## 1. Neoplatonism and Sufism



Following the early theological schools of thought in Islam, among
which were the determinists (*Qadarites*), the eschatologists
(*Murj'aites* and *Wa'idites*) and the faith
based theologians (*Ash'arites*), there came the Islamic
philosophical tradition and its many different schools of thought.
Even though Al-Kindi is regarded to be the first Muslim
philosopher, the full impact of Hellenic thought on Islamic philosophy
is best seen in the philosophical edifice of Abu Nasr
Farabi (10th CE) Al-Farabi,
who is considered to be the father of logic in the Islamic
philosophical tradition, is also the first to have embraced
Neoplatonism, albeit in a limited sense. It was his paradigm that
paved the way for mysticism to enter Islamic philosophy.



Neoplatonism, which has remained one of the salient features of
Islamic philosophy, has performed two functions: the intellectual and
the practical, both of which have become an integral part of living a
philosophical life. Philosophically, Neoplatonism provides answers to
most major questions within the context of Islam, such as how
multiplicity came from unity and how corporality emanated from an
incorporeal God, as well as explaining the ascending and descending
order of beings.



Mysticism in Al-Farabi manifests itself in two ways,
philosophical and practical. Philosophically, as is evident in *The
Letter Concerning the Intellect* (*Risalah
fi'l-'aql*), his interpretation of the concept of the
four intellects paved the road for his successor Avicenna (Ibn
Sina) (981-1037 CE), who made full use of
Neoplatonism. Al-Farabi tries in his writings not only
to reconcile the opinions of Plato and Aristotle, with Plato seen as
somewhat of a mystical figure, but also, in his discussions of
political philosophy, he replaced Plato's philosopher-king with
an Imam whose understanding of truth is intuitive, who knows not only
theoretical virtues but also the practical ones. However, even though
his musical compositions are sung among some Sufi orders in Turkey and
the Indo-Pakistani continent and one can see the influence of Sufism
in his *Bezels of Wisdom* (*Fusus
al-hikam*), reports concerning him having been a practicing
Sufi are quite nebulous.



As to the master of the Peripatetics, Avicenna (Ibn Sina)
himself, the consensus of scholars is that Avicenna was a rationalist
who embraced certain concepts from Plato, Aristotle and Neoplatonism
and that the salient feature of his philosophical writings are
discursive in nature. From here on, there are generally two distinct
interpretations of Avicennan philosophy: Those who see him only as a
rationalist who had nothing to do with mysticism and those who argue
that later Avicenna had embraced mysticism as is reflected in some of
his later works.



Most Western scholars of Avicenna who see him only as a rationalist,
similar to al-Farabi and Averroes, (Gutas 2006, Adamson
2013) primarily rely on his discursive and rationalistic writings.
Many Muslim philosophers in particular Iranian scholars of Avicenna
have a more inclusive reading of his writings and tend to agree that
in the later period of his life, Avicenna developed an interest in
mysticism. (Nasr & Leaman 1996, Inati 1996).



For Avicenna, similar to many other Muslim philosophers, the ultimate
philosophical endeavor was to unveil the mystery of creation in
particular; how Divine unity became the multiplicity of the world of
existents. To resolve this riddle, Avicenna adopts the Neoplatonic
scheme of emanation which has also been used not only by Sufis and
Islamic gnostics to explain the spiritual journey of man towards God
but also, by almost all philosopher-mystics from Suhrawardi and
Mulla Sadra to Sabziwari and
Tabataba'i.



Avicenna was not a practicing Sufi with any known affiliation to a
Sufi order. In fact, Avicenna's meeting with the great Sufi
master Abu Sa'id Abu'l-Khayr (d. 1049 CE) and
the presence of an "oriental philosophy"
*(al-hikmat al-mashraqiyyah)* in his writing in all
likelihood are apocryphal. However, the presence of mystical elements
in some of his later works is held by some to be undeniable
(Aminrazavi 2003). For instance, in the ninth chapter of his
philosophical masterpiece *Remarks and Treatments
(al-Isharat wa'l-tanbihat)*, in a section
entitled *On the Stations of Knowers (Fi maqamat
al-'arifin)*, Avicenna appears to offers an
explanation of the Sufi doctrine and openly to defend the gnostic and
Sufi method of attaining truth. While the authorship of some of his
Persian writings are subject to debate, in some of his allegorical
writings, such as *Treatise on Ascendance (Mi'raj
namah), Treatise on Birds (Risalat al-tair)*,
Salman and Absal, *Son of the Living Awake (Hayy
ibn Yaqzan)* and *Treatise on Love (Risalah
fi'l-'ishq)* not to mention his famous poem *Ode of
the Soul (al-Qasidah al-'ayniyyah)*, the presence of
Sufi and gnostic elements are vividly apparent to those who follow
this interpretation.



With Avicenna, who represents the pinnacle of rationalistic philosophy
in Persia, came two other intellectual trends. On the one side there
was the towering figure of Abu Hamid
Ghazzali, who rejected philosophy altogether and became the
exponent of Sufism alone. On the other side, there arose
Isma'ilis philosophy, which incorporated Sufi and
Hermetico-Pythagorean ideas within a philosophical context.



