Anthology of Philosophy in Persia: Volume 1: From Zoroaster to Omar Khayyam »

Seyyed Hossein Nasr is University Professor of Islamic Studies at George Washington University. He is the author of over 300 articles and thirty books, and has lectured widely on Islamic philosophy. Mehdi Aminrazavi is the author and editor of numerous books and articles, and is currently Professor of Philosophy and Religion at the University of Mary Washington, where he directs the Middle Eastern Studies Program.

The tradition of philosophy in the Persian-speaking world is extraordinarily rich, creative and diverse. This anthology, which is divided into three volumes, aims to communicate something of that richness and diversity. The term "philosophy" is understood to in its widest sense to include theological debate, philosophical Sufism and philosophical hermeneutics (ta'wil). Extending over a period of more than two millennia, and showcasing translations by well-established scholars, the anthology offers full bibliographical references throughout. For anyone interested in exploring, in all their varied manifestations, the fascinating philosophical traditions of Persia, such a wide-ranging and ambitious work will be an indispensable resource. Volume 1 starts with the Zoroastrian period and extends to the time of Biruni and Oma Khayyam, paying special attention to the peripatetic school associated with Ibn Sina (Avicenna). During the pre-Islamic period philosophy was intertwined with religion, and it is within Persian religious texts such as the Gathas, the Denkard, and the Zoroastrian texts of the Bundahisn that philosophical discussions of subjects ranging from metaphysics to cosmology and eschatology are to be found.

Preface   M. Aminrazavi     xiii
List of Reprinted Works     xvii
Note on Transliteration     xix
List of Contributors     xxi
Prolegomenon   S. H. Nasr     1
Early Persian Philosophy: Zoroastrian Thought
Introduction   M. Aminrazavi     13
The Original Creation (from Bundahisn)     16
Greater Bundahisn     27
The Answers of Manuskihar (from Dadistan-i Dinik)     35
Opinions of the Spirit of Wisdom (from Dina-i Mainog-i Khirad)     44
Selected Readings     53
Exegesis of the Good Religion (from Denkard VI)     88
Early Persian Philosophy: Manichaeism
Introduction   M. Aminrazavi     105
Central Principles (from the Kephalaia)     108
Early Islamic Philosophy: The Peripatetics
Introduction   S. H. Nasr     127
Abu'l-`Abbas Muhammad Iranshahri     130
Introduction   M. Aminrazavi     130
The Ideas of Iranshahri (from Zad al-musafirin)     132
Abu Nasr Farabi     134
Introduction   S. H. Nasr     134
A Paraphrase of Aristotle's Analytica Posteriora (from Kitab al-burhan)     137
A Reconciliation of theOpinions of the Two Sages, Divine Plato and Aristotle (from Kitab al-jam 'bayn ra'yay al-hakimayn Aflatun al-ilahi wa Aristu)     155
The Perfect State (from Mabadi' ara' ahl al-madinat al-fadilah)     164
Abu'l-Hasan `Amiri     180
Introduction   S. H. Nasr     180
Knowledge and the Religious Sciences (from al-I'lam bi manaqib al-Islam)     182
On the Soul and its Fate (from al-Amad 'ala'l-abad)     207
Abu Sulayman Sijistani     216
Introduction   M. Aminrazavi     216
Philosophical Treatises (Musannafat)     218
Ibn Sina     243
Introduction   S. H. Nasr     243
Metaphysics (from Danish-namah-yi 'ala'i)     247
Creation Ex-Nihilo and Immediate Creation (from al-Isharat wa'l-tanbihat)     269
On Theodicy and Providence I (from al-Shifa')     277
On Theodicy and Providence II (from al-Isharat wa'l-tanbihat)     289
On Time (from al-Shifa')     292
The Stations of the Knowers (from al-Isharat wa'l-tanbihat)     303
Living Son of the Awake (from Risalah Hayy ibn Yaqzan)     312
Introduction (from Mantiq al-mashraqiyyin)     321
Abu 'Ali Ahmad ibn Muhammad Miskawayh     323
Introduction   S. H. Nasr     323
Perennial Philosophy (Wisdom) (from al-Hikmat al-khalidah or Jawidan-khirad)     326
The Health of the Soul (from Tahdhib al-akhlaq)     356
Bahmanyar ibn Marzban     388
Introduction   M. Aminrazavi     388
Author's Foreword (from Kitab al-tahsil)     390
Early Islamic Philosophy: The Independent Philosophers
Introduction   S. H. Nasr     409
Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariyya' Razi     411
Introduction   M. Aminrazavi     411
Of the Excellence and Praise of Reason (from al-Tibb al-ruhani)     414
The Book of the Philosophic Life (from al-Sirat al-falsafiyyah)     424
Abu Rayhan Biruni     434
Introduction   S. H. Nasr     434
The Belief of the Hindus in God (from Tahqiq ma li'l-Hind)     437
Questions and Answers (from al-As'ilah wa'l-ajwibah)     459
Umar Khayyam     474
Introduction   M. Aminrazavi     474
The Necessity of Contradiction, Free Will and Determinism (Darurat al-tadadd fi'l-'alam wa'l-jabr wa'l-baqa')     476
Universals of Existence (Kulliyyat-i wujud)     481
Select Bibliography     485
Index     496