Introduction 1. Methodological concerns 2. The Modulation of Being 3. The semantics of modulation of being 4. Mental Being 5. Reality and the Circle of being. Conclusion.

This is the first reliable biography of Mulla Sadra Shirazi that examines his influences and legacy and includes an extensive survey of his work.

: A central assumption in this essay, in terms of both historical development and methodological approach, is that later Islamic philosophy is characterized by a shift from a substance-based metaphysics to a processoriented metaphysics. Defenders of substance metaphysics often focus on the nature of causation to attack process metaphysics. If there is no substance or substratum for process, then how can events have any causal nature? If neither cause nor the caused are somehow stable in terms of their essence and (...) essential features, then how can one be said to act upon the other? After considering the function of causation in other metaphysical systems and certain skeptical denials of causation, its role in the mystical thought and onto-theology of the Iranian philosopher Mullā Sadrā (d. 1641) is examined. (shrink)

The study of political theology has never been a neutral exercise in excavating the theoretical origins of sovereignty. The political contexts in which questions arise are instructive. In this paper, I argue that the very language of representation and legitimacy articulated for Muslims in the contemporary world may occlude the political challenges that obviate their possibility. Biopolitics, the construction of tradition, the possibility of a ‘philosophical religion’ and the challenge of rationality, and the incompleteness of the critique of political theology (...) make the actuality of a critical and theoretical encounter with representation difficult at best, elusive at worst. (shrink)

The distinction between existence and essence in contingent beings is one of the foundational doctrines of medieval philosophy. Building upon Neoplatonic precursors, thinkers such as Avicenna and Aquinas debated its nature. However, one Islamic philosopher, who had an enormous influence on the development of philosophical discourse in Iran, subverted the traditional Peripatetic vision of reality and disputed the ontological nature of existence. Through a critique of the Peripatetic notion of existence, Suhrawardi demonstrated the irrelevance of the distinction for metaphysical inquiry, (...) which should, instead, rely upon an eidetic vision of the 'hierarchy of lights'. I shall explain why the later tradition advocated an essentialist reading of Suhrawardi and suggest that the Platonic hermeneutic of essential vision which Suhrawardi expounds, might be the reason for it. Later philosophers in the Islamic tradition had mistaken methodology for a description of reality. (shrink)

Within the history of philosophy, the history of Islamic philosophy is emerging as a flourishing field, and one wonders what method is most appropriate to apply in the reading of the text. Hadot's work seemed to put forward four critical insights for the study of ancient thought that may be grafted onto the study of medieval thought and Islamic thought. First, philosophy takes place within a tradition. Reading the text is a practice rooted in a school tradition, and significantly with (...) concomitant spiritual practices. Second, training in philosophizing is intended to inculcate practices of dialoguing. Third, philosophizing requires spiritual exercises, which are more than just intellectual and contemplative, but entail a mode of living, a way of life. Hadot paradigm is a fruitful way of reading Mullā sadrā especially since it seems to be consistent with the way in which he himself presents h. ikma and his endeavor. (shrink)

The European Legacy, Volume 17, Issue 5, Page 705-706, August 2012.

Philosophy in Early Safavid Iran: Najm al-Dīn Maḥmūd al-Nayrīzī and His Writings. By Reza Pourjavady. Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Science, vol. 82. Leiden: Brill, 2011. Pp. vii + 224. $136.

The old medieval problem of the temporal relationship between an eternal God and an eternal or timed world remains an issue that animates debates about the nature of God in contemporary philosophy of religion. The Islamic debate pitted the philosophers, in particular Ibn Sīnā [Avicenna], who held that an eternal God produced an eternal world that was merely logically posterior to him, against some theologians, such as al-Ghazālī (Alghazel) who insisted on the scriptural doctrine of creatio ex nihilo and refuted (...) the possibility of an eternal world. The conflict continued with each side ceding some aspects and rejecting others until the Safavid period in which one finds the divisions between philosophy and theology irrevocably breaking down. I shall discuss the positions of three key philosophers of early modern Iran who all defended the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo from a philosophical perspective and came up with some novel approaches to the old problem of the temporal relationship between God and creation. /// O presente artigo parte da constatação de que o velho problema dos pensadores medievais acerca do relacionamento temporal entre um Deus que é eterno e um mundo que ora se entende como eterno ora como localizado no tempo permanece ainda hoje um dos assuntos que animam os debates relativos à natureza de Deus na fdosofia da religião contemporânea. Constata-se, antes de mais, que o debate que se verificou no seio do Islão começou por levantar os filósofos, particularmente Ibn Sīnā [Avicenna], o qual defendia que um Deus eterno produziu um mundo eterno que apenas do ponto de vista lógico lhe era posterior, contra os teólogos, tais como al-Ghazātī [Alghazel], o qual insistia na doutrina baseada na Escritura da creatio ex nihilo e refutava a possibilidade de um mundo eterno. O conflito continuou com cada uma das partes cedendo alguns aspectos e rejeitando outros até à emergência do período dos Safavidas durante o qual se verifica o rompimento das divisões entre Filosofia e Teologia. Assim, o autor do artigo propõe-se analisar as posições de três filósofos fundamentais do início da era moderna no Irão, pensadores esses que defendiam a doutrína da creatio ex nihilo numa perspectiva filosófica e, ao mesmo tempo, foram capazes de avançar com algumas abordagens novas ao velho problema da relação temporal entre Deus e a criação. (shrink)