Ghazzali, an orthodox jurist and a major exponent of faith
based theology (*Ash'arite*) having studied philosophy,
thought discursive reasoning stood on a solid ground but soon turned
against philosophy, offering a devastating critique of reason in his
*The Incoherence of Philosophers* (*Tahafut
al-falasifah*). Having been disillusioned with intellectual
sciences, he practiced asceticism for a number of years in seclusion
and finally found his answers in the Sufi tradition. The spiritual
journey of Ghazzali from an orthodox jurist to a Sufi is one
of the most remarkable accounts of the transformation of a Muslim sage
who turned from the outward to the inner life of Islam and found
Sufism to be the only path that leads to truth. He spent the later
part of his life teaching, writing and practicing Sufism.



Ghazzali is one of the few mystics whose brand of Sufism
embraces religious orthodoxy, a gnostic intellectual framework, and
the more practical and ascetic dimension of the spiritual path.
Contrary to the antinomian Sufis, who violated the Islamic law
(*Shari'ah*) and the more relaxed attitude of some of the
other Sufis, Ghazzali was an austere and ardent observer of
Islamic law.



He wrote extensively on mysticism, arguing it to be the only right
path to truth. A notable piece among his writings on mysticism is
*The Niche of Light* (*Mishkat al-anwar*), a
significant work of an illuminationist nature and one that influenced
the formation of the doctrine of illumination (*ishraq*)
by Suhrawardi (Aminrazavi 1996). Also, parts of his Magnum Opus,
*Revival of Religious Sciences* (*Ihya'
al-'ulum al-dini*), such as book thirty-five
of the *Ihya': The Book of Faith in Divine Unity
and Trust in Divine Providence*, are essentially devoted to an
explication of the Sufi doctrine. He also has written numerous shorter
commentaries on the spiritual significance of fasting, praying,
invocation of divine names and attributes, and spiritual music as
instruments of the catharsis of the soul.


## 2. The Isma'ili Tradition



On the Isma'ilis side, the use of the esoteric
doctrine of Hermeticism and the Greco-Alexandrian mystical teachings
were adopted by Isma'ilis philosophers. Such
concepts as emanation from the One, asceticism, the body as prison
with the soul as its inmate, initiation into the mysteries of gnosis
(*ma'rifah*), levels of interpretations of spiritual
hermeneutics (*ta'wil*), sacred geometry with its
mystical symbolism, cycles of prophecy, and the initiatic role of
Shi'ite Imams are among many of the mystical themes of
Isma'ili philosophical tradition. Among the most
notable Isma'ili figures in the 10th
and 11th century CE is Jabir Ibn Hayyan, (c.
721-c. 815 CE) who was more of a scientist and chemist and as
such offered in his *The Book of Stones* (*Kitab
al-ahjar*) a mystical interpretation of the science of
letters and the esoteric mathematical concepts that are influenced by
Pythagorean geometry. It should be noted that he was a figure under
whose name works by many diverse thinkers may have been collected.
Abu Ya'qub Sijistani was also a notable figure in
the movement whose mystical writings in *Unveiling of the
Hidden* (*Kashf al-mahjub*) and *The Book of
Well Springs (Kitab al-yanabi'*) provide an
esoteric commentary on major philosophical and religious matters (see
Nasr & Aminrazavi 1999/2001). Sijistani, whose writings
should be regarded as a spiritual commentary on the gnostic doctrine
pertaining to the flight of the soul toward its paradisal state,
centers on the oneness of God, the intellects both Divine and human,
and different types of souls together with their relationship with the
body. In the above mentioned works, Sijistani systematically
treats notions of creation, the role of prophets as spiritual guides,
and the hidden symbolism of their teachings. As one goes from the
outward to the inward and esoteric level of Islam, one gains the
consciousness which is the key to understanding the symbolism of
prophetic teachings. Among other major figures and esoteric mystical
texts in this vein is Abu Hatim Razi's
(811-891 CE) *Science of Prophecy* (*A'lam
al-nubuwwah*), in which he applies the concept of emanation to the
cosmological notion of *Be* (*kun*) and offers a
mystical commentary on how human soul is a trace of the higher soul
that is perfect.



Also, one must mention Hamid al-Din Kirmani
(d. 996-1021 CE) and his numerous writings on Sufism and
gnosticism, the most notable of which is his *Repose of the
Intellect* (*Rahat al-'aql*). A prominent
Isma'ili philosopher, considered by some as the
"Isma'ilis' Ibn
Sina," he argued that an understanding of truth is
based on two precepts. First, one has to live a morally virtuous life
and second, the adept must prepare himself philosophically. The
chapters of *R**a**hat al-'aql*
are called *aswar* (walls) and the paragraphs,
*mash**a**ri*' (paths). The novice has
to travel through fifty-six paths within seven walls in order for the
soul to gain the knowledge of Reality. Reality, according to
Kirmani, is divided into four different levels: first is the
world of Divine creation or the incorporeal world
(*'al**a**m
al-ibd**a**'*), second, the corporeal
realm (*'**a**lam al-jism*), third,
the domain of religion (*'al**a**m
al-d**i**n*), and finally, the return of the
world to its original unity with God (Baumstark 1932; Corbin 1961;
Corbin 1964, 130-1; Hunzai 1986).



