The World of Image in Islamic Philosophy: Ibn Sina, Suhrawardi, Shahrazuri and Beyond

Description

Traces the medieval Islamic notion of a world of image from its conception until today One of the most controversial issues that divided Islamic philosophers and theologians during the Middle Ages was whether human beings would have a spiritual or bodily existence after death. The idea of a world of image was conceived as a solution, suggesting that there exists a world of non-physical (imagined) bodies, beyond our earthly existence. This world may be reached in sleep, in meditation or after death. From the embryonic conception by Ibn Sina, to the radical rethinking by Suhrawardi and Shahrazuri into a sophisticated system, L. W. C. van Lit unravels the history of this idea. Using a distant reading approach for measuring the transmission, he further shows how the idea remained relevant for Muslim thinkers through the centuries, up until today. Key FeaturesSets the record straight for the provenance and development of the idea of a world of imageReconsiders the extent of Suhrawardi's innovation and his importance for the development of philosophy in the Islamic worldShows the surprising trajectory of the development and reception of his ideaGives an insight to the nature of commentary writing in premodern Islamic discourse The World of Image in Islamic Philosophy Copyright Contents List of Figures and Tables Acknowledgments 1 Introduction Questions and Answers of this Book Outline of the Book The Study of Suhrawardi and the World of Image Methodology 2 From Ibn Sīnā to Suhrawardī: The Contested Idea of Using Imagination after Death Ibn Sīnā on the Role of Imagination in Eschatology The Rejection by Islamic Thinkers after Ibn Sīnā Suhrawardī's Reception and Initial Development 3 Suhrawardī's Recognition of an Additional Realm From Celestial Bodies to Suspended Images From Mere Fantasies to Real Things From Bodily Perception to Spiritual Experience Sources and Issues Left Undone 4 Shahrazūrī on Suhrawardī’s Suspended Images Introduction to Shahrazūrī’s Life and Works Shahrazūrī’s Establishment of the World of Image The Main Features of Shahrazūrī’s Interpretation 5 Suhrawardī’s Lukewarm Commentators A Hesitant First Reception The Cautious Commentators from Shiraz An Alternative from Mullā Ṣadrā 6 The Reception of Shahrazūrī’s World of Image up until the Present Day Twelfth–Thirteenth Century: The Acceptance by Quṭb al-Dīn Shīrāzī Fourteenth Century: Taftāzānī as an Important Transmitter Fifteenth–Sixteenth Century: Commentators at Work Seventeenth Century: Safavid Intellectuals take Notice Eighteenth Century: The Digestion in Shīʿī Traditional Thought Nineteenth Century: The Balkans-to-Bengal Complex at Work Twentieth–Twenty-first Century: Continuing Interest Conspicuous Absence of Ibn ʿArabī and his Commentators 7 Conclusion Notes Bibliography Appendix A: Edited Passages Appendix B: List of Persons Mentioned in this Study Index