, Beirut:
only two seem to be extant: his commen- Maktabat al-hayat, n.d., pp. 10828.
tary on Sibawayhis al-Kitab, and Akhbar
al-nahwiyyin, one of the oldest known bio- bilal gkkr
graphical works on grammarians in Muslim
literature.
Al-Sirafi has become better known in con-
temporary scholarship for his part in a pub-
lic debate with a Nestorian Christian, Abu SIRHINDI, Ahmad(9711034/15631624)
Bishr Matta b. Yunus (d. 328/940), who
was known to maintain the superiority of Ahmad Badr al-Din Sirhindi was the son
Aristotelian logic over Arabic grammar. The of Abd al-Ahad Makhdum, a prominent
debate took place in the presence of many scholar in Sirhind in India and an exponent
leading figures in 320/932 in Baghdad, and of the views of Ibn al-Arabi as well as a
was convoked by the vizier (of Abbasid Kha- Naqshbandi Sufi. He had a major influence
lif al-Muqtadir, who ruled between 296/908 on his son; both father and son were Sufis
and 320/932) Abul-Fath al-Fadl b. Jafar but aware of the dangers that Sufism repre-
al-Furat, who demanded a response from sented for traditional religion. Ahmad was
Muslim scholars to Mattas claim. Al-Sirafis born in Sirhind, had a traditional religious
significance for contemporary scholarship education there until he moved to Siyalkot
comes from the role he played in the above- in order to extend his education. He studied
mentioned discussion as a protagonist rather there with Kamal al-Din, the local shaykh
than the treatises he contributed to Muslim whose skill at hadith was widely acknowl-
literature on Arabic grammar. Muslim bio- edged. Although he visited a number of cities
graphical sources describe al-Sirafi as a very in the region in order to meet other scholars,
pious man who spent his time in prayers and he spent much of his time in Sirhind with his
fasting and lived on his own earnings from father, and was involved there in debating
copying manuscripts. with other schools of Sufism, in particular
the Chishtiyya and the Qadriyyah. His father
Further Reading died in 1007/1598 and Ahmad went on pil-
Endress, G., Al-Munazara bayn al-mantiq grimage, visiting Delhi en route and making
al-falsafi wa al-nahw al-arabi fi usur contact with Baqi Billah, who was to play
al-khulafa, Journal for the History of an important part in his spiritual life, confer-
Arabic Science, 1/2 (November 1977), ring on him the khirqa (Sufi robe and sign
pp. 32051. of his confirmation within the order) and
Mahdi, M., Language and Logic sending him back to Sirhind with his permis-
in Classical Islam, in G. E. von sion to initiate others into the silsila (order).
Grunebaum (ed.), Logic in Classical Between 1028/1618 and 1032/1622 he suf-
Islamic Culture, Wiesbaden: Otto fered the misfortune of being imprisoned in
Harrassowitz, 1970, pp. 5183. Gwalior for a year and then having to spend
Margoliouth, D. S., The Discussion time with the army of the emperor Jahangir
between Abu Bishr Matta and Abu Said as a prisoner. Perhaps because he was unwell,
al-Sirafi on the Merits of Logic and he was eventually released and allowed to
462
SIYALKOTI
return to Sirhind, where he died on 28 Safar elaboration on the precise nature of the
1034/December 10, 1624, having spent his relationship between God and the world,
last years in seclusion. of course. Sirhindi is best known for his let-
It is not clear why he was imprisoned. ters, in which he discusses these and many
His supporters often claim this was due other issues in a spirited manner.
to the hostility of a courtier who was con-
cerned that Sirhindi as a popular Sufi might Further Reading
represent an alternative to the secular ter Haar, J., Follower and Heir of the
ruler. Sufis often fell foul of rulers, perhaps Prophet: Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi (1564-
because the asceticism of the lifestyle they 1624) as Mystic. Leiden: Het Oosters
advocated contrasted with life at court, Instituut, 1992.
and perhaps because they directly criticized
the rulers. In Sirhindis case it is sometimes oliver leaman
said that it was his refusal to bow before
the emperor that raised the imperial ire.
It is certainly true that the name he came
to acquire, Mujaddid Alf Thani (reformer
of the second millennium), represented his SIYALKOTI, Mulla Abd al-Hakim
role in fighting heresy and innovation in (d. 1067/1656)
the Mughal Empire, where the omnipres-
ence of Hinduism always led to problems Mulla Abd Siyalkoti was born in Siyalkot
in defining a strict and exclusive form of into a distinguished family in a city that
monotheistic religion. Sirhindi insisted on a had by that time become well known for its
strict reliance on religious law and practice, intellectual depth. He studied, like Sirhindi,
and denied that Sufism acknowledged any with Shaykh Kamal al-Din, and went on to
other route to salvation. There was a ten- have a much less tumultuous career, becom-
dency for some Sufis, in particular, for the ing the court philosopher of Shah Jahan,
followers of Ibn al-Arabi, to stress panthe- who reigned from 103769/162758, until
ism, the belief that everything that exists is his retirement, upon which he returned to his
equivalent to God. It is a small step from local town. His work is not very innovative
that belief to the conclusion that there is but takes a largely commentatorial form. It
no difference between a material thing and became very significant in that he created
the deity, something of a highly hetero- much of the basic philosophical curriculum
dox view in Islam. It results in mystics like of the Mughul Empire. He died in Siyalkot
al-Hallaj proclaiming that they are the in 1067/1656, where his mausoleum may
truth as though they were God, something still be seen.
for which he was executed by the Islamic
authorities. Sirhindi replaced this identity Further Reading
of being (wahdat al-wujud) with identity Bilgrami, M., Maathir al-kiram, Lahore:
of reflection (wahdat al-shuhud). We are Matba-i Dukhani-yi Rifah-i Amm,
a reflection of God, we witness him in the 1971.
world and his signs are everywhere, but it Khan, A., India, in S. H. Nasr and
does not follow that the world is identical O. Leaman (eds), History of Islamic
with him. This concept played a large part Philosophy, ch. 62, London: Routledge,
in the development of forms of Sufism com- 1996, pp. 105175.
patible with Sharia and aligned Sufism with
orthodoxy. It also allowed for continuing oliver leaman
463
AL-SUHRAWARDI
Sohravardi,see al-Suhrawardi, BIBLIOGRAPHY

Shihab al-Din Awarif al-maarif, Beirut: Dar al-kitab
al-arabi, 1983; trans. R. Gramlich, Die
Gaben der Erkenntnisse, Wiesbaden:
Franz Steiner Verlag, 1978.
Suhrab Wali Badakshani,see Badakshani
oliver leaman
AL-SUHRAWARDI, Abu Hafs