Perhaps the most important figure of the
Isma'ilis tradition, one who was both poet and
philosopher, is Nasir-i Khusraw (1004-c.1072 CE).
Whether in his collection of mystical and didactic poems known as
*Divan*, or his mystically oriental works such as *The
Sum of the Two Wisdoms* (*Jami'
al-hikmattayin*) and *Knowledge and Liberation*
(*Gushayesh wa rahayesh*), he relentlessly offers
advice on the catharsis of the soul and the pursuing of the spiritual
journey. Nasir-i Khusraw's attempt to reconcile
Sufism and reason is seen in his *The Sum of the Two Wisdoms*,
where he argues that the "sages of real religion"
(*hukamay-i din-i haqq*) and the
philosophers are in agreement. For Nasir-i Khusraw, the
science of the soul is the way to attain real knowledge, knowledge
which transcends the difference between the perceiver and perception.
He writes:



> 
> Between the knower and the known.
>   
> 
> There lies a distinction by one who
>   
> 
> Has awakened from sleep of heedlessness.
> 



Nasir-i Khusraw offers specific instructions how a novice
should follow the spiritual path, relying on specific ascetic
practices. Similar to the figures of St. Augustine and St. Francis of
Assisi, Nasir-i Khusraw pursued a hedonistic lifestyle in
the early part of his life but underwent a spiritual metamorphosis and
dedicated himself to the Sufi path. Echoes from both phases of his
life can be seen through out his works (Hunsburger 2000).



There are also several encyclopedic works of the
Isma'ili tradition whose authors are unknown.
Many of these deal with mystical and Sufi ideas. Among the works that
have been influential in the spread of gnostic ideas are treatises
like *Brethren of Purity* (*Ikhwan
al-safa*) and *The Mother of Books (Umm
al-kitab*) (Daftary 1990; Nasr & Aminrazavi
1999/2001).


## 3. The "Period of Philosophical Decline" and the School of Shiraz



Traditionally, historians of philosophy have argued that after
Ghazzali in the 11th century CE, philosophical
activity in the Persian and Eastern part of the Islamic world was
eclipsed and shifted to Islamic Spain. There are those who attribute
this to Ghazzali's scathing attack on the
philosophers, but this is mostly a myth. The Islamic world at the time
was so large, and the intellectual milieu so rich and diverse, that no
single book could put an end to its philosophy and discursive
reasoning. While it is true that Peripatetic philosophy suffered a
temporary eclipse in Persia, the reason lies in the socio-political
realities of the Saljuq dynasty and the Islamic world's
struggle with external forces like the Crusades. Recent
scholarship, such as that by Qasim Kaka'i in
the *Journal of Andishah-yi Dini,* has revealed that
the so called period of philosophical decline was actually a
thriving era of intellectual activity in the Southern part of Persia
where the so called the "School of Shiraz" emerged. This
School whose salient feature was to synthesis rationalism, mysticism,
intellectual intuition and even popular Sufism was undoubtedly the
precursor to the School of Isfahan. 



Among the great masters of philosophical mysticism hailing from Spain,
Ibn Masarrah (883-931 CE) stands out. He was an ascetic whose
views on the mystic quest for unity of the soul with God comprised a
major theme in his philosophical mysticism. Others include Ibn
Hazm (994-1064), who emphasized mystical love,
Ibn-Bajjah (1095-1138 CE) who treated the concept of
intellectual and mystical intuition as the faculty that experiences
Divine realities, Ibn Al-Sid of Badajoz (1052-1127 CE) who
developed what some have called mathematical mysticism, and
Ibn-Tufayl (c. 1105-1185 CE), whose mystical allegory
*Son of the Living Awake* (Hayy ibn Yaqzan)
and his concept of Active Intellect, made him a major exponent of
mysticism in the Islamic philosophical tradition. Finally there is the
Sufi philosopher, Ibn Sab'in (1217-1268 CE) who made
an effort to bring about a rapprochement between philosophy and Sufism
in a systematic treatment of mystical themes.



Despite the significance of the above figures, none of them reached
the eminence of the greatest master of gnostic and philosophical
Sufism, Shaykh Muhyi al-Din Ibn 'Arabi
(1165-1240 CE) often referred to Shaykh al-Akbar (The Great
Master). Ibn 'Arabi, whose encyclopedic works, *The
Bezels of Wisdom* (*Fusus al-hakam*)
and *Meccean Victories* (*Futuhat
al-Makkiyah*), provide us with one of the most complex mystical
paradigms in the Islamic mystical genre. Often referred to as the
"Doctrine of the Unity of Being" (*wahdat
al-wujud*), Ibn 'Arabi's philosophical
mysticism offers a vast synthesis of gnostic and Sufi ideas as well as
a type of philosophical discourse which, for the first time,
formulates the Sufi doctrine. With Ibn 'Arabi, we see a
monumental effort to comment on a full array of metaphysical,
cosmological, and psychological aspects of Gnosticism, thereby
providing a vision of reality whose attainment requires the practice
of the Sufi path. Ibn 'Arabi's philosophico-mystical
edifice is a process of spiritual hermeneutics
(*ta'wil*) which relies on the language of symbolism
to guide a novice from the exterior (*zahir*) to the
interior (*batin*). For Ibn 'Arabi, the
entire cosmos represents signs (*ayat*) which lend
themselves to symbolic exegesis, a process whose pinnacle is the
Universal Man (*al-insan al-kamil*). Ibn
'Arabi, whose doctrine of the Unity of Being
(*wahdat al-wujud*) has been interpreted by
many to be pantheism, was nevertheless careful to argue that even
though God dwells in things, but the world "is not" in
God. For Ibn 'Arabi, humans are microcosms and the universe
is the macrocosm; the Universal Man is the one who realizes all of his
inherent potentialities, including the Divine breath which was blown
into man by God in the beginning of creation as the Qur'an says.
For Ibn 'Arabi, it is the spiritual realization of God
within the soul that leads to union with God (see Nasr 1964; Chittick
1989 and 2007).



