8/19/2019 History of Islamic Philosophy_sample
1/124
8/19/2019 History of Islamic Philosophy_sample
2/124
History of I s l amic Phi losophy
Islamic philosophy has often been treated as being largely of historical interest,
and belonging to the history of ideas rather than to philosophical study. This
volume successfully overturns such a view. Emphasizing the living nature and
rich diversity of the subject, it
• examines the main thinkers and scho ols of thou ght, from the earliest
period to the present day.
• discu sses the key conce pts of Islamic phil osop hy, and in related traditions
in Greek and Western philosophy.
• covers a vast geogr aphica l area, analyz ing Islamic ph ilos op hy in the
Arabic, Pers ian, Indian, Turkish and South East Asian worlds as well as
in the Jewish tradition.
This indispensable reference tool includes a comprehensive bibliography and an
extensive index.
Seyyed Hossein Nasr is Univers ity Professor of Is lamic Studies at the George
W ashington Univers ity, W ashington D C . He is the author of num erous bo ok s
and art icles on Is lam and related topics . Oliver Leaman is Processor of Philos
ophy at the Univers ity of Kentucky. He has writ ten widely on Is lamic and
Jewish philosophy.
8/19/2019 History of Islamic Philosophy_sample
3/124
Routledge History of
World Philosophies
Since the publ ica t ion of the f i r s t volumes in 1993 , the pres t ig ious Routledge
History of
Philosophy,
e d i t e d b y G . H . R . Pa rk in s on a n d S . G . Sh a n k e r , h a s
es tab l i shed i t se lf a s the m os t com pre hen s ive chro nolo gica l survey o f
Western phi losophy ava i lab le . I t d i scusses a l l the most important phi lo
sophica l movements f rom the s ix th century B .C. up to the present day .
All the major f igures in Western philosophy are covered in detail in these
volumes . These phi losophers a re c lear ly s i tua ted within the cu ltura l and
scientif ic context of this t ime.
Wit h in t h e m a in c orpu s o f t h e Routledge History of
Philosophy,
the
Jewish and Is lamic t rad i t ions are d iscussed in the context of Western
phi losophy, with which they are inext r icab ly l inked . The History of Islamic
Philosophy a n d The History of Jewish Philosophy a re d e s ign e d t o s u pp le
ment the core volumes by dea l ing spec i f ica l ly with these two phi losophica l
t rad i t ions ; they provide extens ive ana lys i s of a l l the most s ign i f icant
th inkers and concept s . In keeping with the res t of the ser ies , each addi
t ion a l vo lu m e h a s a c om pre h e n s ive in d e x a n d b ib l iog ra ph y , a n d in c lu d e s
chapters by some of the most inf luential scholars in the f ield. They will
form the f i rs t volumes of a new ser ies , Rout ledge His tory of World
Ph i lo s oph ie s .
8/19/2019 History of Islamic Philosophy_sample
4/124
Routledge History of World Philosophies
Volume I
History of I s lamic
Phi losophy
E D I T E D B Y
Seyyed Hossein Nasr
and Oliver Leaman
Routledge
Taylor . Francis Group
L O N D O N A N D N E W Y O R K
8/19/2019 History of Islamic Philosophy_sample
5/124
First published 1996
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, 0X14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the U SA and Can ada
by Routledge
270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016
Reprinted 1997 and 1999
First published in paperback 2001
Reprinted 2003, 2007
Transferred to Digital Printing 2008
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor and Francis Group an informa business
Selection and editorial matter © 1996, 2001 Seyyed Hossein Nasr and
Oliver Leaman
Individual chapters © 1996, 2001 the contributors
Printed and bound in Great Britain by
TJI Digital, Padstow, Cornwall
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any
electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or
hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or
in any information storage or retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from
the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book has been requested
ISBN10: 0-415-05667-5 (hbk)
ISBN10: 0-4 15- 25 93 4-7 (pbk)
IS BN1 3 : 9 7 8 - 0 - 4 1 5 - 0 5 6 6 7 - 0 (hbk )
IS BN1 3 : 9 7 8 - 0 - 4 1 5 - 2 5 9 3 4 - 7 (pbk )
8/19/2019 History of Islamic Philosophy_sample
6/124
Contents
N o t e s o n c o n t r i b u t o r s x i i
P r e fac e xv i i
T r a n s l i t e r a t i o n an d s ty l e x i x
I n t r o d u c t i o n 1
Oliver Leaman
I n t r o d u c t i o n 11
Seyyed Hossein Nasr
I R e l i g i o us , i n te l l ec tua l an d c u l tur a l c o n tex t
1 T h e m e a n i n g a n d c o n c e p t o f p h i l o s o p h y i n I s l a m 2 1
Seyyed Hossein Nasr
2 T h e Q u r ' a n a n d
adith
a s s o u r c e a n d i n s p i r a t i o n o f
I s l a m i c p h i l o s o p h y 2 7
Seyyed Hossein Nasr
3 T h e G r e e k a n d S y r ia c b a c k g r o u n d 4 0
F. E. Peters
T h e I n d i a n a n d P e r s i a n b a c k g r o u n d 5 2
Syed Nomanul Haq
5 E a r l y ka t f im 7 1
M. Abdel Hale em
8/19/2019 History of Islamic Philosophy_sample
7/124
C O N T E N T S
6 T h e t r a n s m i s s i o n o f G r e e k p h i l o s o p h y t o t h e
I s l a m i c w o r l d 8 9
Yegane Shayegan
7
S u n n i
kaldm
a n d t h e o l o g i c a l c o n t r o v e r s i e s 1 0 5
James Pavlin
8 T w e l v e - I m a m S h i ' i t e t h e o l o g i c a l a n d p h i l o s o p h i c a l
t h o u g h t 1 1 9
Abbas Muhajirani
9 I s m a ' i l i p h i l o s o p h y 1 4 4
Azim Nanji
1 0 I s l a m i c h u m a n i s m i n t h e f o u r t h / t e n t h c e n t u r y 1 5 5
Oliver Leaman
I I E a r l y I s l a m i c p h i l o s o p h e r s i n t h e E a s t
1 1 A l - K i n d i 1 6 5
Felix Klein-Franke
1 2 A l - F a r a b i 1 7 8
Deborah L. Black
1 3 M u h a m m a d i b n Z a k a r iy y a ' a l -R a z i 1 9 8
Lenn E. Goodman
14 A l - ' A m i r l 2 1 6
Everett K. Rowson
1 5 T h e B r e t h r e n o f P u r i t y ( I k h w a n a l - S a f a ') 2 2 2
Ian Richard Netton
1 6 I b n S i n a 2 3 1
Shams Inati
1 7 I b n S l n a ' s " O r i e n t a l p h i l o s o p h y " 2 4 7
Seyyed Hossein Nasr
18 I b n M i s k a w a y h 2 5 2
Oliver Leaman
vi
http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/
8/19/2019 History of Islamic Philosophy_sample
8/124
C O N T E N T S
1 9 A l - G h a z z a l i 2 5 8
Massimo Campanini
I I I I s l a m i c p h i l o s o p h e r s i n t h e W e s t e r n l a n d s o f I s l a m
2 0 I b n M a s a r r a h 2 7 7
Lenn E. Goodman
2 1 I b n B a j j a h 2 9 4
Lenn E. Goodman
2 2 I b n T u f a y l 3 1 3
Lenn E. Goodman
2 3 I b n R u s h d 3 3 0
Dominique Urvoy
2 4 I b n S a b ' i n 3 4 6
Abul-W afa al-Taftazani and Oliver Leaman
2 5 I b n K h a l d u n 3 5 0
Abderrahmane Lakhsassi
I V P h i l o s o p h y a n d t h e m y s t i c a l t r a d i t i o n
2 6 I n t r o d u c t i o n t o t h e m y s t i c a l t r a d i t i o n 3 6 7
Seyyed Hossein Nasr
2 7 A y n a l - Q u d a t H a m a d a n i a n d t h e i n t e l le c t u a l c l i m a t e
o f h i s t i m es 3 7 4
Hamid Dabashi
2 8 S h i h a b a l - D i n S u h r a w a r d i : f o u n d e r o f t h e I l l u m i n a t i o n i s t
s c h o o l 4 3 4
Hossein Ziai
2 9 T h e I l l u m i n a t i o n i s t t r a d i t io n 4 6 5
Hossein Ziai
3 0 I b n ' A r a b 4 9 7
William C. Chittick
V ll
http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/
8/19/2019 History of Islamic Philosophy_sample
9/124
C O N T E N T S
3 1 T h e s c h o o l o f I b n ' A r ab l 5 1 0
William C. Chittick
V L a t e r I s l a m i c p h i l o s o p h y
3 2 K h w a j a h N a s i r a l - D l n a l - T u s I : t h e p h i l o s o p h e r / v i z i e r a n d
the i n te l l ec tua l c l i m ate o f h i s t i m es 52 7
Hamid Dabashi
3 3 F r o m a l - T u s i t o t h e S c h o o l o f I s f a h a n 5 8 5
John Cooper
3 4 M i r D a m a d a n d t h e f o u n d i n g o f t h e " S c h o o l o f I s f a h a n " 5 9 7
Hamid Dabashi
3 5 M u l l a S a d r a : h i s l if e a n d w o r k s 6 3 5
Hossein Ziai
3 6 M u l l a S a d r a : h i s t e a c h i n g s 6 4 3
Seyyed Hossein Nasr
3 7 S h a h W a l i u l l a h 6 6 3
Rahimuddin Kemal and Salim Kemal
