An investigation into the Impact of Stoic Voters on the Suhrawardi School of Illumination

Abstract

The current study attempts to evaluate the claim that Mirdamad and his disciples, such as Mulla Sadra and Mir Seid Ahmad Alavi, considered Suhrawardi a Successors of the Stoics. Since the Stoics have been quoted in a small number of publications in Islamic works, by searching in these sources, all the narrations cited and related to the Stoics are compared with Suhrawardi's views, and about forty similar cases have been considered among their opinions. The results suggest: A) Direct effects: objects as quantity, the different definition of the substance and the accident, form as accident, denial of the prime matter, denial of real condensation and rarefaction, spherical revolutions,and etc. B) Indirect effects: the reduction of the ten categories, the hierarchy of existence, the immateriality of the soul, and etc. It is also examined that on the basis of what evidence Mirdamad and his disciples called Suhrawardi "successors of stoic". Previously, John Wallbridge (2000) attempted to answer the question of why Mulla Sadra regarded Suhrawardi as a "successors of the Stoic". But, his answer has been criticized, and it is hypothesized in the current study that due to link between the "al-aqdamin" (the ancients) in Suhrawardi's works and the stoic's views, Mirdamad Sheikh has called him as an "successors of the stoic".

Keywords

• suhrawardi
• stoics
• successor of stoic
• mirdamad
• mulla sadra