Islamic Philosophy from Its Origin to the Present: Philosophy in the Land of Prophecy

Seyyed Hossein Nasr, a reviver of the Islamic intellectual tradition and expositor of those traditional doctrines associated with the Sophia Perennis, or al-Hikmah al-Khalidah as it is known in Islamic intellectual discourse, has provided for those pursuing the illumination of the Spirit through the way of the Intellect with a seemingly constant flow of treatises touching on nearly every aspect of what is known as the Din al-Islam. This particular work seems to be Nasr's final word on the subject of Islamic philosophy; conclusions arrived at after many decades of study, teaching and contemplation. The chief aim of the work can be seen in the following quote from the second chapter:"This philosophy [Islamic philosophy] remains of the greatest pertinence to the contemporary world because of the harmony it has achieved between logic and spiritual vision and also because of the profound metaphysical and cosmological doctrines it contains within the pages of its long and extended historical unfolding. Furthermore, because of the present encounter of Islam with an alien philosophy and science--this time from the West--Islamic philosophy must be called upon once again to play the role it fulfilled in early Islamic history, namely, to provide the necessary intellectual instruments and the requisite intellectual background with the aid of which Muslims can face alien philosophies and sciences from a position of discernment and intellectual rigor. Otherwise the encounter with the West can only result in calamity for the future of Islamic intellectual life and threaten even more than what happened in the colonial period the continuation of the life of falsafah itself. Only in remaining true to its own genius, to its own roots, and to the role it has always played in Islamic history in a land dominated by the reality of prophecy can falsafah (and hikmah) fulfill its vital function of providing the Muslims themselves with the necessary intellectual background to confront the modern and now postmodern West and to remind the world at large about the long-forgotten but urgently needed truths that Islamic philosophy has been able to preserve within its treasury over the centuries and that it is able to present in a contemporary language to the world today." (pg. 47)Nasr's genius lies in his birds-eye perspective and his illuminating commentary on the history, development and spiritual underpinnings of Islamic philosophy. Unlike modern scholars and historians of Islamic philosophy, and their Muslim imitators, or Muslim scholars who wish to compare this or that Islamic philosopher with some modern philosopher or another--a boring preoccupation on the part of certain Muslims educated in Islamic philosophy who seek approval from the dominant philosophical currents of Western modernity--Nasr constantly reminds us that philosophy, when pursued within the framework of the Islamic tradition, or within the "land of prophecy", is not an inquiry into the phenomenal world with phenomenal ends in view, nor the endless, labyrinthine analysis of those possessed with an obsessive mental passion, but an inquiry into the very nature of things in view of reinstating the intelligence back to its original sanctity.When Nasr maintains that Islamic philosophy "remains of the greatest pertinence to the contemporary world because of the harmony it has achieved between logic and spiritual vision", he is referring, in my mind, to the culmination of the Islamic philosophical project in the grand synthesis found in the Eastern lands of Islam. While there exist several "schools" which deal superbly with systematic metaphysics and the sciences of realizing the end--one of the most popular and direct being Advaita Vedanta--they don't enter too deeply into the domain of discursive philosophy and natural science. In the West--which serves as the model for the rest of the world now--these two traditions of inquiry became more and more separated from each other until discursive philosophy eclipsed metaphysics altogether; sending the West into its current spiritual, philosophical and civilizational bankruptcy. However, the synthesis established by later Islamic philosophy between peripatetic (mashsha'i) philosophy and the metaphysical/theosophical (al-hikmah al-ilahiyyah) discourse of the Sufi sages harmonized discursive philosophy with what Suhrawardi called "Divine Philosophy". Islamic philosophy, if properly taken account of, offers the West many important insights which, if considered seriously, could help in placing a derailed Western philosophical tradition back on its tracks.Nasr's outline of the history and influences which flavored different schools of Islamic philosophy is very intriguing, such as the Hermetico-Pythagorean influences which came in through Isma'ili philosophy. Nasr also gives ample room to a Nasir al-Din Tusi, Hamid al-Din Kirmani and Nasir-i Khusraw, enormous philosophers almost totally neglected by Western studies of Islamic philosophy, as well as reclaiming 'Umar Khayyum from the imagination of the Orientalist. The great merit of this work is the introduction of many Muslim philosophers who never make it into those histories of Islamic philosophy (sometimes clumsily referred to as Arab philosophy) written by Western scholars, who believe that "Arab" philosophy died after the death of Ibn Rushd. Some of these later Muslim philosophers, like Fath Allah Shirazi, Shams al-Din Kafri, Ghiyath al-Din Mansur Dashtaki, and Jalal al-Din Dawani are introduced with the hope that scholars in the West will turn away from the endless analysis of Ibn Sina and Ibn Rushd and begin to study their works as well; especially since in many cases they offer a greater balance between philosophy, that is, man seeking to know the Real, and the call of Revelation - the Real disclosing Itself to man.

This book is indispensable for any student of Islamic Philosophy who wants to learn about its evolution over the past 14 centuries.That said, there are some points which need to be kept in mind when going through this volume:First, the name of the book implies that it covers Islamic Philosophy in its totality. However, after Mulla Sadra, the book focuses only on Persian Schools of Philosophy rather than including Indian and other such related Schools of Thought. To the credit of the Author, he does mention this at the start of the book.Second, after the time of Mulla Sadra, the book progressively falls into listing the names of Persian Philosophers as the timeline nears the end of 19th Century and enters the Twentieth. This could be due to the fact that hardly any original Philosophical work was done in the Islamic world at that time.Third, the most glaring omission in the book is a detailed study of Muhammad Iqbal's Philosophical Thought from the Indian School of Islamic Philosophy. The author does mention Iqbal a few times but never delves deeper into his works and his contributions to Modern Islamic Philosophical Thought. Instead,the author simply states that Iqbal "...did not philosophize for the most part within that tradition", referring probably to the fact that Iqbal was not a Theologian and was not trained in a religious institution. This shows that the author still believes that the only way of philosophizing in Islam is if you learn Logic, Kalam, Shariah, and the Quran as was done in the bygone days of the past, which is not necessarily a true assertion.Hopefully the next editions of the book will cover this gap.All in all, a very good effort towards introducing the evolution in Islamic Philosophy over the ages.

Another valuable work by Nasr. I found Chapter 6 to be most delightful, where the harmonisation of intellect, reason and intuition are elucidated. Before, I used to see reason and intuition like oil and water: completely separated in nature. But the book proves me wrong. And I find that very welcoming as it explains why I am human, not merely "rational" processing machine. The book also helps me see that intuition are not on a lower level than reason.

I don't like philosophy much and having to been able to get through this book is a testament to its readability. Hossein Nasr is certainly a modern day authority on Islamic Philosophy and in a concise manner presents an excellent overview of the origins and development of Islamic Philosophy. Some may look for more historical details or snippets on some of the philosophers themselves which this book isn't heavy on but as an explanation of the ideas and schools this is the book to read.