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Philosopher

Shihab al-Din Suhrawardi

Metaphysics

Shihab al-Din Abu al-Futuh Yahya ibn Habash ibn Amirak al-Suhrawardi was a Persian philosopher, born in 1154 and died in 1191, and the founder of the Iranian school of Illuminationism, an important school in Iranian and Islamic philosophy. He is referred to by the honorific title Shaikh al-Ishraq, Master of Illumination, and also as Shaikh al-Maqtul, the Murdered Master, in reference to his execution for heresy. Mulla Sadra, the Persian sage of the Safavid era, described Suhrawardi as the reviver of the traces of the Pahlavi sages, and Suhrawardi himself, in his principal work The Philosophy of Illumination, thought of himself as reviving the ancient tradition of Persian wisdom. Suhrawardi provided a new Platonistic critique of the Peripatetic school of Avicenna that was dominant in his time, writing on logic, physics, epistemology, psychology and metaphysics.

Facts
Birth Year
1154 1
Defining Moment
Studied jurisprudence and philosophy under Majd al-Din Jili in Maragheh before developing his own Illuminationist critique of Avicenna. 1
Notable Publication
The Philosophy of Illumination (Hikmat al-Ishraq) 1
Birthplace
Suhraward, Iran 1
Death Place
Aleppo 1
Tradition
Illuminationism (Ishraqi school) 1
Disputed
Death Year
1191 1
The most commonly held view places his execution in 1191; other traditions place it as late as 1208.
Classification
Nationality
Iran 1
Connections

Traditions Founded

Suhrawardi founded the Illuminationist school (hikmat al-ishraq) in the 12th century, presenting it as an alternative to Peripatetic philosophy.

Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Shihab al-Din Suhrawardi (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia
  • Life section, opening sentence
    Suhrawardi was born in 1154 in Suhraward, a village located between the towns of Zanjan and Bijar Garrus in Iran.
  • Life section, birthplace clause
    Suhrawardi was born in 1154 in Suhraward, a village located between the towns of Zanjan and Bijar Garrus in Iran.
  • Life section, execution account
    The most commonly held view is that he was executed sometime between 1191 and 1208 in Aleppo on charges of cultivating Batini teachings and philosophy, by the order of al-Malik al-Zahir, son of Saladin.
  • Life section, execution location clause
    The most commonly held view is that he was executed sometime between 1191 and 1208 in Aleppo on charges of cultivating Batini teachings and philosophy, by the order of al-Malik al-Zahir, son of Saladin.
  • Life section, magnum opus sentence
    In 1186, at the age of thirty-two, he completed his magnum opus, The Philosophy of Illumination.
  • Life section, Maragheh education sentence
    He learned wisdom and jurisprudence in the city of Maragheh.
  • lead sentence
    was a Persian philosopher and founder of the Iranian school of Illuminationism, an important school in Iranian and Islamic philosophy.
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