philosophy journal 7

Abstract

With the establishment of Tehran as the capital of Persia, the intellectual centre of the country also shifted gradually to that city. Fat¦ ‘Alī Shāh invited the great master of ¯adrian philosophy, Mullā ‘Alī Nūrī, who lived in Isfahan to migrate to Tehran, but because of old age the latter refused the invitation, sending instead one of his foremost students, Mullā ‘Abd Allāh Zunūzī. Thus began the last major school of Islamic philosophy, the School of Tehran, which during the nineteenth century was the locus of activity of such great masters as Mullā ‘Alī Mudarris, the son of Mullā ‘Abd Allāh, Āqā Mu¦ammad Ri¤ā Qumsha’ī and Mīrzā Abu'l-µasan Jilwah. Different strands of Islamic thought including the ¯adrian al-¦ikmat al muta‘āliyah, the ishrāqī School, the peripatetic philosophy of the School of Ibn Sīnā and ‘irfan were taught and pursued in teaching circles and many new books were written some of which also contain new philosophical teachings based on the principles of the earlier schools. Most of the later masters of Islamic philosophy in the contemporary period in Persia were students of the School of Tehran, which in a sense survived until a few decades ago. It was also in the Scholl of Tehran that the main Islamic philosophical tradition first encountered modern European philosophy. The study of this School is therefore important not only for a better understanding of the total tradition of Islamic philosophy, but also very significant for a grasp of the development of philosophy in Persia during this century (of the Persian hijrī calender).

The School of Isfahan in its Later Phase

The remarkable revival of Islamic philosophy which took place in the early Safavid period under the aegis of Mīr Dāmād and its aftermath has now come to be widely known as the School of Isfahan. ¹This School produced a galaxy of important philosophers, chief among them Mullā ¯adrā, ² but also including his teacher Mīr Dāmād, as well as Mīr Findiriskī, Mullā ¯adrā 's students such as Mullā Mu¦sin Fay¤ Kāshānī and a number of other important figures such as Mullā Rajab ‘Alī Tabrīzī, Mullā Shamsā Gīlānī, Āqā µusayn Khunsārī, Sayyid A¦mad ‘Alawī and Qā¤ī Sa'īd Qummī. ³ Towards the end of the Safavid period the religious atmosphere in Persia turned against philosophy and especially the School of Mullā ¯adrā. Still the teaching of philosophy continued in Isfahan under the direction of such masters as 'Ināyat Allāh Gīlānī, Mīr Sayyid µasan Tāliqānī and Mawlā Mu¦ammad Sādiq Ardistānī.

The tragic life of this last figure exemplifies the plight of philosophy in Isfahan during the reign of Shāh Sul§ān µusayn at the end of the Safavid period. This outstanding ¦akīm and saintly man was a follower of the teachings of Mullā ¯adrā as one can see in the former’s short Persian treatise entitled Ja'l ("Instauration"). He is also known for a treatise entitled µikmat-i ¥ādiqiyyah ("¯adiqiyan Wisdom") which deals with the powers of the soul and is of a mystical character. Despite his great piety and saintly demeanor, however, he was driven away from Isfahan in the winter and lost one of his children to the bitter winter cold. Ardistānī, who is the last ¯adrian philosopher of the Safavid period, died in 1113/1701.

Meanwhile, in the latter part of the Safavid period the influence of the School of Isfahan spread to other cities. Mullā ¯adrā himself spent the last decades of his life back in Shiraz. Mullā Mu¦sin Fay¤ retired to his hometown of Kashan where he continued to teach and where an entourage grew around him. Later in the Qajar period philosophical activity was to continue in Kashan with the appearance of the major intellectual figure, Mullā Mu¦ammad Mahdī Narāqī. Lāhījī settled in Qom where he and his son µusayn Lāhījī as well as the major expositor of gnosis, Qā¤ī Sa‘īd, taught. Yet, despite all the opposition to ¦ikmat in Isfahan during the latter part of Safavid rule and despite the devastation brought about by the Afghan invasion, ¦ikmat continued to survive in Isfahan and once the political situation settled down, it was in this city that philosophical activity and especially the teachings of Mullā ¯adrā's al-¦ikmat al muta‘āliyah were revived.

