Spektrum Iran

Abstract After a brief introduction on Meister Eckhart's reception of Avicenna, Meister Eckhart's metaphysics of being is examined, clearly demonstrating Avicenna's influence. First, the significance of his thesis "Being is God" is explained, followed by "Being as the name of God" and "Necessary Being as the name of God." Subsequently, "Being" and the biblical name of God "I am that I am" and its interpretation by Meister Eckhart under Avicenna’s influence are examined in four steps. Finally, it is pointed out that Meister Eckhart's reception of Avicenna occurred solely on the level of metaphysics.

Abstract After a brief overview of Rudolf Otto's life and work, his phenomenology of the Holy is outlined. His position on Islam is then shown, drawing on his travel reports and then his writings. For Rudolf Otto, the holy is the innermost core of every true religion. In order to distinguish the holy from its linguistic connotation of moral perfection, Otto uses the concept of the numinous as a numinous category of interpretation and evaluation.
Rudolf Otto sees the inner essence of religions in harmony with their external forms, such as the correspondence between mystical emptiness and the architectural emptiness of mosques.

Abstract This paper examines Al-Fārābī's concept of metaphysics. After providing an overview of Al-Fārābī's life and major works, the origin of the term and the various designations (Divine Science, First Philosophy, Wisdom, Theology) as well as the essence of metaphysics are presented. The study then focuses on Al-Fārābī's work On the Aims of the Philosopher (i.e., Aristotle) in Each Treatise of the Book Designated with Letters (i.e., the Metaphysics) (Fī Aġrāḍ al-Ḥakīm fī kull maqāla min al-kitāb al-mausūm bi-l-ḥurūf). A key aspect is the distinction between particular sciences and the one universal science. Finally, a brief reference is made to Al-Fārābī's attempt to establish the concept of the state on a metaphysical foundation. In the appendix, Friedrich Dieterici's German translation of Al-Fārābī's Treatise on the Intentions of Aristotelian Metaphysics by the Second Master is included.

Abstract At the beginning of his academic career, the German Protestant theologian Friedrich August Gottreu Tholuck published two fundamental works on Sufism or Islamic mysticism in addition to a number of theological writings. In 1821: Sufismus sive Theosophia Persarum Pantheistica quam e MSS. Bibliothecae regiae Berolinensis Persicis, Arabicis, Turcicis eruit atque illustravit and 1825: Blütensammlung aus der morgenländischen Mystik: nebst einer Einführung über Mystik allgemein und Morgenländische innesonder. In the introduction to the collection of flowers, Tholuck first explains what mysticism is in general and then what Islamic mysticism is in particular, and then compares Islamic mysticism with the Christian faith. In doing so, he finds both similarities and differences. A large part of the flower collection also contains his translations of Persian mystical poems. Before these connections are examined and presented in detail in the following, a brief overview of Tholuck's life and work is given.

Abstract A general overview of his romantic research on myths is presented. Then in detail his work on the translation of Firdowsi’s Shanama is being analyzed.
Finally, the structure of his translation is being presented in a synopsis of all the 36 translated chapters of the epos. At the end reference is given by the important orientalist Hans Heinrich Schaeder in praise of Firdowsi poetry on the occation of the Firdowsi millennium celebration which took place 1934 in Germany.

Abstract In the introduction to this essay, the biographical data of the Persian King
Khosroes I and the Greek philosopher Priscian of Lydia are presented,
followed by the report of the closure of the Athenian Neoplatonic school by
the Byzantine Emperor Justinian in 529. This closure was the occasion for
seven Neoplatonic philosophers to emigrate to Persia, where they were
welcomed by Khosroes I. After a brief overview of the Neoplatonic doctrine
of the soul, of the questions the king addressed to Priskianos, the question
about the human soul and his answers are examined in detail. “Priscian’s
answers to King Khosroes of Persia (Solutiones)” have survived only in an
inadequate Latin translation. Despite this inadequacy, the basic ideas of
Priscian’s answers can be thoroughly demonstrated: the soul is a substance,
the soul is incorporeal and separate from the body. Finally, the connection
between soul and body and the immortality of the soul are presented. From
the intellectuel point of view, the Latin translation of the questions can be
considered as the fragment of a significant cultural encounter between
Persia and Greece based on Neoplatonic philosophy.

Abstract In this article, the reception of Jalāl ad-Din Mohammad Rūmī (1207-1273) by Georg Friedrich Wilhelm Hegel (1770-1831) is presented and examined. In the introduction, the main features of Hegel’s philosophy are briefly outlined, with particular emphasis on his attitude to pantheism. Then Hegel’s reception of Rūmīi is shown in his “Encyclopaedia of Philosophical Sciences”, “Lectures about Aesthetics” and “Lectures about Philosophy of Religion”. Finally, Hegel’s statement is examined, in which he claims a great deal of agreement with Rūmī.

