Sufism in the Light of Orientalism

Research Institute of Culture, Philosophy, and Arts, Vilnius This article offers a discussion of the problems regarding different interpretations of Sufism, especially those promoted by the 19th century Orientalists and modern scholars. Contrary to the prevailing opinions of those European writers who “discovered” Sufism as a kind of the Persian poetry-based mysticism, presumably unrelated to Islam, the Sufis themselves (at least before the Western cultural expansion) regarded Sufism as theinmost kernel of Islam and the way of the Prophet himself

Hikmat Ilahiya: Al–Suhrawardžio dieviškoji metafizika idėjų mutacijos požiūriu

The article deals with Yahya ibn Habash Amirak al–Suhrawardi’s (1155–1191) ‘oriental theosophy’ (hikmat alishraq) and its hidden Neoplatonic (especially Plotinian) as well as Hermetic and Zoroastrian background. Suhrawardi regarded a light not simply as a symbol of divine manifestation, but as the fundamental reality of all things. At the same time the Platonic theory of Ideas was transformed into a sort of Zoroastrian angelology, and Sufism mixed with philosophy and Neoaristotelian cosmology in order to create the Islamic theosophy of Ishraq. Hakim muta’allih, the sage of Suhrawardian theosophy resembles the Neoplatonic hieratic sage who practices theurgy and whose aim consists in a direct experience of the divine (illumination and theosis). The eclectic marriage of pre–Islamic Iranian religious terminology and Hellenic philosophy within the general framework of the Ishraqi tradition is one of the most distinctive features of al–Suhrawardi’s theology.Straipsnyje aptariama vieno iš įtakingiausių persų kilmės teosofų Yahya ibn Habasho Amirako al–Suhrawardžio (1155–1191) metafizinė sistema, mėginant atskleisti jos sąsajas su vėlyvosios antikos neoplatonizmu, hermetine tradicija ir kitais filosofiniais–religiniais sąjūdžiais Artimųjų bei Vidurio Rytų regione

Imagination in Ibn al-'Arabis thought

Straipsnis skiriamas islamo sufijaus Ibn al-'Arabi estetinių pažiūrų analizei, mėginant atskleisti jo savitą požiūrį į vaizduotę. Parodomas sufizme išplėtotos vaizduotės koncepcijos ryšys su helėnų filosofijos (ypač neoplatonizmo) idėjomis. Aptariama „atsietų vaizdinių pasaulio" doktrina ir jos atsiradimo prielaidos, taip pat - vaizduotės ir atvaizdų reikšmė islamo civilizacijai, kurios estetinį pavidalą iš dalies suformavo sufizmo iškelti metafiziniai bei kosmologiniai principai. Esminiai žodžiai: islamo estetika, sufizmas, Ibn al-'Arabi, kūrybinė vaizduotėThe author is investigating certain aspects of the macrocosmic and microcosmic imagination - the doctrine held by the great Sufi metaphysician of the Xlllth century - Ibn Al-'Arabi. Various philosophical concepts, such as mithal, khayal, 'alam al-mithal, are discussed in order to reveal some features of his theosophy that can be, albeit indirectly, traced back to the Hellenic Neoplatonism, especially that of Plotinus. Key words: Ibn Ibnal-'Arabi, imaginatio

Metamorphoses of ancient philosophy: Numenius and Plotinus

Article deals with the passage from Middle Platonism to Neoplatonism in the 2nd and 3nd century AD. Numenius of Apamea constitutes the culmination in a line of Pythagorean writers beginning with Thrasyllus. The philosophy of Plotinus is now labelled as "Neoplatonism", though Plotinus is a philosopher deeply and self-consciously rooted in a long and complex tradition. His writings can hardly be characterised as systematic and are packed with allusions to various philosophical positions, but Plotinus thought of himself simply as a disciple of Plato. His understanding and expression of the wisdom of Plato is filtered through his responses to Aristotle’s criticism

Conception of beauty in Ibn al'-Arabi's "Futuhat al-Makkiyyah"

The paper deals with the cosmological conception of beauty (husn) as it is exposed in the voluminous "Meccan Revelations" (Futuhat al-Makkiyyah) produced by the famous Andalusian Sufi Ibn al-'Arabi (1165-1240). The theory of beauty is closely related to the theological doctrine of the most beautiful (husna) names of God and Ibn al-'Arabi's ontology which declares the unity of being (wujud). Since all manifested reality is regarded as the self-disclosure of God, or theophany (tajalli), the cosmos is beautiful and consists of beautiful forms. Ibn al-'Arabi emphasizes the cosmological role of imagination (khayal). All created things are situaded betw een God, His Wujud, and nonbeing. Ultimately they are tantam ount to the Unbounded Imagination. According to the Andalusian shaykh, spirit and body cannot be separated, therefore the beauty of bodies reveals the beauty of spirit which is the divine Beauty itself

Philosophy as a commentary

Article deals with the last phase of ancient Hellenic philosophy, namely, Neoplatonism and its main hermeneutical principles used for the interpretation of Mato, Aristotle, and other authorities. The author investigates how ancient philosophy was able to fulfil a vast cultural mission and asserts that in late Antiquity there was no longer any clear and firm demarcation between doing one’s own philosophy and writing commentary. The contents of various selected texts were interpreted in such a way as to make them fit with the stated metaphysical aim, thus establishing the harmony of Plato, Aristotle and Homer. At the same time, Proclus sought to unify the whole of Hellenic philosophy by presenting it as a continuous clarification of divine revelation, as well as to provide a set of methodological rules for the thorough exegesis of the inspired text, which themselves ought to reveal no less than the structure of the entire reality

