Islamic Philosophy from Its Origin to the Present: Philosophy in the ...

Philosophy in Azarbaijan and the School of Shiraz 189
text al-Sharajat al-ilåhiyyah (The Divine Tree) hailed from Shahrazur,
which is located between Hamadan and Irbil and is again within the
geographic orbit of the School of Azarbaijan. 11
Besides Maraghah, other cities in Azarbaijan produced notable
philosophers who were near contemporaries of the philosophers of
Maraghah. One of the most notable among this group is Ath¥r al-D¥n
Abhar¥ (d. 663/1264), the author of Kitåb hidåyat al-÷ikmah (The Book
of Guidance for Philosophy), one of the most famous expositions of
later Avicennan philosophy upon which many commentaries were
written, the most famous being by Maybud¥ and Mullå |adrå. The
commentary of Mullå |adrå known in India as simply S • adrå was perhaps
the most widely studied text of Islamic philosophy in Muslim
India. Originally from Abhar, Ath¥r al-D¥n migrated to Syria and then
Anatolia, where he spent the second part of his life. He was one of the
most famous students of Fakhr al-D¥n al-Råz¥, the celebrated theologian
who also spent some time in Azarbaijan. But in contrast to him
and also to Qu†b al-D¥n Sh¥råz¥, Abhar¥ spent most of his life in
Azarbaijan and eastern Anatolia and must be considered as one of the
philosophers of the School of Azarbaijan. Abhar¥ was so deeply respected
that apple¨s¥ wrote a commentary upon his Tanz¥l al-afkår (Descent
of Thoughts), and one of Abhar¥’s treatises on logic dealing with
the Isagogue was even translated into Latin. It is interesting to note that
although known primarily as a Peripatetic philosopher, Abhar¥ was
well acquainted with Suhraward¥, a fact to which both Shahraz¨r¥ and
Ibn Kamm¨nah have attested in their writings. Moreover, in two of
his other works, Muntaha˘l-afkår f¥ ibånat al-asrår (The Height of
Thoughts concerning the Clarification of Mysteries) and Kashf al-÷aqå˘iq
f¥ ta÷r¥r al-daqå˘iq (The Discovery of Truths concerning the Statement
of Subtleties), Abhar¥ himself mentions Suhraward¥.
Another famous contemporary of Abhar¥ who hailed from
Azarbaijan was Siråj al-D¥n Urmaw¥, who, like Abhar¥, died in the
second half of the seventh/thirteenth century. A commentator of Ibn
S¥nå’s Ishåråt, he also authored a number of independent philosophical
works such as La†å˘if al-÷ikmah (Subtleties of Philosophy) and Ma†åli˜
al-anwår (Places of the Rising of Lights). Another contemporary of
Abhar¥, Ab¨ ‘Al¥ Salmås¥, is known as the author of al-Risålat alsiyåsiyyah
(Treatise on Politics). The appearance of these figures from
three different cities of Azarbaijan in addition to Maraghah demonstrates
the widespread interest in philosophy during the period in
question in the whole province and not primarily in a single city and
its environs which is the case of the School of Baghdad or the School
of Shiraz.