Arabic and Islamic Philosophy, Misc

This article identifies the lack of a unanimous political system as the root cause of the multifaceted crises currently facing the Muslim world. Historically, the "political problem"—defined by the question of who should rule and by what right—emerged following the death of Prophet Mohammad. While the early Rashidun Caliphate utilized consultative models like shura and biaah, subsequent history shifted toward dynastic and autocratic regimes, leaving the core question of political legitimacy unresolved. The author argues that this unresolved political tension has (...) fueled sectarianism, particularly the Sunni-Shia divide, and led to the suppression of reformist movements under the guise of theology. Unlike the West, which achieved stability through liberal democracy, many Muslim nations remain polarized between autocracy and democratic aspirations. To achieve regional cooperation and internal stability, the author proposes constitutional democracy—whether via republicanism or constitutional monarchy—as the essential solution to balance Shariah values with public representation and peaceful transitions of power. (shrink)

This study undertakes a profound exploration of the conceptual convergences among Mulla Sadra’s doctrine of al-ḥarakat al-jawhariyya (substantial motion), Alfred North Whitehead’s process philosophy, and contemporary quantum ontology, aiming to forge a novel metaphysical synthesis that bridges Islamic philosophy with modern philosophy of science. Through an intricate comparative and conceptual analysis, it argues that Sadra’s dynamic ontology of becoming offers a robust framework for interpreting Whitehead’s processual metaphysics while simultaneously providing a unique lens to address interpretive challenges in quantum mechanics, (...) such as wave function collapse, quantum entanglement, and superposition. By meticulously identifying shared ontological commitments to flux, relationality, and emergence, this paper proposes substantial motion as a unifying metaphysical paradigm that transcends cultural and disciplinary boundaries. This interdisciplinary endeavor not only fosters a cross-cultural dialogue but also contributes to a deeper, more nuanced understanding of the nature of being in a quantum world, inviting philosophers to reconsider the foundations of reality through a processual lens. (shrink)

Mulla Sadra, the 17th-century Persian philosopher and founder of Transcendent Theosophy, presents a transformative epistemological framework that redefines knowledge as an existential and intuitive act, rooted in the primacy of existence. His concept of presential knowledge, or ‘ilm huduri, posits that true cognition occurs through the direct unification of the knower’s being with the reality of the known, mediated by spiritual faculties such as the heart and the active intellect. This article offers a comprehensive comparative analysis of Sadra’s existential-intuitive epistemology (...) with Martin Heidegger’s existential awareness, centered on Dasein and lived experience, and Robert Audi’s theory of rational intuition, which emphasizes non-inferential apprehension of abstract truths. Drawing on primary sources, including Sadra’s Al-Hikmah al-Muta‘aliyah fi’l-Asfar al-‘Aqliyyah al-Arba‘ah, and interpretations from Islamic scholars like Allama Tabatabai, Morteza Motahhari, Ayatollah Javadi Amoli, and Mesbah Yazdi, alongside Western philosophical texts, the study explores convergences and divergences across Islamic mysticism, existential phenomenology, and analytic epistemology. Key questions include: How does Sadra’s epistemology redefine knowledge? How does it compare with Heidegger’s and Audi’s frameworks? What are its implications for contemporary philosophy? The analysis underscores Sadra’s unique contribution to global epistemology, offering a holistic model that transcends rationalist and empiricist paradigms, fostering a cross-cultural dialogue that enriches our understanding of human cognition. (shrink)

ليس من السهل شرح تعبير «الأصولية الإسلامية»، لأنه – فيما أعتقد – تعبير لا علاقة له بالمسلمين؛ لأننا إن تحدثنا عن إسلام أصولي، فمعنى ذلك أن لدينا إسلامًا غير أصولي. من المؤكد أن بين المسلمين من يؤمنون بالمبادئ الأساسية للإسلام، وأن من بينهم من لا يؤمنون بها. وبنظرة سريعة إلى العالم المسلم – ماضيه وحاضره - يتضح لنا أنه لا يوجد، ولم يوجد، بين المسلمين مجموعة أو فرقة تُسمي نفسها «أصولية». والحق أنني لا أعرف أية مجموعة أو فرقة إسلامية تُطلق (...) هذا الاسم على مجموعة أو فرقة أخرى. لذا فإن ما نراه اليوم لا يخرج عن أن بعض رواد العلمانية من الغربيين والأمريكيين قد نظروا إلى الإسلام أو إلى بعض المجموعات الإسلامية من خلال صورة الأصوليين في مجتمعاتهم. هكذا يبدو أنه ما من أحد في العالم الإسلامي يستحضر اسم «الإسلام» خارج المساجد إلا وسُمى «أصوليًا إسلاميًا»، وكلما وحيثما وُجدت مجموعة إسلامية تُصارع من أجل بقائها أو حقوقها الإنسانية الأساسية أُطلق عليها «أصولية إسلامية». (shrink)