(539632/11451234) AL-SUHRAWARDI, Abul Najib
(c. 490563/c. 10971168)
Abu Hafs Umar al-Suhrawardi came from
Suhraward in Persia and moved to Baghdad Abul Najib Abd al-Qahir ibn Abd Allah al-
in 555/1160. His uncle Abul Najib ran a Bakri al-Suhrawardi was born in Suhraward,
ribat or residential institution for Sufis near and moved early on to Baghdad to con-
the Tigris, and this is taken to have been tinue his education. While there he received
where the nephew met a large number of the the Sufi khirka from his uncle Umar ibn
famous thinkers in the Sufi movement of his Muhammad (d. 532/11378), who was him-
time, including Ahmad al-Ghazali (d. 520/ self an important figure in the local Sufi com-
1126), al-Jilani (d. 561/1166), Chishti (d. munity. In Baghdad al-Suhrawardi studied
633/1236), Ibn al-Arabi (d. 638/1240), at the famous Nizamiyya, but seems to have
and Ibn al-Farid (d. 632/1235). Abu Hafs become disenchanted with the rather aca-
wrote the Awarif al-maarif (Advantages of demic approach of that institution, return-
Knowledge), and this is in some ways the last ing to Isfahan to work with the famous Sufi
of the major Sufi writings of this period. He Ahmad al-Ghazali. On his subsequent return
does not associate himself with any particular to Baghdad he became a student of Hammad
school but presents an argument for the Sufi al-Dabbas (d. 525/11301) and apparently
approach based on how open the Sufi is to the adopted an ascetic lifestyle, earning his living
reception of knowledge from without, given by carrying water. He set up his own estab-
his lack of a strong sense of the self. He is par- lishment near Baghdad for providing a Sufi
ticularly interesting in his discussion of how to education, being invited back to teach at the
interpret the Quran. A Shafii in jurisprudence, Niazamiyya in 545/11501, but only lasting
he argues that normal legal methods ought to for a couple of years before falling foul of
be employed to understand the exoteric mean- the local authorities and having to return to
ing of the text. But when we need to interpret his own institution. In 557/11612 he tried
the Book a personal degree of reflection is to travel to Jerusalem, but only got as far as
necessary, and the text will open itself up to Damascus due to the difficult conditions in
the listener, provided he is in an appropriate the area with the Crusades. He had to return
state to receive it. This gives al-Suhrawardi to Baghdad and died a few years later.
the opportunity to discuss in detail the precise Al-Suhrawardi is significant not so much
balance which he thinks obtains between the for the works he left, but for his students.
subjective aspect of personal feeling and the Some of them became very eminent, such as
objective line of the text, and the account he the historian Ibn Asakir and the muhadith
produces is both sophisticated and innovative al-Samani. The most important, though, was
in its explication of religious meaning. his nephew Abu Hafs Umar al-Suhrawardi
464
AL-SUHRAWARDI
who really founded the order that bears their with Majd al-Din al-Jili and later in Isfa-
name, the Suhrawardiyya. Abul Najibs han, going on to spend some time in south-
main work was his Adab al-muridin, which west Anatolia. He has links with the Seljuq
sets out rules of behavior for Sufis, in par- authorities and went to Aleppo in 579/1183
ticular new and inexperienced Sufis. One where he both taught and became a friend
of the sources (totally unacknowledged) for of the governor, al-Malik al-Zahir al-Ghazi,
this work is Ibn Khafif al-Shirazis Kitab the son of the famous Salah al-Din (Saladin).
al-Iqtisad, which also sets out rules, but His distinguished pupil obviously had a taste
al-Suhrawardi completely turns al-Shirazis for philosophy, since he later on also made
rules upside down. That is, whatever his pre- the acquaintance of Ibn al-Arabi. It is not
decessor said should not be allowed as part of clear why he was executed in 587/1191,
behavior, according to al-Suhrawardi! Hence although it is known that Salah al-Din com-
the latters popularity, perhaps, since he pro- manded it. There were certainly charges
vided rules that were much more lenient than of dangerous religious beliefs. How well
the previous standards of behavior. founded these were is dubious, and many
think that al-Suhrawardi fell foul of local
BIBLIOGRAPHY political intrigues and rivalries. This was a
Adab al-Muridin, ed. N. Haravi, Tehran: dangerous period, the Crusaders were active
Intisharat-i Mulla, 1984; abridged trans. in Palestine and Salah al-Din probably just
and introduction by M. Milson, A Sufi wanted to end an atmosphere of disharmony
Rule for Novices: Kital Adab al-muridin of in the important center of Aleppo.
Abu al Najib al-Suhrawardi, Cambridge, It is difficult to see what in al-Suhrawardis
MA: Harvard University Press, 1975. philosophy could have got him into trouble,
although he did have some radical disagree-
Further Reading ments with his predecessors, especially Ibn
Netton, I., The Breath of Felicity, in Seek Sina. There is a lot of controversy about the
Knowledge: Thought and Travel in the precise nature of his thought, since at some
House of Islam, Richmond: Curzon, points he seems to be a mystic, and at oth-
1996. pp. 7192. ers a fairly orthodox Peripatetic philosopher.
Some interpreters like Seyyed Hossein Nasr
oliver leaman argue that mysticism represents his main
position, while others like Hossein Ziai see
him as an analytical thinker who is mis-
taken as a mystic. To a degree Illumination-
ist thought is bound to get into this sort of
AL-SUHRAWARDI, Shihab al-Din confusion since it is very much in between
(54987/115491) Peripatetic (mashshai) and Sufi (tasawwuf)
philosophical approaches. It is also the case
Shihab al-Din Yahya ibn Habash ibn Amirak that most philosophers did not advocate just
Abu l-Futuh al-Suhrawardi is often called one approach to philosophy, but thought
the shaykh al-Maqtul (the killed master) that different approaches were appropri-
since he was executed at a young age, and ate for different stages of spiritual growth.
also as shaykh al-Ishraq since he is very So Peripatetic thought would be vital in the
much the major figure in Illuminationist phi- early stages, and a more mystical theory for
losophy (hikmat al-ishraq). He was born in when one had gone some way along the
549/1154 in Suhraward in northwest Iran. path of wisdom. This seems to be how al-
He commenced his studies in Maraghah Suhrawardi saw the process; he insists on his
465
AL-SUHRAWARDI
works being read in a particular order, and brilliant tour de force, and one that came to
the stepping stones are the logical works. create an entirely new approach to philoso-
So the order is supposed to run from Kitab phy in the Islamic world.
al-Talwihat (The Intimations), Kitab al- Some have argued that al-Suhrawardi is
Muqawamat (The Oppositions), Kitab al- quite distant from Islam in much of his work
Mashari wa-l-mutarahat (The Paths and and that it draws rather on older Persian
Heavens), and Kitab Hikmat al-ishraq (The traditions, and certainly some of his lan-
Philosophy of Illumination). The basis of guage does seem to suggest this. Walbridge
the system is the notion of al-ilm al-huduri, has argued conclusively that this approach
a form of knowledge that is so direct and is unlikely to be productive. Nasr argues
unmediated that it cannot be doubted. It is that al-Suhrawardi is part of a long tradi-
like light flooding into the soul, and this is tion of philosophy that sees the meaning of
the idea behind the Illuminationist or Ishraqi the world as hidden and only expressible
school, where instead of the Aristotelian sub- in a variety of different religious traditions;
ject/object distinction we have an ontology ultimately, the meaning of the world is the
based on different gradations of luminosity. same in all of these traditions. This seems
The chief enemy seems to be Ibn Sina, quite plausible, and there can be little doubt
many of whose notions are attacked by al- that al-Suhrawardi is a very original thinker.
Suhrawardi. The categories and notion of His theory was taken up by following gen-
definition are subject to a strong assault, erations of thinkers who found it an exciting
and these are indeed fundamental ideas in way to do philosophy. The notion of light is
Peripatetic thought. The number and nature flexible enough to be used in different ways
of the categories are labeled as arbitrary by to analyze and describe reality, something
al-Suhrawardi, and the definition useless in that proved to be a fertile idea for the gen-
expanding knowledge since the terms in which erations of thinkers in the Illuminationist
something is defined are just as unknown tradition who followed al-Suhrawardi.
and unanalyzed as the definiendum. They
themselves then require definition, and so BIBLIOGRAPHY
on ad infinitum. It is no wonder that Mulla Mantiq al-talwihat, ed. A. A. Fayyaz,
Sadra responds to this attack by calling al- Tehran: Tehran University Press, 1955.
Suhrawardi a Stoic, since the latter does seem Hayakil al-nur (The Temples of Light), ed.
to be constructing a very different form of M. A. Abu Rayyan, Cairo: al-Maktaba
logic from the Aristotelian technique so well al-Tijariyya al-Kubra, 1957.
used in Islamic philosophy. But Ibn Sina is very Oeuvres philosophiques et mystiques, vol. I:
much leaned on when it comes to describing La mtaphysique: I. Kitab al-talwihat. 2.
the nature of being, since al-Suhrawardi sees Kitab al-moqawamat. 3. Kitab al-mashari
existence as of very little significance when wal-motarahat, ed. H. Corbin, Tehran:
compared with being or essence, and it is Imperial Iranian Academy of Philosophy,
on this that the whole of reality rests. It is and Paris: Adrien Maisonneuve, 1976; vol
worth noting that the notion of light has a II: I. Le Livre de la Thosophie oriental
very different relationship to things than does (Kitab Hikmat al-ishraq). 2. Le Symbole
the Aristotelian subject/object relation; for de foi des philosophes. 3. Le Rcit de
al-Suhrawardi the issue of existence is very lExil occidental, ed. H. Corbin, Tehran:
secondary, what is of primary importance is Imperial Iranian
what is lit up, how much, and for how long. LArchange empourpr: quinze traits
He constructs a whole ontology and cosmol- etrcits mystiques, trans. H. Corbin,
ogy in terms of gradations of light, a quite Paris: Fayard, 1976.
466
AL-SULAMI
Academy of Philosophy, and Paris: Adrien University Press, for the Centre for
Maisonneuve, 1977; vol III: Oeuvres en Middle Eastern Studies of Harvard
persan, ed. S. H. Nasr, Tehran: Imperial University, 1992.
Iranian Academy of Philosophy, and The Wisdom of the Mystic, Albany, NY:
Paris: Adrien Maisonneuve, 1977. State University of New York Press, 2001.
The Mystical and Visionary Treatises of Ziai, H., Knowledge and Illumination: A
Shihabuddin Yahya Suhrawardi, trans. Study of Suhrawardis Hikmat al-ishraq,
W. Thackston, London: Octagon Press, Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press, 1990.
1982. Shihab al-Din Suhrawardi: Founder
Kitab hikmat al-ishraq (The Philosophy of the Illuminationist School, in S. H.
of Illumination), trans. H. Corbin, ed. Nasor and O. Leaman (eds), History
C. Jambet, Le livre de la sagesse of Islamic Philosophy, ch. 28, London:
orientale: Kitab Hikmat al-Ishraq, Routledge, 1996, pp. 43464.
Lagrasse: Verdier, 1986.
Al-Suhrawardi al-Maqtul, ed. Y. Ibish, oliver leaman
Beirut: Dar al-hamra lil-tibaa wal-
nashr, 1990.
The Philosophical Allegories and Mystical
Treatises, trans. W. Thackston, Costa
Mesa: Mazda, 1999. AL-SULAMI, Abu Abd al-Rahman
(325412/9371021)
Further Reading
Amin Razavi, M., Suhrawardi and the Born in Nishapur on 10 Jumada al-Thani,
School of Illumination, Richmond: 325/April 4, 937, Abu Abd al-Rahman al-
Curzon, 1997. Sulami was a pioneering Sufi biographer (or
Corbin, H., En Islam iranien: aspects hagiographer) who penned a large number
spirituels et philosophiques, vol. II: of works on Sufi thought and practices: most
Sohrawardi et les Platoniciens de Perse, importantly, on the doctrine and discipline of
Paris: Gallimard, 1971. futuwwa (the Sufi ethic of chivalry) and the
Hairi Yazdi, M., The Principles of Malamatiya (People of Blame). He also wrote
Epistemology in Islamic Philosophy: a substantial commentary on the Quran.
Knowledge by Presence, Albany, NY: Sulami died in 412/1021 in Nishapur, which
State University of New York Press, 1992. until the twelfth century was one of the most
Nasr, S. H., Shihab al-Din Suhrawardi important cities in the Islamic world.
Maqtul, in M. M. Sharif (ed.), Sulami was of Arab descent; his father of
A History of Muslim Philosophy, vol. I, the Azd, while his mothers family was of the
Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1963; repr. Banu Sulaym, and counted among the mer-
Karachi, no date. cantile elites of Nishapur. The semi-matrilin-
Al-Shahrazuri, Shams al-Din, Sharh eal ascription finds precedent with Sulamis
hikmat al-ishraq (Commentary on the great-great grandfather, Ahamd ibn Yusuf
Philosophy of Illumination), ed. H. Ziai, al-Sulami (d. 264/878), an accomplished
Tehran: Institute for Cultural Studies and hadith scholar. Either death (in 345/9567)
Research, 1993. or migration to Mecca deprived Sulami of his
Walbridge, J., The Science of Mystic father, al-Husayn ibn Muhammad ibn Musa
Lights: Qutb al-Din Shirazi and the al-Azdi, whereupon he was left in the care of
Illuminationist Tradition in Islamic his maternal grandfather, Abu Amr Ismail
Philosophy, Cambridge, MA: Harvard ibn Nujayd (d. 366/977), a hadith specialist
467
AL-SULAMI
and one of the distinguished disciples of a and Khurasani mystics. It thereby serves to
well-known Malamati instructor, Abu Uth- elide differences of doctrine and practice in
man al-Hiri. Sulamis intimate acquaintance early Islamic mysticism, while redressing the
with the tariq al-malama (Sufi path of markedly Baghdad bias of earlier compila-
blame) began with his father and continued tions. In his Risalat al-malamatiya (Treatise
under the tutelage of his grandfather. of the People of Blame), on the other hand,
An early spiritual master was the Shafii Sulami will highlight these self-same differ-
scholar of hadith, Abu al-Qasim Ibra- ences. Sufi women are subject to a herme-
him al-Nasrabadhi (d. 367/9778), who neutic of remembrance (Cornell 1999: 48)
accompanied Sulami on the hajj to Mecca identical to that of their male counterparts in
in 366/977, only to die shortly thereaf- his Dhikr an-niswa al-mutaabbidat as-suf-
ter. After the pilgrimage, Sulami received a fiyat. Sulamis reliance on the tabaqat genre
teaching certificate (ijaza) to transmit Sufi permits him to employ hadith-style chains
and Prophetic Traditions from Muhammad of authority (isnad) which, in turn, enhance
ibn Khafif of Shiraz (d. 371/982). He further the chance his sacred biographies will accrue
learned Shafii jurisprudence from Abu Bakr legitimacy when under the gaze of a more
ash-Shashi (d. 366/9767) and Abu Sahl al- legalist or orthodox theological orienta-
Saluki (known as al-Hanafi not because tion. Perhaps in keeping with the attempt to
of his jurisprudence, but rather descent from demonstrate Sufi women possessed powers
the Banu Hanifa). Sulami may have also spent of intellect (aql) and wisdom (hikma) on a
time with the celebrated Asharite theologian, par with Sufi men, Sulami provides us with a
Abu Bakr al-Baqillani (d. 403/101213). In slightly unconventional portrait of Rabia al-
any case, curricula that included the Arabic Adawiyya (d. 185/801), insofar as the focus
language, Quranic studies, hadith, jurispru- is not on her oft-cited love mysticism, but
dence, and mysticism (tasawwuf or Sufism rather her mastery of a variety of mystical
and Malamati), required Sulami to travel states, her intellectual prowess, and her well-
throughout Khurasan, Iran, and Iraq, with earned authority as a spiritual teacher.
extended stays in Merv and Baghdad. From While much of Sulamis work evidences
the small lodge (duwayra) he had built in a preoccupation with Sufi institutions and
Nishapur, Sulami occupied himself with the practices, more than a few titles demonstrate
narration of hadith, the study of law, and facility with the metaphysical and epistemo-
the teachings of the Malamatiya. He was a logical facets of Sufism. Moreover, a rich
prolific author of more than a hundred titles, and subtle spiritual psychology suffuses this
about a third of which survive in manuscript literature, befitting Sulamis role as an exem-
form. Recent publications, along with the plarand thus suitable exponentof Sufi
discovery of several new manuscripts, may futuwwa (chivalry) and Malamati doctrine
warrant a reassessment of Sulamis legacy. and behavior. His Kitab al-Futuwwa (Book
Within the genre of sacred biography, mod- of Sufi Chivalry) makes the ethical virtues of
eled on the tabaqat (levels or classes) style chivalry an integral part of Malamati spiri-
of Muslim historical writing, Sulami is known tuality, indeed, a necessary condition for the
for his (lost) Tarikh al-sufiyya (History of the novice. In addition to the centrality of ithar,
Sufis), the Tabaqat al-sufiyya (Generations of the selfless service of others, virtues in the
the Sufis), and most recently, Dhikr an-niswa orbit of futuwwa include honesty, candor,
al-mutaabbidat as-sufiyyat (Memorial of benevolence, modesty, and purity of mind.
Female Sufi Devotees). The Tabaqat, later The ethics and etiquette of chivalry (adab)
translated into Persian by Abdullah Ansari are here intended to facilitate and buttress
of Herat (d. 481/1089), lists both Baghdadi psycho-spiritual practices of sincere self-
468
AL-SULAMI
scrutiny and self-criticism while avoiding any Aspiring). These three texts give us a vivid
ostentatious display of piety, the pretension and nuanced portrait of a provocative and
to spiritual states, or such distinctively Sufi influential strand of Sufi mysticism.
practices as vocal dhikr or sama. Malamati Hanbali jurists could not condone Sulamis
teachers often lived under the guise of their otherwise popular Quranic commentary,
occupations in the crafts and professional Haqaiq at-tafsir (Realities of Exegesis), if
guilds definitive of chivalric orders, thereby only because of the frequent citation of Jafar
engaging in outward conduct conducive to al Sadiq, the sixth imam of IthnaAshariyya
the inner attitudes cultivated on the path of (or Twelver) Shiism (its legal madhhab
blame. They were obliged only to participate being Jafari), and the spiritual fount
in the religious rituals, prayers and practices of the Ismailis. Yet Sulamis reliance upon
found among the common people, specifi- Jafar is more a testament to the latters reli-
cally, fidelity to the Quran and the Sunna. In gious learning and authority than any intent
the end, the adab of chivalry becomes wholly to deviate from Sunni Islam, although for
spiritualized: adab represented an attitude Sulami, as for most Sufis, the first six imams
of total detachment from ones needs and (from Ali ibn Abi Talib through Jafar) set
desires, while at the same time being totally the foundations for Sufism.
committed to a spiritual attitude of efface-
ment (Heer and Honerkamp 2003: 99). BIBLIOGRAPHY
Neither piety nor asceticism secures a foot- Risalat al-malamatiya (Treatise of the
hold in this spiritual practice. People of Blame), ed. Abu al-Ala
The Risalat al-malamatiya (Treatise of al-Afifi, Cairo: Dar Ihya al-kutub
the People of Blame) by Sulami is our earli- al-arabiya, 1945.
est, most reliable and comprehensive source Tabaqat al-sufiya (Generations of the Sufis),
for the Malamati tradition propagated by ed. Nur al-Din Shariba, Cairo: Maktaba
the Khurasani-Nishapuri mystics. The pious, al-khanaji, 1969.
ascetic, and sober Sufis of Iraq suffer in com- Kitab al-futuwwat al-sufiyya (The Way
parison to the Malamatiya of Nishapur. of Sufi Chivalry), trans. Tosun Bayrak
Sulami ranks, in ascending order, the exoterists al-Jerrahi, Rochester, VT: Inner
(ahl- al-zahir) or scholars of the Law (ulama Traditions, 1991.
al-sharia), the Sufis or people of gnosis (ahl Dhikr an-niswa al-mutaabbidat as sufiyyat
al-marifa), and the Malamatiya, alone at the (Memorial of Female Sufi Devotees),
summit of spiritual practice. No less than ed. and trans. R. Cornell, in Early Sufi
Ibn al-Arabi (d. 638/1240) would later Women, Louisville, KY: Fons Vitae, 1999.
endorse this comparative estimation of the Darajat al-sadaqin (Stations of the Righteous)
Malamatiya. His treatise provides the criteria and Zalal al-fuqara (The Stumblings
by which to identify Malamati doctrine as a of Those Aspiring), trans. Kenneth L.
middle way between extroverted and ascetic Honerkamp in Nicholas Heer and Kenneth
forms (zuhd) of Islamic mysticism, and later, L. Honerkamp, Three Early Sufi Texts,
ecstatic and even antinomian expressions as Louisville, KY: Fons Vitae. 2003.
found, for example, among the Qalandari-
yya. Further elaboration of the metaphysical Further Reading
and psychological principles of the People Bowering, G., The Quran Commentary
of Blame are found in Sulamis Darajat al- of as-Sulami, in Wael B. Hallaq and
sadaqin (Stations of the Righteous), while the Donald P. Little (eds), Islamic Studies
instantiation of those principles is recorded in Presented to Charles J. Adams, Leiden:
his Zalal al-fuqara (The Stumbling of Those Brill, 1991.
469
AL-SUYUTI
Sviri, S., Hakim Tirmidhi and the Al-Suyutis main work is his al-Itqan fi
Malamati Movement in Early Sufism, ulum al-quran (The Perfection of the Sci-
in Leonard Lewisohn (ed.), The Heritage ence of the Quran) which really throws
of Sufism, Vol. I: Classical Persian Sufism new light on the issue of how to interpret a
from its Origins to Rumi (7001300), religious text. One feature he stresses, espe-
Oxford: OneWorld, 1999, pp. 583613. cially in his al-Durr al-manthur fi al-tafsir
bi al-mathur (The Scattered Pearls: A Com-
patrick s. odonnell mentary of the Quran Based on Transmit-
ted Reports) is the significance of using the
hadith in understanding the Book.
His most popular and influential commen-
al-Sumatrani,see al-Falimbani tary is his Tafsir al-jalalayn (The Commen-
tary of the Two Jalals). This work involves
the writings of his teacher Jalal al-Din al-
Mahalli and al-Suyuti. The main feature of
AL-SUYUTI(849911/14451505) this text is its clarity and lack of specialized
language, thus making exegesis available
Abu al-Fadl Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr to everyone. This and other works led to
ibn Muhammad Jalal al-Din al-Misri al- great fame but also jealousy. Muhammad al-
Suyuti al-Shafii was one of the outstanding Shakhawi (d. 902/1497) criticized his work
scholars of the traditional Islamic sciences. and many scholars disparaged his lack of
He was born of mixed Circassian and Per- apparent scholarship. Al-Suyuti had a com-
sian parents in Cairo in 849/1445. His bative style and seemed to enjoy working
family moved to Asyut in upper Egypt. His up his opponents by aggressive and boastful
father, a teacher of law in Cairo, died when language.
al-Suyuti was six. He studied with a number
of teachers in both the Shafii and the Hanafi
BIBLIOGRAPHY
traditions, and his studies were not limited
Jalal al-din al-suyuti, ed. E. M. Sartain,
to law, but included the hadith, exegesis, the-
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
ology, history, philosophy, linguistics, and
1975.
rhetoric. He was committed to the Shadhili
Tafsir al-jalalayn, Beirut: Dar al-Qalam,
Sufi order and famously embraced a simple
1983.
and ascetic lifestyle.
At the age of sixteen al-Suyuti followed his
father and taught Shafiite law in his fathers Further Reading
college in Cairo. He did not stay in Cairo, al-Dhahabi, Muhammad Husayn, al-Tafsir
however, going on to Damascus, the Hijaz, wa al-Mufassirun (Exegesis and the
Yemen, Morocco, right through Egypt, Commentators), 3rd edn, 3 vols, Cairo:
and further afield. He gave up teaching in Wahba, 1985.
1501 to concentrate on writing. He died in Sartain, E. M., Jalal al-din al-Suyutis
911/1505 in Cairo. Al-Suyutis literary out- Relations with the People of Takrur,
put was both prolific and diverse. He is said Journal of Semitic Studies, 16 (1971),
to have composed over 700 works, but some pp. 1938.
of these at least are just legal judgments
(fatawa) that are quite brief. oliver leaman
470
T
AL-TABARI, Muhammad ibn Jarir than he was entitled to receive, and this no
(c.224314/c.839923) doubt contributed to his lack of income.
Al-Tabari wrote a huge number of works
Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari was born in on a large number of topics, including tafsir,
Amul, Persia, in 2245/8389, as his name history, jurisprudence, recitation of the
suggests in the region of Tabaristan near the Quran (qiraat), grammar, and so on. He
Caspian Sea. He memorized the Quran by the also wrote at length, and the accounts have
age of seven, and to further his education trav- him reluctantly reducing the size of many of
eled from Rayy to Baghdad and then to Cairo his works from enormous to merely very long
and was involved with the centers of Abassid in the interests of practicality. Yaqut says he
cultural life. In 256/870 al-Tabari settled in wrote forty pages a day, and when one con-
Baghdad, where he stayed for the rest of his siders his output one can believe it. Most of
life. He became such a well-known scholar his works are no longer extant, but they are
that a separate madhhab or law school, the noted by Ibn al-Nadim in his catalog.
Jaririyya, was named after him. However, His Tarikh al-rusul wa al-muluk (His-
this did not last long. He died on Monday, 27 tory of the Messengers and Kings) contains
Shawwal 314/February 17, 923. a history of the world from its creation up to
Al-Tabari annoyed the school of Ahmad 302/915, and it is vast in size. Another huge
ibn Hanbal (d. 241/855) by making no ref- text is his commentary on the Quran, Jami
erence to him in his work Ikhtilaf al-fuqaha al-bayan an tafsir al-quran (Collection of
(The Differences Among the Jurists) and later Explanations for the Interpretation of the
commenting that Ibn Hanbal was primarily Quran), which weighs in at thirty volumes.
a hadith thinker, not a jurist. His own school In fact, his two main works are so big that
took an opposite line to that of the Hanba- there is still no final authoritative version of
lis, and the latter responded in kind. On the them.
other hand, al-Tabari was enough of a realist The commentary on the Quran is par-
to reject the form of Mutazilism that was ticularly important culturally, since in many
currently going out of fashion in Baghdad. ways it is the source of the commentatorial
Although his works rapidly became famous, tradition that followed. Al-Tabari is not
he is said to have endured periods of great reluctant to give his own views, but on the
poverty, especially after the death of his whole he spends a lot of time going through
father. Relying on the money his father sent varying approaches to particular texts, and
him had also been precarious, since it often placing a lot of reliance on the Traditions,
did not get through. He also seems to have which he reproduces at length. He is not at
been rather reluctant to receive gifts, or more all in favor of the Mutazilite approach to
471
TABATABAI
texts, an approach that often relied on alle- Tabriz on 12 Dhul-Hijja 1321/March 17,
gory to make sense of what was written. One 1904, into a family famous for producing
of the crucial aspects of his treatment is the three centuries of religious scholars. After
very serious attitude to grammatical issues, studying Arabic and completing his reli-
and these serve as important indicators of gious education in Tabriz, in 1341/1923
older uses of Arabic. Naturally, while the he traveled to Najaf in Iraq, an important
work has been used as a paradigm for future center of Shiite learning. While in Najaf
works, it has also been much criticized. What he mastered the transmitted sciences, such
has on the whole been accepted is its gen- as the Sharia and the principles of juris-
eral hermeneutical approach, that in order prudence, as well as the intellectual sci-
to understand the Quran it is important to ences such as mathematics and traditional
investigate the precise meaning of the terms, Islamic philosophy. He furthered his educa-
the traditional sayings about those terms, tion in Islamic philosophy under the tute-
and the variety of views and interpretations lage of Sayyid Husayn Badkubai, the most
that have accrued in the literature. renowned philosopher of the day, focusing
on texts such as Ibn Sinas Kitab al-Shifa,
BIBLIOGRAPHY Mulla Sadras Asfar, Ibn Turkas Tamhid
The History of al-Tabari, General Intro al-qawaid, and Sabzawaris Sharh-i Man-
duction and From the Creation to the zuma. He also received private instruction
Flood, trans. F. Rosenthal, Albany, NY: in Islamic gnosis from Mirza Ali Qadi, who
State University of New York Press, 1989. became Tabatabais spiritual guide, and
under whom he studied texts such as Ibn
Further Reading al-Arabis Fusus al-hikam.
Cooper, J. (ed.), The Commentary on Tabatabai returned to Tabriz in 1353/
the Quran by Abu Jafar Muhammad 1934 where he stayed for almost a decade,
b. Jarir al-Tabari, Oxford: Oxford teaching a small number of disciples. With
University Press, 1987. the outbreak of World War II and the sub-
Gilliot, C., Exgse, langue et thologie en sequent Russian occupation of Tabriz,
Islam. Lexgse coranique de Tabari Tabatabai migrated to Qum in 1364/1945.
(m. 311/923), Paris: J. Vrin, 1990. Qum, then as now, remains a great center
McAuliffe, J. D., Quranic Christians; of learning for religious studies in Iran. He
An Analysis of Classical and Modern began teaching in Qum shortly after his
Exegesis, Cambridge: Cambridge arrival, concentrating on Quranic commen-
University Press, 1991. tary as well as traditional Islamic philosophy
and gnosis.
oliver leaman While in Qum he made frequent visits to
Tehran, journeying there every other week
for some thirty years. In the aftermath of
the war, Marxism began to make inroads
in Tehran. In response to this development,
TABATABAI, Allamah Sayyid Muhammad Tabatabai studied Marxisms philosophi-
Husayn(13211402/190481) cal bases and engaged Marxist intellectu-
als in debate. These debates led to his first
Widely recognized as being one of the important work, Usul-i falsafa wa rawish-i
most important and influential figures of rialism (The Principles of Philosophy and
Islamic philosophy in Iran in the twentieth the Method of Realism). As a compara-
century, Allamah Tabatabai was born in tive study of traditional Islamic philosophy
472
AL-TAFTAZANI
and Marxism, it represents the first serious Al-Mizan: An Exegesis of the Quran,
encounter between Islamic thought and a currently 11 volumes have been
Western philosophical school. During his translated into English by al-Ustadh
visits to Tehran, he and Henry Corbin, the al-Allamah al-Sayyid Said Akhtar
famous French scholar of Islamic philoso- al-Radawi, Tehran: World Organization
phy, held annual discussions on various spir- for Islamic Services, 19832002.
itual and intellectual problems from 1958 Bidayat al-Hikma, trans. Sayyid Ali
to 1978. Because of his efforts, Tabatabai Quli Qarai as The Elements of Islamic
eventually proved successful in reviving the Metaphysics, London: ICAS Press, 2003.
study of traditional Islamic philosophy and,
in particular, the works of Mulla Sadra, brian thomas
which had been neglected for many years.
After the Iranian Revolution of 1979,
Qum evolved into an important center for
teaching Islamic philosophy. Thanks to some
of his students such as Hasanzadah Amuli, AL-TAFTAZANI, Sad al-Din
Jawad Amuli, and Misbah Yazdi, who con- (72293/132290)
tinued to teach Islamic philosophy there,
Qum remains an important center of Islamic Sad al-Din Masud b. Umar b. Abd Allah
learning. Other students of Tabatabai who was born in Taftazan, a village in Khurasan,
should be mentioned are Murtada Mutah- in 722/1322 and died in Samarkand on
hari (133899/192079), Ayatullah Sayyid 22 Muharram 793/December 30, 1390.
Muhammad Husayn Tihrani (13451416/ He was one of the best-known theologians
192595), and Seyyed Hossein Nasr. within the Ashari tradition of Sunni Islam.
Tabatabais most important work is his There is not much information about his
monumental commentary on the Quran, family and his early life. Al-Taftazani seems
Tafsir al-mizan. This work is a verse-by-verse to have been a student of Abd Allah b. Sad
commentary that uses one part of the Quran Allah al-Qazwini. He also seems to have stud-
to interpret other parts, as well as utilizing ied the works of such eminent scholars as
the traditional Islamic sciences of theology, Qutb al-Din al-Razi. Al-Taftazani started
philosophy, and gnosis. Another work of producing his early works at the age of six-
note, his edition of Mulla Sadras Asfar al- teen. From 742/1342 on he lived at different
Arbaa, contains his own commentary as well times in Khawarizm, Herat, Jam, Ghujdu-
as selections from previous commentaries on wan, Glistan, and Sarakhs. He joined the
the text. Finally, mention ought to be made courts of local rulers and dedicated some of
of his two masterly summaries of Islamic his works to them. In 784/1382, he accepted
philosophy, the Bidayat al-hikma and the the invitation of Timur and went to Samar-
Nihayat al-hikma. Tabatabai died in Qum on kand, and after a brief visit to Sarakhs, he
17 Muharram I 1402/November 15, 1981. returned to Samarkand where he stayed the
rest of his life. There he met with Sayyid
BIBLIOGRAPHY Sharif Jurjani, another important figure of
Shia dar islam, trans. Seyyed Hossein his age, and had lively debates with him.
Nasr as Shiite Islam, Albany, NY: State Although he is not an original writer, al-
Uuniversity of NewYork Press, 1975. Taftazani produced a number of works that
Quran dar islam, trans. Assadullah became standard textbooks in the traditional
al-Dhaakir Yate as The Quran in Islam, madrasas until modern times. He wrote in
Qum: Ansariyan Publications, 1987. a number of fields, and Taftazani became
473
AL-TAHAWI
famous for his theological works, in particu- BIBLIOGRAPHY

