View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by AMU Repository (Knowledge Repository) THE CONCEPT OF LIGHT IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF ISHRAQ THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF Doctor of Philosophy IN PHILOSOPHY By NAZIMA HASSAN UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF Dr. HAYAT AMIR DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALIGARH (INDIA) 2015 Dedicated to My Loving Parents & Supervisor Exter : 2700920-21-24 Phones Inter.: 1550-1551 DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY Dated…………………… Certificate This is to certify that the thesis titled “TheConcept ofLight in the Philosophy of Ishraq” is an original piece of research carried out byMs.Nazima Hassan (Enrol.No.GC-2061)under my supervision and the same has not been published or submitted elsewhere for the award of any other degree. Miss Nazima Hassan has consulted all the relevant and appropriate research material with regard to the topic of her Ph.D.theis. In my opinion, the present research work is of high quality and fit to be submitted for the award of the degree of the Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy of the Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh (India). (Dr. Hayat Aamir) Supervisor ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Every Time We Remember to Say “Thank You”, We Experience Nothing less than Heaven on Earth. -Sarah Ban Breathnach I pen down my immense gratitude to all the people who were associated with me in any form during the tenure of this research work. It is rather a pleasure to convey my gratitude to all of them. This is the best opportunity and my pleasant duty to express my deep sense of gratitude to my esteemed supervisor, Dr. Muhammad Hayat Aamir, Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy AMU. I thank him from the core of my heart for his supervision, valuable suggestions, continuing encouragement and guidance during the course of this research work. I would like to express my sincere thanks to Amina Apa for her enormous support and advice throughout my research work. I would also wish to place on record my thanks to her daughter Ummihani Zainab Jafri for her love and affection. I must express my gratitude to Dr. Roshan Ara, Chairperson Department of Philosophy, A.M.U., Aligarh, for providing all the necessary research facilities and for encouraging me during the preparation of this thesis. I am extremely thankful to other faculty members—Prof. Jalal-ul-Haq, Prof. Latif H. Kazmi, Dr. Sanaullah Mir, Mr. M.Muqim, Dr.Tariq- ul-Islam, Dr. Preeti Sayeed, Dr. N. Anjum and Dr. Mohd Aqeel—fortheir encouragement and help in various ways. I would also like to thank all the staff members of our department, viz;MukhtarApa (Ex- Seminar Librarian),Nishat Apa, Mohsina Apa, Arif bhai, Kafeel bhai and Shakir bhai,for being helpful and co-operative. And where would I be without my family? Words fail to express adequately my feeling of deep gratitude which I owe to them for always being there for me. My parents deserve a very special mention for their invaluable support and prayers, for all their love and encouragement. My father,Mr. Gh. Hassan Ganaiehas always been my strength. His continuous support, guidance, cooperation and encouragement has taught me another aspect of life that, “Goodness can never be defied and good human beings can never be denied”.His constant motivation and infallible love have always kept me going ahead. My Mother Hajra Begum the one who sincerely raised me with her caring and gentle love, deserves my deepest gratitude for her eternal support and understanding of my goals and aspirations. Her patience and sacrifice will remain my inspiration throughout my life. My parents are my angels and they deserve a credit far more than I can ever give them. Without their help I would not have been able to complete much of what I have done and become who I am. My deep gratitude is due to my brothers and sisters, Majid, Aadil and Ruqaya, Rifat, Rubeena, Tabasum, Shabnum for standing by me through thick and thin and for being sources of constant help and joy. Words fail me in acknowledging the depth of my thankfulness to them. I would like to especially thank my cousins Shazia, Samreen, Safia, Aasima, Seerat, Sajad, Shahid, Sami, Sahil and Naseer. I would also like to thank my Mamu. From the deeps of my heart I would like to mention the names of nieces Sidratul Muntaha, Fatima and Jazim. I have no words to express my deep thanks for my colleagues and my well- wishers Saleem Bhai, Iqbal, Anees, Aslam, Sarim, Tayyab, Jan, Kainat, Safiya, Nida, Saima and Sakeena for their enormous support and best wishes. Last but not the least I would be failing in my duty if I don’t express my feelings for my friends as they have not only enhanced my happiness but abated my misery by doubling the joy