A number of philosophers were witness to the storm at the end of the Safavid period, chief among them Mullā Ismā‘il Khājū’ī (d.1173/1760). In one of his works he describes the devastation caused by the conquest of Isfahan and the suffering he underwent. His own life was endangered and many of his works were lost but he survived to continue to teach ¦ikmat and trained as important a student as Narāqī. ⁴ The major reviver of ¯adrian philosophy in Isfahan was, however, Mullā ‘Alī Nūrī who lived about a century and taught ¦ikmat in Isfahan for some seventy years until his death in 1246/1830-31. No one after Mullā ¯adrā has done so much to propagate the teachings of al-¦ikmat al muta‘āliyah, through the teaching of numerous important students and writing glosses, commentaries and annotations upon the works of Mullā ¯adrā including the Asfār. ⁵ Nūrī ’s most important students include his own son Mīrzā µasan Nūrī as well as Mullā ‘Abd Allāh Zunūzī, Mullā Mu¦ammad Ismā‘īl Darbkūshkī I¥fahānī, Sayyid Ra¤ī Lārījānī, Āqā Mu¦ammad Ri¤ā Qumsha’ī, Mullā Mu¦ammad Ja‘far Langarūdī, Mullā Āqā-i Qazwīnī and many other well known figures. The origin of the School of Tehran is to be sought in the Isfahan of the early 13th/19th centuries and the circle of Mullā ‘Alī Nūrī. Even after the centre of philosophical activity shifted to Tehran, Isfahan remained a vibrant philosophical centre producing such famous philosophers as Jahāngir Khān Qashqā’ī and in more recent times Āqā Mīrzā Ra¦im Arbāb. Whether one can call the long period of philosophical activity stretching from Mīr Dāmād to someone like Arbāb or Jalāl Humā’ī, who died just two decades ago, "The School of Isfahan" is open to debate, ⁶ but certainly something of the earlier School of Isfahan survived after the Safavid period into the Qajar period and even into the contemporary era and served as the source for the School of Tehran which became central in Persia from the 13th/19th century onward. The School of Tehran represents both a continuity with the School of Isfahan as far as major philosophical issues and position are concerned, and discontinuity created by the fact that it was in Tehran where the Islamic philosophical tradition in Persia encountered Western thought for the first time and developed in certain directions that make it distinct from the School of Isfahan from which it originated.

The Beginning of the School of Tehran

Soon after the establishment of the Qajar dynasty in 1210/1796, Tehran which was then a small town was chosen as capital of Persia and grew rapidly into an important city that became not only the political and economic heart of Persia, but also its intellectual centre. Mosques and madrasahs began to be built and they attracted religious scholars to the city. In 1237/1821-22 Mu¦ammad Khān Marwī built a major madrasah in the heart of what is now the old city and the king Fat¦ ‘Alī Shāh invited Mullā ‘Alī Nūrī to migrate from Isfahan to Tehran to become the central mudarris or teacher of the newly built school. Nūrī was then at an advanced age and had numerous students in Isfahan whom he could not abandon. He therefore declined the king's offer but instead sent one of his foremost students, Mullā ‘Abd Allāh Zunūzī to Tehran. Mullā ‘Abd Allāh established himself in the Marwī School during that very year and taught Islamic philosophy there for the next two decades until his death in1257/1841. ⁷He marks the first step in the transfer of philosophical activity from the School of Isfahan to what was soon to become the School of Tehran.

Mullā ‘Abd Allāh Zunūzī was a follower of the school of Mullā ¯adrā and of his own teacher Mullā ‘Alī Nūrī and by training belonged to the School of Isfahan and more particularly to the circle of Nūrī. Like his teacher, he wrote a number of glosses on the works of Mullā ¯adrā including the Asfār, al- Shawāhid al-rubūbiyyah, al-Mabda’ wa'l- ma‘ād and Asrār al-āyāt as well as Ibn Sīnā's Shifā’ and Lāhījī's Shawāriq. He also wrote a number of independent works which are perhaps his most significant writings. These treatise which are in Persian include: Anwār-i jaliyyah ("Manifest Light") which is a comprehensive commentary upon the tradition transmitted from ‘Alī ibn Abī ±ālib concerning the truth (al- ¦aqīqah), ⁸ Lama‘āt-i ilāhiyyah ("Divine Splendors") on taw¦īd and ilāhiyyāt bi ma‘na'l-khā¥¥ or philosophical theology in the tradition of Mullā ¯adrā; ⁹ and Muntakhab al-khāqānī fī kashf ¦aqā’iq ‘irfani ("Royal Selections Concerning the Unveiling of Gnostic Trusts") on the proof of the Necessary Being and God's Unity and Attributes. ¹⁰ What is of great interest in these treaties in not only their philosophical content, but also the fact that they were written in lucid Persian and mark the beginning of a movement during the Qajar period to turn once again to fairly extensive use of Persian for the expression of philosophical ideas in addition to Arabic. ¹¹ This moment is clearly evident in the School of Tehran but is also to be seen elsewhere such as in Sabziwar, Qom, Kashan and Shiraz. It is, however, especially significant for the School of Tehran for it was in the capital that contemporary philosophical Persian began to develop in the later Qajar period, a development in which traditional philosophical texts written in Persian played an important role.

