Islam - Philosophy, Theology, Mysticism

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border-right-sm border-left-sm open"> <div class="drawer d-flex flex-column open"> <div class="left-rail-section-content"> <div class="topic-left-rail-header text-truncate bg-gray-50 position-relative text-right d-flex align-items-center"> <div class="tlr-title px-20 py-15 text-left"> <em class="material-icons text-gray-400 d-lg-none" data-icon="toc"></em> <a class="font-serif font-weight-bold text-black link-blue" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Islam">Islam</a> </div> <button aria-label="Close" class="js-sections-close-button btn-link btn-sm btn d-lg-none position-absolute top-0 p-10 right-0" > <em class="material-icons font-26" data-icon="close"></em> </button> </div> <div class="section-content pl-10 pr-20 pl-sm-50 pr-sm-60 pl-lg-5 pr-lg-10 pt-10 pt-lg-0 bg-gray-50 clear-catfish-ad"> <div class="toc mb-20"> <div class="font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-15 mb-15 mt-20"> Table of Contents </div> <ul class="list-unstyled my-0" data-level="h1"><li data-target="#ref1"><div class="pl-25"><a class="link-gray-900 w-100" href="/topic/Islam">Introduction</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref69137"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam#ref69137">The foundations of Islam</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref69138"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam#ref69138">The legacy of Muhammad</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref69139"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam#ref69139">Sources of Islamic doctrinal and social views</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref69140"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Doctrines-of-the-Qur-an">Doctrines of the Qurʾān</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref69141"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Doctrines-of-the-Qur-an#ref69141">God</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref69142"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Doctrines-of-the-Qur-an#ref69142">The universe</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref69143"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Doctrines-of-the-Qur-an#ref69143">Humanity</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref69144"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Doctrines-of-the-Qur-an#ref69144">Satan, sin, and repentance</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref69145"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Doctrines-of-the-Qur-an#ref69145">Prophecy</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref69146"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Eschatology-doctrine-of-last-things">Eschatology (doctrine of last things)</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref69147"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Eschatology-doctrine-of-last-things#ref69147">Social service</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref69148"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Eschatology-doctrine-of-last-things#ref69148">Fundamental practices and institutions of Islam</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref69149" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Eschatology-doctrine-of-last-things#ref69149">The five pillars</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref69150"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Eschatology-doctrine-of-last-things#ref69150">The <em>shahādah</em>, or profession of faith</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref69151"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Prayer">Prayer</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref69152"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Prayer#ref69152">The <em>zakāt</em></a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref69153"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Prayer#ref69153">Fasting</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref69154"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Prayer#ref69154">The hajj</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref69155" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Prayer#ref69155">Sacred places and days</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref69156"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Prayer#ref69156">Shrines of Sufi saints</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref69157"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Prayer#ref69157">The mosque</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref69158"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Prayer#ref69158">Holy days</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref69159"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Islamic-thought">Islamic thought</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref69160"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Islamic-thought#ref69160">Origins, nature, and significance of Islamic theology</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref69161"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Islamic-thought#ref69161">Early developments</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref69162"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Islamic-thought#ref69162">The Hellenistic legacy</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref69163"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Theology-and-sectarianism">Theology and sectarianism</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref69164"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Theology-and-sectarianism#ref69164">The Khārijites</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref69165"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Theology-and-sectarianism#ref69165">The Muʿtazilah</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref69166" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Sunnism">Sunnism</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref69167"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Sunnism#ref69167">The way of the majority</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref69168"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Sunnism#ref69168">Tolerance of diversity</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref69169"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Sunnism#ref69169">Influence of al-Ashʿarī and al-Māturīdī</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref69170" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Shiism">Shiʿism</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref69171"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Shiism#ref69171">Ismāʿīlīs</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref69172"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Shiism#ref69172">Related sects</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref69174" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Shiism#ref69174">Other groups</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref302602"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Shiism#ref302602">Sufism</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref69175"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Shiism#ref69175">The Aḥmadiyyah</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref69177"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Islamic-philosophy">Islamic philosophy</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref69178" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Islamic-philosophy#ref69178">The Eastern philosophers</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref69179"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Islamic-philosophy#ref69179">Background and scope of philosophical interest in Islam</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref69180"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Islamic-philosophy#ref69180">Relation to the Muʿtazilah and interpretation of theological issues</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref69181"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Islamic-philosophy#ref69181">The teachings of al-Kindī</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref69182"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Islamic-philosophy#ref69182">The teachings