Draft:Gholamhossein Ebrahimi Dinani

Gholamhossein Ebrahimi Dinani

Gholamhossein Ebrahimi Dinani (born 1313 SH) is an Islamic philosopher, a student of 'Allama Tabataba'i, and a professor of philosophy at the University of Tehran. He completed his studies at the Isfahan Seminary and subsequently at the Qom Seminary. Dinani studied under masters including Sayyid Husayn Borujerdi, Sayyid Muhammad Muhaqqiq Damad, and Sayyid Ruhollah Khomeini. Alongside his studies in fiqh and usul al-fiqh, he attended the philosophy lectures of 'Allama Tabataba'i and was present at the philosophical sessions of 'Allama Tabataba'i with Henry Corbin held in Tehran.

Ebrahimi Dinani completed his studies in philosophy at the University of Tehran with a doctoral degree. He engaged in teaching at Ferdowsi University in Mashhad and became a faculty member of the University of Tehran in 1362 SH.

Dinani has numerous publications, including "General Philosophical Rules in Islamic Philosophy" (Qawa'id-i kulli-yi falsafi dar falsafa-yi Islami) and "The Adventure of Philosophical Thought in the Islamic World" (Majara-yi fikr-i falsafi dar jahan-i Islam). Four of his works have been selected in different editions of the Book of the Year Award of the Islamic Republic of Iran. In 1380 SH, Dinani was also honored as an "Eternal Figure" (Chehre-ye Mandegar) in the field of philosophy.

Status and Importance

Gholamhossein Ebrahimi Dinani is a philosopher, author, student of 'Allama Tabataba'i, and professor of philosophy at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, the University of Tehran, and Tarbiat Modares University in Tehran. Dinani is an alumnus of the Isfahan Seminary and later the Qom Seminary. He holds a PhD in philosophy from the University of Tehran. Furthermore, numerous articles and books in the field of philosophy and philosophical research have been published by him.

Dinani is among those who participated in the philosophical sessions of 'Allama Tabataba'i and Henry Corbin along with Seyyed Hossein Nasr and witnessed their philosophical debates firsthand.

Honoring ceremony for Gholamhossein Ebrahimi Dinani; from right: Najafquli Habibi, Gholamreza Avani, Gholamhossein Ebrahimi Dinani, Karim Mojtahedi, and Hesamodin Ashna

He has been described as a close friend and roommate of Sayyid 'Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, at the Hujjatiyya Madrasa in Qom during their studies at the Qom Seminary.

Dinani appears on a television program named Ma'rifat where he expresses his philosophical and mystical thoughts. Additionally, in 1396 SH, Dinani was honored at a ceremony titled "Commemoration of Half a Century of Philosophical Activity of Dinani" held at the Society for the Appreciation of Cultural Works and Dignitaries.

Dinani is a permanent member of the Academy of Sciences of the Islamic Republic and a regular member of the Iranian Society of Wisdom and Philosophy.

Education

Gholamhossein Ebrahimi Dinani was born on Dey 5, 1313 SH in the Dinan neighborhood of Dorcheh, Isfahan. After completing his primary education, he entered the Nimavar Madrasa in the Isfahan Seminary. Upon finishing the preliminary and intermediate (Sath) levels, Dinani moved to the Qom Seminary to complete his studies. Concurrent with his studies in fiqh and usul al-fiqh, he learned philosophy in Isfahan from Hakim Ziyapur and in Qom from 'Allama Tabataba'i, becoming one of the 'Allama's private students.

Standing from right: Sayyid Taqi Dorche'i, Hasan Tehrani, Gholamhossein Ebrahimi Dinani, Sayyid Mahdi Imam Jamarani, Sayyid Muhammad Ehsani, Sadiq Bonakdar, and Hasan Sane'i; sitting from right: Muhammad Mostafavi and Purmand

Dinani attended advanced lectures (Kharij) of fiqh and usul in Qom under masters such as Sayyid Husayn Borujerdi, Muhammad Ali Araki, Sayyid Muhammad Muhaqqiq Damad, Imam Khomeini, Sayyid Muhammad Baqir Sultani Tabataba'i, Hossein Ali Montazeri, and Mirza Jawad Tabrizi.