Knowledge in Later Islamic Philosophy: Mullā Ṣadrā on Existence, Intellect and Intuition. By Ibrahim Kalin. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010. Pp. xxii + 315. $74, £45.

Shi‘i Islam is often considered to be political per se because of its emergence historically as a movement with a strong position on authority and legitimacy in governance. This piece demonstrates how the politics of salvation in the tradition tie together one’s loyalty to the divine person of the Imam to one’s final destination, and how that relationship is complicated in the physical absence of the Imam. Such a politics guards against a sacralisation of everyday politics and recognises that sanctity (...) arises from the person of the Imam and not the office of his delegate. (shrink)

Islamic Philosophy, Science, Culture, and Religion: Studies in Honor of Dimitri Gutas. Edited by Felicitas Opwis and David Reisman. Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Science, vol. 83. Leiden: Brill, 2012. Pp. xii + 493. $221, €161.

Megastable chaotic systems are somehow the newest in the family of special chaotic systems. In this paper, a new megastable two-dimensional system is proposed. In this system, coexisting attractors are in some islands, interestingly covered by megalimit cycles. The introduced two-dimensional system has no defined equilibrium point. However, it seems that the origin plays the role of an unstable equilibrium point. Therefore, the attractors are determined as hidden attractors. Adding a forcing term to the system, we can obtain chaotic solutions (...) and coexisting strange attractors. Moreover, the effect of three different values of the forcing term’s amplitude is studied. The dynamical properties of the designed system are investigated using attractor plots, bifurcation diagrams, and Lyapunov Exponents diagram. Phase portraits of the novel megastable oscillator are presented by FPGA design. Xilinx system generator block diagrams of the proposed system and trigonometric functions are also presented. (shrink)

