Ikhwan al-Safa Research Articles

Comparison of authorial perception in Ikhwan al-Safa’s view with Gestalt perception in art based on the relationship between the whole and the parts

Comparison of authorial perception in Ikhwan al-Safa’s view with Gestalt perception in art based on the relationship between the whole and the parts

Al-Safa Brothers, a historical study

The Ikhwan Al-Safa and Khallan Al – Wafa group announced the highest ranks of exaltation; In the felid of philosophical knowledge and theological, within a purely Islamic intellectual framework, investing in the diversity of the cultures for the Arabic peoples under control of the Islamic state, they mixed between Eastern and Western civilizations, and performed it in a literary style with the utmost linguistic proficiency, and they produced many ideas that left a positive impact on the great scholars in the natural scientific field and applied sciences, such as Ibn Sina and others. Controversial thing that the Ikhwan Al-Safa took from their knowledge, educational and ideological output as a cover behind which they hid their political goals. Aiming to overthrow the state of immorality and vice (The State of Bani Abbas) and replace it with the state of justice and virtue, following a disciplined administrative system that branched out into several forms, adopting complete secrecy, in spreading their idea among the public and private, and winning more new affiliates with the avoiding the oppression of the ruling authority. This explains the reason for not mentioning the names of the authors of their letters, which contained the secrets of their organization and success, based on the principle; be aware the way of your Lord with wisdom and good advice, and argue with them in a way that is best.

Environmental Wisdom for Planet Earth: The Islamic Heritage, Rev Ed. (by Bakar Osman)

Reviewed by: Environmental Wisdom for Planet Earth: The Islamic Heritage, Rev Ed. by Bakar Osman Rosnani Hashim, Independent Scholar Environmental Wisdom for Planet Earth: The Islamic Heritage, rev. ed. bakar osman University Malaya & Islamic Book Trust, 2022, 114 pages It is no secret that the ecological health of our planet Earth has declined rapidly in the last century, as human lives are beginning to be affected more deeply by global warming and climate change. If nothing is done to arrest the deterioration, then humans and all other creatures are going to be doomed. This book is an attempt to highlight this issue by examining its causes and proposing a solution from the wisdom found in the Islamic tradition, but not excluding those of other religious traditions. It is a revised and expanded version of the first edition, which was published in 2007. To accomplish its objective, the author looks in chapter 1 at the modern route to ecological wisdom, and then he contrasts it with ecological wisdom in the Islamic experience, past and present. For the present, he focuses on the Malaysian experience in Islamic finance, which is such a great success that even non-Muslims patronize Islamic banks. However, it has not been easy to do the same for an environmental policy that was formulated a bit later. He asserts that "long-term solutions to environmental problems necessarily involve changes to some aspects of our current attitudes toward development, our extravagant lifestyle and our understanding and appreciation of the natural order. It is not easy to change people's attitudes, habits, and thought patterns" (p. 12). He suggests that the best hope for a positive change in our environmental thinking would be through education, in particular the subjects of Islamic studies and science. He posits how environmental and ecological consciousness is central to Islam and expounds that the modern West discovered their ecological consciousness the bitter way. By this, he meant that they just realized this after witnessing the damages wrought to our planet Earth as evident from air and water pollution, and numerous environmental hazards through their science and technology (S&T), of their own doing, which in most cases are irreversible. He asserts that modern S&T is the product of modern Western attitudes toward the natural environment that tended to be secular and materialistic. The philosophy is one of a reductionistic vision of the natural order and S&T as value-free. Basically, spirituality has been removed from modern S&T. [End Page 118] This contrasts very much with Islamic civilization, which cares for ecology and the environment based on the sources of its worldview—the Qur'an and the Prophet's Tradition, and also their early scholars such as ibn sina and ikhwan al-safa. As a result, they were able to advance human lives through S&T without destroying our Earth, unlike the way of modern science. Consequently, the author explains that the centrality of environmental consciousness in Islamic teachings is based on the principle of al-tawhid, that is, the Unity of God from which springs the ecological principle of the "Unicity of Nature." This unicity conveys the ideas of interrelatedness, interconnectedness, interdependence, and unity. The more the scientists know about Nature, the more they discover the glaring truth of its unicity, which further proves the truth of Divine Unity. The author describes it well: "al-tawhid inspires science, and science, in turn affirms al-tawhid." He argues that due to the intrinsic link between the idea of Divine Unity and the ecological principle of the Unicity of Nature, ecological consciousness in Islam is necessarily religious and is part of Muslim religious consciousness. Islam teaches Muslims, first, to view nature as a sacred book that complements the revealed Qur'an and contains spiritual messages for man's constant reflection so that he will know its Author and Creator. second, Islam teaches human beings to use nature in accordance with the Laws God has laid down in His last book, the Qur'an. He has the right to use Nature but in accordance with the moral and ethical principles ordained by God. In chapter 1, the author highlights wisdom from the Islamic intellectual heritage...

