Quʹest-ce que lʹêre? Cette question passe pour fonder la philosophie. Encore faut-il s'entendre sur le sens du mot "être ". L'essence des choses détermine-t-elle leur existence? Devons-nous affirmer, au contraire, que l'existence conditionne l'intensité d'être qui qualifie une certaine réalité? Molla Sadr Shirazi, dans ce traité écrit en Iran au siècle de Descartes et de Leibniz, médite ces questions qui sont encore les nôtres. Mais les solutions qu'il propose s'évadent hors de nos perspectives, après avoir opéré une révolution décisive dans (...) la métaphysique des Orientaux. Penseur shi'ite en butte à la persécution, Molla Sadra est la plus haute figure de la philosophie iranienne islamique au temps splendide de la cour safavide d'Ispahan. Sa doctrine du primat de l'existence, que le présent ouvrage expose complètement, ouvre sur une interprétation spirituelle de la résurrection des corps. Cette traduction par Henry Corbin, qui fut aussi l'éditeur du texte original, a fait événement : par son ample introduction, il situe la question de l'être et déploie une explication comparée de ce que l'Occident grec puis médiéval en ont fait, avec la tradition shi'iite. -- Back cover. (shrink)

The central issue in this work is self-knowledge. The human soul is created in the Image of God with a purpose.

Introduces young readers to Ibn Sina, telling his story as he might tell it himself. It provides a fascinating glimpse into the life of this philosopher, scientist and physician who was one of the greatest thinkers of his time.

El proceso de Ibn al- Jaṭīb ha pasado a la historia debido a la personalidad del inculpado. La mayoría de las opiniones coinciden en declarar la acusación y el proceso como un simulacro para conseguir su muerte, pues la acusación de alta traición, por las circunstancias que incidieron en el caso, no iba a conseguir el objetivo propuesto. Por esta razón se buscaron otros motivos con que inculparle y que permitieran perseguirlo y condenarlo en cualquier parte del Islam, por eso (...) estas acusaciones sólo podían responder a delitos de lesa religión. Y se encontraron. Las acusaciones que se analizan en este trabajo figuran en varios textos, en al-Marqaba al-'ulyà y en las obras de al-Maqqarī, algunos de ellos no traducidos hasta ahora. En el desarrollo de las actuaciones se observan irregularidades procesales, pero tanto en Granada como en Fez, la condena se centra en la figura del zindīq cuya sentencia final fue la pena de muerte. (shrink)

El proceso de Ibn al-Japó ha pasado a la historia debido a la personalidad del incul-pado. La mayoría de las opiniones coinciden en declarar la acusación y el proceso como un simulacro para conseguir su muerte, pues la acusación de alta traición, por las cir-cunstancias que incidieron en el caso, no iba a conseguir el objetivo propuesto. Por esta razón se buscaron otros motivos con que inculparle y que permitieran perseguirlo y con-denarlo en cualquier parte del Islam, por eso estas (...) acusaciones sólo podían responder a delitos de lesa religión. Y se encontraron. Las acusaciones que se analizan en este traba-jo figuran en varios textos, en al-Marqaba al-`ulya y en las obras de al-Maqqari, algunos de ellos no traducidos hasta ahora. En el desarrollo de las actuaciones se observan irregu-laridades procesales, pero tanto en Granada como en Fez, la condena se centra en la figu-ra del zindiq cuya sentencia final fue la pena de muerte. ABSTRACT The trial of Ibn al-Khatib has left its mark on history because of the personality of the accused. Most scholars in the past Nave thought that his accusation and subsequent trial on religious grounds were no more than excuses intended to bring about his death, as a trial for high treason would, for various reasons, not have been possible. For this he had to be accused of crimes against religion as this was the only sure way of mounting a successful case against him. The accusations analysed here are taken from a variety of sources including Al-Marqaba al- `ulyá and the works of al-Maqqari, some of which have not been translated before. We notice procedural irregularities in the course of the trial, but both in Granada and in Fez the focus is on the zinddq who is 6nally condemned to death. (shrink)