V I T h e J e w i s h p h i l o s o p h i c a l t r a d i t i o n i n t h e I s l a m i c
c u l t u r a l w o r l d
3 8 I n t r o d u c t i o n 6 7 3
Oliver Leaman
3 9 J e w i s h p h i l o s o p h y i n t h e I s l a m i c w o r l d 6 7 7
Arthur Hyman
4 0 S a a d i a h G a o n a l - Fa y y u m i 6 9 6
Lenn E. Goodman
4 1 I b n G a b i r o l 7 1 2
Irene Lancaster
4 2 J u d a h H a l e v i 7 1 8
Barry Kogan
V l l l
http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/
8/19/2019 History of Islamic Philosophy_sample
10/124
C O N T E N T S
4 3 M a i m o n i d e s 7 2 5
Alexander Broadie
4 4 G e r s o n i d e s : L e v i b e n G e r s h o m 7 3 9
Gad Freudenthal
4 5 J u d a i s m a n d S u f i s m 7 5 5
Paul B. Fenton
4 6 J e w i s h A v e r r o i s m 7 6 9
Oliver Leaman
V I I P h i l o s o p h y a n d i t s p a r t s
4 7 M e t a p h y s i c s 7 8 3
Charles Genequand
4 8 L o g i c 8 0 2
Shams Inati
4 9 E p i s t e m o l o g y 8 2 4
Sari Nuseibeh
5 0 P o l i ti c a l p h i l o s o p h y 8 4 1
Hans Daiber
5 1 L i t e r a t u r e 8 8 6
Shams Inati and Elsayed Om ran
5 2 L a n g u a g e 8 9 8
Shukri B. Abed
5 3 S c i e n c e 9 2 6
Osman Bakar
5 4 M y s t i c i s m 9 4 7
Mahmud Erol Kilic
5 5 E t h i c s 9 5 9
Daniel H Frank
ix
http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/
8/19/2019 History of Islamic Philosophy_sample
11/124
C O N T E N T S
5 6 A e s t h e t i c s 9 6 9
Salim Kemal
5 7 L a w 9 7 9
Norman Calder
V I I I L a t e r t r a n s m i s s i o n a n d i n t e r p r e t a t i o n
5 8 M e d i e v a l C h r i s t i a n a n d J e w i s h E u r o p e 1 0 0 1
John Marenbon
5 9 M o d e r n W e s t e r n p h i l o s o p h y 1 0 1 3
Catherine Wilson
6 0 T h e p o e t i c m e d i u m : a c a s e s t u d y 1 0 3 0
Branko Aleksic
I X I s l a m i c p h i l o s o p h y i n t h e m o d e r n I s l a m i c w o r l d
6 1 P e r s i a 1 0 3 7
Mehdi Aminrazavi
6 2 I n d i a 1 0 5 1
Hajiz A. Ghaffar Khan
6 3 P a k i s t a n 1 0 7 6
M. Suheyl Umar
6 4 T h e A r a b w o r l d 1 0 8 2
Ibrahim M. Abu-Rabi
6 5 E g y p t 1 1 1 5
Massimo Campanini
6 6 T u r k e y 1 1 2 9
Mehmet Aydin
6 7 S o u t h - e a s t A s i a 1 1 3 4
Zailan Moris
x
http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/
8/19/2019 History of Islamic Philosophy_sample
12/124
C O N T E N T S
X In t e rp re t a t ion o f I s l a m ic ph i lo s op h y in t h e W e s t
6 8 O r i e n t a l i s m a n d I s l a m i c p h i l o s o p h y 1 1 4 3
Oliver Leaman
6 9 H e n r y C o r b i n : h i s w o r k a n d i n f lu e n c e 1 1 4 9
Pierre Lory
7 0 I s l a m i c p h i l o s o p h y i n R u s s i a a n d t h e S o v i e t U n i o n 1 1 5 6
Alexander Knysh
7 1 T h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f a p h i l o s o p h y o f I s l a m 1 1 6 2
Shabbir Akhtar
X I B i b l i o g r a p h y
A gu id e t o b ib l iog ra ph ic a l re s ou rc e s 1 1 7 3
Oliver Leaman
G e n e r a l i n t r o d u c t i o n s t o I s l a m i c p h i l o s o p h y 1 1 7 7
Oliver Leaman
In d e x t o Pa r t s I a n d I I 1 1 8 0
XI
http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/http://0.0.0.0/
8/19/2019 History of Islamic Philosophy_sample
13/124
Notes on contributors
M . A b d e l H a i e e m s t u d ie d in Ca i ro a n d Ca m b r id ge , a n d t e a c h e s A ra b ic
and Is lamic s tudies a t the School of Orienta l and Afr ican Studies ,
Un ive r s i t y o f L on d on , a n d h a s wr i t t e n on Qu r ' a n ic , A ra b ic a n d I s l a m ic
topics .
S h u k r i B . A b e d s tudied a t Te l Aviv and Harvard , and i s current ly a t the
Ce n t e r f o r In t e rn a t ion a l D e ve lopm e n t a n d Con f l i c t M a n a ge m e n t a t t h e
Un ive r s i t y o f M a ry la n d , Co l le ge Pa rk . H e h a s wr i t t e n on I s l a m ic a n d
A ra b ic c u l t u re .
I b r a h i m M . A b u - R a b i * s t u d ie d a t B i r Z e i t , C in c in n a t i a n d Te m ple Un ive r
s i t ie s , and i s current ly a t the Hart ford Seminary , USA. He has wri t ten
on t h e m od e rn A ra b wor ld .
S h a b b i r A k h t a r s tudied in Cambridge and Alberta , and i s current ly a t
the Internat ion a l I s lam ic Univer s i ty , Mala ys ia . H e i s the autho r of severa l
books on I s lam, Chris t ian i ty , current a f fa irs and poet ry .
B r a n k o A l e k s i c s tudied in Be lgrade and Paris , and i s current ly a t the
Un ive r s i t e E u rope e n n e d e l a R e c h e rc h e , Pa r i s , wh e re h e work s on t h e
l inks between phi losophy and poet ry . He has wri t ten poet ry and works
on t h e re l a t ion s h ip b e t we e n poe t ry a n d ph i lo s oph y .
M e h d i A m i n r a z av i wa s e d u c a t e d a t Te m ple Un ive r s i t y a n d t h e Un ive r s i t y
o f W a s h in g t on , a n d is c u rre n t ly a t M a ry Wa s h in g t on Co l le ge , U SA . H i s
main area of spec ia l iza t ion i s non-Western phi losophica l and re l ig ious
t rad i t ions .
M e h m e t A y d i n s t u d ie d a t A n k a ra a n d E d in b u rg h , a n d is n ow a t D ok u z
Eylu l Univers i ty , Turkey. He has wri t ten wide ly on phi losophica l topics .
O s m a n B a k a r s t u d ie d in L on d on a n d Te m ple Un ive r s i t i e s , a n d i s n ow
a t t h e Un ive r s i t y o f M a la ya , K u a la L u m pu r , wh e re h e t e a c h e s ph i lo s oph y
of sc ience . He has wri t ten on the h is tory and phi losophy of I s lamic
sc ience .
X l l
8/19/2019 History of Islamic Philosophy_sample
14/124
N O T E S O N C O N T R I B U T O R S
D e b o r a h L . B l a c k i s a t the Pont i f ica l Ins t i tu te of Mediaeva l Studies in
the Univers i ty of Toronto. She i s the author of severa l works on medieva l
L a t in a n d A ra b ic ph i lo s oph y , m a in ly on ps yc h o logy , e p i s t e m ology a n d
log ic .
A l e x a n d e r B r o a d i e wa s e d u c a t e d a t E d in b u rgh a n d Ox f ord , a n d i s n ow
at Glasgow Univers i ty . His chie f a reas of research are medieva l log ic and
p h i l o s o p h y , M a i m o n i d e s a n d D u n s S c o t u s .
N o r m a n C a l d e r wa s e d u c a t e d a t Ox f ord a n d SOA S, a n d t e a c h e s A ra b ic
a n d I s l a m ic s t u d ie s in t h e Un ive r s i t y o f M a n c h e s t e r . H e h a s pu b l i s h e d
in the f ields of Is lamic law and early Is lamic history.
M a s s i m o C a m p a n i n i s t u d ie d a n d t e a c h e s I s l a m ic ph i lo s oph y a t M i la n
Un ive r s i t y a n d h a s wr i t t e n wid e ly on b ot h m e d ie va l a n d m od e rn I s l a m ic
t h ou gh t .
W i l l i a m C . C h i t t i c k s tudied a t Tehran Univers i ty and teaches re l ig ious
s tudies a t the Sta te Univers i ty of New York , Stony Brook. He has wri t ten
extens ive ly on Suf i sm.
J o h n C o o p e r s tudied a t Oxford and in Iran , and now teaches Pers ian a t
C a m b r i d g e .
H a m id D a b a s h i s t u d ie d a t t h e Un ive r s i t y o f Pe n n s y lva n ia a n d t e a ch e s
Pe r s i a n S t u d ie s a t Co lu m b ia Un ive r s i t y a n d h a s wr i t t e n on po l i t i c a l a n d
theologica l topics in I s lamic thought .
H a n s D a i b e r s tudied a t Saarbrucken and Heide lberg , t aught a t the Free
Un ive r s i t y , A m s t e rd a m a n d i s n ow a t t h e Un ive r s i t y o f Fra n k f u r t a m
M a in . H e h a s pu b l i s h e d on G re e k — A ra b ic t h ou gh t , I s l a m ic ph i lo s oph y
and theology, h is tory of sc ience in I s lam, and the ca ta loguing of Arab ic
m a n u s c r ip t s .
P a u l B . F e n t o n s tudied a t the Sorbonne , and i s now a t the Univers i ty
of St ra sbo urg , wh ere he teaches pos t -B ib l ica l Jewish l i t era ture . H e has
pu b l i s h e d wid e ly on J e wi s h c u l t u re in M u s l im c ou n t r ie s , a n d in pa r t i c
u lar on the in teract ion o f Jew ish and Is lam ic m yst ic i sm .
D a n i e l H . F r a n k s t u d ie d a t t h e Un ive r s i t i e s o f Ca l i f o rn ia , Ca m b r id ge
and Pit t sburgh, and now teaches a t the Univers i ty of Kentucky. He has
pu b l i s h e d in t h e a re a s o f G re e k ph i lo s oph y a n d m e d ie va l I s l a m ic a n d
Je wis h ph i lo s oph y .