In the 12th century CE, during the so called "period
of decline" of philosophical activities, the most notable figure
was the philosopher-mystic, Shaykh Shihab al-Din
Suhrawardi, the founder of the School of Illumination
(*Ishraq*). Suhrawardi, who was a Peripatetic, wrote
four major works, primarily in the Aristotelian tradition. He also
wrote a number of works in a peculiar esoteric tradition, using what
he called "the language of illumination" (*lisan
al-ishraq*). In his illuminationist writings, Suhrawardi
relies on Neoplatonism but replaces such concepts as being and
existence with light and illumination, thus offering what can be
called a gnostic-illuminationist version of Avicennian philosophy
(Aminrazavi 2003). He offers his doctrine of illumination in his major
work, *The Philosophy of Illumination* (*Hikmat
al-ishraq*).



In his Sufi writings, Suhrawardi employs both allegory and
didactic language to advise the novice how to follow the Sufi path,
often with specific instructions regarding ascetic practices.
Practical wisdom constitutes an inseparable component of the
*ishraqi* doctrine, so much so that in the
introduction to his magnum opus, *The Philosophy of
Illumination*, Suhrawardi warns the reader that the secrets
of the book will remain hidden to the reader unless he fasts for forty
days and avoids consuming meat. Suhrawardi, similar to Ibn
'Arabi, uses symbolism from nature and animals to offer a
spiritual hermeneutic (*ta'wil*) which begins with
discursive philosophy but ends in gnosis and the spiritual return of
man to his original abode.



Suhrawardi is also credited with having advocated an
epistemological theory known as "knowledge by presence"
('*ilm al-huduri*), in which knowledge
is attained directly and experientially when the knower, known, and
the epistemic relation become one and the same (Yazdi 1992).
Suhrawardi's works on Sufism, most of which are written in
Persian, include *The Red Intellect* (*'Aql-i
surkh*), *The Chant of Gabriel's Wing*
(*Awaz-i par-i Jibra'il*), *Story of
the Occidental Exile* (*Qissat al-ghurbat
al-gharbiyyah*), *Language of the Termites* (*Lughat-i
muran*), *Treatise on the State of Childhood*
(*Risalah fi halat al-tufuliyyah*), *A
Day Among the Sufis* (*Ruzi ba jama'at-i
sufiyan*), *The Sound of the Griffin*
(*Safir-i simurg*), *Treatise of the Nocturnal Ascent*
(*Risalah fi'l-mi'raj*), and *Treatise
of Illumination (Partaw-namah*) (Aminrazavi 1994).



Suhrawardi's illuminationist philosophy has influenced many
philosophers who wrote major commentaries on gnostic and Sufi texts,
among whom are Qutb al-Din Shirazi (1236-1311
CE), Muhammad Shahrazuri (d. 1153 CE), and Ibn Turkah
Isfahani (c. 1362-1433 CE) Following
Suhrawardi there is an even closer nexus between philosophy and
mysticism. A number of rationalistic philosophers who adhered to Sufi
ideas and often practiced Sufism, became exponents of philosophical
mysticism. The post Suhrawardian philosopher-mystics, who
continued to refine the rapprochement between philosophy and
mysticism, have come to be known as the "School of
Shiraz."



Recent scholarship, such as that by Qasim Kaka'i in
the *Journal of Andishah-yi Dini*, has revealed that
what has traditionally been regarded as the period of decline of
philosophical activities in Persia was, after all, a very thriving
period in philosophical activities in the Southern part of Persia.
Between 11th-16th century, Shiraz became
the center of Sufi and gnostic thought in Persia. Beginning with
Qutb al-Din Shirazi, who wrote a major commentary
on Suhrawardi's *Philosophy of Illumination* in
attempt to clarify Suhrawardi's illuminative thought, the
School of Shiraz produced a number of philosopher-Sufis. Qutb
al-Din Shirazi's successor, Mir Sadr
al-Din Dashtaki (1424 CE) dealt with the problem of
existence and the question of its principality. Jalal al-Din
Dawani (1427 CE), another philosopher of this tradition,
wrote on the exoteric subjects like law as well as esoteric matters.
His work on the relationship between Sufism, ethics, and
illuminationist thought entitled *Sparks of Illumination in the
Virtues of Ethics (Lawami' al-ishraq fi
makarim al-akhlaq*), also knows as *Jalalian Ethics
(Akhlaq-i Jalali* ) is of particular
importance. This work is still used today by Sufi masters as a
practical guide on how spiritual ethics can cleanse the soul.
Dawani also wrote a number of commentaries on
Suhrawardi's philosophy of illumination, such as *Forms
of Brightness Concerning the Temples of Light* (*Shawakil
al-hur fi sharh hayakil al-nur*). The
next philosopher-mystic belonging to the School of Shiraz is
Ghiyath al-Din Mansur Dashtaki (b.1461), the
oldest son of Sadr al-Din Dashtaki and the greatest
gnostic philosopher of this period. Called a "one man
university," he was well versed in law and jurisprudence as well
as theoretical Sufism. Notable among his many works is his
*Stations of Wisdom* (*Maqamat
al-'arifin*), a profoundly gnostic work which came
to symbolize the spirit of the School of Shiraz. Dashtaki
here presents a rich esoteric commentary on the verses of the
Qur'an, the hadith and the sayings of such Sufi masters as
Hallaj (858-922 CE), Rumi (1207-1273
CE), and Hafiz (1320-1388 CE) among others, providing
the reader with an understanding of how the love of God can lead to
the transcendental unity of being. The influence of Ibn
'Arabi is quite evident in this piece. Once again
rapprochement between peripatetic philosophy,
*ishraqi* doctrine, theology, and gnosticism
(*'irfan*) is made in order to help the seeker of
truth find his path through the maze of spiritual pitfalls.



