Illuminationism ( Persian حكمت اشراق ''hekmat-e eshrāq'',

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: حكمة الإشراق ''ḥikmat al-ishrāq'', both meaning "Wisdom of the Rising Light"), also known as ''Ishrāqiyyun'' or simply ''Ishrāqi'' ( Persian اشراق,

: الإشراق, lit. "Rising", as in "Shining of the Rising Sun") is a philosophical and mystical school of thought introduced by Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi (

honorific An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an Honorary title (academic), h ...

: ''Shaikh al-ʿIshraq'' or ''Shaikh-i-Ishraq'', both meaning "Master of Illumination") in the twelfth century, established with his ''Kitab Hikmat al-Ishraq'' (lit: "Book of the Wisdom of Illumination"), a fundamental text finished in 1186. Written with influence from Avicennism, Peripateticism, and

Neoplatonism Neoplatonism is a version of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a series of thinkers. Among the common id ...

, the philosophy is nevertheless distinct as a novel and holistic addition to the history of

Islamic philosophy Islamic philosophy is philosophy that emerges from the Islamic tradition. Two terms traditionally used in the Islamic world are sometimes translated as philosophy—''falsafa'' (), which refers to philosophy as well as logic, mathematics, and p ...

History

While the

Ilkhanate The Ilkhanate or Il-khanate was a Mongol khanate founded in the southwestern territories of the Mongol Empire. It was ruled by the Il-Khans or Ilkhanids (), and known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (). The Ilkhanid realm was officially known ...

- Mongol Siege of Baghdad and the destruction of the

House of Wisdom The House of Wisdom ( ), also known as the Grand Library of Baghdad, was believed to be a major Abbasid Caliphate, Abbasid-era public academy and intellectual center in Baghdad. In popular reference, it acted as one of the world's largest publ ...

(

: بيت الحكمة, romanized: Bayt al-Ḥikmah) effectively ended the

Islamic Golden Age The Islamic Golden Age was a period of scientific, economic, and cultural flourishing in the history of Islam, traditionally dated from the 8th century to the 13th century. This period is traditionally understood to have begun during the reign o ...

in 1258, it also paved the way for novel philosophical invention. Such an example is the work of philosopher Abu'l-Barakāt al-Baghdādī, specifically his ''Kitāb al-Muʿtabar'' ("The Book of What Has Been Established by Personal Reflection"); the book's challenges to the Aristotelian norm in Islamic philosophy along with al-Baghdādī's emphasis on "evident self-reflection" and his revival of the

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

nic use of light as a metaphor for phenomena like inspiration all influenced the philosophy of Suhrawardi. The philosopher and logician Zayn al-Din Omar Savaji further inspired Suhrawardi with his foundational works on mathematics and his creativity in reconstructing the '' Organon;'' Savaji's two-part logic based on "expository propositions" ''(al-aqwāl al-šāreḥa)'' and "proof theory" ''(ḥojaj)'' served as the precursory model for Suhrawardi's own "Rules of Thought" ''(al-Żawābeṭ al-fekr).'' Among the three Islamic philosophers mentioned in Suhrawardi's work, al-Baghdādī and Savaji are two of them. Upon finishing his ''Kitab Hikmat al-Ishraq'' (lit: "Book of the Wisdom of Illumination"), the

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

n philosopher Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi founded Illuminationism in 1186. The Persian and Islamic school draws on ancient Iranian philosophical disciplines, Avicennism ( Ibn Sina's

early Islamic philosophy Early Islamic philosophy or classical Islamic philosophy is a period of intense philosophical development beginning in the 2nd century AH of the Islamic calendar (early 9th century Common Era, CE) and lasting until the 6th century AH (late 12th ...

), Neoplatonic thought (modified by Ibn Sina), and the original ideas of Suhrawardi.

Key concepts

In his ''Philosophy of Illumination'', Suhrawardi argued that light operates at all levels and hierarchies of reality (PI, 97.7–98.11). Light produces immaterial and substantial lights, including immaterial intellects (

angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

s), human and animal souls, and even 'dusky substances', such as bodies. Suhrawardi's metaphysics is based on two principles. The first is a form of the

principle of sufficient reason The principle of sufficient reason states that everything must have a Reason (argument), reason or a cause. The principle was articulated and made prominent by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, with many antecedents, and was further used and developed by ...

