Brethren of Purity

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Arabic manuscript from the 12th century for Brethren of Purity (Arabic , Ikhwan al-Safa )
The Brethren of Purity (Arabic Ikhwan al-Safa; also translated as Brethren of Sincerity)
were a mysterious[1] organization[2] of Arab[3] Muslim philosophers in Basra, Iraq - which was then the
seat of the Abbasid Caliphate - sometime during the 10th century CE.
Their esoteric teachings and philosophy are expounded in an epistolary style in the Encyclopedia of the
Brethren of Purity (Arabic: Rasa'il Ikhwan al-safa'), a giant compendium of 52 epistles that would
greatly influence later encyclopedias. A good deal of Muslim and Western scholarship has been spent
on just pinning down the identities of the Brethren and the century in which they were active.

Contents
[hide]

1 Name
2 Meetings
3 Ranks
4 Identities
o 4.1 Ismaili
o 4.2 al-Tawhd
5 The Epistles of the Brethren of Purity
6 See also
7 Notes
o 7.1 References
8 External links

[edit] Name
The Arabic "Ikhwan al-Safa" (short for, among many possible transcriptions, "Ikhwan al-Safa wa
Khullan al-Wafa wa Ahl al-Hamd wa abna al-Majd", or the "Brethren of Purity, Loyal Friends, People
worthy of praise and Sons of Glory") can be translated as either the "Brethren of Purity" or the
"Brethren of Sincerity"; various scholars such as Ian Netton prefer "of Purity" because of the group's
ascetic impulses towards purity and salvation.
A suggestion made by Goldziher, and later written on by Philip K. Hitti in his History of Arabs, is that
the name is taken from a story in Kalilah wa-Dimnah, in which a group of animals, by acting as faithful
friends (ikhwan al-safa), escape the snares of the hunter. The story concerns a ring-dove and its
companions who get entangled in the net of a hunter seeking birds. Together, they leave themselves and
the ensnaring net to a nearby rat, who is gracious enough to gnaw the birds free of the net; impressed
by the rat's altruistic deed, a crow becomes the rat's friend. Soon a tortoise and gazelle also join the
company of animals. After some time, the gazelle is trapped by another net; with the aid of the others
and the good rat, the gazelle is soon freed, but the tortoise fails to leave swiftly enough and is himself
captured by the hunter. In the final turn of events, the gazelle repays the tortoise by serving as a decoy
and distracting the hunter while the rat and the others free the tortoise. After this, the animals are
designated as the "Ikwhan al-Safa".
This story is mentioned as an exemplum when the Brethren speak of mutual aid in one rasa'il, a crucial
part of their system of ethics that has been summarized thus:
In this Brotherhood, self is forgotten; all act by the help of each, all rely upon each for succour and
advice, and if a Brother sees it will be good for another that he should sacrifice his life for him, he
willingly gives it.[4]

[edit] Meetings
The Brethren regularly met on a fixed schedule. The meetings apparently took place on three evenings
of each month: once near the beginning, in which speeches were given, another towards the middle,
apparently concerning astronomy and astrology, and the third sometime between the end of the month
and the 25th of that month; during the third one, they recited hymns with philosophical content [5].
During their meetings and possibly also during the three feasts they held, on the dates of the sun's entry
into the Zodiac signs "Ram, Cancer, and Balance"), besides the usual lectures and discussions, they
would engage in some manner of liturgy reminiscent of the Harranians [6]

[edit] Ranks
Hierarchy was a major theme in their Encyclopedia, and unsurprisingly, the Brethren loosely divided
themselves up into four ranks by age; the age guidelines would not have been firm, as for example,
such an exemplar of the fourth rank as Jesus would have been too young if the age guidelines were
absolute and fixed. Compare the similar division of the Encyclopedia into four sections and the Jabirite
symbolism of 4. The ranks were:
1. The "Craftsmen"- a craftsman had to be at least 15 years of age; their honorific was the "pious
and compassionate" (al-abrr wa 'l-ruham).

2. The "Political Leaders"- a political leader had to be at least 30 years of age; their honorific was
the "good and excellent" (al-akhyr wa 'l-fudal)
3. The "Kings"- a king had to be at least 40 years of age; their honorific was the "excellent and
noble" (al-fudal' al-kirm)
4. The "Prophets and Philosophers"- the most aspired-to, the final and highest rank of the
Brethren; to become a Prophet or Philosopher a man had to be at least 50 years old; their
honorific compared them to historical luminaries such as Jesus, Socrates, or Muhammad who
were also classified as Kings; this rank was the "angelic rank" (al-martabat al-malakiyya). [7]

[edit] Identities
There have been a number of theories as to the authors of the Brethren.

