The Sufi Doctrine of Man : Ṣadr Al-Dīn Al-Qūnawī's Metaphysical Anthropology

In 'The Sufi Doctrine of Man', Richard Todd examines the life and thought of Ibn 'Arabī's chief disciple, Ṣadr al-Dīn al-Qūnawī (13th century C.E.). Making use of manuscript sources, he analyzes and contextualizes Qūnawī's esoteric vision of the nature and purpose of human existence, a doctrine which incorporates core elements of Qūnawī's metaphysics, cosmology, psychology, and eschatology. Qūnawī's thought is placed in relation to Ibn 'Arabī's and that of the Ikhwān al-Ṣafā', and his interaction with the Avicennian tradition is explored by focusing on his dialogue with the philosopher al-Ṭūsī. Although not as famous as his master, Qūnawī is shown to have been a sophisticated metaphysician in his own right, who had a major impact on Sufi thought. Acknowledgements Abbreviations Glossary of Philosophical and Sufi Terms Notes on Transliteration Introduction 1. Sadr al-Dīn al-Qūnawī 2. Qūnawī’s Anthropology in Context 3. The Political Setting 4. The Cultural and Intellectual Climate 5. Qūnawī’s Biography in Medieval Sources Part 1: Qūnawī’s Life and Work 1. Life and Times 1 Early Life and Education 2 Travels and Teaching in the Near East 3 Konya 4 Students and Disciples 5 Final Years 2. Qūnawī’s Works 1 Qūnawī’s Corpus 2 Qūnawī’s Methodology 3 'Miftāh ghayb al-jam' wa tafsīli-hi' 4 'I'jāz al-bayān fī ta'wīl umm al-Qur'ān' 5 The Correspondence with Tūsī 6 'Nafthat al-masdūr wa tuhfat al-shakūr' 7 'Risālat al-nusūs fī tahqīq al-tawr al-makhsūs' 8 'Al-risāla al-murshidīya' 9 'Al-nafahāt al-ilāhīya' 10 'Al-fukūk fī asrār mustanadāt hikam al-Fusūs' 11 'Sharh al-ahādīth al-arba'īnīya' 3. Intellectual Currents and Debates 1 Qūnawī’s Work in Relation to Ibn 'Arabī’s 2 The Critique of Rational Inquiry 3 Qūnawī’s Doctrinal Synthesis 4. Cosmology 1 Qūnawī’s Cosmology in Context 2 Cosmological Questions in Qūnawī’s Letters to Tūsī 3 The Sublunary World Part 2: Qūnawī’s Anthropology 5. Man’s Metaphysical Origins 1 Indeterminacy and Determination 2 The Cognitive Relationship 3 The Divine Affairs 4 The Immutable Essences 5 The Common Measure 6 The 'Barzakh' 7 The Five Presences 8 The Divine Secret 6. The Human State 1 The Perfection of the Last 2 The Stages of Lodging and Settling 3 The Soul 4 Sustenance 5 The Separation of Body and Soul 6 Man’s Posthumous States 7. Liberation 1 Providence 2 The Law and the Way 3 Reorientation 4 Love 5 The Spiritual Ascent 6 Theophany 8. The Reception of Qūnawī’s Thought Conclusion Appendix 1. Critical List of Qūnawī’s Works Appendix 2. Qūnawī’s Ijāzas to Farghānī and Jandī Appendix 3. Translated Excerpts from Qūnawī’s Epistemological Texts Bibliography Index The Akhbārī School dominated the intellectual landscape of Imāmī Shiʻism between the Seventeenth and early Nineteenth Centuries. Its principal doctrines involved a reliance on scripture (primarily the sayings or akhbār of the Shiʻite Imams) and a rejection of the rational exegetical techniques which had become orthodox doctrine in Imāmī theology and law. However, the Akhbārīs were not simple literalists, as they are at times portrayed in secondary literature. They developed a complex theory of exegesis in which texts could be interpreted, whilst at the same time remaining doggedly committed to the ability of the revelatory texts to provide answers to theological and legal questions arising within the Shīʻī community. This book is the first in-depth study of the intellectual development and historical influence of the Akhbārī School In The Sufi Doctrine of Man , Richard Todd examines the life and thought of Ṣadr al-Dīn al-Qūnawī (13th century C.E.), Ibn 'Arabī's chief disciple and a key figure in the development of Sufi metaphysics In "The Sufi Doctrine of Man," Richard Todd examines the life and thought of adr al-D n al-Q naw (13th century C.E.), Ibn 'Arab 's chief disciple and a key figure in the development of Sufi metaphysics."