This is the first English translation of the last known philosophical work of the great eleventh-century Ismaili thinker, poet, and Fatimid emissary, N畊ir-i Khusraw. Appointed from Cairo by command of the Fatimid Imam-caliph al-Mustan畊ir to serve first as a 糸偵平朝Lit. ‘summoner,’ a term for missionary amongst various Muslim communities, especially used among the Ismailis before and during the Fatimid period as well as in the Alamut period of Ismaili…, and then as the 畍u逮逮温岳, for the entire region of KhurasanThe northeastern region of early Islamic Persia, immediately south of Transoxania and west of Badakhshan. More, he maintained his allegiance to both his mission and his Imam for the rest of his life, even when threatened and driven into exile.
Written during his exile in Badakhshan in the year 1070 CE, N畊ir-i Khusraw here develops a powerful presentation of both Aristotelian philosophy and Ismaili exegesis, or 岳温幣敬朝鉛The elucidation of the inner or esoteric meaning, 恢偵畊i稼 , from the literal wording or apparent meaning of a text, ritual or religious prescription., and strives to show that they are ultimately in harmony. The work is presented as a learned commentary on a long philosophical poem, written in the previous century and sent to Nasir by the 温馨朝姻 of Badakhshan, 平Al b. Asad, who copied the poem out in his own hand from memory and asked the poet-philosopher to explicate it.
In doing so, Nasir ranges over a huge span of topics from logic and language to the nature of the physical world, from the spheres of the highest heavens to the plants and animals of the earthly realm, and, most importantly, hidden spiritual realities: the esoteric (恢偵畊i稼The inner or esoteric meaning of a sacred text, ritual or religious prescription, often contrasted with 畉hir. See also 恢偵畊i稼朝 岳温幣敬朝鉛 and B畊iniyya.) as well as the exoteric (畉a鞄庄姻) realms. He thus discusses the nature of God, the creation of human beings, and the mysteries concealed in the physical world, itself a reflection of a higher, transcendent realm.
Between Reason and Revelation: Twin Wisdoms Reconciled is an annotated translation of the Persian text prepared by Henry Corbin and Mohammed Mu平in based on the single surviving manuscript of the work, now in the S端leymaniye Mosque Library in Istanbul. It is a work of great philosophical and spiritual insight, which is also a pioneering attempt to tackle difficult intellectual problems in the Persian language; it is at once lucid and lyrical, precise and speculative. Nasirs influence has been immense as both a poet and a thinker, and the Kitb-i Jmi平 al-畍ikmatayn is his crowning work.
Illustrations
Abbreviations
Introduction
Translation of Kitb-i Jmi平 al-畍ikmatayn: The Book of Twin Wisdoms Reconciled
Exordium
1. The Reason for the Composition of this Book; its Title
2. The 河温畊Ｄd温 of A畍mad b. 畍asan al-Jurjn朝
3. On the Proof of the Creators Existence with a Discussion of His Oneness, in Several Discourses
a. On the Creators existence
b. The Doctrine of the Dialectical Theologians of the Karramites on Tawhid
c. The Doctrine of the Theologians of the Mu平tazilite School on Tawhid
d. The Doctrine of the Metaphysical Philosophers on Tawhid
4. Aristotles Teaching on the Four Parts of Speech
5. On Form, Property, Definition and Description
6. The Definition of I
7. On the Body, on the Soul, on the Intelligence
8. On the Seven Lights
9. On Eternity, Truth, Pleasure, Life as it Passes, Perfection, and Occultation
10. On Universal Nature
11. On Angel, Pari, Demon
12. A Commentary on One
13. Of Species and Genus
14. On Happiness and Unhappiness. And on Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
15. Properties of Minerals, Animals, and Places
16. On Language, Discourse, Speech
17. On Pre-Eternity, Duration, Eternity, and Eternity without End
18. On the Moons Properties
19. On the Necessity of Human Education
20. About 庄恢糸偵 (Origination)
21. On the Emergence of the Species from the Individual
22. On Intellect and Knowledge
23. On the Difference between the Perceiver and the Act of Perception
24. On the Creation of Heaven and Earth
25. On the Circle, the Chicken and the Egg
26. On the Whole and the Part
27. On Saturn, Seed of Spring
28. On the Houses of the Sun and the Moon
29. On the Influence of Auspicious and Ominous Stars on the Soul and the Body
30. On Spiritual Father and Mother
31. On Questions without Answers about the Properties of the Elements
32. On the Poets Resolve to Reply to his own Questions
33. That the Learned Man is Alive, the Ignorant Man Dead
34. Conclusion of the Book
Bibliography
Eric Ormsby is Professor and Senior Research Associate at 今叔利, London. He was previously Director of Libraries at McGill University in Montreal, and Professor, and later Director, of McGill’s Institute of Islamic Studies, from 1986 until 2005. He is the author of several books, most recently Ghazali: The Revival of Islam (Oxford, 2007), and many articles on Islamic philosophy, theology, and mysticism. From 1975 to 1983, he served as Curator of Islamic Manuscripts at Princeton University and co-authored (with Rudolf Mach) the Handlist of Arabic Manuscripts (New Series) in the Princeton University Library (Princeton, 1987). He is also a frequent contributor of essays and reviews on literature, history, and philosophy, as well as Islamic thought, to such publications as The New York Times Book Review, the Times Literary Supplement, and the New Criterion, among others.