[edit] Ismaili
Among the Isma'ili groups and missionaries who favored the Encyclopedia (as Paul Casanova shows in
his 1898 work attempting to date the Brethren), authorship was sometimes ascribed to one or another
"Hidden Imam"; this theory is recounted in Ibn al-Qifti's biographical compendium of philosophers and
doctors, the "Chronicle of the Learned" (Ahkbr al-Hukam or Tabaqt-al-Hukam).[8][9][10]
The compiler of Ikhwan as-Safa concealed his identity so skillfully that modern scholarship has spilled
much ink in trying to trace the members of group. Using vivid metaphor, the members referred to
themselves as "sleepers in the cave" (Rasail 4th, p. 18). In one place they gave as their reason for
hiding their secrets from the people, not fear of earthly rulers nor trouble from the common populace,
but a desire to protect their God-given gifts (Rasail 4th, p. 166). Yet they were well aware that their
esoteric teachings might provoke unrest, and the calamities suffered by the successors of the Prophet
were a good reason to remain hidden until the right day came for them to emerge from their cave and
wake from their long sleep (Rasail 4th, p. 269). To live safely, it was necessary for their doctrines to be
cloaked. Ian Richard Netton, however writes in "MusIim Neoplatonists" (London, 1982, p. 80) that,
"The Ikhwan's concepts of exegesis of both Quran and Islamic tradition were tinged with the esoterism
of the Ismailis." Strangely enough, in dealing with the doctrines of Qadariya and Sabaeans of Harran,
the Epistles do not mention the Ismailism. Yet it was the Ismailis, perhaps more than any other, which
had the most profound effect on the structure and vocabulary of the Epistles. Almost the average
scholars have attempted to show that the Ikhwan (brothers) were definitely Ismailis. A.A.A. Fyzee
(1899-1981), for instance, writes in "Religion in the Middle East", (ed. by A.J. Arberry, Cambridge,
1969, 2nd vol., p. 324) that, "The tracts are clearly of Ismaili origin; and all authorities, ancient and
modern, are agreed that the Rasail constitute the most authoritative exposition of the early form of the
Ismaili religion." According to Yves Marquet, "It seems indisputable that the Epistles represent the state
of Ismaili doctrine at the time of their compositions" (vide, "Encyclopaedia of Islam", 1960, p. 1071)
Bernard Lewis in "The Origins of Ismailism" (London, 1940, p. 44) was more cautious than Fyzee,
ranking the Epistles among books which, though "closely related to Ismailism" may not actually have
been Ismaili, despite their batini inspiration. Ibn Qifti (d.646/1248), reporting in the 7th/13th century in
"Tarikh-i Hukama" (p. 82) that, "Opinions differed about the authors of the Epistles. Some people
attributed to an Alid Imam, proffering various names, whereas other put forward as author some early
Mutazalite theologians."
Among the Syrian Ismailis, the earliest reference of the Epistles and its relation with the Ismailis is
given in "Kitab Fusul wa'l Akhbar" by Nurudin bin Ahmad (d. 233/849). Another important work, "al-

Usul wa'l-Ahakam" by Abul Ma'ali Hatim bin Imran bin Zuhra (d. 498/1104), quoted by Arif Tamir in
"Khams Rasa'il Ismailiyya" (Salamia, 1956, p. 120), writes that, "These dais, and other dais with them,
collaborated in composing long Epistles, fifty-two in number, on various branches of learning." It
implies the Epistles being the product of the joint efforts of the Ismaili dais.
Among the Yamenite traces, the earliest reference of the Epistles is found in "Sirat-i Ibn Hawshab" by
Garar bin Mansur al-Yamen, who lived between 270/883 and 360/970, and writes, "He (Imam Taqi
Muhammad) went through many a difficulty and fear and the destruction of his family, whose
description cannot be lengthier, until he issued (ansa'a) the Epistles and was contacted by a man called
Abu Gafir from among his dais. He charged him with the mission as was necessary and asked him to
keep his identity concealed." This source not only asserts the connection of the Epistles with the
Ismailis, but also indicates that the Imam himself was not the sole author (sahibor mu'allif), but only
the issuer or presenter (al-munsi). It suggests that the text of the philosophical deliberations was given a
final touching by the Imam, and the approved text was delivered to Abu Gafir to be forwarded possibly
to the Ikhwan in Basra secretly. Since the orthodox circles and the ruling power had portrayed a wrong
image of Ismailism, the names of the compilers were concealed. The prominent members of the secret
association seem to be however, Abul Hasan al-Tirmizi, Abdullah bin Mubarak, Abdullah bin Hamdan,
Abdullah bin Maymun, Sa'id bin Hussain etc. The other Yamenite source connecting the Epistles with
the Ismailis was the writing of Ibrahim bin al-Hussain al-Hamidi (d. 557/1162), who compiled "Kanz
al-Walad." After him, there followed "al-Anwar al-Latifa" by Muhammad bin Tahir (d. 584/1188),
"Tanbih al-Ghafilin" by Hatim bin Ibrahim (d. 596/1199), "Damigh al-Batil wa haft al-Munazil" by Ali
bin Muhammad bin al-Walid al-Anf (d. 612/1215), "Risalat al-Wahida" by Hussain bin Ali al-Anf (d.
667/1268) and "Uyun'l-Akhbar" by Idris Imaduddin (d. 872/1468) etc.
According to "Ikhwan as-Safa" (Rasail 21st., p. 166), "Know, that among us there are kings, princes,
khalifs, sultans, chiefs, ministers, administrators, tax agents, treasurers, officers, chamberlains,
notables, nobles, servants of kings and their military supporters. Among us too there are merchants,
artisans, agriculturists and stock breeders. There are builders, landowners, the worthy and wealthy,
gentlefolk and possessors of all many virtues. We also have persons of culture, of science, of piety and
of virtue. We have orators, poets, eloquent persons, theologians, grammarians, tellers of tales and
purveyors of lore, narrators of traditions, readers, scholars, jurists, judges, magistrates and ecstatics.
Among us too there are philosophers, sages, geometers, astronomers, naturalists, physicians, diviners,
soothsayers, casters of spells and enchantments, interpreters of dreams, alchemists, astrologers, and
many other sorts, too many to mention."