Among other philosophers of this period not necessarily affiliated
with the School of Shiraz, but interested in Sufism, are
Nasir al-Din Tusi (1201-1274)
who wrote a work on Sufi ethics entitled *Description of
Nobles* (*Awsaf al-ashraf*), as well as
Afd'al al-Din Kashani (d. 1213), a Sufi poet
and philosopher. The latter was a strict Aristotelian who wrote
extensive commentary on logic and other aspects of Aristotelian
thought. While the majority of his fifty-two works are philosophical
in nature, Kashani sees the task of philosophy to be
the facilitation of "following the path of God," as the
title of one of his works suggests. His commentary on Ibn
'Arabi, his references to other gnostics and Sufis, and his
mystical poetry, have identified him more as a Sufi than a
rationalistic philosopher. Writing quatrains in the style of Omar
Khayyam (1048-1131), it is in his poetry that Sufism is most
apparent. In a quatrain he says,



> 
> O pure Sufi seeking God,
>   
> 
> He has no place, from where do you seek him
>   
> 
> If you do know Him, why do you seek Him?
>   
> 
> If you don't know Him, whom are you seeking? (Chittick 2001)
> 



Moving from Persia to India, in the 11th century CE., when
the Persian dynasty of Ghaznavids began to rule in India,
philosophical mysticism and the practice of Sufism became popular
among the Indian Muslim philosophers. Among the central figures of
this movement are Shaykh Yousef Gardii Multani, Shaykh
Isma'il Lahori, Imam Hasan
San'ani, and Shaykh Abu'l-Hasan
'Ali Hujwairi, the philosopher-Sufi and the
author of *Unveiling of the Veiled* (*Kashf
al-mahjub*). At that time, the
Isma'ili missionaries, who had spread the gnostic
interpretation of Islam in India had already created a receptive
intellectual milieu for the Sufi and gnostic ideas. By the
14th century CE., due to the migration of Persian
philosophers and their students to northern India, the more mystically
oriented philosophy of the above figures gained popularity in India as
well.



Within the next two centuries, despite the rise and fall of several
dynasties, the patronage of philosophers in India in general did not
change. Sufi patronage reached a new high during the Mongol period,
whose rulers were particularly keen in the Sufi tradition in all its
manifestations; especially philosophy, poetry and the visual arts.
Such notable Persian philosophers as Taftazani (c.
1322-1390 CE) and Jurjani (1097-1127 CE) went to
India at this time. They were followed by such figures as Mir
Fath Allah Shirazi, who reformed the educational
curriculums to emphasize the teachings of the mystical philosophies of
his Persian teachers.



Philosophical mysticism continued in the Islamic philosophical
tradition of northern India in figures such as Khawjah
Muhammad Baqi bi'llah (b.1563), a celebrated
mystic and the founder of Naqshbandi Sufi order, as well as in
his student Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi (1564-1624), the
proponent of the doctrine of "The Unity of Consciousness"
(*wahdat al-shuhud*) and the author of
*Epistoles* (*Maktubat*). Other Muslim philosophers
from the Indo-Pakistani continent who incorporated mysticism were
Mulla 'Abd al-Hakim Siyalkoti, Mulla
Mahmud Junpuri Faruqi, and Mirza
Muhammad Zahid Harawi (1603-1652), who became
the proponent of Suhrawardi's illuminationist philosophy;
and, perhaps the most well known philosopher-mystic, Shah
Waliullah, who lived in the 18th century CE.
Waliullah made an attempt to reconcile
Ibn-'Arabi's doctrine of "The Unity of
Being" (*wahdat al-wujud*) and
Sirhindi's doctrine of "The Unity of
Consciousness" (*wahdat al-shuhud*). In
addition to his numerous writings on the foundation of Sufi
metaphysics, Shah Waliullah should be given credit for
bringing legitimacy to mystical doctrine despite the attacks of
orthodox jurists who saw Sufism as heretical.


