IN ART WM BTU) PN @ tye ii ratCURZON SUFI SERIES Series editor Ian Richard Newton Pfs of rate Seti, : chy of Lae Suhrawardi and the School of Illumination 1310 provide short introductions to varity of facets ofthe subject, which are accesible both to the {general reader and the student and scholae in the field. Fach book will be ether aaynthess of existing knowledge o a distin contri bation to, and extension of knowledge ofthe particular topic. The ‘wo major tindenying principles of the Series are sound scholar ship av readability. by BEYOND FAITH AND INFIDELITY TAR j ‘The Sufi Poctry and Teachings of Mahmud Shabistari Mehdi Amin Razavi ‘Lemar Levis AL-HALLAJ Harte W, Mason RUZBIAN BAQLI [Mysticism and the Rhetoric of Sainthood in Persian Sufism (Cat W. Est ABDULLAH ANSARI OF HERAT ‘An Karly Sult Master ‘AG Raa Farhad PERSIAN SUFI POETRY An Introduction to the Mystical Use of Classical Persian Poetry FTP de Brn ‘THE CONCEPT OF SAINTHOOOD IN EARLY ISLAMIC MSTICISM Ber Rath ara ohn Kane CURZONFit published in 1997 ty Curzon Pres StJohn’s Studie, Church Rood, Richmond ‘Snr, 109208 (© 1997 Mes Aiea Raz Printed in Great isn by Biches Lamited, Cudord and King’s Lye Allright reserved. No part of his book may he repeated or ‘epeoiaced or wil ina form or yay econ, ‘mechanical or other mean tow hnown or hereafter liven, including phonscopying nd record any Information storage or rere gem, itu permiaion ia ‘ning from the publishers. nth Liter Ctaloging in Pablo Data ‘catalogue record for this ook avilable from the Beh Library ulna of Cons Paintin Data catalogue record fo this book has bee requested ISBN 0-7007-0451-5 (nb8) SBN 0-7007-0412-4 (pb) To Marylynn, Mitra and AryaContents Acknowledgements Intreduction 1. The Life and Works of Subrawardi A Life Bi. Inwelectual Context (C.Works: A Survey of Subrawardis Works 10. u 2 1s, rr 15. The intinatons The Opposes ‘The Paths andthe Conversations The Phlsophy of lamination Treatise on Monination Tsumincns Hodes Tablets of Imad abDin Treatise ofthe Birds The Chan of Cabri’ Wing The Red Iriel A Day Among the Sufi (nm the Sata Child (Om the Reality of Lace Prayers ond Sepplcations Concsion 2. Central Themes 1 2 z 4 5 6 Ontology Existence and Essence (On Necessary and Contingent Beings 4Suhraward and the School of Iumination Life After Death Logie Angelology 10. Phyies 11. Pychology 12, Eschatology 15. Hfmat ve: Philosophy 5. Practical Sufism 1. Suhrawardis Vio 2. On the Nature of Mian 3, On the Spiritual Journey and Ascctiscism 4. Unity and the Final Abode 4. Philosophical Safin 1. On Light and Its Varieties, 2. Angelology 3. The Archetypal World: Mundus Imaginalis 4. Vision 5. Vision and Incelledon 6. Knowledge and Presence A. Epistemology 1. Knowledge by Definition 2, Knowledge by Sense Perception 3. Knowledge Through Innate leas 4. Sulaward’s Philorophy of Epistemology 2. aonledge Wy Presence 1. Arguments from “1/11 Dichotomy 2 Arguments from Precognitive Mode of Knowledge 3. Arguments fom Atcibutes 4. Conclusion 5: Practieal Consequences of Philosophical Historical Analysis 6. A Gidea Analysis of Knowledge by Presence 5. The Influence of Suhraward on Islamic Philosophy A.The Greater Persia 1. Ishrag Philosophy Before the School of Isfahan 2 School of Isfahan 3. Suhrawardiand Mulla Sara 4. The Qajar Period, eeesse Sgegeseazuy NAReS Contents 5, Shaykhinah Schoo! 6. Contemporary Period 6. Conchiding Remarks 7. Appendix: A Translation ofthe Text and Commentary tthe Chant of Gabe’ Wing BibliographyNOTE 1, Al rambtins ave mine ules otheraite wate, 2, Diacrte marks are mot paced on te Tolling words since they Tepented throughout tke work Subravardh, brag, Su, Dis frurds ave nor been placed om the tame of eles, countries and 3, All dates ace gien rt in the Islamic calendar year followed by the Acknowledgements | am indebted to Professor Seyyed Hossein Nasr for his comments and guidance and MS. Jacqueline Bralove for reading the man feript and providing mic with editorial suggestions. T would also like to express my appreciation to Lee Joanna Harper and Jason Ghipman for their asitance and Cindy Toomey and HarrietIntroduction “This work dscuses the mystica dimension of Shihab abDin Yaby8 Suhravard the philosophermyate and the founder ofthe Schoo! oflilumination (stra) in the ation of Islamic philesophy. Suhraard is one ofthe mont influential figures inthe history of Idamie philosophy, because of the sgaifiance of bis intellee- tual contributions and because of the impact he had on his seces- tors in particular later Ime philosophy which culminated in the “Schoo! of Isfahan’ Despite the existing diversity of intellectual inquiries within ‘slam which range from the rationalise philosophy ofthe per pateies (mais) and the intellect inition of the im atone (shaggy) to the ascetic and tuner journey of the Suis, there have been few philosophers who hive made an attempt © ‘gmihesze these diverse schook of thought into a unified hilo sephical paradigm. "Amirak Mubammad ibn Shihab abDin Subraward, the Persian philosopher ofthe 6/12 century and an adoeate of what be called ancient wisdom” (kms lati, made an attempt to Unf various schools of wim i order to demonstrate dhe universal uth that les atthe ear of al divinely revealed religions Unlike ere Sis and goctce in la, Subrard maintained that philosophical dlisoune was 4 necesiay training for those seeking (o pursue the path of mination. Thin was ute revolutionary since Sufisrejeted ‘ational philosophy a exemplified y the Perptetis who in tur ‘ejected Sli. The sgiiance of Suraard becomes more dear sven fe is viewed as gnostic who advoeates both philosophical Ciscourse and asceticism as an ewential part of the path of illumination. He alo incorporates various elements from suc teadions of widom as dhe Egyptians, Greeks and Persians in orderSuhrvare and the School of urination to bring a rapprochement between rationalistic philosophy, intellects! intition and practical wisdom. "The foremost difficulty in writing on Subrawarci' school of rmination, a8 with any visionary mystic/philoropher, ist find the qualified person who can comment from an insider's point of view. The hear of the visionary’s brand of mysticim, i to have ant Intuitive knowledge of or an inner experience of, truth. By Aefinition, then, commentators and authors of such a work would ‘be qualified to exphsin this inner experience if they can relate to ‘thismessage on an experiential basis and therefore can speak asan insider “The abose poses problem for thisauthor sine on one hand Lam to comment on a philosopher/mystic whose thoughts have drawn ‘nd engaged me fora number of years, while on the other hand Ido pot stand within the liminatonit tradi of the luminous world ‘flights angel, archetypes and the interconnected we oF ideas that Suhravard puts fora in fact, Subsea goes 0 Faas tel us ‘hat unless one has fasted for forty days, he wil not understand bs Imac work, Hint ly (The Ply of Minton). isight fof the luminous world of Sahravardl therefore, snot a “ive option” forme to we William James’ term, “This wolume presents not so much a dicussion concerning the validity orsoundines of Suhravard's specific ideas but an exposi- tion of the mystical dimension of his rather broad and varied ‘School of thought. Ax an outsider to a school of thought whose thrust remains the attainment of wuth through a special mode of cognition, all an author can do isto engage himself in a close textual analysis and attempt to pat them in coherent and well flefined concepts I towards thie aim which T have embarked {upon an exegesis of various symbols used in Suhraward's matical pnrratives aswell asthe decoding ofthe dense language which he ne to keep the eotericrecrets from those who are not among the “brothers in puri The prevent work, therefore, undertakes a study of the mystical Aispension of Sabraward’s thought. Ii imperative o note that ‘hile mysticism remainsone ofthe salient features of Subravardi's Philosophical school, he was not only a Safi nor vas is school of Thought only mystical. Subravardi was a system bullder and lke ‘many others ofthe same stature (i. Ibn Sina), he comments on ‘arious traditional philosophical pies ie. metaphysics, ontology, ‘pietemology, logic ete. Iteodution In recent years there has heen a disenssion among the scholars ‘of Suhrawardi as tothe tre nature of his teachingsand the nature fof his specific contribations to Islamic philowophy, These dix ‘cussions have led to the emergence of three distinet inter- pretations of Suhrawardian philosophy. Before embarking on an ‘exposition and analysis of Suhrawardis mica ideas, tx neces: ‘sy to briefly discuss these trends since i will enable us to place thoughts of Subrawardi in an appropriate context. 1. SUHRAWARDI THE LOGICIAN: This view, primarily held by H. Zi") argues that the salient feature of Surawardis philosophy is his Peripatetic writings and in particular his commentarcr on logic and his critique of the peripatetic view of definition as 1 means of cognition. Zi, who Considers the nonPeripatetic writings of Suhrawardi to be of ‘secondary value hardly ever refers to his mystical narratives Tia’ interpretation of Subrawardi's though i ather narrow and does not present the comprehensive nature of Sphrawardis philosophy of illumination as one that i inclusive of ratonallstic philosophy but is ot limited to peripatetic philosophy. Ido not ‘ish to provide an extensive response to the above view but this ‘much should suffice, that even a brief examination ofthe conpus ‘of Suhrawardi’s writings reveals the extent to which he went ‘beyond the fashionable philosophieal school of his ime, namely the sort of logical analysis that was caried out by dhe Peripatetics. Furthermore, to ignore the vaet body of Subraward's mytial narratives also ignores the reason he wrote these mystical treatises If Suraward did not consider :her tobe necessary, he would not thave composed them with such care or given repeated instructions this companions to safeguard them. The mtical narratives of Sulraward! sould be regarded as part and parcel ofthe doctrine of illumination and iin such treatises that he offers dhe second ‘component of the ishrag school of thought, namely prateal wis: ‘dom, something thatthe above interpretation completely ignores. 1. SUHRAWARDI THE NEO-AVICENNIAN: ‘The view held by some of the prominent scholars of Islamic philo- sophy such as Mehdi Ha'im and Sayyid Jalal abDin Ashtiani, regards Suhraward as a philosopher who remains essentially seiShriard and dhe Sehoo! of lamination ‘within the Tin Sinian philosophical domain despite his inno- ‘ations and deviations from the Peripatetic view. ‘A neorb Sinian reading of Subrawardi takes a broader look at ‘his philotophy and considers both Suhravard's commentaries on logle andl metaphysis and his shragi writings to be of great philo: sophical significance. Subravacdi accordingly & regarded 25 one ‘who by drawing from various sources, interprets Tbn Sia from a Neoplatonie view point, thereby synthesizing Aristotle, Pato, Pythagoreans and Hermetieism “The above view in my opinion i more valid tan the previous fone but it too lacks emphasis on the mystical wrigs of Subra- ardi, Such notions as the attainment of knowledge through Initial experience and Subrawardi's explicit emphasis on ascet> ‘Gam as 4 necewary component of pursuing the wisdom of illumi nation is too often ignored by a néo-Tbn Sinan interpretation of Sahraward Proponents ofthis interpretation, too do not pay the attention that the Persian writings of Suhranardi deserve, often regarding them only as fine works of literature. The mystical hnaratves of Suhrawardi present in a metaphorical language that ‘whieh the language of rationaliste philosophy often fails 10 Achieve. Even Ibn Sind himself relies on the use of a symbol language in his visionary recitals to propogate certain philo- sophical notion tha ordinary language of peripatetic philosophy ‘a not convey. II, SUHRAWARDI THE THEOSOPHIST: “This interpretation of Subaravard asa theosophist (aki) is also advocated by a number of prominent Suhravard scholars such a5 Seyyed Hossein Nagr and! Henry Corbin. The thrust ofthis inter- pretation isthe multidimensional aspect of the Suhrawardian Philosophy. According to this interpretation, rationalist philo: Eophy i prevequsite to the suudy of israg’ philosophy and an integral component oft Unlike the former two interpretations, however, Nasr and Corbin argue thatthe role of rationalise philosophy i limited fone according to Subrawardi because it demonstrates the limita tions of reason to bring about Knowledge of un existential nature ‘The intellect that yearns towards the absolute, transcends reason and dough intelletsal intuition (dew) embraces the Divine truth, The faculty of intellectual inition which exists potentially Inwrodueton in man can be actualized ifone it engage in inner cleansing and purificaion which makes one receptive to divine wisdom, In one ‘of is lengthier treatises, Suhraward himself allies tothe prac ‘alas well asthe theoretical dimension of fikmah and states: He [God] is bikmah in that hikah is of two divisions: one is pure knowledge andthe other one is practical. Knowledge is to conceptualize the reality of the existent beings but praxis isthe ctr of action emanating from the essence ofthe doer! In numerous places throughout his treatises, Suhrawardi ‘explicit addremes the role and place ofthe practical dimension ‘of the isha school by discussing in great detail specific Sufi rituals, components of an ascetic path and their spiritual conse- {quence forthe slik (he who ton the ath). {adhere tothe third interpretation since it does not negate or ‘exch the fist evo altemative interpretations but gites appro: priate credit to Suhrawardi's mystical dimension aswel. Since this ‘uy will focus on the Sull aspects of Subravard'’s school of itlomination, emphasis «placed on the mystical clements of his ‘hotgh Tris obsious that Suhrawardi has writen variety of mysleal narratives deliberately using the traditional Sufi symbolism and metaphors. Furthermore, the numberof these treatises the se of Sufi language and expressions, as well as explicit emphasison sch notions as the spiritual path, the need for a muster and ascetic practices, all indicate one thing, namely Suhraward's desire to “iselose the place and significance of the Sufi component of the school of ing. lis therefore our view that disregarding the Sufi elements of| the Suhrawardian thoughts leads to a misinterpretation of the school of Isveg which # often followed by an attempt to place Sulraward in one of the traditional sehools of Islamic philosophy ice. peripatetic. leis the opinion of this author that Subraward did notrely on one methodology for the understanding of truth but that he made full se of the possibilities that exist inthe philo- sophical as wells the practial aspects of wisdom. "A mote compretiensivestdy of Subraward includes an exten sivedlsussion ofhis ontology, epistemology, angelology and logic. Since this ty wl focus on the Safi aspect of Suhravardiand the schoo! of lumination, our treaument ofthe peripatetic aspects ofSuramar andthe School of Muminasion his thoughts are necessarily rather bret: However, certain aspects ‘of his angelology and ontology that serve as the background for both practical and philosophical Sufism have been treated more extensively than oder. Inthe first chapter, the life and works of Suhravard have been | discussed. Both Suhriward’s philowphieal and Sufi writings are briefly anatyeed, parientarly the suucture of his philosophical ‘works, In the second chapter, the intllecwual context of Subra srardis thought in his historial period has heen alluded to before {broad survey of the central dheznesand the essential components ‘of his school of ina are dense. Finally, we have presented the ‘istinetion Suhrawardi makes between philosophy in its rationalise sense and hikmah, A thorough understanding of this Aistinetion crucial for placing the Suhrawandian thought in is proper context Th the thd chapter, Subraward’s views concerning. practical ‘idom are discussed. Sufism on x practical level remains an inte= {gral part of Subravard’s philosophy and he describes the various Elements ofthe spiritual path in great detail In this chapter such {opies as mystica sions, the nature of man and carnal desires, the role ofthe Sufi master snd the spiritual journey ofthe soul as well tthe role of asceticiam have been discussed. Finally, unity as the Ukimate goal of Suis has been treated asthe fnal stage of the spiritual path Tn the fourth chapter, philosophical Sufism is extensively treated. The subject of emanation and the hierarchy of light and thei relationship with one another as well as angelology, a deri ‘ative of Sula’ ontology, have been discussed. Angelology in Suhrawardi represents an important aspect of his thought in that he introuces various elements from other traditions in par cular the Zoroastrian religion. Through angelology, Suvari dlscuses the archetypal world as well as the imaginal world at reallties that stand opposite to the world of imagination, Subse ‘quent, Subrawardi's theory of vision i its physical and spiritual Sense as well av the relationship between knowledge, presence, Tight and st have been dnciased. ‘At the heart of Subrawarel's school of illumination isa parti cular theory of Knowledge known as “knowledge by presence". To ‘offer an exposition ofthis theory, a critique of the more conven- tional theories of knowledge ich as knowledge by definition, sense perception and innate concepts ha first been offered in the second part of this chapter. Having presented § (rtique ofthe inadequacies ofthese modes of know ‘of knowledge by presence has been discussed. The chapter con cludes vith a discussion concerning the practical consequences of this theory and a critique of knowledge by presence. Tn the fith chapter, the influence of Suhrawardi on Islamic Philosophy in various parts ofthe Inhme world as wellas the West Ihas been presented. Among the topics discussed are the influence ‘of Sahrawardi' shag! though in ringing about sich schools of Philosophy as the “School of Isfahan". We have noted Subra- ‘rari influence in India and Pakistan and the extent to which his ideas were instrumental in making the intellectual milieu ofthis region receptive t0 the philosophy of Mulla Sadra. Finally, the posible influence of Suhrawardi in uch regions ax Syrin and ‘Turkey have been alluded to and the limited influence of Suhra- ward in the wes, n particular in France, was Diefly discussed Thave brought the volume toa canchision by examining a poss itte relationship besween Suhravardiand the Persian nationalistic movement known ss Shu abiyah, In the append, my translation into English of a partial com- mentary of 7/13 Indian autor on The Ghent of Gabriel's Wing, one ‘of the most important esoteric works of Suheawardi has been included. This translation is important: fis, itrepresentsa sample ‘of Suhrawardi's esoteric writing: second, the commentary elabor- ‘ates on soine of the more complex symbolism in this treatic; and ‘nally ie sigaies the historical importance of Suhra- ward as it demonstrates how his writings have taveled from Syria to India fol two centuries after him.THE LIFE AND WORKS OF SUHRAWARDI A UFE Subravardi ys born in a village near Zanjan, a norther Lanian icy, His fll name is Shihab al-Din Yahya ibm Habash abo Amira ADOTFuaH Subrawardi, who also received the ttle “Shaykh alishraq” (the Master of Ilumination) and “alMagral” (the Marty). The date of his bitth is not certain but his most notable biographer, Shahrizari? indicated that he was born in 548/ 1166 ‘0850/1171 while SH. Nasr notable scholar of Subrawardi, has stated the date to be 549/170. ‘Avan early age Suhrawardi went to the city of Maraghah, where he studied Hoa with Majd al-Din fii, and he then traveled 10 Isfahan, where he studied philosophy with Zahir alDin alan and ‘The Observations (alBaxa%) of "Umar ibn Salan alSawi* He journeyed through the Islamie lands to meet the Sufi masters while practicing scetciam and withdrawing for Jong spiritual reueats He tess that he had looked for 8 companion with spietual insight equal © his, bt he Failed to find one* Having wandered through Anatolia and Syria on one of his journeys from Damarcus to Alleppo, he met Malik Zahir, the son (ofthe famous Salah alDin Ayyabi (Saidin). Yaqut ibn ‘Abdalla iLHamawi® put the date of this journey to Syria at 579/1200. Shabiazar, his contemporary and bibliographer, writes: Malik liked the Shaykh and he liked him. The "ulama of Syria ‘gathered around the Shaykh and heard his words. In di fssions he clarified the thoughts of the fukamé’ and their ‘aly and weakened the opinion of the opponents of the Iuka’‘Suhrawardi and dhe Sehool of Muminaton Itisnot known whether Subraward did ran a number of students ‘oF not but iis known that he had a cirele of close friends and ‘Companions on whose request he composed The Phas of lm “nation (Hikmat alisha). Towards the end of this book, he refers {ois companions as “his brothers” and asks them to preserve the book from the enemies of wixdom. This again alludes to the existence of certain group of friends or followers who knew him personaly Perhaps for political reasons Subraward's friends found i if ‘cult to write his biography? Shahar isthe only one who speaks Of him in a manner that suggest he had met him personally, though this is highly unlikely heause neither Suhraward nor any other biographer of him makes reference to this point. ts posible thar Shabrazuri came 10 know of Subravardi through Some individual who knew the master personally. ‘Suhrawarel’s Keen intelligence, his vast and profound knowl edge and finally his opennes to other traditions of wisdom as well ft his esoteric orientation, brought about hostility and antagon- laed the doctors of aw at Malik Zahie's court. Yasof ibn Taghrk bird in his book alNuyjim alsahrah f sulk mir wa'bgohirah describes a meeting between himself snd Subraward in which he calls him a "man with vast knowledge anda small mind” Th comparison to other Muslim philosophers, especially Iba ‘Sind, he ranked hmelf ax equal and stated In dicursive sciences I am equal, if not superior, but in mtellecwal intuition (dhaug) Lam superior = Having advocated a ype of wicom which was inconsistent with the views of the orthodox jurist, chey finaly asked Malik Zahir o put Sulrawatd to death for believing in heretical eas. When he refused they signed a petition and sent ico Saladin, who ordered hisson to have him killed, Maik Zahir relucandy carried out his father’s order and Suheawardi was killed in the year 9817/1208 ‘Taghnbirds indieated that Subiravardi’s death took place on the Friday of the month of July (Diw'thajah). Aecording to Shab rrunan, there ae diferent accounts of how he died. Shahrazurt he was thrown jn jail and eating and drinking was denied to him until he died. Some say he fasted until he joined with his Origin, Some are of the opinion that he was suffocated 2 ‘The Life nd Works of Surana and yet others believe he was killed by the sword and there are those who say he war dropped from the wall of the Fortress and then burned * Sulhrawardi's death was as mysterious as his lif, Except for a hhumnber of works, he did not leave much behind to shed light on Is Ife. He shied away from people and only soughe the com panionship of learned men, His manner of dcessng ssi to have ‘atid from day ta day. One day he would dress in court style and the very next day he would ess matey mn order to understand Suhrawardis philosophy, the socio. political conditions under which he ined must be understood. This "ott say that his philosophy is subject to historic, but that some of the ia involved in hie death ae well a certain philovophiesl tends in his ideas may be further clarified i dhe crcunstaness under whieh Je red ere tier rion As SHE New snes "The exuses for Suhrawardis death can not be trly discovered until dhe situation of the region, historically, religiously, ‘sophicaly and socially ie dhoroughly investigated" Suheawardilved during a turbulent period when northern Syria ‘was undergoing a major change from being a sirong Sh've center to.a Sunn dominated region. He came to Aleppo at atime when ‘this transformation was taking place snd when Sali was sen a ‘the lat hope for Musiims as the strong man who cotld confront the Crusaders. Ina situation auch as this the more exoteric jurists were not in any mood t allow a young philosopher, perhaps with some Shi'ite tendencies, to comupt”Saladit's son, Malik Zahir, in ‘whose court Suhraward lived. Tn ight of the above factors, one can view Suhrawardi aa Persian who inherited a rich culture with Zoroastrian elements it, a philosopher well versed in Peripatetic philosophy, and a ‘mystic who ried to demonstrate that a the heart of al the divinely revealed traditions of wisdom there is one universal ruth. Perhaps his desice to demonstrate such a unity had to dowith the apparent ‘hostility of different religions to one another, in particular Chrs- tianity and Iam. At a tine when Christians and Mustims were ‘engaged in a bloody war, Subraward's message of unity was per- ceived to bea dangerous and even a heretical doctrine “There are several possible explanations for Suhraward’s death hich can be formulted as Follows:Shriver and the Seheol of Muminaion 1, Subrawardi wae advocating a form of Persian nationalis'™ which is generally considered to be a reaction to the ‘domination of Arabs aver Persia. This view, which i# often supported by the presence of Zoroastrian elements in his doctrine, is in my opinion incorrect since i is contrary to the spit of bis philosophy and because Suhrawardi must have Understood thatthe court of Malik Zahir, the center ofthe Arab ‘world, was not the best place to advocate Persian nationalism, 2. In hisamticle, “The Sosree and Nature of Polical Authority in Suhrawatdi's Philosophy of Mumination," H. Zi argues that Suhrawardi advocated a political doctrine which considered the “king philosopher” to he the rightfl rule. This must have been offensive to both the Caliph in Baghdad and SelalyakDin Ayjbi, Ashe states While Subraward’s categories of Divine philosopherssages include a wide range of pes, the most general being com posed of the pe called Brethren of Abstraction ihwin liad) which inehides the perfect philosopher referred to 1 God's vicegerent (hala! Allk) Who may be the actual niler (a's) of an era. ‘Such an idea a advocated in the beginning of Hikmatalishrag murthave been rather alarming tothe more orthodox elements in Malik Zahir's court Iehas been argued by some, including Shahrazur, that some of| Suhtawardi’s companions called him "a prophet of God” (AbO'-Furity Ras AILS). IF the abowe is true, then it may have been the likely eause of Subraward's execution. One can make a cite for this by arguing that since Suravardi believed that he was the unifier of two branches of wisdom, he must have assumed a role for himself which was above and beyond that of 2 philosopher and mystic. The argument becomes stronger tren Sultrawardi tells us that wisdom as such began by the prophet Hermes and then was divided into ovo branches, Suhravardi then implicitly argued that he was at least atthe same rank as Hermes, B. INTELLECTUAL CONTEXT Suhrawaedl ved ata ime when the influence and power of the Mutaziite’s theology had been substantially curtailed by the “The Life nd Works of Surana Ashrites. The result of the Mu'tarlite’s rationalization was the Aharite Kalin, which paved the way for a more literary and fexoteric imerpretation of Islam. While the debate amoag the Advocates of intlleenial sciences continued, philosophical and theological schools were alto challenged by the more experiential ‘school of the Sufi, whose epistemological methodology ques tioned the very foundation sipon vwhich intellectually oriented schools had established their theories of knowledge. Such Sufi ‘ages a8 Biya and Hallij, who influenced Suhraward, were instrumental in the development of his mystical thought. Their reliance upon purification and asceticism was an alternative to the ‘more philosophically oriented epistemological paradigms. ‘Athis sical juncture, Ghazals the most prestigious master of Kalam and learned an in the religious sciences, attacked the philosophers fr thei reliance soley upon reason for dhe atainment fof certainty. Chazzli'satempt to demonstrate the above as exer plied in the Tahaie allan paved the way for Sum to chal Tenge the more pilesophiealy erented schools of thought. Satis, sa reault of Ghizzils attack on philosophy, came to be viewed ina Sliferent light asa school whose Intellectual ment had to be recog: nized and was 10 Limited to outbursts of emotions embodied in Iyres,poctry and the practice ofxcticsm, Considering the apparent polarization beeween the Pripattcs and Sufis, the question on the {Intellectual horizon of theme may have heen whetheritvmsposble tobring abouta rspprochement benscen these wo opposing schools Sobravard, at we wil ee, demonstrated tha such a syiess wae not ‘only pomible but necessary and dhat a thorough flint with the Peripatetic philosophy wae the prerequisite forthe understanding of the philosaphy cf illumination, This attempt to creaie a bridge ‘between the rationalist tradition in Islamic pilosophy and agnostic view of knowledge dominated philosophical activities in Persia for several centuries [At the center ofthese controversies stood Nba Sina with is all ‘encompassing philosophical system. Ibn Sins’s philosophy by the {ime of Subrawardi had een interpreted in different ways al this Drought about a number of schools which were essentially Ibn Sinian buteach one emphasised certain aspects of his ideas Firs, there were those sections of Tbn Sina's philosophy which were purely Arbtoelin in nature and can be categorized s+ Peri pete philosophy. The peripatetic tradition lourshed and it was this interpretation of Ibn Sina which was mainly opposed to .Suns and the School of I Sufism. There were aio those such a the exponents of Kalam who. found tba Sina’s logic and metaphysics to be a useful means of| ‘analysis and therefore adopted them. Such a tend reached is ‘imax in the works of Fakir al-Din Rivi who applied Tb Sinian logic and metaphysics to solve various problems in Kalam. Finally, ‘here wan the mstical aspect of Ibn Sina which received lest attention than his rationalise writings In these pes of writings such as Hayy ibn Yaqoan and the final chapter of the Isha dhe Neoplatonie aspect of Thn Sina's philosophy is most apparent. Suhravardi waa well aware of sich writings For example, in his work al Ghurbet agharbiya (The Occidental Brie, We continues Th Sins story using some ofthe same metaphors ‘Sulraward therefore appeared on the intellectual seene at a time when various interpretations of Ton Sind had resulted in the