Ḥayy ibn Yaqẓān’s Parable of the Two Generous Men in Avicenna’s Decree and Determination (R. fī l-Qaḍāʾ wa-l-qadar)
Abstract
This article explores Avicenna’s conception of divine providence in the light of his allegorical
work Decree and Determination (R. fī l-Qaḍāʾ wa-l-qadar), wherein the philosopher
stages interactions between the rational soul, the animal soul, and the Active
Intelligence. Centering on the parable of the two generous men told in Decree and
Determination by the legendary sage Ḥayy ibn Yaqẓān, this analysis draws parallels from
numerous works of Avicenna—notably his other allegorical work, Alive, Son of Awake
(R. Ḥayy ibn Yaqẓān)—so as to bring into focus lesser-known facets of his philosophical
worldview…
(link below)
Chess and the Divine Decree ( Translation by Hamza Yusuf)
Abstract:
“It would be honor enough for the people of India had they bequeathed us nothing but chess, a game that, like the sun itself, has traversed the entire globe. Indeed, people everywhere hold high in esteem and deem intelligent anyone who masters it or even plays it well. Such being the case, in how much greater esteem should we hold the brilliance of its ingenious inventor“
The Qur’an and its Interpretive Tradition. By Andrew Rippin.
The Qur’an and its Interpretive Tradition. By Andrew Rippin. (Variorum
Collected Studies Series). Pp. 356. Aldershot and Burlington: Ashgate, 2001. £62.50.
Each volume of the Variorum Collected Studies Series musters long term writings by
some noteworthy scholar (in this case, one of the biggest names in Qur’anic studies
in the West); by grouping articles on sundry fields, perhaps written over decades, it
allows a clear glimpse of the scholar’s development, their deeper presuppositions, the
methodological patterns and mental habits which undergird their work. Rippin’s cor
pus is avowedly built on groundwork laid by John Wansbrough. Two whole chapters
(II and IV) of the book at hand are indeed given over to aspects of Wansbrough’s
work. The tell-tale framework of haggadic, halakhic, massoretic, rhetorical and alle
gorical genres/phases in the elaboration of the Muslim scriptures is assumed through
out the book, which brims with references to Quranic Studies and praise for its late………
What is Tafsīr al-Qurʾān bi’l-Qurʾān?
Abstract:
In an attempt to understand a well-known though often unexamined exegetical principle,
this article offers a reading of the story of Joseph in light of two Quranic passages, namely 39:23
and, most importantly, 95:4-6. What links these texts is the concept of beauty. In 39:23, the
Quran is referred to as “the most beautiful discourse,” while 95:4 says that human beings were
created in “the most beautiful stature.” At the same time, Sūrat Yūsuf is spoken of as being “the
most beautiful of stories” (12:3). We thus have the most beautiful discourse, which contains the
most beautiful of stories, and all of this is for the benefit of God’s creatures, who are created in
the most beautiful of statures. ……………………..
‘God Surrounds all Things’: An Islamic Perspective on the Environment
Abstract:
In attempting to understand the Islamic view of the environment, we have to begin by asking how
Islam has traditionally discussed the concept with which we are dealing. How does one say “environment”
in the language of the Koran?.
Seyyed Hossein Nasr – Three Muslim Sages
THE “golden age, of Islam, insofar as the intensity of the religious and spiritual life and the realization of its ideals are concerned, must be identified with the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad- upon whom be peace- and the first Muslim community at Medina. But just as the seed sown in the ground grows into a tree and finally bears fruit only after the passage of time and. the gaining of nourishment from a………………
(link below)
Seyyed Hossein Nasr-Three Muslim Sages_ Avicenna-Suhrawardi-Ibn Arabi-Caravan Books (1976)
SEYYED HOSSEIN NASR’S CONCEPTION OF THE HUMAN BEING
Seyyed Hossein Nasr is among the most important spokesmen of traditional thought and stated that approximation to the creative will, that he placed at the center, in the contemplative life fed by religious sources is the most important factor in guiding human beings to the straight path………………………
Universal Science:An Introduction to Islamic Metaphysics
Philosophy is the foundation of all sciences. It is the universal science
(ʿilm-i kullī). Without philosophy no other science can be established
(banā kard)…Philosophy is the ontology of any reality (ḥaqīqat). For ex-
ample, the reality (ḥaqīqat) of man. If you put philosophy to one side, you
have put man aside. Because man is a rational and perceiving animal…
the perceiver of ‘reality’. Āyatullāh Mahdī Ḥāʾirī Yazdī (d. 1420 ah/1999)1………………..
Hairi Yazdi, Universal Science, An Introduction To Islamic Metaphysics (trans. Cooper)
Neo-Orientalism and the Study of Islamic Philosophy: An Interview with Professor Mohammed Rustom
Abstract:
After attending Professor Rustom’s advanced seminar on Ibn Sina at Carleton University in winter 2017, doctoral candidate Soroosh Shahriari of McGill University, Canada, “brought up the possibility of . . [posing] some ‘hard’ questions concerning the contemporary study of Islamic philosophy.” Rustom’s in-depth knowledge of the method and spirit of traditional Islamic education and Islamic metaphysics helps us navigate the complexities inherent in the study of Islamic philosophy in the modern academy. What follows is an edited version of this interview, which took place in Ottawa, Canada, February 2017.