Mulla Sadrā refers to ancient Greek philosophers in his writings quite often, especially when the subject matter is the soul. In this article, I will address how Mulla Sadra reiterates Avicenna’s summary and analyses of ancient theories of the soul as discussed in Safar 4, Bab 5, and Fasl 5 of, al-Hikmat al-Mutaʿāliya fi asfār al-ʿaqliyyat al-arbaʿa. The source of these discussions, when the structure and basic contents are considered, is Aristotle’s De Anima Book I. Before defining the (...) soul, Aristotle discusses what kind of a science, a science on the soul should be, and afterwards, he evaluates previous theories on the soul as those defining the soul through movement, perception, and life. We observe that this evaluation on previous theories play a preparatory role for his own definition of the soul as perfection and actualization. In a similar manner, in Safar 4, Bab 5, and Fasl 5 of Asfār al-aqliyyat al-arbaʿa, Mulla Sadrā reinterprets and discusses Ancient theories in such a way that the discussion leads us to a theory similar to Mulla Sadrā’s. In the presentation of this chapter, we find out that the soul is immaterial and modulated (tashkīkī) reality and is represented as a unity which is in a constant movement in its substance. The soul is matter in its origin, yet turns into an immaterial reality through substantial movement. In direct disagreement with Aristotelian philosophy, for Mulla Sadrā, movement in substance is possible as well as it is essential in understanding the reality of the soul. When Mulla Sadrā evaluates the ancient discussions and the criticisms by Avicenna, he finds that the discussion focuses on the source of mobility yet the soul is supposed to be defined as the source of immobility equally. Next in the discussion on movement, he focuses on the necessity of accepting the principle of substantial movement. According to Mulla Sadrā, Avicenna (following Aristotle’s presentation and interpretation) is misleading in his evaluation and criticisms of the ancient theories on the soul mainly because he follows a literalist reading. On the contrary, sources for Ancients’ knowledge is perennial wisdom, and their words on the soul have deeper meanings than what is understood at the first reading. When read with more trustful lenses, it will be manifested that the soul is an immaterial reality for them as well. For example, when they talk about the soul as a sphere, Mulla Sadrā thinks that they want to direct attention to the perfection. When fire is mentioned, the dynamic reality of the soul is brought to light. Mulla Sadrā, adds the principle of gradation (tashkīk) to his presentation and talks about modulation of fire from material fire to the immaterial light (nūr).The lowest level of fire is related to the changes in nature of the soul, the soul responsible of irascible and concupiscent establishes the next level. Once the soul is under total control, then it completes the passage to its incorporeality and becomes light. So this chapter is important in its structure because it allows us to read into how Sadrā’s historical reiteration is influenced by his own theoretical framework on the one hand. On the other hand, thanks to the long lineage of De Anima commentary literature, we can compare Sadrā with Aristotelian readings in this chapter. The interpretative reading of Mulla Sadrā, in opposition to the literalist reading of Avicenna on the ancient theories, also leans on a history of other philosophers before him. In this regard, a lineage of historiography might be traced back to Āmirī, Qādi Saʿīd, and Shahristāni. What the article comes to conclude is that a particular presentation found in Aristotles’ De Anima- Book I is molded in Mulla Sadrā’s hands with a more interpretative version of pre-Socratic theories to such an extent to support Mulla Sadra’s own theories on the soul. (shrink)

In his seminal 1960 paper, the physicist Eugene Wigner formulated the question of the applicability of mathematics in physics in a way nobody had before. This formulation has been entirely overlooked due to an exclusive concern with solving Wigner’s problem and explaining the effectiveness of mathematics in the natural sciences, in one way or another. Many have attempted to attribute Wigner’s unjustified conclusion—that mathematics is unreasonably effective in the natural sciences—to his formalist views on mathematics. My goal is to show (...) that this reading misses out on Wigner’s highly original formulation of the problem which is presented throughout his body of work in physics as well as in philosophy. This formulation, as I will show, leads us in a new direction in solving the applicability problem. (shrink)

In his seminal 1960 paper, the physicist Eugene Wigner formulated the question of the applicability of mathematics in physics in a way nobody had before. This formulation has been entirely overlooked due to an exclusive concern with solving Wigner’s problem and explaining the effectiveness of mathematics in the natural sciences, in one way or another. Many have attempted to attribute Wigner’s unjustified conclusion—that mathematics is unreasonably effective in the natural sciences—to his formalist views on mathematics. My goal is to show (...) that this reading misses out on Wigner’s highly original formulation of the problem which is presented throughout his body of work in physics as well as in philosophy. This formulation, as I will show, leads us in a new direction in solving the applicability problem. (shrink)

In a paper titled, “The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics”, published 20 years after Wigner’s seminal paper, the mathematician Richard W. Hamming discussed what he took to be Wigner’s problem of Unreasonable Effectiveness and offered some partial explanations for this phenomenon. Whether Hamming succeeds in his explanations as answers to Wigner’s puzzle is addressed by other scholars in recent years I, on the other hand, raise a more fundamental question: does Hamming succeed in raising the same question as Wigner? The answer (...) is no. My goal is to show that Hamming’s reading misses Wigner’s highly original formulation of the problem.Through a close and contextual reading of Wigner’s work, as I will show, we are led in new directions in addressing and solving the applicability problem. (shrink)

Jama’at-i-Islami is one of the most prominent religious parties of Pakistan that also take active part in the politics of the country. The party is credited with the introduction of Islamic element in the political and constitutional set up of Pakistan. This paper highlights the efforts of the party for the enforcement of Islamic Constitution soon after the creation of Pakistan up to the enforcement of the Constitution of 1956. The style, ideas and politics of the party regarding the (...) Islamic Constitution in Pakistan from 1947 to 1956 are the main focus of the discussion. The second part of the paper deals with the contribution of the Jama’at in the Ahmadiyah issue. How reluctantly the party was involved in the issue and in what way could it win the sympathy of the people as a main leading force of the campaign against Ahmadiya influence in 1953 have been examined in the course of the discussion. (shrink)

It would not be an overstatement to say that Mulla Sadra’s metaphysical system—commonly known as transcendent philosophy or transcendent wisdom (hikmat muta‘aliyyah)—is founded on the fundamentality of existence and the subjectivity of quiddity or whatness. I will begin this essay by drawing a rather simple picture of this principle under the title “A Common Error.” Then I will proceed by explaining its background and the reasoning supporting it, while offering a more detailed elucidation of the problem. The essay (...) will end by examining two recent interpretations that have gone to extremes in describing quiddity’s subjective nature. (shrink)

al-Qism al-awwal. Fī ḍawābiṭ al-fikr (manṭiq) --.