emergence of different schools which often were antegnostic to fone another To the existing differences between various interpretations of thn Sina must be added the influx of foreign ideas and philosophies. Thie mtelletual diversity was the result of the tran Fation of Greek texts and the interaction ofthe learned masters of sch traditions as Neoplatonism, Pythagoreans, Hermeticism ancl Greek philosophy within the Muslim intellectual circles. Sulraward, who sw himself a the reviver of Sophia Peres so synthesized rationalise philosophy of the Peripatetcy, the prac ‘eal wisdom of the Suis nd intelectual intuition ofthe isha Suliraward’s ideas permeated the tradition of Islamic philo- sophy and provided the Shi'ite philosophers with the means to Gifer a more intellectually justifiable explanation for the more fsotericagpects of Islam, in contrast to the more scriptal or ‘cxoterie mterpretation of lam. Subravardi, asa thinker who was to reconcile rationalism and mysticism within one single philo- Sophical system, bridged the deep divbion between wo inter pretitions or approaches to the message of Islam. The spe ff wisdom that Suhrawardi developed, known as abfiiimat tblahiyah (transcendental theosoph), encompasses rationalism land yet goes beyond it by basing ielf on a dircet vision of the touch ‘Surawardi carried outan ecumenical analysis wth Zoroastrian religion, Pphagorianism and Hermetcism on an existential and ‘Goteric level. Perhaps his major achievement is that he pioneered ‘what H. Corbin calls “Sprittal Hermeneutics,” which maintains 6 “The Life and Works of Suramar ‘ecumenical work has 1 be carried out by those who speak from ‘within a tradition and that their very being hae become the mani- festation ofthe truth of the tradition in question C. ASURVEY OF SUHRAWARDI'S WORKS. ‘Suhraward's writings are diverse and dynamic and he oft {rom the exposition of a purely philosophical argument to 4 pro- foundly mystieal narrative His works are written in differen ss, ive, Peripatetic, mystica, and ishragi, In the last few decades, although many of Subrawardis works were introduced to th public by SH. Nagr and H. Corbin « number of Suhrawardi’s ‘works femain unpublished, Among the unpublished works of ‘Suhrawardi we ean mention his writings on the natural sciences, mathematics and logie that are included in the (wo major books alMutrahat (The Book of Conversations) and. al Mugiatomat (The Baok of Opposites) aswell asa Talahat (The Book of Inimations. Alto, the complete Arabic texts of Alok madi (The Tables of rad alDin), alLamahas (The Flashes of Light) and at Wari {ee Tain Trewations and Payers) ate not available H. Corbin in his €Archange empowrrée has wanslated large scctions ofthe Persian works of Suhrawardi Ako, Corbi’ tans- Tation ofall but the logic ofthe kat ashrag™ along with much ‘of Qinb al-Din Shirizi and Mulla Sadr’s commentary upon the “Hike alshrag, provides an excellent source for the students of Subawardl. WM. Thackston® in the Mtial and Visionary Treaties of Shikabuddn Yahya Subrawards has alo translated Some of the Persian mystical narratives of Subrawardi** Several attempts have heen made to offer a clasiication of ‘Subrawardi’s works. L, Massgnon’s classification of Suhraward's ‘works based om the period when he composed them i 8 follows: 1 Writings of Subrawardl in his youth (early works) 2 Peripatetic writings. | Writings which represen synthesis of Ibn Sind and Plotinus “The problem which this classification poses is that Suhrawardi did not ve a long life, and mow of his works were composed when he tras quite young. Alto, how do we account for sich works as Aah “madi, which is one of his early wrtinge and yet contains strong. tskrag elements? This work i dediated to Prince “Imad who ruled fn 5S1/1181, and considering that Subrawardi was killed in 587/ 7Suhranard and dhe Schoo! of lamination 1181 he must have writin this book at rughly the same time as ‘The Philosphy of lturination. ‘SH, Nasrand H. Corbin have by and large agreed toa structural lasification of Suhraward's works, which i35 follows™ 1, Subraward wrote four large treaties that were of doctinal Insure: ak Talat (The Bash of Intimation,atMupecmat (The oak of Oppose, al Mifrahat (The Bok of Covet) ate Tinlly ima otha (The Pally of Marina). Te Bes thee of dese works are writen in the tradition of the Fer= patetic aldhough these are cricams of certain concept ofthe Peripatetic in them. 2. There are shorter nots, ome of which ae aio ofa doctinal signiicance but should be viewed as further explanations ofthe Tnrger doctrinal teatises These books are: Haya! almar (Leemncus Bain), Aluih ‘Tnadi (The Tals of mad al Dn Partawnanah Treason nation), gad fUchamd (On the ath of he Thphr), Lamabat (The lane of igh), Vcd ‘ind Roeder of the Divi), and Bsn aud (The Garden Af the Hear Some of teve works ate In Arabica some in Pera. His works in Persian are among. the finest trary vwtings inthe Peri language, Subrawards isl ay have Tnlated some ofthese weatses fom Arabic into Persian.” 2: Suhravardh wrote & number of weates of esoteric nature in Persian, These initatry narratives contain highly symbolic langage and incorporate Zoroastrian and Hermetic symbols as wellas amc ones These treaties include Tt wr Red Ine) Ae por rl (he Chant of Cais Ing Qa alhura lghartyah (Sry of he Oriental Bue), Laghats minim (Language ofthe Termite), Risa ft alot alfa (Trot om the Sale of Childhood, Rai ba Joma‘ “afin (3 Day Among th Sufi), Sirs srg (Te Sind of te Gift, Rik fmt aj (Treat on te Nocral Asen), Pato ‘mah Vvatie on Mmination). These weaties are intended o Alemonstate the journey ofthe sul toward unity wits God and the iuheren yearning of man toward gross (ref) 4, There are also a number of teaver of philosophic and inate nace. These include his translation of Fisala lay (Tate of te Birds) in Sina and the commentary in Persian ‘spon Th Sins kat land There are alo is teatise dah baie al hg (Tete one Rain of La), which is 5 “The Life and Works of Subraward toate on Ibn Sind’s Rislah fishy (Toate om Low), and his commentaries on verses ofthe Quran and the Hadith ‘Alo, tissaid that Suhrawari may have written commentary ‘upon the Furi of Farabi, which has been lost 5, inal chere isthe category of his liturgical writings, namely prayers, invocations and litanies. Shahrazuri® calls them lk Waridat wa lags (Dnvecations and Prayers) ‘These important writings of Subrawardi, despite the extracts ‘which appear in translation of H. Corbin's 'Archang empourpri, have rece the least amount of attention Tn what follows, have offered a brie discussion of Subrawardi's ‘works. Emphasis has heen placed on Subaward's mystical narra ties, their significance and place inthe school of sbrag, since this volume undertakes a disccusion of Suhrawardi's Sufi and mystical ‘ews and not his Peripaeti wrkngs. 1. ALTALWIHAT (INTIMATIONS) Suhravard wrote this book in the tradition ofthe Peripateticaasa fist step in establishing the cornerstone of his philosophy of itkimination. Ashe states and I, before writing this book (Hikmat aishrig) and ‘hile doing this, when obstacles prevented me from pro- ‘eeding with this, wrote books for you in the uadition of Peripatetic, and their philosophical. principles have been summarized in those books. Among them there i a short Work known a elTalahat atlauhiyyah atarshayah, which principles, and, despite is small wolume, all the philosophical principles of the Peripateties have been summarized, and in the order of ranks it comes after the book abLamahae® In this work, Suhrawardireinterprets the categories of Aristotelian logic by reducing them from te to four and introduces motion as new category while arguing that it was not Aristotle who ‘discovered them but a Pythagorean named AKhutas (Arehytas)* “Arguing that quantity can be reduced to quali, (i.e. a shoreline is “weaker” than a long one), Subrawardi reduces quantitative differences into qualtaive oncs™ °‘Shravan the Schoo! of Muminaion ‘Among other topics of discussion in the abTatushat are uni verse and particulars, the eal and the conceptual, and “being” (onpid) and “essence” (maliiyah)- Instead of supporting the prin- Cipality of exixence av Toa Sind did, Suhravardi supports the principality of “essence” Alo, the existence of necessary beings find Ibn Sini’s prools for the existence of the Necessary Belng (jib a sujid)® swell x offering an shragi reading of Aristotle ace among the topie diseused Th the al Tatura, Suiravardi offers an account of his vision of ‘whom he perceived to be the fine teacher, Aristotle, and his Conversations with him ® This encounter of Sukrawardi, which took place in astate between dreaming and belng awake, had great influence on the development of hi theory of the history of philosophy and the distinction that he makes between Iikonatand philosophy in its discursive form. “The Assiote to whom Subravardi alludes to is the Aristole of| the Theol, who is act if the Peripatetics like Fara philosophers. Avistote repied: [Not a degree in a thousand. Rather, the Sufs Bastin and Tstar are the real philosophers.” Suhrawardi then ditcusses how Aikat and che "Science of Light” (itm abit) originated with Hermes and passed on to such figures in he West se Pythagoras, Empedodes, Plato, Agatha daimons, Asclepius and 20 on wnt it reached him In the East this scierice was transmitted through two main channels, namely the ancient Persian priest Kings such as Rayumarth, Farin, Kay ‘Kaieraw, and sich Sufis as AbU Yarid abBastami, Abu. Hassan al-Kharragini and finally Mangia Hall, who deeply influenced Sbraward.™ ‘A person who needs it may find it necessary to know prior to The Philsophy of Hinton ithe Iaimations wnere [have stated the points on which T differ fom the Master of di carsive philosophy, Aristotle 2, ALMUQAWAMAT (OPPOSITES) Aton, whichis written inthe tradition ofthe Peripateties And inthe ayle of the al Talet, provides a much more specific 0 “The Life and Wook of Sahravara explanation of ieagi ideas. In the introduction 10 the ‘a MugawomatSubraward sate: ‘This the summary of a book known as af Talutat and in this, necessary corrections have been mace in regard to what the ancients have sad, The exposition of there materials de tothe necesity tobe brie, was not done inthis book and we have decided on the minimum amount of discourse. and for this reason we have called it alMugawamt, and on Gol T relyand seek help." al Mugdwomat should be regarded as an addendum to the ‘aL Talat although its ess expository in nature and more argu ‘mentative, Suhrawardh alles to the face that ob Mupiamct fs a guide to a beter understanding of alTatwrhat!* and the Peri patetic doctrines are analyzed more fly therein, {3 AL-MASHARI WA'L-MUPARANAT (THE PATHS AND THE (CONVERSATIONS) ‘This is one of the more important works of Suhrawardi and his Jengthiest work, which containea mixture of discursive and illum tonist argument. Ih the introductory section, he recommends this book tall these who have not alained mastery of the dis cursive sciences and therefore have their path towards under ‘anding of the higher wisdom of illumination obstructed. The introduction to this book is of great importance since it ‘expltins the purpose and the place ofthis work among other works ‘of Suhrawardi and also alludes to the existence of a circle of Spiritual companions to Subrawardi, Ashe sates: “This book consists of three siences that Ihave weitten in accordance with the request of you brothers and [ have placed in them arguments and criteria. These argumentsand Criteria cannot be found in other texts and are truly bene- ficial and seful They are the reule of the inferences and experiences of my own intellect. However, in these criteria L ‘dLd not deviate from the sources of the Peripatetis, and if had put fine points and tani in them, they are from the honorable principles of ishrag wisdom which undoubyedly is “perio to hat the Pripateics have brought, Anyone who ‘would strive and be unbissed, after meditating upon the uSuhrawardi and the School of onintion works ofthe Peripatetic, will arrive a the same conclusion tha others have reached. Anyone who has not attained the mastery of discursive sciences, his path to the understanding of tag wisdom is blacked and itis necessary that this book be studied before The Phiespty of Mumination and afer 3 short work called Jntmation. I should be known that this book, have not compiled (the issues) chronological, bout dhe intention in this work is argumentation alshough we may end up with (the discussion of miscellaneous) sciences, When the person who desires discursive philosophy has properly understood ths section and established his Luow- fdge in disregard, then it x permissible for him to st foot in ascetie practices and enter iaray x0 he ean see certain principles of illumination. The three forms of illumi: hationist wisdom are as follows [EF and knowledge of them comes only ater illumination. The beginning of i mination fs detachment from the work; the dle ways the fomervation of divine ight: and the ends limites. 1 have ‘called this book The Pah andthe Consrations®* From the abose, ts apparent that this work of Subrawardi i not fonly writen in the tradition of the Peripatetic, but that it also contains some of his mystical experiences. Tn section seven of this work" he leaves the discursive method to elaborate on such topics aslife after death, necessary beings, etc The metaphysical and epistemological ates which he deals with are elaborated on toa great extent i his Magnum Opus the Hikmat ftishrag, On the significance of the al Mugawnat he states: T recommend to you my brothers to detach yourselves fom everything and meditate upon God continously, and the key tothisidea sin The Philauply of Mumination. These issues tehich we have mentioned have not been discussed elsewhere tnd toset foot on this path we have prescribed a plan without revealing the secret.