Wisdom and Falsafa in Iran: An Introduction

“Wisdom” has been at the core of Iranian intellectual discourse and spiritual
endeavor, both as a nation and as a people of faith – whether in their pre-Islamic or
Islamic religious identities. The terms ‘philosophy’ (falsafa) and ‘wisdom’ (Arabic
ḥikmah or Persian khirad) have often presented the same concept in classical
Persian writings; they refer to a multidisciplinary process that is aimed at
discovering the reality and purpose of existence, with the intention of guiding man
to salvation. Philosophy, in its popular Western usage of the term, is founded solely
on rationalism, skepticism, critical discussion, discursive argument and systematic
presentation – a discipline independent from religion and spirituality. Falsafa and
ḥikmah (khirad), on the other hand, had a different connotation among the pre-
Islamic Persian sages, as well as the Muslim philosophers of Iran. Mulla Sadra
(1572-1640), an outstanding figure in the area of Islamic philosophy – who
inherited the ideas of great Muslim philosophers such as Ibn Sina, Ghazali,
Suhrawardi and others – defines philosophy (ḥikmah) as “possessing the knowledge
of the Divine essence, and of the states of His attributes and actions; also
understanding the process of creation at its initial point, and the process by which
the created (human) shall return to Him.”1 In another place he defines ḥikmah as
“the knowledge of the Reality of the creation or the Intellectual System by which
the creation is governed.”2 Unlike the popular understanding that regards Greece as
the main fountain of philosophy, Muslim thinkers trace it all the way back to Adam,
then to Hermes (Idrīs) and Noah.3 This view is founded on the belief that wisdom
has a divine origin and that the Almighty will never deprive the world from a person
equipped with wisdom. The founder of the Illumination Wisdom, Suhrawardi,
elaborates on the Divine origins of wisdom,4 and provides a historical/geographical
roadmap of the progress and spread of philosophical knowledge. The same trend is
still alive and popular in the contemporary Iranian philosophical discourses.

Ibn Sina
Ibu Ali Hussain ibn Abdullah Ibn Sina (370-428 A.H/980-1037A.D), widely known
as Avicenna, is among the most significant thinkers of the Islamic history. Our
knowledge about his life exceeds that of the other Muslim philosophers, mainly
because he left behind a rather detailed memoir that covers the first part of his life

1
Sadr al-Din Shirazi, Muhammad ibn Ibrahim, Al-Maẓāhir al-Ilāhiyyah fī Asrār al-‘Ulūm al-
Kamāliyyah, ed. Muhammad Khamenehei, Boniyad Hekmat Islami, Tehran, 1378 Sh. (2007), p.2.
2
Ibid, Asfār al-Arba‘ah, tr. Muhammad Khajawi, Tehran, Moula Press, vol. 1, 1378 Sh. (2007), p.
220.
3
Ibid, Risālah fī al-Ḥudūth, ed. Muhammad Khamenehei, Boniyad Hekmat Islami, Tehran, 1378
Sh. (2007), p. 153.
4
Suhrawardi, Ḥikmah al-Ishrāq, Seyyed Jafar Sajjadi, Tehran, Tehran University Press, 1377 Sh.
(1999), p. 11.
until age thirty five. The second part is recorded by his loyal disciple Abu Ubayd
Jozjani (d. 438A.H/1046A.D).5 Ibn Sina was born near Bukhara, in the Iranian
capital of Samanid dynasty (now in Uzbekistan). His genius became evident from
a very young age; he mastered the religious sciences when he was only ten. At the
age of sixteen he was already an established physician, and by the time he was
eighteen he overcame all difficulties in understanding the Metaphysics of Aristotle
by the help of Farabi’s commentary.6 His devotion to scholarship, learning and
teaching is exemplary. Living in an unstable social and political environment, he
had to move constantly. Sometimes trapped in violent clashes of armies, he never
gave up his love for knowledge, “he even wrote on horseback while going to a
battle.”7
Ibn Sina left behind some two hundred twenty works in Arabic and Persian. His
vast knowledge of a wide variety of subjects – ranging from Islamic jurisprudence
to theology and philosophy, to music, mathematics and physics, to geology,
medicine and poetry – brought him the high title of ḥakīm. His remarkable work,
Kitāb al-Shifā’ (The Book of Healing) is the largest encyclopedia of knowledge
ever written by one man.8 Well-versed in early Islamic, Pre-Islamic Persian, Greco-
Roman and Oriental philosophy, Ibn Sina contributed significantly to the Islamic
thought and is regarded by some as the “founder of scholastic philosophy in its
systematic formulation.”9
Aristotle’s Peripatetic philosophy, which had a strong logical ground, and
regarded philosophy and science as a single pool of knowledge, appealed to Ibn
Sina. Being a scientist, logician and philosopher he would naturally appreciate the
well-structured doctrine. Moreover the role of the Prime Mover or God in
Aristotle’s thought would satisfy his religious dimension.10 On the other hand Ibn
Sina had a deep interest in the ancient Persian wisdom known as Ḥikmat-i
Khusravānī (Majestic Wisdom).11 His Manṭiq al-Mashriqīyyīn (Logic of

