''Al-Nijat min al-Qarq fi Bahr al-Zalalaat'' (, ) known as ''Al-Nijat'' is one of the most famous philosophical works of the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

philosopher

Avicenna Ibn Sina ( – 22 June 1037), commonly known in the West as Avicenna ( ), was a preeminent philosopher and physician of the Muslim world, flourishing during the Islamic Golden Age, serving in the courts of various Iranian peoples, Iranian ...

(ibn Sīnā, 980-1037). The general theme of the book is philosophy and includes topics in the fields of logic, physics, mathematics and theology.

Epistemology and approach

The book ''"Al-Nijat min al-Qarq fi Bahr al-Zalalaat"'' written in Arabic and includes a course of theoretical philosophy (

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

and

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

). According to some researchers, ''"Al-Nijat"'' is a selection from

The Book of Healing ''The Book of Healing'' (; ; also known as ) is a scientific and philosophical encyclopedia written by Abu Ali ibn Sīna (also known as Avicenna). He most likely began to compose the book in 1014, completed it around 1020, and published it in ...

. The great similarity of the book of ''"Al-Nijat"'' to

in the order of the chapters and in the content is the reason for these opinions. Some points can be considered about this view: * Avicenna's introduction at the beginning of the book of ''"Al-Nijat"'' contains the point that his purpose is not to write summaries, but the goal is to write the minimum things that should be known. * Avicenna's definitions and expressions in the book of ''"Al-Nijat"'' are close to his definitions and expressions in the Book of Healing. * The order of the chapters and topics discussed in the book of ''"Al-Nijat"'' corresponds step by step to the "book of healing". Of course, in some cases, there has been a shift and the topics have become more accurate than in the "book of healing". The headings are arranged this way: * ''"Al-Nijat min al-Qarq fi Bahr al-Zalalaat"'' ** Logic *** with 149 chapters ** Physics *** with 6 articles (46 chapters in total) ** Mathematics *** with 29 titles and chapters ** Theology *** with 2 articles (total with 62 chapters)

Content

Logic

The logic section of the book ''"Al-Nijat min al-Qarq fi Bahr al-Zalalaat"'' is very similar in definitions and titles to the logic section of

, and from this point of view ''"Al-Nijat"'' is an excerpt from it. But the ease and clarity of the definitions, the expression based on division, the avoidance of prolongation of the word, and the omission and displacement of some issues, have made ''"Al-Nijat"'' in these respects both superior to the extensive book of healing and more valuable than the excerpt book of ''"Oyoun al-Hikma"'' of Avicenna. Some of the topics in the logic section of the book are: * Perception and affirmation * The benefit of logic * Types of particles * Intrinsic and transversal * Theorem and its types * Material of theorems * Directions, inversion, analogy and its types * Trilogy forms * Induction, allegory, argument and its types and preliminaries

Physics

Avicenna's purpose in writing the physics sections was to establish a scientific style for future generations, but he did not necessarily include the latest scientific material in it. Although Avicenna was a follower of

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

in meteorology and he himself acknowledged it, he did not follow Aristotle's views in cases where a new and appropriate theory seemed to him or he himself reached a different conclusion. Avicenna on various aspects of geophysics, meteorology and atmospheric effects, including the formation of mountains, groundwater, earthquakes, mining, clouds, rain, water vapor, dew, snow, hail, halo, sunbow, wind (origin, types, quantity, temperature, power, rainfall, effects, duration, direction, etc.), thunder, lightning, comet and meteor. Some of the topics of the physics section are: * Motion and related issues * Time, place, finite and infinite and related issues * The unity of the universe and the impossibility of its multiplicity * The effects of heat and cold on objects * The ego and related issues

Mathematics

In mathematics, Avicenna studied and analyzed the principles of Euclid, but did not elaborate and stated only what was necessary to understand the theorems and prove them in order to acquaint the learner with the basics of geometry as soon as possible. Avicenna has also dedicated section 7 of the book of ''"Al-Nijat"'' to geometry. Avicenna openly considered music to be mathematics. He has also dealt with shapes, their properties and performances. Avicenna's theories on mathematics have not yet been fully explored, but ''Karl Lukuc'' has examined part of his mathematics (flat geometry) in his book ''"Avicenna as a Mathematician"''. Some of the topics in mathematics section are: * Rules about sides, angles and triangles * Rules about the proportion of surfaces * Relations and guilds and their properties * Quality of extraction of the size of the mass of the earth and the moon and the sun relative to each other * Cognition of observation and the quality of observing * Tunes, sounds, materials, instruments, improvements, etc.

Theology

Avicenna begins the issue of knowing existence from the very concept of "being and existence". According to him, existence and existent are the most obvious concepts and no explanation can be given about existence or existent except their name. "Existence can not be described except by its name, it is the first source of any description, so there is not a description for it, but its form is immediately placed in the mind (ego)." In Avicenna's

ontology Ontology is the philosophical study of existence, being. It is traditionally understood as the subdiscipline of metaphysics focused on the most general features of reality. As one of the most fundamental concepts, being encompasses all of realit ...

, not all beings have the same concept of existence, but some are more deserving and worthy in this sense than others. Thus beings are in order. Avicenna says in this regard: * The concurrence of coexistence with the existing * Intrinsic and exotic indications * The reason for the need for the possible to the self-existent is for its possibility not for its occurrence * The vastness of the self-existent and the fact that it is complete and there are no expected states in it * The proof of the self-existent * Resurrection * Inspirations * Answered prayers * Heavenly retributions * Prophecy * Worship and its benefits in this world and the hereafter

Explanations

The book ''Al-Nijat'' has several explanations such as: * Explanation of

Mulla Sadra Ṣadr ad-Dīn Muḥammad Shīrāzī, more commonly known as Mullā Ṣadrā (; ; c. 1571/2 – c. 1635/40 CE / 980 – 1050 AH), was a Persians, Persian Twelver Shi'a, Shi'i Islamic philosophy, Islamic mystic, philosopher, Kalam, theologian, a ...

* Explanation of Fakhr al-Din Esfarayeni

Publication

The book ''Al-Nijat min al-Qarq fi Bahr al-Zalalaat'', first published in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

by Mohyeddin Sabori al-Kordi in 1913 and secondly in 1938. Also ''Al-Nijat'' has been edited by Mohammad Taqi Danesh Pajouh in 1985, published by University of Tehran Press in Iran. This version has an introduction in

written by Danesh Pajouh which describes subjects in detail. Then there are pictures of the Arabic manuscript of the book, then the text of book in Arabic. The "Theology" section was translated into English by ''Nematullah Karamollahi'' and published in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

in 1926. The English translation of the "Ego" (psychology) section was also published by

Fazlur Rahman Malik Fazlur Rahman Malik ( ; ; September 21, 1919 – July 26, 1988), commonly known as Fazlur Rahman, was a modernist scholar and Islamic philosopher from present-day Pakistan. Recognized as a leading liberal reformer within Islam, he focused on e ...

in his book "Avicenna's Psychology", first published in 1952 and secondly in 1981 in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

References

External links

Avicenna--a great physician and thinker - PubMed

The Necessity of Reviving Samarqandi`s Sharh-al-Qestas

{{DEFAULTSORT:Al-Nijat Works by Avicenna Iranian books