During the Mamlūk period (648-923/1250-1517), some developments such as the support of the state dignitaries for scholarly activities, the interest of the ʿulamā to the Mamlūk geography and the establishment of many scientific institutions increased the interest in scholarly activities in society. In this period of intensive scholarly activities, women also started to increasingly take part in this field, and as a result, many female scholars were trained. The fact that women scholars were encountered among the teachers of the famous (...) scientists of the period is a clear proof of this situation. As a matter of fact, the teachers of Najm al-Dīn Ibn Fahd, one of the famous muḥaddiths and historians of the 9th (15th) century, set an obvious example for this. Sixty-seven of his four hundred ninety-seven teachers were women. Najm al-Dīn Ibn Fahd, a member of a prominent ʿulamā family of Mecca, traveled to different cities in the Mamlūk geography and took lessons from many teachers, men and women. What is more valuable for our subject is that he wrote a work called Mu’jam al-shuyūkh, which contains extremely important information about his teachers. This article tries to assess women's participation in scholarly activities and social positions in Mamlūk society, based on his female teachers. This work, made up of two parts, first deals with women’s opportunities to pursue academic studies and their subsequent contributions to science. The second part is about their position in social life which stemmed from the families they belonged to and from their marriages. In this article, in which sixty-seven female scholars of Najm al-Dīn Ibn Fahd are discussed, some important results have been reached. This look into his sixty-seven female teachers shows how widespread women’s relationships with scholarly circles were in Mamlūk society, and that especially girls of families with scholarly traditions were included in academic circles from a young age. These girls were able to get their initial education from close relatives and then they were able to connect to academic circles easily via family relationships, taking courses with many scholars including women. Women have been instrumental in the transfer of knowledge more so than its production. Their efforts both during their studies and as scholars were focused on ḥadīth transmission. It is difficult to pinpoint the exact reason why ḥadīth sciences were the focus, but one can say that the ubiquity of ḥadīth sessions and their ease of accessibility must have been a factor. It is seen that young girls who participated in these sessions were encouraged to study with older scholars, thereby acquiring a strong isnād chain and becoming a source of information in later years for the transmission of knowledge. However, it is hard to say that every woman who got some education took a role in knowledge transmission. One can even claim, based on Najm al-Dīn Ibn Fahd’s female teachers, that a lot of women in academic circles did not take a role in knowledge transmission as scholars, despite their potential. The fact that no official institutions are mentioned with regard to women’s acquisition and transfer of knowledge may be indicative of the importance of teacher-student relationships rather than institutions, or, it can be that women were more active outside of these official institutions. Also, the fact that most of Najm al-Dīn Ibn Fahd’s female teachers were all taught by several common teachers shows the liveliness of academic activity outside of official institutions. There is very little narration regarding the social lives of women who were engaged in scholarly activities. Among the most important reasons why this is so is the desire to put their scholarly competencies to the forefront. However, it is possible to get some information about their families and marriages for many of them. One can see that Najm al-Dīn Ibn Fahd’s female teachers generally married men who were also engaged in scholarship. The fact that women, especially those in the scholarly class, married from among their relatives must have been related to this. All of the married women except one have at least one child. While divorce is not too common, marrying again as a result of the death of a husband or as a result of divorce is not rare. (shrink)

al-Qism al-awwal. Fī ḍawābiṭ al-fikr (manṭiq) --.

Philosophy; mathematics; Avicenna, 980-1037; Fārisī, Kamāl al-Dīn Abū al-Ḥasan, active 1300.

The article is devoted to comparative analysis of metaphysical studying of a Samaritan theologian and exegete al-Ghazzāl ibn ’Abū Surūr (d. after 1755) and a representative of Shiraz Illuminationism school, philosopher, astronomer and mathematician Ghiyāth al-Dīn Manṣūr al-Dashtakī (d. 1541). Based on a scrupulous analysis of the doctrines by al-Ghazzāl and Ghiyāth al-Dīn, the author comes to the conclusion about their genetic link – supposedly, as a result of perception of Illuminationist systems in the Middle East in 17th–18th centuries. It (...) is noticed that a Samaritan exegete, acquainted with Arab-Mus­lim philosophic literature as a prominent specialist, taught about ontologistic primacy of light, metaphysical nothingness of dark, stated about light nature of action and com­plete dependence of matter on the will of the Creator. Separately it discusses the desire of both authors to deconstruct the classic for Arabic philosophy thesaurus. It is expressed in the convergence of the categories ‘movement’ (ḥaraka) and ‘action’ (fi‘l), as well as in the consistent replacement of the concept ‘self’ (ḏāt) with the concept of ‘light’ (nūr). The differences between the concepts of al-Ghazzāl and ad-Dashtakī are also discussed separately: while the first author inscribes the opposition ‘light – dark’ in a creation onto­logical context, the latter professes belief in the ‘total unity’ of the lights, their eternity and uncreation. The research is preceded by a short excursion into the history of Samari­tan theology of the 11th–18th centuries. Moreover, the article provides the description of unpublished documents which served the textological basis for the author’s work – in particular, the manuscript of al-Ghazzal’s interpretation of Genesis and Exodus ‘Dis­persion of the darkness [covering] the secrets of the Giver’ (Kashf / Kāshif al-Ghayāhib ‘alā Asrār al-Wāhib; British Library, Add MS 19657). (shrink)