Before turning to the major figures of the School of Tehran a few words must be said about two outstanding figures who exercised influence upon the School of Tehran but who did not belong to it. The first is µājjī Mullā Hādī Sabziwārī (1212/1797-98- 1289/1872), the most famous philosopher of the Qajar period, who was also teacher of many of the main early figures of the School of Tehran. ¹² Some of Sabziwārī's students came to Tehran and a number of students from Tehran who were to gain a name for themselves in the field of philosophy journeyed to Sabziwar in Khurasan to study with the venerable philosopher/saint. For several decades the circle of Sabziwar vied with the School of Tehran in importance in the field of philosophy and Sabziwārī was himself in contact with many figures from Tehran. His Asrār al-¦ikam ("Secret of Wisdom") was written in Persian at the request of Nā¥ir al-Dīn Shāh and was well known in Tehran while his Shar¦ al-man³ūmah ("Commentary upon the Man³ūmah [a philosophical poem]") became very popular as a texts in the School of Tehran and continues to be so in all centres in Persia where traditional philosophy is being taught. Altogether the figure of Sabziwārī and his works cannot be disassociated from the development of the School of Tehran.

The second seminal figure that must be mentioned is Āqā Sayyid Ra¤ī Lārījānī, an enigmatic figure about whose life little is known. ¹³ Apparently after his early life in Larijan near the Caspian Sea, he journeyed to Isfahan where he soon became one of the foremost students of Mullā ‘Alī Nūrī and Mullā Ismā‘īl I¥fahānī and a recognized master in the school of Mullā ¯adrā. But it is essentially for his and knowledge of gnosis, esoterism and even the occult sciences that he was known to the extent that he was given the title mālik-i-bā§in, that is "Master of the Esoteric Realm" or ¥ā¦ib-i ¦āl-i mālik-i bā§in, that is, "Possessor of the Spiritual State of the Esoteric Realm". ¹⁴Those who knew him believed that the truths of gnosis had become fully realized in him. The great master of gnosis of the School of Tehran, Āqā Mu¦ammad Ri¤ā Qumsha’ī, to whom we shall turn shortly writes that when he was in Isfahan he had began to study the Fu¥ū¥ al-¦ikam of Ibn ‘Arabī with Mullā Mu¦ammad Ja‘far Langarūdī, a major ¯adrian philosopher of Isfahan, but he was not fully satisfied and so went to study the text with Lārījānī who became worried that Āqā Mu¦ammad Ri¤ā had changed teachers but added, "The teaching of the Fu¥ū¥ is the work of qalandarī [that is an unruly and ecstatic Sufi state] while µājjī Mullā Mu¦ammad Ja‘far is a ¦akīm and not a qalandar".¹⁵

In any case while a formidable authority in ¦ikmat, Lārījānī was above all a gnostic, an esoterist and a realized sage. It was these qualities that caused him some problems with anti-Sufi and anti-philosophical religious authorities of Isfahan and had it not been for one his physician disciples who bore witness that Larijan was "mad", he might have met the same fate as Suhrawardī and ‘Ayn al-Qu¤āt Hamadānī. In any case at the end of his life at the invitation of a Qajar notable, Mīrzā Ismā‘īl Gurgānī, Lārījānī came to Tehran where he settled at the home of his host. He died in 1270/1853-54 in Tehran after only a few years of stay in the capital. A student of the well-known gnostic, Mullā Mu¦ammad Ja‘far Ābāda’i, Lārījānī became the most important master of the school of Ibn ‘Arabī in the early phase of the School of Tehran, his greatest contribution to this school being his training of Āqā Mu¦ammad Ri¤ā Qumsha’ī and though him numerous later masters of gnosis such as Āqā Mīrzā Hāshim Rashtī and Mīrzā Mu¦ammad ‘Alī Shāhābādī.¹⁶

The Four °akīms and the full Establishment of the School of Tehran

Later Persian scholars have spoken of the four ¦akīms (¦ukamā-yi arba‘ah) who were foundational to the School of Tehran, these four being Āqā ‘Alī °akīm Mudarris ±ihrānī, also known as Zunūzī, Āqā Mu¦ammad Ri¤ā Qumsha’ī, Mīrzā Abu'l-µasan Jilwah and Mīrzā µusayn Sabziwārī. It is these four masters who established the School of Tehran firmly upon the earlier efforts of Mullā ‘Abd Allāh Zunūzī and Lārījānī and who in a sense completed the transfer of the teachings of the School of Isfahan to Tehran.

