Muslim Neoplatonists, An Introduction to the thought of the Brethren of Purity (Ikhwān al-Safā’)

"These Ikhwan al-Safa' are as well known to an educated Arab as, say, the names of Descartes, Hegel and Wittgenstein are to the cultured European. This book is an introduction to their thought: it makes no claims to be comprehensive or to cover every facet of the Ikhwan's doctrine but seeks only to introduce the reader to some aspects of that doctrine". (From Author's Preface and Acknowledgements) PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................. page ix Chapter One The Ikhwan al-Safa' and their Rasa'il ............. 1 Chapter Two The Legacy of Greece 1 ............................ 9 Pythagoras Plato Aristotle Chapter Three The Legacy of Greece 2 .......................... 33 Neoplatonism Chapter Four The Christian and Judaic Substrate ............... 53 Christianity and the Rasa'il Judaism and the Rasa'il Chapter Five Uses of Literature ............................... 78 The Cloak of the Qur'an Indian Literature Chapter Six The Ikhwan al-Safa' and the Isma'ilis ............. 95 Conclusion The Ship of Salvation .............................. 105 ABBREVIATIONS ................................................. 110 NOTES ......................................................... 111 BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................. 134 INDEX ......................................................... 143 "The tenth or eleventh century group of the Brethren of Purity (Ikhwan al Safa) are as well known in the Arab world as Darwin, Marx and Freud in the west. Designed as an introduction to their ideas, this book concentrates on the Brethren's writings, analyzing the impact on them of thinkers such as Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle and the Neoplatonists. Ian Netton traces the influences of Judaism and Christianity, and controversially this book argues that the Brethren of Purity did not belong to the Ismaili branch of Islam as is generally believed." -- From Amazon An introduction to the writings and thought of the Brethren of Purity ("Ikhwan al-Safa"), the 11th-century group of Arab thinkers from Basra in Southern Iraq - as well-known in some parts of the Arab world as Newton, Hegel and Marx are in the West. The group of medieval Arab philosophers known to Islamic history as the Brethren of Purity (Ikhwan al-Safa') has rightly been described as both an 'obscure puzzle' and a 'padlocked treasure'. Ian Richard Netton. Originally Published: London : Allen & Unwin, 1982. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 134-142) And Index.