Oliver Leaman, editor

Biographical Encyclopedia
of Islamic Philosophy
London: Thoemmes
Continuum, 2006.
736 pages.

This book is quite unique, as it brings into the English

language a tradition that is quite familiar in Arabic works.
Biographical dictionaries are part and parcel of the
Islamic intellectual tradition. There are biographical
dictionaries for all sorts of topics and people, even for
those named Muhammad, and those who are afflicted
with blindness.
It should come as no surprise that there is one on
philosophers in Islam, namely al-Qifs Tarkh al-ukma. It
is in this vein that Leaman, with the aid of thirty-nine
scholars and researchers, produced such a volume that
includes the biographies of luminaries who are sometimes
loosely referred to as philosophers. There is an added
bonus that the title does not necessarily allude to at first
glance: brief definitions of twenty-four key Islamic
concepts. Transmission, jahilyya, fundamentalism, and
modern are among the less obvious concepts mentioned
in this book.
Also included is an introduction, list of contributors,
list of entries, a combined bibliography in the first volume
Journal of Islamic Philosophy 3 (2008): 127128.
2008 by the Journal of Islamic Philosophy. All rights reserved. 1536-4569

128

Book Reviews

(A-I) with an index and a brief glossary in the second

volume (J-Z). In such an encyclopedic work the
temptation is to err on the side of inclusion; sometimes
leaving the reader guessing as to why they were included.
For example, Al b. Ab alib, Aksemseddin, Ibn Baua,
Ibn anbal, and al-Idris are included, while Imam Malik
was not. In addition, there is the baffling decision to
abandon the use of diacritics altogether in the booka
problematic choice given the critical importance of
correctly identifying authors. The use of the hijri and
Gregorian dating convention for biographical entries is
quite helpful.
A welcome inclusion for which Leaman is to be
commended is the addition of Ottoman scholars who
studied and wrote on philosophy; as readers of current
works on Islamic philosophy in the western world know,
how easy it would be to believe that only Persian Muslims
philosophize!