and dividing the grief; it is a pleasure to express my deep sense of gratitude to all my dear friends such as Naseema, Saba, Maiser, Aasifa, Saika, Sumaya, Neelofer, Kousar, Qurba, Pyrai, Rubi, Shaista, Swaleheen, Pakizah, and for their enormous support and best wishes. (Nazima Hassan) CONTENTS Page No. Chapter I Introduction 1 - 12 Chapter II A Brief Survey of the Concept of Light in World Religions 13 - 36 Chapter III A Survey of Islamic Philosophy Before Suhrawardi Maqtul 37 - 76 Chapter IV Concept of Light in Suhrawardi Maqtul’s Thought 77 - 117 Chapter V Conclusion 118 - 124 Bibliography 125 - 144 Chapter-1 Introduction Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Suhrawardi’s Life and Works Suhrawardi is one of the important philosopher after Avicenna. This importance lies in his ‘vindication of the unity of religious and metaphysical truth and the duty of the conscientious searcher to seek truth wherever it can be found in Greek Philosophy, in ancient Persian thought, in Muslim Neo-Platonism and in Sufism’.1 Ibn Sina’s influence on all the latter Muslim philosophers and Sufis is undeniable and unmatchable. His dissatisfaction with peripateticism is clearly expressed in his latter writings. He became interested in a mystical and experiential approach to truth and designated this approach as illumination (Ishraq). His direction and approach was given a grand systematic philosophico-mystical expression and development by Shihab al-Din Suhrawardi, the founder of the Ishraqi philosophy. Suhrawardi is an eclectic thinker and theoretician with a marvelous, deep and critical insight into Plato and Ibn Arabi. He synthesized various thought schemes of mystics, philosophers and religionists. The foremost sources of Ishraqi theosophy are Sufism, ‘Tawasin’ of Mansoor al-Hallaj and the Mishkat al-Anwar of al-Ghazali. From the Pre-Islamic sources, Pythagoreanism, Platonism, neo-Platonism, Hermeticism and Zoroastrianism played a very vital role in the construction and systematization of his theosophy. Suhrawardi’s illuminative wisdom played an important role in fashioning the intellectual and spiritual life of Shi`ism. His authentic and famous interpreters belonged to the same sect from Shahrazuri to Abdul Razaq Lahiji.The famous commentaries of the Hikmat al-Ishraq were Chapter 1 Introduction written by Shahrazuri, and Qutub al-Din Shirazi in the seventh/thirteenth century, Wudud Tabrizi in the tenth/sixteenth century and Mulla Sadra in eleventh/seventeenth century. The famous philosopher Dawani wrote the commentary of the Hayakil al-Nur. The famous Shi`ite theologian Allama Hilli wrote the commentary of ‘Talwihat’.The important philosophers, theologians and Gnostics influenced by the Ishraqi thought are Nasir-ud Din Tusi, Dawani, Mir Damad, Mulla Sadra, Ahmad Ahsa`I and Mulla Hadi Sabazwari.2 Shihab-al-din Yahya ibn Habash Ibn Amirak Suhrawardi Maqtul was born in 549/1153 in Suhraward, a village near the present city of Zanjan in northern Persia. He started his formal education with Majd-al- Din Jili at Maraghah and later with Zahir al-Din Qari al-Ispahan. Like many other eminent Sufis and Scholars such as al-Ghazali, Ibn Arabi, Hamdani etc., he travelled in and around the territory of Persia, meeting eminent Sufis and Scholars and treasured his knowledge and experiences in mystic path.3 There are no unanimous reports about his date of birth. Shahrazuri’s Nuzhat al-Arwa is treated as the important source of his biography which holds his date of birth as 1154. All the modern works on the biography of Suhrawardi are based mostly on Shahrazuri’s book. No authentic reports about his family and ethnic background are available. On the analysis of these issues, the studies of Prof. Walbridge, M.Fakhry, M.M.Sharif and Seyyed Hossain Nasr are of the cardinal importance. “Suhrawardi was probably born around 1154 in the village of Suhraward near Zanjan in northwestern Iran. We know nothing of his family and ethnic background. He first appears in Maragha, a nearby city, where he studied logic and philosophy with Majd-al-din al-Jili, a scholar of moderate prominence who also was the teacher of the famous theologist Fakhir-al-din Razi. Later he studied with Fakhir-al-din al-Mardini, either in Mardin in Southeastern Anatolia or in Isfahan. Mardini was a prominent 2 Chapter 1 Introduction teacher in the rational sciences and apparently a Sufi. In Isfahan, he studied Ibn-Sahlan al Sawi’s Basa’ir, an innovative text on logic with the otherwise unknown Zahir al-Farisi or (al-Qari). He seems to have spent his twenties wandering in central Anatolia and Northern Syria in search of patronage. His books written in this period are dedicated to various local dignitaries”.4 Another very important fact to be noted is his way of learning or acquiring knowledge is that he adopted a very practical method of travelling for obtaining knowledge.