al-Sijistani, Abu Sulayman Muhammad
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Al-Sijistani was one of the great figures of Baghdad in the fourth century AH (tenth century AD). He assembled around him a circle of philosophers and litterateurs who met regularly in sessions to discuss topics related to philosophy, religion and language. As a philosopher with a humanistic orientation, his concerns went beyond subjects of strictly philosophical nature. His philosophical ideas displayed Aristotelian and Neoplatonic motifs. He considered philosophy and religion to be totally different in nature and method, so that the two could not be reconciled. God is only prior to the world in essence, rank and nobility, not in time. Al-Sijistani insisted that in no way should one attribute to God the imperfections of created things. According to him, the soul is simple by nature and natural reason is capable of attaining a state of pure knowledge that enables one to distinguish between good and evil. Reason, if taken as a guide, could ensure happiness. 1 Life and works Abu Sulayman Muhammad al-Sijistani, known as al-Mantiqi (the Logician), was born, c.AH 320/AD 932. His formative years were spent in Sijistan (now Sistan in Iran) but the mature phase of his career took place in Baghdad. He became one of the great figures of the Islamic humanist movement that flourished during the fourth century AH (tenth century AD) in Baghdad. He dominated his generation by the enlightenment of his judgments and the breadth of his knowledge. He was especially interested in ancient philosophy and its transmission into the world of Islam.
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al-Sijistani, Abu Sulayman Muhammad (c.932-c.1000) Al-Sijistani was one of the great figures of Baghdad in
the fourth century AH (tenth century AD).
He assembled around him a circle of philosophers and litterateurs who
met regularly in sessions to discuss topics related to philosophy, religion and language.
As a philosopher with a
humanistic orientation, his concerns went beyond subjects of strictly philosophical nature.
His philosophical ideas
displayed Aristotelian and Neoplatonic motifs.
He considered philosophy and religion to be totally different in nature
and method, so that the two could not be reconciled.
God is only prior to the world in essence, rank and nobility,
not in time.
Al-Sijistani insisted that in no way should one attribute to God the imperfections of created things.
According to him, the soul is simple by nature and natural reason is capable of attaining a state of pure knowledge
that enables one to distinguish between good and evil.
Reason, if taken as a guide, could ensure happiness.
1 Life
and works Abu Sulayman Muhammad al-Sijistani, known as al-Mantiqi (the Logician), was born, c.AH 320/AD 932.
His formative years were spent in Sijistan (now Sistan in Iran) but the mature phase of his career took place in
Baghdad.
He became one of the great figures of the Islamic humanist movement that flourished during the fourth
century AH (tenth century AD) in Baghdad.
He dominated his generation by the enlightenment of his judgments and
the breadth of his knowledge.
He was especially interested in ancient philosophy and its transmission into the world
of Islam.
He assembled around him a circle of friends, philosophers, scientists and litterateurs of various ethnic and
religious affiliations.
The circle met in regular sessions (majalis) and with open and critical minds discussed topics
related to philosophy, religion, science and language.
Al-Sijistani died c.AH 391/AD 1000.
Those of al-Sijsitani's
works that have reached us are not numerous.
One of the most important attributed to him is Siwan al-hikma
(Vessel of Wisdom), from which only selections have survived.
The attribution to al-Sijistani of this collection of
dicta and anecdotes of Greek and Islamic philosophers has been challenged by W.
al-Qadi (1981), but Joel Kraemer
(1986) believes that the work emanated from al-Sijistani's school, based upon classroom notes and texts.
In
addition to Siwan al-hikma, al-Sijistani wrote short treatises on the first mover, the fifth nature of the celestial
spheres, the perfection peculiar to the human species, principles of being, dream omens and logic.
In a Socratic
fashion, al-Sijistani preferred oral instruction over writing.
We owe to his student and protégé Abu Hayyan alTawhidi most of the information concerning his philosophical ideas and doctrines.
Al-Tawhidi recorded the sessions
of al-Sijistani's circle in his works al-Muqabasat (Conversations) and al-Imta' wa-al-mu'anasa (Book of Pleasure and
Conviviality), which remain the major sources of information on the life and thought of al-Sijistani.
Consequently we
have to look at his teachings through the window of his pupil's writings.
2 Doctrines As a philosopher with a
humanistic orientation, al-Sijistani's concerns went beyond subjects of strictly philosophical nature.
His philosophical
ideas displayed Aristotelian and Neoplatonic motifs and touched on a wide range of subjects such as politics,
aesthetics and friendship, among others.
However, his chief preoccupation, and that of the circle members as
reflected in al-Tawhidi's recordings, centred on the relations between philosophy and religion, the mind-body
problem - why the soul was susceptible to virtues and vices, good and evil - the question of God's relation with and
action in the universe, and finally the individual and society.
Al-Tawhidi represents his mentor as a man of deep
religious sentiments but who regarded both religion and philosophy as true and valid.
The two are independent and
should not and cannot be reconciled.
They differ in method and substance.
In religion there are things which cannot
be fathomed or understood but are to be accepted and assented to; the end of religion is proximity to God,
whereas the aim of philosophy is contemplation.
Al-Sijistani objected to the attempt by the Brethren of Purity to
harmonize religion and philosophy, and lashed out at the Islamic theologians (al-mutakallimun) who claimed that
their methodology was rationalist when in reality it was false rationalism (see Ikhwan al-safa'; Islamic theology).
For
al-Sijistani the universe is divided into the terrestrial and the intelligible according to the Platonic system, but God
acts in accordance with the Aristotelian concept of first mover.
Having accepted the view that matter is eternal, he
held that this does not detract from the perfection of God since in the final analysis everything depends on his will.
One should not attribute to God the imperfections of the created world.
God is prior to the world in essence, rank
and nobility, but not in time.
Knowledge implies two types: natural and supernatural.
There are four degrees of
knowledge: sensible knowledge possessed by non-reasoning animals; absolutely and exclusively intelligible
knowledge possessed by the celestial bodies; the sensible-intelligible knowledge tied up with the imagination of
those who have not reached perfect purity; and the intelligible-sensible knowledge which has been arrived at
through rational and speculative investigation.
This is the highest knowledge humans, including such persons as
philosophers, augurs (kahins) and prophets, can acquire.
Intuition, however, is the noblest kind of knowledge
because it presents itself by itself in the soul and is not subject to generation and corruption.
Through reason we
overcome all obstacles to reach God through the intellect, which is the medium between human beings and the
supernatural world.
Reason has the power to contact the super-sensible beings until it reaches the First Being.
Having been greatly interested in the body-soul relationship, al-Sijistani distinguished between soul (nafs) and spirit
(ruh), considering the soul to be a simple substance imperceptible to the senses and not subject to change or
corruption.
According to him, human beings are so by virtue of having a soul and not by the possession of a body,
although the soul cannot make a human being by itself.
The soul is the principle of knowledge, the body the
principle of action.
Because of the rival elements, nature versus reason, that constitute a human being and pull him
in opposite directions, it is important to take reason as a guide.
It alone can ensure our ultimate happiness, namely
the knowledge of God and the good which he has reserved for the virtuous.
One should aim high towards the
celestial world in order to reach eternal life (see Soul in Islamic philosophy)..
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