The renowned mystical thinker Muḥyī al-Dīn ibn ‘Arabī (d. 638/1240) believes uncertainty (ḥayra) has a higher epistemological value than certainty. This is because certainty is only of ostensible reality, which ignores the true ontological underpinnings of phenomenality. To become cognisant of the reality that palpitates beneath the facade of the sensible world, we only have recourse to uncertainty. Uncertainty makes us realise that all existents are loci of divine manifestation. Nevertheless, God is simultaneously transcendent and immanent, which means we can (...) only know God through discarding the rule of the excluded middle. This, says Ibn ‘Arabī, gives rise to metaphysical uncertainty. Ibn ‘Arabī’s notion of uncertainty was subsequently taken up by an important commentator, Nūr al-Dīn al-Jāmī (d. 898/1492), who systematises uncertainty into different levels and offers an original hierarchy that defines which types of uncertainty are positive and which are negative. (shrink)

Ṭūsī, Naṣīr al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad, 1201-1274's Tajrīd al-ʻaqāʼid; selections; philosophy, Islamic; early works to 1800.

يتناول هذا المقال دراسة موجزة لتأريخ ظهور علم مختلف الحديث والمؤلفات فيه بحيث أنه من أهم أنواع علم الحديث الذي يحتاجه الفقهاء والمحدِّثون في استنباط الأحكام الأصليَّة والفرعيَّة وشرح الأحاديث النَّبويَّة. ويتضمن دراسةً تفصيليَّةً مقارنةً بين منهج الحافظ ابن حجر العسقلاني الشَّافعي (ت 852/1449)، وبدر الدِّين العيني الحنفي (ت 855/1451) في تأويل مختلف الحديث من خلال فتح الباري وعمدة القاري، وقد وضح فيه أن كل منهما تعرض إلى دراسة النُّصوص المتعارضة ظاهرًا في ثنايا شرح أحاديث البخاري وتوسع فيه وأجاد. وبالإضافة (...) قد أُلقي الضوء في هذا المقال على اختلاف المحدِّثين والفقهاء من الأحناف في ترتيب طُرُق التَّوفيق في تأويل مختلف الحديث عامةً، وابن حجر العسقلاني وبدر الدِّين العيني خاصةً، وقد ثَبَت فيه من إيراد الأمثلة التطبيقيَّة من فتح الباري وعمدة القاري أن ابن حجر لا يتوسع في النَّسخ إذا أمكن الجمع بخلاف بدر الدِّين العيني. (shrink)

Ṭūsī, Naṣīr al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad, 1201-127 ; Risālah-i is̲bāt al-ʻaql - Criticism and interpretation.

Francesco O. Zamboni. At the Roots of Causality: Ontology and Aetiology from Avicenna to Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (Nedenselliğin Köklerinde: İbn Sînâ’dan Fahreddin Râzî’ye Ontoloji ve Etiyoloji/Neden Bilimi), Leiden, Boston: Brill, 2023. xi + 344 sayfa. ISBN 9789004684874.

This article revisits the controversy between Abū Bakr al-Rāzī and Abū al-Qāsim al-Balḫī. Based on the testimony of the Kitāb taṯbīt dalāʾil al-nubuwwa of the Qāḍī ʿAbd al-Ǧabbār, it is shown that the two philosophers must have clashed at the court of Aḥmad b. Sahl al-Marwazī, governor of Balḫ, during the 910s, and that the virulence of the tone of their exchange can be explained above all by this context of professional rivalry. In terms of content, their conversation must have (...) focused on the question of divine justice and on the best way to give an account of prophecy and Qurʾanic wisdom. We then turn to the study of chap. VIII, 4 of Faḫr al-Dīn al-Rāzī's Al-maṭālib al-ʿāliya and show that, contrary to a recently held view, this chapter constitutes an echo not of Abū Bakr al-Rāzī, but of the first argument of Ibn al-Rāwandī's Kitāb al-zumurrud, which contrasted the autonomy of reason with the necessity of prophecy in order to conclude from the former to the negation of the latter. Finally, it is suggested that Abū Bakr al-Rāzī's doctrine of prophecy, like that of the great theologians of his time, both Muʿtazilites and Ašʿarites, aims to escape the dilemma set up by Ibn al-Rāwandī a few decades earlier. (shrink)

Acknowledgements -- List of illustrations -- Table of transliteration -- Introduction: Shams al-Din Samarqandi: his life and training -- Works and thought -- Science of the cosmos and the soul ('Ilm al-afaq wa al-anfus) -- Manuscripts used in preparing this edition -- Sources -- Persian and Arabic texts [1-287].