5
See Encyclopedia of The World of Islam (EWI) (in Persian), ed. Gholam Ali Haddad ‘Adel,
Encyclopedia Islamica Foundation, Tehran, 2011, Under Ibn Sina.
6
See Nasr, Islamic Life and Thought, Routledge, NY, 1981, p. 66.
7
Barkhah, Ensiyyeh, “Hikmat,” in Encyclopedia of The World of Islam (EWI) (in Persian), ed.
Gholam Ali Haddad ‘Adel, Encyclopedia Islamica Foundation, Tehran, 2011, Vol. 13, pp. 756-757;
also see Motahhari, Morteza, Khadamāt-e Moteqābel-e Islām va Irān (Mutual Contributions of
Islam and Iran), Sadra Publishing, Tehran, 1362 Sh. (1983).
8
Nasr, Islamic Life and Thought, p. 66.
9
Ibid.
10
For a concise introduction to Aristotelian Peripatetic doctrine see The Encyclopedia of Religion,
ed. Mircea Eliade, Vol. 1, Macmillan Publishing Company, New York, 1987; David Furley’s
“Peripatetic School”, in Simon Homblower and Antony Spawforth, The Oxford Classical
Dictionary (3rd ed.), Oxford University Press, 2003.
11
See Ebrahimi Dinani, Gholamhossein, Sukhan-e Ibn Sina va Bayān-e Bahmanyār (Ibn Sina’s
Word and Bahmanyār’s Expression), Research Institute of Hikmah and Philosophy, Iran, 1393 Sh.
(2015).
Easterners) shows his fascination with what he refers to as Oriental Philosophy,
where “the role of the intellectual intuition and illumination (ishrāq) becomes
paramount.”12 This philosophy allowed the vision of the philosopher to transcend
the world dominated by the dry logical reasoning into a vision of a spiritual
universe.13 As such Ibn Sina’s philosophy became closer to Islamic mysticism
(‘Irfān or Sufism) as expounded by Suhrawardi, in his Ishrāqī Wisdom, over a
century after Ibn Sina.14
Ibn Sina’s appreciation for rational western (mainly Aristotelian)
philosophy on the one hand, and his fascination for the mystical experience that
stands at the center of Oriental world-view, on the other hand, led to the formation
of his interesting treatise, the Kitāb al-Inṣāf (The Book of Fairness). “I am
contributing a book,” Ibn Sina declares, “which I named Kitāb al-Inṣāf. In it I have
divided the philosophers into two main groups, Occidentals and Orientals; and I
compared their arguments and evaluated them with fairness.”15 The same argument
has also been expressed in a symbolic and creative manner in the tale of Ḥayy ibn-
i Yaqẓān (Alive son of the Awake).16 A study of these works makes it clear that his
distinction of the West and the East is not a geographical one, but rather a division
based on two fundamentally different philosophical orientations – rational and
intuitive. In this allegorical tale and philosophical romance, he meets a wise sage
by the name of Ḥayy ibn Yaqẓān, and asks him for guidance. The sage puts forward
two paths: one in the direction of west, and the other towards east. The western
path led to darkness – as west is the place where sun sets and darkness immerges.
The eastern path, on the other hand, directed him to light, where the sun rose. Here,
Ibn Sina seeks the guidance of the sage as to which path he should follow. The sage
did not make a decision for him, but said: “When the time comes that you are
overwhelmed with joy for the (spiritual) journey I shall accompany you,” and by
this statement he declared his willingness to take him as his disciple. Ibn Sina chose
the path to the east, in the direction of the source of light.17 Light has therefore

