The Formation of Post-Classical Philosophy in Islam

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Frank Griffel (Professor of the Study of the Abrahamic Religions, Professor of the Study of the Abrahamic Religions, Oxford Unversity)

The Formation of Post-Classical Philosophy in Islam

Frank Griffel (Professor of the Study of the Abrahamic Religions, Professor of the Study of the Abrahamic Religions, Oxford Unversity)

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English

Oxford University Press Inc
13 July 2025

Islam; Islamic theology

Scholars have come to recognize the importance of classical Islamic philosophy both in its own right and in its preservation of and engagement with Greek philosophical ideas. At the same time, the period immediately following the so-called classical era has been considered a sort of dark age, in which Islamic thought entered a long decline. In this monumental new work, Frank Griffel seeks to overturn this conventional wisdom, arguing that what he calls the ""post-classical"" period has been unjustly maligned and neglected by previous generations of scholars.

The Formation of Post-Classical Philosophy in Islam is a comprehensive study of the far-reaching changes that led to a re-shaping of the philosophical discourse in Islam during the twelfth century. Earlier Western scholars thought that Islam's engagement with the tradition of Greek philosophy ended during that century. More recent analyses suggest that Islamic thinkers instead integrated Greek thought into the genre of rationalist Muslim theology (kal=am). Griffel argues that even this new view misses a key point. In addition to the integration of Greek ideas into kal=am, Muslim theologians picked up the discourse of classical philosophy in Islam (falsafa) and began to produce books in the tradition of Plato, Aristotle, and AvicennaDLa new and oft-misunderstood genre they called "".hikma""DLin which they left aside theological concerns. They wrote in both genres, kal=am and .hikma, and the same writers argued for opposing teachings on the nature of God, the world's creation, and the afterlife depending on the genre in which they were writing. Griffel shows how careful attention to genre demonstrates both the coherence and ambiguity of this new philosophical approach.

A work of extraordinary breadth and depth, The Formation of Post-Classical Philosophy in Islam offers a detailed, insightful history of philosophy in Iraq, Iran, and Central Asia during the twelfth century. It will be essential reading for anyone interested in the history of philosophy or the history of Islam.

By: Frank Griffel (Professor of the Study of the Abrahamic Religions Professor of the Study of the Abrahamic Religions Oxford Unversity)
Imprint: Oxford University Press Inc
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 226mm, Width: 147mm, Spine: 41mm
Weight: 907g
ISBN: 9780197768129
ISBN 10: 0197768121
Pages: 664
Publication Date: 13 July 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Introduction Conventions Part One: Post-Classical Philosophy In Its Islamic Context First Chapter: Khorasan, the Birthplace of Post-Classical Philosophy, A Land in Decline? The madrasa System The Cities of Khorasan and Its Surrounding Provinces The First Half of the Sixth/Twelfth Century: Seljuq Rule The Second Half of the Sixth/Twelfth Century: Khwarazmshahs and Ghurids Other Patrons: Qarakhanids, the Caliphal Court in Baghdad, and the Ayyubids in Syria Second Chapter: The Death of falsafa as a Self-Description of Philosophy Falsafa as a Quasi-Religious Movement Established by Uncritical Emulation (taqlid) Falsafa as Part of the History of the World's Religions Three Different Concepts of Philosophy in Islam Hikma as the New Technical Term For ""Philosophy"" Third Chapter: Philosophy and the Power of the Religious Law The Legal Background of al-Ghazali's fatwa on the Last Page of His Tahafut al-falasifa Persecution of Philosophers in the Sixth/Twelfth Century 'Ayn al-Qudat's Execution in 525/1131 in Hamadan Shihab al-Din Yahya al-Suhrawardi's Execution c. 587/1192 in Aleppo Was al-Ghazali's fatwa Ever Applied? Part Two: Philosophers and Philosophies: A Biographical History of Philosophy in the Sixth/Twelfth Century Islamic East The Principal Sources for Sixth/Twelfth-Century History of Philosophy in the Islamic East The Early Sixth/Twelfth Century: Avicennism Undisturbed Avicennism Contested: The Early Decades of the Sixth/Twelfth Century The Outsider as Innovator: Abu l-Barakat al-Baghdadi (d. c. 560/1165) Two Ghazalians of Transoxania: al-Mas' udi and Ibn Ghaylan al-Balkhi (both d. c. 590/1194) Majd al-Din al-Jili: Teacher of Two Influential Philosophers Trained In Maragha Al-Suhrawardi (d. c. 587/1192), the Founder of the ""School of Illumination"" Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (d. 606/1210): Post-Classical Philosophy Fully Developed Part Three: The Formation of Hikma as a New Philosophical Genre First Chapter: Books and Their Teachings Al-Razi's ""Philosophical Books"" (kutub hikmiyya) What Books of hikma Do: Reporting Avicenna First Perspective: Teachings on Epistemology What Books in hikma Also Do: Doubting and Criticizing Avicenna Knowledge as a ""Relational State"" Knowledge as ""Presence"": The Context in al-Suhrawardi Knowledge as Relation: Abu l-Barakat al-Baghdadi's Key Contribution Knowledge as Relation: Sharaf al-Din al-Mas'udi Knowledge as Relation: Origins in al-Ghazali and Avicenna Do al-Razi's ""Philosophical Books"" Teach Philosophical Ash'arism? Second Perspective: Teachings on Ontology and Theology A New Place for the Study of Metaphysics Within Philosophy Opposing Avicenna: God's Essence is Distinct From His Existence The Content of God's Knowledge Understood as Positive Divine Attributes What Books of hikma Mostly Do: Endorsing and Correcting Avicennan Philosophy Second Chapter: Books and Their Genre The Eclectic Career of al-Ghazali's Doctrines of the Philosophers (Maqasid al-falasifa) Al-Ghazali as Clandestine faylasuf: Evaluating His Madnun Corpus The Madnun Corpus and Forgery: Two Pseudo-Epigraphies Foisted on al-Ghazali Between Neutral Report and Committed Investment: al-Mas 'udi's Commentary on Avicenna's Glistering Homily (al-Khutba al-gharra) Al-Mas 'udi's Reconciliation of falsafa and kalam on the Issue of the World's Eternity Post-Classical Philosophy and Tolerance For Ambiguity Third Chapter: Books and Their Method Dialectical Reasoning Replaces Demonstration: ""Careful Consideration"" (i'tibar) in Abu l-Barakat al-Baghdadi The Background of Abu l-Barakat's ""Careful Consideration"" (i'tibar) The Middle Way Between Avicennism and Ghazalianism: How Fakhr al-Din al-Razi Describes His Philosophy Fakhr al-Din al-Razi's Method of ""Probing and Dividing"" (sabr wa-taqsim) A Case Study of the New Method: Al-Razi on God's Knowledge of Particulars The Method in Books of hikma: Implementing the Principle of Sufficient Reason The Method in Books of kalam: Limiting the Principle of Sufficient Reason Epilogue: Hikma and kalam in Fakhr al-Din's Latest Works Conclusions The Formation of Post-Classical Philosophy in the Islamic East during the Sixth/Twelfth Century What Was Philosophy in Islam's Post-Classical Period? Appendices Bibliography Index of Manuscripts General Index