Antalya, which is today’s attraction center with its historical and natural beauties, was described as “a city like heaven” since ancient times. This city hosted many civilisations and states until the 13th century and became an important seaport after The Seljuks took over the region. The Seljuks applied civilization and urbanization policy also in Antalya, like other regions they ruled. The mosques, madrasahs (Islamıc theology institutions), schools, baths, caravansearis (hostels), hospices, and water cisterns in this period changed the structure of (...) the city and paved the way for improvements of public life. During the Ottomans some of these social institutions were kept active while the others no longer served to the public. However, with the construction of new social institutions, urbanization was resumed. The madrasas were generally built near or adjacent to the mosques, and had a significant role in developing the society and cultural structure. Although the madrasas in Antalya were mainly the institutions that maintain the education system, the research on these madrasas mostly focuses on their architectural features. The majority of these madrasas that are not comprehensively studied. Therefore, the functioning structures and the problems of Antalya Madrasas (Antalya, Korkuteli and Elmalı), which are reflected in the archive documents between the 17th and 20th centuries and also both individuals and institutions that had influence on these madrasas are going to be investigated in this study. Thus, this paper will shed more light on Antalya Madrasas.Summary: Antalya city, which was completely under the Seljuk sovereignty during the reign of Sultan Alaeddin Keykubat I (1219-1236), was named as Alâiyye dedicated to the Sultan's name and became an important port city of the Seljuk State after then. In the process of the fall of the Seljuk State and the beginning of the Emirates (Beylikler) period, the city became a land of Teke-Oğulları, a part of a Hamid-oğulları, and in 1390 the city became an Ottoman city after the struggle of Yıldırım Bayazid with Teke-oğuları. Antalya was home to the madrasahs, one of the formal education institutions during both the Seljuk and the Ottoman Empire. The madrasahs were built next to the mosque or in a detached area built by sometimes administrators or statesmen, sometimes by members of the dynasty or by the citizens who were wealthy. In Antalya, both single floor and second floor madrasahs were built. This study based on the documents from Prime Ministry Ottoman Archive, the travel books of İbn Bibi and Evliya Çelebi, the works on Antalya Madrasahs to be determine the madrasah in the districts of Antalya as Korkuteli and Elmalı. In addition to the Seljuk madrasahs such as Imaret Madrasah, Atabey Armagan Madrasah and Karatay Madrasah, there are also some madrasahs belonging to the Ottoman period, in Antalya. As a matter of fact, the madrasahs increased in number in the period of the Ottoman. Antalya madrasahs which are reflected in archival documents for any reason are as follows: “Süleyman Madrasah” located in Hatip Süleyman Street, “Madrasah built by Haci Mahmed” located in Elmali Street, “Hacı Abbaszâde Hacı Süleyman Madrasah” in Süleyman Street, “İsmail Efendi Madrasah” in Tahtapazarı Kızılsaray Street, Kasab Hacı Ahmed Madrasah, Hacı Cafer Ağa Madrasah, Murad Ağa Madrasah, Esir Hacı Ali Madrasah, Hacı Hasan Madrasah,“Madrasah built by Hasan Efendi” in Keçiyalar Street, in the Kadılar Street of Gediz County “Madrasah built by Yusuf Efendi”, “Madrasah built by Hızır Efendi” in Cami-i atik Street, Murat Pasha Madrasah, “Sefer Ağa Madrasah” located outside the city wall, “Büyülü Minaret Madrasah, Hatuniye Madrasah, Sheik Sinan Camii Madrasah located outside the city Wall, In addition to these madrasahs mentioned in some studies in Antalya, it is also stated that there are madrasahs such as Müsellim Madrasah, Kesik Minaret Madrasah, Karakas Madrasah, Varsakli Mehmet Efendi Madrasah, Meydan Madrasah, Surmeli Madrasah, Canmülk Madrasah, Ahi Kız Madrasah, Hacı Naim Efendi Madrasah, Susam Madrasah, Çömlekçi Madrasah, Değirmenönü Madrasah, Ak Mescid Madrasah, Âşık Doğan Madrasah and Çukur Madrasah.According to archive documents, in the sub-district of Antalya, which is used as a plateau or plateau area, some madrasahs were recorded as follows: Pınarbaşı Madrasah, Hızır Efendi Madrasah, Mustafa Efendi Madrasah, Emir Sinaneddin Madrasah, Hacı Menlü (Mevlüt) oğlu Ömer Medrese, Abu Bakr Agha Madrasah, Koca Hafız Medrese, Hacı Mollaoğlu El-Hac Ömer Madrasah, Sheikh İsmail Efendi Madrasah. However, Süleyman Fikri Erten, who works on Antalya, stated that the number of madrasahs is eight as: Haci Ahmet Madrasah of Kalkanlı, Sultan Hatun Madrasah, Koparanzade Hacı Hüseyin Madrasah, Karabayırlı Hacı Hüseyin Madrasah, Kaşlı Ali Efendi Madrasah, Hacı Hüseyin Madrasah, Şalaka Ahmet Madrasah and Oyunyeri Madrasah.The madrasahs built in Elmalı, another distict of Antalya, were as follows: Ketenci Ömer Paşa Madrasah, Esbak Mir-i Ahur Hacı Mehmet Bey Madrasah, Haydar Baba Madrasah, Arifî Ahmed Paşa Madrasah, Hüseyin Efendi Madrasah, Debbağ Baba Madrasah, Şeyh Ümmi Sinan Madrasah, Babazade Hacı Abdurrahman Madrasah, Hacı Şeyh Efendi Madrasah, Mustafa Efendi Madrasah, Hasan Efendi Madrasah, Salih Efendi Madrasah, Halil Efendi Madrasah, Çankırlı Madrasah, Osman Efendi Madrasah and “Mehmet Efendi Madrasah in Örtekiz village”. In addition, two madrasahs, except from these, were also found in the archive documents.A madrasah was built almost at every Street of Antalya and the madrasahs were usually named by the name of their builders. Madrasah students were provided with a certain amount of scholarship to continue their education according to the level of the education in the madrasahs and the level of the courses taught, salaries of the scholars, the status of the builder of the madrasah. The scholars who worked in the madrasahs worked with a document called berat-i sharif and in the case of the disappearance of this document a new berat-i sharif would be prepared by the Shaykh al-Islami. Scholars working without this document were also determined. In the scholar appointments foundation, board of trustees, müfti, and the city regents were very influential. There were also some appointments resulted from death, promotion besides leaving job with their own will. There were some problems with the appointments in Antalya and the foundation revenues to which the madrasah was attached were delivered to certain individuals until these problems were resolved.In madrasahs of Antalya, science was given a great importance and all kinds of monetary issues were tired to be eliminated with donations given to both scholars and students. However, it is observed that madrasahs were involved in some events in Antalya. As a matter of fact, among those who participated in the Şah Kulu Rebellion that took place in 1510-1511, there were also madrasah students and education training had therefore been disrupted for a long time. it is known that the state sent orders to the judges (qadi) in the region consecutively in order to prevent the rebellion. Also during this period some madrasahs were used as the activity center of armed students or people who disguised them.One of the issues that negates the education and training in the madrasahs in Antalya is that in 1890 the immigrants started to be hosted in Antalya and the guests visiting were accommodated in madrasahs as there were no other available places. This situation had been continued for a long time and even telegrams have been sent about the students living on the sidewalks.Another important issue that disrupts education was epidemic diseases. It was reported that too many people died in the district of Istanoz because of smallpox, there was no doctor and the health personnel should go to the region urgently. Despite all the problems experienced in madrasahs, they continued their activities in Antalya and while continuing their activities under the control of foundations in 1826, with the establishment of the Ministry of Foundations, they were connected to this institution. (shrink)

Ṣadr al-Dīn Shīrāzī, Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm; -1641; Islamic philosophy.

Time and Fantasy in Narratives of Jihad: The Case of the Islami Jamiat-I-Tuleba in Karachi This article proposes an analytical framework for thinking about violence in the Islami Jamiat-i-Tuleba (IJT), the student organization of Jamaat e Islami (JI), Pakistan's longstanding Islamist party. It prioritises the intersection of the psychic and the social, and the role of politics, history and biography in mediating the modalities, narration and praxis of violence in the city of Karachi. The dominant explanations tend (...) to emphasise political instrumentalism, and structural and ideological factors, and to "Islamicise" the violence, collapsing Islamic rhetoric into an extemporization of conditions, ignoring the deep affective appeal of violence to individuals, and leaving unelaborated the role of intersecting national, local and individual contexts and temporalities in structuring political subjectivity and violent action. (shrink)

On the proofs of existance of God according to Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm Ṣadr al-Dīn Shīrāzī, 1641.