12
Nasr, Islamic Life and Thought, p. 67.
13
For an elaboration of ‘Oriental Philosophy’ or ‘Oriental Wisdom’ in Ibn Sina’s thought see: Henri
Corbin, tr. Willard R. Trask, Avicenna And The Visionary Recital, Pantheon Books, NY, 1960.
14
Passages of his mystical treatise/letter called Al-Inṣāf (The Fairness) are testimony to his original
contributions.
15
Barkhah, Ensiyyeh, Encyclopedia of The World of Islam (EWI) (in Persian), ed. Gholam Ali
Haddad ‘Adel, Encyclopedia Islamica Foundation, Tehran, 2011, Vol. 13, pp. 752-760.
16
See Fana, Fatemeh, “Ḥayy ibn-i Yaqẓān” Encyclopedia of The World of Islam (EWI) (in Persian),
ed. Gholam Ali Haddad ‘Adel, Encyclopedia Islamica Foundation, Tehran, 2011, Vol.14, pp. 489-
492.
17
Corbin, 290.
become a strong metaphor for wisdom in Ibn Sina’s mystical writings, a symbol
that was elaborated further by later philosophers, such as Ghazali and Suhrawardi.18

Ghazali
Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad Ghazali (450-505 A.H/1058-1111A.D)
was born in Tus, in the Iranian province of Khorasan, and died in his home town.
A theologian, philosopher and mystic, with over 70 books on Islamic sciences, early
Islamic philosophy, Islamic psychology, Kalām and Sufism, Ghazali remains as
one of the most celebrated scholars in the history of Islamic thought. At the age of
thirty three he had become an influential professor of Shāfi‘i jurisprudence at the
Nizāmiyya School in Baghdad.19 After a few years he faced an intellectual crisis.
From one side there was a strict devotion to faith; on the other side was the pure
rational perspective that dominated the mind of many philosophers. In addition to
these, he faced corruption in the government that extended to the academia as well.
This is when “he made the vow never again to take money from the government,
never again to serve a ruler, and never again to enter into scholastic disputations.”20
It was during this period of intellectual exile that Ghazali distanced himself from
social life and chose life of a hermit “in great solitude and poverty, engaged in
ascetical exercises and mystical prayer.”21 And this is when he wrote his influential
work, Iḥyā’ ‘Ulūm al-Dīn (The Revival of the Religious Sciences). By this time his
views towards academia had changed, and so he returned to teaching for eleven
years, from 488/1095 until 499/1106, at the college of Neyshabur, a few years
before his demise.22
A jurist and theologian with a wide knowledge of philosophy, Ghazali did
not consider himself a philosopher. At the beginning he affirmed that “no serious
Muslim thinker could ignore the claim of philosophy as a way to the highest and
most comprehensive knowledge available to man and as a way to the Truth,”23
which led him to write Maqāṣid al-Falāsifah (The purpose of the Philosophers).
The Maqāṣid is actually an almost word-for-word translation of Ibn Sina’s Dānish-
nāmeh ‘Alā’ī from Persian into Arabic.24 To Ghazali, who lived two generation

