The Story of Islamic Philosophy: Ibn Tufayl, Ibn al-'Arabi, and Others on the Limit between Naturalism and Traditionalism

Offers a new interpretation of medieval Islamic philosophy, one informed by Platonic mysticism. In this innovative work, Salman H. Bashier challenges traditional views of Islamic philosophy. While Islamic thought from the crucial medieval period is often depicted as a rationalistic elaboration on Aristotelian philosophy and an attempt to reconcile it with the Muslim religion, Bashier puts equal emphasis on the influence of Plato’s philosophical mysticism. This shift encourages a new reading of Islamic intellectual tradition, one in which boundaries between philosophy, religion, mysticism, and myth are relaxed. Bashier shows the manner in which medieval Islamic philosophers reflected on the relation between philosophy and religion as a problem that is intrinsic to philosophy and shows how their deliberations had the effect of redefining the very limits of their philosophical thought. The problems of the origin of human beings, human language, and the world in Islamic philosophy are discussed. Bashier highlights the importance of Ibn Tufayl’s Hayy Ibn Yaqzan, a landmark work often overlooked by scholars, and the thought of the great Sufi mystic Ibn al-Arabi to the mainstream of Islamic philosophy. Salman H. Bashier is a Polonsky Postdoctoral Fellow at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute in Israel. He is the author of Ibn al-Arabi’s Barzakh: The Concept of the Limit and the Relationship between God and the World, also published by SUNY Press. The Story of Islamic Philosophy 4 Contents 6 Acknowledgments 10 Abbreviations 12 Introduction 14 1. The File of Illuminationist Philosophy and the Purpose of Writing Hayy 26 The Legend of Eastern Philosophy 26 Eastern and Western Schools of Philosophy 29 Plato and Aristotle: The Heart and the Voice of Islamic Philosophy 33 The Purpose of Writing Hayy 38 2. The Introduction 42 Mystical Expression and Experience: Fundamental S奴fi Concepts 42 Knowledge1, Knowledge2, and Ghaz膩l墨鈥檚 Niche of Lights 45 Ibn S墨n膩鈥檚 Liminal Depiction of the Mystical Experience 49 Sal膩m膩n and Abs膩l: The Hermetistic Version 52 Ibn S墨n膩鈥檚 Version 54 3. The Naturalistic Account of Hayy鈥檚 Birth 56 Ibn Tufayl鈥檚 Method of Concealment 56 Spontaneous Generation 57 A Liminal Depiction of the Chain of Existents 60 In the Earth of Barzakh 61 Plato鈥檚 Myth of Spontaneous Generation 66 4. The Traditionalistic Account from the End 70 Divine Origins and Illuminative Gradations 70 Imitation and Interpretation 72 Ibn Tufayl鈥檚 Liminal Declaration 75 5. The Origination of the World 80 Between Plato and Aristotle 80 Aristotle鈥檚 Concept of the Infinite 82 Ibn Tufayl鈥檚 Liminal Stand 83 6. The Shadow of F膩r膩b墨 88 Philosophy鈥檚 Ultimate Mission 88 The Origination of Language 92 The Quest for Unity 95 The Development of Meanings 96 Two Conceptions of Dialectic 98 7. The Shadow of Ibn B膩jja 100 Ibn B膩jja on the Chain of Existents and Self-Intellection 100 The Presence of the Parable of the Cave 103 8. The Traditionalistic Account from the Beginning 110 The Emphasis on Balance and Equilibrium 110 The Discovery of Fire 111 The Sleepers in the Cave 114 The Encounter Between Moses and al-Khadir 116 Moses in Fus奴s al-Hikam 120 9. Gilgamesh: The One Who Saw the Abyss 128 The Builder of the Great Walls and the Man-As-He-Was-In-the-Beginning 128 Intercourse as an Act of Writing 130 In Company with Gilgamesh 133 Enkidu鈥檚 Death 134 The Quest for Eternal Life 135 The Encounter with Utnapishtim 137 In the Underworld 140 10. The Tale of Bul奴qiya Between Ibn al-鈥楢rab墨 and Gilgamesh 142 The Tale of H膩sib Kar墨m al-D墨n 142 The Quest for the Plant of Life 143 The Mystical Dimension 146 Conclusion 150 Notes 156 Bibliography 196 Index 204 A 204 B 204 C 205 D 205 E 206 F 206 G 206 H 206 I 207 J 207 K 208 L 208 M 208 N 208 O 209 p 209 Q 209 R 209 S 209 T 210 U 210 V 210 W 210 The Story of Islamic Philosophy Contents Acknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction 1. The File of Illuminationist Philosophy and the Purpose of Writing Hayy The Legend of Eastern Philosophy Eastern and Western Schools of Philosophy Plato and Aristotle: The Heart and the Voice of Islamic Philosophy The Purpose of Writing Hayy 2. The Introduction Mystical Expression and Experience: Fundamental Sūfi Concepts Knowledge1, Knowledge2, and Ghazālī’s Niche of Lights Ibn Sīnā’s Liminal Depiction of the Mystical Experience Salāmān and Absāl: The Hermetistic Version Ibn Sīnā’s Version 3. The Naturalistic Account of Hayy’s Birth Ibn Tufayl’s Method of Concealment Spontaneous Generation A Liminal Depiction of the Chain of Existents In the Earth of Barzakh Plato’s Myth of Spontaneous Generation 4. The Traditionalistic Account from the End Divine Origins and Illuminative Gradations Imitation and Interpretation Ibn Tufayl’s Liminal Declaration 5. The Origination of the World Between Plato and Aristotle Aristotle’s Concept of the Infinite Ibn Tufayl’s Liminal Stand 6. The Shadow of Fārābī Philosophy’s Ultimate Mission The Origination of Language The Quest for Unity The Development of Meanings Two Conceptions of Dialectic 7. The Shadow of Ibn Bājja Ibn Bājja on the Chain of Existents and Self-Intellection The Presence of the Parable of the Cave 8. The Traditionalistic Account from the Beginning The Emphasis on Balance and Equilibrium The Discovery of Fire The Sleepers in the Cave The Encounter Between Moses and al-Khadir Moses in Fusūs al-Hikam 9. Gilgamesh: The One Who Saw the Abyss The Builder of the Great Walls and the Man-As-He-Was-In-the-Beginning Intercourse as an Act of Writing In Company with Gilgamesh Enkidu’s Death The Quest for Eternal Life The Encounter with Utnapishtim In the Underworld 10. The Tale of Bulūqiya Between Ibn al-‘Arabī and Gilgamesh The Tale of Hāsib Karīm al-Dīn The Quest for the Plant of Life The Mystical Dimension Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O p Q R S T U V W __Offers a new interpretation of medieval Islamic philosophy, one informed by Platonic mysticism.__