G a d Fre u d e n t h a l s t u d ie d a t t h e H e b re w Un ive r s i t y a n d t h e Sorb on n e ,
and i s a t the Centre Nat iona l de la Recherche Sc ient i f ique , Par i s . His
main research interests are in the history of theories of matter before the
seventeenth century and the h is tory of sc ience in the medieva l Jewish
c o m m u n i t i e s .
X l l l
8/19/2019 History of Islamic Philosophy_sample
15/124
N O T E S O N C O N T R I B U T O R S
Ch a r le s G e n e q u a n d wa s e d u c a t e d a t t h e Un ive r s i t i e s o f G e n e va a n d
Ox f ord , a n d t e a c h e s a t t h e Un ive r s i t y o f G e n e va . H i s m a in a re a s o f
research and pu bl ica t ion are in the Aris tote l ian t rad i t ion in I s lam , I s la mic
gn os t i c i s m , a n d t h e Alexander Romance in Ar ab ic l i t era ture .
H a f i z A . G h a f f a r K h a n wa s e d u c a t e d a t Pe s h a wa r a n d Te m ple Un ive r s i t i e s ,
a n d i s n ow a t t h e A t la n t a D a r a l - Ul u m , A t la n t a , US A . H e wr it e s on
I s l a m ic ph i lo s oph y a n d t h e o logy .
L e n n E . G ood m a n t e a c h e s a t V a n d e rb i l t Un ive r s i t y , a n d wa s e d u c a t e d a t
H a rva rd a n d Ox f ord . H e h a s wr i t t e n wid e ly on ph i lo s oph y , in c lu d in g
b ook s on Ib n Tu f a y l , Ib n S ln a a n d Sa a d ia h G a on .
S y e d N o m a n u l H a q w a s e d u c a t e d a t H u l l , L o n d o n a n d H a r v a r d
Univers i t ie s , and now teaches a t Brown Univers i ty . He has wri t ten on
Is lam ic a lche my , part icu lar ly Jab ir ibn Ha yy an , a s wel l a s on I s lam ic
inte l lec tua l h is tory and re l ig ion .
A r t h u r H ym a n wa s e d u c a t e d a t H a rva rd Un ive r s i t y a n d t e a c h e s a t Ye s h iva
Univers i ty . His research and publ ica t ions are in medieva l Jewish and
I s l a m ic ph i lo s oph y wi t h a s pe c ia l in t e re s t in t h e t h ou gh t o f M a im on id e s
and Averroes .
Sh a m s In a t i s t u d ie d a t t h e A m e r ic a n Un ive r s i t y o f Be i ru t a n d t h e S t a t e
Univers i ty of New York a t Buf fa lo , and teaches a t Vi l lanova Univers i ty ,
spec ia l iz ing in I s lamic phi losophy, and in part icu lar in the thought of
Ibn Slna .
R a h im u d d in K e m a l wa s e d u c a t e d a t G la s gow Un ive r s i t y a n d i s in t e re s t e d
in Suf i sm, Pers ian poet ry and Is lamic s tudies . He has publ i shed on cons t i
tut iona l law in I s lam.
Sa l im K e m a l wa s e d u c a t e d a t Ca m b r id ge , t a u gh t a t Pe n n S t a t e Un ive r s i t y
a n d i s n ow a t D u n d e e Un ive r s i t y . H e h a s pu b l i s h e d on I s l a m ic a n d
Kant ian aes thet ics .
M a h m u d E ro l K i l i c t e a ch e s I s l a m ic gn os i s a t M a rm a ra Un ive r s i t y ,
I s t a n b u l . H e is m a in ly in t e re s te d in A k b a r ia n t h o u gh t a n d t h e O t t o m a n
Suf i t rad i t ion .
Fe l ix K le in -Fr a n k e t e a c h e s a t t h e H e b re w Un ive r s i t y in J e ru s a le m . H i s
spec ia l i t ie s a re the h is tory of the re l ig ion of I s lam, the h is tory of phi los
oph y , s c i e n c e a n d m e d ic in e in I s l a m , a n d t ra d i t ion a l Ch in e s e m e d ic in e
and his tory .
A le x a n d e r K n ys h wa s e d u c a t e d in L e n in gra d a n d n ow t e a c h e s a t A n n
A rb or , M ic h iga n . H e h a s pu b l i s h e d wid e ly in I s l a m ic s t u d ie s , a n d in
pa r t i c u la r on Ib n A ra b l .
xiv
8/19/2019 History of Islamic Philosophy_sample
16/124
N O T E S O N C O N T R I B U T O R S
B a r r y K o g a n w a s e d u c a t e d a t U C L A , H e b r e w U n i o n C o l l e g e a n d
U n i v e r s i ty o f T o r o n t o , a n d te a ch e s p h i l o s o p h y a t H e b r e w U n i o n C o l l e g e -
Je wi s h In s t i t u t e o f R e l ig ion , C in c in n a t i . H e i s t h e a u t h or o f b oo k s on
Averroes and art ic les on medieva l Jewish and Is lamic phi losophy.
A b d e rr a h m a n e L a k h s a s s i wa s e d u c a t e d a t t h e A m e r ic a n Un ive r s i t y o f
Be i ru t , t h e Sorb on n e a n d M a n c h e s t e r Un ive r s i t y . H e h a s pu b l i s h e d a r t i c le s
on I s l a m ic t h ou gh t a n d on t h e Be rb e r o ra l t r a d i t ion in M oroc c o .
I re n e L a n c a s t e r s t u d ie d a t t h e Be ru r ia A c a d e m y, J e ru s a le m , a n d t e a c h e s
H e b re w a n d Ju d a i s m a t L ive rpoo l Un ive r s i t y . Sh e wr i t es on m e d ie va l
J e w s in Spa in , J e wi s h ph i lo s oph y a n d m ys t i c i s m .
O l i v e r L e a m a n w a s e d u c a t e d a t O x f o r d a n d C a m b r i d g e , a n d h a s t a u g h t
a t t h e Un ive r s i t y o f K h a r t ou m . H e i s n ow a t L ive rpoo l Joh n M oore s
Univers i ty , and h is main in teres t s a re in medieva l I s lamic phi losophy.
P ie r re L ory t e a c h e s I s l a m ic ph i lo s oph y a t t h e E c o le Pra t iq u e d e s H a u t e s
E t u d e s , Sorb on n e , wi t h a pa r t i c u la r s pe c ia l i za t ion in e s o t e r i c t h ou gh t . H e
has wri t ten on Is lamic a lchemy, Suf i sm, magic and the occult sc iences in
Is lamic cu lture .
J o h n M a r e n b o n w a s e d u c a t e d a t T r i n i t y C o l l e g e , C a m b r i d g e , w h e r e h e
is now a Fe l low. H e has wri t ten extens ive ly on med ieva l ph i loso ph y.
Z a i l a n M or i s wa s e d u c a t e d a t Ca r le t on Un ive r s i t y , Ca n a d a a n d t h e
A m e r ic a n Un ive r s i t y , W a s h in g t on D C , a n d n ow te a c h e s in t h e D e pa r t
m e n t o f Ph i lo s oph y in Un ive r s i t y Sa in s M a la ys i a . H e r m a in in t e re s t s a re
I s l a m ic ph i lo s oph y , c om pa ra t ive re l i g ion a n d Su f i s m .
A b b a s M u h a j i r a n i w a s e d u c a t e d i n H a m a d a n , Q o m a n d T e h r a n , a n d h a s
writ ten on Is lamic theology and l i t era ture .
A z im N a n j i wa s e d u c a t e d in K e n ya , a t M a k e re re Un ive r s i t y , Uga n d a , a n d
M c G i l l Un ive r s i t y , Ca n a d a . H e t e a c h e s a t t h e Un ive r s i t y o f F lor id a , a n d
h a s wr i t t e n on I s l a m , I s m a i l i s m , re l i g ion a n d c u l t u re .
Se yye d H os s e in N a s r wa s e d u c a t e d in Te h ra n , a t M a s s a c h u s e t t s In s t i t u t e
o f Te c h n ology a n d a t H a rva rd Un ive r s i t y . H e h a s t a u gh t a t a n u m b e r
of un ivers i t ie s in the USA and the Middle Eas t , and i s now a t the
G e orge Wa s h in g t on Un ive r s i t y . H e h a s wr i t t e n e x t e n s ive ly on I s l a m a n d
p h i l o s o p h y .
I a n R ic h a rd N e t t on s t u d ie d a t SOA S a n d E x e t e r , t a u gh t a t t h e Un ive r s i t y
of Exeter and i s now a t Leeds Univ ers i ty . H e has wri t ten on a l-Fa rab l ,
the Ikhw an a l-Sa fa an d on Is lamic phi l oso ph y in genera l , as wel l a s on
other i s sues in I s lamic c iv i l iza t ion .
Sa r i N u s e ib e h wa s e d u c a t e d a t Ox f ord a n d H a rva rd , a n d h a s t a u gh t a t B i r
xv
8/19/2019 History of Islamic Philosophy_sample
17/124
N O T E S O N C O N T R I B U T O R S
Zeit , the Hebrew Univers i ty and a l-Na jah Univers i ty . He has wri t ten on
contemporary pol i t ica l i s sues in the Middle Eas t and on Is lamic phi losophy.
E l s a y e d Om ra n wa s e d u c a t e d a t A in Sh a m s , Ca rd i f f , N e wc a s t l e a n d
G e o rge t o wn Un ive r s i t i e s . H i s m a in in t e res t s a re in A ra b a n d I s l a m ic
culture and c iv i l iza t ion , and Arab ic l inguis t ic s .
James Pavl in i s current ly a t New York Univers i ty and spec ia l izes in I s lamic
theology.
F . E . Pe t e r s i s a t N e w York Un ive r s i t y a n d h a s t a u gh t b o t h G re e k a n d
Is lam ic phi loso ph y. H e has wri t ten on the in f luence of Aris tot le on I s lam ic
ph i lo s oph y , a n d on t h e P la t on ic a n d H e l le n ic t ra d i t ion s in I s l a m .