of Abū Bakr al-Rāzī</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref69183"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/The-teachings-of-al-Farabi">The teachings of al-Fārābī</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref69184"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/The-teachings-of-al-Farabi#ref69184">Political philosophy and the study of religion</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref69185"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/The-teachings-of-al-Farabi#ref69185">Interpretation of Plato and Aristotle</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref69186"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/The-teachings-of-al-Farabi#ref69186">The analogy of religion and philosophy</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref69187"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/The-teachings-of-al-Farabi#ref69187">Impact on Ismāʿīlī theology</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref69188"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/The-teachings-of-Avicenna">The teachings of Avicenna</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref69189"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/The-teachings-of-Avicenna#ref69189">The “Oriental Philosophy”</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref69190"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/The-teachings-of-Avicenna#ref69190">Distinction between essence and existence and the doctrine of creation</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref69191"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/The-teachings-of-Avicenna#ref69191">The immortality of individual souls</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref69192"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/The-teachings-of-Avicenna#ref69192">Philosophy, religion, and mysticism</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref69193" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/The-Western-philosophers">The Western philosophers</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref69194"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/The-Western-philosophers#ref69194">Background and characteristics of the Western Muslim philosophical tradition</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref69195"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/The-Western-philosophers#ref69195">The teachings of Ibn Bājjah</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref69196"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/The-Western-philosophers#ref69196">Theoretical science and intuitive knowledge</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref69197"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/The-Western-philosophers#ref69197">Unconcern of philosophy with reform</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref69198"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/The-Western-philosophers#ref69198">The teachings of Ibn Ṭufayl</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref69199"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/The-Western-philosophers#ref69199">The philosopher as a solitary individual</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref69200"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/The-Western-philosophers#ref69200">Concern for reform</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref69201"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/The-Western-philosophers#ref69201">The hidden secret of Avicenna’s “Oriental Philosophy”</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref69202"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/The-teachings-of-Averroes">The teachings of Averroës</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref69203"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/The-teachings-of-Averroes#ref69203">Philosophy</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref69204"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/The-teachings-of-Averroes#ref69204">The divine law</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref69205"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/The-teachings-of-Averroes#ref69205">Theology</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref69206"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/The-teachings-of-Averroes#ref69206">The new wisdom: synthesis of philosophy and mysticism</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref69207" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/The-teachings-of-Averroes#ref69207">Philosophy, traditionalism, and the new wisdom</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref69208"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/The-teachings-of-Averroes#ref69208">Philosophy</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref69209"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/The-teachings-of-Averroes#ref69209">Traditionalism and the new wisdom</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref69210"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/The-teachings-of-Averroes#ref69210">Characteristic features of the new wisdom</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref69211"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/Islam/Critiques-of-Aristotle-in-Islamic-theology">Critiques of Aristotle in Islamic theology</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li 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Mahdi</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 clamp-description text-black">James Richard Jewett Professor of Arabic, Harvard University. Author of <i>Ibn Khaldun's Philosophy of History.</i></div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> Muhsin S. Mahdi</span>, <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor" href="/contributor/Annemarie-Schimmel/2619" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">Annemarie Schimmel</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 clamp-description text-black">Former Professor of Indo-Muslim Culture, Harvard University. Author of <i>Gabriel's Wing; Islamic Calligraphy; </i>and others<i>.</i></div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> Annemarie Schimmel</span><span class="text-gray-700 mx-5">•</span><a class="see-all border-gray-700 gtm-byline" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Islam/additional-info#contributors">All</a> </div> <div class="font-serif font-12 text-gray-700"> <span class="qa-fact-checked-by">Fact-checked by</span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 font-12" href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 text-black">Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link font-12 "> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2024-11-22T00:00:00CST" >Nov 22, 2024</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Islam/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm 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Ghāzān</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Related Topics: </dt> <dd><a href="/topic/Islamic-arts" topicid="295642">Islamic arts</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/Islamic-world" topicid="295765">Islamic world</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/Sufism" topicid="571823">Sufism</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/sharia" topicid="538793">sharia</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/Shii" topicid="540503">Shiʿi</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/Islam"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> </div><div class="bg-gray-50 p-15 rounded 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2024, 7:44 AM ET (AP) </span> </div> <button class="js-toggle-recent-news d-flex btn btn-unstyled font-14 pr-10 rounded-sm mt-10" aria-label="Toggle additional news items"> Show less <em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_less"></em> </button> </div> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="2" id="ref69177">  <span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The origin and inspiration of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/philosophy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">philosophy</a> in Islam are quite different from those of Islamic <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/theology" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">theology</a>. Philosophy developed out of and around the nonreligious practical and theoretical sciences, it recognized no theoretical limits other than those of human reason itself, and it assumed that the truth found by unaided reason does not disagree with the truth of Islam when both are properly understood. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Islamic-philosophy" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Islamic philosophy</a> was not a handmaid of theology. The two <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="disciplines" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disciplines" data-type="MW">disciplines</a> were related, because both followed the path of rational inquiry and distinguished themselves from traditional religious disciplines and from <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/mysticism" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">mysticism</a>, which sought knowledge through practical, spiritual purification. Islamic theology was Islamic in the strict sense: it confined itself within the Islamic religious <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="community" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/community" data-type="MW">community</a>, and it remained separate from the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Christianity" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Christian</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Judaism" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Jewish</a> theologies that developed in the same cultural <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="context" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/context" data-type="MW">context</a> and used <span id="ref299033"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Arabic-language" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Arabic</a> as a linguistic medium. No such separation is observable in the philosophy developed in the Islamic cultural context and written in Arabic: Muslims, Christians, and Jews participated in it and separated themselves according to the philosophic rather than the religious doctrines they held.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span> <section data-level="3" id="ref69178"><h2 class="h3">The Eastern philosophers</h2> <section data-level="4" id="ref69179"><h2 class="h4">Background and scope of philosophical interest in Islam</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The background of philosophic interest in Islam is found in the earlier phases of theology. But its origin is found in the translation of Greek philosophic works. By the middle of the 9th century, there were enough translations of scientific and philosophic works from <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Greek-language" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Greek</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pahlavi-language" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Pahlavi</a>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sanskrit-language" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Sanskrit</a> to show those who read them with care that scientific and philosophic <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="inquiry" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/inquiry" data-type="EB">inquiry</a> was something more than a series of disputations based on what the theologians had called sound reason. Moreover, it became evident that there existed a tradition of observation, calculation, and theoretical reflection that had been pursued systematically, refined, and modified for over a millennium.</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The scope of this tradition was broad: it included the study of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/logic" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">logic</a>, the sciences of nature (including <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/psychology" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">psychology</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/biology" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">biology</a>), the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/mathematics" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">mathematical</a> sciences (including <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/music" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">music</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/astronomy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">astronomy</a>), <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/metaphysics" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">metaphysics</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/ethics-philosophy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">ethics</a>, and politics. Each of these disciplines had a body of literature in which its principles and problems had been investigated by Classical authors, whose positions had been, in turn, stated, discussed, criticized, or developed by various commentators. Islamic philosophy emerged from its theological background when Muslim thinkers began to study this foreign tradition, became competent students of the ancient philosophers and scientists, criticized and developed their doctrines, clarified their relevance for the questions raised by the theologians, and showed what light they threw on the fundamental issues of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/revelation" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">revelation</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/prophecy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">prophecy</a>, and the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/sacred" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">divine</a> law.</p><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span></section> <section data-level="4" id="ref69180"><h2 class="h4">Relation to the Muʿtazilah and interpretation of theological issues</h2> <section data-level="5" id="ref69181"><h2 class="h5">The teachings of al-Kindī</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Although the first Muslim philosopher, <span id="ref299034"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/al-Kindi" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">al-Kindī</a>, who flourished in the first half of the 9th century, lived during the triumph of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mutazilah" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Muʿtazilah</a> of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Baghdad" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Baghdad</a> and was connected with the ʿAbbāsid caliphs who championed the Muʿtazilah and <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="patronized" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/patronized" data-type="MW">patronized</a> the Hellenistic sciences, there is no clear evidence that he belonged to a theological school. His writings show him to have been a diligent student of Greek and Hellenistic authors in philosophy and point to his familiarity with Indian arithmetic. His conscious, open, and unashamed acknowledgment of earlier contributions to scientific inquiry was foreign to the spirit, method, and purpose of the theologians of the time. His acquaintance with the writings of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Plato" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Plato</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aristotle" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Aristotle</a> was still incomplete and technically inadequate. He improved the Arabic translation of the <em>Theology of Aristotle</em> but made only a selective and <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="circumspect" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/circumspect" data-type="MW">circumspect</a> use of it.