Islamic Philosophy: Difference between revisions

The Islamic philosophy has its origin in the Ancient Greek philosophy. Since the 2nd/[[8th century]], Muslims began to translate Greek philosophical works into Arabic.<ref>Motahhari, ''Majmūʿa-yi āthār'', vol. 14, p. 458.</ref> In this century, much of [[Aristotle]]'s work, as well as that of the commentators of the Alexandrian school, much of [[Galen]]'s work and some of [[Plato]]'s dialogues were translated into Arabic. The first Muslim philosopher, [[al-Kindi]], lived in this period. During the academic movement which emerged from the translation of Greek texts into Arabic, al-Kindi moved to [[Baghdad]] and studied many Greek books, and in particular, Aristotle's work.<ref>Corbin, Tārīkh-i Falsafa-yi Islāmī, p. 210.</ref>

The most important Muslim philosophers include [[al-Kindi]], [[al-Farabi]], Ibn Sina (or Avicenna), [[Ibn Rushd]] (or Averroes), al-Suhrawardi, Mulla Sadra, [[Mulla Hadi Sabzawari]], and [[Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i]]. Al-Kindi, who came to be known as the "Arab Philosopher", was the first philosopher in the Islamic world. He lived in 2nd/[[8th century|8th]] and 3rd/[[9th century|9th centuries]], and was highly influenced by [[Aristotle]].<ref>Fākhūrī, ''Tārīkh falsafa dar jahān-i Islāmī'', p. 374-380.</ref> Abu Nasr Muhammad al-Farabi (b. [[260]]/873-74, d. [[339]]/950) is considered to be the founder of the Islamic philosophy and came to be known as the Second Teacher ([[al-mu'allim al-thani]]).<ref>Fākhūrī, ''Tārīkh falsafa dar jahān-i Islāmī'', p. 397-398.</ref>

Ibn Sina (b. [[370]]/980, d. [[428]]/1036-37) was the greatest peripatetic philosopher in the Islamic world.<ref>Motahhari, ''Majmūʿa-yi āthār'', vol. 5, p. 148.</ref> His philosophical work has been the most important source of the Islamic philosophy. Ibn Rushd (b. [[520]]/1126, d. [[595]]/1198-99) was also a peripatetic philosopher who tried to remain loyal to the Aristotelian philosophy. Al-Suhrawardi (b. [[549]]/1154, d. [[587]]/1191) was known as "Shaykh al-Ishraq".<ref>Ḍīyāʾī, ''Shihāb al-Dīn Suhrawardī'', p. 271.</ref> His four important philosophical works are the most important texts of the Illuminationist philosophy.<ref>Ḍīyāʾī, ''Shihāb al-Dīn Suhrawardī'', p. 273-275.</ref>

[[Mir Damad]] (d. [[1041]]/1631-32) was Mulla Sadra's teacher. It is believed that he paved the path for Mulla Sadra's Transcendent philosophy.<ref>Dabāshī, ''Mīr Dāmād wa taʾsīs-i maktab-i Iṣfahān'', p. 28-132.</ref> Mulla Sadra (d. [[1050]]/1640) was the founder of the Transcendent philosophy. He elaborated his philosophical system in his monumental work, ''[[al-Asfar al-arba'a]]''.<ref>Ḥāʾirī Yazdī, ''Darāmadī bar kitāb-i Asfār'', p. 707.</ref>

Mulla Hadi Sabzawari (b. [[1212]]/1797-98, d. [[1289]]/1872) is considered to be the most important Iranian philosopher in the 13th/[[19th century]]. He is a significant commentator of Mulla Sadra's philosophy.<ref>Ḥusaynī Sūrkī, ''Nigāhī ijmālī bi ārāʾ wa afkar'', p. 9.</ref>

Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i (b. [[1904]], d. [[1981]]) was one of the most influential [[Shiite]] scholars in the intellectual, religious atmosphere of [[Iran]] in the [[20th century]]. Many later teachers of the Islamic philosophy in the [[Islamic seminary of Qom]] were his students.