E v e r e t t K . Rowson s tudied a t Pr inceton and Ya le , i s a t the Univers i ty of
Pennsylvania , and has wri t ten on Is lamic phi losophy and Arab ic l i t era
tu r e ,
a n d e s pe c ia l ly on a l -A m ir i .
Ye ga n e Sh a ye ga n s t u d ie d a t G e n e va a n d H a rva rd Un ive r s i t i e s , a n d i s n ow
re s e a rch in g th e A r i s t o t e l ia n c om m e n t a t o r s a t Un ive r s i t y Co l le ge L on d o n .
A b u ' l -Wa f a a l -Ta f t a za n i wa s e d u c a t e d a t t h e Sorb on n e a n d Ca i ro . H e
t a u gh t I s l a m ic ph i lo s oph y a t Ca i ro Un ive r s i t y , a n d pu b l i s h e d ge n e ra l ly
in the area , an d on Suf i sm . H e d ied in 1 99 4 .
M . Su h e y l U m a r wa s e d u c a t e d a t L a h o re a n d is n ow a t t h e Iq b a l A c a d e m y,
Pakis tan . He spec ia l izes in Suf i sm as wel l a s in the thought of Iqba l and
in the in te l lec tua l h is tory of the Indian subcont inent f rom Shah Wallu l lah
t o Iq b a l . H e a l s o t e a c h e s a t I STA C, K u a la L u m pu r , M a la ys i a .
D o m i n i q u e U r v o y w a s e d u c a t e d i n B o r d e a u x a n d D a m a s c u s , a n d is n o w
at the Univers i ty of Toulouse . He has wri t ten on Is lamic thought in
Spa in , a n d on L u l l .
Ca t h e r in e Wi l s on s t u d ie d a t Ya le , Ox f ord a n d Pr in c e t on , t e a c h e s a t t h e
Un ivers i ty o f Albe rta and has wri t ten on Le ib niz and on ear ly m od ern
sc ience , a s wel l a s on phi losophy in genera l .
H os s e in Z ia i s t u d ie d a t Ya le a n d H a rva rd , a n d i s n ow a t t h e Un ive r
s i t y o f Ca l i f o rn ia , L os A n ge le s . H e h a s pu b l i s h e d on I l lu m in a t ion i s t
ph i lo s oph y a n d pos t -A vic e n n a n ph i lo s oph y .
xvi
8/19/2019 History of Islamic Philosophy_sample
18/124
Preface
There are a var ie ty of pos s ib le approaches to the ques t ion of what a
h i s t ory o f I s l a m ic ph i lo s oph y s h ou ld b e . Un t i l n ow, t h e m os t c om m on
approach has been to t rea t lead ing individua l th inkers and a t bes t put
them within the context of the ir own t imes . There are advantages to th is
approach in that i t makes lead ing in te l lec tua l f igures wel l known and
helps re la te I s lamic phi losophy to other a spect s of the cu lture of the per iod
in q u e s t ion . Th i s a pproa c h t e n d s o f t e n , h owe ve r , t o c on c e n t ra t e m ore on
individua l th inkers than on phi losophica l ideas , and there i s the danger
of t rea t ing I s lamic phi losophy as a cons t i tuent of the h is tory of ideas
ra ther than a s part of the h is tory of phi losophy.
A s e d i t or s o f t h e s e vo lu m e s we ve ry m u c h v ie w I s l a m ic ph i lo s oph y
as a l iv ing phi losophica l t rad i t ion while , of course , accept ing i t s re la t ion
to other in te l lec tua l deve lopments of I s lamic c iv i l iza t ion . I s lamic phi los
ophy in fac t dea ls with conceptua l i s sues which are not t ied to a part icu lar
author or per iod , and which have universa l import . We have , therefore ,
sought to dea l a s much with phi losophica l ideas a s individua l th inkers ,
and to dea l with the sub ject a s a whole but not neces sar i ly cover everyone
who might be descr ibed a s an I s lamic phi losopher . There are other genera l
reference books with entries for most Is lamic intellectual f igures and we
d o n ot wi s h t o c om pe t e wi t h t h e m . We h a ve h a d t o s e le c t f rom a m on g
the vas t body of thought which cons t i tu tes I s lamic phi losophy part icu lar
th inkers , ideas and in te l lec tua l movements which we regard a s the most
s ignif icant .
Th e s e c t ion s o f t h e History a re wri t ten by d i f ferent auth ors w ho
have been se lected to represent the var ious approaches to the sub ject , and
we should not be t aken to share the ir v iews . We hope that th is work
ref lects the dif ferent tendencies and methods prevalent in the f ield of
t h e s t u d y o f I s l a m ic ph i lo s oph y t od a y . We h a ve n ot s ou gh t t o im pos e
uniformity on the d i f ferent ways in which the authors of these volumes
have t rea ted the ir topics . We want to represent the d ivers i ty ex is t ing
wi t h in t h e c on t e m pora ry s t u d y o f I s l a m ic ph i lo s oph y , wi t h a l l t h e c on t ro
versy and d isagreement that such d ivers i ty enta i l s . Our ta sk has been to
xvi
8/19/2019 History of Islamic Philosophy_sample
19/124
P R E F A C E
sa feguard the scholar ly content of these volumes . I t i s for the reader to
dec ide what a t t i tude to I s lamic phi losophy i s most succes s fu l and wil l be
most fruit ful in the future.
Th e re a re a n u m b e r o f pe op le wh om we s h ou ld l ik e t o t h a n k f or
the ir he lp in br inging th is pro ject to complet ion . We have f i rs t of a l l to
thank the contr ibutors for the ir e f fort s and for having found t ime to wri te
t h e i r c h a pt e r s . Ou r e d i t or a t R ou t le d ge , R ic h a rd S t on e m a n , h a s b e e n a
s t e a d f a s t s u ppor t e r o f t h e pro je c t , a n d H e a t h e r M c Ca l lu m a n d V ic k y
Peters have been hugely eff icient and helpful voices at the end of the tele
ph on e wh e n t h in gs s e e m e d t o b e go in g wron g . H a rry G i lon i s c re a t e d t h e
in d e x , a n d Jo a n n e S n o ok s s a w t h e wh ole pro je c t t h rou gh t h e p r in t in g
s t ag e .
F ina l ly , the ed i tors would l ike to thank each other for what we
hope the reader will f ind to be a fruit ful collaborat ion.
OL
SHN
J u n e 1 9 9 5
X V l l l
8/19/2019 History of Islamic Philosophy_sample
20/124
Transliteration and style
Trans l i tera t ion has normal ly been carr ied out in accordance with the
schedule se t out here . This has not a lways been done , though, e spec ia l ly
for terms very f requent ly used , and i t seemed more natura l to a l low
authors s l ight dif ferences in transliterat ion, part icularly in the sect ions on
Jewish phi losophy. The or ig ina l a t tempt to apply the t rans l i tera t ion
schedule s t r ic t ly proved unsa t i s fac tory , s ince i t resu lted in a text which
of ten look ed ra ther s t range . Au tho rs have fo l lowed the ir ow n preferences
in some respect s for spe l l ing and capita l iza t ion of key terms . Some addi
t iona l b ib l iographica l mater ia l has been suppl ied by the ed i tors .
xix
8/19/2019 History of Islamic Philosophy_sample
21/124
T R A N S L I T E R A T I O N A N D S T Y L E
A R A BIC CH A R A CTE R S s h or t vow e l s
9-
g h
a
b
f
u
t
3
q
i
th k
diphthongs
J
J
l
j ....
a w
c
h
f
m . . a i ( a y )
t
kh
j
n
5
Ty (final form )
d
0
h uww (final form 0)
s
d h
J
w
J
r
y
J
z
s
0
Ji
ah; at (construct state)
(article) al- and
'1-
(even
before the anteropalatals)
Pe r s i a n l e t t e r s a d d e d t o t h e
A ra b ic a lph a b e t
s h
P
s
JL
ch
(>
d
l o n g v o w e l s
J
zh
i>
t a
g
z
J
u
t
«.
r
XX
8/19/2019 History of Islamic Philosophy_sample
22/124
Introduction
Oliver Leaman
Th e ob v iou s q u e s t ion wh ic h a r i s e s f o r a n yon e look in g a t t h e s e vo lu m e s
is why the th inkers who are d iscussed here are c la s s i f ied under the descr ip
t ion o f I s l a m ic ph i lo s oph y . Som e o f t h e s e t h in k e r s a re n ot M u s l im s , a n d
some of them are not phi losophers in a s t ra ight forward sense . What i s
I s lamic phi losophy? This has been a controvers ia l ques t ion for a long
t i m e ,
and it is indeed dif f icult to f ind a label which is ent irely sat is fac
tory for such th inkers and sys tems of thought . To labe l such phi losophy
as Arab ic does indeed make appropria te re ference to the language in which
the Qur 'an was or ig ina l ly t ransmit ted , but i t i s hard ly appropria te a s a
d e s c r ip t ion o f t h e ph i lo s oph y we h a ve in m in d h e re . M a n y o f ou r t h in k e r s
d id not wri te in Arab ic , and many of them were not Arabs . I t i s t rue
t h a t a n im por t a n t s t ra n d in I s l a m ic ph i lo s oph y d e ve lope d in t h e A ra b ic
language , and in Arab ic t rans la t ions of Greek text s , but th is i s on ly a
s t ra n d , h owe ve r im por t a n t i t m a y h a ve b e e n . A va s t p ropor t ion o f I s l a m ic
phi losophy was wri t ten in languages other than Arab ic , e spec ia l ly Pers ian ,
and by non-Arabs , and that cont inues to be the case today. Whatever i s
m e a n t b y A ra b ic ph i lo s oph y c a n n ot h ope t o b e c om pre h e n s ive e n ou gh
t o e n c om pa s s t h e wh ole o f I s l a m ic ph i lo s oph y .
