Establishing Suhrawardῑ's Ḥikmat al-Ishrāq Through Philosophical Discussion

چکیده مقاله

ABSTRACT:

Leading scholars in the field of ḥikmah have looked at the connection between the Eternal Leaven, the Khusrawānῑ Leaven, and the Pythagorean Leaven in Suhrawardῑ's works, and concluded that his purpose is merely to revive the old ḥikmah traditions, not to establish a new one. There are several ways to prove that Suhrawardῑ's ḥikmat al-ishrāq aims to establish its own tradition, not to revive previous ones. One possible way to prove this point is to observe the structural differences between Suhrawardῑ's ḥikmat al-ishrāq, and the Khusrawānῑ and Pythagorean ḥikmah traditions. This article seeks to demonstrate that Suhrawardῑ's philosophical problem was much more complex than that of the Khusrawānῑ or Pythagorean ḥikmah traditions, and his theory of illumination touches upon areas which the theories of those of the past do not.

By examining several important themes of Suhrawardῑ's ḥikmat al-ishrāq, such as its philosophical method; the beginning of philosophy; the centrality of the soul in ḥikmat al-ishrāq, and the juxtaposition of light and darkness, the establishment of the ḥikmat al-ishrāq may be clarified. Paying close attention to the 'soul' is a prominent feature of all the forms of ḥikmat al-ishrāq, but Suhrawardῑ utilises the soul's capacity of perception to establish his philosophy, which is unique. For this reason, we focus upon this element more than others.