[edit] al-Tawhd
Al-Qifti, however, denigrates this account and instead turns to a comment he discovered, written by
Ab Hayyn al-Tawhd (d. 1023)[8] in his Kitb al-Imt' wa'l-Mu'nasa (written between 983 and
985[11]), a collection of 37 seances at the court of Ibn Sa'dn, vizier of the Buyid ruler Samsam adDawla. Apparently, al-Tawhd was close to a certain Zaid b. Rifa'a, praising his intellect, ability and
deep knowledge - indeed, he had dedicated his Kitb as-Sadiq was-Sadaqa to Zaid - but he was
disappointed that Zaid was not orthodox or consistent in his beliefs, and that he was, as Stern puts it:
...frequenting the society of the heretical authors of the Rasa'il Ikhwan as-Safa, whose names are also
recorded as follows: Abu Sulaiman Muhammed b. Ma'shar al-Bisti al-Maqdisi, Abu'l-Hasan 'Ali b.
Harun az-Zanjani and Abu Ahmad al-Mihrajani, and al-'Aufi. At-Tauhidi also reports in this connection
the opinion expressed by Abu Sulaiman al-Mantiqi, his master, on the Rasa'il and an argument between

a certain al-Hariri, another pupil of al-Mantiqi, and Abu Sulaiman al-Maqdisi about the respective roles
of Revelation and Philosophy.[12]
For many years, this was the only account of the authors' identities, but al-Tawhd's comments were
second-hand evidence and so unsatisfactory; further, the account is incomplete, as Abu Hayyan
mentions that there were others besides these 4[13].
This situation lasted until al-Tawhd's Kitb al-Imt' wa'l-Mu'nasa was published in 1942.[12] This
publication substantially supported al-Qifti's work, although al-Qifti apparently toned down the
description and prominence of al-Tawhd's charges that the Brethren were Batiniyya, an esoteric
Ismaili sect and thus heretics, possibly so as to not tar his friend Zaid with the same brush.
Stern derives a further result from the published text of the Kitb al-Imt 'wal-Muanasa, pointing out
that a story al-Tawhd ascribes to a personal meeting with Qd Abu'l-Hasan 'Al b. Hrn az-Zanjni,
the founder of the group, appears in almost identical form in one of the epistles.[14] While neat, Stern's
view of things has been challenged by Tibawi, who points out some assumptions and errors Stern has
made, such as the relationship between the story in al-Tawhd's work and the Epistles; Tibawi points
out the possibility that the story was instead taken from a third, independent and prior source.[15]
al-Tawhd's testimony has also been described as thus:

The Ikhwan al-Safa' remain an anonymous group of scholars, but when Abu Hayyan alTawhd was asked about them, he identified some of them: Abu Sulayman al-Busti
(known as al-Muqaddasi), 'Ali b. Harun al-Zanjani, Muhammad al-Nahrajuri (or alMihrajani), al-'Awfi, and Zayd ibn Rifa'i.[2]

The last contemporary source comes from the surviving portions of the Kitb Siwan al-Hikma (c. 950)
by Abu Sulaiman al-Mantiqi (al-Tawhd's teacher; 912-985[16]), which was a sort of compendium of
biographies; al-Mantiqi is primarily interested in the Brethren's literary techniques of using parables
and stories, and so he says only this little before proceeding to give some extracts of the Encyclopedia:

Ab Sulaimn al-Maqdis: He is the author of the fifty-two Epistles inscribed The Epistles
of the Sincere Brethren; all of them are full with Ethics and the science of... They are
current among people, and are widely read. I wish to quote here a few paragraphs in order
to give an idea of the manner of their parables, thus bringing my book to an end.[17]

al-Maqdis was previously listed in the Basra group of al-Tawhd; here Stern and Hamdani differ, with
Stern quoting Mantiqi as crediting Maqdisi with 52 epistles, but Hamdani says "By the time of alManiq, the Ras'l were almost complete (he mentions 51 tracts)."[18]
The second near-contemporary record is another comment by Shahzry or (Shahrazr) as recorded in
the Tawrikh al-Hukam or alternatively, the Tawrykh al-Hokam; specifically, it is from the Nuzhat
al-arwah, which is contained in the Tawrykh, which states:

Ab Solaymn Mah. b. Mosh'ir b. Nasby, who is known by the name of Moqadisy, and
Ab al-Hasan b. Zahrn Ryhny, and Ab Ahmad Nahrajry, and al-'Aufy, and Zayd b.
Rof'ah are the philosophers who compiled the memoirs of the Ikhwn al-caf, which have
been recorded by Moqaddisy.[19]

Hamdani disputes the general abovegoing identifications, pointing out that accounts differ in multiple
details, such as whether Zayd was an author or not, whether there was a principal author, and who was
in the group or not. He lays particular stress on quotes from the Encyclopedia dating between 954 and
960 in the anonymous (Pseudo-Majriti) work Ghyat al-Hakm; al-Maqdisi and al-Zanjani are known
to have been active in 983, He finds it implausible they would have written or edited "so large an
encyclopedia at least twenty-five to thirty years earlier, that is, around 343/954 to 348/960, when they
would have been very young."[18] He explains the al-Tawhidi narrative as being motivated by
contemporary politics and issues of hereticism relating to the Qarmatians, and points out that there is
proof that Abu Hayyan has fabricated other messages and information[20].
Amusingly, Aloys Sprenger mentions this in a footnote:
"Since I wrote the first part of this notice I found one of the authors of these memoirs mentioned in the
following terms: 'Zayd b. Rofa, one of the authors of the Ikhwan al safa, was extremely ignorant in
tradition, and he was a liar without shame.'"[21]

