1 / 25

Civilization Studies Program (AUB) CVSP 202: Mediaeval, Islamic and Renaissance Civilizations

Civilization Studies Program (AUB) CVSP 202: Mediaeval, Islamic and Renaissance Civilizations. Classical Islamic Thought: Ikhwan Al- Safa ', Al- Ghazali Mario Kozah Center for Arab and Middle Eastern Stds . October 8, 2018. Book of Chants (13 th c.) Escorial Monastery Madrid.

hidalgo
Download Presentation

Civilization Studies Program (AUB) CVSP 202: Mediaeval, Islamic and Renaissance Civilizations

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Civilization Studies Program (AUB)CVSP 202: Mediaeval, Islamic and Renaissance Civilizations Classical Islamic Thought: Ikhwan Al-Safa', Al-Ghazali Mario Kozah Center for Arab and Middle Eastern Stds. October 8, 2018

  2. Book of Chants (13thc.)Escorial Monastery Madrid

  3. Namāra Inscription 328 AD Arabic

  4. Namāra Inscription Old Arabic in Nabataean Script

  5. “Houses of Wisdom” 9th – 10th c. Baghdad

  6. The House of Wisdom • Yahya ibn al-Batriq (early 9th cent.) • Hunayn Ibn Ishaq (809-873) • Al-Kindi (801-873) • Ishaq ibn Hunayn (830-910) • Thabit ibn Qurra (836-901)

  7. The Baghdad Schoolof Aristotelian Philosophy • Abu Bishr Matta Ibn Yunus (870-940) • Al-Farabi (872-951) • Yahya ibn Adi (893-974)

  8. Ibn Sina/Avicenna (980-1037) • The Book of Healing (الشفاء) • The Canon of Medicine (القانون في الطب)

  9. AbūḤāmidMuḥammadibn Muḥammadal-Ghazālī (1058-1111) • Incoherence of the Philosophers (تهافت الفلاسفة) • Deliverance from Error (المنقذ من الضلال) • Revivication of the Religious Sciences (احياء علوم الدين)

  10. al-Ghazālī (1058-1111)

  11. al-Ghazālī(1058-1111) • Rationalists =human reason • Traditionalists = transmitted knowledge • Legalists =legal interpretation of scripture • Mystics = spiritual experience in religion

  12. The Harūniyya, (Seljuk-Ilkhanid mausoleum in Tus, near Mashhad, Iran) where al-Ghazālī is said to be buried. (http://archnet.org/sites/3885/media_contents/62839)

  13. Decadence and Decline “We next observed the laxity of men's belief in the principle of prophecy and in its actuality and in conduct according to the norms elucidated by prophecy; we ascertained that this was widespread among the people. When I considered the reasons for people's laxity and weakness of faith, I found there were four: (a) a reason connected with those who engage in Philosophy; (b) a reason connected with those who engage in the mystic way; (c) a reason connected with those who profess the doctrine of ta'līm; (d) a reason based on the practice of those who are popularly described as having knowledge. ” (al-Ghazali, al-munqidh - trans. by W. M. Watt)

  14. Crisis and Breakdown “For nearly six months beginning with Rajab 488 A.H. (=July 1095 A.D.), I was continuously tossed about between the attractions of worldly desires and the impulses towards eternal life. In that month the matter ceased to be one of choice and became one of compulsion. God caused my tongue to dry up so that I was prevented from lecturing. One particular day I would make all effort to lecture in order to gratify the hearts of lily following, but my tongue would not utter a single word nor could I accomplish anything at all.” (al-Ghazali, al-munqidh - trans. by W. M. Watt)

  15. The Balance “For those who profess perplexity as a result of what they have heard from the party of ta'līm, the treatment is that prescribed in our book, The Just Balance. (al-Qisṭāsal-mustaqīm),and we shall not lengthen this essay by repeating it.” (al-Ghazali, al-munqidh - trans. by W. M. Watt)

  16. Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ wa Khullān al-Wafāʾ wa Ahl al-Hamd wa Abnāʾ al-Majd (the Brethren of Purity, the Loyal Friends, People of Praise, and Sons of Glory)

  17. Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ,Epistle 22: The Case of the Animals Versus Man before the King of the Jinn

  18. “These cattle, beasts of prey and wild creatures – all animals in fact – are our slaves. We are their masters. Some have rebelled and escaped. Others obey grudgingly and scorn our service” The King replied, “What proof or evidence have you to back up your claims?” “Your Majesty,” said the human, “we have both traditional religious arguments and rational proofs of our position.” “Very well,” said the King, “lets us hear them.” (Ikhwān,Epistle 22: The Case of the Animals vs. Man before the King of the Jinn, p.103)

  19. “Finally arose a learned, accomplished, worthy, keen, pious, and insightful man. He was Persian by breeding, Arabian by faith, a ḥanīfby confession, Iraqi in culture, Hebrew in lore, Christian in manner, Damascene in devotion, Greek in science, Indian in discernment, Sufi in intimation, regal in character, masterful in thought, and divine in awareness.” (Ikhwān,Epistle 22: The Case of the Animals vs. Man before the King of the Jinn, p.313)

  20. “‘Yes, just Majesty and assembled hosts’, he began. ‘These saints of God are the flower of creation, the best, the purest, persons of fair and praiseworthy parts, pious deeds, myriad sciences, godly awareness, regal character, just and holy lives, and awesome ways. Fluent tongues weary to name their qualities, and no one has adequately described their inmost core. Many have cited their virtues, and preachers in public assemblies have devoted their lives down through the ages to sermons dilating on their merits and their godly ways, without ever reaching the pith of the matter.” (Ikhwān,Epistle 22: The Case of the Animals vs. Man before the King of the Jinn, p.314)

More Related