RésuméDans les Sphériques, Ménélaüs ne démontre pas l'importante proposition III.5, mais propose seulement une esquisse de démonstration. Une fois le livre des Sphériques traduit en arabe, les mathématiciens, à partir de la fin du IXe siècle, ont voulu en donner une démonstration complète. Le développement de la géométrie sphérique a permis à Ibn ʿIrāq de parvenir au but. Un premier article a été consacré à sa contribution. Deux mathématiciens du XIIIe siècle – Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī et Ibn Abī Jarrāda – (...) ont repris la démonstration de cette même proposition, à partir de Ménélaüs et des acquis d'Ibn ʿIrāq. C'est le sujet du présent article. (shrink)

Najm al-Din al-Katibi's al-Risalah al-Shamsiyyah is a scholarly edition and translation of The Canons of Logic, with additional commentary and notes. Composed by Najm al-Din al-Katibi, a scholar of the Shafi'i school of law, al-Risalah al-Shamsiyyah is the most widely read introduction to logic in the Arabic-speaking world. It has probably enjoyed a longer shelf-life than any other logic textbook ever written, having been in use by madrasa students from the early fourteenth century up until the present day. Building on (...) the theories of Avicenna, al-Razi, and other pioneers of logic, al-Katibi discusses the many pitfalls of building arguments and setting out unambiguous claims in natural language. The enduring nature of the text is a testament to al-Katibi and his impact on concepts of formal discourse and argument. (shrink)

This text is a bilingual Arabic-English translation of one of the most important metaphysical works of the Persian Muslim philosopher known as Mulla Sadra & Sadr al-Din Muhammad al-Shirazi. In this work Mulla Sadra develops an anti-Platonic philosophical position which is non-Aristotelian. He holds that "existents" are ontologically prior to "essence" & that there are two different realms -- the mind dependent domain & entities which exist independent of the mind. Mulla Sadra's views became very popular among Iranian Muslim philosophers (...) & eventually were instrumental in destroying the Aristotelian school of thought in the Islamic world. The translator, Dr. Parviz Morewedge, is the Secretary-Treasurer of the Society for the Study of Islamic Philosophy & Science & has published ten books & numerous articles in Islamic Philosophy & Mysticism. (shrink)

Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi's life spanned the last two thirds of the seventh/thirteenth centuries. A student of Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, he was involved in the revival of Peripatetic philosophy and science that occurred at Maraghah under his influence. He was significant as a transitional figure, combining Suhrawardi's Illuminative philosophy with the revived Avicennism of his teacher. His commentary on Suhrawardi's Philosophy of Illumination was the main vehicle through which this work was studied by later Iranian philosophers. He was also associated with (...) Ibn Arabi's most important student, Sadr al-Din al-Qunawi. ;Suhrawardi's Philosophy of Illumination contained a new "Science of Light", expressed largely in symbols, intended to provide a reformed basis for physics and metaphysics. Qutb al-Din frequently translated these views into Peripatetic terminology so as to make the relationships between the two systems clearer. Qutb al-Din's Pearly Crown is a popular account of philosophy, incorporating and elaborating much of Suhrawardi's philosophy but omitting or disguising the most controversial and esoteric aspects--especially those related to the World of Image, the Afterlife, and reincarnation. ;Qutb al-Din developed further the notion of the "World of Image." This "fourth world" served both philosophical and religious purposes. His ideas on reincarnation and the cyclical nature of time were especially distinctive and were developed beyond the views found in The Philosophy of Illumination. ;Also included in this dissertation are an annotated bibliography of Qutb al-Din's works and their known manuscripts and an edition and translation of his "Epistle Ascertaining the Reality of the World of Image" {Risalah fi Tahqiq )Alam al-Mithal}. (shrink)