I seek to explicate the ways in which the soul is deemed immaterial in two main strands of Islamic philosophy, and then consider some arguments for the immateriality of the soul. To do so, I first overview Avicenna’s theory of the spiritual incipience (al-ḥudūth al-rūḥānī) of the soul and his version of substance dualism. I will then discuss Mullā Ṣadrā’s view of the physical incipience (al-ḥudūth al-jismānī) of the soul and how the soul emerges and develops towards immateriality on his (...) account. I then overview and discuss five of the most important arguments presented by these two great Muslim philosophers in favor of the immateriality of the soul. To do so, I will also point out some of the main contemporary physicalistic views of the nature of mind and mental states. I will then argue that arguments for the immateriality of the soul – dealt with here – do not indeed target or challenge any significant versions of contemporary physicalism. Moreover, these arguments involve conflations of epistemological or ontological issues. (shrink)

This text is a bilingual Arabic-English translation of one of the most important metaphysical works of the Persian Muslim philosopher known as Mulla Sadra & Sadr al-Din Muhammad al-Shirazi. In this work Mulla Sadra develops an anti-Platonic philosophical position which is non-Aristotelian. He holds that "existents" are ontologically prior to "essence" & that there are two different realms -- the mind dependent domain & entities which exist independent of the mind. Mulla Sadra's views became very popular among (...) Iranian Muslim philosophers & eventually were instrumental in destroying the Aristotelian school of thought in the Islamic world. The translator, Dr. Parviz Morewedge, is the Secretary-Treasurer of the Society for the Study of Islamic Philosophy & Science & has published ten books & numerous articles in Islamic Philosophy & Mysticism. (shrink)

In this article, I will discuss Mulla Sadrā's proof of ideas together with his evaluations of Fārābī, Ibn Sīnā and Suhrawardī's views. The aim of the article is to try to provide a certain opinion about the proof that Sadrā developed. It is seen that Sadrā generally exhibits a dual attitude about ideas. Sadrā's first attitude is to match the theologians' teaching of names, Suhrawardi's view of the master of genres, the sufists' a'yan al-sābita theory and the Peripatetics’ concept of (...) universal with ideas. His second attitude is that he is alone at the point of understanding Plato and reaching the clearness of the issue. In other words, he states that there has been no one who have understood and explained the issue as it should be. Sadrā attributes his own success on the subject both to discovery and inspiration, and to his intellectual research on existence. The aim of Sadrā is to try to unite between Plato and Aristotle. Therefore, he also follows Plotinos and Fārābī, who had this purpose before him. Sadrā, who criticizes Avicenna on the subject, sees Suhrawardī as the philosopher who comes closest to the truth, but states that he is also inadequate in some points. (shrink)

The process of deciding which higher education institution to attend is a very important turning point for an individual who graduates from a secondary education institution and has sufficient central placement score. Making the right decisions at the mentioned turning point is important both for the individual him/herself and for the quality of the future service. In this context, the main purpose of this study, which consists of findings obtained from the descriptive analysis of the answers given to 9 open-ended (...) questions, is to determine the opinions of the individuals who continue higher religious education within the scope of the choice of faculty, the determined goal and the quality of the education. In order to achieve this aim, the research was completed with the participation of 117 students, 54 male and 63 female, studying in the Faculty of Islamic Sciences of Giresun University in the 2019-2020 academic year. According to the data obtained in the study, the participants' interest in the field in the process of choosing the faculty, their interest in the field, especially to receive religious education, affected by factors such as placement score, professional justification, the school they graduated from, the desire to acquire knowledge, family and influence of social environment, desire to serve religion. In addition, concerns about employment have been pointed out as the main reason for turning to higher religious education throughout the country. Considering the targets determined regarding the process before and after higher religious education, continuing higher religious education with graduate education and being a teacher of the RCaM, Qur'an course teacher, Imam hatip, muezzin within the Ministry of National Education and Presidency of Religious Affairs were mentioned. In terms of the quality of teaching, learning techniques based on rote are criticized, while teacher-student interaction in the institution where the education is made is mentioned as a reference increasing the quality of education. (shrink)

Following Avicenna, many Muslim philosophers and logicians have identified ‘intellectual universal’ (kullī ʿaqlī) with the very mental concept dependent on mind. Apart from the controversies about Platonic Forms, they argue that they cannot be the very universals in logic. Accordingly, Mullā Ṣadrā’s commentators have interpreted his view on intellectual universal in the Avicennian framework. In this interpretation, Mullā Ṣadrā has embraced Avicenna’s explanation about mind-dependent universal concepts; however, he has modified some details of the issue as per his theory of (...) the primacy of existence and Plato’s theory of Forms. Having explained Sabzawārī and Ṭabāṭabāʼī’s interpretation of Mullā Ṣadrā’s view in his article, the author goes to propose a different interpretation according to which intellectual universals are identical with Platonic Forms, rather than the mind-dependent universal concepts. This Platonic interpretation is supported by three sets of evidences from Mullā Ṣadrā’s own texts. It also shows how Mullā Ṣadrā has answered Avicenna’s objection about the use of Platonic universal in logic. (shrink)

This book introduces the readers to the fascinating world of Mulla Sadra's thought, one of the most important figures of the later Islamic intellectual tradition. Sadra's "Transcendent Wisdom" is based on the fundamental insight that all things derive their reality and truth from the all-inclusive reality of existence. Along the "four journeys" of his philosophical quest, Sadra produces a world-picture that is a reflection of the infinite symphony of existence and its modalities. His penetrating deliberations on the (...) human state and spiritual anthropology provide one of the most profound statements of the underlying unity between humans, the universe and the Divine. The book takes the reader through the elaborate and rich world of Sadra's intellectual journey and shows its relevance for today's philosophical issues in the Islamic and Western worlds. (shrink)

Ṣadr al-Dīn Shīrāzī, Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm, d. 1641- Criticism and interpretation ; Ḥikmat-i Mutiʻālīyah ; Islamic philosophy.

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Reviewed by:Mullā Ṣadrā and Metaphysics: Modulation of BeingLatimah-Parvin Peerwani ArlingtonMullā Ṣadrā and Metaphysics: Modulation of Being. By Sajjad H. Rizvi. Culture and Civilization in the Middle East Series, edited by Ian Richard Netton. London and New York: Routledge, 2009. Pp. xii + 222. Hardcover $135.00.In Mullā Ṣadrā and Metaphysics: Modulation of Being, Sajjad H. Rizvi focuses on tashkīk (modulation), variously translated as the systematic ambiguity, analogical gradation, or just (...) gradation of being from the perspective of Mullā Ṣadrā, comparing it with classical Islamic philosophy and contemporary Western philosophy. He states that he makes two major claims in this study. First, he argues that modulation is a hermeneutic concept that describes the threefold division of being and its gradation. Second, gradation and modulation occur in each mode of being. Each mode of being refers to a branch of Ṣadrā's philosophy: mental being is a discussion of epistemology and psychology; 'being-in-language' is critical to Sadrian semantic theory; being in re focuses on 'traditional metaphysics.' But the philosophy of Ṣadrā is not compartmentalized; being cuts across these fields and unites them. Each mode of being as modulated shares features of intensification. According to Rizvi, Ṣadrā has extended the normal understanding of modulation and of being beyond the simple division of the two realms of mental and concrete existence to bring out the semantics of being. This aspect of Islamic philosophy, according to Rizvi, has often been neglected (p. 3). [End Page 278]This study consists of an Introduction and two parts. In the Introduction, Rizvi states the problem of tashkīk as the central hermeneutic of Ṣadrian ontology. An analysis of this critical concept, according to Rizvi, facilitates our understanding of Ṣadrā's position on a wide variety of important philosophical issues such as predication, the problem of reconciling unity and plurality in being, and God-world relationship. It provides an answer to the age-old problem of the One and the many, and the median way between the ontological monism of Ibn ʿArabi and the metaphysical pluralism of Avicenna. Rizvi says that according to Ṣadrā there are four levels of being: the concept of being, its reality, its uttered manifestation (sound), and its written manifestation.Part 1 consists of two chapters. In the first chapter Rizvi outlines his methodology and some of his assumptions about the cultural history of the period and the context of Ṣadrā. The significant contention, according to Rizvi, is that a proper understanding of Ṣadrā's philosophy requires an appreciation of philosophy in the Neoplatonic traditions "as a way of life" that is often closely related to spiritual practice and religious commitment. The aim of philosophical inquiry for Ṣadrā, according to Rizvi, is therapy for the rational soul and its perfecting and development in its path of return to its origins in the One.Four methodological approaches are utilized in this study. (1) Tashkīk is seen as the central hermeneutic of Ṣadrian metaphilosophy, and not ontology; Rizvi argues that tashkīk is a central guiding principle in Ṣadrā's metaphilosophy and permeates all branches of his philosophical system. (2) The aporetic method is used in analyzing Ṣadrā's philosophy. (3) Rizvi maintains that Ṣadrā's philosophy is processual, for it represents a shift from substance to process metaphysics. (4) Ṣadrian hikmat (philosophy, wisdom) is approached as a metaphilosophical inquiry. Metaphysics is a foundational science for Ṣadrā, instrumental in the possibility of acquiring knowledge and in the construction of definitions and meaningful discourse. Hikmat, according to Rizvi, is doubly transcendent, (1) as a higher synthesis of Avicennan, Illuminationist, Sufi, and esoteric Shiʿite systematic thought, and (2) as a prophetic philosophy that claims to be derived from direct 'revelation.'The second chapter introduces the tashkīk (modulation) of being. Rizvi traces its historical development from the Aristotelian pros hen homonym to Avicenna, Nasir al-Din Tusi, and Ibn ʿArabi, and offers an account of an intensifying scale of being toward a hierarchy of being that is singular but with multiple degrees defined by their intensity, that is, in terms of scales of intensification and deliberation. He makes explicit the Neoplatonic logic of being that this implies and examines how... (shrink)

