Abstract

The issue of reaching moral perfection in Islamic thought is handled together with the theory of knowledge. The subject of nafs and powers, which includes the physical and metaphysical aspects of human being, forms the basis of the theory of knowledge and morality based on it. The aim of this article is to examine the views of Shams al-Din al- Shahrazuri (d. 687/1288), one of the most important names of the Illuminated school, about the soul and its powers at the center of the idea of moral evolution. The theory of imagination and memory, which we will examine within the subject of forces, is also at the focal point of the criticism of Illuminationist thought to understanding of knowledge of Peripatetic school. In our study, on the one hand, Shahrazuri's theory of forces and the idea of moral evolution will be examined, on the other hand, criticisms of the Peripatetic school on these issues will also be discussed. Furthermore, another aim of our study is to examine Shahrazuri's understanding of morality in the context of the subject, his contributions to Illuminated thought, similarities and differences with Peripatetic philosophy.