Introduction:

While the Peripatetic (Mashsha’i) trhttps://islamic-philosophy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/multiethnic-team-using-green-screen-tablet-to-over-MVKF9J9.jpgion relied heavily on Aristotelian syllogism, Shihab al-Din al-Suhrawardi (1154–1191) revolutionized Islamic thought by founding the School of Illumination (Hikmat al-Ishraq). By blending rigorous philosophical critique with intuitive mystical experience, Suhrawardi proposed a universe defined not by matter and form, but by Light and Darkness. This article examines his epistemological shift and his metaphysical worldview.

1. The Critique of Aristotelian Logic

Suhrawardi was not a mere mystic; he was a brilliant logician who challenged the foundational definitions of Aristotle. He argued that trhttps://islamic-philosophy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/multiethnic-team-using-green-screen-tablet-to-over-MVKF9J9.jpgional definitions (genus and specific difference) only touch the surface of reality and do not provide true knowledge of a thing’s essence.

• The Problem: Definitions are purely mental constructs.
• The Solution: Knowledge should be based on Presence (Hudūr).

2. Knowledge by Presence (Al-Ilm al-Huduri) (H2)

One of Suhrawardi’s most significant contributions is the concept of Knowledge by Presence. He posits that the most certain knowledge is the knowledge that the “Self” has of itself.

• Direct Intuition: Just as the eye perceives light directly without a medium, the soul perceives spiritual realities through an immediate, non-discursive presence.
• The Illuminationist Method: To know a reality, one must be “present” with it, merging the subject and the object through spiritual purification.

3. The Metaphysics of Light (Nur)

In Suhrawardi’s cosmos, existence is a spectrum of light. God is the Light of Lights (Nur al-Anwar), the source of all existence.

• Intensity of Light: Entities differ from one another not by their “essence” but by the intensity or weakness of the light they possess.
• Darkness (Ghashaq): Darkness is not a real entity; it is merely the absence of light. Matter, therefore, is the lowest and densest form of light.

4. The Orient and the Occident

For Suhrawardi, “East” (Orient/Ishraq) represents the world of pure light and angelic intellects, while “West” (Occident) represents the world of darkness and matter. The journey of the philosopher is a “Recital of the Occidental Exile,” where the soul seeks to return to its original home in the world of Light.

Conclusion

Suhrawardi’s Hikmat al-Ishraq is a bridge between the “Reason” of the philosophers and the “Vision” of the Sufis. For the modern researcher, it offers a sophisticated alternative to materialist epistemology, suggesting that the ultimate reality is accessible not through cold logic alone, but through the illumination of the heart.

References:

1. Suhrawardi. The Philosophy of Illumination. Translated by John Walbridge and Hossein Ziai.
2. Corbin, Henry. The Man of Light in Iranian Sufism.
3. Ziai, Hossein. Knowledge and Illumination: A Study of Suhrawardi’s Hikmat al-Ishraq.
4. Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. Three Muslim Sages: Avicenna, Suhrawardi, Ibn Arabi.