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

238 Part 3: Islamic Philosophy in History
the expression of philosophical ideas. 11 This movement is clearly evident
in the School of Tehran but is also to be seen elsewhere such as
in Sabziwar, Qom, Kashan, and Shiraz. It is, however, especially
significant for the School of Tehran, for it was in the capital that contemporary
philosophical Persian began to develop in the later Qajar
period, a development in which traditional philosophical texts written
in Persian played an important role.
Before turning to the major figures of the School of Tehran, a few
words must be said about two outstanding figures who exercised
influence upon the School of Tehran but who did not belong to it. The
first is Håjj¥ Mullå Håd¥ Sabziwår¥ (1212/1797–98–1289/1872), the most
famous philosopher of the Qajar period, who was also the teacher of
many of the main early figures of the School of Tehran. 12 Some of
Sabziwår¥’s students came to Tehran, and a number of students from
Tehran who were to gain a name for themselves in the field of philosophy
journeyed to Sabziwar in Khurasan to study with the venerable
philosopher/saint. For several decades the circle of Sabziwar vied
with the School of Tehran in importance in the field of philosophy,
and Sabziwår¥ was himself in contact with many figures from Tehran.
His Asrår al-÷ikam (Secret of Wisdom) was written in Persian at the
request of the Persian king, Nå∑ir al-D¥n Shåh, and was well known
in Tehran, and his Shar÷ al-manz.¶mah (Commentary upon the Manz.¶mah
[a philosophical poem]) became very popular as a text in the School
of Tehran and continues to be so in all centers in Persia where traditional
philosophy is being taught. Altogether the figure of Sabziwår¥
and his works cannot be disassociated from the development of the
School of Tehran.
The second seminal figure who must be mentioned is ≈qå Sayyid
Ra∂¥ Lår¥jån¥, an enigmatic figure about whose life little is known. 13
Apparently after his early life in Larijan near the Caspian Sea, he
journeyed to Isfahan, where he soon became one of the foremost students
of Mullå ‘Al¥ N¨r¥ and Mullå Ismå‘¥l I∑fahån¥ and a recognized
master in the school of Mullå |adrå. But it is essentially for his knowledge
of gnosis, esoterism, and even the occult sciences that he was
known to the extent that he was given the title målik-i bå†in (Master of
the Esoteric Realm) or ƒå÷ib-i ÷ål-i målik-i bå†in (Possessor of the Spiritual
State of the Esoteric Realm). 14 Those who knew him believed that
the truths of gnosis had become fully realized in him. The great master
of gnosis of the School of Tehran, ≈qå Ma±ammad Ri∂å Qumsha˘¥,
to whom we shall turn shortly, writes that when he was in Isfahan he
had begun to study the Fuƒ¶ƒ al-÷ikam of Ibn ‘Arab¥ with Mullå
Mu±ammad Ja‘far Langar¨d¥, a major |adrean philosopher of Isfahan,