The autograph corpus of the Damascene scholar Ibn Ṭūlūn is dispersed throughout collections in North America, Europe, and West Asia. As an initial probe into these materials, I will describe, identify, and analyze two compendia in the Princeton University collection: Garrett MSS 196B and 1011H. They contain, among other things, a portion of al-Thaghr al-bassām, an autograph draft of his biographical dictionary of Damascene judges, which is later than the one edited and published in 1959, and a heretofore missing portion (...) of al-Qalāʿid al-jawhari- yya, his topography of al-Ṣāliḥiyya. I will also positively identify an anonymous, untitled manuscript in the Bodleian Library and show its relationship to the al-Thaghr al-bassām autograph. (shrink)

Sadr al-Din Muhammad Shirazi (1572-1640), more commonly called Mulla Sadra, was one of the grand scholars of later-period Islamic philosophy and has grown to become one of the best-known Muslim philosophers. Iksir al-'arifin, or Elixir of the Gnostics, is unique among Sadra's writings in that it reworks and amplifies an earlier Persian work, the Jawidan-nama ( Book of the Everlasting ) by Afdal al-Din Kashani, or Baba Afdal. The underlying theme of Sadra's amplification is emblematic of Muslim philosophy: the importance (...) of self-knowledge in an individual's journey of "Origin and Return," the soul's origins with God and its eventual return to Him. Everything, Sadra says, is on such a path, gradually disengaging from the material world and returning to a transcendent essence--all leading to a final fruition in which everything in the universe returns to God and finds permanent happiness. Philosophy, Sadra argues, is the most direct means to self-knowledge--and thus the best tool for navigating this journey. (shrink)

The have another kind of poetry which is widely in use among them. It employs four lines, of which the fourth has a rhyme that is different from that of the first three. The fourth rhyme, then, is continued in each stanza through the whole poem. …1This brief quote from the final portion of Ibn Khaldūn's Muqaddima is perhaps an unwittingly perfect representation of his cyclical approach to sociology and history. Many of his commentators have remarked on his development of (...) a dynastic theory that sees a dynasty rise and decline within roughly four generations.2 The question that arises from such a deterministic account of history is: how, then, can human society progress, as indeed history indicates that it... (shrink)

Given the proliferation of commentarial works in the post-Ghazālian era of Islamic intellectual history, the close study of individual commentaries has recently become a key schol­arly concern. To take us beyond the necessarily generalizing categories presented by Dimitri Gutas when he first charted the territory of this genre, an approach is needed that involves narrow textual analysis without neglecting the broader context in which a work is authored. Among the works that were initially taken by Gutas as evidence of the (...) “mainstream Avicennism” of their authors is Sayf al-Dīn al-Āmidī’s (d. 631/1233) Kashf al-tamwīhāt fī sharḥ al-Ishārāt wa-l-tanbīhāt, in which he sets out to critique Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī’s (d. 610/1210) commentary on Ibn Sīnā’s Pointers and Reminders. In this article, I study the work from three perspectives. Firstly, I consider the con­tents of the Kashf, in terms of both the scope and the nature of its interaction with al-Rāzī’s first-order commentary on the Ishārāt. Secondly, I calibrate the findings of my textual analysis with materials taken from the accounts of al-Āmidī’s biographers, showing that these sources are mutually interpre­tive. Thirdly, I analyze the Kashf from within the context of his broader corpus. Together, I argue, these three perspec­tives contribute to a more nuanced understanding of what it means to describe al-Āmidī’s Kashf as a work of Avicennism. (shrink)

Metaphysics is one of the most major disciplines of philosophy. Generally, since Aristotle, its subject has been accepted as "being qua being". However, in the history of Islamic thought, there have been some scholars who think that kalam should be accepted as a superior science instead of metaphysics. Therefore, these thinkers considered "being qua being", which is accepted as the subject of metaphysics, as the subject of theology. In this study, the approach of Qadî Sirâj al-Din Urmawi, a member of (...) the philosophical theology school formed by the philosophical-kalam scholars who think that the claim in question is true and is shaped within the framework of this idea to metaphysical science and metaphysical concepts will be discussed. Therefore, this study is limited to Urmawi’s approach to metaphysics and metaphysical concepts. With this study on Urmawi, it is aimed to determine the essential position of metaphysics according to Urmawi and the meanings of metaphysical concepts in his thought. It is important for the development of philosophical thought to determine the way in which these issues are handled by a thinker who is a member of the philosophical theological school. His works Matali al-Anwâr and Bayân al-Haqq, written in the line of Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, are remarkable in terms of revealing his philosophy and the way he dealt with metaphysical concepts in a broader way. Additionally, with this study, which will contribute to the understanding of the position of metaphysics in the 13th century, it is seen that metaphysics is a superior science in the eyes of Urmawi. However, his approach to metaphysical concepts is different from his approach to the science of metaphysics. Indeed, although he gives place to Ibn Sînâ’s views on metaphysical concepts, Fakhr al-Din al-Razi is dominant in his approaching. (shrink)