Arts/Working Arts in Ikhwan al-Safa’s (Brethren of Purity) Treatises

İhvân-ı Safâ, yaşadıkları toplumu düşünsel anlamda aydınlatma gayesi taşıyan, felsefî ve ilmî alandaki çalışmalarını yazdıkları Risaleler aracılığıyla topluma yaymaya çalışan özgün bir felsefe topluluğudur. Yazdıkları Risaleler de, İslâm dünyasının X. yüzyıldaki felsefe, bilim ve kültür alanında kat ettiği mesafeyi gösteren önemli bir kaynaktır. Bir kültür hazinesi niteliğinde olan bu Risalelerden biri de “Pratik Sanatlar ve Amaçları Üzerine” adını taşıyan 8. Risaledir. Bu Risalede, Sanat ve zanaat ayrımının yapılmadığı bir dönemde insan ürünü olan çeşitli sanatlar hakkında bilgi verilmiştir. Bu çalışmada X. yüzyıl İslam dünyasının dikkat çeken entelektüel topluluğunun Risaleleri esas alınarak sanat/zanaat konularındaki düşünceleri araştırılmıştır. Risalelerde zanaatların değeri ve önemine işaret edilmiş; zanaatlar faydasına, kullanılan alet ve edevata, yapılan eşyanın değerine göre çeşitli açılardan sınıflandırılmıştır. Zanaatların yapımında ateşe duyulan ihtiyaca vurgu yapılmış; yine zanaatlarda uzmanlaşmanın önemine değinilmiş, öğrenilen ve öğretilen yapısı göz önüne alınarak zanaatların usta eller vasıtasıyla nesilden nesile aktarılmasının zorunluluğundan söz edilmiştir. Sanatların bazı yönlerden birbirlerinden üstün oldukları ifade edilmiş ve bu üstünlüğün; ya konu oldukları madde açısından, ya yapılan şey açısından, ya onları edinmeye sevk eden zaruri ihtiyaçlar açısından, ya sağladığı umumun menfaati açısından, ya da bizzat sanatın kendisi açısından olduğu belirlenmiştir. Buna göre sanatların ya zorunluluk ya fayda ya da bizzat sanatın kendisi için yapıldığı ortaya konulmuştur.

