Reason and Inspiration in Islam

Abstract

Thirty-eight essays are brought together in this volume to honor Hermann Landolt of the Institute of Islamic Studies at McGill University, Canada. A broad range of participants, including former students and colleagues both close and distant, have contributed essays, most of which deal with aspects of Ismaili, Ithna-ashari, or Sufi thought. Almost all of the essays are in English; four are in French, however. The range of topics is catholic, to say the least, and the rough chronological ordering of the essays can hardly contain them. The “classical” section features such figures as al-Junayd, al-Farabi, Ibn Tufayl, al-Qadi al-Nu`man, al-Kirmani, Abu Hatim al-Razi, and al-Waqidi; the “medieval” takes in al-Ghazzali, al-Suhrawardi, al-Qushayri, al-Shahrastani, Afdal al-Din Kashani, Jami’, Najm al-Din Kubra, Ibn Sina, and al- Sha`rani; the “pre-modern” includes Shah Tahir, Ahmad Sirhindi, Molla Sadra, and Fayd al-Kashani; and the “modern” section features not so much people as themes, such as dervish orders, Ginans, ulama, tradition, and modernization. It is worth noting that several articles in the last section focus their attention on medieval as much as modern aspects (if not more so, as in the case of Eric Ormsby’s interesting essay “The Faith of Pharaoh: A Disputed Question in Islamic Theology”). Their classification seems to be more out of consideration for achieving balance in the book’s form than in accurately reflecting the contents. Be that as it may, such a cornucopia (as the editor describes it) cannot help but provide something of relevance to almost everyone interested in Islamic thought. Two essays particularly drew my attention; they also left me wishing that the two authors had had an opportunity to consider the conjunction between their papers before they were published (but the absence of such is, of course, in the nature of most such collections). L. Clarke’s excellent paper on “The Rise and Decline of Taqiyya in Twelver Shi`ism” will reward every reader. Clarke shows how two meanings of taqiyya – “precautionary dissimulation of belief” and “esoteric silence,” what she calls legal and esoteric taqiyya, respectively – became blended through the ages. Esoteric taqiyya was “a necessary and integral part” of Twelver Shi`ism in early times, for the ...