The Mongols’ invasion of the territories of the Islamic world, especially Baghdad, the seat of the Islamic Caliphate, had great consequences, including the fall of Baghdad and the Bani Abbas Caliphate, the killing of the Caliph, and extensive destruction in the geography of their invasion. About half a century after the invasion of the Mongols, Ibn Taymiyyah (1263-1328), regardless of historical documents, accused Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, a prominent thinker, of collusion and cooperation with Hulagu Khan. After Ibn Taymiyyah Harrani, these (...) accusations were followed and disseminated in religious, historical, rijal (the study of hadith narrators and their personality), and even moral books by his students, such as Ibn Qayyim al Jawziyya (1292-1350). This article is an attempt to deny these accusations. Relying on the earliest historical documents, it tries to describe the historical event as it happened. In this regard, the article first provides the text of Nasir al-Din al-Tusi’s short treatise “On the Baghdad Incident”, included in Aladdin Atamalik Juveyni’s “Tarikh-i Jahangusha”, and then presents its descriptive interpretation separately. Although this treatise is short, it contains all the important points, from Hulagu Khan’s decision to go to war to the conquest of Baghdad and the analysis of the internal factors of the fall of the caliphate. This treatise, above all, is a very solid argument. For its author first of all was the witness of the Baghdad events. Secondly, in this writing, Nasir al-Din al-Tusi examines the Mongols’ attack on Baghdad but does not mention his own activity or role in the attack on Baghdad. Thirdly, if he had an activity and a role in this incident, or if he had an intention to take revenge on his religious opponents considering the situation, he should at least have hinted and expressed his approval, which is not the case at all. (shrink)