Comparing the consolations of Ibn Sina and Kant in the face of financial poverty

Throughout history, philosophy has always been accused of being abstract and unrelated to the everyday issues of human life, so some later philosophers have offered solutions to some individual problems and social problems. Some of them are called consolations. Of course, in custom means to calm a sad or afflicted person, but the meaning of the term consolation in philosophy and social sciences is somewhat broader than its customary meaning, and it means to calm the person through the way he looks at problems and Provide a solution to the problems. Although philosophical counseling is a contemporary movement in the field of practical philosophy; But this does not mean that previous philosophers were silent about it; Rather, some of them, in the form of practical wisdom discussions, have developed specific epistemological points and practical approaches to address the shortcomings of everyday life, including poverty. But among Muslim philosophers, Ibn Sina is more famous than others. While getting acquainted with Aristotle's practical wisdom, Farabi's additions to it and some of the opinions of the scholars of Ikhwan al-Safa, he used a new innovative style in the discussions of practical wisdom and therefore in the Islamic tradition, he has influenced all his later philosophers. On the other hand, in the West, Immanuel Kant attached considerable importance to practical philosophy over theoretical philosophy. To this end, Kant also paid special attention to the philosophy of ethics, and his teachings overshadowed the ideas of most late Western thinkers. Because has long been considered the mother of many physical and mental problems in human societies; The present research tries to explain and compare the recommendations of Ibn Sina and Kant in the face of the mentioned problem by descriptive-analytical method. In Ibn Sina's words, in addition to Aristotelian teachings, there are also Enlightenment approaches influenced by religious texts, but Kant, as one of the system-building thinkers in the Enlightenment, lacks Enlightenment views and rationally focuses on Customary affairs provide a solution. Ibn Sina conducts his discussion on the basis of rational and metaphysical concepts; But most of Kant's views are based on his empirical approach to human cognition, although he finds the science of anthropology very slippery, at least in terms of method, and finds its results uncertain. Ibn Sina examines the ill effects of financial poverty in order to comfort the poor. Ibn Sina has considered deprivation of sensory as an important necessity of financial poverty and considers the way to cope with poverty to depend on the passage of sensory affairs and knowledge of extra-sensory pleasures. Trans-sensory pleasure includes sensual pleasure (illusory or imaginary) and intellectual pleasure, which can be achieved even without material wealth, and the perception of intellectual pleasures may erase the bitterness of poverty and its effects for human beings. But while acknowledging the many problems of financial poverty, Kant knows that there is no cure for it other than wealth, so he places great emphasis on the element of work and effort. Since he considers poverty to be the greatest cause of carnal vices, he calls the acquisition of wealth through work, since it leads to happiness, man's duty to himself. Ibn Sina's idea is in fact one of the methods of tolerating poverty and tolerating it, and with Ibn Sina's solution, the maximum psychological effects of poverty are removed. But Kant does not accept the conditions for tolerating poverty for human beings; Basically, in Kant's view, money solves most, if not all, of worldly problems, because man, with financial means, can benefit from the art and expertise of others.

Epistemologi dan Falsafah berkaitan Terapi Muzik dari Perspektif Cendekiawan Muslim

This article studies the comparative analysis of epistemology and philosophy of music in the Islamic civilization according to the viewpoints of medieval scholars in the Islamic civilization. The scholars selected are al-Kindi, Ikhwan al-Safa, al-Farabi and Ibn Sina. The basis of this research begins from the polemic among scholars concerning the legal status of using music, whether permissible or forbidden, due to the absence of authenticated textual proof (nas qat’i) from al-Quran and protracted debate over the authenticity of hadith on the prohibition of music. Behind the debate is that music was applied as an Islamic psychotherapy method of treatment in hospitals of the medieval Islamic civilization such as Fez Hospital in Morocco, cAdudi Hospital in Baghdad, al-Mansuri Hospital in Cairo, Nuri Hospital in Damascus, al-Arghuni Hospital in Allepo, Gevher Nesibe Hospital and Giyaseddin Keyhusrev Medical Hospital in Kayseri, Keykavus Hospital in Sivas, Turan Malik Hospital in Divrighi, Pervane Bey Hospital in Tokat, Atabey Ferruh Hospital in Cankiri, Ali bin Pervane Hospital in Kastamonu, Amasya Hospital in Amasya, Fatih Hospital in Istanbul, Edirne Sultan Bayezid II Hospital in Edirne and Suleymaniye Hospital in Istanbul. This research uses qualitative methodology and library research method by analyzing various primary and secondary sources. Research results show that there is a slight discrepancy of views between supporters of neo-Pythagorean (al-Kindi and Ikhwan al-Safa) and Aristotelian (al-Farabi and Ibn Sina) schools of thought from the epistemological viewpoint. However, in terms of philosophy, there seems to be points of similarity in the matter of enhancement of moral and spiritual values for the sake of human well-being, whether physical or spiritual.