Human beings possess a diverse set of capacities, inclinations, and possibilities, some of which cannot simultaneously emerge within a single Context / Realm⁵. On the other hand, existential justice requires that the structure of existence provide an appropriate field for the realization of humanity’s essential capacities, while free will necessitates that human choices be formed under real and conscious conditions. A single world, due to the limitations of its framework, linear time, the conflict of certain circumstances, and the irreversible nature (...) of many choices, cannot fully reveal all of the existential possibilities of the human being. -/- This study, employing an analytical-deductive method and drawing upon the foundations of Transcendent Philosophy (al-Ḥikmah al-Mutaʿāliyah), particularly the principles of substantial Motion⁷ of the Soul (Nafs)² and existential intensification, presents the theory of “Sequential Realms.” This model proposes that independent and successive contexts provide the conditions for the soul’s encounter with diverse and sometimes opposing circumstances. Within this framework, a “turn” is considered a unit of the soul’s existential experience within a specific context; “existential Intensity⁴” refers to the degree of prominence and prioritization of certain possibilities within the soul’s cognitive horizon; and “existential Weight³” expresses the quality of the soul’s stabilized transformation resulting from experiences, awareness, and choices. -/- Existential weight is neither something transferred between contexts nor an entity circulating among realms; rather, it represents a genuine transformation in the cognitive and existential structure of the soul. In this theory, the continuity of the soul is preserved, while each context possesses its own independent experience. Thus, the qualitative effects of experiences and choices remain within the trajectory of the soul’s existential development, without requiring the direct transfer of narrative memory between realms. -/- Within this framework, Sequential Realms are not a substitute for Barzakh or Resurrection, but rather an explanation of how the capacities of the soul may be realized throughout the continuation of the worldly stage. This structure differs from reincarnation, since it does not involve the transfer of the soul among multiple bodies; instead, it concerns the gradual realization of existential experiences within successive contexts. Accordingly, divine justice does not mean the equalization of outcomes, but rather the provision of opportunities for the realization of capacities. Human perfection is the process of intensifying awareness and stabilizing existential dispositions through freely chosen actions . (shrink)

Western philosophers have long explored problems of free will and determinism, and regarded libertarianism as an important option. Asian philosophical traditions have however historically paid little attention to these problems, and ignored libertarianism. An explanation of this difference emerges from a survey of Confucian, Mohist, Daoist, Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Zoroastrian, Greek, Jewish, Catholic, Calvinist, Arminian, Sunni, Shia, and contemporary philosophical traditions. Only Christians and Muslims accept a perfect creator and eternal damnation. This creates problems of evil to which a popular (...) solution is the free will theodicy, which entails commitments to libertarianism and to great moral significance for free right action. These historical investigations provide secular philosophers with theological debunking arguments against libertarianism, and against the great significance ascribed to agency in contemporary metaethics. Asia suggests alternatives to both commitments. (shrink)

Knowledge means the presence of the known before the knower, and it is either presential or acquired. Presential knowledge means the presence of the known's existence before the knower, such as man's knowledge of himself.Acquired knowledge means the presence of the known form before the knower, such as man's knowledge of external objects. Here, what is directly present before the knower is a concept of the known, and what is known by essence is that very concept, and the external object (...) is known by accident.Logic is the collection of principles of thought. Observing such principles, which are totally in the domain of acquired knowledge, protects the mind against errors in the process of thinking.Muslim logicians, following Farabi, divide man's knowledge into two types: concept and judgment; accordingly, they divide the science of logic into two parts: one part deals with the issues related to concept and the other with issues related to judgment. The two types represent the primary division of acquired knowledge into its different kinds.On second division, acquired knowledge, i.e., the very concept and judgment, is divided into evident and theoretical types. Evident knowledge is known by itself and is needless of idea and thought. Theoretical knowledge is not known by essence and, in order to be known to the mind, it requires thinking. It is here that the science of logic comes of use in acquiring the theories from evident things or other theories.What was said about the primary division of acquired knowledge into concept and judgment and its secondary division into evident and theoretical types is acceptable to most Muslim logicians except for Fakhr al-Din Razi. He does not believe in theoretical concept; however, no one agrees with his views. (shrink)