Mulla Sadra (c. 1572—1640) Mulla Sadra made major contributions to Islamic metaphysics and to Shi’i theology during the Safavid period (1501-1736) in Persia. He started his career in the context of a rising culture that combined elements from the Persian past with the newly institutionalized Shi’ism and Sufi teachings. Mulla Sadra was heir to a […].

Yüksek din öğretimi kurumları diğer alanlar gibi günümüzde üniversite bünyesinde faaliyet göstermektedir. Ülkeler tarihsel, kültürel ve devlet yapıları doğrultusunda kendi kurumlarını kurup geliştirmekle birlikte, dünyadaki benzer diğer kurumların tecrübe ve birikimlerinin öğrenilmesi üniversitelerin gelişimi için önem arzetmektedir. Karşılaştırmalı çalışmaların bu konuda dikkate değer katkıları bulunmaktadır. Bu çalışmada, Malezya ve Türkiye'deki yüksek din öğretimi tarih, mevcut durum, hedefler, program yapısı, öğrenci kabulü ve mezun istihdam edilebilirliği gibi 6 farklı tema üzerinden karşılaştırılması hedeflenmektedir. Malezya ve Türkiye, nüfuslarının çoğunluğu Müslüman olmakla birlikte, devlet (...) ve toplum yapısı açısından birbirinden oldukça farklı iki ülkeyi temsil etmektedirler. Nitel, literatür bazlı olan bu çalışma doküman analizine dayanmaktadır. Her iki ülkedeki yüksek din öğretimini anlamak ve ortaya koymak amacıyla resmi belgeler, akademik makaleler ve internet kaynakları kullanılmıştır. Makalenin bulguları şöyledir: Türkiye'de yüksek din öğretiminin gelişimi kesintili olmuştur ve önemli siyasi değişimler yüksek din eğitimini etkilemiş olduğundan din siyaseti ile yakından ilişkilidir. Buna karşılık, Malezya'da yüksek din öğretiminin gelişimi daha istikrarlı olmuştur. Siyasi partilerin din siyaseti ve seçim hesapları Malezya'daki yüksek İslami öğretimini etkilemiş olsa da, bu en azından kurumlarının kapanmalarına veya sayılarının dramatik bir şekilde azaltılmasına yol açmamıştır. Güncele bakıldığında yüksek din öğretimi kurumlarının her iki ülkede de gelişmekte olduğu, ancak Türkiye'de bunun (en azıdan sayısal olarak) Malezya'dan daha hızlı olduğu anlaşılmaktadır. Yüksek din öğretiminin amaçlarıyla ilgili olarak, amaçların ve program çıktılarının ulusal bir kurum tarafından belirlendiği Malezya'da Ehl-i Sünnet ve'l-Cemaat ve dinini icra eden öğrencilerin yetiştirilmesine doğrudan atıflar vardır. Türkiye'de tarihsel olarak, ilahiyat fakültelerinin resmi misyonları, kısmen ilahiyatın laik bir üniversitedeki yerini meşrulaştırmak amacıyla modern amaçlara/kavramlara daha çok yer vermekte idi. Ancak son yıllarda açıkça İslami değer ve kavramlara atıflar yapan amaç ve misyonlar belirlenmektedir. Ancak ilahiyat/İslami ilimler fakültelerinin amaçlarını belirleyen ulusal bir kurumun olmaması nedeniyle, resmi misyon ve vizyon ifadeleri düzensiz görünmektedir, ancak akreditasyon süreci daha ortak ve bütünlüklü amaç ve program çıktılarının belirlenmesini sağlayabilir. Türkiye'de yüksek din öğretimi, Malezya’nın aksine, resmi olarak İslam'ın herhangi bir mezhebini benimsememekte olup, bu çoğulculuk ve çeşitliliğin olduğu modern bir toplum için daha uyumlu ve bütünleştirici olma fırsatı sunmaktadır. Malezya'da İslami bilgiyi mesleki bilgiyle bütünleştirmeyi amaçlayan farklı yüksek din öğretimi programları vardır. Bu, çok yönlü ve disiplinler arası programların ve uzmanlıkların oluşturulmasını sağlamıştır. Bu programlardan mezun olanlar ise güvenlikten finansa, yargıdan din hizmetlerine kadar çok farklı mesleklerde çalışabilmektedir. Türkiye’deki yüksek din öğretimi fakülteleri ise sadece tek bir program sunmakta olup, çoklu ve disiplinler arası programlar bulunmamaktadır. İki ülke arasındaki bir diğer önemli fark, öğrenci kabul sürecidir. Malezya'da farklı ortaöğretim sonrası eğitim/sınav sistemleri bulunurken, Türkiye'de merkezi bir üniversite giriş sınavı vardır. Farklı sınav sistemlerine rağmen, Malezya'da öğrencilerin İslami ilimler programlarına kaydolabilmeleri için İslam eğitimi, Arapça ve İngilizce konularında sağlam bir altyapıya sahip olmaları gerekmektedir; Türkiye'de ise üniversite sınavında din eğitimi ile ilgili çok az soru bulunmakta; bu nedenle, yüksek din öğretimi için din eğitimi, Arapça veya İngilizce herhangi bir altyapıya gerek bulunmamaktadır. Bu, din eğitimi geçmişi olmayanlar için bir fırsat olsa da, ilahiyat/İslami ilimler fakültelerinin Kuran okumayı öğretmek gibi en basit işlerden başlaması problemini gündeme getirmektedir. Son olarak, her iki ülkede de yüksek din öğretimi mezunlarının istihdam edilebilirliğinin en acil sorunlardan biri olduğu, ancak bu sorunun Türkiye'de Malezya'dan daha fazla olduğu anlaşılmaktadır. (shrink)

This paper first explores in detail a regenerated theory in philosophy of mind, known among contemporary philosophers as ‘emergentism’. By distinguishing strong and weak versions of the theory, I explain two important explanatory challenges presented by physicalists against this theory. In the following, I provide a brief overview of Sadr al-Muta’allihin’s theory of the incipience and degrees of the soul, examining similarities and differences between this theory and strong emergentism. Then, underlining the main aspects of similarity between the two theories, (...) I consider the challenges presented by physicalists against emergentism as reconstructible against Sadra’s theory. Surveying some explanations by Sadraean philosophers of the soul-body relationship, I ultimately argue that Sadra’s theory is inadequate in face of the objections and doubts raised by contemporary physicalists. My assessment is that Sadra’s philosophy is in need of further development to meet those explanatory challenges. (shrink)

The eastern Islamic concept of the imaginal realm, which explains how supra-sensory realities present themselves to imaginative perception, can enrich the imagination of film-philosophy. The imaginal realm, in Arabic ‘alam al-mithal, world of images, or ‘alam al-khayal, imaginative world, is part of a triadic ontology of sensible, imaginal, and intelligible realms. Diverging from roots shared with Western thought in the concept of the imaginative faculty, the Islamic imaginal realm is supra-individual and more real than matter. The imaginal realm is a (...) radically pro-image concept, affirming the importance of poetry, art, and images in motion. As developed by the Persian philosopher Sadr al-Dîn Muhammad al-Shîrâzî, known as Mullâ Sadrâ (1571–1640), the imaginal realm flows and intensifies, in a process philosophy we may fruitfully compare with Spinoza, Leibniz, and Whitehead. I sketch the genealogy of the imaginal realm and compare it to contemporary Western film-philosophy. I suggest how this transcendental concept can be made immanent. Finally, I draw from contemporary Muslim thinkers, such as Mohammed Arkoun, who ground a visionary collective politics in the imaginal realm. My central example, the documentary The Lebanese Rocket Society (2012) by Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joriege, exemplifies film's imaginal powers. (shrink)

Man; destiny; Islamic philosophy; Ph. D. dissertation.