° al Mashinwatmujérahat is one of the few places where Suhr ‘ward treats the subject of the language of illumination, and is ‘cial fr the understanding of The Philasoply of lunination and “the language of illumination” (isan abishra) + In Tight of such ‘anahsi which isearied out within dhe context of light and dark- ‘es, Suhrawardi goes so far to evaltate his mystical experiences 2 Te Life and Works of Subranards 4. HIKMAT ALISHRAQ (THE PHILOSOPHY OF ILLUMINATION) This is the fourth doctrinal work and the Magnum opus of Sahrawi, Ie brings together different elements of ihrag wad tion and was composed in the period of x few months im 582/ 1182. Suhrawardi maintains thar the content of this book was revealed to him by the divine spirit “These truths and secrets were revealed to meat once bythe spirit on a Strange day... in onlya few days" “The philosophical and dheosophieal docuines that are dis- ‘seein this book ni the foundation for future developments in the fleld of “philosophical gnosis” not to mention thee profound infence upon the formulation ofthe esoteric aspect of Shim." Despite numerous commentaries on the The Philosophy of ‘ussnation, such 2 those of Qutb alin Shirai and Ahmad Ton bara” Subravardis on Introduction to his work i perhaps the most elueidating one. There he states: And this book of ours belongs to those who seek knowledge fof both an iniatie and discursive nature. Those who only eck lscursve reasoning and are nether divine nor desire to tae, have no place in this book, We shall not discus his book ‘rita secret except with those who are theosophist or seck divine knowledge” ‘The Phils of lumination can ronghly be divided into two pats, the fiat being a dicussion of Peripatetic philorophy,logie and other related lames which have been regarded by many as less ‘ignifcant than the second part. The second part consist of his Ishrogi writings which are writen in a peculiar language and are lunique in the history of Islamic philosophy. In this work Suhrawasdi provides a philorephieal exposition of the journey of| the soul beginning wit purification and ending with ilamination This part of the book which is nevertheless discursive, discusses ‘many of the traditional problems of philesophy in a language bother than tha employed by peripatticn Sulrawar Beye the second part of The Palsy of Humin- ‘atin eth deserption of the axiomatic nature of light and the ‘assifiation of eifferent beings i terms of their tansparencyand ‘he division of light into many different types, Le- necessary and Contingent, Suhtawardi alo tells ws in this section about the Source of wisdom at that light whieh has illuminated various trai 18Sahravar and the Sehool of Mumination tions of wisdom and which ancient Persians called Bahman. Having discused the longtinudinal and latitudinal angelic orders, Suliraward then offers an ihrag’ analysis of vision and sight, the role of ight and their relationship to ilumination In The Peso of lhunination, Sunravrard isnot consistent in that be often goes from subject ta subject treating the same topic in many places. For instance, different ypes of lights and their relationships to one another often are elaborated upon in ‘numerous places throughout the book. Using an illuminationist scheme, Subrawardi diacusser cosmology, in particular, move ‘nents ofthe heavenly bodies and thei relationship to light, sense ‘eteeption anid the Caculties that make up the human psyche “Among the most important issues discussed in this wetion are \c shrug epistemology known as knosledge by presence inner purification and asceticism, Subrawardi, who dismisses this in fRumerous places, offers an analysis of how ts thatthe self comes to know of ivelf and how we can account for the dict and tinmediated nature of this Knowledge, Towards the end of this book. Subrawarelt reminds us that becoming. recipient of this knondge requires practicing asceticism, ‘We shall now tum to summary treatment of his works in Persian that are not only erucial to the understanding of Suhrawardis mysticem bot also are amongst the Finest examples of Persian Saf Ineratare |, PARTAW NAMAH (TREATISE ON ILLUMINATION) “This work encompasses a complete survey of major philosophical Jssues beginning with such subjects as time, space, and motion and offers an argument which i strikingly similar to Descartes “Capit” fr Ibn Sini’s “suspended man.” ‘Sahrawarai’s philosophical views in Pertaw nah are generally analogous to those of Ibn Sina Having argued forthe existence of the Necesary Being and the hierarchical structure of existence And the relationship between ontology and the moral worth of ‘beings, Swhrawardi goes om to discuss te problem of evil, free will and determinism within sn iraq context Since the Necessary Being is Pure Goodness and its natures the most complete and most intelligent of all beings, there- fore, from Him emanates only pute benevolence. If there ‘occur evil its good exceeds its evil" “ “The Life and Works of Sabranardh ‘Suhravardi argues for the immorality ofthe soul, pleasure and yin, and their relationship with the state of the woul after it ‘departs the body. Finally, Pertawnamah deals with prophets and prophecy, miracles and events of an unusual nature. This section Iswritten in the spe ot his isnopi writings and idiffevent fom the ‘ther chapters in that he makes extensive use of Zoroassian symbolism. (6. HAYAKIL ALNOR (LUMINOUS BODIES)* “This is one of his most important and well known treatises in Persian, Some of Subraward's commentators have gested that ‘extensive use of the word haskal isan indicatlon that Subravardi tay have been influenced by Imai In the first section of Hay alvin. he offers a definition of| what an object. In the second ehapter he diseuses the mind body problem, their interaction and the nature of “T°, which ix dliwine fom the body. He also pays atention tothe problem of “personal identiy” and argues af wo what is that consites the identigy of a person. In the third chapter he discusses different ‘concepts of Bring such as necesary and contingent. It isin the Fourth chapter, however, that Suhrawardi’s philosophical vewsare sliseussed with a mich greater depth and length He then goes on wo discuss the problem of eternity (gidam) and {he creation (hud) of the world in time and God's relation oi ‘Aho, he investigates the relationship beureen the movement of the celestial bodies, dhe qualities he ausibutes wo chem, and the process of illumination. In the later part of HayéAil amir, he Investigates such issues as the immortality of the soul and its “unification withthe angeli wold ater it departs the human body 17, ALWAHL IMADI (TABLET OF IMAD AL-DIN) In the introduction to this work Subrawardi indicates that this book has been wlitten in the sole of the islragis™ He begins, however, by a discussion on semantics and then moves on 0 ‘omsder such isues athe soul, is powers and is relationship with ‘the light of lights, The fst pat ofthe book discusses a number of hilowophical tates auch a the Necessary Being and its attributes, the problem of createdness and ecerity ofthe world and motion In so doing, he makes extensive references to Quran verses and 5‘Sobraward and the School of lumination “Hdlth In the later pare of the book Suhraward is engaged in an exegesis of the ancient Persian mythology and makes inter: pretations that are exential inthe formulation of his theosophical epistemology. This especially apparent towards the end of this ‘work where the fate ofthe human soul is discussed in sueh a way that the similarity of Islamic eschatology and Zoreastianisy 18 demonstrated. Subravards here argues that purification theough ascetic i the necessary condition for illumination. Ashe states SOnce the sou is paid, il be illuminated by divine light." Swhrawsrdi then tll usthat acetcim and purification are Hike fire whieh, once applied to iron, urinates the iron. The iron this case, cing the sul or the I’, ean become iluminated not ‘only becuse of the dominant character of the light of lights but als because of the inner yearning of the human soul for per- fection, The ight that functions as the iluminator ofthe bodyand the soul for Subravardi is the incorporeal light which he calls Kharrah Wis the presence of dis light inthe human soul that ‘enables man to have the inner yearning which isnecesary for the pursuit of the spiritual path. Suhrawards eseribes the human soul 4 «tree whore fruit is certimy, ora nice that, dough divine Fire, becomes ikiminated." In his writings Subravardi sees the ‘encounter of Moses and the burning bush inthis context and uses the story to sabwantiate his vag claim that iis only the divine fice dhat can illuminate dhe human soul Suhravard tells us that the reason for writing this book i to expose the “origin® and Alesination of man, He deseribes the origin as “The principles which are necessarily the case with regard to the Knowledge of the origin of man’s nature, are of exchat logical nature. This is in accordance with the ereed of the theosophists and the principles (lad down by) the lenned men of theosophy™ At the end Subravard offers an csoterc reading of story by Fire, the Pervan poet whose monumental work, The Bask of Kings san encyclopedia of Persian mythology. A complete discussion of Suhrnward' reading of sich figures as Farid, Zahbuk and Kay Kari i such that he wes them asthe manifestations of iv light. On the sgificance of this work, SH. Nag states: _Atwdh ‘nddtis one of the most brillian’ works of Subawardi in which the ales of ancient Persia and the wiom of gnosis 16 “The Life and Works of Subraward ‘of antiquity in the context of the esoteric meaning of the (Quran have been smhesized. Suhrawardt has madean inter- pretation ofthe destiny of te soul which Islamic Theosophy nd gnosis are in agreement with 8. RISALAT ALTAYR (TREATISE OF THE BIRDS) This work was originally written by fbn Sina and was transated and restated by Subrawardi inco Persian." Ie discloses a number of ‘soteric doctrines through the Language of the birds which Suhravardi, ‘Ati and Ahmad Ghazzlt had also used before him. ‘The story is about the fate ofa group of birds, who, having allen ‘nto the trap of hunters, describe haw their atempt free them shes faced with @ numberof setbacks and how the birds over- ‘come such obstacles. This work depits the spisiwal journey of ‘man from his original abode into the word of form ad how the atuichments of the material world can obstruct one's deste to ‘eumnite with his spiritual origin, Tn thiswork, Sueawadialludesto how human facltiesthat are rected to the sensible world obstruct the soul from its spiritual journey and the attainment of illumination. Suheawardi describes the dangers ofthe mystial path a Follows Ob, brothers in truth, shed your skin asa snake does and rai an anc walks 20 the sound of your footsteps cannot be heard. Be as a scorpion whose weapon is on his back since Satan comes from behind. Drink poison so you may be born. Fy continuowsly and do not choose a nest, for all birds are taken from their nents, and ifyou have no wings eral on the ground... Be like an ostrich who eats warm sand and ullutes who eat hard bones. Like «salamander, be in the middle of fire 0 no harm can come upon you tomorrow. Be like a moth who remains hidden by day so he may remain safe from the enemy. Suhavardi uses the above symbols to offer a set of practical intrictions for those who are on the Sufi path. For example, the shedding of one’s skin refers tothe abandoning of one's ego, and ‘raking lke an ant alludes tothe way one ough¢ to walk on the pth of tuth so at no one wail know it. Drinking poison sym bolicaly indicates the endurance of the pains and frustrations ‘which one is to experience on the spiritual path. By using the ”Subraward andthe Sehaol of Mumination prophetic hadith “love death s0 you may lve," Suhrawardi refers {o the spiritual death. The Sufi concept of annihilation isthe death nd rebirth that Suhravardi himself desribes ina poem: thou die before death ‘Thou hast placed thyself in eternal bls. ‘Thou who didst not set foot on this path Shame be upon thee that broughtes suffering upon thysel* Suhrawardiiusrates \atious hardships of the path by alluding to them asthe eating ofhot sand by the ostrich or the eating of sharp bones bythe vultures Enduring sich pain is necessary if one isto progress and achieve any station on the spiritual path. Suhwawardis use of a salamander hae diferent levels of tater- pretation, The Salamander isthe symbol of gold in alchemy and {old i the symbol of Divine Intellect. He could be referring not Sly to Abrsham who was thrown into fre, but also o the fre ‘with nan. The popular myth maintains that fa salamander goes through fire and does not burn, it becomes resant to every thing. Therefore, those who are consimed by divine love, which ‘burns lke Fire, have cast heir impurities into the fire. They have ‘allowed this fre and beeome purified. Finally, Subraward tells us that we ought 19 be lke a moth that flies at night and remains hidden by day. Night represents the ‘esoteric, the hidden aspect, and day the exoterie. In this way Sulbrawardi uses the symbols of traditional Sufi Iterature wich hight symbolizing the esoteric and the spirital milieu, proiding the sacred space whic allows man to Inthe Rialt alfa Sura describes the spriual journey of man by recounting the tale of a number of birds who were “fying freely” but fll nthe trap of the hunters. “ying freely” here syinbolzes the condiion in which man lived in the eternal state prior to creation, and falling into the trap denotes coming into the domain of material existence. This change signifies the transition from the formless tothe world of forms. Having become pritoners of the material world, often identified in Persian litersture ae the "prison of the body." those who are conscious of thisimprisonment can begin their journey towards their origin “The bird who finds himself a prisoner symnbolzes the worl rman, However, because of the forgetfulnes of human nature he becomes used to the altachments of the material world. This 18 “The Life nd Works of Sura audaptation and the acceptance of the condition is the greatest ‘danger in one’s spiritual journey, according to Subrawarl. Inthe Janguiage of the bids, Suhravardi states ‘We focused our attention on how we could free ourshes: We ‘were in that condition fora while until our fst principle was forgotten (eedom) and setled with these chains, giving in tothe rightness ofthe cage " Subirawardi's deseription of the spiritual journey in the “Treatise ‘of the Birds" continues with the Might ofthe birds when they tree themselves fom some of the bondages. To translate this nto Sul language, itean be aid that men whe have fallen into the world of forms cn part free themselves through their willpower; however, torremone all the chains of atachments they would eed the guidance of « master. While the potentiality for man to become laminated exists, the process will nos take place without the Inner yesening and the wll to make the journey. This point becomes ‘lear en the main character ofthe story hegs the other birds to ‘show him how they fied themeelves aang pursued the path of ascetiism and endured hardships, thc birds arrive at different states and stations of the path here they think is tme to rest, Subrawardi warns us agains the desire to rest in one place, although the beauties of the path whe he dleserbes as the “atuactions that remove the mind (‘Ay from the body” are extremely tempting? Finally, their desie to stay is overcome by divine grace, exemplified as a vice calling upon them to continue. Subrawatdldhen describes heir encounter with God, whore presence he describes ssa blinding light. The light of lights tells the birds that he who has placed dhe chains must remove them as well and God sends a messenger to oversee the removal ofthese chains. ‘The following principles ean be inferred from the silo: atta ie earthly fname nn pcs fer te min se 2 There sa neces for he woul fourney toward he Ugh 8. The grace that ataned through nich experience lp the ‘Sito remove the nal atachinents oth wor. 4. "The experience ofthe ight of igh canbe chewed one x able toficeHimsel fem the prion ofthe material world ig of 19Suhraverd and the School of H cis importane to teat Subrawaedis narratives and their peculiar literary se as part and parcel ofthe shragi doctrine. Whereas in The Philosophy of Iumination he offers the doctrinal analysis of ishrogithought, in his Pesan writing hei disclosing the practical [spect of his iraqi doctrine, without which his theesophical sy- {em would not be complete, Subesward's epistemological stem ‘imately relies on the type of window that is attained through practicing the shvagidoctrineand thats precy what he is uying fo demonstrate in hie mystical narratives. In fact, his instructions forthe attainment of truth in some of is other works are even more direct and specitic. 