Muslim Philosophy (Falsafa and Kalam)

Muslim philosophy (falsafa — the Arabicised "philosophia") flourished from the 9th to 12th centuries CE in the Islamic world, drawing on Greek (especially Aristotelian and Neoplatonic) thought translated in Bayt al-Hikma ("House of Wisdom") in Baghdad. A parallel tradition of kalam (speculative theology) — Mu'tazilite and Ash'arite — addressed similar questions through scripture-bound reasoning. After al-Ghazali's critique in the 12th century, Islamic philosophy continued through Ibn Rushd, Suhrawardi, Mulla Sadra and the modern reformers including Allama Muhammad Iqbal.

Translation movement and the foundations

Under the Abbasid Caliphate (especially al-Mansur, Harun al-Rashid, al-Ma'mun), the House of Wisdom (Bayt al-Hikma) translated Greek, Persian, Sanskrit and Syriac works into Arabic from the 8th–10th centuries. Major translators: Hunayn ibn Ishaq (d. 873), Thabit ibn Qurra (d. 901). This recovered Aristotle, Plato, Galen, Euclid, Ptolemy for Muslim and (later) European scholars.

Al-Kindi (c. 801–873 CE)

The "Philosopher of the Arabs" (Faylasuf al-Arab) and first systematic philosopher in Islam. Wrote ~270 works, mostly lost; remaining include On First Philosophy (Fi al-Falsafa al-Ula). Key contributions:

• Argued that philosophy and religion seek the same truth.
• Adapted Aristotle's Metaphysics to monotheistic context.
• Proved finitude of universe via philosophical argument.
• Wrote on optics, music, medicine, astronomy.

Al-Farabi (c. 872–950 CE)

The "Second Teacher" (al-Mu'allim al-Thani) after Aristotle. Born in Farab (Central Asia), worked in Baghdad and Aleppo. Major works:

• Ihsa al-Ulum — classification of sciences.
• Mabadi Ara' Ahl al-Madina al-Fadila (Opinions of the People of the Virtuous City) — Platonic-Aristotelian political philosophy.
• Kitab al-Huruf (Book of Letters) — philosophical lexicon.

Core doctrines:

• Emanation theory — the universe proceeds from the First Cause (Allah) through Ten Intellects (Neoplatonic schema).
• Virtuous city — ideal polity ruled by a philosopher-prophet.
• Reconciliation of Plato and Aristotle.

Ibn Sina / Avicenna (980–1037 CE)

The greatest Muslim philosopher and physician. Born in Afshana (Uzbekistan), authored ~450 works. Two masterpieces:

• Kitab al-Shifa (The Book of Healing) — encyclopaedia of philosophy and science.
• Al-Qanun fi al-Tibb (Canon of Medicine) — medical reference text used in European universities until the 17th century.

Key doctrines:

• Essence (mahiyya) / Existence (wujud) distinction — central to later Islamic and Western metaphysics.
• Necessary vs. contingent existence — Allah is wajib al-wujud (Necessary Existent).
• Flying-man thought experiment — argument for the soul's existence independent of body.
• Active Intellect — source of intelligible forms.

Al-Ghazali (1058–1111 CE)

The most influential Muslim theologian, jurist and philosopher. Born in Tus (Iran). Major works:

• Ihya' Ulum al-Din (Revival of the Religious Sciences) — synthesis of fiqh, theology and Sufi spirituality; 40 books.
• Tahafut al-Falasifa (The Incoherence of the Philosophers) — critique of 20 falsafa positions (e.g. eternity of the world, denial of bodily resurrection, God's knowledge of particulars).
• Al-Munqidh min al-Dalal (Deliverance from Error) — spiritual autobiography.
• Al-Mustasfa — major usul al-fiqh work.

Al-Ghazali argued that causation in nature is by Allah's habit (adat Allah), not necessary necessity — an occasionalist position later partly echoed by Hume.

Ibn Rushd / Averroes (1126–1198 CE)

Born in Cordoba, Andalusia; chief qadi and court physician. Wrote in Maliki fiqh, medicine, philosophy and jurisprudence. Major works:

• Tahafut al-Tahafut (The Incoherence of the Incoherence) — point-by-point defence of falsafa against al-Ghazali.
• Fasl al-Maqal (The Decisive Treatise) — argued that philosophy is required by Islamic law for those capable of it.
• Commentaries on Aristotle — earned him the title "The Commentator" in medieval Europe (Dante's Inferno).

Ibn Rushd's influence on Thomas Aquinas and Latin Averroism in 13th-century Europe was profound, sparking the Condemnations of 1277 by Bishop Tempier in Paris.

Ibn Khaldun (1332–1406 CE)

Tunisian-born polymath; the first philosopher of history and sociology. Major work:

• Muqaddimah (Introduction — to his universal history Kitab al-Ibar) — introduces concepts of:
  • Asabiyyah — group solidarity / social cohesion.
  • Cyclical theory of dynasties — rise and fall over generations.
  • Sedentary vs. nomadic civilisations.
  • Economic and demographic causation in history.

Ibn Khaldun is the precursor of modern sociology (Auguste Comte 1830s) and historical sociology (Marx, Weber).

Other figures

• Ibn Tufayl (d. 1185) — Hayy ibn Yaqzan, philosophical novel.
• Suhrawardi (d. 1191) — Illuminationist philosophy (Hikmat al-Ishraq).
• Ibn Arabi (d. 1240) — al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya; doctrine of wahdat al-wujud (unity of being).
• Mulla Sadra (d. 1640) — Transcendent Theosophy; al-Asfar al-Arba'a; wujud asalat (primacy of existence).

Allama Muhammad Iqbal (1877–1938)

The "Spiritual Father of Pakistan" and modern Muslim philosopher. Born in Sialkot; studied at Cambridge, Munich (PhD: The Development of Metaphysics in Persia, 1908). Major philosophical works:

• Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam (1930, based on lectures 1928–29) — synthesis of Western and Islamic thought; six lectures plus one added.
• Asrar-i-Khudi (1915) — Secrets of the Self; Persian poetry on selfhood.
• Bal-i-Jibreel (1935) — Gabriel's Wing; Urdu poetry.

Iqbal's core ideas:

• Khudi — self-affirmation and creative individuality; influenced by Nietzsche but in Islamic key.
• Dynamic concept of God and universe — drawing on Bergson's durée.
• Ijtihad as the "principle of movement in the structure of Islam" (Lecture VI).
• Critique of mystic passivity (Plato) and Greek static metaphysics.

Legacy

Muslim philosophy:

1. Transmitted Greek thought to medieval Europe via Latin translations of Ibn Rushd, Ibn Sina, al-Ghazali, al-Farabi.
2. Developed original metaphysics — essence/existence (Ibn Sina), occasionalism (Ash'aris), illumination (Suhrawardi), transcendent theosophy (Mulla Sadra).
3. Founded sociology and historiography — Ibn Khaldun.
4. Synthesised modern and classical — Iqbal, Fazlur Rahman, Muhammad Asad, Tariq Ramadan.
5. Continues in contemporary Muslim thought — Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Mohammed Arkoun, Abdolkarim Soroush, Khaled Abou El Fadl.