Ismaili Doctrines in a Late Safavid Work: Quotations from the Risalat al-Jami'a in Qutb al-Din Ashkivari's Mahbub al-Qulub
Book Chapter in "The Renaissance of Shiʿi Islam: Facets of Thought and Practice"
“The renaissance of Islamic philosophy in Safavid Iran was the fruit of a creative reflection on a wide range of sources, belonging to different traditions such as falsafa (al-Fārābī, Ibn Sīnā, al-Ghazālī), ishrāq (Suhrawardī, Shahrazūrī), Sufism (Ibn ʿArabī) and the Arabic Plotinus (the so-called Pseudo-Theology of Aristotle). That the Rasāʾil Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ were also part of these sources is attested by literal quotes, for instance in the works of Mullā Ṣadrā, although the influence of the Brethren’s thought on Safavid philosophy and the diffusion of their Epistles at that time in Iran still need to be investigated.
An initial contribution to this topic was provided by Mathieu Terrier in the annotation and commentary to his outstanding French translation of the first book of the Maḥbūb al-qulūb, an impressive universal history of wisdom and philosophy, from Adam to Mīr Dāmād (d. 1040/1631), compiled by the late Safavid philosopher, Quṭb al-Dīn Ashkivarī (who died ca. 1088/1677 and 1095/1684). Among the large number of disparate sources Ashkivarī used, Terrier identified a few quotes from the Rasāʾil Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ and, more surprisingly, a long citation taken from the Risālat al-Jāmiʿa. In this study, I will first briefly examine the quotations from the Rasāʾil, before addressing the long passage from the Jāmiʿa occurring in the chapter on Adam and a second citation from the same work in the entry on Zoroaster, which apparently was not noticed by Terrier. As the quotes from the Risālat al-Jāmiʿa are directly linked to the main tenets of Ismaili doctrine, the question arises as to whether Ashkivarī consciously included them, although they were not common issues in Safavid philosophy.” (Daniel De Smet)
Author: Dr. Daniel De Smet
Link to Full Chapter: The Renaissance of Shiʿi Islam: Facets of Thought and Practice