ETHICS IN THE VIEW OF ISLAMIC PHILOSHOPHERS: Ethics In The View of Islamic Philoshophers

Ethicsis abrranch of philosphy that talks about human behavior. Or in other words, the branch of philosophy that studies aboutgood and bad. “Ethics comes from ancient “ethos”which is singular form whichcan have many meanings ; ordinary residence, pasture, stable, habits,, customs, morals, character, feelings, attitudes and ways of thingking. As for ethics in the view of islam, it is explained that islamic ethics has far-reaching anticipation with two main characteristics. First, islamic ethics is not against being ruled by humans. Both islamic ethics are very rationalistic.Futhermore, ethics in the view of islamic philoshopers is explained in concepts, which are described by islamic philoshopers such as ; Al-Kindi, Al-Razi, Al-Farabi, Ikhwan Al-Safa, Ibnu Maskawaih and Al-Ghozali.

The Ambiguous Ethics of Music’s Ineffability: A Brief Reflection on the Recent Thought of Michael Gallope and Carolyn Abbate

Michael Gallope’s book Deep Refrains is an in-depth study of the ineffable core of musical experience.4 But it engages ineffability without eliminating the pragmatic material of music’s economic, technological and even ethical mediations; and it posits a synergistic relationship between these realms. Gallope casts equal doubt on the determinism that construes music’s ineffability as wholly absorbed in mediation and on the vitalism that construes it as radically open. Framed by and theoretically grounded in the thinking of four twentieth-century philosophers (Ernst Bloch, Theodor W. Adorno, Vladimir Jankélévitch and Gilles Deleuze), the book deftly steers between the Scylla of music’s irreducible sensuous materiality (and its attendant invitation to decipherment) and the Charybdis of its elusive ineffability (and its attendant vanishing act in the face of decipherment). The book begins by reflecting on the fascinations and prohibitions of the harmoniaia in ancient Greek philosophy. Already here, Gallope revises the standard interpretation of these founding texts, demonstrating the ways in which Socrates, Glaucon, Aristotle and others in fact consider music as at once deeply mysterious and also strictly rule-governed. This conception of music’sperplexing precision is shown to be shared in ‘global’ contexts less available to music history, including (for example) the Ikhwan Al-Safa, an eleventh-century priesthood of Islamic scholars. At the same time, Gallope draws attention to the continuity between simplified taxonomies of the ancients and the instrumentalization of their axioms for contemporary engagements with affect, so rampant in the era of emerging neuromedia. Instead of recoiling from music’s indeterminacy (retreating to silence, say, or insisting on music’s unspeakable mystery), Gallope attempts to unpack the critical potential at the heart of auditory experience. On the other hand, he argues, such potential is not harnessed by marking the movements of music’s conceptual nomenclatures alone. Noting that music ‘never speaks like a language, nor is it entirely nonlinguistic’, Gallope seeks to account for the specificity of its ‘vague impact’.5 In other words, while there is a residue of conceptual mediation at work in all sonic encounter, music’s ‘sensory impact’ cannot be subsumed by that residue.

الفکر السیاسی عند إخوان الصفا وخلان الوفا

إخوان وخلان الوفا جماعة سرية باطنية ضمت مفکرين عاشوا بالبصرة إبان النصف الثاني من القرن الرابع الهجري، أفکارهم ذات نزعة فلسفية سياسية، وميول شيعية (إسماعيلية)، کانت غايتهم إسعاد النفس. کتموا أسماءهم وهويتهم، وعمدوا إلى الکناية والإشارة والإيماء والإيجاز في مصنفاتهم، وصاغوا مذهبا زعموا أنه وفق بين الشريعة الإسلامية والفلسفة، وضمنوا هذه الآراء کتابا عرف باسم:رسائل إخوان الصفا التي تشتمل على 52 رسالة مقسمة إلى أربعة أقسام، منها ما اشتملت على الإلهيات والمعتقدات وضحوا فيها عقائدهم حول الأديان والنبوة والإمامة والفلسفة والأخلاق، بما يعبر عن فکرهم السياسي. Abstract: The Ikhwan al-Safa and Khalan al-Wafa are an underground underground group of intellectuals who lived in Basra during the second half of the fourth century AH. Their ideas were of a philosophical and political orientation, and Shi'i tendencies (Ismailism) were intended for self-gratification. They wrote a book known as the Letters of the Brothers of Safa, which contains 52 letters divided into four sections, including those which included the Divinity, and beliefs and expounded their beliefs about religion, prophecy, imamate, philosophy and ethics, reflecting their political thought.