Abstract The Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. of Hohenstaufen (11215-1250), one of the most important ruler figures of the Middle Ages, has appointed scholars from Europe and the Islamic world to his Sicilian court to promote science. After a brief overview of the emperor's life, the article deals mainly with his spiritual connection within the Islamic world. This connection culminates in questions which the emperor asked the Muslim scholars in Arabian language, which he spoke excellently. These questions were answered by the Andalusian scholar and mystic Abd al-Haqq ibn Sab'in (1216/1217-1270) in detail. His answers, the so-called „Sicilian Questions (al-masă îl al-şiqilliyya)" are thoroughly analyzed in the essay. The most important questions deal with 1. the eternity of the world, 2. the Divine science mystical knowledge, 3. the Aristotelian categories, 4. the immortality of the soul, 5. the interpretation of the hadith: „The heart of the believers is between two fingers of the Merciful". These questions themselves are a unique symbol on intellectual relations between medieval Christian Europe and the Islamic world. Nāşir ad-Din al-Furāt wrote about a hundred years after the death of Frederick II. of Hohenstaufen: „It is said that the emperor was secretly a Muslim, but God knows his condition and his faith better".
 
 

Abstract The article explores the profound connections between Wolfram von Eschenbach’s medieval epic Parzival and Eastern traditions, particularly Persian and Islamic mysticism. Parzival is a cornerstone of Western medieval literature, introducing the Grail as a sacred object (stone, cup, or chalice) tied to spiritual kingship and universal peace. The narrative follows Parzival’s quest for the Grail, interwoven with themes of chivalry, redemption, and interfaith dialogue. Wolfram’s work reflects influences from ancient Iranian, Gnostic, and Islamic sources, merged with Christian symbolism. Key figures like Gahmuret (Parzival’s father, a Christian knight serving the Caliph of Baghdad) and Feirefiz (his half-brother, a "pagan" ruler) bridge East and West. The Grail symbolizes divine knowledge, accessible only through spiritual awakening, echoing Sufi and Zoroastrian motifs. The article also examines the Song of the Pearl, an Iranian Gnostic text paralleling Parzival’s journey. Ultimately, Wolfram’s epic transcends religious boundaries, proposing a universal "primordial tradition" uniting diverse faiths.

Abstract The article explores Vladimir Solov’ev’s philosophical and theological engagement with Islam, analyzing his dual perspective as both a critic and admirer of the faith. Solov’ev, a prominent 19th-century Russian philosopher, viewed Islam through the lens of his concept of "All-Unity" (vseedinstvo), which seeks to reconcile opposing forces in religion and history. His early critique in Three Forces (1877) presents Islam as a monolithic system suppressing individuality, contrasting it with Western individualism and Slavic spiritual synthesis. Later, in Muhammad: His Life and Religious Teaching (1896), Solov’ev offers a nuanced portrayal of the Prophet, acknowledging Islam’s monotheistic rigor and moral framework while critiquing its lack of progressive ideals. The article highlights Solov’ev’s mystical Sophia visions, which underpinned his belief in a transcendent "Religion of the Holy Spirit" surpassing all singular faiths. Despite his eschatological focus on Christian unity, Solov’ev’s late writings suggest an inclusive spiritual universalism, though he remained silent on Islam’s role in the end times.

Abstract In the context of Islamic illumination and metaphysics as a whole, the metaphysics of illumination of the Iranian mystic and philosopher, Šihāb ad-dīn Yaḥyā Suhrawardī (1154 - 1209), is undoubtedly a significant highlight. After a brief overview of Suhrawardī's life and works, this paper outlines the main features of his mystical-metaphysical theory of illumination. First, it is clearly indicated that the basis and starting point of Suhrawardī's metaphysics is the Qur’an. Then, in a first step, a brief overview of the classification of the lights is given. In a second step, the individual stages and orders of the manifestations and signs of the divine light are described. Thereafter, the views of lights and the steps on the mystical path to the divine light are presented. The attitude of the ancient Iranian religion and the Platonic-Plotinian philosophy mentioned by Suhrawardī are also taken into consideration.

Abstract Abstract
The first part of this paper focuses on the general significance of the symbols representing the truth, which are above thought and perception. The second part describes four attitudes of the heart, according to Tirmidhi's treatise, Bayan al-farq bayn aş-şadr wa l-qalb wa l-fu'ad wa l-lubb. In the last and the main part of the paper, Ibn 'Arabī's doctrine of the mystical-metaphysical cognition and his teaching of "the eye of the heart", based on his Fuşuş al-hikam are explained.

Abstract For the Byzantine-Christian theologian and mystic Gregorios Palamas, one of the most important proponents of Hesychasm, and the Islamic mystic and Sufi master, Ibn'Arabī, the knowledge of God's reality refers only to the divine energies or qualities, and not to the inaccessible and hidden nature of God, which transcends all being and thus also all knowledge in unspeaka-ble ways. The divine essence and the divine energies or properties, howev-er, are not separated from each other, but only distinguished within the divine reality; and, despite this difference, they form an indissoluble unit. These doctrines of divine difference form the basis for their mystical vision of God in both Gregorios Palamas and Ibn'Arabī. In this paper, the princi-ples of these teachings are presented and compared. The juxtaposition should above all serve the purpose of mutual elucidation. It should be not-ed that these two mystics belong to different religions and thus to different revelatory circles, which may not be compared externally. Rather, it is about showing the inner structure of the inner divine distinction between divine essence and divine energies or properties of Gregorios Palamas and Ibn'Arabī in their fundamental importance for the correctness of the spiritu-al path to the divine vision with a view to the inner and transcendent unity of religions.