Ebrahimi Dinani graduated with a bachelor's degree in philosophy from the University of Tehran in 1345 SH and was employed by the Ministry of Education. In 1352 SH, he defended his doctoral dissertation in philosophy at the University of Tehran. In 1353 SH, he began teaching philosophy at Ferdowsi University in Mashhad, and in 1362 SH, he became a faculty member at the University of Tehran.

Works

Main article: List of works by Gholamhossein Ebrahimi Dinani

The Adventure of Philosophical Thought in the Islamic World

Dinani has authored more than thirty books and over one hundred articles in the field of philosophy, which critique and explain the philosophical views of Eastern and Western philosophers, alongside presenting his own specific philosophical opinions. Some of his books include:

• General Philosophical Rules in Islamic Philosophy (Qawa'id-i kulli-yi falsafi dar falsafa-yi Islami) (two volumes)
• The Adventure of Philosophical Thought in the Islamic World (Majara-yi fikr-i falsafi dar jahan-i Islam) (three volumes). This book received the Iran Book of the Year award in 1378 SH.
• The Book of Intellect and the Sign of Love (Daftar-i 'aql wa ayat-i 'ishq) (three volumes). Selected as the Book of the Year in 1384 SH.
• The Radiance of Ibn Rushd in Peripatetic Wisdom (Derakhshash-i Ibn-i Rushd dar hikmat-i mashsha'). This book was also honored as the Book of the Year in 1385 SH.
• Nasir al-Din al-Tusi: The Philosopher of Dialogue (Khwaja Nasir al-Din Tusi: Filsuf-i guft-u-gu). Received the Book of the Year award in 1387 SH.

Ebrahimi Dinani was honored as the top figure in the field of philosophy in the first edition of "Eternal Figures" in 1380 SH.

The book The Depth of Thought (Zharfa-ye Andisheh) regarding the biography, concerns, and views of Dinani has been authored by Ali Oujabi.

Some of Dinani's Views

Dinani's primary fame is attributed to his revival of Illuminationist Philosophy and his re-reading of ancient Iranian wisdom. Dinani considers intellect to be the measure for judging and understanding everything, even a human's understanding of God. He is considered a rationalist philosopher who believes in illumination, and at the same time a theosopher and a follower of Transcendent Theosophy who is acquainted with all aspects of theoretical mysticism.

In the book The Book of Intellect and the Sign of Love, Dinani addresses the status of intellect in wisdom and philosophy and defends intellect against Ash'arite beliefs. In Dinani's view, there is no conflict between love and rational understanding, and neither negates the other. Titles such as "Soldier of the Intellect" are also attributed to Dinani.

Dinani believes there is no opposition between intellect and love; the result of intellect is love, and love is fundamentally impossible without intellect. However, sometimes demonstrative knowledge might exist without love, but the reverse is not possible, and love without knowledge—that is, the love we recognize—is meaningless. Even metaphorical loves cannot exist without knowledge.

According to Dinani, Ibn Sina is greater than Aristotle; Ibn Sina is the Aristotle of the Islamic world. He introduced many issues that did not occur to Aristotle, such as the Argument of the Righteous (Burhan al-Siddiqin). Islamic sages such as Ibn Sina, Suhrawardi, and Mulla Sadra are not philosophers of the Wittgenstein type; rather, they are sages (hakim) who understand both love and theoretical mysticism. Furthermore, kalam is at a lower rank than philosophy; the status of kalam is much lower, while mysticism is higher than philosophy; the result of philosophy is mysticism, and Islamic sages were also involved in mysticism. Mulla Sadra, Suhrawardi, and Ibn Sina are all full-fledged mystics.

According to Dinani, some believe that al-Ghazali's book The Incoherence of the Philosophers (Tahafut al-Falasifa), although recognized as an anti-philosophy book in terms of the goal and purpose for which it was written, falls into the category of philosophical books in terms of subject and content. Thus, to refute philosophy, one must resort to philosophy; one can never engage in war with philosophy using non-philosophical weapons. Philosophical thought is alive through the power of questioning; that is, where there is no question, there will be no philosophy.