lar, for his Sharh al-aqaid, a commentary on Sharh al-aqaid al-nasafiyya, ed. C. Salame,
the creed of Najm al-Din al-Nasafi, which Damascus: Ministry of Culture, 1974;
was completed in Khwarizm in 768/1367. English trans. E. E. Elder, A Commentary
Although in his commentary, al-Taftazani on the Creed of Islam, New York:
uses a method that was similar to the methods Colombia University Press, 1950.
of most of the Muslim commentaries, the fact Sharh al-maqasid (A Commentary on
that as a member of the Asharite school, he Maqasid), ed. Abd al-Rahman Umayra,
is commenting on the creed of the Maturidite Cairo: n.p., 19849).
school makes his work interesting. It gives the
reader an opportunity to see how a later Sunni Further Reading
theologian represents the differences between Ansari, Z. I., Taftazanis Views on
the two schools of Sunni Islam. In general, Taklif, abr, and Qadar: A Note on
Taftazani tries to minimize the conflicting the Development of Islamic Theology,
positions, sometimes rejecting the extreme Arabica, 16, 1 (1969), pp. 6578.
position of his school and accepting the posi-
tion of the Maturidites. Hence, in relation to muammar skenderolu
the sources of human knowledge, Taftazani
accepts illumination as a source and explains
that al-Nasafis rejection of it means that it is
not a source of knowledge to people in gen-
eral. Both schools accept that God created the AL-TAHAWI, Abu Jafar(239321/853933)
world out of nothing. They explain this by
using the metaphysics of atom and accident, Abu Jafar Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Salama
a theory that was accepted by both al-Nasafi was born in Upper Egypt in 239/853 and
and al-Taftazani. In discussing the attributes died in 321/933. He was an important jurist
of God, al-Taftazani objects to the Maturid- in the Hanafi tradition of Sunni Islam. Al-
ite position that creating (takwin) is another Tahawi lived in a time in which Egypt was
attribute of God. In the belief that a creatures very advanced politically and culturally.
responsibility fits his ability, al-Taftazani His father was one of the greatest scholars
agrees with al-Nasafi. On the question of of Upper Egypt. His mother was a sister of
whether the destiny of man can change, al- Muzani, who was one of the students of
Taftazani favors the position of the Maturid- Shafii. Al-Tahawi received his early educa-
ites that it can. Although Nasafi does not state tion from his father and maternal uncle with
clearly that the prophets are free from error, whom he studied Shafiite fiqh and jurispru-
al-Taftazani finds an allusion to it in his text. dence. He also studied hadith with the stu-
Thus, Taftazani chooses from the positions of dents of famous scholars, such as Ibn Uyayna
Al-Ashari or Al-Maturidi, considering both and Ibn Wahb. In his late twenties he changed
as representatives of Sunni Islam, and directs his madhhab from Shafiite to the Hanafite
his criticism at the Mutazilites in general. school. His uncles search for a solution in
Al-Taftazani lived in an age in which there the Hanafite sources seems to be the cause of
was a tradition of producing commentaries this change. He received his knowledge of the
and supercommentaries. His commentary Hanafite fiqh from Ahmad b. Abi Imran and
on the creed of al-Nasafi became a textbook Abu Khazim. In around 268/882 he went to
for students for generations and exerted an Syria for a brief stay, then returned to Egypt
immense influence upon the later genera- where he became a leading administrator as
tions of Sunni Muslims. a Hanafite judge (qadi) and a teacher. He had
474
AL-TAHTAWI
a number of students, some of whom suc- Aqida al-tahawiyya (Tahawis Creed),

ceeded him in his administrative post. trans. W. M. Watt in Islamic Creeds,
Al-Tahawi produced a number of works, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press,
some of which came down to us. His Aqida 1994, pp. 4856.
al-tahawiyya (Tahawis Creed) is his famous Ahkam al-quran (The Quranic Regulations),
work on the Muslim creed. He states that ed. S. nal, Istanbul: ISAM, 19958.
it is written according to the school of Abu
Hanifa. It starts with the unity of God, then muammar skenderolu
goes on to the assertion of His positive and
eternal attributes. Al-Tahawi asserts the real-
ity of the beatific vision without asking about
its modality (bila kayf). Most of the other
theoretical issues relating to the next world AL-TAHTAWI, Rifaa Rafi(180173)
are not rationally explained. God can prede-
termine some people to be happy and others Born in Egypt in 1801, al-Tahtawi became
to be miserable. Knowledge of the decree of a huge figure in the Islamic Renaissance
God is not given to mankind. Belief consists of (Nahda) movement. As his name suggests, he
assent by heart and confession by tongue. For came from Tahta, from a modest background
him, sinners cannot be declared to be unbe- but with a claim to descent from the Prophet.
lievers. The actions of man are the creation He went to al-Azhar in 1817, where he stud-
of God and the acquisition of man. All these ied for seven years, and taught there for two
dogmas are stated in a way which is remi- years. He went on to become imam in the
niscent of his contemporary Abu Mansur al- Egyptian military and then was selected to
Maturidi. Most of Tahawis other works are carry out the same role with a visiting delega-
related to Hanafite fiqh. His Mukhtasar (The tion to Paris as part of the effort by Egyptian
Compendium) is the first compendium writ- society to open itself up partially to Europe.
ten in the Hanafite fiqh. His Mushkil al-athar He traveled to France from 1826 to 1831 and
(Problematics of the Traditions) is an impor- immersed himself in French culture and lan-
tant work in the field of hadith criticism. guage. On his return he spent the rest of his
Al-Tahawi was a contemporary of al- career involved in higher education admin-
Ashari and al-Maturidi, two leading rep- istration, first of all directing the Medical
resentatives of Sunni Islam, and produced a School, translating for the Artillery School,
creed which exerted an influence upon the and in 1835 directing the School of Foreign
followers of the Hanafite school in Egypt. Languages, whose main task was bringing
out in Arabic some of the most important
BIBLIOGRAPHY books published in European languages.
Mushkil al-athar (Problematics of the Al-Tahtawi was much helped by the
Traditions), Haydarabad: Matbaatun- ruler of Egypt, Muhammad Ali, who was
nahdatil-Hadith, 1915. keen on exploring change and encour-
Al-Mukhtasar (The Compendium), ed. aged the creation of new institutions. The
Abul Wafa al-Afghani, Cairo: Dar khedive Abbas I came to power on Alis
al-Kitab al-Arabi, 1951. death, and sought to undermine many of
Ikhtilaf al-fuqaha (Disagreements of the changes of his predecessors. This led to
the Jurists), ed. M. Hasan Masumi, al-Tahtawis move to Sudan in mid-century,
Islamabad: Islamic Research Institute, 1971. but he eventually returned in 1854 to direct
Al-Shurut al-saghir (Small Codes), ed. the Military School, and, more importantly,
R. zcan, Baghdad: n.p., 1974. to take charge of a variety of educational
475
AL-TAWHIDI
commissions designed to broaden the provi- years later due to his failing eyesight. He
sion of education in Egypt. spent the last years of his life dictating his
Although al-Tahtawis career seems to be works. He was a member of the Khalwati-
largely that of a bureaucrat, his writings and yyah Sufi order. He died in Istanbul.
his life were very much of a piece. He stressed Takprzade is best known for his
education in all his writings as the prelude biographical work (tabaqat) called al-
to progress, including the education of girls. Shaqaiq al-numaniyya fi ulama al-dawlat
Education, he said, is capable of radically al-uthmaniyya (The Red Anemones in
changing society, and improving the condi- the Scholars of the Ottoman State). The
tions under which people live. Shaqaiq covers the periods of ten Ottoman
sultans and ends in the reign of Sulayman the
BIBLIOGRAPHY Magnificent. The figures covered in the book
An Imam in Paris, trans. D. Newman, include jurists, philosophers, poets, theolo-
London: Saqi, 2004. gians, Sufis, and other intellectual figures.
The Shaqaiq continues to be one of the key
Further Reading sources of Ottoman intellectual history.
Hourani, Albert, Arabic Thought in the Takprzades other important work is
Liberal Age, London: Oxford University a short encyclopedia called Miftah al-saada
Press, 1970. wa misbah al-siyada fi mawzuat al-ulum
Imara, Muhammad, Rifaa al-Tahtawi: (The Key of Happiness and the Light of
Raid al-tanwir fi al asr al-hadith (Rifaa Dominion in the Subject-Matters of Sci-
al-Tahtawi: Pioneer of Enlightenment ences). The Miftah discusses close to one
in the Present Time), Cairo: Dar hundred different disciplines from grammar
al-mustaqbal al-arabi, 1984. and theology to history and calligraphy, and
shows its authors interest and expertise in a
oliver leaman wide range of subjects.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Miftah al-saada wa misbah al-siyada fi
Taj al-Din,see al-Shahrastani mawzuat al-ulum, ed. K. Bekri, Cairo:
Dar al-kutub al-haditha, 1968.
Al-Shaqaiq al-numaniyya fi ulama
al-dawlat al-uthmaniyya, ed. Ahmed
TAKPRZADE(90168/14951561) Subhi Furat, stanbul: .. Edebiyat
Fakultesi, 1985; Beirut: Dar al-Kitab
The famous Ottoman biographer and scholar al-Arabi, 1975.
Abul-Khayr Isam al-Din Ahmad b. Mustafa
b. Khalil, known commonly as Takprzade, ibrahim kalin
was born in Bursa, Turkey. He belongs to the

famous Takpr family of teachers and his-
torians hailing from the town of Takpr,
Kastamonu. His father Muslih al-Din Mus-
tafa was a famous scholar and teacher of the AL-TAWHIDI, Abu Hayyan
Ottoman sultan Selim I. As a scholar-teacher, (c. 315414/c. 9271023)
Takprzade taught at various schools in
Skopje and Edirne. He became the qadi of Abu Hayyan Ali b. Muhammad b. al-Abbas
Istanbul in 1551, but had to resign three al-Tawhidi was a Persian man of letters, a
476
AL-TAWHIDI
scribe and courtier who gives precious infor- It is not clear when al-Tawhidi first came
mation about the religious, political, and to Baghdad. This must have been before
cultural milieu of fourth-/tenth-century his Sufi mentor al-Khuldi died in 348/959.
Iraq. Information about his birth, early life, There al-Tawhidi worked as a secretary,
and death is not clear. He was born either scribe, and courtier for the Buyid vizier Abu
in Nishapur, Shiraz, or Baghdad. In reports Muhammad Hasan b. Muhammad al-Ma-
on his life, the date of his birth ranges from hallabi first. In 355 or 356 it is suggested
310/922 to 320/932. There are also dif- by some that he was expelled from the city
ferent accounts as to the date of his death because of his unfavorable comments on al-
(380/989, 391/1000, 400/1009). We know Mahallabi. However, one cannot see much
from al-Tawhidis epistle al-Sadaka wa al- in his writings against the vizier in question.
sadik (Friendship and the Friend) that he was On the other hand, we do not have all his
alive in the month of Rajab 400/1009. The works to hand. In 358/968 al-Tawhidi trav-
date 414/1023 written at the inscription on eled to Rayy and presented an epistle to the
his tomb at Shiraz may with reservations be Buyid vizier Abu al-Fadl b. al-Amid. As he
taken as the date of al-Tawhidis death. did not find what he expected from Ibn al-
His epithet Tawhidi, though there is no Amid, he returned to Baghdad (361/971).
concrete information about it, may designate There he attended the intellectual meetings
either that he was called after his father who of Yahya b. Adi. In 362/972 he faced the
was selling a kind of date called tawhid, or distressing experience of Byzantine inva-
that he was sympathetic, at least in a period sion, and lost his house, servant, and all
during his lifetime, to the theological school his savings. Al-Tawhidi left Baghdad for
of the Mutazila, otherwise known ahl al- Rayy again, and lived under the protection
adl wa al-tawhid. The latter seems to be of the Buyid vizier Abu al-Kasim Ismail b.
doubtful considering al-Tawhidis criticism Abbad, also known al-Sahib. Three years
of this school of kalam. later al-Tawhidi returned to Baghdad with
Al-Tawhidi studied Arabic etymology and a similar complaint of disappointment.
morphology from Abu Said al-Sirafi and Ali He expressed his dissatisfaction with the
b. Isa al-Rummani, fiqh from Abu Hamid two Buyid viziers in his two-volume book
al-Marwarruzi, and hadith from Abu Bakr Zamm al-wazirayn (Disparagement of the
al-Shashi and Jafar al-Khuldi in Baghdad. Two Viziers), otherwise known as Masalib
Some reported Prophetic Traditions from al-wazirayn (The Faults of the Two Viziers)
him, and he was heard narrating them. His or Akhlaq al-wazirayn (Morality of the
involvement with philosophy comes in his Two Viziers). Upon his return to Bagh-
later period of life. Abu Muhammad Jafar dad he entered the service of the vizier Ibn
al-Khuldi, a student of al-Junayd al-Bagh- Sadan as a scribe, courtier, and boon com-
dadi, was influential in forming al-Tawhidis panion and attended his evening gatherings
mystical thought. In addition, he attended to where he was involved in philosophical and
the lessons of such significant philosophers literary discussions (3705/9805). In al-
as Abu Sulayman al-Sijistani, also known Imta wa al-muanasa (Delight and Enter-
as al-Mantiqi, and Yahya b. Adi. The latter tainment), he recorded thirty-seven of these
was the pupil of Abu Nasr al-Farabi and meetings. Among many philosophical issues
then the teacher of al-Sijistani. Al-Tawhidi discussed here are also reports of some of
also benefited from such philosophers as the views of the Ikhwan al-Safa (Broth-
Abu al-Hasan Muhammad b. Yusuf al- ers of Purity). He reveals for the first time
Amiri, Abu Bakr al-Qamusi, Abu Zakariya the identity of four members of the group
al-Damiri, and Isa b. Zura b. Ali. as Abu Sulayman Muhammad b. Mashar
477
AL-TAWHIDI
al-Busti, also known as al-Maqdisi, Abu political authorities such as al-Sahib b. al-
al-Hasan Ali b. Harun al-Zanjani, Abu Abbad and by their favored scholars such
Ahmad al-Nahrajuri, and al-Awfi. Accord- as Ibn Faris (329/941-395/1004), who was
ing to al-Tawhidi, the epistles of the group al-Sahibs tutor. Another reason may be al-
contain disorganized, insufficient, and unre- Tawhidis rationalist approach to some of
liable information. the Islamic issues. The critiques of Ibn Jawzi
Once Ibn Sadan lost his power, al-Tawhidi (51097/11161201) and al-Hafiz al-Za-
was without a patron and is believed to habi (673748/12741348) are of this kind.
have moved to Shiraz and died there in For them, the lack of a traditionalist out-
poverty. As he was not happy with peoples look came to mean impiety and heresy. On
lack of interest in and concern for himself the other hand, some other Muslim jurists,
and for his works, he set fire to or buried mystics and philosophers, among them
his works before his death. He explains his Ibn al-Arabi and Abu Hamid al-Ghazali,
motive for this action in a letter to the judge respected him and referred to his writings
Abu Sahl Ali b. Muhammad (400/1009), without hesitation.
and mentions his despair of humanity Al-Tawhidi is not an original philosopher
and life. in the sense of forming systematic thought
Many works are attributed to al-Tawhidi. and developing a particular approach to phil-
Unfortunately a great many of them are not osophical issues. His importance in Islamic
available. In his work al-Sadaka wa al-sadik, thought lies in the nature of his works. They
al-Tawhidi expresses his dissatisfaction with are still significant sources for the cultural
the status of friendship at that time. He is and social history of his age. Through them
convinced that such virtues as amity and loy- the historians of Islamic philosophy recog-
alty have been replaced by such imperfections nize the eminent philosophical, religious, and
as selfishness and mischief. This conviction is literary figures in and around Baghdad, their
supported with the words of various people, relations with each other, and their opinions
including mystics and philosophers. on various issues in considerable detail.
Al-Muqabasat (The Excerpts) is al-
Tawhidis other work which has a special BIBLIOGRAPHY
importance for the history of Islamic phi- Kitab al-hawamil wal- shawamil, eds.
losophy. It contains philosophical dialogues A. Amin and A. Saqr, Cairo: Matbaat
between the leading figures of Baghdad in lajnat al-talif wal-tarjama wal-nashr,
the fourth/tenth century. Among them were 1951.
Abu Sulayman Muhammad b. Bahram al- Trois eptres dAbu Hayyan al-Tawhidi,
Mantiqi, Abu al-Hasan al-Amiri, Abu Bakr trans. M. Kilani, Damascus: Institut
al-Khawarazmi, Abu Zakariya al-Damiri, Franais de Damas, 1951.
and Yahya b. Adi. Al-Muqabasat consists Al-Imta wa al-muanasa (Delight and
of 106 comparisons on varying subjects such Entertainment), eds. Ahmad al-Zayn
as human nature, ethics, logic, syntax, the and Ahmad Amen, second edition, Beirut:
afterlife, and the distinction between kalam al-Maktaba al-asriyya, 1953.
(Islamic theology) and philosophy. Akhlaq al-wazirayn (Morality of the Two
Al-Tawhidi, along with Abu al-Ala al- Viziers), ed. Muhammad b. Tavit Tanji,
Maarri and Ibn al-Rawandi, is occasionally Damascus: Majma al-ilmi al-arabi,
counted among the impious and heretics 1965.
in Islamic intellectual history. Behind these Al-Ishara al-ilahiyya (The Divine Signs), ed.
criticisms seem to lie two main reasons. One Abdurrahman Badawi, Kuwait: Wakala
is the campaign launched against him by al-matbuat, 1981.
478
TOPU
Al-Muqabasat (The Excerpts), ed. TOPU, Osman Nurettin(190975)

