Scholars have come to recognize the importance of classical Islamic philosophy both in its own right and in its preservation of and engagement with Greek philosophical ideas. At the same time, the period immediately following the so-called classical era has been considered a sort of dark age, in which Islamic thought entered a long decline. In this monumental new work, Frank Griffel seeks to overturn this conventional wisdom, arguing that what he calls the "post-classical" period has been unjustly maligned and neglected by previous generations of scholars.The Formation of Post-Classical Philosophy in Islam is a comprehensive study of the far-reaching changes that led to a re-shaping of the philosophical discourse in Islam during the twelfth century. Earlier Western scholars thought that Islam's engagement with the tradition of Greek philosophy ended during that century. More recent analyses suggest that Islamic thinkers instead integrated Greek thought into the genre of rationalist Muslim theology (kal=am). Griffel argues that even this new view misses a key point. In addition to the integration of Greek ideas into kal=am, Muslim theologians picked up the discourse of classical philosophy in Islam (falsafa) and began to produce books in the tradition of Plato, Aristotle, and AvicennaDLa new and oft-misunderstood genre they called ".hikma"DLin which they left aside theological concerns. They wrote in both genres, kal=am and .hikma, and the same writers argued for opposing teachings on the nature of God, the world's creation, and the afterlife depending on the genre in which they were writing. Griffel shows how careful attention to genre demonstrates both the coherence and ambiguity of this new philosophical approach.A work of extraordinary breadth and depth, The Formation of Post-Classical Philosophy in Islam offers a detailed, insightful history of philosophy in Iraq, Iran, and Central Asia during the twelfth century. It will be essential reading for anyone interested in the history of philosophy or the history of Islam.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Conventions Part One: Post-Classical Philosophy In Its Islamic Context First Chapter: Khorasan, the Birthplace of Post-Classical Philosophy, A Land in Decline? The madrasa System The Cities of Khorasan and Its Surrounding Provinces The First Half of the Sixth/Twelfth Century: Seljuq Rule The Second Half of the Sixth/Twelfth Century: Khwarazmshahs and Ghurids Other Patrons: Qarakhanids, the Caliphal Court in Baghdad, and the Ayyubids in Syria Second Chapter: The Death of falsafa as a Self-Description of Philosophy Falsafa as a Quasi-Religious Movement Established by Uncritical Emulation (taqlid) Falsafa as Part of the History of the World's Religions Three Different Concepts of Philosophy in Islam Hikma as the New Technical Term For "Philosophy" Third Chapter: Philosophy and the Power of the Religious Law The Legal Background of al-Ghazali's fatwa on the Last Page of His Tahafut al-falasifa Persecution of Philosophers in the Sixth/Twelfth Century 'Ayn al-Qudat's Execution in 525/1131 in Hamadan Shihab al-Din Yahya al-Suhrawardi's Execution c. 587/1192 in Aleppo Was al-Ghazali's fatwa Ever Applied? Part Two: Philosophers and Philosophies: A Biographical History of Philosophy in the Sixth/Twelfth Century Islamic East The Principal Sources for Sixth/Twelfth-Century History of Philosophy in the Islamic East The Early Sixth/Twelfth Century: Avicennism Undisturbed Avicennism Contested: The Early Decades of the Sixth/Twelfth Century The Outsider as Innovator: Abu l-Barakat al-Baghdadi (d. c. 560/1165) Two Ghazalians of Transoxania: al-Mas' udi and Ibn Ghaylan al-Balkhi (both d. c. 590/1194) Majd al-Din al-Jili: Teacher of Two Influential Philosophers Trained In Maragha Al-Suhrawardi (d. c. 587/1192), the Founder of the "School of Illumination" Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (d. 606/1210): Post-Classical Philosophy Fully Developed Part Three: The Formation of Hikma as a New Philosophical Genre First Chapter: Books and Their Teachings Al-Razi's "Philosophical Books" (kutub hikmiyya) What Books of hikma Do: Reporting Avicenna First Perspective: Teachings on Epistemology What Books in hikma Also Do: Doubting and Criticizing Avicenna Knowledge as a "Relational State" Knowledge as "Presence": The Context in al-Suhrawardi Knowledge as Relation: Abu l-Barakat al-Baghdadi's Key Contribution Knowledge as Relation: Sharaf al-Din al-Mas'udi Knowledge as Relation: Origins in al-Ghazali and Avicenna Do al-Razi's "Philosophical Books" Teach Philosophical Ash'arism? Second Perspective: Teachings on Ontology and Theology A New Place for the Study of Metaphysics Within Philosophy Opposing Avicenna: God's Essence is Distinct From His Existence The Content of God's Knowledge Understood as Positive Divine Attributes What Books of hikma Mostly Do: Endorsing and Correcting Avicennan Philosophy Second Chapter: Books and Their Genre The Eclectic Career of al-Ghazali's Doctrines of the Philosophers (Maqasid al-falasifa) Al-Ghazali as Clandestine faylasuf: Evaluating His Madnun Corpus The Madnun Corpus and Forgery: Two Pseudo-Epigraphies Foisted on al-Ghazali Between Neutral Report and Committed Investment: al-Mas 'udi's Commentary on Avicenna's Glistering Homily (al-Khutba al-gharra) Al-Mas 'udi's Reconciliation of falsafa and kalam on the Issue of the World's Eternity Post-Classical Philosophy and Tolerance For Ambiguity Third Chapter: Books and Their Method Dialectical Reasoning Replaces Demonstration: "Careful Consideration" (i'tibar) in Abu l-Barakat al-Baghdadi The Background of Abu l-Barakat's "Careful Consideration" (i'tibar) The Middle Way Between Avicennism and Ghazalianism: How Fakhr al-Din al-Razi Describes His Philosophy Fakhr al-Din al-Razi's Method of "Probing and Dividing" (sabr wa-taqsim) A Case Study of the New Method: Al-Razi on God's Knowledge of Particulars The Method in Books of hikma: Implementing the Principle of Sufficient Reason The Method in Books of kalam: Limiting the Principle of Sufficient Reason Epilogue: Hikma and kalam in Fakhr al-Din's Latest Works Conclusions The Formation of Post-Classical Philosophy in the Islamic East during the Sixth/Twelfth Century What Was Philosophy in Islam's Post-Classical Period? Appendices Bibliography Index of Manuscripts General Index