Islamic Philosophy from Its Origin to the Present ...

1 Philosophy in the Land of ProphecySeyyed hossein NasrIslamicPhilosophyfrom itsOriginPresenttotheISLAMIC PHILOSOPHYFROM ITS ORIGINTO THE PRESENTSUNY series in IslamSeyyed hossein Nasr, editorISLAMIC PHILOSOPHYFROM ITS ORIGINTO THE PRESENTP hilosophy in the Land of ProphecySeyyed hossein NasrState University of New York PressPublished byState University of New York Press 2006 State University of New YorkAll rights reservedPrinted in the United States of AmericaNo part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoeverwithout written permission.

2 No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval systemor transmitte in any form or by any means including elecronic, electrostatic,magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwisewithout the prior permission in writing of the information, address State University of New York Press,194 Washington Avenue, Suite 305, Albany, NY 12210-2384 Production by Marilyn P. SemeradMarketing by Fran KenestonLibrary of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataNasr, Seyyed Philosophy from its Origin to the Present : Philosophy in theland of prophecy / Seyyed hossein cm.

3 (SUNY series in Islam)Includes bibliographical references and 0-7914-6799-6 (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN 0-7914-6800-3(pbk. : alk. paper)1. Philosophy , Islamic . I. Title. II. 2006181'.07 dc222005023943 ISBN-13: 978-0-7914-6799-2 (hardcover : alk. paper)ISBN-13: 978-0-7914-6800-5 (pbk. : alk. paper)10987654321 The Quranic revelation is the light which enables one to is like the sun which casts light lavishly. Philosophical intelligenceis the eye that sees this light and without this light one cannot seeanything.

4 If one closes one s eyes, that is, if one pretends to passby philosophical intelligence, this light itself will not be seenbecause there will not be any eyes to see it. Mull S adr ContentsPrefaceixTransliterationxIntrodu ction: Philosophy and Prophecy1 PART 1. Islamic Philosophy AND ITS STUDY1. The Study of Islamic Philosophy in the Westin Recent Times: An Overview132. The Meaning and Role of Philosophy in ikmat al-Il hiyyah and Kal m49 PART 2. PHILOSOPHICAL ISSUES4.

5 The Question of Existence and Quiddityand Ontology in Islamic Philosophy635. Post-Avicennan Islamic Philosophyand the Study of Being856. Epistemological Questions: Relations among Intellect,Reason, and Intuition within Diverse IslamicIntellectual Perspectives93 PART 3. Islamic Philosophy IN HISTORY7. A Framework for the Studyof the History of Islamic Philosophy1078. Dimensions of the Islamic Intellectual Tradition:Kal m, Philosophy , and Spirituality1199. The Poet-Scientist Umar Khayy m as Philosopher16510.

6 Philosophy in Azarbaijan and the School of Shiraz18511. The School of Isfahan Revisited209viiviiiContents12. Mull S adr and the Full Flowering ofProphetic Philosophy22313. From the School of Isfahan to the School of Tehran235 PART 4. THE CURRENT SITUATION14. Reflections on Islam and Modern Thought25915. Philosophy in the Land of ProphecyYesterday and Today273 Notes281 Index343 ContentsixPrefaceThis book is the result of nearly fifty years of study and meditationupon Philosophy and philosophical issues as seen in light of the reali-ties revealed through prophecy both objective and inward in the formof illumination.

7 In a world in which Philosophy has become so di-vorced from revealed realities and secular thought has sought tomarginalize and even annihilate knowledge imbued with the sacred,it is necessary to return, whenever possible, to the theme of the rela-tion between Philosophy and prophecy through different perspectivesand angles of vision. Years ago we dealt with the heart of the questionof the relation between knowledge and the reality of the sacred inKnowledge ad the Sacred and have returned to this subject from otherangles of vision in later works such as The Need for a Sacred the Present work we turn our gaze specifically upon philoso-phy and especially Islamic Philosophy .

8 We deal with over a millen-nium of Islamic Philosophy , its doctrines, history, and approaches,from the angle of vision of the relation between that long philosophi-cal tradition and the realities of prophecy that have always dominatedthe horizon of the Islamic cosmos and the intellectual climate andspace of the Islamic people. Some of the chapters of this book werewritten as essays over the years. They have all been thoroughly re-vised and integrated into the framework of this book.

9 Many otherchapters are new and were written specifically as integral parts of thepresent work in order to complete the picture that we have sought todepict in the pages that wish to thank the Radius Foundation, which provided finan-cial help to make the preparation of this text possible. We are alsoespecially grateful to Katherine O Brien, who prepared and readied thehandwritten material and numerous alterations required patience, know-how, and energy to carry out a Herculean task.

10 Without her help itwould not have been possible to Present the text for for the press. Having had to endure reading hundreds of pages ofTransliterationIntroductionPhilosophy and ProphecyIn the current cultural climate in the West as well as other parts of theglobe affected by modernism and postmodernism, Philosophy andprophecy are seen as two very different and, in the eyes of many,antithetical approaches to the understanding of the nature of was not, however, the case in the various traditional civilizationspreceding the advent of the modern world.