The Isfahan School () is a school of

Islamic philosophy Islamic philosophy is philosophy that emerges from the Islamic tradition. Two terms traditionally used in the Islamic world are sometimes translated as philosophy—falsafa (literally: "philosophy"), which refers to philosophy as well as logic, ...

. It was founded by

Mir Damad Mir Damad ( fa, ميرداماد) (c. 1561 – 1631/1632), known also as Mir Mohammad Baqer Esterabadi, or Asterabadi, was a Twelver Shia Iranian philosopher in the Neoplatonizing Islamic Peripatetic traditions of Avicenna. He also was a Suhra ...

and reached its fullest development in the work of

Mulla Sadra Ṣadr ad-Dīn Muḥammad Shīrāzī, more commonly known as Mullā Ṣadrā ( fa, ملا صدرا; ar, صدر المتألهین) (c. 1571/2 – c. 1635/40 CE / 980 – 1050 AH), was a Persian Twelver Shi'i Islamic mystic, philosopher, the ...

. The name was coined by

Seyyed Hossein Nasr Seyyed Hossein Nasr (; fa, سید حسین نصر, born April 7, 1933) is an Iranian philosopher and University Professor of Islamic studies at George Washington University. Born in Tehran, Nasr completed his education in Iran and the United St ...

and

Henry Corbin Henry Corbin (14 April 1903 – 7 October 1978)Shayegan, DaryushHenry Corbin in Encyclopaedia Iranica. was a French philosopher, theologian, and Iranologist, professor of Islamic studies at the École pratique des hautes études. He was in ...

. Because of the attention of Shah Abbas during the Safavid Dynasty in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

to intellectual tradition in Islam, Isfahan became a famous academic city and the intellectual center of Iran at the time, along with the cities of Rey and

Shiraz Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the population of the city was 1,565,572 p ...

Historical context

This school of thought began to develop once Iran was economically and politically stable. The Safavid court also provided funding for the arts, which also contributed to the development. At the time, there were many disputes between Shiite scholars, such as Ahamad Alavi, and Christian and Jewish scholars. In this period the intellectual life of Suhrevardi was revived by Mir Damad and Mulla Sadra. According to Seyyed Hosein Nasr, this school of thought plays an important role both in terms of the relation between philosophy and prophecy, and in the training of Mulla Sadra. The school of Isfahan is a subsidiary of the Shiraz school of philosophy. Several philosophers that were not part of the Shiraz school of thought had very important roles in preparing the Isfahan school, such as Ibn Turkah, Qadi Maybudi and Ibn Abi Jomhour Ahsaei. The group of founders then announced Shia as formal religion in Persia, in an attempt to unify the entire country, with Isfahan as their capital.

Founder

founded the Isfahan philosophical school. He was the nephew of Muhaqiq Karaki, an important

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mo ...

scholar who had influence in the

jurisprudence. Some consider him familiar with philosophical prophecy as a result to the problem of Time. Corbin describes Mir Damad as having an analytic mind and aware of religious foundation of knowledge. Perhaps the most important characteristic of Mira Damad's philosophy is a synthesis between Avicennism and Averroism, or his synthesis is between the intellectual and the spiritual. Mir Damad's theory on Time is as popular as Huduth Dahri's, though Damad's philosophical opinion is criticized by Huduth's pupil, Mulla Sadra. Historically, there was great strife between Mulla Sadra and Mir Damad, as a result of the differences of their philosophical theories on subjects such as time.

Other teachers

Mir Fendereski

Mir Abul Qasim Findiriski was a peripatetic philosopher and follower of

Farabi Abu Nasr Muhammad Al-Farabi ( fa, ابونصر محمد فارابی), ( ar, أبو نصر محمد الفارابي), known in the West as Alpharabius; (c. 872 – between 14 December, 950 and 12 January, 951)PDF version was a renowned early Isla ...

and Avicenna. He was a Peripatetic, as opposed to the illuminationists. As a scholar, he taught several scientific subjects in the Isfahan school, such as mathematics and medicine. it is debated whether or not Mulla Sadra studied under him, though the two worked together extensivally. Mir Findiriski also studied other religions, such as

Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheisti ...

and

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

. He also wrote several works on Indian philosophy, a series of treatises on the fine arts, and one on his mystical experiences. According to Nasr, he was well-versed in different philosophies, poetry, alchemy, and the philosophy of Yoga. Mir Findiriski collaborated with Mir Damad to write the Treatise of Sanaiyyah, attempting to link philosophy and prophecy. Mir Findiriski also attempted to translate several Indian philosophical works into Persian.