## 4. The School of Isfahan and Mulla Sadra



Back in Persia, came the advent of the Safavid dynasty in the
16th century CE, the founders of which were practicing
Sufis affiliated with the grand Sufi master, Safi
al-Din Ardabili (1252-1334 CE). There the use of
Sufi doctrine, philosophy, and asceticism within a single
philosophical paradigm reached its pinnacle. The most important issue
of what came to be called the "School of Isfahan" was the
"reality of being" (*haqiqat
al-wujud* ) as opposed to the "concept of
being" (*mafhum al-wujud*).



The founder of the School of Isfahan, Mir Damad (d.
1631 or 1632 CE), was a follower of Suhrawardi's philosophy
of illumination, even choosing the pen name *ishraq*
(illumination). He not only wrote extensively on the metaphysical
foundation of mysticism in his major work *Sparks of Fire*
(*al-Qabasat*), and in his *Ecstasies*
(*Al-Jadhawat*), *Heavenly Mystical States*
(*Khalsat al-malakut*), and his *Disassociations*
(*al-Khl'iyyat*), he also wrote mystical poetry.
Even though Mir Damad wrote extensively on peripatetic
philosophy, and especially the concept of time, he is to be credited
with a gnostic interpretation of Avicennan philosophy. His
philosophico-mystical structure, based on the principality of essence,
provides the intellectual frame work for the ascendance of the soul
and its eventual unity with its source.



It was however, his student Sadr al-Din Shirazi,
known as Mulla Sadra, who is perhaps the greatest
metaphysician of the Islamic philosophical tradition. His grand
synthesis of discursive philosophy, intellectual intuition, and
asceticism came to be known as the "Transcendental
Theo-Sophy" (*al-hikmat
al-muta'aliyah*). This philosophical perspective,
according to Mulla Sadra, was unveiled to him by God
after many years of inner purification. With Mulla
Sadra, an attempt to offer a spiritual commentary
(*ta'wil*) from a Shi'ite gnostic perspective
on the Qur'an and the concept of "spiritual
guardianship" (*wilayah*) reaches its pinnacle.



His magnum opus, *The Four Journeys of the Intellect*
(*al-Asfar al-arba'at al-'aqliyyah*) is a
philosophical and gnostic exposition of the highest caliber, in which
the descending and ascending journey of the soul from and to God is
treated in detail. This work, which is an encyclopedia of gnosis,
philosophy, and mysticism, incorporates much of what Ibn
'Arabi and other philosopher-mystics had brought forth to
date. For Mulla Sadra, creation represents four
journeys: the Fall, in which unity becomes multiplicity is the first,
followed by one's earthly journey wherein the pain of separation
causes an existential yearning towards one's original abode.
According to Mulla Sadra, man's spiritual
ascendance through the path of Sufism and gnosticism constitutes the
third part of this journey until unity once again is accomplished.
Finally there is the sojourn in the Divine realm, from Truth
(*haqq*) to Truth, a station only few of the spiritual
elites may ever experience.



Mulla Sadra can be regarded as the reviver of the
authentic mystical wisdom to be attained through mysticism and the
intellectual intuition not divorced from rationality. Mulla
Sadra makes extensive use of logical analyses and
demonstrative proofs, which rest on what he calls "illuminative
principle" (*qa'idah ishraqiyyah*); that is,
what has entered the heart (*al-varidat al-qalbiyyah*), or
"Divinely realized knowledge" (*tahqiq
'arshi*).



Some works that are indicative of his commitment to philosophical
mysticism are, *Metaphysical Penetrations*
(*al-Mashari'*), *Wisdom of the Throne*
(*Hikmat al-'arshiyah*), *The Unity of the
Knower and the Known* (*Ittihad al-'aqil
wa'l-ma'qul*), and *Secrets of the
Qur'anic Verses* (*Asrar al-ayat*), a
gnostic commentary on the famous light verses.



Mulla Sadra left an indelible mark upon Islamic
philosophy, and especially on the nexus between philosophy and
mysticism, making the integration of mysticism an assumed part of
philosophizing. His students carried out his philosophical legacy well
into the modern era. 'Abd al-Razzaq Lahiji (d.
1661-1662 CE) wrote a commentary upon *The Secrets of the
Garden* (*Sharh-i gulshan-i raz*), which is a
detailed exposition of the spiritual path and one's journey
through the maze of the states and stations of the Sufi path, Mir
Findiriski (d. 1640-41 CE) wrote a mystical commentary upon
*Yoga Vaishishe*, and Mulla Muhsin Fayd
Kashani (d. 1680 CE) wrote a mystical treatise entitled
*The Hidden Words* (*Kalimat-i maknunah*) as well
as *Divine Gnosis* (*al-Ma'arif
al-ilahiyyah*). Qadi Sa'id Qummi
(d. 1696 CE), another student of Mulla Sadra and a
stanch Neoplatonist authored a number of mystical treatises such as
the *Secrets of Worships* (*Asrar
al-'ibadat*) as well as a major gnostic work
titled *Commentary Upon The Enneads* (*Ta'liqat
bar Uthulujiya*), scil. The pseudo-Aristotelian
*Theology of Aristotle*, derived from the *Enneads* of
Plotinus. (See infra *The Theology of Aristotle* by Peter
Adamson.)