At the title of this article, we have introduced Mulla Sadra as the "founder of the wisdom of Throne" and, thus, it is befitting to go to analyze the notions of ``wisdom'' and ``throne''.Given to Mulla Sadra's points of view about the "wisdom, some important points can be inferred:First: wisdom must deal, instead of particular things, with the understanding of universal ones.Second: wisdom is, in fact, to do good acts.Third: wisdom is to follow the Lord in safeguarding the (...) nation as well as in ruling on the subordinates.Fourth: wisdom means resemblance to God, to the extent of man's capability, in various aspects.Now we go to survey in the connotation of the Throne.Throne means, verbally, seat and roof.Sages and philosophers think that by the Throne, the macrocosm or the ``Supreme Throne''"is meant. In his al-Shawahid al-rububiyyah, however, Mulla Sadra writes: The sphere of Atlas, i.e. the ninth sphere, which encompasses, according to Ptolemaic system, all other spheres as well as the material world, is devoid of stars. And in terminology of the people of mysticism and wisdom, the Supreme Throne, which is the formal base of the Divine absolute decree, is beyond the human sense and intuition; for, because of its greatness and encompassing all the world and perfect connection with the world of ideas, it seems to be among the immaterial things and the world of ideas, which are free of, and beyond, the human senses. (shrink)

Sad al-Din Dashtaki, and following him, Mulla Sadra Shirazi maintains that all real compositions are unified. After a short review of Dashtaki’s thesis, we concentrate on Mulla Sadra’s version. Mulla Sadra believes that Dashtaki’s version is not coherent and he declines the existence of real parts. We will argue that Mulla Sadra’s objections do not work and furthermore, all things said and done there is no difference between these two versions of the thesis of unified composition. (...) If there is any difference, it is about their theory of existence, not about their theory of composition. Sad al-Din Dashtaki, and following him, Mulla Sadra Shirazi maintains that all real compositions are unified. After a short review of Dashtaki’s thesis, we concentrate on Mulla Sadra’s version. Mulla Sadra believes that Dashtaki’s version is not coherent and he declines the existence of real parts. We will argue that Mulla Sadra’s objections do not work and furthermore, all things said and done there is no difference between these two versions of the thesis of unified composition. If there is any difference, it is about their theory of existence, not about their theory of composition. (shrink)

Feminist scholarship on women in religious and right-wing social and political movements has moved from a reductive focus on causal or motivational factors to more sophisticated analyses explicating processes of agency and subject formation. With the aim of expanding and deepening this conceptual space, I will discuss some of my interactions with a group of women in the Jamaat-e-Islami in Pakistan, as we attempted to explore the complex meanings of ‘the modern’ that informed the self-understanding of my interviewees. My (...) work corroborates some of the contemporary scholarship on what is referred to as Political Islam in arguing that Islamist movements in Muslim societies are also the catalysts of modernization, rather than simply its interlocutors. This article argues that these processes of social and political organizing entail particular interrogations and the reconstituting of identities in ways that blur the line between ‘the religious’ and ‘the secular’. On the one hand, we need to understand Jamaat women's self-construction as religious or pious women; on the other hand, we must grasp the specificity of their claims to act as modern subjects situated in the time of political and cultural modernity. (shrink)

This book is a comparative study of two major Shīʿī thinkers Ḥamīd al-Dīn Kirmānī from the Fatimid Egypt and Mullā Ṣadrā from the Safavid Iran, demonstrating the mutual empowerment of discourses on knowledge formation and religio-political authority in certain Ismaʿili and Twelver contexts. The book investigates concepts, narratives, and arguments that have contributed to the generation and development of the discourse on the absolute authority of the imam and his representatives. To demonstrate this, key passages from primary texts in Arabic (...) and Persian are translated and closely analyzed to highlight the synthesis of philosophical, Sufi, theological, and scriptural discourses. The book also discusses the discursive influence of Naṣīr al-Dīn Ṭūsī as a key to the transmission of Ismaʿili narratives of knowledge and authority to later Shīʿī philosophy and its continuation to modern and contemporary times particularly in the narrative of the guardianship of the jurist in the Islamic Republic of Iran. (shrink)

This research endeavors to introduce a novel concept in ethics, namely ethics based on the primacy of existence, drawing upon Aṣālat al-wujūd, the theory of the primacy of existence in ontology. Mullā Sadrā's philosophy, which has three basic tenets—the primacy of existence, substantial motion (Ḥarakat-i Juharī), and gradation in existence (Tashkīk-i wujūd)—is the basis for this doctrine. The primacy of existence holds that quiddity is a mental construct and that existence is fundamental. The writers distinguished between two conceptions of ethics (...) in this regard: one based on existence and the other on quiddity. Human quiddity is fixed and does not grade, hence ethics based on quiddity's primacy will always be fixed and the same for every individual. Moral obligations are universal and shared by all individuals. On the other hand, moral obligations for humans might vary depending on their existential status, according to ethics grounded in the primacy of existence. Moral oughts and ought nots are established by human existential grades in this ethics. This ethical model is flexible and dynamic. (shrink)

Mīr Dāmād, in Qabasāt argues that existence cannot be a real property for essences. If existence, he argues, were a real property of an essence, there would remain no distinction between simple-if and compound-if questions. It is well-known that Mullā Sadrā has given three different accounts in order to explain essence’s being existent: first that existence is an analytical property for essence; second that none of existence or essence is a property of the other one; and third that essence is (...) a property of existence. In this paper, I will argue that the first account would be defeated by Mīr Dāmād’s argument. The second account concedes the conclusion of the argument and then it would be in contrary with Mullasadra’s own view on the reality of existence, unless this account is augmented with the third one. The third account, however, can evade the argument. But it should be noted that the third account is based on Mullasadra’s own view on the reality of existence and the primacy of existence to essence. Keywords: existence, to be existent, simple-if question, compound-if question, property. 1. Introductıon In al-’Ufuq al-Mubīn Mīr Dāmād claims that not all predicates of a subject manifest a real property for that subject. A real property of a subject is something which is superadded to the subject. Examples include a body’s being red or a body’s being above another body. In such cases, the predicates correspond with some feature of the subjects which are not the same as those subjects, in reality. This is opposed to the body’s being itself, for example. In this case, the body itself is not something which is superadded to the body. 2. Mīr dāmād agaınst the realıty of exıstence The controversial example is essence’s being existent. Is the existence of an essence something superadded to the essence? In Mīr Dāmād’s words, is existence a real property for essence? Mīr Dāmād, in Qabasāt argues that existence cannot be a real property for essences. For this end, he notifies that there is a distinction between propositions that is parallel to the distinction between real and non-real properties. If P is a real property for a, then the proposition that a is P is a compound-if proposition. On the other hand, it is a commonplace that the only example of simple-if propositions is one that contains existence as its predicate. Now, he continues, suppose that existence is a real property. Then, the proposition that a exists would become a compound-if proposition. But this contradicts the well-established premise that the proposition that a exists is a simple-if proposition. Consequently, he argues, if existence were a real property of an essence, there would remain no distinction between simple-if and compound-if questions. The major problem that Mīr Dāmād is dealing with is how to explain essence’s being existent. His view is that, in reality, essence’s being existent is nothing but the essence itself. He, then, goes a step forward and claims that existence is nothing in reality. We only have the concept of existence in our minds. With these moves Mīr Dāmād, in some sense, resolves the problem of the relationship between essence and existence, in reality. 3. Mullā sadrā on the relatıonshıp between exıstence and essence It is well-known that Mullā Sadrā, Mīr Dāmād’s pupil, was in disagreement with the teacher with respect to the reality of existence. He believes that existence is a real entity in the world as opposed to essence. So, he should explain how essence is existent. Actually, he has given three different accounts in order to explain essence’s being existent. Mullā Sadrā’s first account is that existence is an analytical property for essence. He defines analytical property as the following: P is an analytic property for a iff a cannot be but not has P. Mullā Sadrā’s second explanation is that none of existence or essence is a property of the other one. His third thesis is that essence is a property of existence. 4. Mullā sadrā v.s. mīr dāmād My major concern in this paper is this problem: which of these three accounts for essence’s being existent offered by Mullā Sadrā can overcome Mīr Dāmād’s seminal argument? The first account would be defeated by Mīr Dāmād’s argument, since, any kind of real property, whether it is analytical or not, are associated with a compound-if proposition. This causes essence’s being existent to be manifested by a compound-if proposition. The second account concedes the conclusion of the argument. As we saw, Mīr Dāmād claims that the conclusion of his argument guarantees that existence is nothing in the world. This cannot be swallowed by Mullā Sadrā whose own view is that existence is real. The third account, however, can evade the argument, insofar as existence is not a property of essence. But it should be noted that the third account is based on Mullasadra’s own view on the reality of existence and the primacy of existence to essence. 5. Concluding remarks If the arguments rendered above are sound, we reach to a criterion in order to interpret Mullā Sadrā’s view on the relationship between existence and essence: his thesis that existence is real is more fundamental than his explanation for the problem of essence’s being existence. (shrink)

