Hamid al-Din Abu'l-Hasan Ahmad ibn Abdallah al-Kirmani (;
CE) was an
Isma'ili
Isma'ilism ( ar, الإسماعيلية, al-ʾIsmāʿīlīyah) is a branch or sub-sect of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor ( imām) to Ja'far al- ...
scholar. He was of
Persian origin and was probably born in the province of
Kirman. He seems to have spent the greater part of his life as a
Fatimid
The Fatimid Caliphate was an Ismaili Shi'a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries AD. Spanning a large area of North Africa, it ranged from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the east. The Fatimids, a dyna ...
''
da'i
A da'i ( ar, داعي, dāʿī, inviter, caller, ) is generally someone who engages in Dawah, the act of inviting people to Islam.
See also
* Dawah
* Da'i al-Mutlaq, "the absolute (unrestricted) missionary" (Arabic: الداعي المطلق)
* ...
'' (missionary) in Baghdad and Basra. He was a theologian and philosopher who rose to prominence during the
Fatimid
The Fatimid Caliphate was an Ismaili Shi'a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries AD. Spanning a large area of North Africa, it ranged from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the east. The Fatimids, a dyna ...
caliph-imam
al-Hakim bi Amr Allah (r. 996–1021).
A prominent Ismaili ''
da'i
A da'i ( ar, داعي, dāʿī, inviter, caller, ) is generally someone who engages in Dawah, the act of inviting people to Islam.
See also
* Dawah
* Da'i al-Mutlaq, "the absolute (unrestricted) missionary" (Arabic: الداعي المطلق)
* ...
'' or missionary, he was considered by the central headquarters of the Fatimid ''
da'wa
Dawah ( ar, دعوة, lit=invitation, ) is the act of inviting or calling people to embrace Islam. The plural is ''da‘wāt'' (دَعْوات) or ''da‘awāt'' (دَعَوات).
Etymology
The English term ''Dawah'' derives from the Arabic ...
'' in Cairo as one of the most learned Ismaili theologians and philosophers of the Fatimid period. It was in that capacity that al-Kirmani played an important role in refuting the extremist ideas of some of the dissident ''da'i''s, who by proclaiming al-Hakim's divinity had initiated the
Druze
The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...
movement. Al-Kirmani was summoned in 1014 or shortly earlier to Cairo where he produced several works to disclaim these extremist doctrines. Al-Kirmani's writings, which were widely circulated, were to some extent successful in checking the spread of the extremist doctrines.
Works
Of his corpus of nearly thirty works, only eighteen seem to have survived. His major philosophical treatise, the Rahat al-aql (Peace of Mind), was finished in 1020. In this work, Al-Kirmani intended to provide the reader an opportunity to understand how to obtain the eternal life of the mind, the paradise of reason, in a constantly changing world.
Some of his prominent works are:
* ''
Rahat al-‘aql'' (Peace of Mind, or Comfort of Reason), completed in 1020 and considered his
magnum opus
A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...
* ''Al-Aqwal al-dhahabiya'', refuting
al-Razi's argument against the necessity of
revelation
In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities.
Background
Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...
* ''Kitab al-riyad'', a book that propounds the early Isma'ili cosmology.
*''Kitab al- masabih,'' an islmaic treatise on the necessity of Iamamate.
References
Sources
*
*
Further reading
*
*
External links
Hamid al-Din al-Kirmaniat the
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
The ''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' (''IEP'') is a scholarly online encyclopedia, dealing with philosophy, philosophical topics, and philosophers. The IEP combines open access publication with peer reviewed publication of original p ...
11th-century Muslim scholars of Islam
11th-century Iranian philosophers
Ismaili da'is
11th-century Persian-language writers
People from Kerman Province
11th-century people from the Fatimid Caliphate
Scholars from the Fatimid Caliphate
Iranian theologians
10th-century Ismailis
11th-century Ismailis
10th-century Persian-language writers
10th-century Iranian philosophers
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