Āqā‘Alī °akīm Mudarris - Given the title °akīm-i mu’assis (The Founding °akīm), Āqā ‘Alī is the central founding figure of the School of Tehran. The son of Mullā ‘Abd Allāh Zunūzī, he was born in 1234/1818 in Isfahan and accompanied his father to Tehran when he was only three years old. ¹⁷ He received his early education in literature, logic and fiqh in Tehran and then studied such philosophical and theological texts as the Shawāriq al-ilhām ("The Orients of Inspiration") of Lāhījī, Shar¦ al-ishārāt ("Commentary upon the Directives and Remarks [of Ibn Sīnā]") by ±ūsī and al-Mabda’ wa'l-ma‘ād ("The Origin and the Return") by Mullā ¯adrā with his own father. Upon his father's death, he set out for Iraq to study the transmitted sciences in Najaf and then went to Isfahan to complete his studies in philosophy. In this still vibrant centre of Islamic philosophy he studied the Shifa’ ("The Healing") of Ibn Sīnā and the Asfār ("The Four Journeys) and Mafātī¦ al-ghayb ("Keys to the Invisible World") of Mullā ¯adrā with the son of Mullā ‘Alī Nūrī, Mīrzā µasan Nūrī. He also studied with other major figures of the city such as Sayyid Ra¤ī and Mullā Mu¦ammad Ja‘far Langarūdī. Then he spent some time in Qazwin to study Mullā ¯adrā with Mullā Āqā-yi Qazwīnī whom he considered to be the best teacher of the principles of ¯adrian philosophy. After that short period he returned in Isfahan and about 1270/1853-54 he finished his formal studies in the intellectual sciences.

Finally Āqā ‘Alī settled in Tehran where he continued to study the transmitted sciences with Mīrzā µusayn Āshtiyānī while beginning to teach philosophy. His career in teaching in Tehran was to last forty years first in Qāsim Khān madrasah, then for a few years in his own home and then for more than twenty years as official madarris in Sipahsālār madrasah. The main texts that he taught were the following: The Asfār, al-Mabda’ wa'l-ma‘ad, Shar¦ al-hidāyah (' Commentay upon the Book of Guidance [of Athīr al-Dīn Abharī]") and al-Shawāhid al-rubūbiyyah of Mullā ¯adrā, the Shifā’ of Ibn Sīnā and Shar¦ ¦ikmat al-ishrāq ("Commentary upon the Theosophy of the Orient of Light [of Suhrawardī and Qu§b al-Dīn Shīrāzī]"). His lessons were attended by numerous students and were famous throughout Persia and even in certain other Islamic countries and he trained a large number of important students belonging to the next generation of philosophers of the School of Tehran. After a long and fruitful life, he died in Tehran in1307/1889 and was buried in µa¤rat-i ‘Abd al-‘A³īm in Rayy.

Some twenty-seven works of Āqā ‘Alī Mudarris are known to have survived. ¹⁸ His works include: a number of major annotations (ta‘līqāt) upon several works of Mullā ¯adrā, especially his Asfār and Shar¦ ¦ikmat al ishrāq, glosses upon Shar¦ al-ishārāt by by Lāhījī as well as Lāhījī's Shawāriq, and his own father's Lama‘āt-i-ilāhiyyah; independent or semi-independent treats on resurrection, ¹⁹attribution (¦aml), the soul, relational existence (al-wujūd al rābi§ī), unity, the transcendent unity of being (wahdat al- wujūd) of the Sufis, a short history of Islamic philosophy and a short autobiography. In addition to these works and a number of poems Āqā ‘Alī wrote Badāyi‘al -¦ikam (" Marvels of Wisdom") which is perhaps his most important text and considered by some as being the most significant work in the school of al-¦ikmat al muta‘āliyah after the Asfār. ²⁰Written in Persian, it compares with the works of Af¤al al- Dīn Kāshānī and Suhrawardī in its significance for philosophical prose in that language. It also deals with ¯adrian metaphysics in a remarkably creative manner. Furthermore, this work may be considered to be the first in which traditional Islamic philosophy and Western philosophy, mostly Kantian, meet for Āqā ‘Alī sets out to respond to certain philosophical questions brought to him from Europe by the Qajar prince Badī‘al-mulk. For this reason some have considered the Badāyi‘al-¦ikam as being not only the most important text of ¯adrian philosophy in Persian, but also the first text of comparative philosophy within the Islamic philosophical tradition, ²¹ the beginning of a path that was to be followed later by ‘Allāmah ±abā§abā’ī, Mīrzā Mahdī Hā’irī Yazdī and by several younger philosopher of this generation.