[edit] The Epistles of the Brethren of Purity

The Rasail Ikhwan al-Safa (Epistles of the Brethren of Purity) consist of fifty-two treatises in
mathematics, natural sciences, psychology (psychical sciences) and theology. The first part, which is on
mathematics, groups fourteen epistles that include treatises in arithmetic, geometry, astronomy,
geography, and music, along with tracts in elementary logic, inclusive of: the Isagogue, the Categories,
De Interpretatione, the Prior Analytics and the Posterior Analytics. The second part, which is on
natural sciences, gathers seventeen epistles on matter and form, generation and corruption, metallurgy,
meteorology, a study of the essence of nature, the classes of plants and animals, including a fable. The
third part, which is on psychology, comprises ten epistles on the psychical and intellective sciences,
dealing with the nature of the intellect and the intelligible, the symbolism of temporal cycles, the
mystical essence of love, resurrection, causes and effects, definitions and descriptions. The fourth part
deals with theology in eleven epistles, investigating the varieties of religious sects, the virtue of the
companionship of the Brethren of Purity, the properties of genuine belief, the nature of the Divine Law,
the species of politics, and the essence of magic.[3]
The Rasail Ikhwan al-Safa are available in print through a variety of Arabic editions, starting from the
version established in Calcutta in 1812, then followed by the edition of Bombay of 1887-1889), then by
the edition of Khayr al-Din al-Zirikli in 1928 in Cairo, and the Beirut Sadir edition by Butrus Bustani
in 1957 and the version set by Arif Tamir in Beirut in1995. All these editions are not critical and we do
not yet have a complete English translation of the whole Rasail encyclopedia.
The first complete Arabic critical edition and annotated English translation of the Rasail Ikhwan alSafa is being prepared for publication by a team of editors, translators and scholars as part of a new
book series to be published by Oxford University Press in association with the Institute of Ismaili
Studies in London; a project currently coordinated by the series editor Nader El-Bizri.[4] This series is

initiated by an introductory volume of studies edited by El-Bizri, which will be published by Oxford
University Press in December 2008.[5]

[edit] See also

List of Arab scientists and scholars.

[edit] Notes
1. ^ "Having been hidden within the cloak of secrecy from its very inception, the Rasa'il have
provided many points of contention and have been a constant source of dispute among both
Muslim and Western scholars. The identification of the authors, or possibly one author, the
place and time of writing and propagation of their works, the nature of the secret brotherhood,
the outer manifestation of which comprises the Rasa'il - these and many secondary questions
have remained without answer." pg 25, Nasr (1964)
2. ^ They are generally considered a secret society because of their closed & private meetings
every 12 days, as mentioned in the Rasa'il.
3. ^ Ikhwan al-Safa', by Ian Richard Netton, from Routledge (1998). Retrieved from
http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/ip/rep/H051
4. ^ pg 199, 189 of Lane-Poole 1883
5. ^ "The liturgy of the first night consisted of personal oratory; that of the second of a 'cosmic
text', read under the starry heavens facing the polar star; and that of the third night of a
philosophical hymn (implying a metaphysical or metacosmic theme) which was a 'prayer of
Plato', 'supplication of Idris', or 'the secret psalm of Aristotle'." pg 35 of Nasr 1964
6. ^ "...the liturgy described by the Ikhwan seems to be more closely related to the religion of the
heirs of the prophet Idris, that is, the Harranians who were the principal inheritors in the Middle
East of what has been called "Oriental Pythagoreanism" and who were the guardians and
propagators of Hermeticism in the Islamic world." pg 34 of Nasr 1964
7. ^ pg 36, Neton 1991
8. ^ a b pg 193 of Lane-Poole's Studies in a Mosque
9. ^ pg. 25 of Nasr 1964
10. ^ pg 1; "It can be easily understood too that the Ism'ilis, among whom the Rasa'il enjoyed a
quasi-canonical authority, ascribed to someone or other of their "Hidden Imams"." Here Stern is
drawing upon Dr. H. Hamdn's "The Rasail Ikhwan al-Safa in the Ismaili Literature", published
in Der Islam in 1936. Compare also this quote from pg 7 of the "Ikhwan as-Safa and their
Rasa'il: A Critical Review of a Century and a Half of Research" (by A. L. Tibawi,as published
in volume 2 of The Islamic Quarterly in 1955; pgs. 28-46): "It tends, however, to prove one
thing, namely, that theRasa'il were popular with later Isma'ili missionaries who read, copied,
and summarized them to suit their own purpose. But, as stated above, it has yet to be proved
that Isma'ili bent of the tracts and of the genuine ar-Risla al-Jmi'a was itself a proof of early
Isma'ili connexion. Indeed, the tracts speak in two voices on this Isma'ili bent." Stern (1947)
11. ^ pg 345, Hamdani
12. ^ a b pg. 3, Stern 1947
13. ^ 348, Hamdani
14. ^ pg. 4, Stern 1947
15. ^ pg 12-13 of "Ikhwan as-Safa and their Rasa'il:A Critical Review of a Century and a Half of
Research", by A. L.Tibawi, as published in volume 2 of The Islamic Quarterly in 1955;pgs. 2846

16. ^ 349, Hamdani

17. ^ pg. 5, Stern 1947
18. ^ a b 350, Hamdani
19. ^ "Notices of some copies of the Arabic work entitled "Rasyil Ikhwm al-caf"" by Aloys
Sprenger, originally published by the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (Calcutta) in
1848 [1]
20. ^ 351, Hamdani
21. ^ Image:Brethren8.png

[edit] References

1998 edition of the The Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy; ed. Edward Craig, ISBN 0-41518709-5
Nasr, Seyyed Hossein (1964). An Introduction to Islamic Cosmological Doctrines: Conceptions
of nature and methods used for its study by the Ihwan Al-Safa, Al-Biruni, and Ibn Sina. Belknap
Press of Harvard University Press. LCCN 64-13430.
Lane-Poole, Stanley (1883). Studies in a Mosque (1st ed.). Khayat Book & Publishing
Company S.A.L. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Studies_in_a_Mosque.
Retrieved on 28 April 2007.
Netton, Ian Richard (1991). Muslim Neoplatonists: An Introduction to the Thought of the
Brethren of Purity (1st ed.). Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 0-7486-0251-8.
"The authorship of the Epistles of the Ikhwan-as-Safa", by Samuel Miklos Stern, published by
Islamic Culture of Hyderabad in 1947
"Ab ayyan Al-Tawd and The Brethren of Purity", Abbas Hamdani. International Journal
Middle East Studies, 9 (1978), 345-353

