Heart of Islamic Philosophy

This book introduces the work of an important medieval Islamic philosopher who is little known outside the Persian world. Afdal al-Din Kashani was a contemporary of a number of important Muslim thinkers, including Averroes and Ibn al-Arabi. Kashani did not write for advanced students of philosophy but rather for beginners. In the main body of his work, he offers expecially clear and insightful expositions of various philosophical positions, making him aninvaluable resource for those who would like to learn the basic principles and arguments of this philosophical tradition but do not have a strong background in philosophy. Kashani held the position that philosophy awakens people from forgetfulness and incites them to reach for the perfection of existence. Itwas for this reason that he sought to make philosophy as accessible as possible to a wider than usual group of readers. In this book, Chittick uses Kashani and his work to introduce the basic issues and arguments of Islamic philosophy to modern readers.

... an valuable resource for English speaking scholars ... the reader is offered an interpretive translation that makes use of unusual turns of phrase and expressions without losing lucidity. The result is translation that the novice will be able to understand, though not without effort, and at which those with more experience in the field will marvel. The interpretations offered by Prof. Chittick are always well grounded in the major themes of his authors and aid the reader in coming to an appreciation of the depths of the Islamic worldview, whether through philosophy or mysticism., No one with any interest in Islamic philosophy can afford to overlook this book., A magnificent piece of translation ... The translation is very successful, literal and at the same time easy to understand ... Readers should be aware that Afdal is far from easy to translate, and this is such a readable translation, one which really brings out the almost conversational nature of Afdal's approach in many of his writings. This book is a major contribution to our understanding of Islamic philosophy and yet again Chittick has done us a tremendous service., A wonderful introduction to the writings and thought of Kashani for the non-specialist and specialist alike ... a useful item for the non-specialist interested in appreciating the works of Afdal al-Din Kashani, and, also, for the specialist who desires to learn something of this important Persian philosopher.