As for Āqā ‘Alī 's annotations upon the Asfār, they cover nearly the whole text and constitute in themselves a cycle of ¯adarian philosophy. The glosses of Sabziwārī upon the Asfār are among the most detailed and clarifying of the many commentaries written on the text and these glosses have been published in the lithographed edition of the text of Mullā ¯adrā. The only commentary upon the Asfār to compare in significance with that of Sabziwārī is that of Āqā ‘Alī which, however, departs more from the text than does Sabziwārī's. S. J. Āshtiyānī goes as for to say, " I believe that in philosophical discussions Āqā ‘Alī was more meticulous and more confirmed in the truth than Sabziwārī." ²² Many in fact consider Āqā ‘Alī Mudarris to be the greatest figure of school of al ¦ikmat al-muta‘āliyah after Mullā ¯adrā himself. ²³Although it is true that Āqā ‘Alī must be considered along with Mullā ¯adrā himself, Mullā ‘Alī Nūrī, µājjī Mullā Hādī Sabziwārī, Āqā Mu¦ammad Ri¤ā Qumsha’ī and one or two others as the greatest master of the school of al ¦ikmat- al-muta‘āliyah, he was not simply an imitator and commentator of Mullā ¯adrā. Rather, he expressed certain views not found in ¯adr al-Dīn's works and may be said to have begun a new chapter in the history of the ¯adrian School rather that being simply a continuator of the same chapter. Not only did he criticize certain ¯adrian tenets, but he also formulated several new theses of his own concerning such questions as corporeal resurrection, attribution, knowledge, second philosophical intelligibles, trans-substantial motion, the principiality of being, gradation, the unity of the arc of descent and the arc of ascent and many other major issues. A thorough study of Āqā ‘Alī will reveal him to be not only a major commentator of Mullā ¯adrā, but also the founder of a new phase in the development of the school founded by the great ¦akīm of Shiraz.

Āqā ‘Alī had extensive contact with the notable figure of his day both among the class of religious scholars and those at court such as I‘timād al- Sal§anah who was one of Nā¥ir al- Din Shāh's closest confidants and at the same time very respectful of Āqā ‘Alī. He was in fact Āqā ‘Alī's disciple. I‘timād al -Sal§anah was one of channels whereby Āqā ‘Alī gained some knowledge of what was transpiring philosophically in Europe. I‘timād al-Sal§anah, was also instrumental in spreading the fame of Āqā ‘Alī in courtly circles and also among these also were becoming interested in Western education and thought.

As far as the contact of Āqā ‘Alī with the West is concerned, it is especially important to mention Comte de Gobineau, the French philosopher who came to Tehran for two years as a minister in the French embassy. In his well known work Les Religions etales philosophies dans l'Asie central, ²⁴ he mentions Āqā ‘Alī and the information that Gobineau transmits concerning later Persian philosophers is from Āqā ‘Alī whom he had met in Tehran. Some traditional Persian religious scholars have transmitted the account of an invitation given by Gobineau to Āqā ‘Alī to go the France and teach Islamic philosophy at the Sorbonne. The account also mentions that at first he accepted the invitation but that he was later dissuaded from going by his many students. ²⁵ One wonders what would have happened in the West as far as Islamic philosophy was concerned and in the Islamic world itself especially Persia, if a colossal figure of Islamic metaphysics and philosophy and a figure of great spiritual stature such as Āqā ‘Alī Mudarris has gone to France in the 19th century. In any case even though the journey did not materialize, Āqā ‘Alī established the School of Tehran on a firm ¯adrian foundation but at the same time ready to encounter the challenges of Western philosophies and schools of thought which were soon to inundate the capital of Qajar Persia.

Āqā Mu¦ammad Ri¤ā Qumsha’ī

Although a definite master of the School of Mullā ¯adrā, Āqā Mu¦ammad Ri¤ā was above all a master of gnosis of the School of Ibn ‘Arabī and in fact the greatest representative of this School in Persia during the past few centuries. This remarkable figure, who was called " the second Ibn ‘Arabī" and who used the pen name ¯ahbā, was born in Qumshah in 1241/ 1825 and carried out his early studies in that city before coming to Isfahan to study ¦ikmat with Mullā Mu¦ammad Ja‘far Lāhījī and Mīrzā µasan Nūrī , the son of Mullā ‘Alī Nūrī. His most important teacher was, however, Sayyid Ra¤ī Lārījānī and it was in his hands that Āqā Mu¦ammad Ri¤ā reached the station of realization in gnostic knowledge. It is important to note in this context that Āqā Mu¦ammad Ri¤ā had a spiritual teacher and confirmed the necessity of having a spiritual master in order to realize the truths of gnosis. ²⁶ In this context he is said to have cited the verse,

Do not traverse this stage without the companionship of Khi¤r. ²⁷

For there is darkness, have fear of being lost.