. The second principle is Aristotle's principle that an actual infinity is impossible.

''Ishraq''

The essential meaning of ''ishrāq'' ( Persian اشراق,

: الإشراق) is "rising", specifically referring to the

sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning, at the start of the Sun path. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon. Terminology Although the S ...

, though "illumination" is the more common translation. It has used both Arabic and Persian philosophical texts as means to signify the relation between the " apprehending subject" ''(al-mawżuʿ al-modrek)'' and the " apprehensible object" ''(al-modrak);'' beyond philosophical discourse, it is a term used in common discussion. Suhrawardi utilized the ordinariness of the word in order to encompass the all that is mystical along with an array of different kinds of knowledge, including ''elhām'', meaning personal inspiration.

Legacy

None of Suhrawardi's works was translated into Latin, so he remained unknown in the Latin West, although his work continued to be studied in the Islamic East. According to Hosein Nasr, Suhrawardi was unknown to the west until he was translated into western languages by contemporary thinkers such as Henry Corbin, and he remains largely unknown even in countries within the Islamic world. Suhrawardi tried to present a new perspective on questions like those of existence. He not only caused peripatetic philosophers to confront such new questions, but also gave new life to the body of philosophy after Avicenna. According to John Walbridge, Suhrawardi's critiques of Peripatetic philosophy could be counted as an important turning point for his successors. Although Suhravardi was first a pioneer of Peripatetic philosophy, he later became a Platonist following a mystical experience. He is also counted as one who revived the ancient wisdom in Persia by his philosophy of illumination. His followers, such as Shahrzouri and Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi tried to continue the way of their teacher. Suhrewardi makes a distinction between two approaches in the philosophy of illumination: one approach is discursive and another is intuitive. Illuminationist thinkers in the School of Isfahan played a significant role in revitalizing academic life in the Safavid Empire under Shah Abbas I (1588–1629). Avicennan thought continued to inform philosophy during the reign of the Safavid Empire. Illuminationism was taught in Safavid

Madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...

s (Place of Study) established by pious shahs.

Mulla Sadra

Mulla Sadra (Ṣadr ad-Dīn Muḥammad Shīrāzī) was a 17th-century Iranian philosopher who was considered a master of illuminationism. He wrote a book titled ''al-Asfār al-Arbaʻah'' meaning 'the four journeys', referring to the soul's journey back to Allah. He developed his book into an entire school of thought; he did not refer to ''al-Asfār'' as a philosophy but as "wisdom." Sadra taught how one could be illuminated or given wisdom until becoming a sage. ''Al-Asfar'' was one piece of illuminationism which is still an active part of

today. It was representative of Mulla Sadra's entire philosophical worldview. Like many important Arabic works it is difficult for the western world to understand because it has not been translated into English. Mulla Sadra eventually became the most significant teacher at the religious school known as Madrasa-yi Khan. His philosophies are still taught throughout the Islamic East and South Asia. ''Al-Asfar'' is Mulla Sadra's book explaining his view of illuminationism. He views problems starting with a Peripatetic sketch. This Aristotelian style of teaching is reminiscent of

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 ...

. Mulla Sadra often refers to the Qur'an when dealing with philosophical problems. He quotes Qur'anic verses while explaining philosophy. He wrote exegeses of the Qur'an such as his explanation of '' Āyat al-Kursī''. Asfār means journeys. In ''al-Asfar'' is a journey to gain wisdom. Mulla Sadra used philosophy as a set of spiritual exercises to become more wise. In Mulla Sadra's book '' The Transcendent Philosophy of the Four Journeys of the Intellect'' he describes the four journeys of # A journey from creation to the Truth or Creator # A journey from the Truth to the Truth # A journey that stands in relation to the first journey because it is from the Truth to creation with the Truth # A journey that stands in relation to the second journey because it is from the Truth to the creation.

History

Key concepts

''Ishraq''

Legacy

Mulla Sadra

See also

Notes

Further reading