Introduction to Islamic Studies Al-Maktoum College of Higher Education Dundee, Scotland   Session 8- 10/10/2015 Muslim philosophy and mysticism Yaser Mirdamadi (University of Edinburgh)

Part one: Muslim Philosophy

What is Muslim philosophy The style of philosophy produced within the framework of Islamic culture. It is not necessarily concerned with religious issues. It is not exclusively produced by Muslims. It is intimately connected with Greek philosophy. The difference between Muslim theology and philosophy

The Greek Roots of Muslim Philosophy (1) The Qur’anic roots of rationality in Islam The early conquests of the Muslims and infiltration of other cultures. A large translation project in the early ‘Abbasid period. Neoplatonic versus Aristotelian tradition. Islamic Neoplatonism stressed one aspect of the Qur’anic God, the transcendent aspect, and ignored another, the creative and immanent.

The Greek Roots of Muslim Philosophy (2) Thinkers who seem to have been influenced by Greek skepticism, they turned largely against religion, Ibn ar- Rawandi and Muhammad ibn Zakariyya’ al-Razi.

Some Philosophical Discussions (1) 1- Why do we need (if at all) prophecy and divine revelation?

Some Philosophical Discussions (2) 2- God’s knowledge of particulars: 2-1. Is God’s knowledge of particulars compatible with human’s free will? 2-2. Are Particulars (which are multiple and changing), if known be God, compatible with God’s nature (which is one and unchanging)?

Al-Ghazali’s attack on Philosophy Al-Ghazali charged Muslim philosophers with unbelief (kufr) on at least three counts: 1- The eternity of the world, 2- Bodily resurrection, 3- God’s knowledge of particulars.

A case study Al-Ghazali. The Incoherence of the Philosophers. Translated by Michael E. Marmura. 2nd edition. Provo: University of Chicago Press, 2002, Pp.226- 7.

Questions regarding case study 1- Do you find any issue raised in the text that seems related to our discussions in the previous sessions? 2- Do you find any position that is not acceptable to a modern mind?

Bibliography Essential reading(s): -A Brief Introduction to Islamic Philosophy. Oliver Leaman. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1999, (pp. 1-12) -'Islamic philosophy'. Oliver Leaman. Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 1998. Additional reading(s): - An Introduction to Classical Islamic Philosophy, Leaman, Oliver, Cambridge University Press, 2004, (pp. 5-16).

Part Two: Muslim Mysticism

What is Sufism? The intensification of Islamic faith and practice, or the tendency among Muslims to strive for a personal engagement with the Divine Reality (for nearness to God). ‘Sufi’ originally means someone who wears wool. Sufis generally stress inwardness over outwardness, contemplation over action, spiritual development over legalism, and cultivation of the soul over social interaction. Sufis speak of God's mercy, gentleness, and beauty more than of the wrath, severity, and majesty that play defining roles in both fiqh and kalam.

Sufi rituals Dhikr (God’s remembrance) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPZxrHchfCA Initiation rite (bay‘ah) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKOmqR1za8M&list= PL7EF76B732A73B580

Sufi’s epistemology The faculty of ‘imagination’ (khayal) versus reason (apophatic). To see God’s presence in every thing (khayal), versus being aware through reason that God is incomparable (munazzah). The most characteristic emphasis of the Sufi teachers is on the need to love God.

Case study An excerpt from chapter 339 of Ibn al-‘Arabi’s al- Futuhat al-Makkiyya (The Meccan Openings), translated by William Chittick. Question: what is the relationship between Shari‘a and haqiqa (reality or truth) according to Ibn al-‘Arabi?

Case study

Bibliography Essential reading(s): Sufi Thought and Practice, William Chittick, in: The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World. Additional reading(s): “Mysticism in Arabic and Islamic Philosophy.” Mehdi Aminrazavi. In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, edited by Edward N. Zalta, 2009. http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2009/entries/arabic- islamic-mysticism/. The Traditional World of Islam, Part 6: the Inner life (25 minutes), a documentary directed by Stephen Cross (1998).