قراءة وتعليق لكتاب (فهم الإسلام في اليابان) للأستاذ الدكتور سمير نوح. يقع الكتاب في 256 صفحة من القطع المتوسط، ويتألف من مقدمة ومدخل وستة فصول، تتناول في مجملها طبيعة فهم اليابانيين للأديان بصفة عامة، وللدين الإسلامي بصفة خاصة، وفعاليات العلاقات العربية الإسلامية اليابانية منذ بدايتها وحتى وقتنا الراهن في معية المتغيرات الدولية المؤثرة، وطبيعة حياة المسلمين في اليابان: قضاياهم ومشكلاتهم وطموحاتهم، فضلاً عن أنشطة الجامعات اليابانية ومراكز البحوث والأكاديميين اليابانيين في مجال التعريف بالإسلام وبثقافته وحضارته. وتكمن أهمية الكتاب في كونه (...) يمثل مصدرًا ثريًا للقارئ العربي المهتم بالشأن الياباني مقارنة بالوضع الحضاري للعالم العربي – الإسلامي، بالإضافة إلى ما يحمله بين جنباته من إجابات لتساؤلات تؤرق بالضرورة كل من سمع أو عايش أو قرأ عن التجربة اليابانية. (shrink)

There are many similarities in both form and content between the path Diotima described in order to reach Beauty through Eros which we encounter in Plato's Symposion dialogue and the tenets of the Anatolian Sufism which is a religion of love. Rather than investigating whether there is any organic connec-tion between the two approaches or the channels through which such a connec-tion is established, this study aims to show the two approaches in light of each other. Thus, it is argued (...) that both the Symposion dialogue and the Anatolian Sufism will be more understandable with such a relatively original interpretation. (shrink)

This study, Anatomy of Theopolitics (Volume II of Studies in Sacred Discourses), provides a rigorous critical analysis of Ruhollah Khomeini’s framework of Wilayat al-Faqih (Guardianship of the Jurist). Positioned against the backdrop of the Arab Spring and the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the work examines the evolution of Islamic governance and its practical implications for modern pluralistic societies. Utilizing a multi-faceted methodology, the research is divided into three primary components: • Comparative Discourse Analysis: A novel comparison between Wilayat al-Faqih and Ted (...) Kaczynski’s Industrial Society and Its Future, revealing how both theological and secular radicalisms employ oversimplified narratives to critique modernity and prescribe authoritarian solutions. • Contextual Analysis: An evaluation of the text’s second section against secular and democratic paradigms, identifying barriers to modernization such as reductionism and anti-Western bias. • Quantitative Logic Mapping: A systematic dissection of the text’s logical structure, quantifying flaws such as Historical Reductionism (22%), Contextual Rigidity (17%), and Agency Neglect (17%) to advocate for governance models rooted in human rights. Building on prior research into Quranic law and divine rule, this volume serves as both a scholarly critique and an educational resource. It aims to equip policymakers, scholars, and educators with the tools to scrutinize theocratic ideologies and foster governance paradigms that balance religious principles with democratic accountability and empirical scrutiny. (shrink)

Edward Said’s Orientalism revolutionized Western scholarship by exposing its deep-seated biases in studying non-Western societies, particularly the Arab-Islamic world. His critique revealed how Western narratives dehumanized the "Orient" through exaggerated differences, exoticization and imperialist assumptions. This intellectual framework, Said argued, distorted objective scholarship, allowing Western scholars to claim superior knowledge over the very societies they studied. This paper examines Said’s arguments and their enduring impact on Political Science, Political Philosophy and International Relations. It explores how Orientalist discourse persists in shaping (...) Western narratives, particularly in the post-Cold War era through scholars like Fukuyama and Huntington, as well as in studies on terrorism and democratization efforts in the Arab-Islamic world. Finally, it analyzes the evolution of Orientalism in its modern, neo-Orientalist configuration, which continues to influence global politics and academic discourse. (shrink)

This book offers a profound exploration of one of the most remarkable intellectual encounters in history: the meeting of the mystical philosophy of Indian Yoga with the Iranian-Islamic tradition of thought. Centered on Abu Rayhan al-Bīrūnī's translation and interpretation of Patanjali's Yoga-Sūtras, it reveals how a polymath of the medieval Islamic world approached a deeply symbolic and highly condensed spiritual text with extraordinary precision, transforming it into a coherent and accessible discourse for a new cultural horizon. More than a translation, (...) this work stands as a bridge between civilizations, grounded in dialogue, intellectual integrity, and a shared quest for truth. -/- Through a rich comparative and analytical framework, the book uncovers the philosophical and mystical foundations of Yoga while placing them in conversation with Iranian-Islamic wisdom. It guides readers through the central human concern of liberation from existential entanglement-a theme that resonates across traditions and across the ages. Thoughtfully crafted for scholars and seekers alike, this study invites renewed reflection on the relationship between reason and intuition, culture and universality, and the enduring unity of the human spiritual journey. (shrink)