Mullā ‘Alī Nūrī was an indispensable link in the transmission ofMullā Sadrā’s teachings and an important commentator of his works.In my article, I’ll focus on one of them – a short treatise, entitled“Basīt al-haqīqa wa wahdat al-wujūd,” which deals with the modes ofthingness and existence in general, and the socalled“illuminative relation” in particular.The most significant statements Nūrī makes in this brief work consistin the identification of thingness with existence and the “breath of theMerciful” with the “illuminative relation”. I intendto examine (...) these two important points and the employedargumentation in detail, showing how Nūrī exploited some ideas,current in the Kalām and theoretical Sufism, to the benefit of thedoctrine of Mullā Sadrā. (shrink)

I should, I suppose, begin by taking some personal responsibility for this controversy. When my late friend Hossein Ziai and I published our edition and translation of Suhrawardī’s Ḥikmat al-Ishrāq (hereafter Philosophy of Illumination), we chose “innate” as our rendering of fiṭrī. I don’t remember discussing the rendering, and we did not bother to mention it in the glossary. Hossein had used this rendering in his first book, Knowledge and Illumination, stating that “innate ideas serve as the grounds for knowledge.”1 (...) Others, however, have rendered the term and its source, fiṭra, as “nature,” “natural spirit,”2 or “innate disposition.”3So what does fiṭra mean? Al-Tahānawī, in his dictionary of Islamic technical .. (shrink)

Over the last few decades the study of Shīʿī Islam has witnessed a growing interest in specific aspects and perspectives of Shīʿī philosophers and theologians. The monograph authored by Sayeh Meisami focuses on the views of two of the most influential thinkers in Shīʿī, namely the eleventh century Ismāʿīlī thinker Ḥāmid al-Kirmānī and the Twelver mystic and thinker Ṣadr al-Dīn al-Shīrāzī, better known as Mullā Ṣadrā. Throughout the five chapters, the textual comparative analysis of their thought shows how multifaceted epistemological (...) and cosmological keys are transmitted from al-Kirmānī to Mullā Ṣadra, and ultimately become interwoven with their respective theories about the legitimacy of the Imām. Epistemology, cosmology, and political theory thus become, in the author’s analysis, the fil rouge that characterize the development of Shīʿī mystical and political philosophies up to the advent of Ayatollah Khomeini and the Islamic Republic of Iran. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Books ReceivedThe Act of Being: The Philosophy of Revelation in Mullā Sadrā. By Christian Jambet. Brooklyn: Zone Books, 2006. Pp. 497. Hardcover $38.95.Analysis in Śaṅkara Vedānta: The Philosophy of Ganeswar Misra. Edited by Bijayananda Kar. New Delhi: Indian Council of Philosophical Research, 2006. Pp. xxv + 190. Hardcover Rs. 240.00.Bhakti and Philosophy. By R. Raj Singh. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2006. Pp. 112. Hardcover $65.00.Brahman and the Ethos of Organization. (...) By Leonard R. Silos. Paseo de Roxas: Asian Institute of Management, 2006. Pp. xix + 344. Price not given.Buddhist Inclusivism: Attitudes Towards Religious Others. By Kristin Beise Kiblinger. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Company, 2005. Pp. viii + 145. Hardcover $89.95.Classical Northern Wu Style Tai Ji Quan: The Fighting Art of the Manchurian Palace Guard. By Tina Chunna Zhang and Frank Allen. Berkeley: Blue Snake Books, 2006. Pp. xiii + 203. Paper $21.95.Classical Sāṃkhya and Yoga: An Indian Metaphysics of Experience. By Mikel Burley. London and New York: Routledge, 2007. Pp. xiv + 226. Price not given.Comparative Philosophy and Religion in Times of Terror. Edited by Douglas Allen. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2006. Pp. xiv + 257. Hardcover $62.00. Paper $32.00.Contemplative Science: Where Buddhism and Neuroscience Converge. By B. Alan Wallace. New York: Columbia University Press, 2007. Pp. vii + 211. Hardcover $29.50, £19.00.Contexts and Dialogue: Yogācāra Buddhism and Modern Psychology on the Subliminal Mind. By Tao Jiang. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2006. Pp. xi + 198. Paper $20.00.Dialogue Transcultural. Edited by Yue Diayun et al. Nanjing: Jiangsu Peoples Press, 2006. Pp. 335. Price not given.Dōgen on Meditation and Thinking: A Reflection on His View of Zen. By Hee-Jin Kim. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2006. Pp. xiii + 169. Hardcover $65.50. Paper $21.95.The Garden of Loneliness: A Translation of Jayshankar Prasad's Āṅsū, "Tears." By Charles S. J. White. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2006. Pp. xv + 136. Hardcover Rs. 295. [End Page 608]The Happening of Tradition: Vallabha on Anumāna in Nyāyalīlāvatī. By Anna-Pya Sjödin. Stockholm: Elanders Gotab, 2006. Pp. 195. Price not given.Head, Eyes, Flesh, and Blood: Giving Away the Body in Indian Buddhist Literature. By Reiko Ohnuma. 2006. Pp. xvii + 372. Hardcover $45.00, £29.00.Hwa Yu T'ai Chi Ch'uan: Unlocking the Mysteries of the Five-Word Song. By Glenn D. Newth. Berkeley: Blue Snake Books, 2007. Pp. xiii + 160. U.S. $18.95. Can $24.95.A Jewish Philosopher of Baghdad: 'Izz al-Dawla Ibn Kammūna (d. 683/1284) and His Writings. By Reza Pourjavady and Sabine Schmidtke. Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2006. Pp. xii + 274. Hardcover $130.00, €100.Letting Be: Fred Dallmayr's Cosmopolitical Vision. Edited by Stephen F. Schneck. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 2006. Pp. x + 382. Paper $35.00.Myth and the Existential Quest. By Vassilis Vitsaxis and translated by Deborah Brown Kazazis and Vassilis Vitsaxis. Boston: Somerset Hall Press, 2006. Pp. 301. Hardcover $49.95. Paper $39.95.Nietzsche-Buddha-Zarathustra: Eine West-Ost Konfiguration. By Michael Skowron. Daegu: Kyungpook National University Press, 2006. Pp. 293. Paper $18.00, Won 17,000.Popularizing Buddhism: Preaching as Performance in Sri Lanka. By Mahinda Deegalle. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2006. Pp. xiii + 241. Hardcover $65.00. Paper $21.95.Ramana Maharashi: The Sage of Arunachala. By Arvind Sharma. New Delhi: Penquin Group, 2006. Pp. 215. Hardcover Rs. 295.Readings in Han Chinese Thought. Edited and translated by Mark Csikszentmihalyi. Indianapolis and Cambridge: Hackett Publishing Company, 2006. Pp. xxx + 220. Hardcover $39.95. Paper $14.95.Religions of Korea in Practice. Edited by Robert E. Buswell Jr. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2007. Pp. xx + 542. Paper $24.95, £15.95.The Scripture on Great Peace: The Taiping jing and the Beginnings of Daoism. By Barbara Hendrischke. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006. Pp. x + 410. Hardcover $60.00, £38.95.The Self 's Awareness of Itself: Bhaṭṭa Rāmakantha's Arguments against the Buddhist Doctrine of No-Self. By Alex Watson. Vienna: Sammlung de Nobili, 2006. Pp. 433. Price not given... (shrink)