This article responds to the papers by O’Donovan, Rizvi and Heck by identifying four convergent themes emerging from their accounts of Christian and Islamic political thought: the denial of salvific efficacy to the state; the claim that political authority is legitimated and limited by law; the attribution of a normative purpose to the state; and the ascription of a positive role for the people in the legitimation and scrutiny of political authority. The article poses the question whether this amounts (...) to something that might be termed a shared ‘monotheistic democratic constitutionalism’. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Reviewed by:Mullā Ṣadrā and Metaphysics: Modulation of BeingLatimah-Parvin Peerwani ArlingtonMullā Ṣadrā and Metaphysics: Modulation of Being. By Sajjad H. Rizvi. Culture and Civilization in the Middle East Series, edited by Ian Richard Netton. London and New York: Routledge, 2009. Pp. xii + 222. Hardcover $135.00.In Mullā Ṣadrā and Metaphysics: Modulation of Being, Sajjad H. Rizvi focuses on tashkīk (modulation), variously translated as the systematic ambiguity, (...) analogical gradation, or just gradation of being from the perspective of Mullā Ṣadrā, comparing it with classical Islamic philosophy and contemporary Western philosophy. He states that he makes two major claims in this study. First, he argues that modulation is a hermeneutic concept that describes the threefold division of being and its gradation. Second, gradation and modulation occur in each mode of being. Each mode of being refers to a branch of Ṣadrā's philosophy: mental being is a discussion of epistemology and psychology; 'being-in-language' is critical to Sadrian semantic theory; being in re focuses on 'traditional metaphysics.' But the philosophy of Ṣadrā is not compartmentalized; being cuts across these fields and unites them. Each mode of being as modulated shares features of intensification. According to Rizvi, Ṣadrā has extended the normal understanding of modulation and of being beyond the simple division of the two realms of mental and concrete existence to bring out the semantics of being. This aspect of Islamic philosophy, according to Rizvi, has often been neglected (p. 3). [End Page 278]This study consists of an Introduction and two parts. In the Introduction, Rizvi states the problem of tashkīk as the central hermeneutic of Ṣadrian ontology. An analysis of this critical concept, according to Rizvi, facilitates our understanding of Ṣadrā's position on a wide variety of important philosophical issues such as predication, the problem of reconciling unity and plurality in being, and God-world relationship. It provides an answer to the age-old problem of the One and the many, and the median way between the ontological monism of Ibn ʿArabi and the metaphysical pluralism of Avicenna. Rizvi says that according to Ṣadrā there are four levels of being: the concept of being, its reality, its uttered manifestation (sound), and its written manifestation.Part 1 consists of two chapters. In the first chapter Rizvi outlines his methodology and some of his assumptions about the cultural history of the period and the context of Ṣadrā. The significant contention, according to Rizvi, is that a proper understanding of Ṣadrā's philosophy requires an appreciation of philosophy in the Neoplatonic traditions "as a way of life" that is often closely related to spiritual practice and religious commitment. The aim of philosophical inquiry for Ṣadrā, according to Rizvi, is therapy for the rational soul and its perfecting and development in its path of return to its origins in the One.Four methodological approaches are utilized in this study. (1) Tashkīk is seen as the central hermeneutic of Ṣadrian metaphilosophy, and not ontology; Rizvi argues that tashkīk is a central guiding principle in Ṣadrā's metaphilosophy and permeates all branches of his philosophical system. (2) The aporetic method is used in analyzing Ṣadrā's philosophy. (3) Rizvi maintains that Ṣadrā's philosophy is processual, for it represents a shift from substance to process metaphysics. (4) Ṣadrian hikmat (philosophy, wisdom) is approached as a metaphilosophical inquiry. Metaphysics is a foundational science for Ṣadrā, instrumental in the possibility of acquiring knowledge and in the construction of definitions and meaningful discourse. Hikmat, according to Rizvi, is doubly transcendent, (1) as a higher synthesis of Avicennan, Illuminationist, Sufi, and esoteric Shiʿite systematic thought, and (2) as a prophetic philosophy that claims to be derived from direct 'revelation.'The second chapter introduces the tashkīk (modulation) of being. Rizvi traces its historical development from the Aristotelian pros hen homonym to Avicenna, Nasir al-Din Tusi, and Ibn ʿArabi, and offers an account of an intensifying scale of being toward a hierarchy of being that is singular but with multiple degrees defined by their intensity, that is, in terms of scales of intensification and deliberation. He makes explicit the Neoplatonic logic of being that this implies and examines how... (shrink)

This essay responds to Sajjad Rizvi’s analysis of Shi‘a political theology in terms of the risks of over-emphasising the achieved clarity of a religious/political ethic in society. It notes the comparable reserve in Christian political thought, especially in the Augustinian tradition, in respect of a single sacral authority in society, and briefly discusses the various ways in which this has been articulated in mediaeval and modern contexts.

In the World Library of Educationalists, international experts compile career-long collections of what they judge to be their finest pieces extracts from books, key articles, salient research findings, major theoretical and practical contributions so the world can read them in a single manageable volume. Readers will be able to follow the themes and strands and see how their work contributes to the development of the field. This volume brings together the selected works of Fazal Rizvi.Born in India, Fazal (...) class='Hi'>Rizvi has lived and worked in a number of countries, including Australia, England and the United States. Most of his educational encounters have been 'in the global'. He has developed a keen sense of the multiple and conflicting ways in which transnational ties and interactions are transforming the spaces in which identities and cultures are forged and performed, and in which education takes place. Much of his research has sought to examine how educational systems around the world have interpreted and responded to the challenges and opportunities of globalization. In this collection of his papers, written over a period of more than two decades, Fazal Rizvi seeks to understand the shifting discourses and practices of globalization and education, critically examining the ways in which these are:reshaping our sense of identity and citizenship, and our communitiescreating transnational systems of ties, networks and exchangetaken into account in the development of policies and programs of educational reform producing uneven social effects that benefit some communities more than others.Fazal Rizvi's analysis shows how recent global transformations have mostly been interpreted through the conceptual prism of a neo-liberal imaginary that have undermined education's democratic and cosmopolitan possibilities. (shrink)

