List of Articles gnosis

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  1 - A Study of the Rise of Shi‘ite Gnosis in Ibn Sina’s Life and Works with an Emphasis on his Ideas in Namat al-‘arifin
  Fereshteh Nadry Abyaneh Nadry Abyaneh
  A gnostic’s method of unveiling entails the purification of the soul, self-refinement, and observation of divine traditions and duties. Islamic gnosis is divided into two theoretical and practical types. In Ibn Sina’s view, any opposition to gnosis and gnostics is due t More

  A gnostic’s method of unveiling entails the purification of the soul, self-refinement, and observation of divine traditions and duties. Islamic gnosis is divided into two theoretical and practical types. In Ibn Sina’s view, any opposition to gnosis and gnostics is due to being ignorant of the station of gnostics. Similarly, any agreement with gnostics and respecting and appreciating them result from being cognizant of their supreme status. Naturally, people usually stand against and oppose what is unknown to them. After demonstrating the necessity of piety and worship as the necessary conditions for happiness, Ibn Sina maintains that they are not enough for attaining this goal and considers gnosis to be superior to the above qualities. However, he emphasizes that a gnostic is an individual who is not content even with attaining the status of being a true gnostic and prefers truth to gnosis. The Shi‘ite gnosis relies on a treasure of traditions and prayers in addition to Qura’nic verses. In the history of gnosis, Ibn Arabi (died in 638 AH) and Seyyed Haydar Amuli (died in 787 or 794 AH) are called the fathers of Islamic and Shi‘ite gnosis. Ibn Sina (died in 428 AH) enjoys great fame in the eye of the public in the fields of Peripatetic philosophy and medicine and has been called the new Aristotle; however, he has not developed a great name in the field of gnosis. Nevertheless, a study of his life and works prove the opposite. There is no doubt about his being a Shi‘ite Muslim; hence, this paper aims to demonstrate that the fundamental principles of the kind of gnosis he discusses in his works were developed under the influence of Shi‘ite gnosis (although the related references have not been directly mentioned in Ibn Sina’s works). Manuscript profile
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  2 - Meaning of Truth in the View of Muslim Philosophers with an Emphasis on Ibn Arabi’s Works
  Mohsen  Habibi Mohammad Sadiq  Rezaee
  The truth and its meaning have always been discussed by gnostics and philosophers in the course of history. Philosophers have mainly dealt with truth in its logical sense; however, some philosophers, such as Mulla Sadra in Islamic philosophy and Heidegger in Western phi More

  The truth and its meaning have always been discussed by gnostics and philosophers in the course of history. Philosophers have mainly dealt with truth in its logical sense; however, some philosophers, such as Mulla Sadra in Islamic philosophy and Heidegger in Western philosophy, have paid attention to truth in its ontological sense, which is very close to Islamic gnostics’ particular impression of this word. The meaning of truth in gnostics’ view is greatly influenced by its meaning in the Qur’anic and traditional culture. One of the divine names mentioned in the Holy Qur’an is the “Truth”, and Almighty God has called Himself by this name. Some philosophers such as Ibn Arabi used to refer to Qur’anic verses and traditions in order to consolidate their religion. Muslim gnostics concede that there is only one truth in the world, and it is the Necessary Being. They believe that any existent other than Him is mentally-posited and is among the manifestations of that simple Truth. That is why gnostics, themselves, consider the religion of the philosophers who believe in the graded unity of existence to be atheistic and believe in the individual and true unity of existence. Hence, they view closeness to the truth as the only way to attain it and have always been after some ways in order to gain proximity to that original Truth. On the other hand, gnostics consider the human soul to be the most complete locus of the manifestation of God; therefore, the first step in Islamic gnosis in order to attain the knowledge of God is to attain the knowledge of the soul. Ibn Arabi also believes that wayfaring towards God is of vital importance for learning about that single Truth. Manuscript profile
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  3 - A Study of the Illuminationist Elements of Ibn Sīnā’s Works in the Realms of Method, Content, and Language
  Saeed  Rahimian
  20.1001.1.20089589.1400.12.1.6.2
  Although Ibn Sīnā was the master of Peripatetic philosophers, he also provided the bases for the development of Illuminationist philosophy. In terms of methodology and epistemology, through introducing Oriental wisdom, which, irrespective of the Greeks’ views, is his ow More

  Although Ibn Sīnā was the master of Peripatetic philosophers, he also provided the bases for the development of Illuminationist philosophy. In terms of methodology and epistemology, through introducing Oriental wisdom, which, irrespective of the Greeks’ views, is his own specific school of philosophy, and also through employing certain terminology, principles, and arguments which are associated with Illuminationism, he prepared the context for the revival and growth of Illuminationist philosophy by Suhrawardī. Ibn Sīnā’s critical mind and spiritual worthiness during his short life efficiently paved the way for the surge of Islamic philosophy and wisdom towards Illuminationist philosophy and then the Transcendent Philosophy in terms of methodology, content, and language. Suhrawardī mainly emphasizes the differences between his school of philosophy and that of Ibn Sīnā and his Peripatetic followers and introduces the beginning of his philosophy as the end of Peripatetic philosophy. However, we can confidently claim that his philosophy is to such a large extent influenced by Ibn Sīnā’s that one can consider Suhrawardī’s school to have been the outcome of the natural growth of Sinan philosophy in the course of time. Through highlighting gnostic and intellectually intuitive (or what was later called Illuminationist) elements in Ibn Sīnā’s available works, the present paper aims to demonstrate that Suhrawardī’s debt to Ibn Sīnā in all the three fields of methodology, content, and language is much greater than what is commonly assumed. Manuscript profile
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  4 - The Influence of Social Conditions on Mullā Ṣadrā’s Classification of Sciences
  Fatemeh Jamshidi Nasrin Serajipour
  20.1001.1.20089589.1400.12.3.5.5
  During the Safavid era, at the time of Mullā Ṣadrā and upon the rise of court-jurisprudents and pseudo-mysticism, true sciences such as jurisprudence, philosophy, and gnosis were in seclusion. Mullā Ṣadrā, as a religious scholar who was familiar with the philosophical a More

  During the Safavid era, at the time of Mullā Ṣadrā and upon the rise of court-jurisprudents and pseudo-mysticism, true sciences such as jurisprudence, philosophy, and gnosis were in seclusion. Mullā Ṣadrā, as a religious scholar who was familiar with the philosophical and gnostic ideas before him, tried to eliminate philosophical confusion from the scientific society and oppose this fallacious approach. Hence, he established a new philosophical system in order to bring all previous thoughts together in a consistent manner. In fact, he aimed to clarify the place of true knowledge and the ways of attaining it for society through establishing his own school of philosophy. The classification of sciences is one of the fundamental problems in any philosophical system. However, it is emphasized that each system of philosophy and the collection of its problems are influenced by the social conditions of their time. Similarly, Mullā Ṣadrā’s classification reflects his social concerns and has been developed in response to the social needs of his time and directing them towards true sciences. He has provided a specific classification of sciences in each of the three periods of his scientific life. He followed a peripatetic approach during the first period, an Illuminationist approach during the second one, and a transcendent approach during the third period, which reflected the height of his philosophical maturity. This paper aims to investigate Mullā Ṣadrā’s classification of sciences during each of the three periods of his scientific life and demonstrate how each was influenced by the social conditions of his time, and how each responded to the existing societal needs. Manuscript profile