As an exercise in comparative philosophical theology, our approach is more concerned with conceptual strategies than with historical “influences,” although the animadversions of those versed in the history of each period will assist in reading the texts of each thinker. We need historians to make us aware of the questions to which thinkers of other ages and cultures were directing their energies, as well as the forms of thought available to them in making their response; but we philosophers hope to (...) be able to proceed without having to arm ourselves with extensive knowledge of the surrounding milieu, trusting that others more knowledgeable will correct and extend our efforts. Our contribution should then be one of offering perspectives within which further discourse may profitably proceed, suitably challenged and amended in the course of a common inquiry. Since my familiarity is with Aquinas, and since he comes chronologically first, I shall begin with him, though there is no discernible connection between the two thinkers other than their preoccupation with establishing the primacy of existing in a metaphysical discourse which had hitherto obscured its significance. (shrink)

As an exercise in comparative philosophical theology, our approach is more concerned with conceptual strategies than with historical although the animadversions of those versed in the history of each period will assist in reading the texts of each thinker. We need historians to make us aware of the questions to which thinkers of other ages and cultures were directing their energies, as well as the forms of thought available to them in making their response; but we philosophers hope to be (...) able to proceed without having to arm ourselves with extensive knowledge of the surrounding milieu, trusting that others more knowledgeable will correct and extend our efforts. Our contribution should then be one of offering perspectives within which further discourse may profitably proceed, suitably challenged and amended in the course of a common inquiry. Since my familiarity is with Aquinas, and since he comes chronologically first, I shall begin with him, though there is no discernible connection between the two thinkers other than their preoccupation with establishing the primacy of existing in a metaphysical discourse which had hitherto obscured its significance. (shrink)

İslamî ilimlerin eğitim-öğretiminde şiir kullanımının Türk İslam Edebiyatında bir geleneği temsil ettiği söylenebilir. Nitekim ta‘lîm için siyer, hadis, fıkıh, kelam, tasavvuf vb. İslamî ilimlerin konularına dair mensûr olduğu gibi manzûm eserler de telif edilmiştir. Bu durum ise Türk Edebiyatında el-esmâü’l-hüsnâ, siyer, kırk hadîs, akâidnâme gibi bazı manzûm türlerin doğmasını sağlamıştır. Bilinebilen eser sayısı itibariyle Türkçe manzûm tecvîdler de bu türler arasına girmeye aday niteliktedir. Bu bağlamda çalışma; Türkçe manzûm tecvîd müelliflerinden biri olan Şeyhî’nin hayatını ve “Nazmu’l-Ehem fî İlmi’t-Tecvîdi’l-Elzem” adlı eserini (...) konu edinmektedir. Eser; Türkçe manzûm tecvîd yazma geleneğini devam ettirmesi ve türünün başarılı örneklerinden biri olması hasebiyle ayrı bir öneme sahiptir. Çalışma, Nazmu’l-Ehemm ’in tenkitli metin neşrinin yanı sıra eğitim-öğretim faaliyetlerinde yararlanıldığı düşünülen Türkçe manzûm tecvîdlerin işlevini yazar-eser özelinde gün yüzüne çıkarmayı hedeflemektedir. (shrink)

