Shihab al-Din Yahya ibn Habash Suhrawardi facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Shihāb ad-Dīn Yahya ibn Habash ibn Amirak as-Suhrawardī
Manuscript of Suhrawardi's Hikmat al-Ishraq. Copy created in post-Seljuq Iran, dated 13 October 1220
Religion	Islam, Shafi Sunni
School	Perennial philosophy
Other names	Sohrevardi, Shihab al-Din
Personal
Born	1154 Sohrevard, Seljuk Empire
Died	1191 (aged 36–37) Aleppo, Ayyubid Sultanate
Senior posting
Based in	Suhraward
Title	Shaykh al-Ishraq, Shaykh al-Maqtul
Period in office	12th century

Shihāb ad-Dīn Yahya ibn Habash Suhrawardī (also known as Sohrevardi) was a famous Persian thinker who lived from 1154 to 1191. He started an important way of thinking in Islamic philosophy called Illuminationism. This idea focuses on "light" as the main source of all knowledge and understanding.

People called him Shaikh al-ʿIshraq, which means "Master of Illumination." He was also known as Shaikh al-Maqtul, or "the Murdered Master." This name refers to his death, as he was put to death because his ideas were seen as different from what was commonly believed at the time. A later Persian wise man, Mulla Sadra, said Suhrawardi helped bring back old Persian wisdom. Suhrawardi himself believed he was bringing back ancient traditions in his most important book, "The Philosophy of Illumination."

Who Was Suhrawardi?

Suhrawardi was born in 1154 in a village called Suhraward. This village is in Iran, between the cities of Zanjan and Bijar Garrus. He studied wisdom and law in Maragheh, which is in East Azerbaijan Province today. His teacher was Majd al-Dīn Jīlī. After his studies, he traveled to Iraq and Syria for several years. During this time, he continued to learn and grow his knowledge.

Suhrawardi lived for less than 40 years. In this short time, he wrote many books and started a new way of thinking called "Illuminism" (hikmat al-Ishraq). People called him the "Master of Illumination" because he wanted to bring back ancient Iranian wisdom. In 1186, when he was 32, he finished his most important book, The Philosophy of Illumination.

There are different stories about how Suhrawardi died. Most people believe he was put to death in Aleppo between 1191 and 1208. He was accused of teaching ideas that were not accepted. This order came from al-Malik al-Zahir, who was the son of Saladin. Other stories say he starved himself, or was suffocated, or thrown from a fortress wall and then burned.

Suhrawardi's Core Ideas

Suhrawardi's ideas grew from the philosophy of Ibn Sina. But Suhrawardi also disagreed with some of Ibn Sina's points. He created a special symbolic language to explain his wisdom. This language often used ideas from ancient Iranian culture.

Suhrawardi taught about a complex universe. He believed that everything in creation came from one original, highest light, which he called the "Supreme Light of Lights" (Nur al-Anwar). From this main light, other lights came out, becoming less bright as they moved further away. These lights then created everything we see. So, the universe and all life are just different levels of light and darkness. He thought that objects could be understood by how much light they received.

Suhrawardi also believed that every soul existed in an angelic world before it came into a human body. He thought the soul was split into two parts. One part stayed in heaven, and the other came down into the body. He said that the human soul is always a bit sad because it is separated from its other half. It wants to be reunited with the part that stayed in heaven. For a soul to be truly happy, it needs to connect with its heavenly part. He believed people should try to free their souls from their bodies and worldly things. This way, they could reach the world of pure lights. The souls of very wise and holy people, after leaving their bodies, could even go beyond the angelic world. They could get very close to the Supreme Light, which is the only true reality.

Suhrawardi also talked about an "imaginal world" (ʿalam-i mithal). This was a special world between the physical world and the spiritual world. His ideas have been very important, especially through the work of Mulla Sadra.

Suhrawardi's Impact

Suhrawardi's ideas had a big effect on Islamic philosophy, especially in Shi'ite Iran. His teachings influenced later Iranian thinkers. His idea of "Decisive Necessity" is seen as a very important new thought in logic and philosophy. Many Muslim thinkers have emphasized it. In the 17th century, his ideas even helped start a Zoroastrian revival through a wise man named Azar Kayvan.

Suhrawardi and Ancient Persian Wisdom

Suhrawardi saw himself as someone who was bringing back ancient Persian wisdom. He combined old Iranian knowledge with Greek and Islamic ideas. He believed that the wisdom of ancient Persians was similar to what Greek philosophers like Plato taught. He also thought it was like the wisdom of the Egyptian Hermes. He saw his philosophy of illumination as a way to rediscover this ancient knowledge.

According to Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Suhrawardi created an important link between pre-Islamic and post-Islamic Iran. He brought these two traditions together. Henry Corbin also said that Suhrawardi worked to bring back the wisdom of ancient Zoroastrian Iran.