[edit] External links

http://ismaili.net/histoire/history04/history428.html

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Brethren of Sincerity

Ikhwan al-Safa entry in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy by carmela Baffioni

Article at the Encyclopedia Britannica
"Ikhwanus Safa: A Rational and Liberal Approach to Islam" -(by Asghar Ali Engineer)
"The Classification of the Sciences according to the Rasa'il Ikhwan al-Safa'" by Godefroid de
Callata
The Institute of Ismaili Studies article on the Brethren, by Nader El-Bizri
The Institute of Ismaili Studies gallery of images of manuscripts of the Rasail of the Ikhwan alSafa
Article in Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Ikhwan al-Safa'

The philosophy of the group of Arab philosophers of the fourth or fifth century ah (tenth or eleventh
century ad) known as the Ikhwan al-Safa' (Brethren of Purity) is a curious but fascinating mixture of
the Qur'anic, the Aristotelian and the Neoplatonic. The group wrote fifty-two epistles, which are
encyclopedic in range, covering matters as diverse as arithmetic, theology, magic and embryology.
Their numerology owes a debt to Pythagoras, their metaphysics are Aristotelian and Neoplatonic and
they incorporate also a few Platonic notions into their philosophy. The latter, however, is more than a
mere synthesis of elements from Greek philosophy, for it is underpinned by a considerable Qur'anic
substratum. There are profound links between the epistemology and the soteriology (doctrine of
salvation) of the Ikhwan, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that the former feeds the latter. In
the history of Islamic philosophy the Ikhwan illustrate a group where the Aristotelian and the
Neoplatonic clash head-on and where no attempt is made to reconcile competing and contradictory
notions of God, whom the Epistles treat in both Qur'anic and Neoplatonic fashion. The final goal of the
Ikhwan is salvation; their Brotherhood is the ship of that salvation, and they foster a spirit of
asceticism and good living accompanied by 'actual knowledge' as aids to that longed-for salvation.
1.
2.
3.
4.

Life and works

Metaphysics
Epistemology
Soteriology

1. Life and works

The Arabic name Ikhwan al-Safa' has been translated as both 'Brethren of Purity' and 'Brethren of
Sincerity'. Both are possible, though the former is probably to be preferred because of the emphasis
throughout the group's writings on the concept of purity achieved via a life of asceticism and virtuous
living.
Little firm information is available about their exact identities, their lives and the precise time during
which they flourished. Most scholars agree, however, that they lived in Basra in the fourth or fifth
century ah (tenth or eleventh century ad); beyond that there has been much diverse speculation. Their
own thought and philosophy is enshrined in fifty-two epistles (rasa'il) of varying lengths which are
encyclopedic in their scope and cover a vast number of topics. Formally, these epistles divide into four
major sections: the first fourteen deal with the mathematical sciences, the next seventeen are on the
natural sciences, a further ten deal with the psychological and rational sciences and the final eleven
come under the heading of theological sciences. It should be noted that the Ikhwan's usage of these
divisions is much broader in range than might be expected at first sight. For example, the last of the
epistles grouped under the heading 'theological sciences' deals with magic and related subjects. What
may broadly be said to link all the epistles, however, is a mixed Aristotelian and Neoplatonic
substratum, though it must be stressed here that the epistles of the Ikhwan al-Safa' are more than just a
synthesis of Aristotelian and dominant Neoplatonic themes. The incorporation by the Ikhwan of
syncretic philosophical and theological themes, motifs, elements and doctrines in their writings was
done with a particular soteriological purpose (see 4). Their eclectic borrowing was done with a view
to bolstering the doctrine of purity which their name so neatly reflects.

2. Metaphysics
The metaphysics of the Ikhwan al-Safa' are built upon those of Aristotle and Plotinus, though it must be
emphasized that it is a Middle Eastern version of Aristotelianism and Neoplatonism which we

encounter when we read the rasa'il of the Ikhwan. In the first place, their terminology is infused with
such terms as matter and form, substance and accidents, the four causes and potentiality and actuality.
Their usage of such terms, however, does not always adhere to the classical Aristotelian paradigm or
usage. The development of terminology is often in a Neoplatonic direction. For example, the Ikhwan
held in one place that substance was something which was self-existent and capable of receiving
attributes. We recognize here a description akin to Aristotle's usage of the word 'substance' in the
Metaphysics. But elsewhere, confusingly, form is divided into two kinds, constituting and completing;
constituting forms are called substances and completing forms are called accidents. Similarly, the
Ikhwan adopted a fourfold terminology of causes - material, formal, efficient and final - but the shades
of astrology and Neoplatonism hang heavily over at least two of the examples of these four causes
which they provide. They say that the material cause of plants is the four elements of fire, air, water and
earth, and that their final cause is to provide food for animals: both of these ideas are recognizably
Aristotelian in their orientation, but the Ikhwan then go on to suggest that the efficient cause of plants
is the power of the Universal Soul and that their formal cause has complicated astral elements!
It is, however, the Neoplatonic elements which dominate the articulation of all thought in the writings
of the Ikhwan al-Safa' and their metaphysics are no exception. The latter are imbued in particular with
the Neoplatonic concepts of emanation and hierarchy. By contrast with the simple triad of Plotinus,
which comprised the three hypostases of The One or The Good, Intellect and Soul, with the lower
eternally emanating from the higher entity, the Ikhwan elaborated this into an emanationist hierarchy of
nine 'members', hypostases or levels of being, as follows: the Creator, the Intellect, the Soul, Prime
Matter, Nature, the Absolute Body, the Sphere, the Four Elements and the Beings of this world in the
three divisions of mineral, plant and animal. In such a hierarchical profusion we can perhaps see the
ghosts of Iamblichus and Proclus, who also multiplied the hypostases about which they wrote. It is
noteworthy that for the Ikhwan, and in contrast to the view of Plotinus, matter becomes a full part of
the emanationist hierarchy and is regarded in a positive light. Furthermore, and this time in a very
Neoplatonic way, God in the Ikhwan's scheme entrusts the movement of the world and the spheres to
the Universal Soul, and it is the latter which channels God's gifts finally into Matter itself (see
Neoplatonism).
The Neoplatonic dimensions of the thought of the Ikhwan have profound implications for their view of
God. The picture which they present of the deity in their epistles is a confused and ultimately
contradictory one. No attempt is made to reconcile what is in fact irreconcilable. On the one hand, the
Ikhwan present a God at the top of a complex emanationist hierarchy who is unknowable in the classic
Neoplatonic sense. On the other hand, the Ikhwan present a Qur'anic God who is a guide and a help,
and who is invoked at the end of many of the epistles as one who will grant success in correct action
and show his people the path of righteousness. The majority of epistles also invoke God with the
traditional Islamic basmala, 'In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate'. However, God's
power, as noted above, seems to be 'shared' in some way when it is exercised via the Universal Soul. To
what extent, one may reasonably ask, does that compromise the traditional Islamic view of God?
Furthermore, to what extent do the recognizably Islamic features in the Ikhwan's portrait of God
prevent that deity being considered as a total mirror of Plotinus' One?
The metaphysics of the Ikhwan al-Safa' must therefore be regarded as sui generis. Their mixing of
Aristotelian and Neoplatonic elements had profound implications both for their theology and the
coherence of their philosophy. Contradictions abound; if reasons be sought for this, it is worth
remembering one theory, promulgated by A.L. Tibawi (1955), that the epistles are akin to the minutes
taken during the deliberations of a learned society, meeting on many occasions over a period of years.