The above works, all of which are continuations of Sadrian
philosophy, further elaborate the fine points of transcendentalist
theo-sophy, which was firmly based on the principality of existence
over essence, gradation, and the oneness that appears as multiplicity.
The question is how to transcend the world of objects which appears as
many, to see the Oneness which lies at the heart of multiplicity. The
post Suhrawardian and Sadrian answer is that a combination of
practical wisdom and intellectual intuition which transcends
discursive reasoning, provides one with the vision to see the Oneness
lying at the heart of multiplicity.


## 5. The Case of Rumi



Muhammad Jalal al-Din Balkhi, better known as
"Rumi," is regarded by many to be one of the
greatest Sufi poets of the Islamic tradition. In his magnum opus,
*Mathnaw**i*, which has been called by some
"The Persian Qur'an," Rumi scorns
discursive thought and ridicules philosophers for walking on wobbly
stilts:



> 
> Rationalists' legs are just like stilts;
>   
> 
> How unfixed and stolid are feet of wood! (Nicholson, I: 2127)
> 



Nevertheless, he became an influential figure in the tradition of
post-Avicennian philosophical Sufism.



Rumi's critique of Peripatetic philosophy is closer to
Ghazzali's critique of rationalism than an outright
rejection of it. Advocating "epistemological humility,"
Rumi offers a critique of such traditional epistemological
theories as truth by correspondence, authority, and reasoning while
allowing for a more experiential aspect of truth.



In his *Mathnaw**i*, Rumi criticizes the
reliability of truth claims based on sensory perception as well:



> 
> All the senses of man are impermanent
>   
> 
> For in the presence of the light of the Day of Resurrection
> they're naught.
>   
> 
> The light of the senses and spirits of our fathers
>   
> 
> Is not totally evanescent and naught like plants (Nicholson, IV:
> 431-33)
> 



While the senses provide us with some knowledge, it is not a type of
knowledge that can lead to the discovery of spiritual and existential
truth.



Rumi also rejects the idea of "truth by
authority" and alludes to the dangers of blindly following those
who claim to know the truth. His critique is particularly aimed at
Muslim jurists who adhere to the Divine command theory.



> 
> A myriad servile conformists who follow conjecture
>   
> 
> Are cast down into the lowest depths, struck by scruples.
>   
> 
> For the speculative following of precedent and logical supposition
>   
> 
> Is their foundation and the very feather and wing of their flight.
>   
> 
> Their inner devil arouses doubts and specious arguments in them
>   
> 
> Till benightedly they plummet headlong down like blind folk
> (Nicholson, IV: 2125-27)
> 



As to the application of reason, which is at the heart of
philosophical enterprise, Rumi divides the intellect into
universal intellect (*'aql-i kulli*) and particular
intellect (*'aql-i juz'i*). Whereas the
universal intellect attends to the affairs of the Divine realm,
the particular intellect's scope is restricted to this world. In
response to the Muslim rationalists (Mu'tazilites),
Rumi states:



> 
> The difference among intellects was intrinsic in origin -
>   
> 
> You should hear the doctrine according to the traditionalists
>   
> 
> --Contrary to the opinion of the Mu'tazilites,
>   
> 
> Who maintain all intellects in their origin were basically equal,
>   
> 
> But by experience and learning, minds increase or decrease
>   
> 
> So one is made more knowledgeable than the other one -
>   
> 
> Their doctrine is false because even a boy's counsel
>   
> 
> Who has no experience in any course of action
>   
> 
> --From that young child a thought will spring up
>   
> 
> Which a wise old sage with manifold experience has no inkling
> (Nicholson, III: 1539-43)
> 



And again Rumi asserts:



> 
> The animal man who by deceit and cunning knows...
>   
> 
> The intricacies of the science of geometry
>   
> 
> Or astronomy, medicine and philosophy
>   
> 
> Which are concerned with this world
>   
> 
> Is barred from finding the way to seventh heaven.
>   
> 
> All those sciences are fit for building a stable;
>   
> 
> They serve as columns for the abode of camels and cows.
>   
> 
> Their purpose is but to let the animal survive a day or two
>   
> 
> And yet these imbeciles call those sciences "mysteries"
> (Nicholson, IV: 1519-1516)
> 



Having criticized theories of truth by correspondence, authority, and
reasoning, Rumi advocates a more existential understanding
of truth which he, along with many Islamic Philosophers, refer to as
the universal intellect. He tells us:



> 
> The other intellect is a gift from God,
>   
> 
> Whose source is like a spring within the soul.
>   
> 
> When the water of knowledge gushes forth from the heart,
>   
> 
> It neither becomes fetid, grows old nor wilts.
>   
> 
> If its path where it flows is blocked, why worry?
>   
> 
> For like a spring it gushes forth from the house constantly.
>   
> 
> The acquired intellect is like a water sluice
>   
> 
> Running down into houses from the hills;
>   
> 
> If the path of water is obstructed, it's undone:
>   
> 
> Seek the spring from within yourself (Nicholson, IV: 1964-68)
> 



Philosophers' reliance on reason alone clashes with the validity
of knowledge by intuition and divine revelation according to
Rumi:



> 
> The philosopher through thought and surmise is in denial -
>   
> 
> Tell him go and smash his head against this wall.
>   
> 
> The language of water, of earth and mire
>   
> 
> Is comprehensible to the senses of the heart's adepts.
>   
> 
> The philosopher who is sceptical about the moaning
>  pillar[1]
>   
> 
> Is himself estranged from the senses of the sages.
>   
> 
> Such things are, he says, but a reflection of melancholic passions
>   
> 
> Which generate these wild fantasies in people's heads
> (Nicholson, I: 3278-81)
> 



Where Rumi and some philosophers agree upon is the existence
of the very faculty of intuition, which is often associated with the
universal intellect. According to Rumi, this faculty, which
must be 'awakened' by practicing the arduous process of
the mystical path, leads to the awakening of the five *internal
spiritual* *senses* that complement the five external
physical senses. All the ten senses are controlled by the symbolic
"heart"--the organ of supersensory perception.