The digital era has precipitated a crisis of student subjectivity, marked by doomscrolling, algorithmic addiction, and profound ethical disorientation. Responding to this, this study constructs a framework of "Tazkiyah-Based Digital Resilience" not merely as a regulatory measure, but as an internal spiritual fortification. Grounded in Gadamer’s philosophical hermeneutics, particularly the fusion of horizons, this research orchestrates a dialogue between classical Islamic Sufism and contemporary digital pathologies. The findings establish a complementary synthesis: Al-Ghazali provides the epistemological anchor by positioning the qalb (...) (heart) as the center of moral consciousness to discern information truth, while Ibn Qayyim contributes the transformative mechanism through the graded discipline of maqāmāt. This synthesis yields an applicative pedagogical model where mujāhadah is reinterpreted as active digital resistance, muraqabah as intrinsic digital integrity, and muhāsabah as a reflective information audit. Ultimately, this framework shifts the paradigm of Islamic Religious Education from external prohibition toward internalized spiritual sovereignty, empowering students to navigate the digital flood with authentic self-control. (shrink)

Avicenna (d. 428/1037) occupies an exceptional and enduring position in the history of Islamic philosophy owing to the scope, depth, and interdisciplinary character of his works, as well as to his profound influence on subsequent intellectual developments. In the modern period, the vitality and continuing relevance of Avicenna’s thought are clear in the sustained and growing academic interest devoted to his works. This interest extends beyond the critical editing and translation of classical texts to newly established connections with contemporary discussions (...) in philosophy, the history of science, and ethics. The increasing number of publications devoted to Avicenna raises important questions concerning the ways in which his thought is interpreted and reassessed in contemporary scholarship. In response to this ongoing academic engagement, the present study aims to examine systematically research on Avicenna within the broader framework of the history of Islamic philosophy by employing a bibliometric analysis. Scientific articles published under relevant titles in major national and international databases such as Scopus, Web of Science, and TR Index were systematically analyzed by considering all diacritical and non-diacritical spelling variants of the names “Ibn Sina,” “Ibn Sīnā,” “Ibn Sînâ,” and “Avicenna.” Within this scope, a total of 1.512 research articles indexed in WoS, Scopus, and TR Index were included in the analysis. By examining metadata drawn from titles, keywords, and abstracts, the study seeks to identify the conceptual structures, thematic orientations, and interdisciplinary connections that characterize modern research on Avicenna. The bibliometric analysis was conducted using the software tools VOSviewer and EkşiVeri, which enable the visualization of citation networks, co-authorship patterns, and thematic clusters. The fact that Ibn Sīnā is the most frequently published topic in the WoS, Scopus, and TR Index databases, together with his profound and lasting influence on subsequent periods, was a decisive factor in selecting Ibn Sīnā as the focus of this study. This focus also allows for broader assessments of research trends in Islamic philosophy. The methodological framework adopted in this study facilitates the identification of major research trends, areas of concentrated scholarly interest, and dominant methodological approaches. The WoS and Scopus databases provide a more comprehensive overview of research on Islamic philosophy and Ibn Sīnā due to their international scope and the longer time span covered by their datasets. By contrast, although TR Index is a relatively recent database, it has been found to possess significant potential in the field by indexing productive journals, yticularly those focusing on the theme of Ibn Sīnā. An examination of author productivity and impact across the WoS, Scopus, and TR Index databases reveals a noteworthy pattern in Islamic philosophy research. The prominent ranking of Turkish scholars in both national and international indices indicates their increasing academic visibility within the field of Islamic philosophy. The validity of Lotka’s law across all three indices further demonstrates that many contributors are represented by single publications. This finding suggests that, despite Ibn Sīnā’s central position and frequent appearance in the literature, in-depth and sustained thematic studies devoted to his thought remain relatively limited. Keyword analyses indicate that studies on Ibn Sīnā are predominantly concentrated around concepts related to metaphysics and logic. In this respect, TR Index presents a distinctive profile when compared to the other indices. While research indexed in WoS and Scopus tends to situate Ibn Sīnā within an intellectual framework largely limited to figures such as Aristotle, Aquinas, Albertus Magnus, al-Ghazālī, Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī, Ibn Rushd, Maimonides, Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī, and Mullā Ṣadrā, the TR Index database also foregrounds figures such as al-Kindī, al-Fārābī, al-Shahrastānī, and Suhrawardī. This suggests the presence, within TR Index, of a more diversified body of literature that also engages with post-Avicennan philosophical traditions. From the perspective of conceptual distribution, common themes such as being, causality, epistemology, creation, emanation, quiddity, substance, and truth predominate across all three databases. Furthermore, the frequency distribution of keywords is largely consistent with Zipf’s law, in that a limited number of concepts recur with high frequency, while the remaining terms appear only sporadically. Overall, the findings demonstrate both the continuity of Avicenna’s philosophical legacy and the evolving patterns of its interpretation in contemporary scholarship. (shrink)