18
See PurHasan, Qasem & Mansuri, Mohsen, “Ibn Sina; Hikmat-i Mashā’i dar Jahānbīnī-e Ishrāqī:
vākāvī-e Tafsīr-e Tamthīlī-e Ibn Sinā” (Ibn Sina: Peripatetic Philosophy in Ishrāqī Perspective:
Analyzing Ibn Sina’s Allegorical Commentary) in Tārīkh-i Falsafih (History of Philosophy), Spring
1392 Sh. (2014), Year 3, No. 12, pp. 105-130.
19
E. Glassen, Der Mittlere Weg, Wiesbaden, 1981, pp. 131-75; cf.
http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/gazali-i-biography (accessed on 16 August 2016)
20
http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/gazali-i-biography (accessed on 16 August 2016)
21
Ibid.
22
Ibid.
23
http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/gazali-vi-and-theology (Michael E. Marmura)
24
Nasr, Three Muslim Sages , Caravan Books, NY, p.148.
after Ibn Sina, “philosophy for all practical purposes meant Ibn Sina’s
philosophy.”25 However, at a later stage of his life, his position towards philosophy
underwent fundamental change. Puzzled by the orthodox Islamic views – which in
certain areas contrasted the pure rationalistic philosophy – he decided to take the
side of kalām (Ash’arite school to be more specific), and oppose philosophers. This
is when he composed Tahāfat al-Falāsifah (Incoherence of the Philosophers), a
significant work in which he harshly criticizes philosophers, which actually meant
refutation of Ibn Sina’s doctrines.26 This opposition, however, was not as
fundamental as it seemed. He continued using reasoning, in the way most
philosophers do, in his arguments against rationalistic Peripatetic philosophy. In
fact “Ghazali’s writings on Islamic theology (‘ilm-i kalām) or his rational
methodology was the Aristotelian syllogism and systematically applied it to
theological thought.”27 This created deeper doubts in his mind, even with respect to
religious principles. Ghazali’s doubts, together with his thirst for wisdom,
eventually led him to the mystical path of the Sufis “for the cure of his spiritual
illness and therein had found certainty and ultimate salvation.”28 It can be
understood that Ghazali’s “attack upon rationalistic philosophy was more in his
capacity as a Sufi than as Ash‘ari theologian, because his writing as, for example,
al- Munqiḍ min al-Ẓilāl (Our Deliverer from Error), although he considers the view
of the theologians to be more in conformity with the tenets of Islam than that of the
philosophers, it is Sufism which he believes to possess the only means to attain
certainty and ultimate beatitude.”29
Ghazali’s major work, Iḥyā’ al-‘Ulūm al-Dīn (The Revival of Religious
Sciences), is a very influential work in the Muslim world. It represents a moderate
practice of Sufi discipline, one stressing upon the importance of complementing
religious knowledge with righteous action.
Ghazali is mostly known for his Arabic writings. Many are unaware that he
has written some significant works in Persian, during his period of maturity and
towards the end of his life. “He thought in Persian and used it to examine some of
the most profound questions of mysticism and theology. He must, indeed, be
accounted one of the earliest and most important writers of religious works in
Persian.”30 Among his Persian works, that are relevant to our discussion, Kīmīyā-
ye Sa‘ādat (Alchemy of Happiness), Naṣīḥat al-Molūk (Counsel for Kings), and Ay

25
http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/gazali-vi-and-theology (Michael E. Marmura)
26
Taḥāfat al-Falāsifah, according to Nasr, “broke the back of rationalistic philosophy and in fact
brought the career of philosophy… to an end in the Arabic part of Islamic world.” See, Islamic Life
and Thought, p. 72.
27
http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/gazali-i-biography (accessed on 16 August 2016)
28
Nasr, Three Muslim Sages, p. 53.
29
Ibid.
30
http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/gazali-iv-minor-persian-works (Pourjavady, Nasrollah)
(accessed on 17 August 2016)
farzand (O son!) may be noted. Kīmīyā-ye Sa‘ādat (Alchemy of Happiness) “is a
well-organized religious ethics, enriched by mystical reflections on the heart (qalb)
that is “alchemically” purified and empowered to reach God.”31
Naṣīḥat al-Mulūk (Counsel for Kings) is a compilation of words of wisdom
to help rulers “pursue eternal felicity (saʿādat-e jāvīdān), which he likens to a tree
growing from the seed of faith (tokhm-e īmān) planted in the chest and the heart.”32
This ‘seed of faith’ must be watered with loyal devotion and nurtured by pure
actions so that it will grow into a strong tree. The root of the tree is the deep faith
of heart, while its branches are the bodily conduct.33 The book also refers to the
Persian pre-Islamic concept of Farr-e Izadī (Divine glory) that must be possessed
by kings, and provides an account of the pre-Islamic Kings of Iran, such as
Anūshīravān, whose justice is renowned.
Ay farzand (O son!) is the title of a book composed by Ghazali, for one of
his disciples who asked him for a book that would guide him to eternal salvation.
Passages of the book often begin with “O son!” which became a common name for
it. In the book he advises that seeking of knowledge is praiseworthy if it leads to
the purification of the self (tahẓib-e nafs), and that all the efforts for learning will
be futile if the intention behind it is earning worldly positions and material gaining.
He elaborates on “the duties of a spiritual wayfarer the nature of Sufism,
servanthood (ʿubūdīyyat), trust in God (tawakkul), and sincerity of devotion.
Queries on aspects of direct mystical experience (dhawq) he declines to answer, on
the grounds that such topics cannot be expounded verbally.”34
Ghazali often argues on the aspect of “taste” or direct experience of truth.
He claims that “truth” couldn’t be reached by intellectual methods, however,
rigorously applied, nor could it be acquired through books. 35 What he advocates is
that one must acquire ‘taste’ through mystical means, and complement them with
‘knowledge’ and ‘action.’ This way only the ‘truth’ will manifest.

