Hasan Lahiji (1621-1709), also known as Kashefi or Mirza Hasan, was a

Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

and philosopher in the

Safavid The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

period. His written works are primarily on the philosophy of the Shia imamate.Corbin 1976.

Background

Hasan Lahiji was the son of Molla Abd al-Razzaq Lahiji and the grandson of

Molla Sadra Ṣadr ad-Dīn Muḥammad Shīrāzī, more commonly known as Mullā Ṣadrā (; ; c. 1571/2 – c. 1635/40 CE / 980 – 1050 AH), was a Persian Twelver Shi'i Islamic mystic, philosopher, theologian, and ‘Ālim who led the Iranian cultural r ...

Shirazi. He studied in

Qom Qom (; ) is a city in the Central District of Qom County, Qom province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is the seventh largest metropolis and also the seventh largest city in Iran. The city is ...

until his death.Nasr 2006. Mirza Hasan lived during the late

dynasty and stood opposed to

Hikmah ''Hikmah'' (also ''Hikmat'', , '')'' is an Arabic word that means wisdom, sagacity, philosophy, rationale or underlying reason. The Quran mentions "hikmah" in various places, where it is understood as knowledge and understanding of the Quran, fe ...

and

Irfan In Islam, irfan (Arabic/ Persian/Urdu: ; ), literally 'knowledge, awareness, wisdom', is a concept in Islamic mysticism akin to gnosis, or spiritual knowledge. Sunni mysticism According to the founder of the Qadiriyya Sufi order, Abdul ...

(against the Shia tradition of kalam al-hikmat al-ilåhiyyah).

Kalam replaced

Kalam ''Ilm al-kalam'' or ''ilm al-lahut'', often shortened to ''kalam'', is the scholastic, speculative, or rational study of Islamic theology ('' aqida''). It can also be defined as the science that studies the fundamental doctrines of Islamic fai ...

in this period, so Mirza Hasan learned Kalam and philosophy to defend the

theological teachings. He first wrote about Hikmah to explain the relationship between Hikmah and Sufism. Other esoteric religious authorities rejected him because he wrote about Hikmah. After his rejection he began to write about Ethics and Kalam.

Works

Mirza Hasan wrote many works on

philosophy and Kalam. Both Ashtyani and Nasr referred to his works. According to Corbin, most of his works still exist as manuscripts. Some of his works include * ''Zawahir al-hikam'' (written in Arabic) Zawahir g. Zahir, ''flower'' Hikam g. Hikmahref name=":0" /> *''Ayineh-ye hikmah'' (Mirror of Philosophy) * ''Rawai al hikmah''. *''Ithbat al-Rajah''. * ''Sham Al-yaqin''. *Glosses upon ''Shawariq'' written by his father.

References

Resources

* *Nasr, ''Islamic Philosophy from its Beginning to the Present'', 2006. {{Islamic philosophy Islamic philosophers Safavid theologians 17th-century writers from Safavid Iran 18th-century writers from Safavid Iran 1621 births 1709 deaths