Paradise Found: 士Ayn al-Qu岣嵞乼 on Qur鈥檃nic Origins
Ayn al-Qu岣嵞乼 Hamad膩n墨 (d. 525/1131) was a mystic, philosopher, theologian, and judge who was born in the western Iranian city of Hamadan. He was the student of A岣ad al-Ghaz膩l墨 (d. 520/1126), and is best known as a maverick-like figure who was put to death by the Seljuq government at the tender age of thirty-four, ostensibly on charges of 鈥渉eresy.鈥 Looking beyond the causes surrounding his state-sponsored execution and to his writings, 士Ayn al-Qu岣嵞乼 emerges as a first-rate thinker who was thoroughly conversant in the Islamic intellectual and spiritual sciences, along with Arabic and Persian poetry.
For all of 士Ayn al-Qu岣嵞乼鈥檚 importance, there is relatively little scholarship on him that is entirely reliable, and there are major features of his thought which remain unexamined. His engagement with the聽Qur鈥檃n聽is one glaring example. In this lecture I outline the main features of 士Ayn al-Qu岣嵞乼鈥檚 Qur鈥檃nic vision by focusing on the importance he places upon the Qur鈥檃n鈥檚 all-encompassing nature on the one hand, and his notion of cultivating 鈥渨orthiness鈥 (ahliyya) in order to understand the聽Qur鈥檃n聽on the other. This will then set the stage for an exposition of 士Ayn al-Qu岣嵞乼鈥檚 unique perspective on the Qur鈥檃nic 鈥渄etached letters鈥 (al-岣r奴f al-muqa峁弓a士a), through which he presents us with his theory of the Qur鈥檃n鈥檚 true origins. Book your place here.
Speaker
Mohammed Rustom
Mohammed Rustom is an internationally recognized expert on Sufism, Islamic philosophy, and Qur鈥檃nic hermeneutics, he is the author of聽The Triumph of Mercy: Philosophy and Scripture in Mull膩 峁dr膩,聽co-editor of聽The Study Quran: A New Translation and Commentary, and translator of聽Ab奴 岣つ乵id al-Ghaz膩l墨, The Condemnation of Pride and Self-Admiration.