This would account for both contradiction and repetition. We know from the epistles themselves that
the authors urged their brothers to meet specially at set times, in closed sessions.

3. Epistemology
Thus far in this article, nothing has been said about the impact of Platonic thought on the epistles of the
Ikhwan. This is because the Brethren revere the Platonic hero rather more than they revere purely
Platonic philosophy. Socrates is admired as a great and wise philosopher who knew how to meet death
bravely. However, some Platonic imagery does permeate the epistles (see Platonism in Islamic
philosophy). The most notable image is that of the body constituting a prison for the soul. The Ikhwan
indeed compare the soul in the body to the state of a man imprisoned inside a lavatory: the body's
blemishes and sins are like the filth in the lavatory. It is clear that the Ikhwan were familiar with Plato's
doctrine of Forms or ideai, since they quote a speaker saying that the different types of animal in the
world simply mirror those in the world of the spheres and the heavens (see Plato). However, this is not
a doctrine for which the Ikhwan seem to have had much use, for they neither discuss nor elaborate
upon it.
It is, therefore, unsurprising that the Ikhwan's epistemology differs quite radically from that of Plato.
The latter looked forward to a state of real knowledge achieved when the soul was separated from the
body; but in the soteriology and epistemology of the Ikhwan, one could gain some knowledge of the
divine in this world to help one reach Paradise. Indeed, they present their epistles to the world as a
body of just such knowledge. For them, learning was much more than mere recollection or
reminiscence. They held that the soul was 'potentially knowledgeable' and, with instruction, could
become 'actually knowledgeable'. That instruction should be via the senses, the intellect and logical
deduction, and they stressed that we could know nothing without the senses. This is indeed a far cry
from Plato's well-known suspicion of evidence or knowledge gleaned via the senses, and his
overwhelming exaltation of the intellect.

4. Soteriology
The mass of information - philosophical, theological and other - adumbrated in such an encyclopedic
manner in the epistles of the Ikhwan al Safa' is probably incomprehensible as a totality unless one bears
in mind the driving force which lies at the heart of the epistles themselves. The Ikhwan did not compile
the epistles from a pure love of knowledge and for no other reason. The magpie eclecticism with which
they surveyed and utilized elements from the philosophies of Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle and Plotinus,
and religions such as Christianity, Judaism and Hinduism, was not an early attempt at ecumenism or
interfaith dialogue. Their accumulation of knowledge was ordered towards the sublime goal of
salvation. To use their own image, they perceived their Brotherhood, to which they invited others, as a
'Ship of Salvation' that would float free from the sea of matter; the Ikhwan, with their doctrines of
mutual cooperation, asceticism and righteous living, would reach the gates of Paradise in its care.
What, then, did it mean for the Ikhwan al-Safa' to 'do philosophy'? It did not mean to throw off the
religious constraints of the Qur'an and to become pure rationalists. Though they often use the Qur'an as
a cloak to disguise their Neoplatonism, one cannot ignore the massive Qur'anic substratum elsewhere in
their writings, which has no such intent. 'Doing philosophy' did not mean either the uncritical
acceptance of the data from a variety of sources such as Pythagoras, Plato and Aristotle, not to mention
Plotinus, even though they were profoundly influenced by at least three of these four ancient masters
and it is no misnomer to describe the Ikhwan as 'Muslim Neoplatonists'. Philosophy, for the Ikhwan,

was still the handmaiden of a precise theological goal: salvation for the soul. Their eclecticism and
tolerance provided them with a unique methodology for the achievement of that goal. Thus they
searched out the texts of other creeds and the philosophies of non-Muslim sages in search of materials
which might bolster their own ethics of purity and asceticism. Their intellectual heroes were Socrates
and Jesus as well as Muhammad. Above all, knowledge and philosophy were always soteriological
tools and never ends in themselves.
See also: Islamic theology; Mystical philosophy in Islam; Neoplatonism in Islamic philosophy
IAN RICHARD NETTON
Copyright 1998, Routledge.

