The story of Islamic philosophy: Ibn Ṭufayl, Ibn al-ʻArabī, and others on the limit between naturalism and traditionalism

"The story of Islamic philosophy is the story of the development of the human intellect from the rationalistic phase, represented in this study by Fārābi (d. 950), to an illuminative phase represented by Ibn Ṭufayl (d. 1185) and Ibn al-`Arabī (d. 1240). Illuminative philosophy is based on a model of mystical illumination that found its best expression in Plato's Seventh Letter ... In this book, I use Ibn .Tufayl's work and the work of other Islamic thinkers to present the main principles of illuminative or liminal philosophy ..."--Introduction, p. 1.;The file of illuminationist philosophy and the purpose of writing Ḥayy -- The naturalistic account of Ḥayy's birth -- The traditionalistic account from the end -- The origination of the world -- The shadow of Fārābī -- The shadow of Ibn Bājja -- The traditionalistic account from the beginning -- Gilgamesh : the one who saw the abyss -- The Tale of Bulūqiya between Ibn al-ʻArabī and Gilgamesh.

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.

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 Ṭufayl's Ḥayy ibn Yaqẓān , a landmark work often overlooked by scholars, and the thought of the great Sufi mystic Ibn al-ʿArabī to the mainstream of Islamic philosophy.