Muhammad Tawfiq Husayn, 2nd edn,
Beirut: Dar al-adab, 1989. Nurettin Topu was born in Istanbul in 1909
Al-Sadaka wa al-sadik (The Friendship and died in the same city on July 10, 1975.
and the Friend), ed. Ibrahim Kaylani, He was a well-known Turkish thinker and
Damascus: Dar al-fikr, 1996. a forerunner of the philosophy of action
and religious nationalism in Turkey. His
Further Reading father Ahmet Efendi belonged to the Topu-
Ammara, Muhammad, Abu Hayyan zade family of Erzurum. His mother Fatma
al-Tawhidi: Bayna al-Zandaqa wa Hanm was from Egin. This place with its
al-Ibda, Cairo: Dar nahda misr, rich cultural atmosphere is said to have had
1997. a great impact on Nurettin Topu. The name
Atiyyatullah, Ahmad, al-Kamus al-Islami, topu comes from his grandfather Osman
5 vols, Cairo: Maktabatu al-nahd Efendi, who served as an artilleryman in the
al-misriyya, 1970. Ottoman army when Erzurum was invaded
Fariq, K. A., Abu Hayyan at-Tauhidi and by the Russians.
his Kitabul-Muqabasat, Islamic Culture, Nurettin Topu had his first education
28 (1954), pp. 37288. in Bezmialem Valide Sultan Mektebi and
Hamdani, Abbas, Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi Byk Reit Paa Numune Mektebi, respec-
and the Brethren of Purity, International tively. During the first year of his higher
Journal of Middle East Studies, 9, 3 education at Vefa dadisi, he lost his father.
(1978), pp. 34553. He later attended Istanbul Lisesi. In 1928 he
zmirli, smail Hakk, Abu Hayyan Ali b. won a scholarship to study in Paris. There
Muhammad al-Tawhidi, Dar al-Funun he became a member of the Society of Soci-
lahiyat Fakltesi Mecmuas, 2, 1 (1928), ology and had his first articles published.
pp. 10536. He also met Maurice Blondel, the French
Kraemer, J., Humanism in the Renaissance philosopher famous for his philosophy of
of Islam, Leiden: Brill, 1986. action. In 1930 he went to Strasbourg to
Margoliouth, D., Some Extracts from the study philosophy and history of art. There
Kitab al-Imta wal-Muanasah of Abu he gave Turkish lessons to Louis Masignon,
Hayyan Tauhidi, Islamica, 2 (1926), a well-known French orientalist. In 1934
pp. 38090. he completed his PhD at the Sorbonne. The
Netton, I., Al-Farabi and His School, same year he returned to Istanbul and taught
Richmond: Curzon, 1999. philosophy at Galatasaray Lisesi. Later he
Rowson, E. K., al-Tawhidi, Abu Hayyan, was appointed first to Izmir, where he began
Encyclopedia of Arabic Literature, vol. 2, to publish a journal called Hareket (Action)
London and New York: Routledge, 1998, and then to Denizli. During that time he met
pp. 7601. Said Nursi. On his return to Istanbul he
Al-Subki, Abu al-Hasan Takiyyuddin, came under the guidance of Abdulaziz Bek-
Tabaqat al-Shafiiyya al-Kubra, ed. kine Efendi, shaykh of the Nakbend school.
Mahmud Muhammad al-Tanahi, vol. 5, He worked as a teacher at several schools,
Cairo: Isa al-babi al-halabi, 1964. including in Robert Kolej and Istanbul Lis-
Al-Zirikli, Hayruddin, al-Alam: Kamusu esi. In 1974 he retired from teaching.
Tarajim, 2nd edn, vol. 5, Cairo: Matbaa Topu was one of the leading and most
Kustasus, 1954. original Turkish intellectuals of the twentieth
century. Throughout his career he pursued
muhsin akba the idea of religious nationalism as based on
479
TRANSMISSION OF ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY INTO WESTERN EUROPE
his system of ethics and the philosophy of Tunaya, Tark Zafer, Trkiyenin Siyasi
action. He wrote for journals such as Hareket Hayatnda Batllama Hareketleri,
and Komnizmle Mcadele Dergisi (Journal stanbul: Yedign Matbaasi, 1960,
for the Fight with Communism) and gave pp. 5880.
lectures at the Trk Milliyetiler Dernei lken, Hilmi Ziya, Trkiyede ada
(Society of Turkish Nationalists). He also Dnce Tarihi, Istanbul: Ulken
participated in the creation of Adalet Partisi Yaynlar, 2010.
(the Party of Justice) after the 27 May coup
in 1961, though later he expressed his disap- s. leyla grkan
pointment with this party. In 1965 he came
up with the idea of Cemaatilik (Fellowship).
The history of Topus intellectual life can be
seen in his articles that he wrote for Hareket
Dergisi. In his articles from 1939 to 1942 he TRANSMISSION OF ISLAMIC
criticized the mechanization of human beings PHILOSOPHY INTO WESTERN
and searched for philosophical bases for spir- EUROPE
itual thinking. He also mapped the spiritual-
social program of the idea of Anadoluculuk, If Islamic philosophy was in part influenced
a social-ethical movement based on the spirit by classical Greek thought, then it also
of Anatolia. From 1947 to 1949 he sought played a part in influencing the philosophy
to put forward the Islamic origins of nation- of medieval Christian Europe. That influ-
alism. From 1952 to 1953 he wrote against ence was very profound, and should not be
the program to Westernize Turkey. He thus underestimated, but there are two common
insisted on building up the social structure misconceptions concerning that influence
on a religious-national basis and introduced that ought to be addressed. The first is that
a system called Yeni Nizam, that is, a new the bulk of medieval Christian knowledge of
order based on the idea of cemaat (fellowship) philosophy, the sciences, medicine, etc. was
free of any capitalist and communist ideas. transmitted through Arabic scholars. This
Finally, from 1966 to 1975 he developed his is untrue; a number of key texts, including
earlier thoughts with particular emphasis on Aristotles Politics and much of the corpus of
the dimension of fellowship in Islam. Plato was not translated into Arabic during
Some of his important books include the medieval period. By the twelfth century,
Ahlak Nizam (The System of Ethics, 1961), Western Europe was at least as well-informed
radenin Davas (Battle for Self-Discipline, about Aristotle, and thanks to the Chartres
1968), slam ve nsan (Islam and Human- School and others, during that century the
Being, 1969), Devlet ve Demokrasi (State West would pull ahead of the Islamic world
and Democracy, 1969), Kltr ve Medeniyet in its understanding of Plato.
(Culture and Civilization, 1970), Mevlana The second misconception is that Islamic
ve Tasavvuf (Mawlana and Sufism, 1974), scholarship played a heterodox or unwel-
Milliyetiliimizin Esaslar (Principles of Our come role in medieval Christian thought.
Nationalism, 1976), and Bergson (1968). While Islamic philosophy did contribute to
controversies such as the Averroist debate,
Further Reading it was also used and developed upon by
Berkes, Niyazi, Trkiyede adalama, more orthodox philosophers and theolo-
Ankara: Bilgi Yayinevi, 1973, p. 40. gians. Indeed, many of the patterns of philo-
Hareket Dergisi, 1976, vol. 10, no. 112, sophical argument such as that between the
special issue on Nurettin Topu: Simurgh. primacy of reason or faith that took place
480
TRANSMISSION OF ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY INTO WESTERN EUROPE
in classical Islam are mirrored in medieval Magnus. The former cites Avicenna freely
Christian Europe, complete with both sides throughout his own work.
borrowing freely from each others intellec- But if the falasifa, the Islamic followers of
tual toolkits even while attempting to prove Greek classical thought, such as al-Farabi,
each other wrong. al-Kindi, Ibn Sina, and Ibn Rushd, were
While medieval Christian scholars were known in the West, so too were their oppo-
certainly aware of Islamic philosophy, full nents. Al-Ghazali, known as Algazel, was
access to it only came with the push forward almost as popular as the four above, and
by the Spanish Reconquista in the late elev- his Tahafut al-falasifa (The Incoherence of
enth century, which resulted in much of the the Philosophers) was translated and was
northern half of the Iberian Peninsula fall- known at both Paris and Oxford: Roger
ing back into Christian hands after a period Bacon makes a reference to it. Other think-
of some 300 years. Cities such as Toledo, ers and schools such as Ibn Bajja and the
which had been a major center of thought Ikhwan al-Safa were translated as well,
and learning, now yielded up the treasures along with a very large corpus of works
of their libraries to Christian scholars. At on science, mathematics, and astronomy.
first using Jewish middlemen as translators Medieval Europe was aware, however, that
but then quickly learning Arabic themselves, it was only scratching the surface of Islamic
translators such as Gerard of Cremona and thought. The Franciscan friar Ramon Llull,
John of Spain set out making as much of this a missionary who desired to convert the
work as possible available to the new uni- Arabs to Christianity, nonetheless respected
versities of Europe. Gerard alone is said to the intellectual caliber of his opponents such
have translated some seventy works by the that he recommended the creation of chairs
likes of al-Kindi and al-Farabi, as well in Arabic at European universities in order
as translating Arabic translations of Aris- to study Islamic thought more closely.
totle into Latin, largely it would seem in The arrival of the Renaissance and its
an attempt to understand what the Arabic more humanistic outlook brought renewed
translators thought of them; thus works like interest in Islamic thought for a time, and
the Posterior Analytics, already available in both the Medici in Florence and successive
the West, could now be studied in the light popes encouraged Arabic scholarship and
of many generations of Islamic commentary further translations. However, the Reforma-
and analysis. tion and the growing weakness of the papacy
In the thirteenth century there was another coupled with the renewed political menace
leap forward, again mostly from Spain, as of Ottoman Turkey, undermined this move-
following the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa ment in Italy. It was to flourish again in
in 1212 the frontier was pushed south to France, where orientalism emerges in the
the borders of Granada. Leading translator- early sixteenth century under the auspices
commentators included Giles of Rome and of the Queen Mother, Louise of Savoy, and
Hermann of Carinthia, also known as Her- grew during the course of French diplomatic
mann the German. Among the Islamic philo- contacts with Turkey.
sophical works which flooded into the West During the course of all of these develop-
were large portions of the corpus of Ibn ments, it is quite clear that medieval and
Sina and Ibn Rushd, known respectively Renaissance scholars were not simply plun-
as Avicenna and Averroes. The ideas of both dering Islamic scholarship for references to
played a major role, not just in controversies the classical world. Just as the Islamic schol-
such as Averroism, but in the more orthodox ars respected the likes of Aristotle and Pro-
thought of Thomas Aquinas and Albertus clus as wise men despite being pagans, so Ibn
481
TUSI
Rushd and Ibn Sina were thought of as great student of Fakhr al-Din Razi, and finally,
and original scholars despite being infidels, mathematics with Kamal al-Din Yunus.
and their ideas were eagerly followed in the Sometime before 1232, Tusi accepted the
medieval West. The results, as in Islam itself, invitation of Nasir al-Din Muhtashim, the
were mixed (i.e., it was sometimes positive Ismaili ruler, and moved to Quhistan and
and sometimes controversial), but the end other fortresses of the Ismailis where he
result of this cross-pollinization was con- lived from 1227 to 1256. Tusis relationship
siderable philosophical enrichment for both with the Ismailis is subject to debate. There
sides. are those who argued that Tusi genuinely
converted to Ismailism, while others saw
Further Reading his conversion as a move to enjoy the pro-
Butterworth, C. E. and Kessel, B. A. (eds), tection of the Ismailis in a turbulent time.
The Introduction of Arabic Philosophy Tusis life coincided with the Mongol inva-
into Europe, Leiden: Brill, 1994. sion of Persia and the death and destruction
which occurred especially in the province of
verity hughes Khurasan, where he resided. The only islands
of peace were the strongholds of Ismailis,
where Tusi would have been safe. There are
also those who argued that his collaboration
with the Ismailis was forced, as was his stay
TUSI, Nasir al-Din(597672/120174) at Alamut. In either case, it was the security
and respect he enjoyed during these years
Abu Jafar Muhammad ibn Muhummad ibn that provided him with the opportunity to
al-Hasan Nasir al-Din Tusi was a prominent compose a great number of works.
Shiite philosopher and scientist. His family In 1256, Hulagu, the Mongol emperor
was from Kashan, but he was born in Rayy known for his interest in astronomy, sacked
in 597/1201 and died in 672/1274 in Kazi- the Ismaili establishment in Khurasan and
mayn near Baghdad. Even though Tusi is welcomed Tusi to his court. Tusi remained
primarily known as a philosopher, he con- the scientific advisor and court astronomer
tributed to such fields as kalam, mathemat- to Hulagu and accompanied him in his
ics, astronomy, ethics, and Sufism. conquest of Baghdad in 1258. A year later,
Tusis first teacher was his father, a promi- under the patronage of Hulagu, Tusi began
nent jurist in the Twelve Imam school of the construction of a major astronomical
Shiism, with whom he may have studied observatory at Marghah, which was com-
logic, jurisprudence, and natural philosophy. pleted in 1272. Much of the Ilkhani astro-
Tusi studied metaphysics with his uncle and nomical tables and scientific calculations
different branches of mathematics in Rayy. were the result of al-Tusis research and that
Having mastered the sciences available to of the circle of scientists who had gathered
him in the city, he left for Nishapur which around him.
was at the time a great center of learning While in Baghdad, in 1274 Tusi fell ill and
where the legacy of philosophers and math- died. He is buried near the tomb of the sev-
ematicians such as Omar Khayyam was still enth Shiite imam, Musa Kazim.
present. In Nishapur, Tusi studied metaphys- To date, nearly one hundred and fifty
ics and Peripatetic philosophy with Farid al- works of Tusi are known to have survived,
Din Damad, who was a student of Ibn Sina of which twenty-five are in Persian and the
through four intermediaries, medicine with rest in Arabic as well as one that is par-
Qutb al-Din Misri, himself a distinguished tially in Turkish. On logic, Tusi wrote five
482
TUSI
works, the most important of which written In the Ismaili phase of his life, Tusi com-
in Persian is Asas al-iqtibas (Foundations posed a major work titled Tasawwurat
of Inference). On mathematics, Tusi wrote (Conceptions) also known as Rawdat al-
a number of commentaries on the works taslim (The Paradise of Submission). Tasaw-
of Greek mathematicians. In this regard he wurat discusses ontology, epistemology,
went beyond being a transmitter of Greek cosmology, eschatology, imamology, and
sciences to the Islamic world, and became soteriology in twenty-eight sections he calls
a major contributor to mathematical theo- Conceptions. Despite his importance as
ries. Tusi commented on the works of such an Ismaili thinker, theologically Tusi was
figures as Aristarchus, Apollonius, Archime- a Twelve Imam Shiite. His theological and
des, Euclid, Hypsicles, Menelaus, Ptolemy, metaphysical views are reflected in his work
and Theodosius. The body of texts studies al-Fusul, written in Persian, and Kitab al-
between Euclids Elements and Ptolemys Tajrid (Catharsis), which has become one of
Almagest were known as the intermediate the major sources for the study of Shiite the-
works (mutiwassatat). Tusis commentaries ology. There have been over 400 commen-
about such intermediate works became stan- taries and glosses written on this work.
dard texts for teaching mathematics in the Tusi composed a commentary on Ibn
Islamic world for years to come. Sinas al-Isharat wa l-tanbihat (The Book of
Among his original contributions on arith- Directives and Remarks). it is in this work
metic, geometry, and trigonometry were that Tusi begins with Fakhr al-Din Razis
Jawami al-hisab bil-takht wal-turab (The criticism of the Isharat and then responds to
Comprehensive Work on Computation with every criticism of Razi with great skill.
Board and Dust), al-Risalat al-shafiiyya Under the influence of Miskawayh, Tusi
(The Satisfying Treatise), and Kashf al-qina wrote one of the most important works of
fi asrar shakl al-qita, known as the Book philosophical ethics in Islam in the Persian
of the Principle of the Transversal. The lat- language, entitled Akhlaq-i nasiri (Nasirean
ter was translated into Latin and influenced Ethics). Tusi is one of the few Peripatetic
Regiomontanus, one of the foremost math- philosophers who was also sympathetic
ematicians of fifteenth-century Germany. to Sufism and may have even practised it
The most significant work of Tusi in astron- for a while. He wrote on Sufism and gno-
omy is Zij-ilkhani (The Ilkhani Tables). This sis (irfan) as is evident in his Persian work,
work, originally written in Persian, was later Awsaf al-ashraf, expressed his reverence for
translated into Arabic and also partially into the Sufi master Mansur al-Hallaj, and cor-
Latin by John Greaves as Astronomia quae- responded with Jalal al-Din Rumi and Sadr
dam ex traditione Shah Cholgii Persae una al-Din Qunawi. In jurisprudence, he wrote
cum hypothesibus planetarum. Among his Kitab al-Raml in which he explicated on a
other major works in astronomy are Tad- variety of legal matters in particular the laws
hkira al-nujum (Treasury of Astronomy) of inheritance. In the tradition of so many
and treatises on particular astronomical philosophers, Tusi composed a number of
subjects, such as that on the astrolabe. Tusi poems mostly in Persian.
also translated a work on astronomy writ- Similar to many other Shiite philoso-
ten by Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi titled Suwar phers, Tusi relied on the Neoplatonic scheme
al-kawakib (Figures of the Fixed Stars) from of emanation to comment on a wide variety
Arabic into Persian. In other areas of science, of philosophical issues. Among these issues
al-Tusi produced significant works such as are the doctrine of resurrection (qiyama)
his Tanksukh-namah (The Book of Precious and the inner meaning of religion (batini).
Materials). Tusi divides people into three groups: the
483
TUSI
exoterists, who he calls the people of con- Daftary, F., The Ismailis: Their History
tradiction (ahl al-tadadd); the esoterists, and Doctrines, Cambridge: Cambridge
who he calls the people of gradation (ahl University Press, 1900, pp. 324410.
al-tarattub); and the people of union (ahl Kennedy, E., The Exact Sciences in Iran
al-wahdat), the spiritual elite who have Under the Seljuqs and Mongols, in
achieved unity with truth (haqiqa). J. Boyle (ed.), Cambridge History of Iran,
vol. 5, Cambridge: Cambridge University
BIBLIOGRAPHY Press, 1968, pp. 65979.
The Nasirean Ethics, trans. G. Wickens, Madelung, W., Nasir ad-din Tusis Ethics
London: Allen & Unwin, 1964. between Philosophy, Shiism, and
The Metaphysics of Tusi, trans. Sufism, in R. G. Hovannisian (ed.),
P. Morewedge, Risala andar qismat-i Ethics in Islam, Malibu, CA: Undena,
mawjudat, New York: Institute of Global 1985, pp. 86101.
Cultural Studies, 1992. Nasr, S. H. Afdal al-Din Kashani and
Contemplation and Action, trans. the Philosophical World of Khwajah
S. Badakhshani, Syr wa suluk, London: Nasir al-Din Tusi, in M. Amin
I. B. Tauris in association with The Razavi (ed.), The Islamic Intellectual
Institute of Ismaili Studies, 1998. Tradition in Persia, London: Routledge,
1996, pp.189207.
Further Reading Muhammad ibn Muhammad
Dabashi, H., Khwajah Nasir al-Din Nasir al-Din Tusi, in M. Amin
al-Tusi: The Philosopher/Vizier and the Razavi (ed.), The Islamic Intellectual
Intellectual Climate of his Times, in Tradition in Persia, London, 1996,
S. H. Nasr and O. Leaman (eds), History pp. 20716.
of Islamic Philosophy, ch. 32, London:
Routledge, 1996, pp. 52784. mehdi aminarazavi
484
U
UBEYDULLAH EFENDI, Mehmet After the declaration of the 2nd Mesruti-
(18581937) yet regime in 1908, Ubeydullah returned to
Istanbul and was elected to the Parliament.
Journalist, traveler, and politician, Mehmet He published a newspaper called al-Arab to
Ubeydullah Efendi was born in Izmir. After propagate the ideas and policies of the Union
completing his traditional training in the and Progress Party in the Arabic-speaking
religious sciences, he attended the medical world. In 1910, he published a treatise
school in Istanbul for a few years, without under the title Islah- Medaris-i Kadime
completing it. He then joined the Young (Reforming the Old Schools) in which he
Turk movement. He was arrested and sent discussed the hotly debated issue of the day,
into exile during the reign of Abdulhamid II. i.e., the reformation of the old madrasa sys-
He traveled extensively in Europe, Iran, and tem from which Ubeydullah himself had
Afghanistan. He also spent two years in the graduated.
United States between 1893 and 1895. During World War I Ubeydullah was sent
Ubeydullah published his first essays in to Afghanistan and Iran with a mission to
1885 in a newspaper called Haver (Cor- call upon Muslims to join the jihad decla-
respondence), which he himself published. rations of the Ottoman Empire. He was
While in Paris between 1886 and 1888, he arrested briefly by the British while on this
worked as a translator for the Servet (Capi- mission, and escaped to India. After the war,
tal) newspaper. He came to Chicago in 1893. he worked as a wedding official in Istanbul.
He left the United States for England in 1895 In 1924, he published a treatise on polygamy
and went to Liverpool where he stayed for entitled Hukuk-u Aile: Mslmanla Gre
about six months. His Liverpool Hatrat: Bir Erkek Drt Kadn Alabilir mi Alamaz
Akl Yahut Ahir Zaman Peygamberi (The m? (The Family Law: Can a Man Marry
Liverpool Memoirs: Reason or the Prophet Four Wives According to Islam?), in which
at the End of Time), written in 1898, is the he argued against the practice of polygamy.
product of his experiences there. There he In 1925, he published his travel accounts of
also published his treatise Din ve Dnya the United States. After serving at the new
(Religion and the World) in 1896. He then Turkish Parliament for two terms, he died in
went to Paris and Bulgaria where he par- 1937.
ticipated in the publication of several Turk-
ish newspapers. He returned to Istanbul in Further Reading
1899. For political reasons, he was exiled to Alkan, Ahmet Turan, Ubeydullah
Taif, Saudi Arabia. He went to Cairo in 1905 Efendinin Amerika Hatralar, Istanbul:
where he continued his publishing ventures. letiim Yaynlar, 1989.
485
LKEN
Ubeydullah Efendi, in Osmanllar Civil Servants) in June 1921. Hilmi Ziya was
Ansiklopedisi, vol. 2, Istanbul: Kap appointed as a research assistant to the chair
Kredi, 1999, pp. 6356. of Anthropological Geography at the Faculty
of Arts in Istanbul in September 1921. There
ibrahim kalin he was commissioned as an agent librarian
for a while. Between 1922 and 1924, while
he was a research assistant, he took courses
on history of philosophy, ethics, and sociol-
ogy at the Department of Philosophy in the
LKEN, Hilmi Ziya(190174) same faculty.
Hilmi Ziya taught geography, philosophy,
Hilmi Ziya was born in Istanbul on Octo- sociology, history, and geography in Bursa
ber 3, 1901, and died in the same city on and Ankara in 1924. He was appointed as
June 5, 1974. He was an influential modern the director of statistics at the ministry of
Turkish sociologist and philosopher, and education in 1925. Later in the same year
a prolific writer who left behind numer- he was married to Hatice Zht. In 1926
ous books and articles on different areas of Hilmi Ziya was a member of the translation
philosophy, sociology, social anthropology, committee of the Council of Educational
esthetics, and logic. His father Mehmed Ziya Policy attached to the Turkish ministry of
Beg was a chemistry teacher at the School education. At the end of the same year he
of Pharmacy and Dentistry. His grandfa- was transferred to Istanbul upon his own
ther Abdurrahman Hilmi Efendi, along with application. There he taught philosophy, his-
poet Kazm Pasha, was exiled to Janina tory, psychology, and sociology in different
(Yanya) after they satirized the grand vizier high schools. His daughter Glseren lken
Ali Pasha. Kerim Hazret, the grandfather of was born in 1928. He did his compulsory
lkens mother Mfika Hanm, emigrated military service in 19289. After the Law of
from Crimea because he did not want his University Reform came into force and con-
children conscripted by the Russian army to sequently Istanbul University was reorga-
fight against the Ottomans in the Crimean nized in 1933, Hilmi Ziya was appointed as
war (18536). a lecturer of History of Turkish Civilization
Hilmi Ziya had his primary, secondary, to the new Faculty of Arts, and was sent to
and higher education in the last phase of the Berlin for research on behalf of the ministry
Ottoman Empire. The proclamation of the of education. It is said that Mustafa Kemal
Second Constitutional Government (July 25, Atatrks appreciation of Hilmi Ziyas two
1908), the dethronement of the sultan Abdul- books General Sociology and History of
hamid II (April 27, 1909), the Balkan Wars Turkish Thought had been effective in secur-
(191215), and World War I (1915) were ing the new direction that his career took.
some of the events of Hilmi Ziyas childhood Upon his return from Berlin, Hilmi Ziya
and adolescence. He witnessed the tribula- was appointed to an associate professorship
tions of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in the same institution. In 1940 he became
and the struggles in the establishment of professor of philosophy at the suggestion
the Republic of Turkey. Hilmi Ziya went to of professor von Aster, who was teach-
Tafayyuz Maktabi (Private Progress School) ing philosophy in Istanbul University then.
for his primary education and to the Sultani In addition, Hilmi Ziya gave lectures on
(a secondary school) in Istanbul. He gradu- sociology, theory of values, epistemology,
ated from Mlkiya Maktabi (the School for and history of logic in the same institution
486
LKEN
between 1940 and 1949. Hilmi Ziya was Turkish Thought at the Rosenmayer Semi-
then commissioned in 1954 as a professor of nar in Vienna. In the same year he attended
systematic philosophy at the Faculty of The- and presented papers at the millenary com-
ology in Ankara University. In 1957 he was memoration of Baghdadi and al-Kindi.
promoted to a senior professorship at the In 1968 he participated to the international
Faculty of Arts in Istanbul. After the mili- congress of philosophy held in Vienna. He
tary coup in May 27, 1960, he was removed was a member of the UNESCO executive
from his position in Istanbul along with 147 committee between 1952 and 1962 and a
professors, and was allowed to lecture in the member of Trk Dil Kurumu (Turkish Lan-
Faculty of Theology in Ankara only. Though guage Association) from 1956 to 1962.
he was restored in 1962, Hilmi Ziya refused Hilmi Ziya wrote more than a hundred
to return to his previous post at Istanbul. He books and 300 articles on various issues in
remained as a senior professor of philosophy Turkish and Islamic thought. Although one
at Ankara until his retirement in July 1973. can observe some repetition in his works,
Almost a year later, on June 5, 1974, he died it does not mean that he repeated himself.
of heart and brain malfunction. Rather, he developed his thinking and revised
Hilmi Ziya is one of the most prolific and his ideas throughout his life. For this reason,
versatile thinkers of modern Turkish thought. his viewpoints differ between his earlier and
He was among the publishers of such journals latter works. It is also important to note that
as Mihrab (Niche of a Mosque) and Anadolu philosophy was a neglected area of study in
(Anatolia) (1922), Felsefe ve ctimaiyat Turkey. Another reason for the repetitions
(Philosophy and Sociology) (1927), nsan may be the historical conditions in which
(Humanity) (193843), and Sosyoloji (Soci- he lived. Hilmi Ziya faced various practical
ology) (194260). Additionally, his many problems and challenges, experienced them
articles, reviews, and translations appeared personally, and participated in the endeavors
in various journals, newspapers, and col- to find solutions to them throughout his life.
lections. Apart from these Hilmi Ziya pro- Due to this, his position changes from pan-
duced novels, poems, paintings, miniatures, theism to materialism, from phenomenology
and works of calligraphy. He also attended to spiritualism.
many sociology and philosophy congresses It seems that Hilmi Ziyas start to his career
from 1939 to his death. Among these is the which involved tackling the philosophical
Farabi congress in the millennial commemo- issues of society, action, and ethics deter-
ration of al-Farabis death held in Istanbul. mined his early tendencies and approaches.
Consequently, he edited and published the At the beginning of his intellectual life Hilmi
proceedings under the title Farabi Tetkikleri Ziya was very much under the influence of
(al-Farabi Studies). He prepared Resail-i bn French sociologist Emile Durkheim (1858
Sina (Epistles of Ibn Sina) of two volumes 1917). At that time he was not willing to
for the Ibn Sina commemoration in Tehran accept the idea of the existence of the free-
in 1956. dom of the citizen in a powerful society. His
Hilmi Ziya also sent papers to the Mexico encounter with the works of Gaston Richard
congress of the Institut International de Soci- changed his view on individual freedom. His
ologie, to the al-Ghazali commemoration book Umumi Ruhiyat (General Psychology)
in Damascus in 1960, and to the Ibn Khal- reflects Richards influence. Additionally,
dun commemoration in Cairo in 1961 even Hilmi Ziya referred to the pluralist philoso-
though he could not attend them personally. phy of Emile Boutroux (18451921) in order
In 1962 he spoke at a conference on Modern to analyze the nature of morality in society.
487
LKEN
Here he dealt with the problem of deter- to the human logical structure. Hilmi Ziya
minism and freedom, and ethics in general. borrows the term dyad from Plato in
Having admitted the insolubility of the age- order to express this whole; and dyads can
old problem of human freedom and social be grounded in the notion of a transcenden-
determinism, Hilmi Ziya subscribed to the tal being. According to Hilmi Ziyas theory
idealistic philosophy of Hegel (17701831). of the dyad, the phenomenon of knowledge,
When he realized the danger that conscious- for instance, is not like a perception but a
ness may fall into subjectivism, then to solip- subject-object whole, which is dyadic. Since
sism, he searched for a strong base in critical this whole presents an irrational and para-
realism. He saw Baruch Spinoza (163277) doxical character, this relation can only be
as the philosopher par excellence. He shares affirmed with the transcendental being that
with Spinoza the view that ethics cannot surrounds and surpasses the realm of
be separated from existence, human beings sense and reason. This being is the true sub-
from nature, and human freedom from the ject matter of philosophy. Human beings
natural order. and world can be known by reason but
In order not to face the attacks of critical God, as transcendental being, cannot be
philosophy, Hilmi Ziya first referred to Eng- perceived through senses and reason. One
lish realism, and then to phenomenology. can only believe in this Absolute Being.
He believed that with the help of phenom- Without the realm of the transcendental
enology he would ease the tension between being surrounding the realm of phenomena,
idealism and realism and reach something consciousness and moral action would not
that he calls ideorealism. However, he be possible. Our world of experience can be
came to believe that this compromise may grounded safely through this transcenden-
at the same time contain the errors of both tal being. The problem here is to determine
standpoints. Hilmi Ziya perceived the exis- the exact relationship between the mean-
tence of a dichotomy between materialism ings of the terms the transcendent being,
and idealism. The danger of subjectivism dyads, and God, which Hilmi Ziya
here directed him to dynamic and histori- uses alternately. One of his students, Necati
cal materialism, which maintains the evolu- ner, interprets this to mean that there is
tionary view of nature. For him materialism not a single transcendent being but a con-
is not only a theory of social history; rather it tinuum of beings. In the first level of this
is an attempt to explain objectively the world hierarchy, there are dyads and values; in the
from an historical standpoint with the help second the Absolute Being, namely God,
of modern science. However, when he real- who surrounds and surpasses the previous
izes that materialist psychology and physiol- ones. Since the Absolute Being cannot be
ogy aim at establishing a psychology without known but only believed, then the method
consciousness and self, he rejects historical that leads to this belief is virtual intu-
materialism as untenable. ition. Here Hilmi Ziya makes a distinction
Later, Hilmi Ziya developed a bipolar between actual and virtual intuition. The
concept of existence. According to this, actual intuition acting within consciousness
two opposite sides in existence such as sub- and time cannot apprehend the Absolute
ject and object, time and space, individual Being. However, virtual intuition conjoin-
and society, and so on are two aspects of ing the experienced with what is perceived
the same thing. However, human beings and realities with the ideal may apprehend
cannot comprehend this whole for it is the Absolute Being at the same time and in
irrational; that is, it cannot be reduced the same conscious act.
488
LKEN
Hilmi Ziya wrote his books and essays structures, and the history of the Turkish
mainly in Turkish. However, a significant experience of Westernization are examined
number of his works were written in Ger- in this work. This study is still an important
man, French, and even English. Ak Ahlak work in this area in Turkey.
(Ethics of Love) is still one of his most influ- Hilmi Ziya is one of the first Turkish phi-
ential books written in Turkish. Here, Hilmi losophers in modern times to have worked
Ziya attempts at reconciling what he calls and published on Islamic philosophy, and
the gap between ordinary Turkish people especially on the history of Islamic philoso-
and the intellectuals. According to him, the phy. He explored the lives, education, works,
main cause of this practical problem was the and views of Turkish and other Muslim phi-
rapid transition from the Ottoman Empire losophers from the Middle Ages to modern
to the Turkish Republic, from the values of times. Trk Tefekkr Tarihi (History of
Eastern civilization to the West. Ak Ahlak Turkish Thought), Farabi, Ibn Haldun, Ibn
proposes some methods to breach this gap. Rd and slam Dncesine Giri (An Intro-
Tarihi Maddecilie Reddiye (Refuta- duction to Islamic Thought) are some of the
tion to Historical Materialism) is another works of this kind.
important work. In one of his early books Hilmi Ziya lectured thousands of students
Yirminci Asr Filozoflar (Twentieth-Cen- for about fifty years and thus contributed to
tury Philosophers), Hilmi Ziya agrees with the cultivation of many teachers, lecturers,
historical materialism and adopts politi- and intellectuals. Therefore, he is reputed to
cal Marxism. In due course he comes to be the teacher of teachers in Turkey. The
believe that historical materialism cannot be contemporary Turkish philosophers Sley-
defended because social events do not occur man Hayri Bolay and Necati ner are among
in a dialectical manner. Here, Hilmi Ziya them. Behind this tireless endeavor lay his
asserts that materialists misuse the scientific strong conviction that modern Turkey needs
data. He points to the contradictions in the to develop a humanist renaissance in order
Darwinian theory of evolution. In addi- to solve its problems and be a part of the
tion, materialist ideas of ethics and religion, modern world.
which assert that ethics and religion change
in accordance with the means of produc-
tion, do not reflect the truth. According to BIBLIOGRAPHY
Hilmi Ziya, this is not possible because ethi- Yirminci Asr Filozoflar (Twentieth-
cal values do not change with the change in Century Philosophers), Istanbul: Kanaat
social conditions. Religion, too, cannot be Kitabevi, 1936.
formed by, and is not the opium of, human Tarihi Maddecilie Reddiye (Refutation
beings. to Historical Materialism), Istanbul:
Hilmi Ziyas Trkiyede ada Dnce Kardeler Matbaasi, 1951.
Tarihi (History of Modern Thought in Tur- slam Dncesine Giri (An Introduction
key) deals with one of the most important to Islamic Thought), Istanbul: Istanbul
issues in modern Turkey, the Turkish expe- Edebiyat Fakltesi Yayn, 1954.
rience of Westernization. How to attain the slam Felsefesi Tarihi (History of Islamic
development levels of the West and how Philosophy), Istanbul: Istanbul
quickly to do this are some of the main ques- niversitesi Edebiyat Fakltesi
tions discussed here. In addition, the cur- Yayn, 1957.
rent status of Turkish society, the historical Bilgi ve Deer (Knowledge and Value),
conditions determining the countrys social Ankara: Krsi Yaynlar, 1965.
489
LKEN
Trkiyede ada Dnce Tarihi (History ner, Necati, Felsefe Yolunda Dnceler
of Modern Thought in (Thought on the Way to Philosophy),
Turkey), Istanbul: Konya Seluk Ankara: Aka Yaynlar, 1999.
Yayn, 1966. Trk Yurdu (Turkish Land), special issue
Varlk ve Olu (Existence and Being), on Hilmi Ziya lken, 2002, vol. 22,
Ankara: Ankara niversitesi lahiyat no. 174.
Fakltesi Yayn, 1968.
Ak Ahlak (Ethics of Love), 3rd edn,
muhsin akba
Ankara: Demirba Yayn, 1971.
Further Reading
Sanay, Eyyp, Hilmi Ziya lken, Ankara:
Gazi niversitesi Yaynlar, 1991. Umar Ibn al-Farid,see Ibn al-Farid
490
W
WALI ALLAH, Shah (Qutb al-Din ibn Dar al-Ulum) in India and a rich intellec-
Ahmad al-Rahim)(111476/170362) tual legacy, both a written magnum opus
and well-trained disciples, including his
Shah Wali Allah, whose original name is four sons, the eldest of whom, Shah Abd
Qutb al-Din Ahmad b. Abd al-Rahim, was al-Aziz, was very effective in both academic
born in 1114/1703 near Delhi into a mem- and counter-colonial activities against the
ber of a highly distinguished family, and British. Nearly all of his students became
died in the same city in 1176/1762. He was eminent scholars of their time. His influence
a major savant within the Asharite tradition was strong on such intellectual and politi-
of Sunni Islam in eighteenth-century India, cal figures as Sayyid Ahmad Barelvi, Sayyid
and one of the greatest Muslim scholars in Ahmad Khan, Mahmood Hassan, Muham-
the Islamic world. mad Iqbal, Mawlana Ilyas, Abul Kalam
At Delhi, he received a highly advanced Azad, Abul Ala Mawdudi, and others.
education at the madrasa of the city, which In 1143/17312, Shah Wali Allah went
had been established by his father, Shah on pilgrimage (hajj) and remained in Mecca
Abd al-Rahim. He studied the fundamen- and Medina for more than a year, studying
tal Islamic sciences, Persian language, and hadith (accounts, deeds, and advice of the
literature, and highly sophisticated theologi- Prophet) and theology with eminent theolo-
cal philosophy, mystical theories, and other gians in the region. He engaged there in intel-
related sciences pertaining to textual studies. lectual activities and spiritual regimentation.
At barely fifteen years old, he graduated from During this time, he is said to have seen the
the school. His father was a Sufi and thus in forty-seven spiritual visions and encountered
the same year he initiated his son into the saintly experiences which became the main
well-known Naqshibandiya order of Sufism. ideas of his famous mystical work, Fuyud
Until the death of his father in 1131/1719, al-haramayn (Spiritual Visions of the Sacred
he continued his career as a teacher at the Places, Mecca and Medina). He made his
Madrasa-e-Rahimiyya; he then became the second hajj and returned home to Delhi in
principal of the madrasa and continued to 1144/1732, and spent the rest of his life
teach there for nearly twelve years. teaching the sciences of hadith and meta-
While teaching, he also advanced his physics and engaged in writing.
cognitive searches, intellectual spheres, and Shah Wali Allah lived in a very precari-
conciliatory functions among the warring ous time when the Muslim empire was in the
factions in the Indian subcontinent. Shah process of disintegration in the Indian sub-
Wali Allah also became a precursor of an continent and the Muslim community was
academic school (the Deoband school, or divided into many factions and in constant
491
WALI ALLAH
disagreement. After the death of Aurang- qismat (fatalism). Wali Allah held that man
zeb, the last Mughal emperor of India, in could realize his full potentiality by his own
1119/1707, the political structure and moral exertion in the realm of possibilities. In the
conditions of the Muslims in the subcontinent realm of theology, he opposed the veneration
disintegrated and large areas of the empire of saints or anything that can get in the way
were lost to Hindu and Sikh rulers of the Dec- of monotheism in general.
can and the Punjab. As a result Indian Mus- In the metaphysics of Sufism, he tried to
lims had to accept the rule of non-Muslims. reconstruct Islamic metaphysics in congru-
This challenge and its depressing mood occu- ence with the precepts of the Quran and
pied Wali Allahs adult life. Living in the core the Sunna of the Prophet. Applying a more
of the empire, he was able to analyze the dire rational methodology to the controversial
situation of the Muslim community and of issues of metaphysics and seeking a har-
the political situation. In order to bring stabil- mony between earlier and contemporary
ity to the decaying empire, he wrote both in Islamic metaphysical notions via construc-
the form of letters and pamphlets to the Mus- tive criticism, he formulated a middle way
lim ruling and intellectual elite to make them in Islamic metaphysics. Hence he was the
aware of the downfall of the empire. In order first to harmonize the incongruous meta-
to reconcile the various factions of Indian physical doctrines of wahdat al-wujud
Muslims and so protect the empire from com- (unity of being) of Ibn al-Arabi and wahdat
plete disintegration, social and political, he al-shuhud (unity of realization) of Ahmad
sought to create a common theo-metaphysical Faruq Sirhindi. In the terminology of wahdat
ground by utilizing a new rational interpreta- al-shuhud, being is only one and it is God;
tion of the Islamic texts and by reconstruct- and all other beings, potential or actual, are
ing a new mode of hermeneutics harmonizing manifestations of the Divine Names (Asma)
both reason and revelation. Contending that and Attributes (Sifat), descended gradually
the cause of the breakdown of the Muslims (tanazzulat al-khamsafive descents) or
in India was their ignorance of and inability taayyunat al-khamsa (five manifestations)
to reach the Quran, he started to form a reli- into various modes of being. Neverthe-
gious movement based on the call Back to less, in the doctrinal framework of wahdat
the Quran; thus, he initiated the translation al-shuhud, in terms of being, God and cre-
of the Quran into Persian to make it acces- ation are not identical; and creation is just
sible for the Muslims of India and his anno- a shadow or reflection of the Divines Name
tated Persian translation of the Quran is still and Attributes when they are reflected in the
popular today in India and Pakistan. cosmic mirrors of their opposite non-beings
According to Wali Allah, religious ideas (adam al-mutaqabila). Shah Wali Allah
and precepts were universal and eternal, tried to reconcile this incongruity by claim-
but their application could involve different ing that if all the metaphors and paradigms
circumstances. Thus, he constructed a new used for the expression of these subtle theo-
doctrine of application, tatbiq, whereby the ries are left aside, the incongruent views of
Islamic principles were reconstructed and the two metaphysicians will agree on some
reapplied in accordance with the Quran point. In reconstructing Islamic metaphysi-
and the Sunna. Then, he reinserted the long- cal hermeneutics in a new mode, he was able
abandoned practice of ijtihad (independent to make the doctrine of wahdat al-wujud
discernment) in the intellectual frame of the usable and acceptable for the mutakallimun
Muslim world. Furthermore, he reinterpreted (philosophical theologians).
the concept of taqdir (predetermination) and In legal theory, Shah Wali Allah was jur-
was very critical of its other forms, such as isprudentially eclectic and adduced that a
492
WALI ALLAH
Muslim could follow any of the four schools new cohesive modes pertaining to the real-
of Islamic law on any point of ritual. Thus, ity of wujud (being), the knowledge of God
he sought to form a foundation for bringing and human knowledge, the relationship
the four schools of law closer to each other. between the Creator and the cosmos, and
He wrote commentaries on the Muwatta (a the reality of prophecy and the prophethood
hadith compendium) of Imam Malik, called of Muhammad. Then, he discusses the prin-
al-Musawwa in Arabic and al-Musaffa in ciples of sainthood and Sufism. In the eighth
Persian, with the aim of finding a foundation and ninth chapters, practical and theoretical
for the reconciliation of different Islamic religious matters, such as the Sharia (Islamic
legal schools. In the same vein, he wrote also law) and the eschatological theories of Islam,
Aqd al-jid fi ahkam al-ijtihad wal taqlid, are evaluated. In the last chapter, his theolog-
in which he claimed that the door of ijtihad ical views, generally in line with the Asharite
(individual discernment) is open and ulama theological school, are discussed.
(religious scholars) and mujtahidun (legists) Another metaphysical work is Altaf al-
should act in accordance with the realities of quds fi marifat lataif al-nafs (Sacred Knowl-
new circumstances and conditions. edge in the Realization of the Inner Soul),
Besides these epistemic functions, one of which deals with the inner, subconscious
the most salient aspects of his work was his dimensions of human personality, the fea-
ability to reconcile opposing and contesting tures of the external and internal dimensions
notions by applying rational argumentation of human being, such as the heart, the intel-
and discourse, through which he tried to lect, the spirit, the self, the secret (al-sirr),
establish the unity of the Muslim community and the ego. He also analyzes metaphysical
and desperately sought, as a skillful recon- concepts, such as inspiration (ilham), intu-
ciler, a mutual cooperation and communica- ition (kashf), and the like. In the last section
tion between the Sunni and Shii schools of of the book he tries to explicate the problem
Islam. Shah Wali Allah wrote in both Arabic of thoughts and their causes, internal and
and Persian. He published around seventy external, which lead to the production of
works as well as five compendia of letters thought and thinking.
and epistles. He wrote about thirteen tracks His Sataat (Manifestations), is a detailed
on metaphysics, by which he tried to recon- explication of wujud (being). He sees exis-
struct a more balanced metaphysical theory. tence as composed of existence and essence,
One of his most impressive masterpieces is and having many grades and modes. The
Hujjat Allah al-baligha (The Profound Evi- particular being is modeled in terms of tash-
dence of Allah), in which he evaluates and kik (gradation) and kathrat (multiplicities) of
reorients theoretical and practical aspects of being, which are connected to other material
Islam. The first part evaluates metaphysics, beings in a spiritual way and are manifested
scholastic theology, and social evolutionary in various stages of being, or hierarchy/gra-
theory in the passing of time, and the hikma dations of being (tashkik al-wujud). In his
(wisdom) behind the divine injunctions and important metaphysical tract al-Budur al-ba-
prohibitions. The second part deals with zigha (The Full Moons Rising in Splendour),
akhlaq (ethics, practical ethics, or politics), he is concerned with the basic metaphysical
rituals, and social life in Islam. problems, such as wujud (being), the unity of
Another important work dealing with God, the essence and existence of God, and
metaphysics is al-Khayr al-kathir (The the relationship between God and the cos-
Abundant Good), which is divided into ten mos, which is regarded as the representation
chapters or, by his description of it, khizana of His divine attributes. Anthropological
(treasures). The book seeks to reconstruct considerations with regard to human beings
493
WALI ALLAH
societal and rational aspects, their relation- Hujjat Allah al-Baligha (The Profound
ship with the divine, and thence the rationale Evidence of Allah), Lahore: Shaikh
behind the emergence of various religious Ghulam Ali and Sons, 1979.
laws and different creedal communities are Lamahat (Flashes of Lightning),
evaluated in this magnum opus. Hyderabad: Shah Wali Allah Academy,
Al-Tafhimat al-ilahiyya (Instructions or 1963; trans. G. Jalbani, Sufism and the
Clear Understanding) is one of Shah Wali Islamic Tradition: the Lamahat and
Allahs most essential metaphysical works. Sataat of Shah Waliullah, London:
Using both Arabic and Persian terms to frame Octagon Press, 1980.
his metaphysical concepts, he enunciates his Sataat (Manifestations), trans. into Urdu
spiritual experiences and visions in specially by S. M. Hashimi, Lahore: Idarah
divided sections, called tafhim (instruction). Thaqafat Islamiyya, 1989; trans.
The book also consists of several letters G. Jalbani, Sufism and the Islamic
and tracts written to different people and Tradition: the Lamahat and Sataat of Shah
explaining several important issues ranging Waliullah, London: Octagon Press, 1980.
from the theories of wahdat al-wujud and Altaf al-Quds (The Sacred Knowledge), ed.
wahdat al-shuhud to those of cosmological D. Pendlebury, trans. G. Jalbani, London:
and anthropological matters. Octagon, 1982.
Shah Wali Allah made significant con-
tributions to the Muslim community in Further Reading
the Indian subcontinent during his lifetime Hermansen, M., Shah Wali Allah of
in the religio-spiritual, politico-economic, Delhis Hujjat Allah al-baligha: Tension
and social and intellectual domains and the Between the Universal and the Particular
effects of these contributions are still visible in an 18th Century Islamic Theory of
in the present time. His theoretical and func- Religious Revelation, Studia Islamica,
tional reconstruction of the Islamic sciences 63 (1985), pp. 14357.
and philosophy has influenced and continues Kemal, R. and Kemal, S., Shah Waliullah,
to affect many later Islamic revivalists in the in S. H. Nasr and O. Leaman (eds),
Indian subcontinent. History of Islamic Philosophy, ch. 37,
London: Routledge, 1996, pp. 66370.
BIBLIOGRAPHY Khan, Hafiz A. Ghaffar, Shah Wali
Fuyud al-Haramayn (Emanations or Allah (Qutb al-Din Ahmad al-Rahim),
Spiritual Visions of Mecca and Medina), in E. Craig and L. Floridi (eds), The
Delhi: Matba Ahmadi, n.d. Encyclopedia of Philosophy, New York:
Al-Budur al-Bazighah (The Full Moons Routledge, 1998.
Rising in Splendour), Dabhail: Madinah Malik, H., Shah Wali Allahs Last
Barqi Press, 1934. Testament, Muslim World, 63 (1973),
Al-Tafhimat (Instructions or Clear pp. 10518.
Understanding), 2 vols, Dabhail: Rizvi, S., Shah Wali Allah and His Times,
Madinah Barqi Press, 1936. Canberra: Marifat Publishing House, 1980.
Al-Khayr al-Kathir (The Abundant Good),
trans. G. Jalbani, Lahore: Ashraf, 1974. sevket yavuz
494
Y
Yahya, Abd al-Wahid,see Gunon, Rene a civil servant in the ministry of education.
He taught Turkish and French in various
schools and became headmaster of the lye
of Mercan. During these years, he became
a prominent member of the Servet-i Fnun
YALIN, Hseyin Cahit(12921377/ literary movement as a novelist and short-
18751957) story writer as well as a critic. After the res-
toration of the Constitution in 1326/1908,
Hseyin Cahit was born in Balkesir (Tur- Hseyin Cahit entered political life and
key) on 8 Dhul-Qadah 1292/December 7, joined the Committee of Union and Prog-
1875, and died in Istanbul on 23 Ramadan ress (tihhad ve Terakki). He also established
1377/October 17, 1957. He was a well- Tanin newspaper through which he defended
known Turkish writer, journalist, and poli- the principles of the Committee. Later this
tician. His father was Ali Rda Efendi, and newspaper became an organ of that party.
his mother was Fatma Neyyire Hanm. His He was elected as a member of parliament
father was a government accountant who and later became a president of the parlia-
served in Balkesir. While Hseyin Cahit was ment. During the Mutiny of March 31 (22
a small child, the family moved to Istanbul. Ramadan 1327/April 13, 1909), the Tanin
He started his primary education in Istanbul. newspaper was raided, and another deputy
After his father was appointed as a govern- mistaken for him was killed. Because of his
ment accountant at Serres in Macedonia, he criticism of some of the policies of the gov-
continued his education there. When he was ernment, he was sentenced to a one-month
thirteen years old, he moved with his mother imprisonment in 1330/1912. He also served
to Istanbul and started his lye education. as creditors delegate to the Administration
He wrote his first novel Nadide (Unique) in of the Ottoman Public Departments.
his lye years. In those years he also left the After the British occupation of Istanbul
religious worldview and instead adopted a in 1337/1919, Hseyin Cahit was exiled to
more Westernized approach. He started rea Malta, together with a number of leading
ding extensively various Turkish and French Turkish intellectuals and politicians. Dur-
writers such as Beir Fuad, Namk Kemal, ing his Malta years, he learned English and
Bourget, and Emile Zola. Italian. Having been released from Malta, he
Having completed his lye education, resumed the publication of Tanin and begun
Hseyin Cahit enrolled in the School of to criticize seriously the Ankara regime
Political Science (Mlkiye). On graduating of Mustafa Kemal. He defended freedom
from this school in 1314/1896, he became and democracy against the authoritarian
495
YESEVI
administration of the government, which Leone Caetani. He also wrote Turkish gram-
was carrying out a series of radical reforms. mar basing his analysis upon French gram-
He was twice tried by the Tribunal of Inde- mar. His Edebi Hatralar (Literary Memoirs,
pendence and was exiled to orum, a central 1353/1935) possesses great documentary
Anatolian city. In 1344/1926 he returned to value about Turkish literary and political
Istanbul, but until 1357/1938 he was lonely, history during his lifetime.
facing much economic hardship. After Mus- Hseyin Cahit has played a significant role
tafa Kemals death, he reentered political life in transferring Western values to Turkish
and became a deputy for the Republican Peo- intellectuals as well as to ordinary people.
ples Party and resumed the publication of his His translations of Western thinkers such as
newspaper Tanin. He later became the editor Emile Durkheim, John Stuart Mill, and Emile
of Ulus, an organ of the Republican Peoples Boutroux were an important contribution in
Party. In 1373/1954, his violent criticism of shaping modern Turkish culture.
Democrat Party government led to his arrest
and imprisonment for several months. Further Reading
A political figure, a journalist as well as Bengi, Hilmi, Gazeteci, Siyaseti ve Fikir
novelist, Hseyin Cahit was a committed Adam Olarak Hseyin Cahit Yaln,
defender of freedom and democracy. He (Hseyin Cahit Yaln as a Journalist,
was an active member of Servet-i Fnun Thinker and Politician), Ankara: Atatrk
and Edebiyat- Cedide (New Literature) lit- Aratrmalar Merkezi Yaynlar, 2000.
erary movement. He was also an ambitious Hizarc, Suat, Hseyin Cahit Yaln,
politician and a combative journalist. Under stanbul: Varlk Yaynevi, 1957.
the influence of French authors, he became Huyugzel, . Faruk, Hseyin Cahit
a staunch defender of Western values and Yalnn Hayat ve Edebi Eserleri
worldviews. zerine bir Aratrma (Surveys on the
His novels, Nadide (Unique, 1308/1892) Life and Works of Hseyin Cahit Yaln),
and Hayal inde (In a Dream, 1319/1901), zmir: Ege niversitesi Edebiyat Fakltesi
and his short stories Hayat- Muhayyel Yaynlar, 1984.
(A Dreamed Life, 1317/1899), Hayat-
Hakikiye Sahneleri (Sciences of Real Life, adnan aslan
1328/1910), and Niin Aldatrlarm? (Why
do They Deceive?, 1342/1924) reflect a real-
ism mixed with sentimentalism and sympa-
thy for the poor and weak. Hseyin Cahits
articles on literary criticism, which were YESEVI, Ahmed(c. 10931166)
not published as an independent book, are
of documentary importance for the literary Considered by many to be the patron saint
criticism of the period. Some of his polem- of Turks, the Pir-i Turkistan Hoca Ahmed
ics have been collected in Kavgalarm (My Yesevi was born in Sayram, Turkistan. His
Polemics, 1328/1910). His contribution to father Shaykh Ibrahim was a scholar of
Turkish culture as a translator was remark- some repute. He received his spiritual educa-
able. He translated from French, English, tion under a certain Arslan Baba. Later he
and Italian a large number of important moved to Bukhara and became a disciple of
works on history, sociology, political sci- the famous Naqshibandiya shaykh Yusuf
ence, and literature, varying from Lamartine Hamadhani. After succeeding his master
and Emile Durkheim to an Italian orientalist in 1160, he returned to his hometown Yasi
496
YUNUS IBN ABD AL-RAHMAN
where he remained until his death. His tomb Further Reading

