Between Reason and Revelation: Twin Wisdoms Reconciled

by Eric Ormsby (Editor), Eric Ormsby (Translator)

Overview

I.B.Tauris in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies

This is the first English translation of the final philosophical work of the great eleventh-century Ismaili thinker, poet, and Fatimid emissary, Nasir-i Khusraw. Appointed from Cairo by command of the Fatimid Imam-caliph al-Mustansir to serve first as a da'i, and then as the hujjat, for the entire region of Khurasan, he maintained his allegiance both to his mission and his Imam-caliph for the rest of his life, even when threatened and driven into exile. Written during his exile in Badakhshan in the year 1070, Nasir-i Khusraw here develops a powerful presentation of both Aristotelian philosophy and Ismaili exegesis, or ta'wil, and strives to show that they are ultimately in harmony. The work is presented as a learned commentary on a long philosophical poem, written in the previous century and sent to Nasir by the amir of Badakhshan, 'Alī b. al-Asad, who copied the poem out in his own hand from memory and asked the poet-philosopher to explicate it. In doing so, Nasir ranges over a huge span of topics from logic and language to the nature of the physical world, from the spheres of the highest heavens to the plants and animals of the earthly realm, and, most importantly, hidden spiritual realities: the esoteric (batin) as well as the exoteric (zaher) realms. He thus discusses the nature of God, the creation of human beings, and the mysteries concealed in the physical world, itself a reflection of a higher, transcendent realm.

Between Reason and Revelation: Twin Wisdoms Reconciled is an annotated translation of the Persian text prepared by Henry Corbin and Mohammed Mu'in based on the single surviving manuscript of the work, now in the Süleymaniye Mosque Library in Istanbul. It is a work of great philosophical and spiritual insight, which is also a pioneering attempt to tackle difficult intellectual problems in the Persian language; it is at once lucid and lyrical, precise and speculative. Nasir's influence has been immense as both a poet and a thinker, and the Kitab Jami Al-Hikmatayn is his crowning work.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781780761329
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	06/15/2012
Series:	Ismaili Texts and Translations , #16
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.60(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

Eric Ormsby is Professor and Senior Research Associate at The Institute of Ismaili Studies, London. He was previously Director of Libraries at McGill University in Montreal, and Professor, and later Director, of McGill's Institute of Islamic Studies, from 1986 until 2005. He is the author of several books, most recently Ghazali: The Revival of Islam (Oxford, 2007), and many articles on Islamic philosophy, theology, and mysticism. From 1975 to 1983, he served as Curator of Islamic Manuscripts at Princeton University and co-authored (with Rudolf Mach) the Handlist of Arabic Manuscripts (New Series) in the Princeton University Library (Princeton, 1987). He is also a frequent contributor of essays and reviews on literature, history, and philosophy, as well as Islamic thought, to such publications as The New York Times Book Review, the Times Literary Supplement, and the New Criterion, among others.

Table of Contents

Illustrations xi

Abbreviations xii

Introduction 1

Translation of Kitab-i Jami' al-hikmatayn: The Book of Twin Wisdoms Reconciled

Exordium 19

1 The Reason for the Composition of this Book; its Title 23

2 The Qasida of Ahmad b. Hasan al-Jurjani 35

3 On the Proof of the Creator's Existence with a Discussion of His Oneness, in Several Discourses 41

a On the Creator's Existence 41

b The Doctrine of the Dialectical Theologians of the Karramites on Tawhid 51

c The Doctrine of the Theologians of the Mu'tazilite School on Tawhid 56

d The Doctrine of the Metaphysical Philosophers on Tawhid 67

4 Aristotle's Teaching on the Four Parts of Speech 73

5 On Form, Property, Definition, and Description 81

6 The Definition of 'I' 95

7 On the Body, on the Soul, on the Intelligence 101

8 On the Seven Lights 103

9 On Eternity, Truth, Pleasure, Life as it Passes, Perfection, and Occultation 109

10 On Universal Nature 117

11 On Angel, Pari, Demon 127

12 A Commentary on 'One' 135

13 Of Species and Genus 141

14 On Happiness and Unhappiness. And on Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow 147

15 Properties of Minerals, Animals, and Places 155

16 On Language, Discourse, and Speech 167

17 On Pre-Eternity, Duration, Eternity, and Eternity without End 171

18 On the Moon's Properties 175

19 On the Necessity of Human Education 183

20 About ibda' (Origination) 189

21 On the Emergence of the Species from the Individual 205

22 On Intellect and Knowledge 215

23 On the Difference between the Perceiver and the Act of Perception 219

24 On the Creation of Heaven and Earth 223

25 On the Circle, the Chicken, and the Egg 231

26 On the Whole and the Part 235

27 On Saturn, Seed of Spring 239

28 On the Houses of the Sun and the Moon 243

29 On the Influence of Auspicious and Ominous Stars on the Soul and the Body 257

30 On Spiritual Father and Mother 261

31 On Questions without Answers about the Properties of the Elements 265

32 On the Poet's Resolve to Reply to his own Questions 271

33 That the Learned Man is Alive, the Ignorant Man Dead 275

34 Conclusion of the Book 277

Bibliography 281

Index 286