> 
> 
> There are five [spiritual] senses besides these five [physical] senses
>   
> 
> The former are like red gold and the latter like copper.
>   
> 
> In the marketplace where the expert connoisseurs are busy
>   
> 
> How should the copper and golden senses be priced the same?
>   
> 
> The physical senses' nutriment is murky and tenebrous;
>   
> 
> The spiritual sense sups and dines on the sun (Nicholson, II:
> 49-51)
> 
> 
> 
> Be silent, be silent, drink silently.
>   
> 
> Veil yourself, veil yourself for you are the hidden treasure.
>   
> 
> Speak not, speak not of this exposition of my heart
>   
> 
> So you be not bewildered, so you do not remain perplexed
>   
> 
> (*Kulliyat-i Shams*, vol. 2, ghazal 637, vv. 6649,
> 6653)
> 
> 
> 



Rumi's impact on Islamic philosophy can be seen in
various commentaries on philosophical gnosticism that were influenced
by Rumi's works. The tradition of writing commentaries
or quoting Rumi, which appears in the works of Mulla
Sadra, Lahiji, and Sabziwari continues
well into the modern era.


## 6. Conclusion



Even though post Sadrian philosophy in the Islamic tradition never
reached the level of accomplishment of the great masters of the
Safavid period, Sadra's school of metaphysics found followers in
the periods that were to follow, both in and outside of Persia. While
Mulla Sadra's influence was marginal in the Arab
world, which has generally seemed to distance itself from traditional
metaphysical issues, in India, Sadrian philosophy was well
received and it is taught in traditional schools today.



With the advent of the Qajar dynasty in Iran in the early
18th century CE., Sadrian philosophy once again
became the focal point of philosophical activity. The greatest
proponents of gnosis and philosophical mysticism in this period came
to be known as the "School of Tehran." This school
included Mulla 'Ali Nuri (d. 1830-1 CE)
whose *Glosses upon the Secrets of Verses* is an esoteric
commentary on certain verses of the Qur'an, Mulla
Isma'il Khaju'i (d. 1759 CE), who
wrote on the concept of time within a gnostic context, and the most
celebrated figure in this period, Hajj Mulla
Hadi Sabziwari (1797-1873 CE) whose
*Commentary on Treatises* (*Sharh-i
manzumah*) is a compendium of philosophical gnosticism.
Sabziwari, who also wrote mystical poetry under the pen-name
*Asrar* (*Secrets*), brought about a rapprochement
among many different strands of mystical philosophy and considered
asceticism to be a central part of living a philosophical life. With
Sabziwari's death in 1797 CE., Tehran became the
center of philosophical activity, much of which centered around the
philosophy of Mulla Sadra and Sabziwari. The
salient features of the School of Tehran were that knowledge is
hierarchical in essence and that discursive philosophy, while useful,
is ultimately limited. In this tradition, it is through intellectual
intuition, illumination, and inner purification that the reality of
existence can be experienced (Sabzavari 1969;
Ashtiyani 1973) . Among other masters of this period are
Mulla 'Abdallah Zunuzi (d. 1841-42 CE), the
author of *Divine Flashes of Light* (*al-Lama'at
al-ilahiyyah*), and his son, Mulla 'Ali
Zunuzi (d. 1889-1900 CE), who authored *Marvels of
Wisdom* (*Badayi' al-hikam*). Both of
their works are gnostic and mystical commentaries upon a wide range of
philosophical problems. Because the School of Tehran was dominated by
grand scholars who were also jurists, it continued in the
Sadrian and Sabziwarian tradition, but distanced itself
from popular Sufism, with whom they identified relaxed attitude and
even antinomian tendencies towards Islamic law
(*Shari'ah*). Emphasis on piety, asceticism, and
cleansing of the soul within the prescribed limits of the
*Shari'ah*, perhaps partially a reaction to modernity, is
the salient feature of the School of Tehran.



The number of Muslim philosophers who became proponents of mystical
philosophy in the Islamic world are too numerous to mention here, but
clearly mysticism is a living tradition that continues to occupy
center stage in the philosophy in the Muslim world. It is virtually
impossible to fully account for all the traditions of mysticism in the
Islamic philosophical tradition, however such traditions do exist in
almost every Muslim country today (see Kilic 1996).



The impact of mysticism on Islamic philosophy has been so profound
that it has changed the very essence and definition of philosophizing.
The enterprise of philosophizing in the Islamic tradition is seen by
most not merely as an intellectual exercise but as the intellectual
dimension of the soul's spiritual journey towards the unveiling
of truth. Authentic philosophy, according to Muslim
philosopher-mystics is therefore committed to providing a
rationalistic commentary upon those issues which traditionally
belonged to the mystical domain only.