Dr Muhammad Maroof Shah

Exploring Abaqat and Hikmat al-Ishraq on the controversy between Religion and Philosophy, Theology and Esotericism.   Better known as a writer of immensely influential and, for some, controversial classic Taqweat-ul-Iman , Shah Ismail Shaheed should have been better/first approached – and needs to be now read – as a writer of greater classic Abaqat ; book that builds on and explicates Shah Waliullah’s metaphysical and spiritual teachings to make us understand an aspect of the legacy of the sage of Delhi and comprehensive Marifa and Hikmah oriented Islamic tradition.       Abu Yazid was asked about lawful and unlawful and he replied that one should better be in a state where the question doesn’t arise. Polemical issues or theological disputes (say between Shias and Sunnis) are best approached by taking one’s vision to a point where we can see origin of them in God and thus transcend them and this is what esotericism/ irfan does. The dispute concer...

Reading Whitehead on Philosophy and Religion To be given human state and fail to gratefully acknowledge those who have been its greatest explorers in different domains is both a moral and intellectual failure. There have been towering minds who have left behind a legacy of great insights regarding almost every important thing that concerns us and if we don’t visit their palaces of wisdom, we lose our claim to be lovers of wisdom or hikmah . The opposite of philosopher (etymologically lover of wisdom) is not a prophet or saint or theologian but misosopher (hater of wisdom) and we have no choice to avoid philosophy but are unavoidably either good or bad philosophers. Much of Sunni Muslim world’s tragedy is that it fears philosophers and is guilty of slander ( bohtan ) and unfounded opinions ( zann ) about them. It assumes philosophy is threat to religion or philosophers don’t know religion in its proper manner. What a decline from the past practice when it was perceived as an ally a...