Investors' confidence in the financial market is boosted by good corporate governance (CG). Good governance builds trust and improves an organization's financial performance (FP). However, organizations with bad management lose the trust of their stakeholders because they do not perform well financially. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the influence of CG 89; on FP through mediating the role of humble leadership (HL) and monetary incentive (MI) as a moderator between CG and HL. Data were collected from (...) 300 respondents who were working in various cement manufacturing organizations located in different cities of Pakistan. The analysis was performed using SPSS software version 25 and AMOS version 22 software to work out the study sample size. The result revealed that the framework of CG has a positive impact in terms of FP. Furthermore, HL positively and significantly mediates on CG, and FP is inextricably linked. However, MI acts as a moderator between CG and HL, but despite strengthening, it weakens the impact of CG' on HL. This study contributes toward the literature, specifically toward the expectancy theory literature. Finally, some theoretical and practical implications at the organizational level are offered, describing how CG influences FP within the organization, and research limitations and future directions are presented. (shrink)

Knowledge hiding is known to have negative consequences on organizational performance. The existing literature mainly focuses on the identification of antecedents and consequences of knowledge hiding. The studies pertaining to the top management role in creating a culture that stops concealing knowledge within an organization are limited. To fill that gap, the paper empirically address the knowledge sharing culture and to explore the management support to avoid knowledge hiding culture in an organization. This study based on an empirical study carried (...) out in a United Kingdom-based laboratory within a high-tech global corporation, in which the atmosphere appeared conducive to knowledge sharing, and knowledge transfer appeared voluntary and spontaneous. The paper seeks to address why members of the case organization is reluctant about knowledge hiding among themselves. The study reveals that the management role is important in creating a culture that help discourage employees to withhold knowledge. The paper identifies the actions that top management takes to stop concealing knowledge within an organization. This study has provided several contributions. The findings of the study may be useful to managers and practitioners. For managers, this paper presents some important organizational factors that can be nurtured to avoid a knowledge-hiding culture in the organization. They can also take the management actions of the case organization as lessons to create a culture that encourage their employees to avoid knowledge hiding behavior. (shrink)

Crowdfunding entails small funds or contributions collected from the public to support and develop certain services or products. It has been widely adopted as an alternative method to fund social, cultural, and technological projects. Crowdfunding platforms can capitalize the social and digital networks, making them more efficient in targeting funders with minimum operational costs. The emergence of crowdfunding platforms as social information systems attracts researchers and academicians to study their increasing acceptance. In complement to qualitative and big-data analyses, behavioral models (...) can offer robust insights into why individuals like to participate in the activities generated on these platforms. Prior research focuses on the user's acceptance of these platforms, but less attention has been given to users' engagement in crowdfunding-based social welfare projects. The study highlights people's crowdfunding intentions to fund social welfare projects based on the elaboration likelihood model. The study hypothesizes argument quality and technical advantage as central signals and shared value and reputation as peripheral signals, where outcome efficacy and social consciousness directly affect intentions to participate and moderate the relationship between signals and intentions. We collect data from 467 potential donors from China's 30 online crowdfunding platforms. The results indicate a more significant peripheral route effect on donation participation in social welfare crowdfunding. Social consciousness significantly predicts donation intentions where outcome efficacy and social consciousness strengthen the relationship between argument quality, shared values, and donation intentions to participate in socially responsible crowdfunding. The study provides implications for social collaboration for welfare projects through these platforms in light of these dynamic factors. (shrink)

In this paper I make a case for a genuine and legitimate role for philosophy in modern Islamic culture. However, I argue that in order to make any progress towards reinstating such philosophical activity, we need to look deep into the nature and essence of modern philosophy. In this paper I aim to do this precisely by challenging modern philosophy’s self conception as an absolute critique (i.e. a critique of everything/anything). I argue that such a conception is not only misconceived, (...) it is also ideological in character. Looking back to its origins, I develop a genealogy of modern philosophy’s self-understanding in order to deconstruct it and disassociate it from other possible alternative conceptions of philosophy. I argue that we should reject the notion of philosophy as absolute critique, as it is ideologically motivated and oppressive. Instead, I argue for a more modest conception of philosophy as a subject which provides tools for developing human powers of reflection. (shrink)

