Idealist Trends in Arab-Islamic Philosophy: Volume Three

About this book

When empires fragment and great centers of power recede behind the smoke of conflict, ideas do not die; they reshape their armor and masks. In this third volume of his distinctive project, Abdulla Khalifa goes beyond recounting the events of Arab-Islamic philosophical history. He probes what remains unspoken behind major intellectual transformations, tracing the path by which consciousness moved from the authority of the text's apparent meaning into the uncharted realms of esoteric interpretation. The book takes readers on a compelling intellectual journey to a pivotal historical moment, when philosophy tested its limits between the sword of authority and the pulse of social and tribal movements. How did the debates between Mu'tazilite thought and Ash'arism become mirrors of fractured identities and struggles for influence? What lay behind the rise of esoteric traditions, the flourishing of Sufi and illuminationist currents, and the Arab intellect's aspiration to establish a virtuous city amid turmoil and unrest? Combining historical rigor with penetrating philosophical analysis, the author examines the visions of major thinkers, from al-Farabi and Ibn Sina to al-Ghazali, Ibn Rushd, and Sadr al-Din al-Shirazi. He presents them as living human voices that shaped questions of existence under the pressure of their eras' crises, rather than as isolated intellectual idols. The work offers no ready-made answers; it opens a new perspective for contemporary readers on how idealist ideas shaped our cultural destinies and continue to shape consciousness in the Arab and Islamic world.