ʿImād al-Dīn Ibn Kathīr (d. 774/1373), is an important historian, mufassir, muhaddith and Shāfiʿī jurist who lived in the 8th century. Ibn Kathīr’s work titled Tafseer al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓeem, beside its tafsir identity, can be utilized due to its rich ḥadīth content and its comments on isnad and text of the ḥadīths. Ibn Kathīr, due to his competency in history and ḥadīth, analyzed the ḥadīth rigorously and noted any necessary aspect regarding the isnad or the text. In this paper, the analysis (...) and criticism of ḥadīth texts in Ibn Kathīr’s tafsir is examined. Regarding the analysis aiming to understand the meaning of the ḥadīth, issues such as explanation of unknown words, utilizing the chapter headings, evaluation of all related ḥadīths, comments of previous scholars as well as Ibn Kathīr’s original interpretations are examined. Regarding the criticism of the text, issues such as general criticism under the heading of munkar which indicates a ḥadīth the text of which contains unacceptable meanings, specific criticisms due to conflict with the Qurʾān, the Sunnah, reasoning and historical facts, solutions regarding the ḥadīths which have conflicting meanings are examined. Summary: Ibn Kathīr (d. 774/1373) who lived in the 8th century is a competent scholar in fields such as ḥadīth, history, tafsir and jurisprudence. In this article the criticism and analysis of ḥadīths in the Tafseer al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓeem by Ibn Kathīr who is an authority in ḥadīth and history are studied. Although the structure and plan of this book do not give it an appearance of a classic ḥadīth commentary, the rich ḥadīth content which it has, and the examination of this content with respect to isnad and text as in a ḥadīth commentary provide this book a ḥadīth commentary identity besides its tafsir identity. Ibn Kathīr’s tafsir is distinguished among other tafsirs by the ḥadīth commentary method and ḥadīth criticism that it employs. This is because it does not only provide ḥadīths as is seen in many other tafsirs, but also informs about the important issues that need to be known about these ḥadīths, and even in many times makes original evaluations. It is possible that Ibn Kathīr provides important evaluations about a ḥadīth which other famous commentators do not provide. He corrects some of the great ḥadīth scholars by showing the presence of isnads for ḥadīths that these scholars think do not exist. With all these aspects, Tafseer al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓeem is an invaluable source for both tafsir readers and ḥadīth scholars due to its rich ḥadīth content, the skillful application of ḥadīth methodology and ḥadīth commentary. Ibn Kathīr’s tafsir is also an important ḥadīth source due to its very rich ḥadīth content. According to the catalogue at the end of the book, it includes over eight thousand ḥadīths which corresponds to a content similar to that of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī. Looking at the studies over Tafseer al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓeem, it can be said that it has been subject to many examinations with respect to tafsir, however, it has not received the same attention with respect to ḥadīth at a sufficient level. It is aimed in this study on one side to prove the value and originality of Tafseer al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓeem as a ḥadīth commentary and on the other side to attract attention to the text criticism activities of ḥadīth scholars by using both specific criteria and concepts such as munkar.In our study the criticism and analysis of ḥadīth texts in Ibn Kathīr’s tafsir are studied under various headings. It is quite important to identify possible mistakes in ḥadīth texts as well as to understand the ḥadīth texts correctly. For this purpose the principles of text criticism such as conflict with the Qurʾān, the Sunnah, reasoning and historical facts have been used since the time of the Companions. Ibn Kathīr has approached ḥadīths in view of these text criticism principles and pointed to the mistakes in the texts of the ḥadīths which are in conflict with these principles. Often times, Ibn Kathīr criticized the points in ḥadīth texts which are not in line with the general principles of Islam and which he perceived not appropriate by using the term munkar in a general manner. He utilized this concept explicitly for isnad and text. He always warned the reader against baseless information. Finally, he pointed out to instances which can be determined as a result of the comparison of the various channels of a ḥadīth. Text analyses are efforts to correctly understand the ḥadīth text which enable to clarify the meaning of the ḥadīth. Efforts such as the explanation of the unknown words, the evaluation of all the ḥadīths related to a subject in a unified manner, making use of another ḥadīth in understanding of a ḥadīth, making using of the opinions of the previous ḥadīth scholars and making original interpretations, identification of the unknown persons in the text, making connections with the chapter headings to better understand the meaning, explanations of the contradictions arising from different ḥadīths and collecting different historical ḥadīths in a common theme contribute to a better understanding of the meaning of ḥadīths. It can be seen clearly how Ibn Kathīr applied these text analyses with success through sample ḥadīth texts selected from his tafsir.Two points that we think important are underlined at the end of our study. First, it is the exceptional position of Tafseer al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓeem among the Qurʾān tafsirs with respect to ḥadīth content and analysis. When compared with the famous tafsirs that emerge in the tafsir history, Ibn Kathīr’s tafsir is easily distinguished. When the importance of ḥadīth in the Qurʾān tafsir is thought, it is important that the ḥadīth material is filtered with respect to its authenticity and the meaning of the ḥadīth is clarified at a sufficient level. Compared to the limited number of ḥadīths in the famous tafsirs that are used to explain the verses, the rich information with respect to isnad and text in Tafseer al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓeem makes significant contribution in the explanation of the verses and provide the reader with valuable ḥadīth knowledge.The second point that we think is important is that the text criticism efforts seen in Tafseer al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓeem help to correct the opinion that ḥadīth scholars ignored text criticism compared to isnad criticism. In this respect, it is evaluated that our study is a contribution to the recent studies that shed light on the text criticism efforts of the ḥadīth scholars. In this regard, it seems important to make use of a criterion such as “conflict with the inner consistency of a ḥadīth” among other criteria. Moreover, it is pointed out in our study that the munkar concept and the thesis that this concept has been utilized by ḥadīth scholars in text criticism, is a topic which attracted the interest of the researchers and the usage of this concept in Ibn Kathīr’s tafsir contributes to this thesis. (shrink)

Shihab al-Din al-Suhrawardi was born around 1154, probably in northwestern Iran. Spurred by a dream in which Aristotle appeared to him, he rejected the Avicennan Peripatetic philosophy of his youth and undertook the task of reviving the philosophical tradition of the "Ancients." Suhruwardi's philosophy grants an epistemological role to immediate and atemporal intuition. It is explicitly anti-Peripatetic and is identified with the pre-Aristotelian sages, particularly Plato. The subject of his hikmat al-Ishraq --now available for the first time in English--is the (...) "science of lights," a science that Suhrawardi first learned through mystical exercises reinforced later by logical proofs and confirmed by what he saw as the parallel experiences of the Ancients. It was completed on 15 September 1186 and at sunset that evening, in the western sky, the sun, the moon, and the five visible planets came together in a magnificent conjunction in the constellation of Libra. The stars soon turned against Suhrawardi, however, who was reluctantly put to death by the son of Saladin, the sultan of Egypt, in 1191. (shrink)