9, AWAZI PAR JIBRAIL (THE CHANT OF GABRIEL'S WING) “This highly esoteric work it about a seeker of truth who goes 10.2 hanaqah (Sul house) which ha wo doors, one facing the cityand the other one the desert, Having gone tothe desert, he meets ten pital masters and questions them with regard wo the mystery of ‘Greation, the stations of the path, andthe dangers therein, “The conversation which follows reveals the exential elements of the ica dactrine and the inition rite which is mecesary ifone isto understand the esoteric knowledge of the Quran... Inthe ‘cz’ par Jail hich as come to be Known a6. classical work of Persian literatures" Suhrawardi discusses the essential elements of his theosophical epistemology. There he states: "Most chings that your sense pereeption observes are all from the chant of Gabriet's wings” In tis most exoterically oriented treatise, he makes full use of the traditional symbolism of gnosisticim and a number of other ‘Symbol which are uniquelyemployed by him and cannot be found in the dasical Persian Salt lterature, The thrust of the work is stated in the beginning Ab "Al Farad, peace be upon him, was asked, How is iChat those who ate clothed in biack cll certain sounds che sound of G og?” He replied, “Know that most things that your faculties obverve are from the soured of Gabriel's wing.” (One can say that Subsaward’'s theory of knowledge s discussed in this mstical tale, In metaphorical language Subrawardi provides ‘ws with a map for developing a faculty within us tht is capable of 2 els ‘The Life and Works of Suara stining knowledge directly and without mediation. Relying onthe {taditionl symbolism of Sufi poetry and prose, Suhrawardi elabo- sates. on the contention that exists berween empiricism, rational jm and the gnostic mode of cognition 10, ‘AQUA SURKH (THE RED INTELLECT) Ins The Ro nun” the story begins wth the question of whether birds understand each other's guage. The eagle, who initially says es i ater captured by hunters and her eyes ae closed, only to be opened gradually: The eagle meets a red aced man wha claims t0 be the fr man who was created. He is old since he represents the perfect man who existed in the state of perfection before the creation,” the archetype of man, and he i young since ‘ontologcaly he is far removed from God who isthe eternal and therefore the oldest being. ‘Subrawardi then sses the Zoroastrian symbol of the Qit mountain, the sory of Zl, Rustam and other epic heroes at ‘exemplified in the Shah namah Qat isthe name of the mountain fon whose peak Grif (Simrg) the symbol of divine essence, resides. 2], who was bora with white hair representing wisdom tnd purity, was lfc atthe bottom of QA mountain, Simingh took Zal to bis nest and raed him untl he grew up and married Tabminah from whom Rustam was born. Rustam, the hero of Shak-nama, who often ix perceived asthe soul of epic Peri, ia ‘man who has ultimately overcome his own ego. Whereas Firdawsi, the author of Shah-namah emphasizes the epic and historical aspects of the Persian mythology, Subrawardi focuses on its ‘mystical and exoteie connotations. In this work Suhraward's theory of knowledge is expressed in 2 symbolic language similar to that of nde pars brad Using ane set of yinbos, Subravardi brings forth some ofthe classical issues Of Tslamie philosophy and mysiciam, such at the distinction between the rational faculty, which he calls the “particular fntellect, (‘agli jus) andthe Intellect which he calls “universal {nellec,” (age hull). In doing 2 he relies heaily on Zoroastrian symbolism and sources fcom ancient Persia. tis precisely the interaction between the minor and major inelieets thats the basis ‘upon which one can gain knowledge. Like other works of a theo- sephieal naire, Sunraward ides his theory of knowledge behind aSurin and the Schoo! of Hamination maze of myth and sybils which can only be disclosed ifone is familiar withthe traditional Sufi symbolism. 11, ROA BA JAMA:AT SURYAN (A DAY AMONG THE SUFI) ‘Te story begins ina khanagah, where several diseiple speak ofthe spvioul status of their smsters and their views regarding the ‘Geation.” Subrawardi, who speaks as a master, objects to such “questions which merely sock to explain. the nature ofthe universe find the structure ofthe heavens. Subrawardi comiders them to be ‘hallow and maintains that there are those who see the appearance and those who understand the science of the heavens. Final, there ae thine who attain the mantery ofthe celestial word, the tie men of knovledge, Subravardi then goes om to give specific instructions which are essential in actaliing the power of the faculty which enables men w gai cognition without mediation. As he wats: Al that is dear to you, property, furniture and worldly pleasures and sich things. (throw them away) - if this prescription is followed, then the vision wil be Mluminated Amidst a mixture ofmyth, symbolism and traditional Islamic meta physi, Subravard continues to put emphasis on the relationship Themeen pursuing the atainment of esoteric knowledge and the practicing of ascetic. Practicing asceticism will open the inner ‘ye: which for Suhravardi isthe mode of cognition thats essential if one is to guin knowledge of the esoteric dimension of Islam. According to Suhrawardi, true knowledge is possible when ‘empiricism and rationalism end. Ashe states: Once the inner eye opens, the exterior eye ought to be closed, Lips must be scaled and the five external senses ‘should be silenced. Interior senses should begin vo Function to dhe person ihe atains anything, does so with the inner Ioeing (ditin), and if he sees, he secs with the inner eye and ifthe hears, hc hears with the inner ear... Therefore, when asked what one would see, (the answer of the inner self is that) ie aces what it sees and what i ought to see.” “Therefore, closure of the five external senses for Subraward isa necessary condition for the opening ofthe internal senses which are esental forthe attainment ofthe truth. This work alludes co Fa “The Life and Works of Surward “ifferent states and stations of the spisitusl path and how the spiritual elite can achieve purty of heart and clarity of vision. In this work, Suhrawardi describes his conversations with a group of ‘Sufis and what their Masters have told them regarding the atxin= ment of truth and how Subravare’s vision compares with theirs This brie work contains some important references to allegorical and metaphorical cavcepts ated hove different stages of the spirital ppah can be described through them. In this highly symbole work, the rebtionship between one’s purity of hear and the degree 10 which one ean gain knowledge, aswell as the relationship berween _scetcsm and epistemology, discussed by sig Sul symbol 12, RISALAM HI HALAT AL TOFULIVAH (ON THE STATE OF ‘GuLpuooD)* In thiswork, Suhrawardideserbes having meta master who reveals the divine seret to him and he in turn dislones it to men of | ‘The master punishes him for “asting pearl before the sine.” Sabrawardi alo alludes 10 the difficlty of communicating the ‘coteric message to those who stand outside ofthe tradition Since ‘Sophia Pormnie is atained through other means than sense per ception, iis dificult wo communicate this mode of knowledge to those who may not be ready to reece # ‘The Slik, then, having repented, fds the master who tells him number of serets ich asthe ethis of the spirtial path and the ‘ils that are involved inthe Sufi path such as Sama (Sufi music ‘and dancing). The exposition of many fine mystical points reveals Suhrawardis thorough familiarity with the intricacies of the Sufi path. Suhrawardi express this in a symbolic conversation bemeen a bat and a silamander whose passige throigh fre ie supposed to have protected him against all harms, The bat is Aeserining the pleasure of drinking cold water in the middle of Winter, while the salamander is suffering from cold. Each one ould proside a different intepretation of "cold water” in accord ance to their experience So far, Suhrawardi has drawn an outline of the esoteric instr ‘ons needed fora seeker to pursue the path of epiriuality, which begins by an inner yearning and continues with asceuie practices lander the guidance ofa master. This bok intends tollstrate the spiritual path and the journey of he secker (ait) from its begin 2Suramar and the School of Murinaion hing, which Suhrawardi symbolically identifies as childhood. The ‘Significance of having a spiritual master to avoid the dangers on the path, as well as eliferent stages of inner development, are among some of the sues that Suhraward elaborates upon. The core of the spiitual teachings of this book isa practical guide for psig the spiritual path 13, RISALAT FT HAQIQAT AL-TSHO (TREATISE ON THE REALITY OF iorE) “This work of Suhrawardi nat only represents one of the most sublime examples of Persian literature, but ital contains some of his meat profound philosophical views. He begins by quoting & verse from the Quran and then goes on (otal about knowiedge and ite relationship withthe Intellect. Know thatthe fist thing God, praise be upon him, created was ‘luminous pear called Itellet (ag). God frst created Inte lectand gave iethre features: hiowledge of God, knowledge of selfand knowledge of that which was nocand then was “This treatise reaches its climax when Subrawardi fers aspitiual imap ofthe univers inthe sxth chapter. Iehas been argued that this work was writen on the basis of thn Sina’s Risalatal-ihg However, ithas tobe noted that this works different both in form and content from that work. Since the rest of Suhrawandis works in Persian contain the same elements asthe other works which we have considered, [wll not expound upon them, although in our study of Suhrawardis epistemology Frequent references wil be fmade to them. Sach works inchide Bustin alguiib or Rawat lagu (Garden ofthe Heari!® which is a rore philosophically triented workin which Suhraward addresses such issues 35 meta physics, space, ne and motion. This work, along, wih Yanda shinakh (Knowing the Divine) are both written inthe sie of the Peripatctics and not only contains Adiscussion ofthe classical problems of philosophy, butalso over sional dicussions regarding the theorophis's mode of knowing. Finally, in his book Language ofthe Toma? Suhrawardi describes the nature of the knowledge needed to come to know God. Sel ‘and the ereation are among topics which “they (Peripatetics all ‘isagree upon as fong as the veil isnot removed and knowledge by presence is not allained™' Once this knowledge is attined, the 4 “The Life snd Works of Suraward “ystal hal” (ji fam) at your disposal andl “whatever you want can be studied and you become conscious ofthe universe and the ‘unseen world.” 14, AL-WARIDAT WA'L-TAQDISAT (PRAYERS AND ‘SUPPLICATIONS) These writing, cue to their devotional nature, are distinct from, other writings of Suhrawardi both in terms of form and content. Despite their significance for the formulation of Suhmaward’ angelology, they have not received the attention they desere. In ‘hete writings Subrsivardi describes the relationship ofthe planets and their characteris wth tha ofthe inne forces of man, Fis pase of the grea "Luminous Being” (alNanyir aban), whose powerand glory demand submison, addresing the heaseniy sn Hirathsh_ a6 well as the relationship beeween the Zoroastrian Angels and spiritual entities, are among the issties that Suhravvard discusses in these works, It is important for the reader of ‘Subrawardi not to view his writings as isolated and separated books, but rather as an interrelated and elaborate set of tens in which every pat can only be propery understood in regard tothe Sshole while the whole derives te alidity from ie part. 15. CONCLUSION ‘An extensive discusion of Suhravardi’s books requires a separate ‘work. [vil, however, consider some ofthese works at length in the forthcoming chapters. Tn the foregoing decusion, a summary of Subraward's doce and the esoteric works has been presented, Sahrawardh wrote the "majority of is works in a period ofa few years and therefore the --P 2 POOP “The converte would also have to be tue 1 -P>-P 2 -PS0-P However, Suhravardi has already maintained inthe frst part his argument thal existing objects are contingent, which is contrary {othe conclusion of the above argument. In the above arguments, Suhrawardi not only eniclzes the ontological views of the Peri ppaletics which fic elaborates upon in numerous places in The Philosphy of lumination, Intinaions, Opposites, and Cancesations, but also atrengehens his oun snagiviews through the implications ‘of the arguments” 4 LIMIT AND INFINITY “The dixusion conceming limit and infinity for Suhrawardi has ‘bearing upon his epstemolgy, While Surawardi argues against the cexstence of aa infinite series of contingent dependent beings, he thaintains that an infin dvisibiity within a Kite st with a hegin- ‘ing and an end can exit. The proces of divisbility, however, will never come roan end and thereby the existence of such a vet remains ‘nthin the domain of logical posi, Subraward states: ‘Know that in each succession (of beings) within which there inorder, however they may be arranged. Ifthey are within the main of existence, they necessitate a limit or an end. [Between each integer of this suecesion and another integer 6 Ciara Theiner there exist infinite integers. Then itis necessary (Fr infinity) te be limited to these qwo integers and this impossble. fin that succession two integers cannot be found in sch a way that the numbers between them are not unlimited, then itis necessary that there be no unit unless (integers) beeween, that and every other inveger tha is conceived in that sueces- sion be finite and therefore it wil be necessary that all that succession be finite. ‘This ia a eather unusual approach to the peablem of infinity. Suhravard's argument goes as follows ther itis the ease thatthe principle of infinite diisiblity between two beings, ic. two Integers, is tue or not. I iristrue, then there must be an infinite set of numbers hetween v0 different integers. For example, between the numbers 2 and $ there exists an infinite number of| imegers ie. 21, 22, 23, ete. From thin it ean be conchided that infinity exis, but is existence ir contingent upon the existence of 4 beginning and an end. Swhravardi ees ths argument both in 3 philosophical and mystical context and applies this conclusion in 4 number of Sufi doctrines as wil be discussed later. 5. GOD'S EXISTENCE, In he iekrag school God is equated with the light of lights from Whom emanate the lower levels of ight, the angelic order and the archegpes. Therefore, the existence of God is fundamental forthe ‘validity of the philosophy of illumination and in particular the ‘entanationisde scheme Suhravardi argues that every event has at east one cause whose ‘existence is necentated if or when that cause is present. However 38 ‘effect iv often a compound entity, and, therefore, when Acases Bi shouldbe reguded ae the eats of allt indvidual components Since B, by virtue of being an effec. isa contingent being, all is ‘components are contingent. The reverse sal tne; thats, indi ‘dual members ofa set are caused, then the se elf must be cause From the above argument Suhmawardiconchies that: ‘The cause of contingent beings cannot be contingent, because that will then be one in thi at. Therefore, (the ‘eause) must be something that not con ‘existing and thus, the cause and the souree of the existence ‘ofall the contingent beings must be a Necessary Being” 37Shraran and the School of Maminaion Suirawardi'sargument again seston the principle thatan infinite chain of cause and effec # not posible and therefore the cause of ‘neff must bea Necessary Being, Having argued thatthe case ‘fal ching is a Necensary Being, Subravard then tiesto respond to the possibility of having several necesary beings by eflering the Falloning here be more than one Necessary Being, (i.e. A&B) then ‘one of the Following eases will occur 1, Aand Bhave nothing in common. 