In any case what is known of the life of Āqā Mu¦ammad Ri¤ā reveals that he taught both ‘irfān and ¦ikmat in Isfahan and then, after giving all his worldly possession to the poor set out to settle in Tehran some time around 1294/1877. The cause for his migration from Isfahan to Tehran is not certain but later scholars have mentioned his dissatisfaction with some of the authorities in Isfahan and also the migration of a number of major scholars such as Mullā ‘Abd Allāh Zunūzī and Mīrzā Abu'l-µasan Jilwah to Tehran. ²⁸Āqā Mu¦ammad Ri¤ā was to teach hundreds of students in Tehran until he died in that city in 1306/1888 and was buried, according to most authorities, in Ibn Bābūyah near Rayy. In describing the breath of his knowledge Āshtiyānī writes, "Āqā Mu¦ammad Ri¤ā was one of those people who could teach the Shifā’, and other mashshā’ī texts with perfect ease and domination and was a sagacious master in the teaching of the books of Shaykh al- ishrāq and ¯adr al-muta’allihīn. As for gnosis and the teaching of the Fu¥ū¥, Tamhīd al-qawā‘id , Misbā¦ al-uns and Futū¦āt-i makkiyyah he was peerless". ²⁹ One cannot describe more clearly and justly the intellectual activities of this supreme master of gnosis of his day.

Āqā Mu¦ammad Ri¤ā lived simply as a darvish and often met his students in the ruins outside of Tehran. There is an account by the great Isfahani ¦akīm Jahāngīr Khān Qashqā’i, who had come to Tehran to meet Āqā Mu¦ammad Ri¤ā, which casts much light on the master's countenance and presence. Jahāngīr Khān has said:

I had the impulsion to study with Ha¤rat-i Qumsha’ī in Tehran and therefore in the very night of my arrival I went to his presence. He did not have any characteristics of a religious scholar and was like muslin sellers of Sidah [a town near Isfahan]. I was in a state of spiritual attraction (jadhbah). When I made the request [to see him] he said that, I should come the next day to the ruins (kharābāt). The ruin was a place outside the ditch [surrounding Tehran] and a darvish had a coffeehouse there where people of spiritual taste would meet. The next day I went to that place and found him sitting in a place of spiritual solitude (khalwatgāh) on a mat. I opened the Asfār and he read it from memory and made such a verification of it that I almost fell into a state of madness. He discovered my spiritual state and said, 'Power does break the jar'. ³⁰

It is perhaps this manner of living that caused many of Āqā Mu¦ammad Ri¤ā's works to be lost including most of his poems. The few poems that have survived being in ghazal form in the ‘Irāqī style, reveal his great poetic power and the immensity of loss of the majority of his poems for Persian Sufi poetry of the Qajar period. The prose works of Āqā Mu¦ammad Ri¤ā which are known include: a treaties on walāyat/ wilāyat, Risālah fī wa¦dat al-wujūd bal al-mawjūd ("Treaties on the Unity of Being or Rather the Existent") al- Khilāfat al-kubrā ("The Greatest Vicegerency"), treatise on the difference between the Essence and the Qualities of God, treatise on 'ilm or knowledge, a treatise about the Asfār, and a number of glosses and annotations upon the Asfār and the Shawāhid as well as major gnostic texts such as the Fu¥ū¥, Miftā¦ al-ghayb ("Key to the Invisible World") of Qunyawī and Tamhīd al-qawā‘id ("Arrangement of Principles") of Ibn Turkah I¥fahānī.³¹

One can hardly overestimate the significance of Āqā Mu¦ammad Ri¤ā in both ¦ikmat and ‘irfān for the School of Tehran and his influence over succeeding generations to our own day. A sage and saint who lived simply and always in humility, he left a profound spiritual expression upon those who met him while imparting the profoundest teachings of ‘irfān and ¦ikmat to those capable and worthy of receiving the pearls of wisdom which he disseminated. He established the school of ‘irfān in Tehran on a solid foundation and it was from there that his students were to spread his teachings in many other cities such as Qom itself. If one only goes over the long list of his students, ³² which include such names as Āqā Mīrzā Hāshim Ashkiwarī, Mīrzā Shihāb al-Dīn Nayrīzī, Mīrzā µasan Kirmānshāhī as well as Mīrzā Mahdī Āshtiyānī, one will realize the remarkably extensive influence of Āqā Mu¦ammad Ri¤ā over the later intellectual life of Persia. In any case he is the second major figure of the School of Tehran after Āqā ‘Alī Mudarris and the two complement each other in many ways.

