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

Notes to Chapter 13 333
Persian and Arabic writings of a Mullå |adrå with that of a Suhraward¥ or a
apple¨s¥ to realize the truth of this assertion. The reason for this phenomenon is
probably the migration to Persia of a number of Arab Shi‘ite scholars who did
not know Persian at the beginning of the Safavid period. With the Qajar
period the tendency to use Persian to a greater extent, but of course not
exclusively, became strengthened in comparison to the Safavid period.
12. See chapter 12, note 25 for references on him.
13. See |aduq¥ Suhå, op. cit., pp. 46–47; and ≈shtiyån¥, introduction to
Shawåhid, pp. 108–09, 122.
14. |aduq¥ Suhå, op. cit. p., 46.
15. Ibid., p. 47.
16. There is an initiatic line of transmission of esoteric teachings, not to
be confused with the theoretical understanding of gnosis and Sufi metaphysics,
that existed among Shi‘ite scholars stretching from Mullå |adrå, and even
before him, to ‘Allåmah appleabå†abå˘¥ and before him certain other fourteenth/
twentieth century figures, including such famous Shi‘ite scholars as Ba±r al-
‘ul¨m. Both Lår¥jån¥ and Qumsha˘¥, as well as a number of his students in the
School of Tehran, belonged to this initiatic line about which little has been
written until now, although some points of intersection between the chain of
Shi‘ite ‘urafå˘ and the Sufi orders in Persia, especially the Dhahab¥ and the
Ni‘matullåh¥, is known. See our preface to Sayyid Mu±ammad ¡usayn
appleabå†abå˘¥, Kernel of the Kernel, trans. Mohammad H. Faghfoory (Albany: State
University of New York Press, 2003) pp. xiii–xix. See also Christian Bonnard,
L’Imam Khomeyni, un gnostique méconnu du XXe siècle (Beirut: Al-Bouraq, 1997).
17. Fortunately we now have the monumental study of Āqå ‘Al¥ and
the critical edition of his writings by Mu±sin Kad¥war (ed.), Majmu‘a-yi
muƒannafåt-i ¡ak¥m-i Mu˘assis Āqå ‘Al¥ Mudarris T. ihrån¥, 3 vols. (Tehran:
Intishåråt-i I††ilå‘åt, 1378 [A.H. solar]). A fourth volume containing the text of
the Badåyi‘ al-÷ikam is planned to complete the project. This work contains all
the available and authenticated texts of ≈qå ‘Al¥ in addition to an extensive
introduction by Kad¥war on his life and thought. These volumes are unique
in their thoroughness and scholarly quality as far as a figure of the School of
Tehran is concerned. An edition of the Badåyi‘ al-÷ikam has already appeared
under the care of A±mad Wå‘iπ¥ (Tehran: Mu˘assisa-yi Chåp wa Nashr-i
‘Allåmah appleabå†abå˘¥, 1376 [A.H. solar]).
18. For a complete list, see Kad¥war, op. cit., pp. 61–64.
19. His treatise on resurrection, Sab¥l al-rishåd (Path of Guidance) was
among his most popular works.
20. Ibid. p. 59.
21. See K. Mujtahid¥, “Dhikr-i falåsafa-yi gharb dar Badåyi‘ al-÷ikam,”
Råhnåma-yi kitåb, vol. 18, no. 10–12 (1354 [A. H. Solar]); and Mujtahid¥, “M¥rzå