Literary Resistance to the Philosophy of Slavery: Al-Farabi and the Ikhwan Al-Safa'

Literary Resistance to the Philosophy of Slavery: Al-Farabi and the Ikhwan Al-Safa'

The Ikhwan al-Safa’’s Animal Accusers:

In the tenth-century Iraqi fable, The Case of the Animals versus Man Before the King of the Jinn, the animals take the human beings to court for mistreatment. The humans ultimately win the case, but not without the animals presenting a series of arguments that continue to resonate despite the ending of the trial. The following essay provides an analysis of a number of these arguments insofar as they contest human abuses of animals within the context of enslavement. It offers evidence on both philosophical and historical grounds for why we need to rethink the received interpretation of the fable’s controversial ending.

FILSAFAT IKHWAN ASH-SHAFA

Brethren of Purity (Ikhwan al-Safa) is a group of philosophers in medieval Islamic history. They declared themselves as opponents of any chastity, impurity, or opacity. Their thoughts compiled in an encyclopedia containing of fifty two treaties (epistles), titled al-Rasa'il Ikhwan al-Safa wa Khullan al-Wafa. Al-Rasa'il extensively surveys a huge range of subjects ranging from music to magic. They are didactic in tone and highly eclectic in content, providing both pedagogical and culture mirror of their Age and its diverse philosophies and creeds. Therefore, al-Rasail is still debatable of its origin, one claims to the writing of Ali bin Abi Talib, the fourth Muslim Caliph (d. 40/661), or the writing of the sixth Shi'ite imam, Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq. The encyclopedia aspires to encompass all knowledge, from all sources, and to give meaning to the struggles of the human race. One of all amazing notions of the Brethren of Purity is a numerical symbolism as applied to explain qualitative correspondence of three principal beings: God as The Creator, universe, and human being.

Ikhwan Al-Safa beauty philosophy and theory of art

Since the need for aesthetic, general and inclusive and deeply linked to contemporary human life, due to the importance of what these letters contained of ideas and knowledge in the field of beauty and art .We decided to study these ideas under Ikhwan Al Safa philosophy of art and beauty title. Our goal in this illustrating the Arabic and Islamic library that with useful and unique, because th subject is so far has not been studied independently, hoping we success in that . in order to explain a circle of the beauty concepts and its development at Arabs and Muslims, and that required research brief, followed by two themes:
 First: Ikhwan Al-SAFA philosophy of beauty and art .
 II: Ikhwan Al-Safa ' theory of art and includes principles and application.
 The tabulation above that research aims to expose the standards in the philosophical thought of the Ikhwan Al-SAFA

Principles of Sociology to Ikhwan Al-Safa.


 This research paper consist of an introduction and four chapters,
 and ends up with section and conclusions .
 introduction refers to the importance of the research and its objectives .while the sections are as following;
 
 Culture, elucidating culture concept and its role in building society.
 Some of elementary units of social life.
 
 a -society.
 b - social actions.
 c - individual personality.
 
 some of essential society insititutions , social systems(law), and politics.
 Some of essential social actions;
 
 
 Diffrenatiation and classes
 Deviation
 Dectrions conflict

Implikasi Aliran Filsafat Pendidikan Islam Pada Manajemen Pendidikan

The philosophy of Islamic education has less effect on the development of Islamic education journey. The concept of thinking of educational course not only from logical thinking but also from the revelation. It be the pattern of the development process as a key of instruction. There are many Islamic educational philosophy course but writer only discuss the conservative, religious-instrumental rational and pragmatic philosophy in this paper. While the figures to be discussed is Al-Ghazali represents the first course, the Ikhwan al-Safa represent the second course while Ibn Khaldun represent the third course. The effect of the course of philosophical education on management education is implementing educational philosophy in many management functions, namely the planning, implementation (classroom management)and evaluation.

