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An Inquiry on the Opposition to Reason and Philosophy in the Akhbārī School During the Safavid Era
Abstract
In Safavid Iran, the Akhbārī school rejected reason, ijma, and qiyas in the interpretation of religious texts and adopted a literalist approach based solely on the narrations in the al-Kutub al-Arba´a (الكتب الأربعة). This approach turned into a fierce opposition to philosophy. The Akhbārīs characterized philosophy, and especially the synthesizing approach of philosophers such as Mullā Sadrā, as "irreligion" and "heresy" and saw Greek philosophy as a harmful element that corrupted Islam. With the support of the Safavid state, the Akhbārīs' opposition to philosophy led to the marginalization of philosophy and the oppression of philosophers. The fact that Mullā Sadrā had to leave Isfahan is an important example of this pressure. The Akhbārīs pursued two main strategies against philosophy: The first is to create a negative perception of philosophy and philosophers by constantly denigrating them, and the second is to develop systematic criticisms of the fundamental issues of philosophy. They criticized the philosophers on issues such as the eternity of the universe, God's will and God's knowledge of particulars, and considered these views to be contrary to God's attributes and blasphemy. The Akhbārī movement of the Safavid period constitutes an important example of systematic opposition to reason and philosophy in the history of Islamic thought.
Keywords
References
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Details
Primary Language
English
Subjects
Islamic Philosophy
Journal Section
Research Article
Early Pub Date
April 28, 2025
Publication Date
April 30, 2025
Submission Date
November 2, 2024
Acceptance Date
April 17, 2025
Published in Issue
Year 2025 Number: 53
APA
Yılmaz, S., & Erdem, Ö. F. (2025). An Inquiry on the Opposition to Reason and Philosophy in the Akhbārī School During the Safavid Era. Bilimname, 53, 635-663. https://doi.org/10.28949/bilimname.1577704
AMA
1.Yılmaz S, Erdem ÖF. An Inquiry on the Opposition to Reason and Philosophy in the Akhbārī School During the Safavid Era. Bilimname. 2025;(53):635-663. doi:10.28949/bilimname.1577704
Chicago
Yılmaz, Sinan, and Ö. Faruk Erdem. 2025. “An Inquiry on the Opposition to Reason and Philosophy in the Akhbārī School During the Safavid Era”. Bilimname, nos. 53: 635-63. https://doi.org/10.28949/bilimname.1577704.
EndNote
Yılmaz S, Erdem ÖF (April 1, 2025) An Inquiry on the Opposition to Reason and Philosophy in the Akhbārī School During the Safavid Era. Bilimname 53 635–663.
IEEE
[1]S. Yılmaz and Ö. F. Erdem, “An Inquiry on the Opposition to Reason and Philosophy in the Akhbārī School During the Safavid Era”, Bilimname, no. 53, pp. 635–663, Apr. 2025, doi: 10.28949/bilimname.1577704.
ISNAD
Yılmaz, Sinan - Erdem, Ö. Faruk. “An Inquiry on the Opposition to Reason and Philosophy in the Akhbārī School During the Safavid Era”. Bilimname. 53 (April 1, 2025): 635-663. https://doi.org/10.28949/bilimname.1577704.
JAMA
1.Yılmaz S, Erdem ÖF. An Inquiry on the Opposition to Reason and Philosophy in the Akhbārī School During the Safavid Era. Bilimname. 2025;:635–663.
MLA
Yılmaz, Sinan, and Ö. Faruk Erdem. “An Inquiry on the Opposition to Reason and Philosophy in the Akhbārī School During the Safavid Era”. Bilimname, no. 53, Apr. 2025, pp. 635-63, doi:10.28949/bilimname.1577704.
Vancouver
1.Sinan Yılmaz, Ö. Faruk Erdem. An Inquiry on the Opposition to Reason and Philosophy in the Akhbārī School During the Safavid Era. Bilimname. 2025 Apr. 1;(53):635-63. doi:10.28949/bilimname.1577704