2, Aaand B have everthing in common 3, Aand B have something in common ie. C. 1 2 3 “The Bist one can not be tue since A & Bat least have one thing in common, their propery of being a Necestary Being. Therefore, it is not possible for several Necessary Beings to exist without sharing atleast one common property “The second alternative ean not be the ease either because if A & B had everything in common, then they would be the same. ‘What makes A Bobe twa diferent things iethat they must have at least one difference between them. Therefore A & B can not have everything in common; otherwise they would be the same, shih they are not. The third option implies that A & B have something in ‘comin, and yet there are differences between them. This poss bility s nota viable one ether. As Suhrawardi states: 1 that which i thei difference were not, then none of them ‘would have exited. And ifthat which they have in common ‘were not then each one would not exist. Subrayandis argument requires farther elaboration: If AvC is « Necessary Heing, then Ceannot bea contingent par of this Neces 38 (ete Theses sary Being. A Necessry Being by def ‘ingent element i it. The same holds trie with rego iva Necessary being anda part of Aand B then we will arrive atthe second alternative which we have already exciuded, ‘Subrawardi offers similar argument in various places through- ‘out his works" For example, inthe Afsdh Smid, he his views on the existence of « Necessary Being and its follows tributes ss ‘Since there isno other Necesay Being, He has no match and Ibecause there is no force equal to Him in power and might, there nothing 1 oppere Hi. Since He has no location, He has no negation lke the negation of whitenes that is black. All the power is emanated from Him and therefore nothing i is ‘enemy. Hei the Truth meaning He exists because of His co ‘enence and everything oer than Hisesence isnot real (fl) ‘ince in their onm ewtence they are not worthy of exttence by necessity. Therefore, their ruth comes from the ultimate wuth and not oftheir own essence'® By demonstrating that the existence ofall beings is contingent, Suhrawardi has also prepared the path which leads to his éhnagl ‘et where he equates God with Light and Light with Being. 6. SELERODY PROBLEM One ofthe central problems of philosophy has been to argue for the existence of "el oF “aul” and ie rlationship wth the body. 1 Partaw-namah.” he begins by offering several arguments for the existence of an independent “seH™ from the body. His frst, argument goes as follows! We often refer to oureeles and say “T" ‘did this or that. I Lwould separate apart of myself (Le: my hand) and put iton the table, [would neither refer to itas "nor would The any different as far as my personality fs concerned. On this bhai he concludes that 1" or “el” is different from the body and ‘therefore it has tobe immaterial. "There ae baskally two problems with Subravardis arguments First, he argues that “wl, which he calls "nafs above and beyond the body. On the other hand, he implcs that there exists a eorre- lation between them, For example, in Portaw mal he sates Know that maf (soul) was not present before the body. If it ‘were present prior tt, itwould not have been one and many EySurman the School of urination since this is impossible. The reason why a varity of souls (Geles) could not have exited before the bodys because, things when they share in the same thing, i. soul, are one, land when they become namerous they become different* Subrawardi then offers his own view which isthe instantaneous ‘creation ofthe body and the soul On this point he sates: Therefore it hecomes apparent that the soul cannot exist before the body and that they come into existence simi taneously, Between them there is attraction, love and anxiety Dut not lke the attraction of beings and their accidents” With gard to duatim, a theory that maintains mind and body are two diferent and distinct entities which interact with each other, Suhrawardi angus that this distinction isa superficial one ‘Subaward in a musber of treatises nich ax Partaw-ndmah® and ‘Haid ani alludes to the dichotomy between a changing body ‘an! an immaterial self and states: [All the parts of the body change and if your sei consisted ofthese parts of the hey, they would also be in a continuous Sate of change. (Thus) your self yesterday is not the same “yell as today, but each day your selfs other than iseifand this obvious i not the ease. And since your knowledge is ‘continuous and permanent iti notall body nor part of the ‘ody, but is beyond alles” ‘Te problem Suhrawardi alludes to, however, i that for him the ‘ody is nothing but the absence of light, dhe lanes level on the ‘mtologial hierarchy of light. Therefore, a relationship beeen, the and the body ra relationship between light and tsabsence, ‘which is not possible, Whereas the “Tis the seat of wisdom, the body handles mer functions, Therefore, that self and bod are essentially of the same ontological texture. The only eliference bbenween them is their “intensi” which signifies they belong, to diferent ontological stauses From the above, Subrawardi concludes that the self and body are diferent aspects ofthe same phenomenon whose interactions fre in accordance wth the principles of mahablah (love) nd gahr (omination)= The body, belonging to a lower order, has an innate lowe and yearning forthe higher order, light, knowing that the higher order dominates what is below it In the ultimate 0 oe nalysis, however, various leels are of the same source and thus ‘there exists a kinship between the mind and the body. This theory fs neither dualistic nor epiphenomenalistc, in that the mind and bor are viewed ina different context all together. Itcan be called “apirwl monism” since itis based on the interaction of diferent _manifewations ofthe sime thing, namely ihe. Suhravardi’s theory can be viewed from two ontological per spectives. Looking at it from below, the self and body are two ‘lierent entities, since the lower order, to which the body belongs ‘oesnotinelude the higher order. to which the etegory of the self ‘ielongs. However, looking atthe same ontological hierarchy from the above, the scifbody problem fades away since body is con tained within the self whose nature is only a more intense light than the body" 17. LIFE AFTER DEATH. fers wo pes of arguments for the existence of ie afer death and the staus ofthe soul after le departs the body His first argument is an aregt one and the second a philosophical ‘one, We shall consider the ihre vew first ‘Suhraward offers a profound eschatological analysis of an a ‘nature, which can be said to be a *Neoplatonizaton” of Ibn Sis ‘ew on eschatology with some original contributions of his own." In ‘books dnd 5 of Hikmatalsag* he begins discusion on exchato- logy, prophecy and transmigration of the soul base on his onto logical views Adhering to bis Tb Sinian doctrine of the gradations ‘of beings, Suhmaard goes on to argue forthe trasnigration ofthe human seul on the basi of the inner qualities that he attributes to various ontological eames, Ashe sates: (Object ate in need ofthe lordly ight whieh ha arelaon-ship sith the body This interenednes fof lordly light] is due to the inherent porerty of it (body) and its yearning towards the higher is due tos luminatonise relation. I, meaning boys the epitome of receptivity and contains lights In the above argument Subravardi demonsrates the mechanism by hich the kwer beings ascend towardea higher ontological sate, the gate through thi ascendence ultimately being man himsel aSubravard and the Schoo! of tamination ‘The gate of all gates is the human body since it consists of that which other gates precede it such that entering through, itis required first “The question that ars now i what happens to the woul when one dics The entire section 4 of Hikmat alba provides an shag anal in light of which the above is answered. Ina section ened “On the Status of the Human Soul After is Depareare Fron) the Body," Subravardh is explicit in puting forward his eschatological octrine, There he argues that the states of the human soul after death depends on the degree to which one is able to acend on the ‘ontological hierarchy before deat. In disregard, Subrawardi con Siders pursing a balanced life based on knowledge an! action to be ‘key in determining one's stats after death, On this estates The good fated ones who are balanced in knowledge and faction and the ascetics who are pare and virtuous once departed from their bodies, join withthe archetypes which are the origin oftheir bodies With regard to the fate of those whom Suhravardi does not con- sider tobe living a balance life” he sys “The masters of erelty and misery who have gathered around hell... tansmigration be rue of not, once they depart from their corporeal bodies, they will have deprivations and bgences from the archetypes (puwri mullagah) in accord- lance with theircharacter" Exablshing a correspondence between one’s deeds in this world and the status of one's soul in the hereafter isnot a new concept. Subravards orginal contsbution i the ws of the concept of ‘punt malaga, Iterally meaning the “wipended forms” in laborating on hir eschatological doctrine, Swbrawardi reminds us that these forms are different than Platonic archetypes and describes them as olla The suspended forms are not the same as the Platonic forms (mathud, because Platonic forms are luminous and are in the ‘world of intelectual enlightenment which is immutable. However, these are frms(jusay) that are suspended in the ‘world of transcendence, some of which are dark and some Tuminous Contat Themes ‘The above is perhaps the orginal contribution of Subravaed since in his archenpal werd there are inherently ei things which he denis with “darkness.” Perhaps his is were Zoroasaian dualism {s best exemplified in Suhravardis thought sin the “benevelant God” (Ahuramsada) and the “malevolent God” (Abriman) have their own good and bad angels who are necessary heings. Is pre- ely introducing ofthis ype of dual into the archetypal world of ‘maditonal Patonie ideas and the relation of i to fe ater death which isa significant contribution of Subravardi co the ongoing. ‘chatologeal detates in amie philosophy. Isa concept which ‘evainly not shared by many of his succesor. In Subavard's world ‘of suspended forms (suwar ab malaga), there are also perfecxforms ‘teil which he identifies with darknes Finally, Suhravardi concludes his eschatological doctrine by ‘stablishing a relationship between his ontology, angelology and his doctrine of the suspended forms. He argues that in fact the soit of thote who have lived a balanced life give rise ton angelic frder who in tum determine difierent gradations of the ishrag ‘ontology. Furthermore, he conchides tha the ontological satus oF individuals is determined on the basis of this hirarchy and satex: From the souls of the balanced people who possess the us pended forms and their manifetations which are the heavens, different levels of angels are created whose numbers are unlimited. They have differen tatu in accord Since with diferent levels of the heavens upto the state of the punfied ones and theosophers, That sta is higher and ‘more noble than the world of angel. is arguments follow those that are typical of the Peripatetis, in panicular Ibn Sind, One of his arguments has to do with the Immortality of the cause of the self o sul, On thise states Know thatthe self remains and death fortis not conceivable Decatte its catse isthe Active Intellect, which i immutable ‘Therefore the effect wll remain immortal because of the immortal nature ofthe Cause However, Subrawardi falls to adequately demoostrate that if a sven cause is immoral, the elfec too becomes immutable and ‘immortal, a relationship which he seems to eke for granted. tis true that there has to be an affinity tween cate and its effect, ‘but to establish a necessary relationship between a cause and its 3‘Suhrard and the School of Mumination cffect and to atribe the existential aributes of the cause to its fect ie unfounded. Suhrawardi offers a number of ether arguments, especialy in the ‘Aoki ii and Porourndnah forthe existence of ile ater ‘ath which generally fellow the same patter, namely by establish lng the existence of an immaterial and independent “sel from the bah s.Locic ‘Subraardi lates all knowledge on the bass of whether i is Acquired through the sense perception or whether itis innate. He frgucs that the knowledge that attained through innate ideas is ‘beyond logical analysis. Therefore, logic ax such ca be applied ‘only tothe category of acquired knowledge.» So far, Suheaward ynas remained within the logieal paradigm of the Peripatetics 35, ‘exemplified by Toa Sina’s book of Healing (Si) Loge for Sur ‘vars only tool for analysis and in that capacity it subservient to philorophy. H, Ziv summarizes Suhrawardi's views on loge as presented inthe abMufarabatin the following three principles: (0) Logie eats with conception and assent insofar as they ray be true; (2) logic isa speculative art (sina's nazariya) ‘which deals with conception and assent, the form of syllo fimand the secondary intlligibles; (8) logie an axiomatic art ofthe rues (snd's qamintya) which guards dhe hunran ‘mind agains: error in thinking [As faras formal diferences between Suhrawardi and Peripatetics are concerned, Suhavardi does not adhere tothe nine books of ‘Aristotle's Organon. First of all, the Catgorier are absent from ‘Subrawarci’ analysis and there are only bref references to them In the Topics, Phar and Poti, While there is no separate reat ment of Aristotle's Categorie as most of the Peripatetics (ie. Ibo Sina) have done, Subrawardi does consider the Aristotelian cate- gories and in fick redhices them from ten to fous, with mesion being a new category. HL Za" argues in his work, Pllaply of Numination® that while ‘Subawardi does not deviate rom the Peripatede login a major sway in the Intimatione and. Ginosation, he does offer a “new structure” of logic in the [dmat abihreg. This new stroctare accarding to Zit divides the eld of logic ita three general ares “ Central Themes 1, Semantics 2 Principles of proof ‘3. Errors of formal and material logic (On this Zi" states: ‘This new structure may be an attempt on the part of Sahraward to recognize the traditional Onnon according to his general bipartite division of logic into expository pro- pritions and procs In the fortheoming chapter, I will demonstrate how Suhrawardi applies logic to comment on sch topics as knowledge by dein tion, sense perception, et. Suhrawsiri's use of logic can best be ‘cen in his semantical analysis and his critic of logie a applied by the Peripatetis, which he argues can only lead 10 partial discovery of truth. Having used the boli of ight and darkness, Subraard then ‘goes on to develop an clahorate angelology based on Zoroastrian angels. He achieves