Mīrzā Abu'l-µasan Jilwah

The third of the four major founders of the School of Tehran, Mīrzā Abu'l-µasan Jilwah, was born in 1238/1822 in Ahmadabad in Gujarat. His father had migrated to India from Persia to Hydarabad in Sindh and had married to daughter of the prime minister and was even chosen as ambassador. But he fell out with those at court and went to Ahmadabad and then Bombay returning finally to Isfahan when Jilwah was seven years old. ³³ It was in this city that after the death of his father and a period of youth spent under financial duress, Jilwah turned to the field of religious studies and especially philosophy. He studied both ¯adrian and Avicennan philosophy as well as some medicine with famous masters such as Mīrzā µasan Nūrī, Mullā Abd al -Jawād Tūnī, who was known especially as a master of traditional medicine, Mīrzā µasan Chīnī and Mullā Mu¦ammad Ja‘far Langarūdī and soon became himself a well known philosopher. In 1273/1856, dissatisfied with his situation in Isfahan, he set out for Tehran and settled there to teach philosophy and write until the end of his life in 1314/1896. He was buried in Ibn Bābūyah near Rayy. Jilwah taught mostly in the Dar al-shifā’ madrasah and became so famous and respected that Nā¥ir al- Din Shāh would visit him from time to time at his school. Like Āqā ‘Alī and Āqā Mu¦ammad Ri¤ā, Jilwah taught the works of Mullā ¯adrā but his main interest was Ibn Sīnā and the mashshā’ī school. It is known that in the School of Isfahan one can detect two main philosophical trends: The ¦ikmat al-muta‘āliyah associated with Mullā ¯adrā and the continuation of Avicennan philosophy in its later interpretations as one sees in Mullā Rajab ‘Alī Tabrīzī and Mullā Shamsā Gīlānī. Jilwah represents more this second trends than the first and he was essentially a mashshā’ī ¦akīm even if he also taught Mullā ¯adrā and commented upon his works. Jilwah was even critical of Mullā ¯adrā accusing him of having taken various ideas from earlier philosopher without acknowledging his sources. Although he was a gifted poet whose dīwān has in fact been published, Jilwah was more of a rationalist than illuminationist or intuitive thinker and possessed a very rigorous and rational mind. One of his main contributions was in fact in correcting with great exactitude all the texts that he taught, paying attention to every word and phrase.

The works of Jilwah include his glosses upon the Mashā‘ir ("The Book of Metaphysical Penetrations"), Shar¦ al-hidāyah, al-Mabda’ wa'l-ma‘ād and Asfār of Mullā ¯adrā, annotations upon the introduction of Qay¥arī to his commentary upon the Fu¥ū¥ and independent treaties on the relation between the created and the eternal, trans-substantial motion and composition and its rules. He also wrote a series of glosses upon the Shifā’ along with the correction of the text which was one of the main works that he taught. Jilwah was also so much interested in Sufi poetry that he corrected the text of the Mathnawī of Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī. Unfortunately most of his works, like those of Āqā Mu¦ammad Ri¤ā, remain unedited. Also like his illustrious contemporaries, Jilwah trained numerous students among whom one can mention especially Sayyid µasan °akīm Badkūba’ī who established a circle for the study of Islamic philosophy in Najaf in Iraq, Mīr Sayyid Shihab al-Dīn Nayrīzī, the well known authority on ‘irfān and philosophy, Mīrzā ±āhir Tunikābunī, one or the foremost later masters of philosophy in the School of Tehran, and Ākhūnd Mullā Mu¦ammad Hīdajī Zanjānī known for his famous commentary upon the Shar¦ al-man³ūmah of Sabziwārī.

We know much less about the fourth of the four founding of the School of Tehran, Mīrzā µasan Sabziwārī except that he was a student of µājjī Mullā Hādī Sabziwārī and migrated later to Tehran where he used to teach in the ‘Abd Allāh Khān madrasah in the bazaar. Although he taught philosophy, his main concern was with mathematics for which he became justly famous. He also had a number of famous students including Hīdajī and Mīrzā Ibrāhīm Riyā¤ī Zanjānī. What is significant about him is not only his fame among his contemporaries but that in the 13th/19th century in the School of Tehran the study of mathematics had not become as yet completely separated from that of philosophy and that the traditional link between philosophy and mathematics that one observes in ±ūsī, Qu§b al-Dīn Shīrāzī, the Dashtakīs, Shams al -Dīn Khafrī and Fat¦ Allāh Shīrāzī was still alive but soon to become greatly weakened. The presence of Mīrzā µasan assured that something of this important link would survive into the later period. Our own teachers, Sayyid Mu¦ammad Kā³im ‘A¥¥ār and Sayyid Abu'l- µasan Rafī‘ī Qazwīnī as well as a major later representative of the School of Tehran, Abu'l-µasan Sha‘rānī, had extensive knowledge of the traditional Islamic mathematical sciences in addition to their great mastery of philosophy.

