Abstract
The writings of Ayn al-Quāt Hamadānī (d. 525/1131) anticipate some of the major trends that characterize the post-Avicennan ikmat tradition. But modern scholarship has as of yet not completely come to grips with the far-reaching implications of Ayn al-Quāt's teachings, many of which are framed in terms of the symbolic language and imagery of the Persian Sufi school of passionate love (madhhab-i ishq) and the defence of the devil's monotheism (tawīd-i Iblīs). The focus in this article will be upon this latter aspect of Ayn al-Quāt's Sufi doctrine. Upon closer inspection, his "Satanology"(for lack of a better term) turns out to not only be concerned with a defence of the devil as a tragic, fallen lover of God; it is also intimately related to our author's robust theodicy, as well as his theory of human freedom and constraint. At the same time, Ayn al-Quāt's defence of Iblis demonstrates his understanding of philosophical and theological discourse as themselves symbolic representations of another, higher form of being and knowing.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 65-100 |
Number of pages | 36 |
Journal | Studia Islamica |
Volume | 115 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2020 |
Keywords
- Ayn al-Quāt
- Iblis
- Persian Sufism
- agency
- love
- metaphysics
- myth
- theodicy
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Language and Linguistics
- History
- Religious studies
- Linguistics and Language
- Literature and Literary Theory
- Law