Nuo Aleksandrijos iki Harano: išminties samprata neoplatonizme ir sufizme

The essay deals with the relationship between the Islamic philosophy and Hellenism. The influence of the Neoplatonic ideas on the early Islamic culture of spirituality is emphasized, while trying to reveal the common archetypal patterns of the Near Eastern and Mediterranean traditions.Šiame straipsnyje kalbama apie ankstyvosios islamo filosofijos ryšį su antikos filosofija ir hermetizmu aptariant įvairius graikiškus bei arabiškus filosofinius terminus. Autoriaus parodoma, kokiais keliais transformuota antikos kultūra pasiekė islamo pasaulį ir kaip buvo integruota į naują kontekstą

Dieviškosios apeigos ir filosofija neoplatonizme

The essay deals with the problem of relationship between philosophy and ritual in late antiquity and attempts at showing that their close connections in Neoplatonism were determined not only by their common anagogic and mystic aim (homoiosis theo ideal), but also by distant origins of philosophy (in the form of traditional wisdom and hermeneutics: explanations of oracles, omens, riddles, rites, and events) from the integral unit of the cosmogonical and ‘seasonal’ (or rather metaphysical) ritual-and-myth complexes. Philosophy in her most ancient sense and under different names can be regarded as a semi-theurgic activity (framed by the particular world-model and the archaic conception of language) inseparable from the ‘divinely sanctioned’ lawmaking, ruling, healing and fighting. Even the much later syllogistic procedures and dialectical operations in some formal respect resembled ritualistic activities as if imitating certain ‘rhythmical’ patterns of proper behaviour in the context of the harmonious whole governed by the cosmic order or divine intelligence. Despite the well-known prejudices of the one-sided post-Enlightenment scholars against rites and liturgies, their own zealous pedantry and strive for classifications, rules, and systems could be interpreted in the light of ancient rituals (always strict and dogmatic in every detail) and sacrifices. The integration of some religious cults, symbols, and mysteries into the body of the post-lamblichean Neoplatonism cannot be regarded as an artificial undertaking directed against the supposed ‘rationalist purity’, itself partly invented by the Modern Western scholars. Rather it should be understood as the peacefull sumphonia of the maximally employed human reason and ineffable divine mysteries, including all practical and contemplative (or aesthetic) sides of life.Straipsnyje aptariamas ritualo ir filosofinio diskurso santykis neoplatonizme, mėginant paneigti tarp šiuolaikinių tyrinėtojų vis dar pasitaikančią nuomonę, kad teurgijos integravimas į platonizmo tradiciją reiškia racionalaus mąstymo nuopuolį. Autorius atskleidžia sintetinę filosofavimo, mitinio mąstymo bei teurginio ritualo vienybę pabrėždamas, kad neoplatonizme kultinis matmuo nėra iš nežinia kur atsiradusi naujiena, bet logiškai kyla iš paties Platono, taip pat orfikų bei pitagorikų iškeltų metafizinių principų. Antikos filosofija išauga iš kosmogoninių mitų ir ritualų aiškinimo. Šiuo požiūriu ji genetiškai siejasi su senovės Egipto, Mesopotamijos ir Upanišadų laikotarpio Indijos dvasine kultūra

At-tasawwuf ir neoplatonizmo filosofija

Despite the clear evidence that Sufism derived from the Qur’an, or rather interpretations of the selected Qur’anic verses and sayings of the Prophet, its metaphysical and spiritual dimensions are closely tied with the late Hellenic philosophy and especially Neoplatonism. The Sufi sages, such as Dhu’l-Nun al-Misri, Ibn ’Arabi, Shabistari, Suhrawardi and others, accepted, transformed and adapted to the Islamic context many ideas of metaphysics and spiritual psychology which originated in the Middle Platonic and Neoplatonic milieu. Alexander of Aphrodisias, Numenius, Plotinus, Jamblichus, Syrianus, Proclus or Damascius as philosophers under their own proper names are almost unknown to the Muslims and the Middle Platonic and Neoplatonic doctrines are often presented under the name of Aristotle. However, the anonymous Neoplatonic ideas are widely used, though sometimes they may be understood just as the manifestations of the same transcendental archetypes.Šiame straipsnyje kalbama apie islamiškojo sufizmo (at-tasawwuf) ir antikos neoplatonizmo sąsajas atskleidžiant įvairias sufizmo ir vėlyvosios helėnų filosofijos paraleles. Autoriaus dėmesio centre atsiduria kultūrinis islamo misticizmo kontekstas ir jį grindžianti metafizika. Nors sufizmas kyla iš Korano ir hadisų aiškinimo (todėl jis tėra giliau suprastas islamas, mistinis religijos branduolys), daugelis sufijų adaptuotų ir išplėtotų metafizinių idėjų yra vėlyvosios antikos palikimas. Jos gali būti suvoktos kaip skirtinga tų pačių transcendentinių archetipų manifestacija, tačiau negalima paneigti fakto, kad Numenijo, Plotino, Porfirijo, Jamblicho, Sirijano, Proklo, Damaskijo ir kitų neoplatonikų doktrinos tiesiogiai ar netiesiogiai (kartais nežinant šių filosofų vardų arba jų mokymus priskiriant Aristoteliui) paveikė ne tik sufizmą, bet ir visą islamo dvasinę kultūrą