Philosophy and religion, two foundations of social thought of the Ikhwan al-Safa society

In the X century, when numerous representatives of scientific and cultural life of Muslims appeared, a secret philosophical-political group Ikhwan al-Safa was formed whose members tried to ideologically oppose the central caliphate leading political set. Believing that it is imperative that Muslim society should move towards ideals established back in the VII century the prophet Muhammad, and that Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates did not advocate those ideals, they tried in their works - published under the name of Rasa'il Ikhwan al-Safa (Epistles of the Brethren of Purity) - to clarify in detail their philosophical, social and political attitudes. The Epistles is an encyclopaedic review of almost all previously known scientific disciplines. They are 51 or 52, if we count the last one that offers a short overview of all the previous ones. In their Epistles, the Ikhwan al-Safa representatives wrote about a variety of scientific disciplines, such as philosophy, physics, astronomy, mathematics, geometry and music. Still, they did not neglect social sciences, and they extensively discussed the relationship between man and society, the role of government in the community, the issues of social justice, of bliss, the relationship between politics and religion, social life models, and many other topics. In this article we will try to look at the basic features of their social thought. It should be noted that the views of this group representatives significantly influenced the development of various scientific disciplines in Islam, and the way they worked had an impact on many theological branches such as Ismaili Muslims. In fact, in the Ismaili fortresses of Gazarhan, Lambasar, Shahdej, Tabas, and Qohestan, many historians have noted traces of covert activities of the Ikhwan al-Safa group members.

Mulla Sadra and Evolution Theory

Have the component parts of the world of nature - the inanimate, plants, animals, and human being - been the same from the beginning of the universe or one is a changed form out of another, i.e. a change from the inanimate into plants, from plants into animals and from animals into human beings? There is a general point of view which can be traced back to the time prior to Socrates, the myths of China and ancient India that the universe, as it is now, was suddenly created with its biodiversity and each of the four parts of nature - the inanimate, plants, animals and human beings - are created and vanished repeatedly. No evolution is seen in their type and essence, and the only changes have been seen is superficial. In this universe, human soul alone has had an opportunity to exist before, or being created at the same time together with the body and when the body attached to it, decays, it always survives by itself (Mulla Sadra 1383Ha). Most of the Moslem philosophers believed the same idea called 'Fixism'. As the history of science has frequently proved, scientists belong to a more immense culture, the ideas of which affect the inquiries they believe important. It also affects the categories with which they interpret or explain their knowledge and the certainties governing their attitud es. So, the interpretation of religious books by theologians is based on theses cultural teachings.Evolution is a new theory upon which the whole world of nature changes so that the whole universe, or some parts of it, is always under constant and increasing change, and in the process of the development, number, variety and complexity of the parts of the world are increasing. Buffon (1707-1788) and Lamarck (1744-1829) in the eighteenth century were the pioneers of evolution theory in biology, but Darwin (1809-1882), in the nineteenth century, by offering various documents made this theory testable. The first theories were simple, obscure and less scientific but, little by little, it became more stable and today, very few people don't believe in the theory of evolution (Encyclopedia of the Islamic World 1383H), and even it is irrationally generalized to other areas (Bowler 2000). Although the theory of evolution, either from philosophy or science point of view, has had a recording ancient Greece and among the Muslims such as Ikhwan al-Safa (Ikhwan al-Safa 1995) and the philosophers like Ibn Miskawayh (1338H; 1365H), its discussions have become controversial, in the new era, and as a scientific theory, from the beginning of its proposal, have encountered agreement and opposition especially by some religious people (Bowler 2000). Unfortunately, the theory of evolution has not been discussed seriously from Islamic philosophy point of view. The ancient philosophies such as Platonism, Aristotelianism, peripateticism and the school of illumination cannot answer the questions regarding the relation between natural creatures and the theory of evolution, but this theory not only can be in the same category with Mulla Sadra's geometry knowledge but they are congruous and one who believes in Mulla Sadra's geometry knowledge cannot oppose the evolution of creatures, including human being. This article is going to prove that Mulla Sadra's philosophical thought not only is in agreement with the theory of biological evolution but it is its requirement. Mulla Sadra (1572/ 1640), in the seventeenth century, had stated some aspects of this theory prior to the biologists like Bowfin, Lamarck and Darwin. After offering a brief sketch of biological theory of evolution, this article is trying to investigate the congruency of Mulla Sadra's thoughts with it and will explain his philosophy in defining the evolution of the species.Theory of Evolution, a SketchMany ancient philosophers believed that God created the universe at once, and in the same way as present time, and all species have always been the same. The theory of the evolution of the natural creatures, of course, was discussed as a theory, more or less, among the Roman, Greek and Muslim philosophers. …