I s l a m ic ph i lo s oph y m igh t b e t h ou gh t t o b e t h e s or t o f ph i lo s oph y
prod u c e d b y M u s l im s , b u t t h i s wou ld b e t oo n a rrow a l s o . A good d e a l
o f ph i lo s oph y wh ic h we h a ve in c lu d e d wa s prod u c e d b y n on -M u s l im s ,
and some of i t has no d irect re l ig ious re levance anyway as the term re l i
g ion i s unders tood in the West today, so that the re l ig ious provenance
we m igh t s e e k t o a pp ly t o i t i s m i s le a d in g . M a n y Ch r i s t i a n a n d J e wi s h
ph i lo s oph e r s work e d wi t h in t h e s t y le a n d t ra d i t ion o f I s l a m ic ph i lo s oph y ,
and i t would be invid ious to exc lude them mere ly on account of the ir
re l ig ious be l ie f s . Also , we do inc lude some phi losophica l work here
which has no direct reference to any religious topic at a ll but which
is jus t phi losophy, a formal enquiry in to the s t ructure of the most genera l
1
8/19/2019 History of Islamic Philosophy_sample
23/124
I N T R O D U C T I O N
c on c e pt s a va i l a b le . Work on log ic a n d g ra m m a r , f o r e x a m ple , h a s t h i s
character . I t i s pos s ib le to der ive some re l ig ious impl ica t ions f rom such
w or k, of co ur se, i f on e tries very ha rd , but not usu ally very fruit fully. So
the I s lamic credent ia l s of some of th is k ind of phi losophica l work seem
to be ra ther s l im, and i t might appear prob lemat ic to inc lude such work
in a b ook on I s l a m ic ph i lo s oph y .
There are d iscuss ions in these volumes which c lear ly are I s lamic ,
but which are certa in ly not c lear ly phi losophy. For example , we thought
i t was important to have an account of d i f ferent k inds of theology, s ince
theology played such a la rge part in the deve lopment of I s lamic phi los
ophy, of ten a s something which that phi losophy could react aga ins t . I t
i s im por t a n t t o u n d e r s t a n d t h e c on t e x t wi t h in wh ic h id e a s a re prod u c e d ,
not jus t a s an es say in the h is tory of ideas but in order to unders tand
those ideas more c lear ly . Despi te the bes t e f fort s of some of the phi loso
phers we sha l l cons ider , i t i s not a lways easy to d is t inguish phi losophy
from theology, or even f rom law or grammar, the t rad i t iona l I s lamic
sc iences . Many of the ques t ions which ar i se with in these context s have
direct phi losophica l re levance , and the shape of that phi losophy was
powerfu l ly a f fected by the d isc ipl ines which produced the i s sues . I t i s
important to rea l ize that we have here a dynamic re la t ionship between
the I s lamic sc iences and phi losophy, with a cons tant in terplay of a rgu
ments and sugges t ions , so that i t i s important to inc lude a d iscuss ion of
those sc iences in such a way that one can see how they have both a f fected
and been a f fected by phi losophy.
I t wou ld b e t e m pt in g t o a rgu e t h a t wh a t m a k e s I s l a m ic ph i lo s oph y
an appropria te genera l concept i s that i t encompasses a fea ture of that
phi losophy which i s shared by a l l i t s in s tances . For example , i f there i s
an agenda which i s impl ic i t or expl ic i t in a l l such phi losophy, then i t
would be easy to argue that i t should a l l go under the same genera l name.
M a n y c om m e n t a t or s h a ve a rgu e d t h a t in d e e d t h e re i s s u c h a n a ge n d a .
A very in f luent ia l school of in terpreta t ion or ig inat ing with Leo St rauss i s
convinced that the bas i s of a l l work in I s lamic phi losophy i s the oppo
s i t ion between re l ig ion and reason , between fa i th and phi losophy, and
b e t we e n I s l a m a n d G re e k t h ou gh t . Som e t im e s t h i s i s ph ra s e d a s re pre
sent ing the c la sh between Jerusa lem and Athens . Fol lowers of th is
approach c la im that i t i s pos s ib le to in terpret any a spect of I s lamic phi los
ophy in l ine with th is centra l prob lem, s ince th is prob lem runs through
all such writ ing. If i t is not obvious that it does , then there are ways to
f ind appropria te c lues beneath the surface of the text which wil l show
that the centra l prob lem lurks there somewhere , and in fac t represent s
the deep s t ructure of the argument of the text . A d i f ferent but not un
re la ted view has i t tha t the whole of I s lamic phi losophy represent s an
at tempt to accommodate I s lam with ra t iona l i ty , so that the centra l i s sue
is to carry out such a reconci l ia t ion . This was the lead ing mot ive of the
2
8/19/2019 History of Islamic Philosophy_sample
24/124
I N T R O D U C T I O N
phi losophers themselves , and when we as ses s the ir work we have to bear
th is in m in d i f we are to und ers ta nd wh at the text s they pr od uc ed actua l ly
mean . Unles s we grasp the centra l idea which i s the bas i s to the phi lo
s oph ic a l wr i t in g s , we a re in d a n ge r o f m i s u n d e r s t a n d in g t h os e wr i t in g s ,
a n d t h e a s s u m pt ion i s m a d e t h a t t h e re i s ju s t s u c h a c om m on t h e m e t o
those wri t ings . Af ter a l l , ca l l ing phi losophy " I s lamic" impl ies , or might
seem to imply , that the re l ig ious character of what i s d i scussed i s cruc ia l ,
and , s ince i t i s l inked with phi losophy, the apparent conf l ic t between two
dif ferent approaches to the same i s sue might seem to be h ighl ighted .
We s h ou ld re s i s t t h i s t e m pt a t ion . A l t h ou gh t h e re a re m a n y d i s c u s
s ions in I s lamic phi losophy of re l ig ion and reason , i t i s ent ire ly mis taken
to see th is d ichotomy as ly ing a t the heart of that phi losophy. I t might
be that that d ichotomy l ie s a t the heart of medieva l Jewish and Chris t ian
phi losophy, or a t lea s t of much of i t , but there i s no reason to im
por t s u c h a d ic h ot om y a s a l e a d in g pr in c ip le in I s l a m ic ph i lo s oph y .
The a t tempt to reduce a vas t var ie ty of phi losophica l endeavour to jus t
one such s logan i s s impl is t ic and should be avoided . I t runs the danger
of t ry ing to f i t the whole of I s lamic phi losophy in to a conceptua l s t ra i t -
jacket which wil l inevitab ly res t r ic t i t s s cope and in teres t . The in tent ion
has been to present in these volumes a s much of the var ie ty of I s lamic
phi losophy as pos s ib le , and to represent i t a s a cont inuing and l iv ing
t ra d i t ion o f ph i lo s oph ic a l work , n o t a d e a d a n d c om ple t e d d oc t r in e f rom
t h e M id d le A ge s . E ve n t h e work prod u c e d in t h e M id d le A ge s i s t oo
va r ie d in f o rm a n d c on t e n t t o b e s u b s u m e d u n d e r a s im ple c on c e pt , a n d
f orm s ve ry m u c h o f a d i a logu e wh ic h c on t in u e s t o h a ve re s on a n c e t od a y .
I s t h e re , t h e n , n o ph i lo s oph ic a l a ge n d a wh ic h I s l a m ic ph i lo s oph y
has and which uniquely character izes i t ? There i s such an agenda , but i t
i s more var ious than i s commonly rea l ized . Quite obvious ly , a soc ie ty
which i s I s lamic wi l l produce th inkers who wil l f rame the ir phi losoph
ica l ques t ions in terms of that soc ie ty . Somet imes these are jus t I s lamic
vers ions of ent ire ly universa l phi losophica l i s sues . For example , the ques
t ion of how i t i s pos s ib le to know God wil l t ake a part icu lar form within
a n I s l a m ic c on t e x t , g ive n t h e e m ph a s i s on t h e u n i t y o f G od . K n owin g
G od wi l l in vo lve k n owin g a b e in g f rom wh ic h a l l a n t h ropom orph ic
descr ipt ion i s removed . Yet th is i s not a un iquely I s lamic i s sue , s ince many
re l ig ious phi losophies wi l l have an account of how i t i s pos s ib le to know
a G od wh o c a n n ot b e d e s c r ib e d in t e rm s wh ic h a pp ly t o H i s c re a t ion .
What i s phi losophica l about the d iscuss ion i s i t s use of very abs t ract
concept s to make sense of the idea of such knowledge . What i s I s lamic
about the d iscuss ion i s i t s concept ion of God and His Qual i t ie s . This
need not be a un iquely I s lamic idea , but i t wi l l be f ramed within the
language of I s lam and wil l re f lec t on the way in which that concept ion
of d ivin i ty has been re f ined and developed within I s lam. I t i s not a huge
s t e p f rom d i s c u s s in g t h e re l a t ion s h ip b e t we e n G od a n d H i s p rope r t i e s ,
3
8/19/2019 History of Islamic Philosophy_sample
25/124
I N T R O D U C T I O N
which i s a f ter a l l an important a spect of what i t i s to know God, to
wondering what the re la t ionship i s between a sub ject and i t s propert ie s
in general. This lat ter enquiry has no direct reference to the religious
context out of which it originally arose, and yet it is s t i l l part of a way
of d o in g ph i lo s oph y wh ic h s t a r t s wi t h a re l i g iou s prob le m .