"Allameh Tabatabai considered ‘practical credita’ (iʿtibārāt-i ʿamalī) to be the product of the activity of the estimative faculty (al-quwwah al-wahmiyyah) and defined it as: ‘The attribution of the limit or judgment of one thing to another by the estimative faculty.’ He classified these credita under the categories of metaphor (majāz), specifically as a type of ‘social metaphor.’ However, his phrasing remains ambiguous regarding which specific type of metaphor he intended, a fact that has led to various interpretations. Mutahhari interpreted his (...) statement according to Sakkaki’s theory of metaphor, while others regard it as consistent with a less common reading of the standard view on metaphor. In the present work, by reviewing various perspectives on the nature of metaphor, it is concluded that, firstly, the popular understanding of Sakkaki’s view is inaccurate, and secondly, Allameh’s view does not correspond with that of Sakkaki or other rhetoricians. The author argues that: first, practical credita are social metaphors governed by the estimative faculty, which generates such constructs for the purpose of sustaining the worldly life of humans and animals; and second, while the core of these concepts originates as a ‘metaphor in attribution’ (majāz fī al-isnād), the estimative faculty subsequently modifies them to produce figurative representations that do not apply to the real instances of the original meaning.". (shrink)

This book examines how seven major classical Islamic thinkers, from Abū Manṣūr al-Māturīdī to Taqī al-Dīn Ibn Taymiyya, developed distinctive metaphysical and theological worldviews that continue to shape how Muslims might engage questions of science and religion today. Each thinker represents a unique school within the broader Islamic intellectual tradition, from the rationalism of the Muʿtazilīs and the philosophical vision of Ibn Sīnā to the mystical cosmology of Ibn ʿArabī and the realist theology of Ibn Taymiyya. Through a shared analytic (...) framework, the chapters present how these figures understood God, causality, nature, chance, miracles, and human uniqueness, highlighting their enduring insights and divergences. The result is a coherent and accessible comparative study that bridges classical kalām, falsafa, and Sufism with contemporary discussions in science and theology. This volume is written for researchers, educators, and students of theology, philosophy, and science and religion, and for anyone seeking to understand how classical Islamic thought can offer fresh resources for engaging contemporary science. (shrink)

In this article we study the meaning of life in the philosophy of Abu Nasr Farabi in English for the first time, in contrast to familiar works discussing his contributions to philosophy of religion, philosophical anthropology, and political philosophy. We present the findings in relation to contemporary literature in the field of the meaning of life and the divisions made by analytic philosophers. In Farabi’s philosophy, there is a fundamental connection between theism and true happiness (Sa'adat) based on the knowledge (...) of the soul and its immortality. As a philosopher who believes in God and the immortal soul, Farabi designs a system based on which man's worldly life becomes meaningful given the supreme goal of achieving good fortune in the afterlife and in connection with God. We characterize Farabi's approach as a supernaturalist (against naturalist) theory involving both God and a soul (against only one of these) that is based on the discovery (against error theory) of a single meaning in life (against pluralism), built upon objectivism (against subjectivism), action-guiding (against knowledge merely for its own sake), and holist (against partialism). (shrink)

This monograph reconstructs the patriarchal world by grounding biblical and Qur’anic narratives in Middle Bronze Age material geography. Using hydrological modeling, corridor analysis, and ancient land‑law, it argues that wells, ridges, famine cycles, and watershed thresholds shaped prophetic movement and memory. The study moves beyond literary interpretation by situating these traditions within the political and environmental constraints of the Levantine corridor. It offers a context‑restoring framework for recovering the historical landscape beneath the sacred text.

This chapter examines Taqī al-Dīn Aḥmad Ibn Taymiyya (d. 728/1328), the leading figure of the Ḥanbalī/Atharī tradition, whose theology combines strict textualism with a distinctive realism about God, nature, and knowledge. Ibn Taymiyya's epistemology recognises sense perception, reason, and report as the main sources of knowledge, all grounded in the fiṭra, the innate human disposition that enables recognition of both truth and moral value. Ibn Taymiyya maintains that belief in God is intuitive and non-inferential, though it can also be supported (...) by rational argument from contingency and origination. God acts perpetually and voluntarily, creating and sustaining the world in time without beginning, and all divine acts proceed from His wisdom and purpose. Rejecting Ashʿarī occasionalism, he affirms that God creates natural bodies with real causal powers that operate within His will, giving rise to stable natural regularities and allowing a dynamic relation between divine and created agency. Miracles are exceptional signs that confirm prophethood by breaking the normal course of nature, but they remain acts of God within His created order. Ibn Taymiyya's hermeneutics rejects both figurative reinterpretation and consignment of meaning, affirming that divine attributes such as God's hand or settling on the throne are real yet unique to Him and ontologically unlike the corresponding attributes of creation. Human beings, endowed with will and power, act freely within divine determination and fulfil their purpose through worship and moral formation, reflecting God's wisdom on earth. Ibn Taymiyya's outlook accommodates a pragmatic form of methodological naturalism, seeing scientific enquiry as a way of discerning the regularities and wise purposes that God has placed in creation while insisting that divine agency remains the ultimate ground of all causation. (shrink)

