Sadr al-D¿n Q¿naw¿: I¿j¿z al-bay¿n, Gebunden

Klappentext

¿adr al-D¿n Q¿naw¿ (d. 1274) is arguably the most important thinker of the generation following the main founders of medieval philosophy-al-F¿r¿b¿, Ibn S¿n¿, Ibn ¿Arab¿ and Suhravard¿-and before Mull¿ ¿adr¿. Despite this, almost nothing of his writings has been translated into English though critical Arabic editions of his major writings have been published.

I¿j¿z al-bay¿n, his magnum opus, explores some key questions in philosophy, among which is speech (divine and human) in the unfolding of knowing and being. In this influential work, Q¿naw¿ lays forth in detail the principles and semiological tools for interpreting the opening chapter of the Qur'¿n, the F¿ti¿a. Widely known as the epitome of the Qur'¿n, the F¿ti¿a was also understood to indicate the divine 'opening', the 'beginning' of being's unfolding. Far from a mere analysis of concepts or epistemology, his philosophical 'exegesis' is about the self-identical unfolding of speech from the hidden secrecy of the divine source, from which flows God's creative command, Be!

The doubt that Ibn S¿n¿ expressed concerning the human capacity to know the 'realities of things' manifested in this unfolding-namely, the letters, words, sentences and meanings of the divine writ of being-by dint of man's faculties was critical to Q¿naw¿'s dynamic understanding of what a plenary knowledge of anything must be.

This is an authoritative edition of the Arabic text with an introduction by the editor in English and Arabic explaining the mechanics and publication history behind the edition and concisely summarizing the book's contents.

The present is a companion volume to The Limits of Discursive Interpretation: A Translation of 'Kit¿b i¿j¿z al-bay¿n f¿ tafs¿r Umm al-Kit¿b' by ¿adr al-D¿n Q¿naw¿.