References and further reading

Diwald, S. (1975) Arabische Philosophie und Wissenschaft in der Enzyklopdie Kitab Ihwan as-Safa'
III: Die Lehre von Seele und Intellekt (Arab Philosophy and Science in the Book of the Brethren of
Purity III: Teachings on the Soul and the Intellect), Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. (A German translation of
the third section of the Rasa'il with extensive notes.)
Goodman, L.E. (1978) The Case of the Animals versus Man Before the King of the Jinn, Boston, MA:
Twayne Publishers. (An English translation of a major portion of the second section of the Rasa'il with
extensive introduction and notes.)
* Ikhwan al-Safa' (1957) Rasa'il Ikhwan al-Safa' (Epistles of the Brethren of Purity), Beirut: Dar Sadir,
4 vols. (The complete text of the fifty-two epistles in the original Arabic.)
Marquet, Y. (1975) La philosophie des Ihwan al-Safa' (The Philosophy of the Brethren of Purity),
Algiers: Socit Nationale d'dition et de Diffusion. (A major study by France's leading expert in the
field.)
Nasr, S.H. (1978) An Introduction to Islamic Cosmological Doctrines, revised edn, London: Thames &
Hudson. (Contains a major section on the cosmology of the Ikhwan.)
Netton, I.R. (1982) Muslim Neoplatonists: An Introduction to the Thought of the Brethren of Purity
(Ikhwan al-Safa'), London: Allen & Unwin; paperback edn, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press,
1991. (A major introduction in English to the thought of the Ikhwan.)
Netton, I.R. (1996) 'The Brethren of Purity', in S.H. Nasr and O. Leaman (eds) History of Islamic
Philosophy, London: Routledge, ch. 15, 222-30. (Concise and clear outline of their views.)
* Tibawi, A.L. (1955) 'Ikhwan as-Safa' and Their Rasa'il: A Critical Review of a Century and a Half of
Research', Islamic Quarterly 2 (1): 28-46. (A very useful and neat survey of Ikhwan scholarship up to
1955.)

Ikhwn al-Saf'
The Ras'il al-Ikhwn al-saf' (Treatises of the Brethren of Purity) is an Islamic Encyclopedia
consisting of fifty-two treatises on different topics, with an additional comprehensive Treatise
(Rislat al-jmia). The authors lived in Basra in Iraq and were linked to the early Isml dawa
(mission), which belongs to Sh Islam. This article provides an outline to help readers have a
bird's eye-view of this Encyclopedia composed by brilliant Muslim scholars who mastered all
branches of knowledge in their manifold external and internal aspects.

Table of Contents (Clicking on the links below will take you to those parts of this article)
1. Historical Background
2. Short Description of the Work
3. Philosophical Sciences
4. Twofold in the Creation
5. References and Further Reading

1. Historical Background
One of the main obstacles preventing a proper understanding of the Isma'ili movement is the
paucity of historical material exemplified by the fact that only Sunni sources relating Ismaili
history survived. The early part of Ismaili history has two important phases. It is in this complex
pre-Fatimid period that Jabir ibn Hayyan (d. C.E. 815) wrote many treatises on alchemy and on the
mystical science of treatises. The Encyclopedia of the Ikhwan al-safa' was composed by authors
who had a vast knowledge of Hellenic literature and the various contemporary sciences.
Isma'ilism developed a complex and rich theosophy which owed a great deal to Neoplatonism. In
the 9TH century, Greek-to-Arabic translations proliferated, first by the intermediary of Syriac then
directly. The version of Plotinus' Enneads possessed by Muslims was modified with changes and
paraphrases; it was wrongly attributed to Aristotle and called Theologia of Aristotle, since Plotinus
(Flutinus) remained mostly unknown to the Muslims by name. This latter work played a significant
role in the development of Ismailism
The Ikhwan al-Safa' remain an anonymous group of scholars, but when Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi
was asked about them, he identified some of them: Abu Sulayman al-Busti (known as alMuqaddasi), 'Ali b. Harun al-Zanjani, Muhammad al-Nahrajuri (or al-Mihrajani), al-Awfi, and
Zayd ibn Rifai. The complete name of the group is Ikhwan al-Safa wa Khullan al-Wafa wa Ahl
al-Hamd wa Abna al-Majd. The majority of scholars agree that the Ikhwan and their rasa'il
belongs to the Ismaili movement. (cf. Nasr, 1978, p. 29; Marquet, 1971, p. 1071; Poonawala, p. 93)
Back to Table of Contents

2. Short Description of the Work

The Encyclopedia is divided into fifty-two epistles (rasa'il) of varying lengths, which make up four
books. Each book develops different topics:
Book 1: the mathematical sciences (14 rasa'il) include theory of number, geometry, astronomy,
geography, music, theoretical and practical arts, ethics and logic.
Book 2: the natural sciences (17 rasa'il) comprehend matter, form, motion, time, space, sky and
universe, generation and corruption, meteorology, minerals, plants, animals, human body,
perception, embryology, man as microcosm, development of souls in the body, limit of knowledge,
death, pleasure, and language.
Book 3: the psychological and rational sciences (10 rasa'il) comprehend intellectual principles
(Pythagoras and Ikhwan), universe as macrocosm, intelligence and intelligible, periods and era,
passion, resurrection, species of movement, cause and effect, definitions and descriptions.
Book 4: the theological sciences (11 rasa'il) include doctrines and religions, way to God, doctrine
of Ikhwan, essence of faith, divine law and prophethood, appeal to God, hierarchy, spiritual beings,
politics, magic and talisman.
Back to Table of Contents