After the Four Founding °akīms

Among the most important students of those four masters besides those already mentioned were Mīrzā µasan Kirmānshāhī who was a specialist in the teachings of mashshā’ī philosophy, mathematics and medicine and Mīrzā Hāshim Rashtī who was a notable exponent of ‘irfān and ishrāqī doctrines. Their students and the generation that followed are too numerous to name here. ³⁴ We have to confine ourselves to only a few of the most famous who later became masters of the School of Tehran during the late Qajar and the Pahlavi periods. One can mention in addition to those already cited Mīrzā Ma¦mūd and Mīrzā A¦mad Āshtiyānī who resided in Tehran and who were known as great authorities in the teaching of spiritual ethics and ‘irfān, Mīrzā Mu¦ammad ‘Alī Shāhābādī who moved to Qom where in addition to philosophy he taught the main texts of ‘irfān, Mu¦ammad Taqī Āmulī, one of the leading philosophers of the School of Tehran during Pahlavi period, and three figures about whom we need to say a few more words: Mīrzā Mahdī Āshtiyānī, Sayyid Abu'l-µasan Rafī’ī Qazwīnī and Sayyid Mu¦ammad Kā³im ‘A¥¥ār all of whom died in the Pahlavi era but were trained in the late Qajar period in the School of Tehran.

Mīrzā Mahdī Āshtiyānī, at once an outstanding philosopher and faqīh, was born in 1306/1888 in Tehran. His first teacher was his father with whom he studied fiqh and u¥ūl. He also studied these subjects with Shaykh Masī¦ ±āliqānī and Shaykh Fa¤l Allāh Nūrī and philosophy with Āqā Mīr Shīrāzī and Mīrzā µasan Kirmānshāhī. Āshtiyānī was also very knowledgeable in traditional mathematics and medicine. He even studied Western medicine, which was then spreading in Persia, with such famous Qajar physicians as Nā³im al -a§ibbā’ and Ra’īs al- a§ibbā’. He then set out for Iraq where he studied rational fiqh and u¥ūl with such famous faqīhs as Sayyid Mu¦ammad Kā³im Yazdī. After becoming established as an authority in fiqh as well as ¦ikmat and ‘irfān, he returned to Persia, teaching for a while in Qom, Isfahan and Mashhad and finally settled in Tehran. He spent the rest of his life in the capital teaching and writing a number of important works, becoming recognized as the leading ¦akīm of his day in Tehran. During this period he also travelled to India, Central Asia, Europe and Egypt where he explained Islamic philosophy to many audiences. He died in Tehran in 1372/1952. ³⁵

The philosophical works of Āshtiyānī include his commentary in Arabic and Persian paraphrase of the Asfār of Mullā ¯adrā and an ‘irfāni commentary on his Mafātī¦ al-ghayb as well as commentaries upon various parts of Sabziwārī's Shar¦ al -man³ūmah. ³⁶ Āshtiyānī was also the author of an independent work on ¦ikmat, Asās al-taw¦īd (" Foundations of Unity ") which reveals his remarkable philosophical profundity. ³⁷ Furthermore, he also authored a number of shorter treaties on various philosophical subjects.

One should not think for one moment that Āshtiyānī 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 Mullā ¯adrā upon µikmat al-ishrāq and the Shifā’. For example, his commentary upon Sabziwārī is much more ‘irfānī in character than Sabziwārī's own commentary and reveals the text as almost an ‘irfāni work rather than a systematic and rational presentation of Mullā ¯adrā's ideas. As T. Izustu writes:

Sabziwārī, despite the fact that his entire philosophising is at bottom based on a personal mystical existence does not disclose this concept of philosophy on the surface. Āshtiyānī on the contrary is openly ‘irfānī 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 Sabziwārī behind at any moment and going into long fully developed ‘irfānī discussions of the philosophical concept in question......the same feature of Āshtiyānī'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 Mīrzā Mahdī Āshtiyānī 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 Abu'l-µasan Sha‘rānī, Mu¦ammad Taqī Ja‘farī, Murta¤ā Mu§ahharī, Mahdī µā’irī, Jawād Falā§ūrī and Sayyid Jalāl al-Dīn Āshtiyānī all of whom are well-known Islamic thinkers of the14th /20th century.³⁹

Sayyid Abu'l-µasan Qazwīnī, with whom we had the honour of studying the Asfār 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 Mīrzā µasan Kirmānshāhī, Mīrzā Hāshim Ashkiwarī, Sayyid Mu¦ammad Tunakābunī, Shaykh ‘Alī Rashtī, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Karīm µā’irī and others. He soon became famous as an authority in both philosophy and fiqh, becoming in fact one of the Persia's leading ayatollahs and after the death Ayatollah Burujirdi a source of emulation (marja‘-i taqlīd ) for many Shi‘ites . He taught in Qom, Qazwin and Tehran where he died in 1396/1975, his body being buried in Qom.⁴⁰

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