Suhrawardi
Shihab al-din Yahya ibn Habash ibn Amirak Suharawardi, was born in 549 A.H/
1153, in the village of Suhraward near the city of Zanjan, Iran. 36 He is widely
known as Sheykh-e Ishrāq (the master of illumination) due to the Illumination
School that he established. He is also known as Al-Maqtūl (the one who was killed),
referring to his mysterious death in prison. After completing his formal studies in

31
Ibid.
32
Ibid.
33
Ghazali, Naṣiḥat al-Mulūk, ed. Homaei, Babak Publishing, Tehran, 1361 Sh. (1983), p.3
34
http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/gazali-iv-minor-persian-works (Pourjavady, Nasrollah)
(accessed on 17 August 2016)
35
Ormsby, Eric, Ghazali, Oneworld publication, Oxford, 2007, p.1.
36
During that time Zanjan was a modern city in Iran which produced great figures to Islamic world.
the cities of Maragheh and Isfahan, he embarked on a long journey to other cities
of Iran where he met several Sufi masters, and became strongly attracted to them.
In this period of spiritual retreat he spent quality time in self-realization through
invocation and meditations. “His journeys gradually expanded to include Anatolia
and Syria … On one of these journeys he went from Damascus to Aleppo and there
met Malik Zahir, the son of Salah al-din Ayyubi.”37 Malik Zahir invited the young
sage to stay at his court in Aleppo. Suhrawardi accepted this offer but “his
outspoken manner, his lack of prudence in exposing esoteric doctrines before all
kinds of audiences, the keen intelligence which enabled him to overcome all
opponents in debate, his mastery in both discursive philosophy and Sufism – all
these factors combined to make many enemies for him, especially among some of
the doctors of law (‘ulamā’). Finally, they asked for his execution on the grounds
of propagating doctrines against the tenets of the faith.” 38 Eventually Suhrawardi
was imprisoned and died in 587/1191 at the age of thirty eight.
Suhrawardi wrote nearly fifty works in his short lifetime and left behind a
doctrine that brought together wisdom, reasoning and intuition. As such he
transformed, or even elevated, the works of his predecessors to a new level. He
wrote both in Arabic and Persian.
Suhrawardi’s large and doctrinal works was a tetralogy, all in Arabic. In the
first three books he interpreted and modified Peripatetic philosophy; the fourth and
the most important work is Ḥikmat al-Ishrāq. 39 Illumination Wisdom is at the core
of Suhrawardi’s doctrine. This is reflected in the title of a few smaller books that
he wrote in simpler language to elaborate his views; Hayākil al-Nūr (The Temples
of Light), Partaw Nāmeh (Treatise on Illumination), Fi I‘tiqād al-Ḥukamā’
(Symbol of Faith of the Philosophers), al-Lamaḥāt (The Flashes of Light), Yazdān
Shinākht (The knowledge of God) are just to name a few. These treatises were also
compiled in Persian and Arabic.
Comparing his Arabic and Persian works shows that in his Persian writings
Suhrawardi adopts a more symbolic language in “depicting the journey of the soul
across the cosmos to its ultimate deliverance and illumination.” ‘Aql-e Sorkh (The
Red Intellect), Āwāz-e par-e Jibra’il (The Chant of the Wing of Gabriel), Ghurbat-
e Gharbīyah (The Occidental Exile), Lughat-e Mūrān (The Language of the Ants)
are representatives of this genre.

