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

248 Part 3: Islamic Philosophy in History
‘irfån¥ commentary upon his Mafåt¥÷ al-ghayb, as well as commentaries
upon various parts of Sabziwår¥’s Shar÷ al-manz.¶mah. 36 ≈shtiyån¥ was
also the author of an independent work on ÷ikmat, Asås al-taw÷¥d (Foundations
of Unity), which reveals his remarkable philosophical profundity.
37 Furthermore, he authored a number of shorter treaties on various
philosophical subjects.
One should not think for one moment that ≈shtiyån¥ was simply
a commentator who only clarified the meaning of earlier texts. Like
many members of the School of Tehran and those before them, his
commentaries are original philosophical treatises written in commentary
form much like the commentaries of Mullå |adrå upon ¡ikmat alishråq
and Shifå˘. For example, ≈shtiyån¥’s commentary upon Sabziwår¥
is much more ‘irfån¥ in character than Sabzwår¥’s own commentary
and reveals the text as almost an ‘irfån¥ work rather than a systematic
and rational presentation of Mullå |adrå’s ideas. As T. Izustu writes:
Sabziwår¥, despite the fact that his entire philosophizing is at
bottom based on a personal mystical existence, does not disclose
this concept of philosophy on the surface. ≈shtiyån¥ on
the contrary is openly ‘irfån¥ throughout the whole commentary.
This fact comes out more clearly in the introductory part
of the work. But in the main part of the book, too, he never
fails to seize the opportunity of leaving Sabziwår¥ behind at
any moment and going into long fully developed ‘irfån¥ discussions
of the philosophical concept in question. . . . [T]he
same feature of ≈shtiyån¥’s general attitude in writing his commentary
is remarkable in that it turns the book into an original
work of his own. 38
In any case M¥rzå Mahd¥ ≈shtiyån¥ was a towering intellectual
figure of his day who wielded much influence in traditional circles of
learning. He was also the teacher of a number of well-known philosophers
of our own day such as Ab¨˘l-¡asan Sha‘rån¥, Mu±ammad
Taq¥ Ja‘far¥, Murta∂å Mu†ahhar¥, Mahd¥ ¡å˘ir¥ Yazd¥, Jawåd Fal冨r¥,
and Sayyid Jalål al-D¥n ≈shtiyån¥, all of whom are well-known Islamic
thinkers of the fourteenth/twentieth century. 39
Sayyid Ab¨˘l-¡asan Raf¥‘¥ Qazw¥n¥, with whom I had the honor
of studying the Asfår for some five years, was born in Qazwin in
1315/1897, where he carried out his early studies. Then he came to
Tehran and Qom studying in both cities with such masters as M¥rzå
¡asan Kirmånshåh¥, M¥rzå Håshim ≈shkiwar¥, Sayyid Mu±ammad
Tunikåbun¥, Shaykh ‘Al¥ Rasht¥, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Kar¥m ¡å˘ir¥, and