Khajeh Nassireddin Tousi, Founder of Philosophical Theology in Islamic World
Head of the Iranian Philosophy and Wisdom Research Institute said 12th century Iranian scholar Khajeh Nassireddin Tousi was the first scholar in the Islamic world who used philosophical foundations for theological discussions.
Speaking in a conference held to commemorate Khajeh Nassireddin Tousi, Hojat-ol-Islam Abdul Hossein Khosropanah added that Tousi can be rightfully called the founder of ‘philosophical theology’.
The conference was organized by the institute on February 25-26 with the participation of university scholars and thinkers.
Hojat-ol-Islam Khosropanah added that Islamic theology in its history passed four stages: narrational (Naghli) theology, rational theology, theological philosophy, and philosophical theology.
“Narrational theology can be seen in the works of scholars like Fazl Ibn Shazan and Sheikh Saduq. Sheikh Saduq’s student Sheikh Mufid introduced the rational theology approach,” he pointed out, adding that this approach was manifested in such works by Sheikh Mufid as Awael-ul-Maqalat and Tashih Al-Aqaed Al-Imamiya.
He said after Avicenna, people like Ghazali and later Fakhr Razi criticized philosophy and paved the way for the third stage of theology called theological philosophy.
He added that it was Khajeh Nassireddin Tousi who initiated the fourth stage, namely philosophical theology.
Hojat-ol-Islam Khosropanah also said that Tousi wrote the book “Tajrid Al-Itiqd” (The Abstract of Beliefs). “It has six Maghsads (chapters). The first Maghsad is about general matters, second about substance and accident, the third about proving the existence of God, fourth about prophethood, fifth about Imamat and sixth about the Resurrection.”
He noted that 4 out of 6 Maghsads of the book are related to theology and two are philosophical.
Other speakers at the conference included Hossein Masumi Hamedani who talked about Tousi’s scientific legacy, and Amir Mohammad Gamini whose lecture featured Tousi’s ideas about the earth’s rotation.
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The conference was organized by the institute on February 25-26 with the participation of university scholars and thinkers.
Hojat-ol-Islam Khosropanah added that Islamic theology in its history passed four stages: narrational (Naghli) theology, rational theology, theological philosophy, and philosophical theology.
“Narrational theology can be seen in the works of scholars like Fazl Ibn Shazan and Sheikh Saduq. Sheikh Saduq’s student Sheikh Mufid introduced the rational theology approach,” he pointed out, adding that this approach was manifested in such works by Sheikh Mufid as Awael-ul-Maqalat and Tashih Al-Aqaed Al-Imamiya.
He said after Avicenna, people like Ghazali and later Fakhr Razi criticized philosophy and paved the way for the third stage of theology called theological philosophy.
He added that it was Khajeh Nassireddin Tousi who initiated the fourth stage, namely philosophical theology.
Hojat-ol-Islam Khosropanah also said that Tousi wrote the book “Tajrid Al-Itiqd” (The Abstract of Beliefs). “It has six Maghsads (chapters). The first Maghsad is about general matters, second about substance and accident, the third about proving the existence of God, fourth about prophethood, fifth about Imamat and sixth about the Resurrection.”
He noted that 4 out of 6 Maghsads of the book are related to theology and two are philosophical.
Other speakers at the conference included Hossein Masumi Hamedani who talked about Tousi’s scientific legacy, and Amir Mohammad Gamini whose lecture featured Tousi’s ideas about the earth’s rotation.
960319
