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The Perfection of the Soul in Fakhr Al-Dīn Al-Rāzī's Al-Sirr

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The Perfection of the Soul in Fakhr Al-Dīn Al-Rāzī's Al-Sirr THE PERFECTION OF THE SOUL IN FAKHR AL-DĪN AL-RĀZĪ‘S AL-SIRR AL-MAKTŪM MICHAEL-SEBASTIAN NOBLE A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Combined Historical Studies The Warburg Institute University of London 2017 1 I declare that the work presented in this dissertation is my own. Signed: _________________________________ Date: _____________________ 2 Abstract Al-Sirr al-Maktūm is one of the most compelling theoretical and practical accounts of astral magic written in the post-classical period of Islamic thought. Of central concern to its reader is to understand why the great philosopher- theologian, Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (d.606/1210) should have written it. The occult practices described therein are attributed to the Sabians, a historical group who lived in Ḥarrān in Upper Mesopotamia. Representing the last vestiges of Ancient Mesopotamian paganism during the early Islamic period, their religion involved the veneration of the seven planets, which they believed were ensouled celestial beings and the proximate causes of all sublunary change. By means of such astrolatry they were able, remotely, to change reality in ways which defied the customary pattern of causation in this world. The main focus of al-Rāzī‘s treatment of their practice is a long ritual during which the aspirant successively brings under his will each of the seven planets. On completion of the ritual, the aspirant would have transcended the limitations of his human existence and his soul would have attained complete perfection. This thesis will argue that for al-Rāzī, the Sabians constituted a heresiological category, representative of a soteriological system which dispensed with the need for the Islamic institution of prophethood. It relied instead on the individual‘s ability, by means of spiritual discipline and intellectual rigour, to attain noetic connection with the celestial souls. In so doing, the Sabian adept not only gains occult knowledge and power, but more importantly he realizes the ultimate aim of perfecting his soul. Al-Rāzī constructs this soteriology as a 3 synthesis of cosmological and psychological doctrines gleaned from Avicenna, and Abū‘l-Barakāt al-Baghdādī. In this way, al-Rāzī hoped to state as succinctly as possible the intellectual challenges to which any systematic theological defence of the Islamic faith must answer if it is to triumph over rival systems of thought. 4 Contents Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. 8 Part One: The Sabian Soteriology ......................................................................................... 10 Chapter 1: al-Sirr al-Maktūm ................................................................................................... 11 1.1 Introduction...................................................................................................................... 11 1.2 Rāzī‘s intellectual career ................................................................................................. 14 1.3 The questions of authorship and the dating al-Sirr ...................................................... 15 1.4 Sabians in the historical imagination ............................................................................. 19 1.5 Sabianism in al-Sirr .......................................................................................................... 23 1.6 The argument of this thesis............................................................................................. 25 1.7 Approach of this study ..................................................................................................... 34 1.8 Summary of the Contents of al-Sirr ................................................................................ 36 Chapter 2: Sabians .................................................................................................................. 44 2.1 The justification for the study of occult knowledge in al-Sirr ...................................... 44 2.2 Sabians in Al-Sirr: A General Overview ........................................................................... 50 2.3 Sabians in al-Tafsīr al-kabīr ............................................................................................. 55 2.3.1 Sabians as People of the Book ...................................................................................... 55 2.3.2 Aetiology of Idolatry ..................................................................................................... 59 2.3.3 Sabian Idols as Talismans ............................................................................................. 63 2.4 Sabians and Indians.......................................................................................................... 65 2.5 Rāzī‘s attitude to Sabianism ............................................................................................ 72 2.6 The Ritual of Planetary Ascent ........................................................................................ 78 Part Two: Sabian Doctrines and the Talismanic Craft ........................................................ 86 Chapter 3: Eight Sabian Doctrines ........................................................................................ 87 3.1 Introduction...................................................................................................................... 87 3.2 Three Sabian sub-sects .................................................................................................... 89 3.3 Summary of the Eight Doctrines ..................................................................................... 92 3.4 Analysis of the Eight Sabian Doctrines ........................................................................... 93 3.4.1 Celestial Spheres and Planets (al-aflāk wa‘l-kawākib) as living, rational beings .... 93 3.4.2 The planet is where the celestial soul and body meets............................................ 115 3.4.3 Celestial perception of the universal and the particular ......................................... 116 3.4.4 Celestial spheres as the causes and perceivers of sublunary change ..................... 124 3.4.5 The Shape of the Planets ............................................................................................ 125 3.4.6 Sabian worship ............................................................................................................ 128 3.5 The Purpose of Celestial Motion ................................................................................... 133 3.6 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 138 5 Chapter 4: The General Physics of Talismans .................................................................... 141 4.1 Introduction.................................................................................................................... 141 4.2 Avicenna‘s Metaphysics 9:1 ........................................................................................... 143 4.3 Theory of Talismans in al-Sirr ........................................................................................ 145 4.3.1 Proof of the heavenly forces ...................................................................................... 145 4.3.2 Passive receptive forces .............................................................................................. 156 4.4 Al-Maṭālib 7 – On Talismans ........................................................................................... 158 4.5 Al-Mabāḥith al-mashriqiyya ............................................................................................. 163 4.6 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 170 Chapter 5: Making Talismans .............................................................................................. 174 5.1 Introduction.................................................................................................................... 174 5.2 Tamzīj: the blending of celestial influence ................................................................... 174 5.3 The operative planet ...................................................................................................... 177 5.4 Images of the Planetary Degrees ................................................................................... 180 5.5 Forging the talisman ...................................................................................................... 182 5.6 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 187 Part Three: Sabian Psychology ........................................................................................... 194 Chapter 6: Sabian Spiritual Discipline and Avicennan Cognition theory ....................... 195 6:1 Introduction.................................................................................................................... 195 6.2 The Internal Senses: al-Ishārāt 3:9 ................................................................................. 198 6.3 The Estimative Faculty .................................................................................................. 204 6.4 Ten proofs of the soul‘s occult power to affect the physical
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