Hamid al-Din Abu'l-Hasan Ahmad ibn Abdallah al-Kirmani (; CE) was an

Isma'ili Ismailism () is a branch of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (Imamate in Nizari doctrine, imām) to Ja'far al-Sadiq, wherein they differ from the ...

scholar. He was of

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

origin and was probably born in the province of

Kirman Kerman is the capital city of Kerman Province, Iran. Kerman or Kirman may also refer to: Places * Kirman (Sasanian province), province of the Sasanian Empire *Kerman province, province of Iran ** Kerman County * Kerman, California People * ...

. He seems to have spent the greater part of his life as a

Fatimid The Fatimid Caliphate (; ), also known as the Fatimid Empire, was a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries CE under the rule of the Fatimid dynasty, Fatimids, an Isma'ili Shi'a dynasty. Spanning a large area of North Africa ...

da'i A da'i (, ) 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' * Hujja * List of converts to Islam The following is a list of notabl ...

'' (missionary) in Baghdad and Basra. He was a theologian and philosopher who rose to prominence during the

caliph-imam al-Hakim bi Amr Allah (r. 996–1021). A prominent Ismaili ''

'' or missionary, he was considered by the central headquarters of the Fatimid ''

da'wa ' (, , "invitation", also spelt , , , or ) is the act of inviting people to Islam. The plural is () or (). Preachers who engage in dawah are known as da'i. Etymology literally means "issuing a summons" or "making an invitation". Gramma ...

'' 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 ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...

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, , or ; ; ) 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, skill, profundity, or workmanship. Historically, ...

* ''Al-Aqwal al-dhahabiya'', refuting

al-Razi Razi () or al-Razi () is a name that was historically used to indicate a person coming from Ray, Iran. People It most commonly refers to: * Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi (865–925), influential physician, alchemist and philosopher, also known b ...

's argument against the necessity of

revelation Revelation, or divine revelation, is the disclosing of some form of Religious views on truth, truth or Knowledge#Religion, knowledge through communication with a deity (god) or other supernatural entity or entities in the view of religion and t ...

* ''Kitab al-riyad'', a book that propounds the early Isma'ili cosmology. *''Kitab al- masabih,'' an Islamic treatise on the necessity of Iamamate.

References

Sources

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External links

Hamid al-Din al-Kirmani
at the

Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy The ''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' (''IEP'') is a scholarly online encyclopedia with around 900 articles about philosophy, philosophers, and related topics. The IEP publishes only peer review, peer-reviewed and blind-refereed 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 {{Islamic-scholar-stub

Works

References

Sources

Further reading

External links