In his book Alwah Imadi, Suhrawardi gave a hidden meaning to Ferdowsi's famous poem, Epic of Kings (Shah Nama). He saw characters like Fereydun, Zahak, Kay Khusraw, and Jamshid as forms of the divine light. Seyyed Hossein Nasr said that Alwah Imadi is one of Suhrawardi's best works. It combines old Persian stories and ancient wisdom with the hidden meanings of the Quran.

In his Persian book Partaw Nama and his main Arabic book Hikmat al-Ishraq, Suhrawardi used many Zoroastrian symbols. His detailed ideas about angels are also based on Zoroastrian models. He called the supreme light by both its Quranic name, al-nur al-a'zam (the Supreme Light), and its Zoroastrian name, Vohuman (Bahman). Suhrawardi called the hukamayya-fars (Persian philosophers) important followers of his Ishraqi wisdom. He considered figures like Zoroaster, Jamasp, Goshtasp, Kay Khusraw, Frashostar, and Bozorgmehr to have this ancient wisdom.

Some ancient Iranian symbols and ideas Suhrawardi used include: minu (the non-physical world), giti (the physical world), Surush (a messenger angel), Farvardin (the lower world), gawhar (pure essence), Bahram, Hurakhsh (the Sun), shahriyar (the perfect example of a species), isfahbad (light in the body), Amordad (a Zoroastrian angel), Shahrivar (a Zoroastrian angel), and the Kiyani Khvarenah (divine glory).

The Illumination School

According to Hossein Nasr, Suhrawardi's ideas were not translated into Western languages during the Middle Ages. Because of this, people in Europe knew little about him and his philosophy. Even today, some scholars do not fully recognize his school of thought. Suhrawardi tried to offer new ways of looking at big questions, like the question of existence. He not only challenged other philosophers but also brought new life to philosophy after Avicenna.

John Walbridge believes that Suhrawardi's criticisms of earlier philosophy were a major turning point for later thinkers. Suhrawardi tried to criticize Avicenna's ideas in a new way. Although Suhrawardi first followed earlier philosophical traditions, he later became a Platonist after a special mystical experience. He is also seen as the person who brought back ancient Persian wisdom with his philosophy of Illumination. His students, like Shahrazuri and Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi, tried to continue his work. Suhrawardi divided his Illuminationism into two ways of understanding: one based on discussion and logic, and the other based on intuition and inner knowing.

What Scholars Say About Suhrawardi

There are different ideas about what Suhrawardi's school of thought truly means. Some scholars, like Hossein Ziai, think that his most important contributions were his logic and his criticisms of how earlier philosophers defined things. On the other hand, scholars like Mehdi Hairi and Sayyid Jalal Addin Ashtiyyani believe Suhrawardi mostly stayed within the older philosophical frameworks. Mehdi Amin Razavi criticizes both these groups for not paying enough attention to the spiritual side of Suhrawardi's writings.

In contrast, scholars like Henry Corbin and Hossein Nasr see Suhrawardi as a "theosophist." They focus on the mystical and spiritual parts of his work. Another scholar, Nadia Maftouni, has looked at Suhrawardi's writings to find elements of philosophy as a way of life. She suggests that his focus on practical reason over theory, preferring intuitive knowledge, seeing philosophy as a way to achieve a kind of "optional death," and offering ways to heal mental problems are key parts of his philosophy as a way of life.

Suhrawardi's Writings

Suhrawardi wrote over 50 works in both Persian and Arabic.

Persian Writings

• Partaw Nama ("Treatise on Illumination")
• Hayakal al-Nur ("The Temples of Light")
• Alwah-i Imadi ("The tablets dedicated to Imad al-Din")
• Lughat-i Muran ("The language of Termites")
• Risalat al-Tayr ("The Treatise of the Bird")
• Safir-i Simurgh ("The Calling of the Simurgh")
• Ruzi ba Jama'at Sufiyaan ("A Day with the Community of Sufis")
• Fi Halat al-Tufulliyah ("On the State of Childhood")
• Awaz-i Par-i Jebrail ("The Chant of Gabriel's Wing")
• Aql-i Surkh ("The Red Intellect")
• Fi Haqiqat al-'Ishaq ("On the Reality of Love")
• Bustan al-Qolub ("The Garden of Hearts")

Arabic Writings

• Kitab al-talwihat
• Kitab al-moqawamat
• Kitab al-mashari' wa'l-motarahat
• Kitab hikmat al-ishraq (The Philosophy of Illumination)
• Mantiq al-talwihat (The logic of the Kitab al-talwihat)

English Translations

• The Philosophy of Illumination: A New Critical Edition of the Text of Hikmat Al-Ishraq
• The Shape of Light: Hayakal al-Nur
• The Mystical & Visionary Treatises of Suhrawardi

See also

• Suhrawardiyya