Thought

The encyclopedia of the Ikhwan al-Safii’ in the form we have now opens the mature stage of Muslim philosophy, the tenth and eleventh centuries. Foreign sciences are no longer a collection of subjects valuable in themselves - though modified according to the needs of the new faith, as in the scientific writings of the ‘‘first Arabic philosopher,’’ Abu Ya'qub al-Kindi (d. 870 c.) - but an organic whole that constitutes a unitary introduction to supreme knowledge, that of God.

The treatises are based on very heterogeneous materials: Babylonian, Indian, and Iranian astrology, Indian and Persian narrative, biblical quotations and cabbalistic Influences, references to the New Testament, and Christian gnosis. Most attention is paid to Greek philosophy and science. In some cases, the Ikhwan al-Safa’ have preserved the only Arabic fragments of Greek authors known to us, such as the story of Giges from Plato’s Republic in Epistle 52 On Magic.

The ultimate goal of knowledge - the attainment of happiness that coincides with divine knowledge - is never forgotten. Purification following the abandonment of worldly pleasures cannot be attained only through esoteric religious experience but also through reason. Qur’anic quotations often support ancient doctrines, and the encyclopedia deals with the major religious issues of Muslim faith: the unity, uniqueness, and attributes of God, the origin of the world, angels, human destiny, good and evil, theodicy, and resurrection. The Ikhwan al-Safli’ seem to consider prophetical messages, both esoteric and exoteric, as the second necessary means of human salvation and happiness. Hence, the science of the esoteric interpretation of the Qur’an is emphasized as the highest divine gift.

Each Epistle states its aim; all contain a core of technical teachings and a conclusion regarding their inner meaning. Doctrines are clearly expounded, with repetitions as required by the didactic function of the treatises, which frequently urge the ‘‘beginners’’ to research knowledge in order to be awakened ‘‘from the sleep of matter and the negligence of ignorance’’ and to pray for ‘‘the assistance (ta’yyid) of a spirit coming by God.’’

The first topics addressed are arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, geography, and music. The main sources are Euclid, Nicomachus, Archimedes, Ptolemy, and the Pythagoreans. In the first section, the Ikhwan al-Safli’ also deal with the ‘‘universal’’ form of language - logic - on the basis of the contents of the first five books of the Organon according to the Hellenistic asset (Porphyry’s Isagoge and Aristotle’s Categories, De interpretatione, Prior and Posterior Analytics). Their epistemological vision is sketched in a treatise devoted to the theoretical arts. In the complementary treatise on the practical arts, utilitarian activities are approached: these were held in high esteem in Isma'llism, which reinforces the hypothesis of the Isma'ill commitment of the Ikhwan al-Safii’. Epistle 9 describes the ideal of the wise man, with Sufi positions emphasized: moral behavior - a ‘‘pure heart’’ - is the conditio sine qua non of perfect attainment of knowledge.

The eclectic character of the whole is even more evident in the other three sections. In the second section, Epistles 15-22 follow the Hellenistic arrangement of Aristotle’s physical works from Physics to Meteorology. The treatises also reflect the influence of works on mineralogy, botany, and agriculture. Although the Aristotelian zoological corpus reached Islam, Epistle 22 On Animals places the subject in a metaphysical dispute on the superiority of man over animals. Epistle 20 On Nature, on the other hand, deviates from Aristotelianism by introducing a Neoplatonic conception of nature and an angelology.

The Ikhwan al-Safa’ never mention Plotinus explicitly, but the ‘‘conceptual’’ reading of creationism is Neoplatonic emanationism merged with Neopythagorism. The third section opens with two treatises representing the whole of reality from a numerological perspective, which demonstrates that the ‘‘Pure Brethren’’ are true Muslim Pythagoreans, to prove that the cosmos is organized according to quantitative models. The world is at the same time wholly dependent on God, Who is the principle of everything as the number one is the root of each number and not a number itself. The world is considered as emanated from God through the intermediary of the two first emanated entities, the Active Intellect and the Universal Soul. The knowledge of the whole encyclopedia leads step by step to the knowledge of God.

Another important feature of the encyclopedia is the conception of man as a microcosm and as the most perfect of the beings in the sublunar world, the link between earth and heaven.

The twofold approach to the issue of the attainment of human salvation and happiness fully legitimizes the ancient sciences, considered by orthodox theologians to be vehicles of heresy and even atheism. So the encyclopedia represents a possible solution to the problem of reconciling reason and faith, philosophy and religion.

The political vision of the Ikhwan al-Safii’ could clarify their ideological commitment. They consider the debate on the identity of the Messenger’s deputy as the main cause of division in the umma (the Muslim community) until their time. The Ikhwan al-Safa’ do not state clearly their idea as to who the deputy should be, but a political target of one of the authors might have been the ninth-century ‘Abbasid caliph al-Ma’mun. Hence the Ikhwan al-Safa’ could be identified with the supporters of a ‘Alid conception of the imamate, according to which the family of the Prophet in the strict sense only are the guarantors of the true tradition concerning succession in the caliphate. A ‘‘perfect city’’ (al-madi. na al-fadila) is featured by the Ikhwan al-Safli’, less known but not less worthy than that proposed by their contemporary al-FarabI, in which mutual love is the basis and the ultimate goal of the community. The authors often foreshadow the defeat of ‘‘evil dynasties’’: even though their presentation of such a city does not help us to ascertain whether they had in mind a spiritual rule or a true government such as that of the Fatimid caliph (Hamdani 1999:81), scholars have supposed that the Ikhwan al-Safii’ foretold the fall of the ‘Abbasids (Tibawi 1955:37), or were opponents of the Buyid regime (Farhan 1999:30-31). Their political vision also explains their sharp words against wars of religion.

See also: > Abu Sulayman al-SijistanI al-Mantiql > al-Farabl, Abu Nasr > Isma'ill Philosophical Tradition