The article begins with a philosophical question: If cosmic order implies the unity of God, does the corrosion of heaven and earth imply the plurality of gods? Although many would readily give an affirmative answer to this question, the Māturīdī theologian Saʿd al-Dīn al- Taftāzānī’s (d. 792/1390) explanation of the concept using Qurʾan 21: 22 (‘If there were other gods [in heaven and earth] besides Allāh, they would both dissolve into chaos’) sparked considerable and often heated debate among fellow Sunnī (...) thinkers and continued to trigger controversy in later scholarship down to Maḥmūd al- Ālūsī (d. 1270/1854) and Jamāl al-Dīn al-Qāsimī (d. 1332/1914). Arif examines this issue of the burhān al-tamānuʿ and explores this debate and the controversies it engendered by exploring the meaning of the counterfactual conditional statement used by the Qurʾan. (shrink)

Does the modern soul have a home, or are we all just wandering through a digital desert? This paper orchestrates a profound dialogue between Heideggerian ontology and the revolutionary thought of Ali Shari'ati to address the contemporary crisis of "Unhomeliness" (Unheimlichkeit). It argues that modern technological life has evicted humanity from its spiritual dwelling, leaving us in a state of chronic alienation. By reinterpreting Shari'ati’s concept of Rausyanfikr (enlightened thinker) and the Islamic notion of Ghurba (strangeness) not as despairing exile (...) but as a transformative path, the study offers a radical therapy. This synthesis integrates meditative practices (Denken) with the cultivation of an authentic, justice-oriented community (Ummah), proposing that 'home' is not a physical place, but a spiritual attunement found through the struggle for authentic existence. (shrink)

Epistemology has a distinguished history within Islamic philosophical and theological discourses. Muslim scholars sought to explain what knowledge was, where it came from, and how it could be justified. They were especially interested in religious knowledge and the core question of why human beings were justified in their belief in God and the Prophet Muhammad. In this volume, editors Safaruk Chowdhury and Ramon Harvey, alongside fifteen contributing authors, put this vibrant tradition of thought into sustained dialogue with contemporary analytic philosophy (...) of religion and clarify what is at stake in their mutual interaction. The text acts, therefore, as a founding document for the new subfield of analytic Islamic epistemology. By bringing together the insights of intellectual historians, comparative religionists, philosophers of religion and analytic epistemologists, this book maps historical articulations of Islamic epistemology, the ongoing conversation with Christian counterparts, the advancement of key existing debates, and proposals for the future. (shrink)

El libro se articula en dos partes bien diferenciadas. En la primera, tratamos la centralidad del amor en Ibn ʿArabī. Mediante un recorrido biográfico y un repaso de sus obras más significativas, dibujamos las líneas fundamentales de su ontología, su epistemología y su antropología, siempre con el amor como llave interpretativa. Ello nos permite mostrar que desde el amor comprendió a Dios, el Ser, el conocimiento y la condición humana. Y que al amor se consagró para realizar su plena humanidad. (...) En la segunda parte, ofrecemos el primer estudio integral en lengua española sobre el gran escrito que dedicó al amor, el capítulo 178 de su monumental obra Las Iluminaciones de La Meca (al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya), titulado «Sobre el conocimiento de fragancia de la morada del amor» ( fī maʿrifat maqām al-maḥabba). (shrink)

This study undertakes a profound exploration of the mystical teachings of Nahj al-Balagha, attributed to Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, and their transformative influence on the existential philosophy of Mulla Sadra, the architect of hikmat al-muta’aliya (transcendent philosophy). Through an exhaustive comparative textual analysis, it examines core mystical concepts in Nahj al-Balagha—including tawhid (unity of existence), fana (annihilation of the self), suluk (spiritual journey), and tazkiya (ethical purification)—and their resonance with Mulla Sadra’s metaphysical doctrines, such as harakat al-jawhariyyah (substantial motion), (...) tashkik al-wujud (gradation of existence), nafs al-kamilah (perfect self), and his epistemology of mystical intuition (kashf). Drawing on 34 authoritative sources, encompassing classical Islamic texts, Persian and Arabic scholarly works, and contemporary interpretations by luminaries like Allama Tabataba’i, Ayatollah Javadi Amoli, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, and William Chittick, this study elucidates points of convergence, divergence, and influence. The analysis reveals that Nahj al-Balagha’s mystical insights provided a spiritual and intellectual foundation for Mulla Sadra’s synthesis of rational philosophy, theological doctrine, and mystical intuition, profoundly enriching Islamic metaphysics. This dialogue not only bridges spiritual and philosophical discourses but also offers enduring insights into existential questions of being, selfhood, divine unity, and ethical practice, with significant implications for contemporary philosophical, theological, and interfaith discourse. (shrink)