One of the most influential figures in the history of Islamic thought is Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (d. 606/1210). The identities of mushakkik, which creates problems on many subjects, especially metaphysical and theological ones, the muhaqqiq who tries to solve the problems above the sects, and the jâmî who brings many different views together in the highest concepts, have seriously affected all the thinkers after him. Therefore, in the tradition, all schools had to inherit the philosophical and scientific dynamism that he (...) created and displayed an attitude about the problems he created and the solutions he offered. The real important motive that makes Râzî so indispensable and effective is his problematic identity (mushakkik), which carries the kalām to philosophy and philosophy to kalām, and criticizes philosophy on the basis of the kalām, and the kalām on the basis of philosophy. For this reason, when we look at the works of Râzî, who has been evaluated politically and sociologically within Ash'arism throughout his life, it is clearly seen that he is a thinker who is suitable to be embraced by different schools and to be interpreted in different ways. The fact that many Ahl as-sunnah theologians emphasized the works written by Râzî with a theological-Ash'ari theme, caused his supra-sectarian identity to be overshadowed. On the other hand, it is seen that some thinkers are making an effort to know and recognize Râzî as a philosopher-theologian and muhaqqiq. This effort is clearly seen especially in scientific figures who benefited from Kamaladdin Ibn Yûnus (d. 639/1242) in some way. Afḍal al-Dīn Khūnajī (d. 646/1248), Athir al-Din al-Abharî (d. 663/1265), Najm al-Din al-Qazwinî al-Kâtibî (d. 675/1277) can be given as examples. These personalities, on the one hand, played an active role in the spread of Râzî's scientific heritage and they were effective in bringing Râzî to the fore with his supra-sectarian identity on the other. Sirāj Al-Dīn Al-Urmawî (d. 682/1283), who inherited his scientific legacy, is among the important names who established his identity as a muhaqqiq who mostly solved supra-sectarian problems. Human actions are at the forefront of the issues in which this facility has clearly emerged. Urmawî tries to revise al-Arba'în's expressions, which seem to ignore the power and influence of human beings in terms of human actions as well as criticizing Razi's arguments very seriously. In his work Lübâb, on the one hand, he summarizes al-Erba'în of Razî he seriously criticizes Razi's Ash'ari attitude towards human actions on the other. He does this largely on the axis of the arguments that Râzî himself expressed from his encyclopedic works such as al-Matâlibu'l-'âliyya mina'l-'ilmi'l-ilâhi. It is clear that this is not an ordinary situation. Because human actions are at the forefront of the issues that determine the thinkers' conception of divinity and the relationship between God and man. In this study, Râzî's attitude on this issue and Urmavi's philosophical and theological criticisms will be tried to be determined. Thus, it is clearly seen that he is trying to establish Râzî as a muhaqqiq in the axis of human actions. (shrink)

From Antiquity until recently, philosophers and mathematicians have continually discussed the concept of angle and its relation to archimedean and non-archimedean theories of measurement. For the first time, this book traces the history of these discussions in Greek and Arabic, from Euclid to Kamāl al-Dīn al-Fārisī, after whom the discussion was not resumed until Newton and Euler. The volume presents first editions of over twenty texts, either in Arabic or Greek and translated into Arabic, of the greatest mathematicians and philosophers (...) of the time. The texts are here translated into French and supplemented with extensive commentary. The book begins with the definitions and propositions of Euclid on angles and measurement, followed by the Greek commentary tradition represented by Proclus and Simplicius (only extant in Arabic) and the writings of the Arabic mathematicians and philosophers from the 9th through 14th century, placing the fundamental contributions by Avicenna and Ibn al-Haytham into their historical context and showing how numerous successors produced new syntheses of their work. (shrink)

Logic was revered in the thirteenth century, perhaps more highly than it has been revered before or since. In the Muslim East, logic was an integral part of the syllabus of schools and found to be especially helpful for legal studies. It was at this time that The Canons of Logic was composed by Najm al-Din al-Katibi, a scholar of the Shafi'i school of law. The Rules of Logic is the most widely read introduction to logic in the Arabic-speaking world. (...) It has probably enjoyed a longer shelf-life than any other logic textbook ever written, having been in use by madrasa students from the early fourteenth century up until the present day. Building on the theories of Avicenna, al-Razi, and other pioneers of logic, al-Katibi discusses the many pitfalls of building arguments and setting out unambiguous claims in natural language. The enduring nature of the text is a testament to al-Katibi and his impact on concepts of formal discourse and argument. This new translation of The Canons of Logic provides new life to an influential text that has shaped the work of scholars of logic for centuries. (shrink)