What jus t i f ica t ion i s there in ca l l ing such a log ica l prob lem a part
of I s lamic phi losophy? The prob lem i t se l f i s c lear ly not on ly an I s lamic
prob lem, nor i s i t a prob lem with any d irect re levance to re l ig ion a s such ,
a lbe i t the way in which i t i s answered wil l have an impact upon the way
in wh ic h on e a n s we rs q u e s t ion s a b ou t G od a n d H i s p rope r t i e s . I t c e r t a in ly
wou ld b e m i s t a k e n t o t h in k t h a t t h e ph i lo s oph e r s wh om we a re c on s id
er ing would have in the fore f ront of the ir minds the re l ig ious impl ica t ions
of the ir work on log ic whi le they were engaged upon such work . They
n e e d n ot h a ve b e e n t h in k in g a b ou t t h os e im pl i c a t ion s , a n d i t wou ld n ot
be far- fe tched to sugges t that they may not ever have cons idered those
implica t ions . I t certa in ly would be dangerous , then , to re fer to an I s lamic
l o g i c ,
but not to the inc lus ion of log ic with in I s lamic phi losophy. Such
an inc lus ion makes appropria te re ference to the context with in which a
piece of in te l lec tua l work was produced , with in the cu ltura l context of
I s lamic soc ie ty . We can use fu l ly employ a concept f rom the I s lamic
sc iences here , that of a cha in of t ransmis s ion . The re levant ques t ion i s
how far the part icu lar phi losophica l idea or theory can be connected with
predominant ly I s lamic ideas a long a cha in of t ransmis s ion or in f luence .
This leaves us with a ser ies of i s sues and topics which range very wide ly
acros s t rad i t iona l phi losophica l concerns , and that i s how i t should be .
I s lamic phi losophy i s f i r s t of a l l phi losophy, and i t s content i s going to
resemble the content of phi losophy in genera l . Yet there wi l l remain a
connect ion with ideas or th inkers who worked within the context of
I s lamic cu lture a t some s tage .
O f course , there is a l imit to ho w far one can t race the cha in of
t ransmis s ion , and some writers a re wi ld ly over-ambit ious in c la iming to
discover a l ink between aspect s of I s lamic phi losophy and subsequent
developments in Western phi losophy. On the other hand, there are in ter
es t ing l inks , and these have been to a degree descr ibed here , but not a s
part of the commonplace a t t i tude that such a l ink would es tab l i sh the
s ign i f icance of I s lamic phi losophy. The la t ter has a s ign i f icance which i s
entirely su i
generis,
as readers of these volumes will surely realize, but what
makes i t s ign i f icant i s the exce l lence of the phi losophy
itself,
and the
wealth of ideas which were produced . I t i s pa t roniz ing to sugges t that
one has to s t res s the impact of I s lamic phi losophy on the West , and
beyond, for i t to be t aken ser ious ly . None the le s s , tha t impact has to
b e a c k n owle d ge d a n d a s s e s s e d . Th e e m ph a s i s h e re i s n o t on t ra n s m is s ion
either in to or out of I s lamic phi losophy but i s ra ther on the ideas of
t h a t ph i lo s oph y
itself,
s ince i t i s the ideas which u lt imate ly demand our
4
8/19/2019 History of Islamic Philosophy_sample
26/124
I N T R O D U C T I O N
at tent ion and deserve our respect . I t i s not a lways easy for I s lamic phi loso
phers to pursue those ideas and hold on to the vers ion of I s lam with
which they started, and the tension which often exists as a result is a very
fruit ful feature of the intellectual creat ivity which results .
So wh e n we t a lk a b ou t I s l a m ic ph i lo s oph y we h a ve in m in d a ve ry
genera l conce pt of an I s lamic cu lture out of wh ich that ph i los op hy grew ,
and i t i s consequent ly important to unders tand a spect s of that cu lture i f
t h e ph i lo s oph y i s t o b e prope r ly u n d e r s t ood . Th i s d oe s n o t m e a n t h a t
we should fa l l in to the danger of t rea t ing I s lamic phi losophy as though
it were only a part of the history of ideas . The history of ideas is far too
l imit ing to encompass the scope of I s lamic phi losophy. Yet there has of ten
been an over-concentra t ion on the pursu i t of I s lamic phi losophy as an
his tor ica l t a sk , which has led to what a re rea l ly phi losophica l prob lems
about va l id i ty be ing misrepresented a s h is tor ica l prob lems about a t t r ibu
t ion and context . While these h is tor ica l ques t ions are no doubt in teres t ing
and dif f icult to answer, so that it is an intriguing intellectual task to
resolve them, they are of an ent ire ly d i f ferent order f rom phi losophica l
q u e s t ion s . Th e t im e h a s c om e t o pu t I s l a m ic ph i lo s oph y wi t h in i t s a ppro
pria te context , tha t of phi losophy, so that i t can be recognized a s a dynamic
and l iv ing t rad i t ion which speaks to phi losophers today jus t a s i t d id in
the past .
Although we have s t res sed here the role of I s lamic phi losophy as a v ibrant
a n d im por t a n t ph i lo s oph ic a l a c t iv i t y , i t c a n n ot b e d ou b t e d t h a t m u c h o f
the d iscuss ion of th is type of phi losophy i s carr ied out in terms of explor ing
i t s root s in other areas . That i s , commentators wi l l examine how the non-
phi losophica l a spect s of I s lam a f fect the deve lopment of the phi losophy
which appeared in the I s lamic world , and a lso how di f ferent cu ltura l
fac tors in f luenced I s la mic phi l oso ph y. In part icu lar , a w hol e range o f
that sort of phi losophy was quite c lear ly in f luenced by Greek thought ,
and the per ipa te t ic t rad i t ion in I s lamic phi losophy i s obvious ly based
upon an or ig ina l ly non-Is lamic source . I t i s important to emphas ize that
th is i s but one type of I s lamic phi losophy, and a type which has been
cri t ic ized by some Is lamic phi losophers for i t s very d is tance f rom re l ig ion .
They have argued on occas ion that what we have here i s the mere repl i
ca t ion of Greek ideas in Arab ic dres s , without any rea l a t tempt a t showing
how those ideas l ink up with specif ically Is lamic issues . It will be fa irly
clear to any reader of the sect ions in this book which look at this sort
o f ph i lo s oph y t h a t s u c h a c r i t i c i s m i s m i s p la c e d . Th e re wa s a ge n u in e
a t t e m pt a t s e e in g h ow t h e c on c e pt u a l m a c h in e ry o f G re e k t h ou gh t c ou ld
be appl ied to I s lamic i s sues , and in th is contact between two cu ltura l
movements a grea t dea l of in teres t ing and percept ive work resu lted .
Yet we should be very care fu l in what we say about such cu ltura l
contact . I t i s a l l too easy to l ink d iscuss ions in I s lamic phi losophy with
5
8/19/2019 History of Islamic Philosophy_sample
27/124
I N T R O D U C T I O N
ear l ier Greek d iscuss ions , and to th ink a s a resu lt that what i s going on
is qu ite d i f ferent f rom what i s rea l ly going on . Let us t ake a s an example
the sort s of d iscuss ions which of ten went on in I s lamic phi losophy
c on c e rn in g po l i t i c a l t h ou gh t . We a re im m e d ia t e ly ob l ige d t o c on f ron t a
d i f f icu lty here , a d i f f icu lty concern ing t rans la t ion . There was a tendency
for Greek terms l ike nomos ( law) to be translated not as
ndmus.,
the new
A ra b ic t e rm c o in e d t o c on ve y t h e s a m e m e a n in g a s t h e G re e k t e rm , b u t
as Shan'ah, the term for law in Ar ab ic . N o w , the la t ter i s a t erm w ith
re l ig ious connota t ions , which i s absent f rom the Greek not ion of law.
What the phi losophers l ike a l-Farab i meant by th is i s tha t the Arab ic
term can be used to i l lus t ra te the sort of point which the Greek th inkers
wished to make , and he t r ied to show this in terms of the language which
would s t r ike a resonance with h is Mus l im compatr iot s . Af ter a l l , he d id
n ot on ly wi s h t o c on ve y th e n a t u re o f t h e a rgu m e n t t o t h e I s l a m ic c o m m u
nity , he wished a lso to natura l ize the argument , to show that th is i s an
argument which i s both re levant and in teres t ing to h is contemporar ies .
This approach i s l ike ly to lead to a d i f f icu lty in in terpreta t ion ,
though. Many readers wi l l observe a l-Farab l us ing re l ig ious terminology
to expres s a point f rom Greek phi losophy, and they wil l a rgue that what
he i s doing i s a rguing that the la t ter form of thought i s compat ib le with
Is lam. That i s , they wil l see the ta sk of reconci l ing reason with re l ig ion
as the lead ing theme of I s lamic phi losophy, whereas a l l tha t an I s lamic
ph i lo s oph e r m a y b e d o in g i s r e pre s e n t in g a n or ig in a l ly G re e k a rgu m e n t
in a manner which would make sense to h is audience , in th is ca se us ing
Is lam ic languag e . O f cou rse , i t m igh t be sa id that i t w ou ld be far mo re
accura te to cons t ruct a new term, a term which wears i t s Greek heart on
it s s leeve , a s i t were , to convey the or ig ina l a rgument . To do otherwise
is to run the r i sk of mis lead ing one ' s audience , s ince i t appears to be a
mat ter of represent ing what was an or ig ina l ly secular a rgument a s in fac t
a re l ig ious argument . Perhaps a l-Farab l was de l ibera te ly t ry ing to pas s of f
Greek thought a s be ing far more re l ig ious , or a t lea s t I s lamic , than i t
rea l ly was . Perhaps he was us ing I s lamic language to descr ibe Greek argu
ments in order to t ake a short cut a long the pa th of reconci l ing I s lam
with Greek phi losophy. Af ter a l l , once the key terms of Pla to ' s Republic
have been t rans la ted in to I s lamic language , i t seems to be an easy mat ter
to argue that Pla to ' s a rgument i s perfect ly compat ib le with I s lam
itself.