became a major sanctuary and the famous Eraslan, Kemal, Divan-i Hikmetten
Turkish ruler Timur (13361405) built a Semeler, Ankara: Kltr Bakanl,
major mausoleum for him. 1991.
Yesevis spiritual teachings were quickly
appropriated by the Turkish tribes of Central ibrahim kalin
Asia, leading to the creation of a widespread
Yesevi tradition. Through his simple formu-
lations of Islamic spirituality, he attracted
many followers. But he also incorporated
many pre-Islamic Turkish traditions into YUNUS IBN ABD AL-RAHMAN, Abu
his teachings. His book of poetry Divan-i Muhammad(d. 208/823)
Hikmet (The Divan of Wisdom), written in
vernacular Turkish, is the first work of Turk- Abu Muhammad Yunus b. Abd al-Rahman
ish Sufi literature and remains to this day a al-Qummi is reported to have been born
major source of inspiration for both Sufi and in the time of the Umayyad caliph Hisham
non-Sufi Turks. The later traditions attribute b. Abd al-Malik (ruled 10525/72343).
to him many miracles (keramat). The exact date of his birth is uncertain. He
Yesevis teachings were carried to Ana- died in 208/823 in Medina. Yunus was an
tolia through his successors. Among these, Imami theologian of the second/eighth cen-
Haci Bekta Veli and Sar Saltuk are the tury to whom Sunni heresiographers ascribed
most important. Yesevis disciples, how- a circle of philosophy called the Yunusiyya.
ever, took on a missionary role even when Yunus b. Abd al-Rahman was the mawla
Yesevi was still alive. Considering that the of the Shii Yaqtin family. Although an
twelfth century witnessed the rapid expan- account shows Yunuss meeting with the
sion and migration of the newly converted imam al-Sadiq in Medina, he did not relate
Turkish tribes from Central Asia toward any traditions from him. His real career
western lands, he left an indelible mark on began in the time of the imam al-Kazim and
the later generations of Turkish Muslims. lasted through the imamate of al-Rida. After
Turkish Muslims have always been attracted al-Kazims death, he questioned al-Rida and,
to Sufism, and it is safe to say that Ahmed being convinced of his response, acknowl-
Yesevi has played a central role in combin- edged his imamate. Accordingly, Yunus was
ing the chivalrous qualities of Central Asian seen disputing against the Waqifa, a group
Turks with the moderate and gentle teach- which denied al-Kazims death and declared
ings of traditional Sufism. that he was the mahdi (the messiah). Al-Rida
Another important factor for Yesevis also ordered Yunus to prevent the Imami
remarkable success is his insistence on pursu- followers from the temptation of following
ing a moderate form of Sufism. In this regard, the extremist Shii Muhammad b. Furat. He
his poems and teachings, most of which are probably demonstrated the experience that
shrouded in oral history and legend, contain he had gained through disputing with the
no excessive statements that would cause extremists in one of his works entitled Kitab
problems with legal scholars. al-Radd ala al-ghulat (Book of the Refuta-
tion of the Extremists).
BIBLIOGRAPHY As well as having proficiency in theol-
Divan-i Hikmet, ed. Hayati Bice, Ankara: ogy, Yunus was an expert in jurisprudence.
Turkiye Diyanet Vakf, 1993. Most of his works, none of which is extant,
497
YUNUS IBN ABD AL-RAHMAN
were collections of traditions on several within the Imami group. Yunus is regarded
legal subjects. He also wrote books on the by Imami scholarship as among four men
imamate and bada (the change in Gods about whom it is claimed that they had ulti-
will) in addition to treatises on moral- mate knowledge of the prophets. Al-Rida
ity and more mystical subjects, such as also advised some of his followers to learn
Kitab al-Lulu fi al-zuhd (Book of Pearls their religion from Yunus. It is clearly under-
in Asceticism) and Kitab al-Adab (Book of stood that many theologians of the early peri-
Good Manners). ods of the Imami Shia, like Yunus, behaved
Yunus b. Abd al-Rahman was an anthro- independently in their intellectual activities.
pomorphist. He claimed that angels bore The imams do not seem to have interfered
al-Arsh (the Throne of God), and al-Arsh with the achievements of these theologians.
bore God; according to tradition, the angels Because they were powerful in the Shii com-
groaned under the weight of the magni- munity and, often, the disciples of more than
tude of God. Yunus likened these angels to one imam, the imams always needed their
cranes whose thin legs could bear their bod- approval and assistance. Therefore, so long
ies though their bodies were much heavier as they remained loyal to their group, the
and larger than their legs. He further claimed imams never chose to excommunicate them.
that there was some of the substance of God Several statements of imams against these
(jawhariyya) in humankind. He also main- theologians were severe enough not only to
tained that Heaven and Hell had not yet warn them not to go so far in promulgating
been created. Because of these ideas, al-Rida their peculiar ideas, but also to keep their
disparaged Yunus. In the imams own words, followers in line.
whosoever likens God to His creature is a
polytheist. He ordered his followers not to Further Reading
pray behind Yunus and his disciples. Some al-Kashshi, Abu Amr Muhammad
Shii are said to have accused him of being a b. Umar, Ikhtiyar marifat al-rijal
heretic (zindiq). Shiis of Qum also severely (Selections from the Information
criticized him for his free application of ijti- on Important Personalities), ed.
had (individual judgment) to theological H. al-Mustafawi, Mashhad: Danishgah-i
and legal problems. Hisham al-Hakam, Mashhad, 1969.
the Shii philosopher, was accused of being al-Khui, Abu al-Qasim al-Musawi, Mujam
responsible for influencing Yunus. However, Rijal al-Hadis (Biographical Dictionary
the anthropomorphism of Yunus seems to of the Hadith Narrators), 23 vols, Beirut:
have gone beyond that of Hisham since the al-Marashi, 1989.
latters ideas were described as the anthropo- al-Nashshar, Ali Sami, Nashat al-fikr
morphism of meaning (al-tajsim al-maani) al-falsafi fil-islam (Formation of
whereas Yunus is said to have professed pure Philosophical Thought in Islam), Cairo:
anthropomorphism (al-tajsim al-mahd). Dar al-maarifa, 19778.
Al-Fadl b. Shadhan (d. 260/873), whose al-Shahrastani, Abu al-Fath Muhammad
father was recorded as one of Yunus stu- b. Abd al-Karim, al-Milal wa al-nihal
dents, probably continued to represent (The Religions and the Sects), eds. A.
Yunus thoughts. A. Mahna and A. H. Faur, Beirut: Dar
The narrations in which Yunus was con- al-marifa, 1998.
demned because of his philosophical ideas
contradicted his well-documented reliability m. ali buyukkara
498
Z
ZURARA IBN AYAN, Abu al-Hasan Because Zurara died shortly after al-
(d. c. 150/767) Sadiqs death, his stand during the crisis of
leadership after al-Sadiq remained unclear.
Abu al-Hasan (or Abu Ali) Abd Rabbih The supporters of the imamate of Abdallah
Zurara b. Ayan al-Shaybani al-Kufi was b. Jafar al-Sadiq, the Aftahiyya, considered
probably born in Kufa in the last quarter of him to be a member of their group. Musa b.
the first century, the exact date of his birth Jafar al-Sadiq also reports him supporting
being uncertain. The date given for his death Musas imamate. However, there is another
is 150/767. However, some accounts indicate account which seems to be more reliable
that his death occurred in Kufa a few months about Zuraras historical and geographi-
later after the death of the imam al-Sadiq, who cal situation. When Abdallah b. Jafar was
died in 148/765. Therefore, if this was the recognized as the new imam by the major-
case, he might have died in 149/766. Zurara ity, Zurara sent his son Ubayd to Medina
b. Ayan, the renowned Shii scholar, was the to investigate the situation. But before
founding father of the early Imami-Shii school Ubayds return, he died having not recog-
of theology (kalam) in the second/eighth cen- nized any successor to al-Sadiq. Or, accord-
tury, to which Abu Jafar al-Ahwal, Hisham ing to another report, he simply asked for
al-Jawaliqi, Hisham al-Hakam, Ali ibn a Quran and declared that it was his imam
Maytham, and Yunus ibn Abd al-Rahman and there was no other imam any longer
are said to have belonged. for him.
Zuraras grandfather Sinbas (or Sunsun) Although Zurara is regarded by the ima-
was an enslaved Greek monk who converted miyya as a truthworthy narrator (siqa) of
to Islam. The father Ayan was a mawla of hadith, some of his views are reported to
the Shayban tribe. The family was famous have been criticized by the imams. Al-Sadiq
for its members association with Shiism. blamed him for his judgment by analogy
Zuraras brothers, such as Humran and (qiyas) in religious issues. His belief in al-
Bukayr, were also well-known Shii person- Sadiqs knowledge of the unknown through
alities in their times. Zurara b. Ayan was a divinely imparted knowledge (ilm) and his
devout companion of the imams al-Baqir and ideas about Gods knowledge and mans abil-
al-Sadiq. Shii sources describe him as the ity to act (istitaa) were also the subjects of
greatest man of the Shia in jurisprudence, criticism in the books of Shii tradition. He
hadith, theology and Shii partisanship. defended taqiyya, the avoidance of persecu-
His efforts to preserve al-Baqirs sayings was tion or hardship by concealing belief. He also
highly appreciated later by al-Sadiq. argued that the ordinary mans knowledge is
499
ZURARA IBN AYAN
the result of his own act of reasoning (nazar) Further Reading

