Abstract

In this article, the conceptions of prophethood of Peripatetic philosophers and Spinoza are discussed comparatively. Prophethood, one of the most original theories of Islamic philosophy, was discussed by the Peripatetic philosophers in connection with the theory of emanation, together with metaphysics, epistemology, ethics and politics. Al-Fārābī was the first Islamic philosopher to systematize the theory of prophethood with the Active Intellect and the faculty of imagination. After him, all Islamic philosophers dealt with the subject of prophethood in one way or another. Like many Western philosophers, the New Age philosopher Spinoza was also influenced by the Peripatetic theory of prophethood. He explained prophethood in terms of the faculty of imagination and miracles; he also emphasized that prophets were chosen people and their messages were universal, unlike the linguistic perception of Western thought.