Th i s i s n o t a n in e v i t a b le c on c lu s ion . Th e faldsifah t end ed to use the
la n gu a ge wh ic h c a m e m os t n a t u ra l ly t o t h e m , a n d t h i s ob v iou s ly m e a n t
that they would be us ing the sort of language which was most f amil ia r
with the ir peers . In any case , they wanted to show that the k inds of
i s sues which arose with in the Greek world had in teres t ing and important
im pl i c a t ion s f o r c on t e m pora ry prob le m s in t h e I s l a m ic wor ld , a n d t h e
bes t way to present th is v iew is by us ing the ord inary language of
t h e c om m u n i t y f o r wh ic h t h e y we re wr i t in g . N e o log i s m s we re t h e n k e pt
6
8/19/2019 History of Islamic Philosophy_sample
28/124
I N T R O D U C T I O N
t o a m in im u m . Th os e t h in k e r s wh o we re d i re c t ly c on c e rn e d wi t h t h e
nature of re l ig ion and re l ig ious experience d id not wish to d is t inguish
prec ise ly between the Greek use of phi losophica l t erminology and i t s
I s lamic vers ion , s ince they went on to t ry to show how re levant the
conceptua l d is t inct ions in ques t ion are to the l iv ing experience of f a i th .
I t has to be acknowledged a lso that the phi losophers were in teres ted in
campaign ing for not on ly the acceptab i l i ty , but a l so the inevitab i l i ty of
what they were doing . They wanted to show that the I s lamic sc iences
which were part of the t rad i t iona l canon of doing th ings and sort ing out
prob le m s n e e d e d t o b e s u pp le m e n t e d b y t h e a n c ie n t s c i e n c e s , a n d e s pe
c ia l ly by phi losophy, and th is could on ly be done i f the same sort of
language i s used in both cases .
I f a l l tha t the phi losophers were doing was to use what were or ig
in a l ly G re e k id e a s a n d a pp ly in g t h e m t o I s l a m ic prob le m s , on e m igh t
think that there is not much originality or creat ivity at issue here. All
that was going on would have been highly der iva t ive , and a t the most
we would be ab le to observe an in teres t ing arrangement of mater ia l which
actua l ly was deve loped e lsewhere . In fac t , much of the work which goes
on in I s lamic phi losophy i s of th is na ture , i t looks for the root s of the
discuss ion e lsewhere and implies that the in teres t of the d iscuss ion within
the I s lamic world i s secondary to i t s or ig ina l manifes ta t ion in the Greek
orig ina l context . I s lamic phi losophy then get s re lega ted to the h is tory of
ideas , and i s regarded a s an in teres t ing a spect of cu ltura l contact , a s
c om pa re d wi t h t h e s y s t e m s o f ph i lo s oph y wh ic h c re a t e d t h e c on c e pt u a l
materials of the debate in the f irst place. To this s ituat ion is added the
observat ion that the I s lamic phi losophers d id not have acces s to the Greek
thinkers in the ir or ig ina l language or even in many cases in very accu
ra te t rans la t ions , and they mis ident i f ied some of the authors anyway.
Th e i r in t e rpre t a t ion o f G re e k ph i lo s oph y wa s h igh ly m e d ia t e d b y
Hel len is t ic and Neopla tonic t rad i t ions , and fa i led to represent c lear ly what
the or ig ina l debate was .
Wh a t t h i s ve r s ion o f I s l a m ic ph i lo s oph y d oe s n ot c a p t u re a d e q u a t e ly
is the fac t that cu ltura l contact i s a f a r more complica ted not ion than
many unders tand . I t i s f a r too s imple to sugges t that a t erm moves f rom
the context of Greek cu lture to a new Is lamic home and then takes up
the same form of ex is tence in i t s new surroundings . The whole semant ic
s t ructure of the Greek term has not moved in to the I s lamic world ; on
the contrary , the new term wil l incorpora te a spect s of the or ig ina l t erm
but will a lso be very dif ferent . We have seen how this applies to terms
like nomos a n d Shan'ah, bu t they are far from u ni qu e in this respe ct .
That i s , i t i s pos s ib le to use the new term to make many of the same
point s made by the old term, yet th is should not concea l f rom us that
the new term is d i f ferent f rom the old term. The sys tem of concept s and
pract ices in which the old term was embedded are now absent , or a t lea s t
7
8/19/2019 History of Islamic Philosophy_sample
29/124
I N T R O D U C T I O N
dif ferent , and the way in which the new term wil l have to be re la ted to
such a system is dist inct .
This i s very re levant to the accusa t ion that I s lamic phi losophy i s
der iva t ive and so not of the f i r s t ca l ibre in so fa r a s phi losophica l thought
goes . I t i s not the case that the I s lamic phi losophers took Greek (and
indeed other) concept s and then used them in the ir a t tempts to make
sense of the I s lamic world . Concept s a re not l ike c lothes which one can
just pick up and put on. But they are l ike clothes to the extent that , i f
they have to go on a dif ferent frame, then they will only f it i f they are
adapted to the new body. I t i s very d i f f icu lt to adapt a concept which
was appropria te with in a part icu lar context to a very d i f ferent s t a te of
a f fa irs , and i t i s on th is that the s ign i f icance of much Is lamic phi losophy
res t s . I t was capab le of t ak ing some of the key phi losophica l concept s
f rom ear l ier cu ltures and us ing them to answer prob lems which arose
within the ir own culture , and of adapt ing the concept s so that they could
c a r ry ou t s u c h a t a s k . Th e c om b in a t ion o f a b s t ra c t ph i lo s oph ic a l t h ou gh t
on t h e on e h a n d wi t h prob le m s wh ic h a ros e wi t h in I s l a m on t h e o t h e r
is a potent and uns tab le mixture respons ib le for the r ichness and d iver
s i t y o f I s l a m ic ph i lo s oph y
itself.
I t might be accepted that I s lamic phi losophy i s in teres t ing , and yet
i t s d e pe n d e n c e on a s y s t e m o f t h ou gh t c om in g or ig in a l ly f rom wi t h ou t
the I s lamic world has led to the deve lopment of a t endency to s tudy i t
f rom an his tor ica l ra ther than a phi losophica l perspect ive . Af ter a l l , i f one
is in teres ted pr imari ly in the phi losophica l i s sues , one might be tempted
to s tudy them within the context of the ir or ig ina l Greek expres s ion ra ther
than via the accret ions which occurred during the ir pas sage through the
Is lamic world . But the I s lamic phi losophers should not be seen a s be ing
pr im a r i ly c on c e rn e d wi t h ersatz ph i lo s oph ic a l n o t ion s d e r ive d or ig in a l ly
f rom non-Is lamic cu ltures . These th inkers certa in ly d id use the not ions
which came to them through the r ich in te l lec tua l background which was
ava i lab le to them, and they t rans formed them in the ways in which they
used them. This was a mat ter not jus t of choice but rea l ly of neces s i ty .
Th e ph i lo s oph ic a l i s s u e s wh ic h a ros e in t h e G re e k wor ld c ou ld n ot a lwa ys
be s imply repl ica ted in the I s lamic world but have to be adapted to make
sen se , s ince the terms themselves when moved f rom one context to another
have a d i f ferent range of meanings .
This i s not to sugges t that some of the t rad i t iona l phi losophica l
i s sues and controvers ies which ar i se with in every developed cu lture d id
not ar i se with in the I s lamic world in much the same way as everywhere
el se .
Som e prob le m s , e s pe c ia l ly t h e m os t a b s t ra c t m e t a ph ys ic a l on e s ,
appear to be common to a whole range of cu ltures . I t i s ju s t that the
nature of a part icu lar cu lture put s the emphas is upon a d i f ferent a spect
o f t h e prob le m d e pe n d in g u pon t h e n a t u re o f t h a t c u l t u re . For e x a m ple ,
in d iscuss ions of the crea t ion of the world i t i s important to note that
8
8/19/2019 History of Islamic Philosophy_sample
30/124
I N T R O D U C T I O N
the I s lamic world wanted to mark the fac t that accord ing to the Qur 'an
the world had a beginning and wil l have an end . This i s not to say that
I s l a m ic ph i lo s oph e r s c ou ld t h e re f ore a b a n d on A r i s t o t e l i a n a c c ou n t s o f t h e
crea t ion of the world which seem to point to i t s be ing e terna l because i t
we n t a ga in s t t h e s c r ip t u ra l t ru t h . M a n y I s l a m ic ph i lo s oph e r s p rod u c e d
m od i f i c a t ion s o f t h e A r i s t o t e l i a n t h e ory wh ic h m a d e i t c om pa t ib le , o r
a ppa re n t ly c om pa t ib le , w i t h t h e i r u n d e r s t a n d in g o f t h e Qu r ' a n , wh i le
others cr i t ic ized the certa in ty which phi losophers appl ied to Aris tot le ' s
theory . They could not jus t say that Aris tot le was wrong because he
seemed to go aga ins t scr ipture - th is would be very poor phi losophy or
indeed theology indeed . They could not jus t say that Aris tot le was r ight
and the Qur 'an was wrong, s ince th is would a lso be to re fuse to examine
the in teres t ing conceptua l l inks which ex is t between two apparent ly
dis t inct and contrary descr ipt ions of crea t ion . I t i s in the tens ion between
d i f f e re n t a c c ou n t s o f t h e s a m e ph e n om e n on t h a t ph i lo s oph y re a l ly ge t s
to work , present ing a so lut ion which sa t i s f ie s the need for a ra t iona l expla
nat ion of the apparent aporia or d i f f icu lty . Some of these phi losophica l
expos i t ions are more in teres t ing and wel l-cons t ructed than others , o f
c o u r s e ,
but the important point to make i s that they are a l l phi losoph
ica l a rguments , and are to be a s ses sed f rom the perspect ive of phi losophy.
How crea t ive were the I s lamic phi losophers? I th ink i t wi l l be c lear
to anyone who reads many of the chapters in these volumes that many
of them were very crea t ive . They certa in ly d id not have a tabula rasa o n
which to wri te , but , g iven the concept s and ideas which they had ava i l
ab le to them, they used these to the ir fu l le s t extent . They d id not jus t
a c c e pt t h e c on c e pt s wh ic h we re h a n d e d d own t o t h e m , b u t a d a pt e d t h e m
a n d c on s t ru c t e d n e w c on c e pt s t o m a k e s e n s e o f t h e n a t u re o f t h e prob le m
as they saw it . There is a tendency for us to identify creat ivity with an
ent ire ly new way of t ackl ing an i s sue , and we l ive in a per iod of grea t
art is t ic creat ivity in this respect . Art is ts use a vast variety of often novel
forms of expres s ion , some so novel that we are unsure how to a s ses s them.