The twenty-first century has seen an increase in ethical misconduct at the workplace, highlighting the need to stimulate discussion on the role of work ethics. The objective of the current study is to extend the literature on work ethics by examining the role of Islamic work ethic in enhancing the task performance of employees. The current study proposes that psychological capital mediates the relationship between Islamic work ethic and task performance. It is also proposed that ethical leadership might act as (...) a boundary condition that boosts the positive relationship between Islamic work ethic and psychological capital. Data were collected in three-time lags from employees working in the service sector of Pakistan through the questionnaire. The results supported the mediation and moderation hypothesis, confirming that psychological capital mediates the relationship between Islamic work ethic and task performance. Ethical leadership moderates the relationship between Islamic work ethic and psychological capital. The results offer implications for theory and practice. Limitations and future research directions are also discussed. (shrink)

The nature and effectiveness of any international legal agreement is heavily shaped by the forum in which it is negotiated and implemented. This includes both the substantive content that global policymakers agree upon and the subsequent state compliance with those provisions. Forums differ in their institutional characteristics, thereby providing unique opportunities and costs for participating actors. Forums may have different mandates, capacities, cultures, members, and legal processes — all of which ultimately affect distributions of power and influence. These differences then (...) shape how issues are framed, the content of agreements as they are negotiated, and the incentives states have to comply with any obligations. (shrink)

The rapid pace of scientific advancements has given rise to various ethical issues, emphasizing the importance of learning about bioethics at a young age. However, bioethics education often begins at the undergraduate level or beyond. Consequently, current literature assesses the perceptions of bioethical issues among university students. This pilot study assesses perceptions on relevant bioethical issues among high school students from the United States of America and Pakistan. A cross-sectional study design using an online quantitative survey was utilized to collect (...) data using non-probability convenience sampling. The questionnaire collected demographic information, and attitudes of students towards ethical issues surrounding social media use and patient rights on a 7-point Likert scale. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) through descriptive and inferential statistics. One hundred and seventy-seven respondents returned the survey, with 75 from Pakistan. 80% of the respondents were females. While 85% of respondents believed that bioethics is an important field of study for adolescents, 86% also felt a lack in bioethics outreach and education. 69% reported having a social media account. While there was no statistically significant difference between perceptions of students from the two countries regarding ethical concerns surrounding social media, a statistically significant difference (p. (shrink)

Sheki is one of the most important Moslem provinces of the Southern Caucasia. A series of local histories have emerged in this region the first of which is A Brief History of the Sheki Khans by Karim Agha Fateh. For years, this work had existed in manuscript form and when it was introduced to the world of historiography science, inadequate and erroneous information were produced about it. Using analytic-descriptive method and relying on library sources, this study attempts to fully introduce (...) this work as well as to analyze its content and writing style. (shrink)

Religious freedoms of minorities in Muslim-majority countries such as Pakistan are compromised due to structural issues as well as social and historical concerns. For instance, the abuse of the blasphemy law has led to minority communities facing threats and violence. And in a country where religious scholars are often absent from, if not against, discourses about human rights, the religious rights of minorities remain a secular and hence culturally unsound discourse. There is thus a need for two parallel movements. One, (...) an awareness within Muslim communities about the need to engage with religious freedoms, and hence the modern human rights regime, as an essentially Islamic process requiring reform from within. And two, the human rights structure also giving religion its due since religious freedoms are part of, and engender, many other rights as well. In this article, a case is made for this dual process, by exploring the work of scholars of Islam such as Abdullahi An-Na’im and Khaled Abou El Fadl as well as the insecurities of religious scholars in Pakistan who have reacted to human rights as a western agenda. (shrink)

Jürgen Habermas has emerged as a sharp, and occasionally harsh, critic of the Bush administration’s policies since the Iraq war. Habermas has developed this critique in several of his short pieces and interviews, some of which are available in fine collections in both English and other languages. However, the occasional and journalistic character of Habermas’ political interventions often hide the theoretical basis of his critique. In this paper, I argue that Habermas’ critique of the Bush administration’s foreign policy emanates from, (...) and is founded upon, his conception of modernity, and specifically his views about the relationshipbetween “particularity” and “generality.” The purpose of this essay is to demonstrate how Habermas’ critique can actually be read as a critique of particularism, which Habermas sees operating behind American (and British) foreign policy, and which, in his view, compromises the key achievements of modernity (especially in its Kantian version.). (shrink)