Analogy of Light in Islamic Philosophy Came According to Quranic Teachings
Speaking at a conference about prominent Muslim philosopher Suhrawardi (1154-1191 CE), Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, a professor of philosophy and Persian literature, pointed using the analogy of light in Islamic philosophy.
Here is a summary of his remarks.
An interesting point is how the concept of light in Suhrawardi’s Illuminationism replaced that of existence used in the Peripatetic school.
Reasons for Islamic Philosophy’s attention to light
According to Quranic teachings and following the growth that philosophy had registered in the Islamic era, Muslim scholars felt that the concept of “existence”, as it was deriven from Greek philosophy and through Aristotelian wisdom, was not able to introduce the existence and origin according to Islamic worldview or to elaborate on the relationship between man, God, and the world.
Accordingly, they sought to find an alternative that has the capabilities of “existence”, and yet enjoys more capacities than that. So, they found light as a suitable replacement for this purpose.
They noticed that light has both ontological and epistemological aspects. Light is support for ontology because it is a reality and has epistemological aspects as it is self-evident and reveals other things as well. Due to its capabilities in guidance, it can establish relations between man and the origin of existence; this means that if man considers light as the origin of existence, he can better establish that relationship with the latter.
A smart choice in Islamic philosophy
While having important philosophical capabilities, the concept of light can include the relationship between man and God within the Islamic worldview.
Islamic philosophers believed in the fundamental reality of existence, the oneness of existence, and the hierarchy of existence. Meanwhile, the light was the best analogy for these three principles and even philosophers outside of Suhrawardi’s Illuminationism use this analogy. This was a smart choice that was made in Islamic philosophy under the influence of Quranic teachings and it came following the development of Islamic philosophy. It also played role in the development of Mulla Sadra’s Transcendent Theosophy.
Mulla Sadra (1571-1635 CE) was also able to gather the experience of philosophers such as Al-Farabi and Ibn Sina on the one hand and the experience of Suhrawardi on the other hand in the Transcendent Theosophy, giving comprehensiveness to this school that is still strong after five centuries.
I hope respected researchers, professors, and students will pay more attention to this point in their scientific works so that it will support the progress of Islamic philosophy, especially compared to Western philosophy.
