A Study of the Possibility of al-Kindī’s Benefitting from Imam Ḥassan Askarī’s Teachings
Subject Areas : Geneology of philosophical schools and Ideas
1 - Assistant Professor, Islamic Philosophy and Kalam Department, Research Institute of Hawzeh and University, Qom, Iran
Keywords: Imām Ḥassan Asqarī (ʻa), al-Kindī, Abū Zayd Balkhī, the Qur’ān, vision of Almighty God,
Abstract :
The theological theorems of the People of the House (ʻa) can be viewed as one of the potential sources of Islamic philosophy in the course of its development. When investigating this potential source, the likelihood of the direct encounter of certain Muslim philosophers with Imāms (ʻa) can be considered an important proof for the justification and even realization of this possibility. A study of the legacy of predecessors leads us to at least two proofs regarding the contact of Yʻaqūb Ibn Isḥāq al-Kindī with Imām Ḥassan Asqarī (ʻa). One of them explicitly refers to al-Kindi, and the other refers to someone called “Yʻaqūb Ibn Isḥāq” with the nickname of Abu Yusuf. Based on the content of these two proofs, their comparison with other historical data, and the clear presence of Imām ʻAsqarī’s discussions in al-Kindī’s works, the possibility of a relationship between them seems quite justified. Accordingly, the study of the other works of al-Kindī and those of other Muslim philosophers in terms of their being influenced by the theological teachings of the People of the House (ʻa) is a rational undertaking.