Frank Griffel is the Louis M. Rabinowitz Professor of Religious Studies at Yale University. He is a Carnegie Scholar and a recipient of a Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award of Germany's Humboldt Foundation, among others. He is author of Al-Ghaz=al=i's Philosophical Theology.

Reviews for The Formation of Post-Classical Philosophy in Islam

""It is certain that future research will greatly benefit from the painstaking effort at systematization Griffel undertook, as well as from the refreshing clarity and openness of his interpretations."" -- Marco Signori, Studi Medievali ""Without doubt, Griffel's extensive study is an inspiring and thought-provoking contribution to our understanding of the post-classical era."" -- Sultan Saluti, Revista Española de Filosofía Medieval ""Frank Griffel's The Formation of Post-Classical Philosophy in Islam is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand post-Avicennan philosophy in Islam. Through the study and contextualization of more than a dozen twelfth-century authors and in particular al-Rāzī's philosophical summae, this elegantly written, profoundly erudite book argues that the Islamic philosophy of the twelfth century ""is no less philosophical than British empiricism or German idealism"" and proposes a bold new assessment of the prevailing understanding of the relationship between philosophy and theology in the post-Avicennan period, both challenging and refining the cutting-edge debates on Islamicate intellectual history"" -- Judith Pfeiffer, Alexander von Humboldt Professor for Islamic Studies, University of Bonn ""Islamic thought in the twelfth, thirteenth and later centuries is now a very exciting field, which is attracting many researchers. But Frank Griffel's contribution is outstanding. His magnificent new book on it is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of philosophy, because it both rewrites the standard account with its bold new thesis, and opens up the area to non-specialists"" -- John Marenbon, Honorary Professor of Medieval Philosophy, University of Cambridge ""The post-classical period of philosophy in the Islamic world is still underappreciated but is receiving increasing attention from scholars. Griffel's important contribution to this endeavor is insightful in its treatment of major figures like Abū l-Barakāt al-Baghdādī and Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī. More generally, he gives a compelling picture of the nature of ""philosophy"" in this period, showing great sensitivity to the methods and goals of the different kinds of writing that should be of interest to the historian of philosophy"" -- Peter Adamson, Professor of Late Ancient and Arabic Philosophy, Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich ""The Formation of Post-Classical Philosophy in Islam is, first and foremost, a landmark contribution to that tradition...it also has much to benefit historians, philosophers, and anyone interested in the ways that problematic ideas in the present-such as narratives of decline-shape readings of the past."" -- Hasan Hameed, Marginalia Review ""The book is a masterful combination of the history of social-intellectual context (part 1), philosophical biography (part 2), and the history of philosophy (part 3), each meant to provide the most updated account of its subject matter...The book will deservedly become a go-to resource for Islamic intellectual history for a long time, and its various parts can conveniently be assigned for reading in undergraduate courses and graduate seminars."" -- Mehmet Emin Gulecyuz, University of Chicago, Journal of Religion ""The book is a masterful combination of the history of social-intellectual context (part 1), philosophical biography (part 2), and the history of philosophy (part 3), each meant to provide the most updated account of its subject matter... The book will deservedly become a go-to resource for Islamic intellectual history for a long time."" -- Mehmet Emin Gulecyuz, University of Chicago, The Journal of Religion