this by identifng diferent grades of lights svth various angelic orders Retween the ight of lights and total ‘darkness, there are levels upon levels of light with different “degrees of intensity ch that each level cocesponds to an angel. ‘The new schemata of angels changes the taditional View of angels se the force behind the movement ofthe heavenly bodies. ‘According to Subravardi, angele gene a numberof functions, che ‘most important of which is their intermediary role between the Tight ofights and man. For instance, an angelic order identified as {he “lordly light” (al mir lsfabad) is defined by Subrawardi 3s that which i “within the soul of man” such that "everywhere its sigue are manifested and al things atest to its presence = Subrawardis ontology aad its byproduct, angelology, are meant to map out the interior reality of man rather than to provide & logical explanation for such things as angels “out there The Peripatetic view of the inction of anges, expecially that of Ibn Sind and Farib, who simply saw the angels as beings who perform Certain fanetions out therein the universe auch as rotation of the heavens, was crtcived by Suhravard. While Suhrawardi accepts the view that angels have realities, he maintains thar the number of angels are equivalent tothe number ofthe fixed stars, meaning 6Suc andthe School of Muminaion virally unlimited number of them, a departure from the tadi- tional Peripatetic view. ‘From the hierarchy of angels arse vo angelic orders a longi- tualinal (4), and latitudinal (aa) order with to separate functions. The longitudinal angelic order represents the vertical axisor hierarchy of ight similar toa ladder. The latiaudinalangetic ‘Oder for Subraward is where the “archetypes” or "forms reside. Suraward goes on to argue that atthe top ofthe longitudinal ‘order of light there stands the supreme light which he calls by is Quranic and Mardean names, almir ala cam (the Supreme Light) and Volwman (Bohman). From this ight of lights, sues the lower ‘order that ‘The higher Hight, which is marked by intensiy, dominates (gal) the lower order and the lower order is marked by yearning and love for the higher one.” This process remains valid for dhe entire ‘siecesion from the mir alanur to darkness Ax we wil ae later, ‘Subrawardi applies this scheme to offer his epistemological view ‘which fr him ean replace the Aristotelian categories asa means of patemic anals. For Suhravardi there exss a vel between each level of light ‘which acts at a “purgatory” or Barzabh and allows the passage of ‘only a certain amount of light. The primordial, original and al ‘encompassing nature of this stem, through which Subrawardi ‘expresses a ntunber of esoteric doctrines, i uch that he calle it ‘aummaha (the mothers) since al that exists originates from this Iherarchy anid therefore i contains within itself the “ideas” (aan alihahtah) whose unfolding isthe work Im his atempt to equate the angels of ancient Persia with the Platonic forms or archetypes, Suhravardi considers the longi tudinal order to have given rise toa latitudinal order and that to him ie none other than the Platonic forms or ideas. Each being in {he world has its own archetype (arbab abana) within the lai ‘inal axis which Subrawardi identifies with the Zoroasttian angelo- logy. For example, he identifies water with the Mardean angel ‘hurdad, fre with Urddshish, vegetables as Murdad, and minerals as Shobriver These angels and many more are the archetypes ‘whose actualzation or manifestation from the archetypes (ale yan {habizah) appear in the material forms mentioned above." Cental Themes Suhrawardi considers the heavenly bodies and the more visible and materialized aspect of the angelic order to have come from the longitudinal order, while the latitudinal order gives rise to ‘more center phenomena such asthe lordly Hight. ‘Since Suhrawardi knows that in the final analysis the ultimate truth to which he i alluding lies at the heart of all the divinely revealed traditions, the use of various ymbos from different radi tions becomes secondary: Therefore, symbols, be they Mazdean oF ‘Quranic, allude to truthe which are profoundly Ilanic ax well ak Zotoasian, Sahravardsangllogy relies on the smb of many tnd tions in order to prone 1 map of man's interior Is cosmological ‘doctrine which alludes tothe presence ofa uniffng elementin all the teadidonal religions of man, namely universal eth, 10, pHysics In putting forth his views om physics Subraward begins with a discussion regarding the nature of the universe, which from his point of views pute light, The views ofthe Ashen Atom, who Were one ofthe predominant intellectual schools ofthe me, were thud on the principality of form and matter and therefore the study of physics for them became the study of matter. Suhrawardi Argued against chem by saying hat since material bodies are con- stituted of light, the sty of physic the sty of Tight. Having defined the nature of thing a8 light, Subsravardi oes ‘on to clas things according to the degree oftheir transparency. For example all those entities which allow ight to passthrough them, seh aealr are ina higher ontological eategory than those ‘which obstrct light, sich asthe earth Tmexplaining meteorological phenomena, Subravard follows Ibn Sind and Avstode, but he rejects their views with regard to the ‘occurrence of change within the nature of things. For example, ‘Aristotle argues that boiling water s due to the coming in contact of the atoms of ire and water, Subravaed states that boiling i because there exists a qualityin water sich that when i comes closet fie this potentiality is actualized. He argues that ire doesnot come in contact withthe water, nor does the volume of wate change. Therefor, the ‘only conclusion one can dra io argue for theexstenceof especial ‘quality oratibte within water. Ache state aSuhravard and the School of Iumination ‘Qualitative change is due rater to the coming into being of 4 quality which is intermestiate between the qualities of the ‘original bodies and whichis shared by all the particles ofthe new compound” 1s bons that such a theory has implications not only for the field of physics, but also as an esoteric doctrine that seeks to ‘cxplin how the association of different things may bring about a ‘qualitative change. This principles one ofthe crucial elements the development of spiritual alchemy whieh appears jn Istamic ‘esoteric writings 11, PSYCHOLOGY ‘Subraward’s views on prychology are closely related to his con: ‘cept of epistemology, which in sun is direc related tothe onto logical hierarchy that serves asthe foundation of his philosophy. ‘The following diagram helps co demonstrate this consiection:” DOMINANCE -+ Light fights Angelic order-+Sous-» Heavens Rode of lights Univeral melet-* Intligence- Souls Heavens LOVE manner: The ontological status ofa being necesitates a cenain pachologial apparstis, and how the psyee and the faculties of thisbeing function depends on their place within the hierarchical structure ofthe univers, Suhrawardi’s view of psychology, though influenced by ‘Aristotle's pajchology as discussed in the DeAnna, does not follow ‘Aristotle's elasifiatton, and in fat is closer to lb Sina than 10 “Aristotle, Suhrawardi clasifics all beings into three categorie: ‘vgetable,animal and human, The only major diflerence between his view and the Peripatetics les in his notion of body as the theurgy of fipalibad. “According to Suhrawardi, che classification of diferent faculties ‘canbe illustrated by the fllowing diagram: tg vataftot intone Peer ona Deen led are Anat (ate) Power of motion (mauler) Power of hs (shahoa) salt ot pera cg Resets aan Snows Communis The center where all the information and (tise mushtort) data ofthe external world i collected. The location isin the front ofthe brain Fantasy (hiya) The place where sonsus communis stored. It fs located inthe back of the ext. Apprehension Governis sensible things which the senses are (ah ‘not eapable of gathering and itis located in the middle ety. Imagination Often identified with apprehension butts (mutakheryial) function goes further and synthesizes and analyzes, Memory “The place where apprehension is stored. Is (tates) located inthe back ofthe middle cavity. 12. ESCHATOLOGY Suhraward's notion of exchatology is derived from his notion of ps ology" He coneudes thatthe goal of man isto become aminated and ret to his orig ithe other word. The other word is onlya ‘ontination ofthis one, and the stats ofthe soul in the hereafter "dependlon the degree which a person ispuriled here and now. Suluaward: identifies three groupe of people wth respect the degree of their purity and illimination and establishes & cavsal connection between thee purity and their ontological status the other world, These three groups are 1. Those who remained in the darkness of ignorance (ashy) 2 Those who purified themselves to same extent (sudad), ‘3. Those who purified thernselves and reached illumination (muda ‘alibi 40Suhravardl and the School of Ilumiation I his book Yanan shinai’ he demonstrates the type of connec tion that he extablishes between one’s ontological stars in this world and that ofthe other world. He argues that regardless ofthe degree of one's purty, the soul i in esence immortal. Tis argu ‘ment is as follows: Know thatthe sul remains: its inconceivable forit to perish since its eaute (of coming to be) which i the ative intellect, is ternal therefore, it remains eternal because of cause (hich is eternal 18, HIKMAT VERSUS PHILOSOPHY Like many other Islamic philosophers, Suhravardi makes 2 die tinction becween philosophy and. fibmat which is crucial for the tundersianding of not only ishagi doctrine but also the pos Sulraardian philosophy, especialy in Persia and the subcontinent ‘of India. The distinction between philosophy and Alana which i Ihe by a great number of Islamic philosophers i believed to have ‘been achocated ever by such peripattcs as Ibn Sina, who after reaching the Zeinth of his philosophical maturity demonstrated ‘shag tendencies, Inthe introduction to mang alaska he tellus that "here ae branches of wislom that donot originate from the Greeks."= In his book al-Mashari wa amuaraha,™ Suhravardi tells us that while mos of Thn Sins writings are dew of any theo- sophical significance, there are references to the existence of 4 pe ‘of wisdom other than the Greeks and their discursive method. Suhaward may have belie that, due tothe circumstance under ‘which Ton Si led, he had to remnain sent i regard to his shag ideas, Therefore Subravardifees that he not only has to disclose the {shri tendencies fbn Sina but alo to continue them. For example, inhiswork “The Ocadetal sie" (alGhurba algardych, Suara plcks up the ary where Ibn Sin had ended his short work, Rslat {ly tin yaqzan®” Both of these stories are highly symbolic and sdemonsrate the spiritual stages ofthe ines being of aseeker of wuth land his relationship with the active intellect, which Suhravard identifies asthe “glorious old master” (Psi Burma) Thn Sind was well aware of the dangers of popularizing the wisdom of illumination, and hie silence in this regard may well be attributed to this very point. In the al shana wa Hardin, he sy, 0 Cena Themes 1f you corrupt this wisdom, God be the judge between you and fitwas Spinava who sid, “God isnot so mindlessas to create a two legged creature and leave it to Aristotle to make him rational,” Surawardi would ado this: “and to make Aristotle the only gate through which truth ean be attained.” Ths is because Suhravar neither considers Aristotle to be the founder of rational nor can the ype of wid lie advocates be the only one that leads to truth AGSH, Nasr tats: He (Suhravardi) believed that this wisdom is universal and Perennial the pili premnirand niorali which exited in various forts among the ancient Hinds, Persian, Baby- lonians and Egyptians and among te Greeks upto the time of Aristotle, who for Subrawardi was not the begining but raer the end of philosophy among the Greeks who terminated this ‘walition of icons by limiting it tot rationals aspect The inherent distinction between philosophy and likmal for Sulirawardi js 4 natural one and emanates from the fact thatthe faculty of intellects and praxis are ewo separate faculties Ta his work Yaulan shina Subraward alludes to this distinetion| and argues that there fe two powers within the soul one apprehend land the other one generatesaction.Sulward then goes on to make the functioning ofthese two faculties be contingent upon each other and sates ‘Theoretical (faculty), for example, is such as knowing that the world is created, and practical [aeuly for example] ico know that oppression i evil. . theoretical is subject to discursive science and from practical (faculty) aknowledge is required to know what should become known * “This is not to say that Suhrawardi opposed a rational approach to philosophical iesver,nor was he “antephilosophy,"as Ghazzali and Some other Sufe were, In ft, reasoning and independent jug- nent are an essential part of one’s quest for the pursuit of truth. Suhrawardis respect fora rational proces of reasoning goes so far ‘810 sy: Donnot follow me or anybody ese and know thatthe only “Therefore, whereas philsophical speculation for Subrawardiis important, # however Originates froma facalty tha is subservient toimelectual intuition (hang). Subrawardi goes so far as o cate-Suhravard and the School of Muminaion gorize different knowers in accordance with their mastery of ilouaphy and km. His lasfcations go a follows: 1. ‘Those who have mastered ish wisdom but are not well versed in discursive reasoning. (Le. Byazid, Kharragant) 2 Those who have mastered discursive reasoning but yet lack Ishragi inclination (Le. Farabi) '. Those who have mastered both discursive reasoning and ishing ‘wisdom. These are perfect philosophers and are ented to be the “viceyerents of Goal” (Mhaliat AU). While i is clear that Subravardi recommends the study of the Peripatetic philosophy first, especially in the a&Tafashat and ‘al Masher’ wat mutarahai® he puts the study of discursive philoso- hyn perspective Hiving defended the study of dicursive pilsophy as a pre- requisite to the understanding of choy, Suhre then tlle us of ‘heunique characteristics of te type of wisdom that hes propagating. ‘Subrawardi considers himself to be the unifier of what he alls “aLffslmetaladanigah” (Divine Wadorn), a wadition that begins with Prophet Hermes (hd) and has persisted throughout mein ‘rious forms, Arto the source ofthis wisdom he argues: “The light ofthe path which stretches into the past is the substance of Pythagoras. and was sent down upon Tustarh land his followers, The substance of Kiusreusnidn (wisdom) thas been sent down to Kharrqani and Sawar Bastami Therefore, Shraward is anguing that while philosophy and hikmat Jsue forth from the sume source, they neertheles are distinct in that philosophy fs the necessary condition and theosophy the suiicient condition for the attainment of ruth, Suhrawardi, 36 the “unifier of different traditions of wisdom, consider philosophy and theosophy to be two te of wisdom, cach of which i suitable for ‘8 purpose Truth for Suhraward ultimately should ely on knowl fedge thet is attained through illumination, while thas to sustain the serutiny of logic and rational reasoning and be compatable with them. On the relationship between philosophy and fukmat, Subra- ward in the introduetion