Abu al-Abbas Iranshahri | |
|---|---|
| Personal life | |
| Born | 9th century Nishapur (circa 9th century) |
| Died | 9th/10th century |
| Main interest(s) | Mathematics,Astronomy,medicine,science andphilosophy |
| Notable work(s) | Hasti, Ketab-e jalil, Ketab-e athir, |
| Senior posting | |
Influenced | |
Abu al-Abbas Iranshahri (Persian:ابوالعباس ایرانشهری) was a 9th-centuryPersian[1][2] philosopher,mathematician, natural scientist, historian of religion,astronomer and author.[3] According to traditional sources, he is the first figure in the widerMuslim world to be associated with philosophy after the advent ofIslam.[4]
He was born inNishapur (modernKhorasan in Iran), the city also known as Iranshahr, hence his title Iranshahri.[3] According toNasir Khusraw, Iranshahri taughtRhazes andBiruni ancientIranian philosophy.
According toAl-Biruni his rare impartiality was rooted in his lack of dependence on a particular religion. He created a religion and invited others to that.[5]
He authored[3] several books and treatises inArabic and inPersian. All the books written, some of which are mentioned in passing byBiruni andNasir Khusraw, have been lost.
He wrote three books;Jalil,Athir, andMasael u'ttabi'a, about philosophy and wisdom. Abulma'ali states that Iranshahri brought a new religion with a Persian book and named his miracleHasti (existence). According toBiruni, he was knowledgeable aboutChristianity,Zoroastrianism,Manichaeism,Hinduism, andShamanism.
According to Abu'l Ma'ali, the author of bayan al-Adyan, Iranshahri considered himself a Prophet and wrote a book inPersian which he claimed have received a divine revelation by the angel called Hasti (Existence).[3] He believed in the unity of all religions and considered existing differences among them the results of special interests (ḡarażμ)[what language is this?] of their followers.[3] According toBiruni, Iranshahri had said that God took covenant from light and darkness on the days ofNowruz andMehragan, which may reflectZurvanite influence.[3] According toNasir Khusraw, Iranshahri had expressed philosophical concepts in religious terms in such books as Ketab-e jalil and Ketab-e athir, and had led people to the true religion and the understanding ofmonotheism.[3]
He maintained that God was always a creator, and there was not a time when he was non-creative (u-rā ṣonʿ nabud) before He turned into being creative. According to him, it is requisite that He always be creator, then it is necessary for that in which His creation appeared to be eternal (qadim). His creation makes its appearance (padid-āyanda ast) in Matter (hayulā), and therefore, Matter, a sign of the apparent power ofGod, is eternal; and since Matter, which is eternal, requires the existence of Space (makān), it follows that Space should be eternal too.[3] His ideas on time were that time, world, and duration (zamān dahr wa moddat) are names whose meanings are derived from the same essence (jawhar).[3] He also philosophized that Time, a substance in motion and restless (jawhar-e ravanda wa biqarār), is the sign of God's knowledge, in the same way that Space is the sign of His power; motion is the sign of His action, and the being (jesm) is the sign of His ability, and every one of these signs is infinite and eternal.[3]