This article examines the theory of miracles formulated by the distinguished Shī’ī-Mu’tazilī theologian, al-Sharīf al-Murtaḍā (965–1044 CE), specifically to contextualize his controversial doctrine of Qurʾānic iʿjāz, known as ṣarfah. The study reconstructs al-Murtaḍā’s general theory of miracles by analyzing his primary works and comparing his positions with standard Muʿtazilī theology. The investigation focused on how his metaphysical and moral frameworks interact to define the nature of miracles. I argue that al-Murtaḍā articulated a “minimal theory of miracles,” wherein miracles function as (...) restricted, localized, and audience-relative “breaches of norms” (khawāriq al-ʿādāt) rather than violations of universal laws. In his view, miracles are morally necessary but temporally restricted acts of God, designed solely to authenticate a prophet to their immediate community. Al-Murtaḍā’s theory shifts the evidential burden of prophetic proof—including the Qur’ān—from continuing intrinsic supernatural qualities to discrete historical testimony. Finally, this study suggests that al-Murtaḍā appears to offer a rationally coherent alternative notion of miracles, that may well succeed from some of the most pressing contemporary intellectual challenges. (shrink)

It is well known that Avicenna vehemently rejected the theory of Forms. However, his interpretation of the theory and his reasons for rejecting it remain understudied. This paper aims to fill this lacuna. It begins by laying out the theses that he associated with the theory of Forms, demonstrating where they diverge from Plato's own formulation of the theory and from two later reformulations of it: those of post-Avicennian Muslim Platonists and contemporary analytic Platonists. Subsequently, it examines Avicenna's arguments against (...) the theory, classifying them into two categories: (1) refutations of Platonic arguments and (2) direct arguments against the theory. Both groups of arguments demonstrate significant originality, going well beyond Aristotle's critiques in his Metaphysics, which was likely the principal source of Avicenna's knowledge of the theory of Forms. The examination of Avicenna's arguments reveals (1) his methodology in responding to ancient views with which he disagreed; (2) some of his innovative logical contributions, including the distinction between two kinds of predication, and the logic of the “min ḥaythu hīya hīya” (inasmuch as it is what it is) operator; and (3) some substantive metaphysical, epistemological, and semantic assumptions that were later embraced by mainstream Islamic philosophy. (shrink)

This paper examines Ibn Taymiyya’s (1263–1328) critique of the Aristotelian logical tradition, with a particular focus on his theory of definition (ḥadd). Ibn Taymiyya argues that Aristotelian logic, premised upon fixed metaphysical categories, fails to serve as a practical instrument for epistemic inquiry and knowledge production, as it claims. Ibn Taymiyya’s critique can be divided into two main classes: general and metaphysical. His general criticisms undermine the validity of Aristotelian definitions through multiple dialectical arguments such as regress, disagreement, and redundancy, (...) showing that definitions are not epistemically useful. His metaphysical criticisms, on the other hand, strike at the foundations of Peripatetic metaphysics by rejecting the distinctions between a) quiddity and its existence, and between b) essential and concomitant predicates. I have also argued that Ibn Taymiyya’s position cannot be reduced to nominalism, empiricism, or conventionalism. Rather, his theory of meaning aligns more closely with modern pragmatics, wherein speech acts derive their meaning from their communicative, intentional, and contextual functions. (shrink)

In recent years, analytic philosophy of religion has taken a more global and inclusive turn. Islamic Philosophy of Religion: Essays from Analytic Perspectives is both a testament to this shift and a timely contribution. The volume brings together leading experts on a range of topics in philosophy of religion, explored from the perspective of themes and ideas within the Islamic tradition, and approached through the methods of analytic philosophy.

This chapter aims to offer a contemporary brand of foundationalist epistemology in an Islamic milieu. In focusing on Ibn Taymiyya’s (d. 728/1328) concept of fiṭra, the chapter develops a faculty-based epistemology and noninferentialist religious epistemology. It positioned itself as a plausible alternative to classical foundationalism, in that it avoids an implausible kind of scepticism and resonates with some of our basic intuitions about knowledge. If successful in countering some key objections, it has shown how theistic belief may be a type (...) of foundational knowledge for religious believers. (shrink)