whereas the imams knowledge was con- Abtahi, Muhammad Ali al-Muwahhid,
strained (idtirari), which meant that God Tarikh ahl-i zurara (History of the Family
created it within them. of Zurara), Matbaa-i rabbani, place and
Unlike his students, such as Abu Jafar date of publication not stated.
al-Ahwal and al-Jawaliqi, Zurara does al-Kashshi, Abu Amr Muhammad b. Umar,
not seem to have held anthropomorphic Ikhtiyar marifat al-rijal (Selections
ideas. However, his views on istitaa and from the Information on the Important
the attributes of God were generally shared Personalities), ed. H. al-Mustafawi,
by subsequent theologians. He is reported Mashhad: Danishgah-i Mashhad, 1969.
to have written a book on istitaa and jabr al-Khui, Abu al-Qasim al-Musawi, Mujam
(determinism). According to Zurara, the rijal al-hadith (Biographical Dictionary
ability to act (istitaa) did not mean mans of the Hadith Narrators), Beirut:
free ability to perform. It is simply health al-Marashi, 1989.
(sihha). Every healthy man has the ability al-Nashshar, Ali Sami, Nashat al-fikr
to act, which means that this kind of ability al-falsafi fi l-islam (Formation of
is prior to action. Zurara denied the eternal Philosophical Thought in Islam), Cairo:
nature of Gods attributes. He said that God Dar al-maarifa, 19778.
had not been involved in knowing, hearing, al-Shahrastani, Abu al-Fath Muhammad
and seeing until he created for himself the b. Abd al-Karim, al-Milal wa al-nihal
attributes of knowledge, hearing, and seeing. (The Religions and the Sects), eds.
On account of these ideas attributed to him, A. A. Mahna, A. H. Faur, Beirut:
Sunni heresiographers ascribed to Zurara b. Dar al-marifa, 1998.
Ayan a circle of philosophy called the Zura-
riyya or the Taymiyya. m. ali buyukkara
500
Glossary
adhan call to prayer hadith tradition (of the Prophet and