Fortresses of the Intellect: Ismaili and other Islamic Studies in Honour of Farhad Daftary ed. by Omar Alí-de-Unzaga (review)

Reviewed by: Fortresses of the Intellect: Ismaili and other Islamic Studies in Honour of Farhad Daftary ed. by Omar Alí-de-Unzaga Tatsuya Kikuchi Fortresses of the Intellect: Ismaili and other Islamic Studies in Honour of Farhad Daftary ed. Omar Alí-de-Unzaga, 2011. London & New York: I. B. Tauris, 2011, 600 pp., £25.00. isbn: 978-1-84885-626-4. This festschrift is dedicated to the achievements of Farhad Daftary, who has been leading Isma‘ili studies since 1990, when his magnum opus, The Ismā’īlis: Their History and Doctrines (Cambridge), was first published. The articles included in the volume cover various issues, but most of them are connected with the three areas in which Daftary’s scholarship has had a great impact: Isma‘ili studies, Persian studies, and the wider context of Shi‘i studies. With regard to Isma‘ili studies, this festschrift shows us not only the extent of progress made over twenty odd years since the publication of Daftary’s monumental work but also the kind of problems that still exist. I will mention one of such problems, after briefly introducing the articles which relate to Isma‘ili studies. This book contains twenty-two articles and notes, beginning with (1) Omar Alí-de-Unzaga’s ‘Introduction: A Biographical Sketch’, which covers Daftary’s life and studies, and (2) ‘Bibliography of the Works of Farhad Daftary’. The first article to focus on Isma‘ili studies is (5) wherein Wilferd Madelung and Paul E. Walker edit and translate the Arabic text attributed to ‘Abdan (d. 286/899), an important leader of the early Qarmatians. In the introduction, the authors point out that the text does not show any trace of Neoplatonism and does not include the concept of the divine Command or Word, both of which were characteristics of the Isma‘ili Persian School. Then, in (7), Abbas Hamdani maintains that a comparison of the description of Rasa’il Ikhwan al-Safa’ with those of al-Kindi (d. 252/866), al-Farabi (d. 339/959), some theologians, and Shi‘i thinkers reveals that it was composed in the late ninth century as part of the Isma‘ili movement of the time. And, in (8), Carmela Baffioni points out the similarities in the usage of ibda‘, which means the world created from nothing by God or by the act of creation, between Rasa’il Ikhwan [End Page 361] al-Safa’ and Isma‘ili thinkers belonging to the Persian School. She also suggests the possibility that the Ikhwan al-Safa’ were close to Isma‘ilism and that their epistles contain several ideas of contemporary Isma‘ilism. Both Hamdani and Baffioni maintain that the Ikhwan al-Safa’ had close connections with the Isma‘ilis, but they differ on the dating of the composition of the Rasa’il. The former thought much of the similarity between the Ikhwan al-Safa’ and al-Kindi and their relations with the Fatimids, while the latter was interested in the affinity of the Ikhwan al-Safa’ to the Persian School. When and how they were related to the Isma‘ilis, rather than whether there was a connection between the two, might now become a controversial issue. Then, in (9), István Hajnal aims to shed light on the flexible policies of the Qarmatians in Bahrain and their underlying motivation, which has hitherto not received much attention. The transformation of Qarmatian eschatology, explained to some extent in this article, is also important in view of the possibility of its comparison with the contemporary eschatology of the Fatimids. Next, in (10), Hamid Haji reports the life of al-Ustadh Jawdhar (d. 362/973) who served the first four imam-caliphs of the Fatimids for over sixty years (also see his new book, Inside The Immaculate Portal: A History from the Fatimid Archives, London, 2012). This is followed by (11), in which Ismail K. Poonawala asserts that al-Qadi al-Nu‘man (d. 363/974), the founder of Isma‘ili jurisprudence, was considered an Imami by some Imamis themselves one century before Ibn Khallikan (d. 681/1282) wrote a report on him. Poonawala also presents al-Nu‘man’s refutation of the idea of Ibn Qutaybah (d. 276/889...

