Platonism in Service to the Ism???l? Im?m: The Case of Ab? Ya‘q?b al-Sijist?n? (d. 971 CE)

Abstract

This short essay examines the Platonic thought of the Shī'ī Ismā'īlī scholar Abū Ya'qūb al-Sijistānī (d. 971 CE). By presenting his own teachings as the inner understanding of Islam, al-Sijistānī was able to challenge prominent scholarly claims to normative interpretation within the greater Islamic milieu. As students of Ismā'īlī thought know well, the intentions of the early Ismā'īlī thinkers cannot be simplistically reduced to an adaptation of Platonic metaphysics or a subversive reading of scripture. Rather, al-Sijistānī created a uniquely Ismā'īlī philosophical theology with its own soteriological aims and religious worldview, while working closely to demonstrate the leadership of the Ismā'īlī imam. When approached in this way, al-Sijistānī's project of constructing a synthesis between Platonism and religious traditions foregrounds the breadth of interpretive diversity within the classical Islamic intellectual traditions. By examining short excerpts on the nature of the soul and religion from al-Sijistānī's Ithbāt al-Nubūwwa (Prophecy's Proof), this essay demonstrates the text's instrumental use of Platonism in explaining the emergence of religion as understood by the early Ismā'īlī movement. Al-Sijistānī's own thoughts on the absolute transcendence of God and the Platonic principles of Intellect and Soul led him to new speculative conclusions that sharply contrasted with other major and competing interpretations of Islam. Chief among these was his belief that scripture had an inner meaning apart from its literal content, which could only be revealed by the imam and his representatives, who were thus the legitimate religious authorities for the Islamic community.