37
Nasr, Three Muslim Sages, p. 58.
38
Ibid.
39
Three of the works present modified version of Aristotelian philosophy; these are the Talwīḥāt
(The Book of Intimations), Muqāwamāt (The Book of Oppositions), and Muṭārahāt (The Book of
Conversations). The fourth one, which deals with the notion of light and esoteric wisdom, and is
also his masterpiece, is called Ḥikmat al-Ishrāq (Illuminative Wisdom). See Nasr, Three Muslim
Sages, p. 58.
 Suhrawardi, like Ibn Sina, believed that wisdom was transferred through the
prophets of God, first to the master sages of Persia – known as Moghān (from the
singular Mogh) – who formed the ancient Persian system of knowledge or wisdom,
namely the “Ḥikmat-i Khusravānī” or Majestic Wisdom.40 This wisdom was
monotheistic in its core, and became popular among Zoroastrians. It is believed that
the Persian Prophet, Zoroaster, taught the wisdom to Pythagoras, and this way it
transferred from Iran to Greece.41 Symbolism of light and darkness is central to the
Ishrāqi Wisdom of Suhrawardi.42 “His allegorical language to express esoteric
realities, is in fact an elaboration of Khusravānī Wisdom.”43
In Suhrawardi’s view a true wisdom/ḥikmah brings together intuition
(shuhūd) and intellect. While reasoning constitutes an inseparable part of his
doctrine, his ideas, it appears, are predominantly driven by dhawq – intuitive
experience of truth. In the beginning of the Ḥikamt al- Ishrāq he says: “I was
exposed to the issues of intuitive wisdom (ḥikmat-e dhawqī) initially via esoteric
illuminative experience; thereafter only I went on exploring in the realm of
reasoning.”44 He further emphasizes that though discursive reasoning is a
requirement for gaining knowledge of the truth, it is by no means enough. To reach
at the state of true knowledge one needs to have intuitive connection to the
incorporeal world; this is what transforms a man to a sage (ḥakīm).45
Suhrawardi drew elements from Sufi writings and synthesized them into the
Ishrāqī Wisdom. Writings of Hallaj, and Ghazali’s Mishkāt al-Anwār had an
important role in forming his thought, especially with respect to the symbolism of
light. Ibn Sina’s Peripatetic philosophy also influenced him; he criticized aspects
of it, but also considered it necessary for proper understanding of Ishraqi doctrine.
“As for pre-Islamic sources, he relied heavily upon Pythagoreanism and Platonism,
as well as upon Noeticism46 as it had existed in Alexandria and had been later

40
Khamenehei, Muhammad, Seyr-e Ḥekmat dar Irān va Jahān (The Development of Hikmah in
Iran and the World), Boniyad-e Hekmat-e Islami-e Sadra, Tehran, 1380 Sh. (2002), p. 58.
41
Poordavood, Mazd-Yasnā va Adab-e Fārsi, Vol. 1, p. 98; Also see Diakonof, A. M., Tārīkh-e Mād
(History of Media), Translated by Karim Keshavarz, Tehran, Sherkat Entesharat-e Elmi va Farhangi,
1345 Sh. (1967), p. 346 ; See also Mohammad Moien, Mazde-Yasnā va Adab-e Pārsi, Tehran
University Press, 1326 Sh.(1948) , Vol. 1, p. 146.
42
The idea of salvation through overcoming darkness and becoming an embodiment of light is
remarkable in understanding this philosophy, where an enlightened soul is referred to as “temple of
light” (haykal al-nūr). See: Henry Corbin, The man of Light in Iranian Sufism, tr. Nancy Pearson,
Omega Publications, NY, 1994, p. 42.
43
Nasr, Three Muslim Sages, p. 63.
44
Suhrawardi, Majmū‘ah Muṣannafāt Suhrawardī, Corbin (ed.), 1380 Sh. (2002), vol. 2, p. 10
45
Ibid, 1380, vol. 1, pp. 110-114
46
Hermeticism also called Hermetism is a religious, philosophical, and esoteric tradition based
primarily upon writings attributed to Hermes.
preserved and propagated in the Near East by the Sabaeans of Harran, who
considered the Hermetic corpus as their sacred scripture.”47
Shuhrawardi claims that his sayings “have not come by means of rational
demonstration but by inner vision and contemplation,” and therefore “they cannot
be destroyed by the doubts and temptations of the skeptics”48… He further clarifies
that the sages of the past were aware of the danger of ignorance that had affected
masses and therefore resorted to “secret symbols” to unveil to true seekers their real
intentions. Light and darkness, that are the two fundamental symbols of Isrāqī
wisdom, were initially adopted by the 6th cent sages of Persia – people such as
Būzarjumhir (also Bozorgmehr), Jāmāsp and Farshādshūr (also Farshāvashtar).49
It becomes clear then that Isrāqī wisdom gives value to the training of the
mind, in terms of discursive reasoning, and the purification of the soul. The seekers
of wisdom may therefore be divided to three main categories; a) those excelled in
intuitive/inner vision, but without sufficient ability in discursive reasoning, b) those
excelled in discursive reasoning, but lack the intuitive/inner vision, and c) those
who are blessed with intuitive/inner vision and possess discursive reasoning
abilities.50 He believes that only the last category are qualified to be God’s
vicegerents on earth (Khalīfah Allah).51