to The Phil of Iuinaton sats «This book is of different methodology, and path (of ‘outh) that is nearer than the other one(éiscusive) «ts 5 (Cena Themes truth and other enigmas first did not come to me trough thinking or discourse but ite atainment was of a different nature. Finally, when I attained the truth, T questioned its ‘ationale in such a way that f ignore the reasoning process, no doube can come upon me ‘Subraward claims to have firs discovered the truth which he calls fiat and then he embarked on a path to fin the rational bass ‘of his experiential wisdom. Ie is cortain that philosophy in Sahra- ‘wards hough playa different role from theosophy, and so does the means by which one comes to attain mastery of each (pe of sviadom. These two traditions of wicom for the master of vag are ‘ot only elifferent in ther form and their content but also onigin= ate from tw diferent sources. Discursve philosophy comes from the rational faculty, whereas isha wisdom is ised forth From the faculty of intuition, ‘A iijor problem that soften alluded ois that whereas the ests of logical shabjses are verifable, such ie not the case in regard ‘arious truth claims tha are of an ska nature. Subraward argucs {hat his views can be verified only by those who have been initited ‘no the science offer through 2spsinal master who has become the vieagerent of Cod on earth (Malifat Aah) On this he sates: Of course, ite not feasible for one who has not referred toa sage who is the vicegerent (of God) ancl posesses the know ‘ge of this ook to gain acces tothe secrets of this book (Often Suhrawardh is very explicit in his instructions as to how the lypes of wisdom he advocates can be attained. For Suhrawardi Hiknat alisha is 9 Shucprint for those who wish to have an ‘experience of illimination, Ii email to realize the imporanee Oftasceticim and practical wislom to the aragi doctrine as a whole, even though this contrary to some of the Ler inter Dreters of Subraward who put more emphasis on his intellectual find philosophical aspects, “The prime concern of Subriwardi's entize philosophy is 10 demonstrate the journey of the human soul towards is origin abode, One begins by guining an awareness of the path that he ‘ought to follow. Having followed the teachings ofa master who can Greet the daeiple throngh the maze of spiitual dangers, one reaches. state where spiritual kiowledge can be obsained directly ‘without mediation In this state, Suhawardi considers Knowledge ssSuhrawardi and the School of tunination to come from the divine soul (nafs algudsinai), a mode of ‘cognition distinct from that of the Peripateties, To demonstrate the spiritual journey of man, Subrawardi establishes a tightly ‘woven web of ideas and concepts, the validity which depends on the entre stem, which itelf rests upon the principality of light. Cental Theses Notes 1 Nase, Thre Mud Sages, 60. 2 Subrawara, Op 10. 5 Sahaward, Op 46 4 Saraara Op 2 64 5 hid, 6 6 Ibid 88. 4 i 88 A Sotraerds arguments can aso be found in Opera 2,106 9 Subraard, Opera. 2, 10 For more information on Suhrayard's ontology se: H. Zi and Muation (Alan: Scars Pres, 190), 125-187 11 Satara Oba’? 63 12 Sahraward, Opa 33. 13 tid 3 14 Shriward'wewson he existence ofa Necemary Being ezence and fxience as presnted in hie Persian works ca be found in Ala ‘fnaat 134-158, his argutuens are basically the sane av those presnted in Paremamsk The arguments preatented in bis ADC ‘orks pectin the ol Tata 88-80, are aso sla thereof "Nah Sadia and Perow'namah Sach arguments are based on the ‘tapi thae the chain of exalt could go on fr ii 15 Suheavard Oper 1 16 Suhraard' argument forthe exintence of the self and its relation: hip te ud can be fund i the af Talat 68, and SO-BE and ‘Buta al gl pp 42-387. 17 Sahesvarah, Oper 3, 25-24 18 Suhravardl, Gp 3, 25. Subraward i this section uses the words See and “I” aterchangab However, all hese cass he salle ing to what constates the ens of person. 19 Saher, Opera 820, 20 For mote information on Subrawards theory of Pertonal Identity, see Pain namah 26-51 21 Iisargucd tha Surana choice ofthe wotd Hayahiisinfuences tyne hanno ethic tevtestensey Tiealo may have Been foe of the key exses of his death sce salah D0 ASUDL Was Iighy antagonistic tomar sma. 22 Suhrawardh, Ore 8, 85-86. °% For more information see: H. Corbin, Fn Iam ion, vo 2 (Pari Ginara, 1971-1972), 107 14 Suhrawardis view onthe existence of self in his Persian works can Dbefound in the following work: Haya alr, 92: Aah ad, estab, Mactan gata 912-987 snd Yocdan sina, 412-498. In Ina Arabic works he dicot the ime in the otha 8,81, 32 However sot of the arguments ate derivations of the argument tht Ihave dncuned 25 For more information om a “epirtuaied” eading of Ibn Sina, se: %Suhramard and the School of liumination J Michot, Dio a datinde de Homme ma'ad chez Aviemn, (Peet: oun But 1087), 20 Suhre, Gp ch, 5 27 id, 216, 25 ti 217 9 Pid 220 50 Di, 29. 1 Bi, 230, 52 Ii 231 35 Bie 235 54 Suwa, Op 65. 835 Ror move tformution on Suhrawards view on the exience of ie Mer death Se Ala nig, 155. 236 Subravara, Ope, It 37 Shot 2-4 S611 7a, “Suhravard's Philosophy of Muminadon” (Ph.D. Diss, Harvard Universi. 1870), 59-54 30 Mid 87 40 Bia 2. 41 For more information on Subravards logic ee H. Zi, Karle ‘ad asin (Ada: Sellars Pres, 192) 42 tit, 7, 45 lent unt Mats Sadra’s ue that dhe mechan by which beings eam for the higher order thoroughly dcused. His noton Of Ffanssibstaatial moton’ (Aero affatoryal) explain the tamer yeaming of beings towards higher ool ats 44 Hidujt his commentary upon Sabrivae's hark mnsumah offer ‘mle tof the mors and phrase ofthe ancene Persian ages ‘hich Sohrinard eles thoughout his weiings. For more infor: Imation ee I i (Teta) 28, 45 For fda: dartbion f Samardfs geology, ce, Cobin's Inwrodvedon to Sabraware, Opera 2 and G. Webs, Subrcards ‘Angeles (PhD. Dist Temple University, 196). 46 Foradicusion of Sahrawarde phyes ste H. Corbin’ nwoduction Open? 47 A Hany of Main Phere, oe MM. Sharif (Wiesbaden: Oto ‘arrows, 1963), 301 {48 Formore information on alchemy and itsprital yb, se SH. ‘Nuer Samcr and Chat nF (Cabege Haar aver Pres, 168): and T- Bartha, Aldon Sime of th Cosme, Seer of ‘he Sou rans W. Stoddard (Olen: Wale. 107). 49 Foramore complete dscusion, see H.Carbin’sitroduction to Opa 2 80 T ave fllowee the cutie presented by SH. Nasr in A Hsiry of ‘Man Pople MM Shai p26. ‘1 Inthe later prt the maa ag Suara devotes major fection to the dicasion of eschatology using dhe language of Iumination, See Opera, 216 182 Suhel, Ope 3 19-422, 86 ‘Costa Thee 5 in Sint, Moni a maskrapnt (Tehran: afar Tabb Pu 1973), oa os ba, 0. 56 Sahrawi, Ope 1, 14-107 57 Ibm Sina Risalat Fay tn Yagean, Ahmad Amin (Peype: Dir aiMaani Publicaon, 1960) 58 al harat wa Hanbhl 18 £5 SI New, Thor Malin Sage 1 {60 Suhrawara, Open, 192-13, {1 Suna, Op 1,10, 12 i, 108 15 ie 502-505, 6 Suhrawara, Ope 10. 163 Thirnotion which may abo have political connotations according to some scholars, has heen irameneal in he ater developments of Shiite pode thought. For more Information see: 1, 2, “The ree and Nature of Pliical Author in Subanard Pilosopy of lamination," in Pot! Aspecs of ame Pils, ef. Bterwar (Cambridge Harard University Press 1992), 66 Suhtawarch, Open 2, 259. “03 PRACTICAL SUFISM. 1. SUHRAWARDI'S VISION ‘The beginning ofthe mystical traditions isoften traced back che vision of their founders, and the mystical dimension of Sura teardi’s thought is ro exception. Suhrawardh in The Philosophy of ‘urination tells us that in “s strange day", the truth and the Secrets ofthe Divine were revealed t9 him. Having hada vision, he {hen sets forth to write down the principles of his transcendental ‘theosophy for those philosophers who are well versed in esoteric sciences aswell discursive philosophy. Tn his introduction to The Philosophy of Numinaton,Subraardt tells us thatthe content and truth of this book were not attained through dscursive resoning, Having tained the truth “in anxer way he goes on to say that he then sought the justification of hit Filings ina more discussve context Suheaward further tlisus that the certain thats attained dhrough this direct means of cognition is such that it wands independent of the process of logical reasoning that also leads to the same conchision,? ‘Since for Suhraward tis this special mode of knowledge that Aiferensiates ecween those who truly know and those who donot, Ihe goes on to categorize the seekers of wisdom accondingly.* 1 Those who are immersed in theotophia and do not concern ttemaclves with discursive and rationalistic philosophy. 2, Ratlonalisite philosophers who do not concern themselves with theosophy. 3, Leamed men who have benefited oth from theosophy and discursive philosophy. 4. Theosophers who are neverthless mediocre or weak in dicur sive philosophy, 38 5, Rationale philosopters who are mediocre or weak in theosopy 6, Seadents of theosophy and discursive philosophy. 7, Suidemts of theosophy alone. '. Students of giseurse philosophy alone. What is the mature of the knowledge of @ theosopher which nbs him to know the truth and to attain the certainty that snot pant of discursive knowledge? Clarification ofthis crucial point in Sulrawacdis philosophy requires a lengthy dsscusion concer ing Subraward's epistemology. "should be first mentioned that there isa difference between this special mode of knowledge and what i commonly known 26 “yatical vision” or mystical experience. Suhrawardi tellus that he imelf was pursed at wo how one comes to kaow aching. He ponders pen this question and finally ina state of uter frst tion he hat a vision of Aristotle who tells im what the solution is: [Avistole:_Iyou turn to your own self (dt) and inquire, you wil), certainly find your answer. Subrawardis How is that [Aviottle: Is i¢ not the cate that you understand youself Is this ‘understanding of the self, or is tthe understanding of the self though something other than the selP If in the case tha the Understanding ofthe selfs through something other than the sel {or your self there isanother self who understands you and itis n0 longer you who understands yourselt Now that this is the ease necessarily one questions this new self thar isthe true element for the understanding of the sell. Does chs self understand islf, or ‘does it need something cle? If hit be the cae, then it goes on ad infinitum, which is impossible. The other assumption Is that you ‘ome to know of yourself through the effector an idea that ou lttain the truth of your selfand thatthe ruth of your selfean newer be understood without any mediation. SulbrawardisTagree that [ean never Lnow myself direcyand itis fonly through the picture or the idea of a self chat [can know nyse Aristotle: what you say wee the case, then if thisidea or picture ‘does not correspond with your set, it doesnot represent yourself, and because this idea is not an indication of your sel then you have not understood your sl Swkrawardis Suppose this idea c comes to my mind through my 0 responds to my sl. Mthis idea I, then tis precisely repre-Suhraward and the School of Muminstion sentative of my self and no other thing. Do you still betieve that ‘one's self cannot be understood through such a thing? Aristotle: This idea certainly corresponds to your self but does it correspond tothe universal self or to your particular self that has specific characteristics and atsibates? Suhrawardi: I assume the latter by saying thatthe pictorial idea corresponds with my *sel™ that has certain characteristics and ‘therefore represents my set Avisttle: Every pictre that forms in the mind is of univeesal ‘haracer, and as much as you limit these concepts to having sibutes, ete yet, since they are of multiple nature, they are stil Uuniversal If n ease due to an obstacle in the outside word, the ‘ality of universal concept i violated because ofthe particular ‘Characteristics ofan individ, it nevertheless remains universal at conceptual level able fact ie that you understand your Unique self, a self that is truly free from any sharing or ‘commonnes The results that this particular understanding that you have of your unique and uncommon self cannot be ‘inderstood through a pieture or idea. Therefore, understanding ofthe se ienever through the “dea” (or pieware) > Suhrawardi in bis sate of dreamsision asks Aristotle ifthe Peri ptetc philosophers are the trie matters of wom, Aristotle tell Fh dha such figures as Bayazid and Hall, the masters ofthe Sui tradition, are the true philosophers and not the Pesipatetes, pre sumably because they came to how thie “sell frst “Aristotle's advice to Subavard that to know anything ome must frst “know himsel.” This knowing, which for Suhraward takes place both on a practical and a philosophical level sa central theme of “aha phioaophy. On a practical level, the T” i the source ofall sublime desires veiled by dhe temptations of te corporeal dimension ‘of man. Ona philosophical level, Suramar considers the to be ‘he foundacon of the illumination epistemology. Tis preciteythisilluminationiet epistemology that can lea to the visionary experience of fifteen types of lights by those who are ‘om the spiritual path, Suhravard tells us those who disengage themseles from the world of matter are able to arrive atthe “eighth heaven” (ogi alhmin). which he identifies with the archetypeal world (lam mitla).” Subrawardi mentions such Figures as Hermes, Plato and the prophet Muhammad w be among those who have had a vision of thes lights, each of which 0 Practical Sim ‘Subrawardi identifies with a particular atribute. According 10 Suhrawardi, these fifteen lights, some of which have peculiar des criptions are “the purpose of the path of knowledge.” These ‘istonary lights which emanate from the world of intellect ate the tssence of power and knowledge and he who experiences these lights aho stains the power to rule over the material world. The necessary condition for this experience i, however, separation lay from one's corporeal body. These lights are’? 1, Allight which shines upon the novice and is pleasant but not permanent 2, Alight that shines upon others ands more ike a ightningbole 5. Alight thats soothing and enters the hearts ofthe gnostic. It is as if warm water is poured on you, a pleasant sensation is then experienced. 4, Aight that descends upon the hearts of the men ofvison and lasts afong time. This isa dominant light which induces a fora ‘of intoxication, ‘A light of extreme grace and pleasure which i induced "rough the power of love 6, Alight that burns and is induced dhrough knowledge that is tained through intellection 7. Aight which a8 fin is aminous and is more intense than the Tight ofthe sun, 8 Aluminos and plessant light appearing as comes fom ‘he hair and lasts a long time. 9. An emanating light which is painful but pleasurable, 10. Alight coming from some figures and isin the brain, 1 Alight that emanates fom the selF (gf) and shines upon the ‘entire spircual components 12, A light whose attainment ie marked by inten 18, A Tight that gives birth to the “sel” and appears to be sus pended. The incorporeality of the self can be observed hrough this ight 1M, Aight which indices a special heaviness such that exerts a presure beyond one’s abi 1, Alighe that she cause of the movements of the body and material self ‘Subrawardi tells us that he has “seen" and experienced these lights and that they are dhe reason sages are able to perform miracles Ashe states 61