This paper is devoted to a fascinating passage in Faḫr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (d. 1210), in which he argues that non-human animals have rational souls. It is found in his Mulaḫḫaṣ fī l-manṭiq wa-l-ḥikma (Epitome on Philosophy and Logic). Following a discussion of the afterlife, Faḫr al-Dīn suggests that animals should, like humans, be capable of grasping universals, and that they are aware of their own identity over time. Furthermore, animal behavior shows that they are capable of rational planning and problem-solving. (...) We contextualize these arguments with reference to Faḫr al-Dīn’s other philosophical works, and also compare the considerations he raises to ideas found in modern-day animal ethics, drawing here especially on the work of Mark Rowlands. The paper concludes with a translation of the passage. (shrink)

On Principles and Matter, a previously unknown treatise by Porphyry of Tyre only preserved in a Syriac translation, was finally made available to historians of philosophy in 2021. The studies collected in the present volume deal with this treatise.

As everyone here knows, any criticism of Zionism is always met with accusations of antisemitism. This leads one to ask, what exactly is the relationship between Zionism and antisemitism? In answering this question, our guide will be the writings of Palestinian philosopher named Fayez Sayegh, who wrote in 1960, “if anti-Jewishness did not exist, Zionists would have to create it.”1 Of course, this claim clashes with the commonsense idea that Zionism and the Israeli state are strict antidotes to antisemitism. Why (...) does Sayegh say this? What evidence does he have to support it? And what might his answers mean for the IHRA definition of antisemitism? (shrink)

A sustainable future for human existence can only be secured when sustainability becomes the central value that organizes human activity. Despite this truth, the idea of sustainability is strikingly absent from the Enlightenment philosophies that gave rise to contemporary models of political and economic organization. The absence of sustainability as a central value in political and economic thinking means political and economic models struggle to accommodate the conceptual relationships necessary for ensuring a sustainable future. This struggle is reflected in the (...) theoretical and practical failures of contemporary models and the failure of these models to address the immanent crisis of ecological collapse. In this address, I examine the role of acquisition and growth in Enlightenment thought, particularly as they guide the writings of John Locke and Adam Smith. These assumptions in their respective philosophies sever individuals and society from ecological thinking. In response to this schism between humanity and nature, I consider writings from Indigenous American authors Corbin Harney and Joseph Bruchac. Indigenous writings not only acknowledge the interdependence of humanity and nature but contain clear warnings against separating the human from the natural. Looking next to Chinese thought, I argue that social-economic stability and ecological stability are not exclusive. In contrast to Enlightenment thought, classical Chinese thought explicitly recognizes the dependence of social-political stability on ecological stability. Finally, in response to Locke’s appeal to theological claims to justify acquisition, I examine the relationship between humanity and nature in the Abrahamic traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Despite Abrahamic religions predicating a hierarchical relationship between God, humanity, and nature, Abrahamic scriptures also recognize nature as a divine creation and as a source of spiritual inspiration. This recognition entails rejecting selfish, destructive desires and recognizing acquisition and growth as the ends of human activity. In place of these destructive values and goals, I argue that global religious traditions share a widespread recognition for the ascetic virtues of self-control and self-restraint in the pursuit of a greater spiritual existence. (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)

This book addresses topics relating to religion, education, science, and technology, and explore their role in developing a more inclusive and sustainable future. With discussions viewed through the lenses of religious and Islamic studies, education, psychology, social science, economics, and natural science, the book is interdisciplinary. It also brings together a range of diverse work by academics around the world including Indonesia, Malaysia, the United States, Australia, Kenya, Germany, and the Philippines. The papers are derived from the 5th International Colloquium (...) on Interdisciplinary Islamic Studies (ICIIS 2022), a prestigious event designed to provide a global forum for academicians, researchers, practitioners, and students to present their research findings to global experts. ICIIS was hosted by (State Islamic University/UIN) of Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta’s School of Graduate Studies, Indonesia in collaboration with UIN Sultan Thaha Saifuddin Jambi, Indonesia, UIN Mataram Nusa Tenggara Barat, Indonesia and Umma University Kajiado, Kenya. (shrink)

Being “open-minded” is considered a definite virtue in today’s world. What does it mean to be open-minded? What we refer to as ‘openness’ in this writing moves beyond the ability to see and entertain other views. It cuts deep into both the intentionality and content of what one contemplates. This work focuses on ontological openness, reflecting parallel and resonating thoughts by prominent continental philosophers Martin Heidegger and Hans-Georg Gadamer. Though Gadamer appears after Heidegger, we find it fruitful to read Gadamer (...) as leading to Heidegger. We compare their thoughts with those of Muslim mystics, focusing on the highly influential and ground-breaking thinker Ibn Arabi and thinkers in his tradition. (shrink)

Imam Mahdi has many titles for which more than 180 titles have been mentioned. Here we mention the most important ones. Some of these titles, as they are, are mentioned in different religions and in their books with the same name, which refers to Imam Mahdi.