ahadith traditions (sayings of the Prophets his Companions)
and his Companions) hafiz one who has memorized the Quran
ahl al-lisan people of the language hajj pilgrimage
(i.e. Arabs) hal state
alam al-khayal imaginal realm, realm halal permissible
of imagination haram forbidden
alfaz words hijab covering worn by women
ana al-haqq I am the truth
Ansar supporters, i.e. the Muslims of ihya revival (of religion)
Medina who supported the Prophet ijaz al-quran miracle of the Quran
aqida creed ijma consensus
Ashariyya school of theology ijtihad independent judgement
ayat Allah signs of God, verses of Ikhwan al-Safa Brethren of Purity
the Quranic suras imam religious or prayer leader
iman belief
baladi local inshaalla if God wills it
baraka blessing ishraqi Illuminationist, philosophical
batin closed, hidden school
bida innovation ittihad communion
bismilla in the name of God ittisal contact
dhawq taste (experience of God in Sufism) jahaliyya ignorance (pre-Islamic period)

dhikr recollection (of God in Sufism) janna paradise
jinn invisible beings
falasifa philosophers
falsafa philosophy kafir unbeliever
fana ecstasy kalam theology
fasih eloquent kasb acquisition
fatwa legal pronouncement kashf unveiling
fiqh jurisprudence khalifa caliph
firdaus paradise khalq creation
fuqaha jurisprudents kitabi of the Book (i.e. one of the People
of the Book)
ghazal verse form kufr unbelief
501
Glossary
maani meanings Shii/Shia party (of Ali) minority group

mana concept, meaning in Islam, giving special status to the
mashshai Peripatetic (philosophical school) family of the Prophet
mawla freed slave shirk idolatry
mushrikun idolaters sunna custom (of the Prophet and
mutakalim, mutakallimun theologian, his Companions)
theologians sunni majority group of Muslims
Mutaziliyya school of theology
tafsir commentary
Nahj al-balagha The Peak of Eloquence tajwid recitation
nazar reasoning tariqa path
tasawwuf mysticism, Sufism
pir leader
tawhid unity
qasida poem
qiyas analogy umma community
Quran the Reading usul (al-fiqh) principles of jurisprudence
wahdat al-wujud unity of being
sabr patience
salafi traditionalist Wahhabism followers of ibn al-Wahhab,
sama audition officially recognized in Saudi Arabia
sharia religious law Wazir vizier, leading minister in the
shaykh leader government
502
Index
Abadi 1 Atf Efendi 367

