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  • Persia is home to one of the few civilisations in the world that has had a continuous tradition of philosophical thought lasting more than two and a half millennia. From the time Zoroaster brought the Gathas, the sacred scripture of Zoroastrianism, till today, it has had a philosophical tradition comprising diverse schools and various languages including Avestan and Pahlavi as well as Arabic and Persian. The West has seen surveys of Persian art and anthologies of Persian literature, but this work is the first to present a millennial tradition of philosophy in Persia in the form of translated selections and introductory sections for each period and figure. Existing translations have been used where possible, but most of the selections have been newly translated for this work which, with the help of the explanatory introductions, makes possible an intellectual journey into a philosophical continent, much of which has been uncharted for Westerners until now.

    The fourth volume of the Anthology of Philosophy in Persia deals with one of the richest and yet least known periods of philosophical life in Persia. The centuries between the seventh/thirteenth century, that saw the eclipse of the school of Khurasaninfo-icon, and the tenth/sixteenth century that coincided with the rise of the Safavidsinfo-icon. The main schools dealt with in this volume are the Peripatetic (mashshaʾi) School, the School of Illumination (ishraq) of Suhrawardi, and various forms of philosophical Sufisminfo-icon, especially the school of Ibn ʿArabi, that had its origins in the works of Ghazali and ʿAyn al-Qudat Hamadani. This period was also notable for the philosopher-scientists such as Nasir al-dininfo-icon Ṭusi and Qutbinfo-icon al-Din Shirazi.

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  • List of Reprinted Works

    xiii

    Note on Transliteration

    xv

    List of Contributors

    xvii

    General Introduction S. H. Nasr

    1

    Introductory Analysis M. Aminrazavi

    10

    PART I: THE SCHOOL OF ILLUMINATION

    Introduction S. H. Nasr

    17

    1

    Shihab al-Dininfo-icon Suhrawardi

    		  
     

    Introduction M. Aminrazavi

    23
     

    The Philosophy of Illumination (from Hikmatinfo-icon al-ishraq)

    26

    2

    Shams al-Din Muhammad Shahrazuri

    		  
     

    Introduction M. Aminrazavi

    53
     

    Excursion of Spirits and Garden of Delights

    56
     

    (from Nuzhat al-arwah wa rawdat al-afrah)

    		  

    3

    Qutbinfo-icon al-Din Shirazi

    		  
     

    Introduction M. Aminrazavi

    77
     

    Pearl of the Crown (from Durrat al-taj)

    80

    4

    Jalal al-Din Dawani

    		  
     

    Introduction S. H. Nasr

    89
     

    Commentary on Suhrawardi’s ‘Temples of Light’

    		  
     

    (from Sharh hayakil al-nurinfo-icon)

    91
     

    Flashes of Illumination on Praiseworthy Ethics,

    		  
     

    or, The Jalalian Ethics (from Akhlaq-i jalali)

    119

    5

    Ibn Abi Jumhur Ahsa’i

    		  
     

    Introduction S. H. Nasr

    134
     

    The Book of the Illuminated, Mirror of the Saviour

    		  
     

    (from Kitab al-mujli mirʾat al-munji)

    136

    6

    Mullainfo-icon Sadra

    		  
     

    Introduction S. H. Nasr

    151
     

    Glosses upon the Commentary of Suhrawardi’s Philosophy

    		  
     

    of Illumination (from Taʿliqat ʿala sharh hikmat al-ishraq)

    153

    PART II: THE REVIVAL OF PERIPATETIC PHILOSOPHY

    Introduction S. H. Nasr

    175

    1

    Nasir al-Din Tusi

    		  
     

    Introduction M. Aminrazavi

    180
     

    Commentary on Ibn Sina’s Remarks and Admonitions

    		  
     

    (from Sharh al-isharat wa’l-tanbihat)

    184
     

    Treatise on the Division of Existents

    		  
     

    (from Risalah andar qismat-i mawjudat)

    202

    2

    Afdal al-Din Kashani

    		  
     

    Introduction M. Aminrazavi

    230
     

    Compositions (from Musannafat)

    234

    3

    Dabiran-i Katibi-yi Qazwani

    		  
     

    Introduction S. H. Nasr

    253
     

    Wisdom from the Source (from Hikmat al-ʿayn)

    255

    4

    Athir al-Din Abhari and Amirinfo-icon Husayn Maybudi

    		  
     

    Introduction S. H. Nasr

    267
     

    Commentary upon Guidance through Wisdom

    		  
     

    (from Sharh hidayat al-hikmahinfo-icon)

    269

    5

    Qutb al-Din Razi

    		  
     

    Introduction M. Aminrazavi

    284
     

    Conception and Judgment (from al-Tasawwur wa’l-tasdiq)

    286

    PART III: PHILOSOPHICAL SUFISMinfo-icon

    Introduction S. H. Nasr

    307

    1

    Abu Hamid Muhammad Ghazzali

    		  
     

    Introduction M. Aminrazavi

    313
     

    The Niche of Lights (from Mishkat al-anwar)

    317
     

    The Wisdom from God (from al-Risalat al-laduniyyah)

    336
     

    Three Treatises on Knowledge (from Thalath rasaʾil fi’l-ma‘rifah)

    349

    2

    Ahmad Ghazzali

    		  
     

    Introduction M. Aminrazavi

    372
     

    Auspices of Divine Lovers (from Sawanih al-ʿushshaq)

    375

    3

    ʿAyn al-Qudat Hamadani

    		  
     

    Introduction M. Aminrazavi

    398
     

    Dispositions (from Tamhidat)

    401
     

    The Letters (from Nama-ha)

    412

    4

    Sadr al-Din Qunawi

    		  
     

    Introduction S. H. Nasr

    413
     

    The Texts (from al-Nusus)

    416

    5

    Sayyidinfo-icon Hayder Amuli

    		  
     

    Introduction S. H. Nasr

    435
     

    The Sum of Secrets and the Source of Lights

    		  
     

    (from Jamiʿ al-asrar wa manbaʿ al-anwar)

    438

    6

    Ibn Turkah Isfahani

    		  
     

    Introduction S. H. Nasr

    457
     

    Establishing the Principles (from Tamhid al-qawaʿid)

    460

    7

    Mahmud Shabistari and Shams al-Din Muhammad Lahiji

    		  
     

    Introduction S. H. Nasr

    476
     

    Commentary on the Secret Garden of Divine Mystery

    		  
     

    (from Sharh gulshan-i raz)

    479

    8

    ʿAbd al-Rahman Jami

    		  
     

    Introduction M. Aminrazavi

    496
     

    The Precious Pearl (from al-Durrah al-fakhirah)

    499

    Select Bibliography

    520

    Index

    526

     

  • Seyyed Hossein Nasr

    English
    Seyyed Hossein Nasr received his early education in Iran and completed his studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University. Nasr is the author of over three hundred articles and 30 books. He has taught at a number of universities, both in the Middle East, especially Tehran University, and in the United States; and he has lectured widely on Islamic philosophy. Nasr is currently the University Professor of Islamic Studies at The George Washington University.Read more

    Mehdi Aminrazavi

    English
    Mehdi Aminrazavi received his early education in Iran and completed his master’s degree in philosophy at the University of Washington and his doctorate in the philosophy of religion at Temple University. He is the author and editor of numerous articles and books, and is currently Professor of Philosophy and Religion at the University of Mary Washington and Director of the Middle Eastern Studies Program.Read more