Shaykh-i Baha’i

Shaykh-i Baha’i was one of the three masters of Mulla Sadra, worked in the Isfahan school, and served as chief jurist on the Safavid Court. Like many Islamic scholars of the era, he was both a scientist and a man of wisdom; like Mir Damad and Mir Fenedereski, he was skilled in several sciences. At the time, he attempted to harmonize the relationship between Shariah and Tariqah. He coined the term Hikmate Yamani (wisdom of believing.) He believed that humans were the only being capable of intelligence in a philosophy called "The Place of Illumination for Existence".

Philosophers of Mir Damad's School

Sayyed Ahmad Alavi Sayyed Ahmad Alavi, also known as Ahmad b. Zayn al-'Abidin al-'Abidin al-'Alawi al-'Amili, or Mir Sayyid Ahmad 'Alavi 'Amili, (d. between 1644 - 1650; fa, سید احمد علوی) was a Safavid philosopher and theologian of the Philosophical sc ...

Shams Addin Muhammad Gilani Shams ( ar, شمس , links=no), an Arabic word meaning ''sun'', may refer to: Media * ''Shams'' (newspaper), a defunct Saudi newspaper * ''Al-Shams'' (newspaper), a Libyan government newspaper until 2011 * Network for Public Policy Studies, an I ...

Abd al-Razzaq Lahiji ʿAbd-Al-Razzāq B. ʿAlī B. Al-Hosayn Lāhījī (died c. 1072 AH 662 CE was an Iranian theologian, poet and philosopher. His mentor in philosophy was his father-in-law Mulla Sadra. Life Hailing from Lahijan in Gilan, he spent most of his li ...

* Qutb Addin Muhammad Eshkevari

Philosophers of Shaykh-i Baha’i's School

Mohsen Fayz Kashani ''Mul·lā'' "al-Muḥsin" "al-Fayḍ" al-Kāshānī (1598–1680; fa, ملا محسن فیض کاشانی) was an Iranian Twelver Shi'i Muslim, mystic, poet, philosopher, and muhaddith (died ''c''. 1680 ᴄᴇ). Life Mohsen Fayz Kashani was b ...

* Mirza Rafiaa Naeini

Philosophers of Mir Finidiriski's School

* Agha Hosein khansari * Muhammad Baqir Sabzevari

Philosophers of Rajab Ali Tabrizi's school

* Qazi Saeed Qomi * Mir Qavam Addin Razi * Muhammad Sadiq Ardestani

Other philosophers of Isfahan School

* Mulla Muhammad Sadiq Ardestan * Muhammad Ismaeil Khajouei *

Molla Naima Taleghani Molla Naima Taleghani (d. 1738), also known as Orfi, was an Iranian Shia philosopher and theologian of the late Safavid era.Corbin 1976 Life His full name was Mohammad Naim ibn Muhammad Taqi, and he was from Taleqan Taleqan ( fa, طالقان, a ...

Abdu Al Rahim Damavandi Molla Abdul Rahim Damavandi (1737-1757) was an Iranian shia philosopher and one of the leading of Zahabiyyah Tarighah. Life He was the son of Muhammad Yunes Isfahani. He is believed to have come from the city of Damavand, and also resided in ...

* Agha Muhammad Bid Abadi * Mulla Mahdi Naraqi * Mulla Ali Nuri * Mulla Nazar Ali gilani * Molla Esmaeel Isfahani * Molla Abdollah Zonuzi * Molla hadi Sabzevari * Molla Muhammad Esmaeel Darb Koushki * Molla Muhammad kashani * Jahangir khan Qashqaei

References

Sources

* Andrew J. Newman, Safavid Iran: Rebirth of a Persian Empire, Issue 5 of Library of Middle East History, Publisher I.B.Tauris, 2006, , 9781860646676 * Rula Jurdi Abisaab, Converting Persia: Religion and Power in the Safavid Empire, Volume 1 of International Library of Iranian Studies, I.B.Tauris, 2004, 186064970X, 9781860649707 * Roger Savory, Iran Under the Safavids, Cambridge University Press, 2007, 0521042518, 9780521042512