Abd al-Jabbar 13, 54, 55, 61, 153, Attar 378, 74, 127, 179, 276, 277, 391,
238,257 394, 426, 428, 430, 440, 441
Abdu 34, 11, 12, 76, 115, 144, 145, Azraf 3940
3289, 383, 424, 436
Abu Hanifa 45, 6, 121, 197, 244, 249, Babanzade 412
310, 348, 366, 375, 475 Badakhshani 423
Abu Jafar al-Ahwal 67, 150, 258, 500 Badawi 434, 335
Advar 8 al-Baghdadi, Abd al-Latif 44, 487
Afdal al-Din 910 al-Baghdadi, Abu Mansur 456,
al-Afghani 1012, 12, 52, 76, 115, 144, 153, 198
145, 327, 328, 357 Bahmanyar 468, 28990
al-Ahsai 24 al-Balkhi, Abu al-Qasim 48
Mehmet Akif Ersoy 1213 al-Balkhi, Abu Zayd 489, 3089
al-Aksarayi 1314, 103 al-Banjari 501, 102
Akemseddin 1415, 56, 348 al-Banna 514, 109, 145, 313, 333, 383
Al-e Ahmed 1516 al-Basri 2, 545, 172, 374, 461
Ali ibn Abi Talib 1617, 206, 238, 489 Bedreddin 557
al-Amidi 1718 Birgivi 578
al-Amili 1819 al-Biruni 5861, 225, 247
Amin, Ahmad 20 Bishr ibn Mutamir 61, 149, 341
al-Amiri 49, 93, 324, 478 al-Bistami 623, 264, 265, 276, 427
Al-Amuli 212, 273, 274 Bosnevi 634
Ankaravi 23, 391 Bostanzade 64
Ansari 2325, 277 Bursevi 646
al-Aqqad 256, 138, 436
Arkoun 2627, 326, 3345 elebi, Katib Mustafa ibn Abdullah 63,
Asad Afandi 29, 312 678
al-Asamm 2931, 61, 113, 149, 374 Cevdet, Abdullah 13, 41, 689, 87, 125,
al-Ashari 5, 323, 398, 438, 474, 475 244, 439
Ashkiwari 33, 384
Ashtiyani 33, 34, 350 al-Dabbagh 71
al-Askari 34, 374 al-Dashtaki, Sadr al-Din 712, 73
Assar 35 Davud, Abdulahad 723
Athir al-Din al-Abhari 35 al-Dawwani, Jalal al-Din 73, 323
503
Index
Dhul nun al-Misri, Abu al-Fayd 62, 745 Hamadhani, Ayn al-Qudat 1367
Djozo, Hseyin Efendi 767 HAMKA 1379
al-Harawi, Abdullah Ansari 13941,
Ebussuud Efendi, Mehmed 789 213, 260, 276
Enayetpuri, Khwaja 7980 Harputi, Abdullatif 141
Erturul, Ismail Fenni 878 Hayreddin Paa 1423
Esat Efendi, Yanya 88 Hayrullah Efendi 1434
al-Helmy, Burhanuddin 1447
al-Falimbani, Abdul Samad 50, 8990, Hidaji, Akhund Mulla Muhammad 147
102, 460 al-Hilli, Allama 148, 156
Fansuri, Hamzah 912 al-Hindi, Rahmat Allah 1489
al-Farabi 28, 41, 44, 69, 81, 85, 88, 90, al-Hakam, Abu Muhammad Hisham
927, 223, 224, 232, 240, 241, 290, ibn 14950, 206, 371, 374,
291, 293, 295, 322, 330, 356, 372, 498,499
381, 382, 420, 441, 456, 459, 477, Hocazade 1512, 198
481, 487 Hdayi, Aziz Mahmud 1523
al-Farghani, Ahmad 978 al-Hudhayl, Abul Hudhyal al-Allaf 30,
al-Farghani, Said 989 61, 113, 149, 1534, 206, 370
al-Farisi, Kamal al-Din 99101, 186, 217 Husayn, Taha 1545
al-Fatani, Dawud 50, 1013, 103 Husayni, Shah Tahir 1559
Fenari, Molla 14, 33, 1034, 131, 388
al-Firuzabadi, Muhammad ibn ibn Abd al-Wahhab 107, 140,
Yaqub 1045 1578,230
al-Fuwati, Hisham ibn Amr 11314 ibn Abi Usaybia, Muwaffaq al-Din 44,
97, 158, 278
Gaspral, Ismail 11516 ibn Abidin, Ahmad 1589, 364
Gelenbevi, Ismail 11617 ibn Abjiba, Abul-Abbas 162
al-Ghazali, Abu Hamid xi, xii, 15, 22, ibn al-Arabi, Muhyiddin xi, 15, 21, 22,
28, 37, 6970, 71, 801, 85, 89, 90, 23, 33, 56, 63, 65, 75, 78, 84, 87, 92,
11724, 135, 136, 145, 147, 151, 96, 98, 103, 104, 105, 136, 148, 159,
160, 166, 170, 175, 199, 202, 221, 16270, 179, 198, 199, 205, 223,
223, 227, 228, 232, 249, 250, 265, 230, 234, 257, 262, 263, 264, 269,
269, 270, 273, 275, 280, 282, 297, 273, 274, 283, 284, 289, 351, 352,
298, 316, 317, 318, 319, 320, 326, 358, 362, 364, 372, 387, 388, 428,
344, 345, 346, 361, 362, 367, 368, 430, 444, 445, 447, 462, 463, 464,
373, 390, 391, 394, 398, 406, 420, 465, 469, 472, 478, 492
423, 435, 447, 452, 478, 481, 487 ibn al-Arif 17071, 176
Gkalp, Ziya 13, 1245, 130, 251, 434 ibn al-Athir, Abu al-Fath 171
Glpnarl, Abdulbaki 1267 ibn Abil Khayr, Abu Said Fadlullah
Gunon, Ren 1279 15962, 276
Gnaltay, M. emseddin 12930 ibn Ata, Wasil 153, 1713, 3601
ibn Bajja, Abu Bakr 81, 1736, 219,
Haci Paa 1312 232,330, 382, 481
Hairi Yazdi, Mehdi 1323 ibn Barrajan, Abul Hakam 164, 170,
al-Hallaj, Abu al-Mughith al-Husayn 38, 171, 1767
1335, 166, 223, 264, 265, 463, 483 ibn Battuta, Abu Abd Allah 177
al-Hamadani, Mulla Husayn-qali 136 ibn al-Daya, Ahmad ibn Yusuf 177
504
Index
ibn Farid, Umar ibn Ali 98, 1789, 273, 344, 347, 350, 351, 354, 355, 356,
274, 445, 464 360, 361, 372, 381, 384, 387, 398,
ibn Faris, Abul-Husayn 1801, 248, 478 406, 420, 451, 452, 455, 456, 459,
ibn Furak, Abul Hasan 45, 1812, 389 465, 466, 472, 481, 482, 483
ibn Hanbal, Ahmad 31, 51, 1813, 229, ibn Taymiyya 57, 63, 140, 157, 183, 193,
230, 256, 257, 375, 449, 471 212, 213, 223, 22931, 238, 248,
ibn al-Haytham, Abu Ali al-Hasan 99, 256, 257, 266, 2923, 2978, 398
100, 1838, 216, 217 ibn Tufayl, Abu Bakr Muhammad 174,
ibn Hazm, Abu Muhammad 174, 18992, 219, 220, 223, 2324, 382
253, 371 ibn Turka 33, 234, 263, 387, 447, 472
ibn al-Jawzi, Abu al-Faraj 1923, 248, Idris Imad al-Din, Sayyid 2346, 239
345, 478 al-Idrisi 236
ibn Juljul 193 al-Iji 29, 88, 104, 237, 268
ibn Kammuna, Sad ibn Mansur Ikhwan al-Safa 84, 96, 23743, 303,
1937,347 477,481
ibn Karram, Muhammad 1978, 374 Ileri, Celal Nuri 2434
ibn Kemal 78, 1989 Iqbal, Muhammad 40, 2456, 491
ibn Khaldun 98, 105, 146, 179, 199204, Iranshahri, Abul-Abbas
223, 298, 336 Muhammad 2468
ibn Khallikan, Ahmad ibn al-Isfahani, Abu Nuaym 2489
Muhammad 74, 204, 204, 303 al-Isfahani, al-Raghib 24950
ibn Massara, Muhammad 164, 170, Izzet, Mehmet 2512
2045, 223
ibn Maytham, Ali 2056, 499 al-Jahiz 61, 172, 209, 2545, 256, 342,
ibn al-Muqaffa 20710, 237 370, 371
Ibn al-Nafis 21112 Jahm ibn Safwan 173, 2558
ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya 21213, 229 al-Jawaliqi, Hisham ibn Salim 7, 150,
ibn al-Qifti, Jamal al-Din xiv, 185, 206, 2589, 499, 500
213,238 al-Jilani, Abd al-Qadir 166, 193, 230,
ibn Qurra, Thabit 101, 185, 186, 21318, 2601, 464
ibn al-Rawandi 21819, 371, 478 al-Jili, Abd al-Karim 168, 2612
ibn Rushd, Abu al-Walid Muhammad xi, Jilwah, Mirza Abul-Hasan 33, 2623
xii, xvi, 25, 279, 38, 39, 44, 69, 81, al-Junayd, Abu al-Qasim 63, 134, 135,
85, 88, 90, 96, 122, 151, 163, 165, 161, 2636, 284, 389, 477
174, 199, 200, 21922, 223, 232, Junpuri Faruqi, Mulla Mahmud 266
240, 293, 298, 31621, 327, 330, al-Jurjani, Abd al-Qahir 2668
347, 373, 382, 420, 441, 481, 482 al-Jurjani, Mir Sayyid 2689
ibn Sabin, Abu Muhammad 2224, 292 Juwayni, Imam al-Haramayn 117, 160,
ibn Sina xii, xvi, 14, 17, 19, 28, 35, 36, 26970, 367, 434
41, 44, 46, 47, 59, 69, 81, 82, 85, 88,
93, 96, 97, 99, 100, 102, 117, 119, Kam, mer Ferit 2712
120, 131, 132, 133, 136, 147, 148, al-Kashani, Afdal al-Din 2723
187, 188, 194, 195, 196, 199, 200, al-Kayseri, Dawud 168, 2734, 387
211, 221, 223, 2248, 232, 233, 240, Khayyam, Omar 68, 127, 2746,
251, 263, 275, 276, 282, 283, 288, 289,482
289, 290, 291, 293, 296, 297, 298, al-Kharakani, Abul-Hasan 161, 2767
308, 317, 320, 322, 330, 337, 343, al-Khoi, Ayatullah al-Uzma Sayyid 277
505
Index
al-Khwarazmi/Khwarizmi, Abu Jafar Mnif Paa, Mehmet Tahir 35780

Muhammad 59, 278 Mustafa Ali 3589
al-Kindi, Abu Yusuf Yaqub xi, 21, 278, Mutahhari, Murtaza 338, 35960, 473
37, 44, 49, 69, 99, 187, 200, 247,
253, 27882, 309, 372, 481, 487 al-Nabulusi, Abd al-Ghani 58, 169,
Kirmanshahi, Aqa Mirza Muhammad 3645
Hasan 2823, 384 al-Nadim, Abul Faraj 30, 61, 114, 149,
Konuk, Ahmet Avni 87, 283 172, 209, 213, 214, 217, 278, 281,
al-Kubra, Abul Jannab 285 3656, 461, 471
Kuu, Ali 2856 al-Najjar, al-Husayn ibn 3667
Nasafi, Abul-Muin 367, 437, 474
Lahbabi, Muhammad Aziz 2878, Nasir i-Khusraw 43, 247, 341, 3689,
335,336 385, 459, 460
Lahiji, Abd al-Razzaq 196, 2889, 344, al-Naysaburi, Ahmad ibn Ibrahim
347, 350, 447 36970
Larijani 289 al-Nazzam 61, 149, 150, 153, 195, 206,
Lawkari, Fadl ibn Muhammad 28990 254, 341, 366, 3702
al-Nisaburi, al-Fadl ibn Shadhan 3734
al-Maarri, Abul Ala 3035 al-Numan, al-Qadi 3756
al-Malati, Abul-Husayn 306 Nursi, Said 36, 145, 333, 37680, 479
al-Maqassari, Muhammad 3068
al-Mardini, Fakhraddin 308 Qashqai, Jihangir Khan 384
al-Marwazi, Al-Husayn ibn Ali 3089 Qazwini, Sayyid Abul-Hasan 35, 384
al-Masudi, Abu al-Hasan 309 Quhistani, Abu Ishaq 385
Maturidi, Abu Mansur 5, 89, 31011, Quhistani, Hakim Nizari 386
437, 474, 475 Qumshai, Muhammad Rida 386
al-Mawardi, Abul Hasan 31113 Qunawi, Sadr al-Din 63, 65, 98, 103,
al-Mawdudi, Sayyid Abu Ala 31314 104, 166, 168, 3878
al-Mawsili 314 al-Qushayri, Abul-Qasim 45, 145, 161,
Mir Damad 18, 266, 273, 3213, 347, 164, 181, 269, 276, 38992
349, 362 Qutb, Sayyid 109, 1103, 313, 3312,
Mir Fath Allah Shirazi 323 339, 3923, 422, 472
Miskawayh, Ahmad 73, 3237, 483
Muammar al-Sulami 341 Rabia 3945, 468
al-Muayyad 218, 3412 Raghib Pasha 3957
al-Mubarrad, Abul Abbas 342 Rahman, Fazlur 331, 397400, 422
al-Mubashshir 3423 al-Raniri, Nur al-Din 4002
Mudarris, Aqa Ali 3434 al-Razi, Abu Bakr 205, 253, 257, 4024
al-Muhasibi, Abu Abdillah 75, 264, 3446 Razi, Abu Hatim 4045, 45
Mulla Abd Allah Zunuzi Tabrizi 282, Razi, Fakhr al-Din 14, 35, 48, 167,
344, 3467, 350, 386, 447 247,249, 347, 354, 356, 426,
Mulla Grani 3489 437,482, 483
Mulla Sadra xii, 18, 33, 35, 90, 147, 169, Rida, Rashid 52, 76, 145, 4245
196, 199, 226, 263, 273, 283, 288, Rumi, Jalal al-din 19, 65, 68, 75, 126,
289, 297, 322, 337, 343, 344, 346, 127, 145, 168, 179, 263, 272, 276,
347, 34957, 360, 362, 384, 387, 277, 283, 387, 391, 42532, 441,
438, 444, 447, 466, 472, 473 455, 483
506
Index
Sabahattin, Prens 43344 264, 269, 276, 288, 293, 297, 308,
Sabbah, Hasan 121, 341, 4345 322, 337, 344, 347, 351, 352, 353,
Sabri Efendi, Mustafa 36, 4357 355, 362, 372, 373, 387, 452, 453,
Sabuni, Nur al-Din 367, 4378 464, 4657
al-Sabziwari/Sabzawari 34, 35, 136, 147, al-Sulami, Abu Abd al-Rahman
196, 263, 350, 360, 438, 447, 472 al-Suyuti 160, 165, 389, 391,
Said Halim Paa 4389 394,46770
Sanai 179, 275, 427, 428, 430, 4401 al-Suyuti 14, 230, 249, 445, 461, 470
Sarakhsi 4423
Semnani 4435, 447 al-Tabari, Muhammad ibn Jabir 256, 257,
Shaarani 4456 278, 324, 4712
Shabistari, Mahmud 156, 168, 4468 Tabatabai, Allamah Sayyid Muhammad
al-Shadhili, Abul Hasan 448 Husayn 33, 338, 350, 360, 383,
Shafii 230, 44950, 474 4723
Shah Abd al-Rahim 450 al-Taftazani, Sad al-Din 268, 323,
Shah Muhammad 4501 450,4734
al-Shahrastani, Abul Fath 7, 114, 153, al-Tahawi, Abu Jafar 4745
172, 173, 226, 259, 366, 435, 4512 al-Tahtawi, Rifa 4756
Shahrazuri, Shams al-Din 238, 343, Takprzade 476
4523, 455 al-Tawhidi, Abu Hayyan 93, 175, 2378,
Shariati, Ali 313, 3378, 360, 4534 324, 4567, 4769
Shaykh Mufid 4545 Topu, Osman Nurettin 47980
al-Shirazi, Qutb al-Din 99, 100, Tusi, Nasir al-Din 35, 43, 73, 99, 152,
251,4556 199?, 223, 286, 288, 343, 347, 356,
al-Sijistani, Abu Sulayman 93, 238, 280, 388, 455, 4824
324, 365, 404, 4568, 477
Sijistani, Abu Yaqub 43, 444, 45860 Ubeydullah Efendi 4856
al-Singkili, Abd al-Rauf 307, 4601 lken 48690
al-Sirafi xii, 291, 365, 4612, 477
Sirhindi, Ahmad 283, 4623 Wali Allah 145, 362, 383, 450, 4914
Siyalkoti, Mulla Abd al-Hakim 463
Suhrawardi, Abu Hafs 178, 464 Yalin 4956
Suhrawardi, Abul-Najib 4645 Yesevi 4967
Suhrawardi, Shihab al-Din xii, 14, 17, Yunus 4978
23,28, 36, 44, 71, 73, 82 3, 133,
135, 148, 194, 195, 223, 250, 263, Zurara 499500
507
508
509
510
511
512

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i

The Biographical Encyclopedia

LON DON N E W DE L H I N E W YOR K SY DN EY

50 Bedford Square 1385 Broadway

First Published in Paperback 2015

First published 2006

Oliver Leaman and Contributors 2006, 2015

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted

No responsibility for loss caused to any individual or organization acting on

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

ISBN: PB: 978-1-4725-6944-8

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Typeset by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India

Preface to the Paperback Editionvii

Islamic History Timeline xvii

How to Use The Encyclopedia xxiii

List of Biographical Entries and Authors xli

Brockelmann, Geschichte der arabischen Literatur, Leiden: Brill, 18981902,

The biography in Islamic intellectual culture

Dates and transliteration

Many of the early dates are approximate

1228 The Haysi rulers of Tunis in North Africa assume control.

1683 The Ottomans recapture Iraq from the Safavids.

(184271), Wafayat al-ayan wa anba abna al-zaman, trans. B. MacGuckin De Slane as

(2009), An Anthology of Philosophy in Persia: Philosophical Theology in the Middle Ages

Oxford Encylopedia of Philosophy, Science and Technology in Islam

Imran Aijaz is an assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Michigan-Dearborn,

Ahmed Alwishah is assistant professor of philosophy, Pitzer College. He is the co-author

Rifat Atay is associate professor of philosophy of religion, Theology Faculty, Akdeniz

Ibrahim Hakk nal teaches at the University of 19 Mayis, Samsun, Turkey.

Muammar skenderolu teaches theology at Sakarya University, Turkey.

Yusuf Keskin teaches in the divinity faculty at Harran University, Turkey.

Muharrem Kl teaches in the philosophy faculty at Sakarya University in Turkey. He is

Mustafa Sinanolu is at the Centre for Islamic Studies, Istanbul, Turkey.

Andreas Soler is at the University of London, UK.

Lise Storm is at the University of Exeter in the UK.

Atomism Oliver Leaman 37

Iranshahri Mendi Aminrazavi  246

al-Mardini Adnan Aslan 308

Sijistani, Abu Yaqub Mendi Aminrazavi 458

BIBLIOGRAPHY Abd al-Qadir ibn Abi Salih

al-Tahtawi he served often in administra- Abdul Rauf Singkel,see al-Singkili

ABU HANIFA, Numan b. Sabit

al-Wasiyya (A Written Will), ed. M. categorically asserted the death of the

Abu Said ibn Abil-Khayr,see Ibn in 1905, he went to Germany. There he

returned to Istanbul and the following year Further Reading

BIBLIOGRAPHY was assassinated in the fitna or civil war that

similarity, opposition, partnership, posses- Asharite theologian and Shafii jurispru-

AL-AMIDI, Sayf ad-Din (d. 621/1233) BIBLIOGRAPHY

Further Reading by his students, and Mir Findiriski, a rela-

Happiness), Mashhad: Majma Buhuth Empire (991-93/1583-85), Princeton

ANKARAV, Ismail b. Ahmad Rusuhiddin quite compatible with al-Suhrawardis appar-

Further Reading commentators and interpreters continued

Further Reading Saduqi Soha, M., Tarikh-i hukama

AL-ASKARI, Abu Hilal al-Hasan

Further Reading Further Reading

al-Asqalani, Abu l-Husayn ATHIR AL-DIN MUFADDAL IBN

Athir al-Din al-Abhari, an Islamic scholar of

University in 1925, BA with distinction in and the goodwill of Islam. He participated

Babanzades works can be divided into Kara, smail, Trkiyede slamclk

Ismaili teachings of the Fatimid period, as Badakhshani, Sayyid Suhrab Wali,

AL-BAGHDADI, Abu Mansur He gives the views of the Muslim sects on

Further Reading based on the conversations that took place

Preface to the Paperback Editionvii

Islamic History Timeline xvii

How to Use The Encyclopedia xxiii

List of Biographical Entries and Authors xli

Atomism Oliver Leaman 37

Iranshahri Mendi Aminrazavi 246

al-Mardini Adnan Aslan 308

Sijistani, Abu Yaqub Mendi Aminrazavi 458