İrap Arap dili ve İslami ilimlere dair tedvin faaliyetlerinin başlangıcından bu yana önemini devam ettiren bir olgudur. Bu sebeple farklı alanları konu alan İslami ilimlerin çoğunda esas alınan unsurlardan birisi olmuştur. Bu alanlardan biri olan ve öncelikli hedefi Kur’ân’ın anlaşılmasına katkı sağlamak olan tefsirin de önemli bir parçasıdır. Zira dile ait özelliklerin tam manasıyla gözetilmesiyle ancak doğru bir tefsir faaliyetinden söz etmek mümkün olabilmektedir. Arap dilinin tefsirle ilgili en bariz özelliklerinden biri ise iraptır. Bundan dolayı her bir müfessirin tefsir yönteminde (...) irap önemli bir yer işgal etmektedir. Tefsirinde iraba önemli bir yer ayıran müfessirlerden Beyzâvî, İslam âleminde ve özellikle Osmanlı âlimleri nazarında kabul görmüş bir müfessirdir. Nitekim tefsiri; şerh, haşiye, ihtisar vb. yönlerden başka çalışmalara konu olmuştur. Ayrıca bazı tefsir çalışmaları da bu tefsir esas alınarak oluşturulmuştur. Bu çalışmada Beyzâvî ve Osmanlı dönemi âlimlerinden olan Lütfullah el-Erzurûmî’nin tefsiri, irabı ele alışları noktasında karşılaştırılmıştır. Lütfullah el-Erzurûmî’nin iraba dair görüşlerinin çoğuna Beyzâvî’nin kaynaklık ettiği, Beyzâvî ile aynı düşündüğü noktalarda onun görüşlerini özetleme, açıklama veya yorumlama yoluna gittiği görülmüştür. Bazı durumlarda ise kendisinin dile ve özellikle iraba vukufiyetini gösteren bir tarzda Beyzâvî’nin görüşlerine katılmamıştır. Bu durumda Zemahşerî, Râzî, Ebû Hayyân başta olmak üzere daha başka müfessirlerin görüşleriyle kendi görüşünü desteklemiştir. Bazı örnekler üzerinden iki müfessirin iraba dair görüşlerinin karşılaştırmalı incelemesini yapan bu çalışmada bu iki müfessirin eserlerinden başka tefsirlerinde irabın önemli bir yer işgal ettiği zikri geçen müelliflerin eserleri de konuyla ilgisi bağlamında incelenmiştir. Özet: Açıklamak ve beyan etmek anlamlarına gelen i‘râb, Arap dilinde kelimelerin sonlarındaki alametleri düzenleyerek, kelimelerin birbirleriyle irtibatlarını kuran ve bu sayede anlam değerlerini belirleyen kurallar sistemidir. Dolayısıyla i‘râb, cümlede anlam belirsizliklerini ortadan kaldırarak anlam inceliklerinin ortaya çıkmasını sağlayan ve bu sayede sözdeki derin anlamların anlaşılma yolunu kolaylaştıran bir role sahiptir. Bu yüzden i‘râb, Arap dilcilerinin yanı sıra hadis, fıkıh, kelam gibi dile ilişkin özelliklerin gözetildiği alanlarda eser veren müelliflerin de çalışmalarını dayandırdıkları temel noktalardan birisi olmuştur. Kur’ân-ı Kerîm’in tefsirinde de i‘râb başta gelen unsurlardan biri olmuştur. Nitekim i‘râb kaidelerinin konulmasındaki temel dinamik, Kur’ân’ı Kerîm’i lahn adı verilen hatalı okumalardan korumak olmuştur. Tefsirciler de Kur’ân’ı Kerîm’i anlamada i‘râbdan çokça faydalanmışlardır. Tefsîr-i Beyzâvî diye de bilinen Envâru’t-tenzîl ve esrâru’t-te’vîl adlı eserinde Kur’ân’ı anlamada i‘râb özelliklerine sıkça başvuran âlimlerden birisi meşhur tefsirci Abdullah b. Muhammed el-Beyzâvî’dir (ö. 685/1286). Bu eser ilim çevreleri tarafından kabul görmüş bir tefsirdir. Beyzâvî gibi tefsirinde i‘râbı çokça kullanan bir diğer alim Muhammed b. Lutfullah el-Erzurûmî (ö. 1202/1788) olup Göğsügür Lütfullah Efendi olarak da bilinmektedir. Osmanlı dönemi âlimlerinden olan ve birçok ilim dalında eser veren Lutfullah el-Erzurûmî’nin tefsirinin adı Râmûzu’t-tahrîr ve’t-tefsîr olup bu tefsirin dil ve i‘râb özelliklerine geniş yer ayırması sebebiyle lugavî tefsir olarak da nitelendirilmesi mümkündür. Müellif bu tefsirinde Beyzâvî’nin i‘râba dair görüşlerinden istifade etmenin yanında çoğu zaman onun görüşlerini açıklama yoluna gitmiştir. Bununla birlikte i‘râba dair mevzularda Zemahşerî, Râzî, Ebû Hayyân ve daha başka âlimlerin görüşlerinden de yararlanmıştır. Bu çalışmada Beyzâvî’nin Envâru’t-tenzîl ve esrâru’t-te’vîl’i ile Lütfullah el-Erzurûmî’nin Râmûzu’t-tahrîr ve’t-tefsîr’i, i‘râbı ele alışları açısından karşılaştırmalı olarak incelenmiştir. Çalışmada bu iki tefsirin seçilmesindeki belirleyici etken eserlerin i‘râbı ele alış yöntemlerinin benzerlik arz etmesidir. Bazı örnekler üzerinden konuyu karşılaştırmalı olarak inceleyen bu çalışmanın amacı iki müfessirin Kur’ân ayetlerini anlamada i‘râba yaklaşımlarını tespit etmek suretiyle bu iki müfessir arasındaki i‘râb değerlendirmeleri bağlamındaki ilişkinin niteliğini belirlemektir. Çalışmanın diğer bir amacı Beyzâvî’den sonra yaşamış olan Lütfullah el-Erzurûmî’nin onunla aynı düşündüğü veya farklı görüşe sahip olduğu noktalardaki değerlendirmelerini incelemektir. Bu noktada, her iki eserde yer alan i‘râb örnekleri üzerinden incelenen konu, eserlerinde i‘râba geniş yer veren Zemahşerî, Râzî, Ebû Hayyân ve daha başka tefsircinin görüşleriyle de mukayeseli olarak değerlendirilmiştir. Bu çalışmada i‘râba dair görüşleri değerlendirilen her iki alim kuşkusuz çeşitli yönleriyle birçok çalışmaya konu olmuştur. Yıllar geçtikçe şöhreti daha da artan ve eserleri daha çok ilgi gören Beyzâvî hakkındaki çalışmalar daha fazladır. Konumuzla alakalı olarak tefsirindeki yöntemi ve ayetleri anlamlandırmada i‘râbı kullanış tarzını inceleyen çalışmalar bulunmaktadır. Ancak bu çalışma, önceki çalışmalardan farklı olarak Beyzâvî’nin tefsirindeki yöntemi ve tefsirde dile ait özellikleri ve i‘râbı nasıl kullandığını açıklamaktan ziyade Beyzâvî ile ondan sonra yaşamış olan Lütfullah el-Erzurûmî’nin tefsirlerinde irabı ele alış tarzlarını mukayeseyi konu edinmektedir. Diğer taraftan Lütfullah el-Erzurûmî, Beyzâvî kadar çalışılmamış olsa da bazı eserlerinin çeşitli çalışmalara konu olduğu görülmektedir. Eserlerini dil yönünden inceleyen çalışmalar da bulunmaktadır. Ancak bu çalışma Beyzâvî’nin tefsirde i‘râbı ele alışını da değerlendirmekle birlikte iki müellifin bu konudaki görüşlerinin kıyaslamasını yaparak tefsirinde Beyzâvî’nin i‘râba dair görüşlerine başvuran Lütfullah el-Erzurûmî’nin onunla ittifak ettiği ve farklı düşündüğü tarafları ve bu farklılıkların kaynaklarını ortaya koymaya çalışmaktadır. Ayrıca Lütfullah el-Erzurûmî’nin Beyzâvî’yle ortak görüşe sahip olduğu noktalarda onun görüşlerini ele alış tarzının alıntılama, açıklama veya atıf yapma gibi şekillerden hangisiyle gerçekleştiğini tespit ederek buradan bir değerlendirme yapmayı amaçlamaktadır. Öte yandan farklı düşündüğü noktalarda ise bu görüşün önceki âlimlerin görüşlerinin değerlendirilmesi neticesinde birinin diğerine tercih edilmesi şeklinde mi yoksa bizzat müellifin kendi görüşü mü olduğu belirlenmeye çalışmaktadır. Çalışmaya konu olan iki eserdeki i‘râba dair mevzuların ele alınış biçimiyle ilgili olarak şu sonuçlara ulaşılmıştır: Lütfullah el-Erzurûmî çoğunlukla Beyzâvî’nin görüşüne tabi olmuştur. Beyzâvî’nin çoğu görüşünü özetleme yoluna gitse de bazı durumlarda açıklama yapma ihtiyacı hissetmiştir. Çalışmada bazı örnekleri sunulan bu konuya dair daha çok örnek her iki müellifin eserinden verilebilir. İhtilaf ettiği konularda ise diğer tefsirlerde daha isabetli gördüğü görüşleri sunmuştur. Beyzâvî’ye katılmadığı noktalarda ise başta Zemahşerî’nin Keşşâf’ı olmak üzere Râzî’nin Mefâtîhu’l-gayb’ı, Ebû Hayyân’ın el-Bahru’l-muhît’i ve daha başka tefsirlerdeki i‘râba dair görüşlerden yararlanmıştır. Bazı görüşlerinde ise gerek Beyzâvî gerek diğer müfessirlerin görüşlerine katılmayarak kendi görüşünü belirtmiştir. İraba dair bu değerlendirmeler, önceden dile getirilmemiş müellife ait bir görüş olabildiği gibi anlamı belirlemede açık etkisi olan herhangi bir görüşün üstün tutulması tarzında da tezahür edebilmiştir. Lütfullah el-Erzurûmî, Beyzâvî’nin görüşlerine katıldığı durumlarda bunu çeşitli deliller sunarak gerekçelendirmiştir. Bu husus, kadim müfessirleri takip eden sonraki müfessirlerin tefsirdeki rolünün sadece özetleme veya şerh etme şeklinde gerçekleşmediğini, bilakis kendilerine has yöntem, değerlendirme ve kıstaslarının bulunduğunu göstermektedir. Öte yandan çalışmaya konu olan iki eserin karşılaştırılmasıyla ortaya çıkan bu sonuçlar, kadim âlimlerin gerek dil alanında gerek diğer alanlarda sonrakilere bıraktığı bilgi birikimi ve teliflerin bolluğuna rağmen kapsamlı inceleme ve araştırmalar neticesinde onların elde edemedikleri bir takım neticelere sonrakilerin ulaşabileceğini de ortaya koymaktadır. (shrink)

© The Author. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: [email protected] book is impressive in some respects, disappointing in others. On the one hand, it draws on an extraordinary range of sources and shines a helpful light on some of the less well known aspects of Mawdūdī’s thought and of the Jamāʿat-i Islāmī that he founded. On the other, it has some gross infelicities, including a murderous (...) translation of an Urdu poem.Abū l-Aʿlā Mawdūdī was a major Muslim thinker of the twentieth century. Hartung is not the first to note that Mawdūdī presents Islam as a system of life, but he certainly is the first to bring out, painstakingly, methodically and against a rich and complex historical background, how Mawdūdī, as Hartung puts it, ideologizes Islam. The long opening chapter of the book... (shrink)