Epistles of the Brethren of Purity. On the Natural Sciences

One does not need to repeat the oft-stated observation that editing and translatingthe epistles of the Brethren of Purity (Ikhwan al-Safa’) will greatly enhanceour understanding of the pre-Avicennan period’s intellectual history ofthe philosophical sciences. Carmela Baffioni, senior research fellow at the Instituteof Ismaili Studies, which sponsors this project, is a leading specialiston the Brethren, having spent an illustrious career at Naples – twenty-fiveitems in the bibliography constitute her major contributions, alongside the editionsand translations she has contributed to this series. She has already editedand translated the epistles on logic in an earlier volume of this series – thoseepistles come immediately before the seven that are published here (out ofthe seventeen epistles that comprise the second section on the natural sciences)and are the culmination of the first section on the mathematical sciences. Thevolume immediately after on epistle 22 on animals has been published manytimes and is arguably one of the most famous of the Epistles: The Case of theAnimals versus Man before the King of the Jinns (published in this series inthe translation of Lenn Goodman and Richard MacGregor).With this highly useful and impressive volume, she has made a majorcontribution. This large volume (around 1,000 pages of English and Arabic)comprises a foreword by Nader el-Bizri (the project’s general editor); an ...

A Historical Debate on Rasa’il Ikhwan Al-Safa Critic of Critic by Abbas Hamdani on Paul Casanova’s Dating of the Rasa’il Ikhwan Al-Safa

تاریخ نگارش رسائل اخوان‌الصفا به هیچ روی مشخص نیست.نام نویسندگان آن نیز به همگان پوشیده است که این امر نیز سبب نظرورزی‌های متعددی در این موارد شده است.به نظر می‌رسد موضوع تاریخ‌ نگارش رسائل با مقاله‌ی انتقادی پل کازانووا – که حاوی مطالعات تاریخی و ستاره‌شناسی پیچیده و نوینی بود- مرحله‌ی جدیدی شده است.نظریه‌های دیگری نیز در این زمینه به وجود آمد که روش استنادی آن‌ها با روش کازانووا متفاوت بود.نظریه‌ی کازانووا را در دهه‌های پایانی قرن بیستم عباس همدانی تصحیح و نقد کرده، نواقصی از آن را زدوده و با فرضیه‌های جدیدنتایج تازه‌ای عرضه کرده است.نظر همدانی درباره‌ی زمان نگارش رسائل، تا به امروز نیز در محافل اسماعیلی‌‌شناسی یکی از آرای پذیرفته شده، و ملاک نظر بوده است.در این مقاله پس از شرحی اجمالی درباره‌ی نظریه‌های مذکور، تمایزهای آن‌ها با یکدیگر بررسی می‌شود.سپس با تحلیل نظر همدانی، اشکال‌ها و ابهام‌هایی که در فرضیه‌سازی و نتیجه‌گیری او برای تعیین تاریخ‌ نگارش رسائل وجود دارد، تشریح می‌شود.نظر همدانی در دو بخش «باورها و پیشگویی‌های نجومی» و نیز «مسئله‌ی مهدویت و ظهور قائم» نقد می‌شود.در پایان، با تشکیک در تفسیرهای همدانی از متن رسائل، نظر وی درباره‌ی تبلیغی بودن رسائل برای قدرت‌گیری و تأسیس خلافت فاطمیان مورد تردید قرار می‌گیرد