Conclusion: The Fluid Nature of Wisdom

The development of wisdom-oriented philosophical discourse in Iranian history –
from the time of Zoroaster in the 5th century BCE to Mulla Sadra in the 17th century
– has been a long process of assimilation and adaptation. Studying the thought
process of the three great wisdom seekers, through their writings and biographies,
one realizes three main ingredients that form their definition of wisdom. The three
ingredients include discursive reasoning, theological argument, and intuitive
experience. In other words knowledge, faith, and love form the intangible body of
wisdom. Each thinker struggled to discover the golden ratio, the perfect
combination that would lead a wayfarer to the Truth. And each one, based on his
personal, social and historical conditions, came up with a certain combination of
the three, and advised accordingly.

47
Nasr, Three Muslim Sages, p. 60.
48
Ibid, p. 63.
49
Suhrawardi, Ḥikmah al-Ishrāq, Seyyed Jafar Sajjadi, Tehran, Tehran University Press, 1377 Sh.
(1999), pp. 17-18.
50
Suhrawardi, Yahya ibn Habsh, Majmū‘a Muṣannafāt-e Shaykh Ishrāq, Tehran, 1380 Sh. (2002),
vol. 2, p. 11-12
51
Ibid, p. 10-13; Mohammad ibn Mahmood Shahrazuri, Sharḥ-i Ḥikamh al-Ishrāq, printed Hossein
Ziyaei Torbati, Tehran, 1380 Sh. (2002), p. 3-6; Ebrahimi Dinani, Gholamhossein Shu‘ā‘-i Andīsheh
va Shuhūd Dar Falsafa-e Suhrawardi (The Ray of Contemplation and Intuition in Suhrawardi’s
Philosophy), Tehran, 1386 Sh. (2008), p. 30, 91.
 Ibn Sina transformed the Aristotelian Peripatetic Philosophy and introduced
his well-known Mashā’ī School, which can be described as an Islamized version of
an initially Greek concept. His school of thought – which was itself an extension of
the efforts by great scholars before him (such as Farabi) – formed the corner stone
of an intellectual tradition, upon which other thinkers after him developed their own
ways.
Ghazali, who lived some two generations after Ibn Sina, followed his
predecessor for a while, but eventually developed his own views on how a path to
salvation should be followed. Ghazali’s thought, though rational and philosophical
in the manner of argument, had a much stronger flavor of theology. At a certain
time he attacked the philosophers, which actually meant an attack on Ibn Sina – for
Ghazali’s understanding of philosophy had actually come from Ibn Sina. Ghazali’s
inclination towards spirituality on the one hand, and his understanding of the
importance and value of intellectual discourse, on the other, presented a pattern of
thought based on the interdependence of knowledge and action. This approach
appealed to both the theologians and the Sufis. His contribution is best reflected in
the title of his renowned book The Revival of Religious Sciences.
Suhrawardi lived two generations after Ghazali. He inherited a rich
intellectual, religious and spiritual tradition. He was exposed to the Greek
philosophy through the works of Ibn Sina and stood on the shoulders of Ghazali in
understanding the importance of direct experience of truth. Suhrawardi even looked
deeply into the ancient Persian Majestic Wisdom (Ḥikmat-i Khusravānī), and found
valuable references that were echoed by the Qur’an. In other words his thought was
enriched by both pre-Islamic and Islamic wisdom, which he found perfectly
harmonious. Symbolism of ‘light’, for instance, which stands at the core of
Zoroastrianism and Ḥikmat-i Khusravānī (Majestic Wisdom) linked and matched
so well with the Qur’anic notion of Nur (light) that left no doubts that they had
come from a single Divine source. Suhrawardi went deeper in valuing intuitive
experience and stated that reasoning, though necessary, can never expose the truth;
and that the illuminated heart is the place where the light of wisdom shines. His
school of thought is known as “Illumination Wisdom” (Ḥikmat-i Ishrāq).
The three wise men discussed above belong to a long tradition of a “fluid
wisdom”. Each of them represent an independent school of thought, yet in reality
each complements the other. Studying their teachings and the process of their
evolvement shows that wisdom is not a station in which one stands; it is rather a
continuous process of becoming.