Yet there is good reason to call creat ive those works by earlier art is ts which
were cons t ructed within the cons t ra in t s of a part icu lar sys tem of repre
senta t ion , and in some ways i t i s ea s ier to say that something i s crea t ive
i f we can judge i t with in the context of an art i s t ic t rad i t ion . We can then
see prec ise ly how the new contr ibut ion to the aes thet ic a rea borrows f rom
wh a t h a s pre c e d e d i t a n d e x t e n d s t h e pre v iou s u n d e r s t a n d in g o f wh a t wa s
pos s ib le t o d o s om e t h in g n e w. A s im i la r po in t c a n b e m a d e a b ou t I s l a m ic
ph i lo s o ph y . W e c a n g ra s p t h e c on t e x t wi t h in wh ic h i t wo rk e d , a n d w e
can of ten see how in f luenced i t was by the compet ing pres sures of a
var ie ty of cu ltura l t rad i t ions , but i t does not fo l low that i t cannot be
crea t ive because i t i s dependent upon previous ly ex is t ing in te l lec tua l t rad i
t ions . O n the contrary , we can see ho w on the bas i s of those t r ad i t ions
it represents a new direct ion of thought , or, at the very least , is capable
9
8/19/2019 History of Islamic Philosophy_sample
31/124
I N T R O D U C T I O N
of s t e pp in g ou t in a n e w d i re c t ion . M u c h I s l a m ic ph i lo s oph y , l ik e m u c h
ph i loso ph y of any k ind , i s ju s t the accret ion of new technica l represen
ta t ions of ex is t ing i s sues , but some of i t i s capab le of e s tab l i sh ing ent ire ly
new ways of going on which in turn es tab l i sh new t rad i t ions of th inking
about prob lems and resolving d i f f icu lt conceptua l i s sues .
I s l a m ic ph i lo s oph y i s p r im a r i ly ph i lo s oph y , a n d t h e a ppropr ia t e t e c h
n iques to use in order to unders tand i t a re going to be phi losophica l .
Th e re i s c e r t a in ly n o on e ph i lo s oph ic a l a pproa c h pre s e n t in I s l a m ic ph i lo s
ophy, but a la rge var ie ty of d i f ferent techniques which depend upon the
part icu lar point of v iew of the th inkers themselves . The very d ivers i ty of
a pproa c h m igh t l e a d on e t o q u e ry ye t a ga in t h e n ot ion o f ph i lo s oph y
being " I s lamic" a t a l l , s ince we might expect that labe l to represent a
c om m on v ie w or a c on s e n s u s a s t o h ow t o d o ph i lo s oph y . I f t h a t e x pe c
ta t ion was jus t i f ied , then the phi losophy which resu lted would be of f a r
les s in teres t , s ince i t would be comparat ive ly narrow and represent some
t h in g o f a pa r t y l in e on h o w t o ope ra t e . T h e b re a d t h o f I s l a m ic ph i lo s oph y
represents the divers ity of cultures in which Is lam has featured, and in
these volumes we have a t tempted to ce lebra te both .
10
8/19/2019 History of Islamic Philosophy_sample
32/124
Introduction
Seyyed Hossein Nasr
Although of course a s ingle rea l i ty in
itself,
I s l a m ic ph i lo s oph y n e ve r t h e
les s has had and cont inues to have severa l h is tor ica l "embodiments " which
are a l so re f lec ted in how the sub ject i s s tudied in both Eas t and West .
There i s f i r s t of a l l the l iv ing and cont inuous t rad i t ion of I s lamic phi los
ophy in Pers ia and certa in ad jacent areas f rom Iraq to India . When one
sits at the feet o f a m aster o f this disc iplin e in Is fahan , Tehr an or Q o m
one experiences a l iv ing t rad i t ion and an organic bond to f igures such a s
Ibn Slna ( the Lat in Avicenna) and a l-Farab l who l ived , v i s i ted or t aught
in those very cit ies or in cit ies nearby over a millennium ago. In this
" e m b o d i m e n t " I s l a m i c p h i l o s o p h y h a s h a d a c o n t i n u o u s h i s t o r y g o i n g
back to the ear l ie s t I s lamic centuries and based not on ly on writ ten text s
but a l so on an ora l t rad i t ion t ransmit ted f rom master to d isc iple over
n u m e rou s ge n e ra t ion s . M ore ove r , in t h i s a m b ie n c e I s l a m ic ph i lo s oph y ,
called falsafah an d la ter hikmah, is an Islamic intellectual discipline in
content ion , debate , accord or oppos i t ion with other in te l lec tua l d isc ipl ines
but in any case i t was and remains a part and parce l of I s lamic in te l lec
tua l l i f e despi te the oppos i t ion of many jur i s t s . One need only look a t
t h e n u m b e r o f s t u d e n t s s t u d y in g I s l a m ic ph i lo s oph y t od a y in Qom in
Iran, that is , in the premier centre of religious s tudies in that land, to
rea l ize how t rue i s th is a s sert ion and how s ign i f icant i s I s lamic phi los
oph y e ve n in c om pa r i s on wi t h ju r i s pru d e n c e , n o t t o s pe a k o f kalam o r
theology which i t overshadows in those in te l lec tua l c irc les in many ways .
T he n there is the t rad i t ion o f I s lam ic phi lo sop hy in the Ar ab part
of the I s lamic world . Although of ten ca l led "Arab ic phi losophy" in the
W est because of the pr edo m ina nt b ut not exc lus ive use of Ara b ic a s i ts
language of d iscourse , s t rangely enough in the Arab world , with the excep
t ion of I raq and to some extent Yemen, th is phi losophy was to have a
shorter l i f e a s an independent in te l lec tua l perspect ive than in Pers ia , be ing
consumed in lands wes t of I raq a f ter the seventh/th irteenth century by
11
8/19/2019 History of Islamic Philosophy_sample
33/124
I N T R O D U C T I O N
kaldm on t h e on e h a n d a n d d oc t or i a l Su f i s m (al-marifah o r al-'irfdn) o n
the other . In th is world falsafah a s a separa te d isc ipl ine cam e to be marg in
a l ized in the centres of I s lamic learn ing , replaced by kaldm a n d usul al-fiqh
and often considered as a foreign intrusion. In fact it was not until the
la s t century that I s lamic phi lo sop hy was revived in Eg yp t by Ja m al a l-
Dln a l-Afghanl (As t rabadi) who had been a s tudent of the school of
Mulla Sadra in Pers ia before migra t ing to Ca iro . But in any case , despi te
t h e a ppe a ra n c e o f a n u m b e r o f we l l -k n own s c h o la r s o f I s l a m ic ph i lo s
op hy in Eg yp t , Syr ia an d Leba no n s ince Ja m al a l-D in ' s days , the re la t ion
b e t we e n falsafah an d the I s lam ic sc iences in m os t part s o f the Ar ab wo rld
has been dif ferent from what one f inds in such places as Iran and certain
centres of I s lamic learn ing in the Indo-Pakis tan i subcont inent . Nor has
there been the cont inuous ora l t rad i t ion in the domain of phi losophy in
the Ar ab wo rld that one f inds in Iran and ad jacen t areas . To som e extent
th is s i tua t ion a lso holds t rue for Turkey a l though the t rad i t ion of I s lamic
phi losophy survived in a cont inuous manner there longer than i t d id in
E gy pt , t h e A ra b N e a r E a s t a n d N or t h A f r i c a .
There i s a l so an I s lamic phi losophy seen by the West a s part of i t s
ow n inte l lec tua l t rad i t ion an d usua l ly re ferred to a s Ara b ic ph i loso ph y.
Th i s v ie w s a w I s l a m ic ph i lo s oph y a s h a v in g s t oppe d a b ru pt ly wi t h Ib n
R u s h d ( t h e L a t in A ve rroe s ) , wh e n t h e in f lu e n c e o f I s l a m ic ph i lo s oph y
up on the W est d im in is hed an d gradua l ly d ied out . For over seven centuries
in such places a s Par is , Louva in , Padua and Bologna th is vers ion of I s lamic
ph i los op hy has been taugh t a s part and parce l of W estern in te l lec tua l
h is tory . Moreover , th is Eurocentr ic v iew of I s lamic phi losophy has been
taken in the West for I s lamic phi losophy itself, a view that has been
conf irmed during th is century by much of the scholarship f rom the Arab
wo rld , som e of wh ose wel l-k now n f igures h ave fou nd in the Eu rop ean
id e n t i f i c a t ion o f I s l a m ic ph i lo s oph y wi t h A ra b ic ph i lo s oph y a s o l id t h e o
ret ica l sup po rt for the sup po s i t io ns o f Ar ab nat io na l i sm . In any case th is
u n d e r s t a n d in g o f I s l a m ic ph i lo s oph y , h e ld m os t ly in Ca t h o l i c c i rc le s a n d
b y t h os e in t e re s t e d in m e d ie va l E u rope a n ph i lo s oph y a n d t h e o logy , h a s
produced a number of grea t scholars who, however , unt i l qu i te recent ly
have pre ferred to remain impervious to the e ight centuries of I s lamic
phi losophy a f ter Averroes and the fac t that I s lamic phi losophy i s not on ly
" m e d ie v a l " b u t a l so c on t e m pora ry i f n o t m od e rn .
Para l lel with th is v iew is that of Jew ish ph i los op hy wh ich dev elop ed
in a remarkab ly s imilar f a sh ion to I s lamic phi losophy and which a lso used
to a la rge extent the same language and vocabulary a s I s lamic phi lo
sophica l Arab ic a t lea s t unt i l the des t ruct ion of I s lamic ru le in Spa in a f ter
wh ic h We s t e rn J e wi s h ph i lo s op h y pa r t e