</p><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD5 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Devoting most of his writings to questions of natural philosophy and mathematics, al-Kindī was particularly concerned with the relation between corporeal things, which are changeable, in constant flux, <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="infinite" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/infinite" data-type="MW">infinite</a>, and as such unknowable, on the one hand, and the permanent world of <span id="ref665683"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/form-philosophy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">forms</a> (spiritual or secondary <span id="ref665685"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/substance-philosophy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">substances</a>), which are not subject to flux yet to which human beings have no access except through things of the senses. He insisted that a purely human knowledge of all things is possible, through the use of various scientific devices, learning such things as mathematics and logic, and <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="assimilating" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/assimilating" data-type="MW">assimilating</a> the contributions of earlier thinkers. The existence of a “supernatural” way to this knowledge in which all these requirements can be dispensed with was acknowledged by al-Kindī: God may choose to impart it to his prophets by cleansing and <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="illuminating" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/illuminating" data-type="MW">illuminating</a> their souls and by giving them his aid, right guidance, and inspiration; and they, in turn, communicate it to ordinary human beings in an admirably clear, concise, and comprehensible style. This is the prophets’ “divine” knowledge, characterized by a special mode of access and style of exposition. In principle, however, this very same knowledge is accessible to human beings without divine aid, even though “human” knowledge may lack the completeness and <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="consummate" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/consummate" data-type="MW">consummate</a> logic of the prophets’ divine message.</p><div class="module-spacing"> </div><span class="marker MOD5 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD6 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Reflection on the two kinds of knowledge—the human knowledge <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="bequeathed" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bequeathed" data-type="MW">bequeathed</a> by the ancients and the revealed knowledge expressed in the Qurʾān—led al-Kindī to pose a number of themes that became central to Islamic philosophy: the rational–metaphorical <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="exegesis" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/exegesis" data-type="MW">exegesis</a> of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Quran" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Qurʾān</a> and the Hadith; the identification of God with the first being and the first cause; creation as the giving of being and as a kind of causation distinct from natural causation and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Platonism/Neoplatonism-its-nature-and-history#ref32567" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Neoplatonic</a> emanation; and the immortality of the individual <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/soul-religion-and-philosophy" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">soul</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD6 mod-inline"></span></section> <section data-level="5" id="ref69182"><h2 class="h5">The teachings of Abū Bakr al-Rāzī</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD7 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The philosopher whose principal concerns, method, and opposition to authority were inspired by the extreme Muʿtazilah was the physician <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/al-Razi" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Abū Bakr al-Rāzī</a> (flourished 9th–10th centuries). He adopted the Muʿtazilah’s atomism and was intent on developing a rationally defensible theory of creation that would not require any change in God or <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="attribute" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/attribute" data-type="EB">attribute</a> to him responsibility for the imperfection and evil prevalent in the created world. To this end, he expounded the view that there are five eternal principles—God, Soul, prime <span id="ref665692"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/matter-philosophy" class="md-crosslink ">matter</a>, infinite, or absolute, space, and unlimited, or absolute, time—and explained creation as the result of the unexpected and sudden turn of events (<em>faltah</em>). <em>Faltah</em> occurred when Soul, in her ignorance, desired matter and the good God eased her misery by allowing her to satisfy her desire and to experience the suffering of the material world, and then gave her reason to make her realize her mistake and deliver her from her union with matter, the cause of her suffering and of all evil. Al-Rāzī claimed that he was a Platonist, that he disagreed with Aristotle, and that his views were those of the <span id="ref299038"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sabians" class="md-crosslink ">Ṣābians</a> of Harran and the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Brahman-social-class" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Brahmans</a> (the Hindu priestly caste).</p><span class="marker MOD7 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD8 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Ismāʿīlī theologians became aware of the kinship between certain elements of his cosmology and their own. They disputed with him during his lifetime and continued afterward to refute his doctrines in their writings. According to their account of his doctrines, he was totally opposed to authority in matters of knowledge, believed in the progress of the arts and sciences, and held that all reasonable human beings are equally able to look after their own affairs, equally inspired and able to know the truth of what earlier teachers had taught, and equally able to improve upon it. Ismāʿīlī theologians were incensed, in particular, by his wholesale rejection of prophecy, particular revelation, and divine laws. They were likewise opposed to his <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="criticisms" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/criticisms" data-type="MW">criticisms</a> of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/religion" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">religion</a> in general as a device employed by evildoers and a kind of <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="tyranny" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tyranny" data-type="MW">tyranny</a> over human beings that exploits their innocence and credulity, perpetuates ignorance, and leads to conflicts and wars.</p><span class="marker MOD8 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD9 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Although the fragmentary character of al-Kindī’s and al-Rāzī’s surviving philosophic writings does not permit passing firm and independent judgment on their accomplishments, they tend to bear out the view of later Muslim students of philosophy that both lacked competence in the logical foundation of philosophy, were knowledgeable in some of the natural sciences but not in <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="metaphysics" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/metaphysics" data-type="MW">metaphysics</a>, and were unable to narrow the gap that separated philosophy from the new religion, Islam.</p><span class="marker MOD9 mod-inline"></span></section></section> </section></section><span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article></div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":9,"pagesTotal":20,"pageId":295507,"pageLength":1294,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.130.14"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.130.14' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"C","adLeg":"C","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"PAGINATED","gisted":false,"pageNumber":9,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":false} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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