3. Philosophical Sciences
The incorporation of philosophical and theological doctrines in their writings were done
teleogically. They were also influenced by neo-Pythagorean arithmetical theories, the authors based
their theosophy on this Pythagorean principle: "the beings are according to the nature of the
number." (Steigerwald, p. 82) They were inspired by the assertion attributed to Pythagoras: In the
knowledge of the properties of numbers and in the way they are classified and ranked in grades
resides the knowledge of the beings of God. (Steigerwald, p. 82) The Ikhwan al-safa' realized that
each number depends on the one which precedes it. We can decompose the number unit by unit till
we reach the first. But to the One we can not withdraw anything [] because it is the origin and
the source of number.(Steigerwald, p. 82) According to them, beings are like numbers: they come
from God and return finally to Him. This is a good example of how they adapted Pythagorean
theories to their fundamental belief in a hierarchical world.
The metaphysics of the Ikhwan al-Safa' are built upon Hellenic philosophy. They share common
terminology with the Aristotelian scheme, but the concepts (matter and form, substance --in Greek
ousia -- and accidents, potentially and actuality, and the four causes) vary slightly. For them,
learning is the reminiscence of knowledge already contained in the soul; the soul is 'potentially
knowledgeable and becomes actually knowledgeable.
The Ikhwan hold that substance is self-existent and capable of receiving attributes. But form is
divided into two kinds: substances and accidents. They conceive four causes: material, formal,
efficient, and final. The material cause of plants is the four elements (fire, air, water, and earth) and
their final cause is to provide food for animals. (rasa'il Ikhwan al-Safa', vol. 2 p. 79; cf. rasa'il
Ikhwan al-Safa, vol. 2 p. 115, vol. 3, p. 358) Here the Ikhwan ascribe for material cause the raw

material (i.e. bronze or silver); for the formal cause, they give the example of an apple pip which is
expected to produce an apple; the efficient cause indicates the origin, for example a father is the
efficient cause of a child, and the final cause shows the purpose of something.
Back to Table of Contents

4. Twofold in the Creation

The process of creation is divided twofold: first, God creates ex nihilo the Intellect; immediately
after the Intellect's emanation (fayd), it proceeds gradually, giving shape to the present universe.
The order and character of emanation are described below. (rasa'il Ikhwan al-Safa, vol. 1 p. 54; cf.
rasa'il Ikhwan al-Safa, vol. 3 pp. 184, 196-7; 235)
(1) Al-Bari' (Creator, or God) is the First and only Eternal Being, no anthropomorphic attribute is to
be ascribed to Him. Only the will to originate pertains to Him. The Ikhwan present an Unknowable
God (Deus Absconditus) at the top of the hierarchy while the Quranic God (Deus Revelatus),
another facet of God, guides people on the right path.
(2) Al-'Aql (Intellect or Gr. Nos) is the first being to originate from God. It is one in number as
God Himself is One. God created all the forms of subsequent beings in the Intellect, from which
emanated the Universal soul and the first matter. It is clear, in the opinion of the Ikhwan, that the
Intellect, a counterpart of God, is the best representative of God.
(3) Al-Nafs al-Kulliyya (The Universal Soul) is the Soul of the whole universe, a simple essence
which emanates from the Intellect. It receives its energy from the Intellect. It manifests itself in the
sun through which is animated the whole sublunary (material) world. What we call creation, in our
physical world, pertains to the Universal Soul.
(4) Al-Hayula al-Ula (Prime Matter, arabicized from Gr. hyle), is a spiritual substance that is unable
to emanate by itself. It is caused by the Intellect to proceed from the Universal Soul which helps it
to emanate and accept different forms.
(5) Al-Tabi'at (Nature) is the energy diffused throughout all organic and inorganic bodies. It is the
cause of motion, life, and change. The influence of intellect ceases at this stage of Nature. All
subsequent emanations tend to be more and more material and defective.
(6) Al-Jism al-Mutlaq (The Absolute Body) comes about when First matter acquires physical
properties, and it is the physical substance of which our world is made.
(7) The World of the Spheres (of the fixed stars, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury, and
the Moon) appears in the seventh stage of emanation. All the heavenly bodies are made up of a fifth
element (ether), and are not subject to generation and corruption.
(8) The Four Elements (fire, air, water, and earth) come immediately under the sphere of the moon
where they are subjected to generation and corruption. The Ikhwan adopt the view of Thales (d. c.
B.C.E. 545) and the Ionians that the four "elements" change into one another, water becomes air

and fire; fire becomes air, water, earth, etc.

(9) The Three Kingdoms are the last stage of emanation. The three kingdoms (mineral, plant, and
animal) are made of proportional intermixture of the four elements.
The Ikhwan al-Safa' took over the theory of Democritus of Abdera (d. c. B.C.E. 370) which
considered man as a reduced model of the universe (microcosm), and the universe as an enlarged
copy of man (macrocosm). They regard the human being as a miniature world. (Netton, pp. 14-15)
The individual souls (al-nafs al-juziyya), representing the infinite powers of the Universal Soul,
began to form. During a very long time, these souls filled the world of spheres and constituted the
angels, who animated heavenly bodies. In the early stage, the angels contemplated the Intellect and
performed the worship due to God. After a lapse of time, some of these individual souls began to
forget much about their origin and office. Their inattention caused the fall of the souls into the
physical earth. This explains the metaphysical origin of life on earth.
Back to Table of Contents

5. References and Further Reading

De Callata, Godefroid. "The Classification of the Sciences according to the rasa'il Ikhwan alSafa'."
http://www.iis.ac.uk/learning/life_long_learning/rasail_ikhwan/rasail_ikhwan.htm
Corbin, Henry. History of Islamic Philosophy. Translated from French by Liadian Sherrad and
Philipp Sherrad. London: Kegan Paul International, 1993: 133-136.
Fakhry, Majid. A history of Islamic Philosophy. Second Edition. New York: Columbia University
Press, 1983.
Farrukh, Omar A. "Ikhwan al-Safa'." In A History of Muslim Philosophy. Edited and Introduced by
M.M. Sharif. Wiesabaden: Otta Harrassowitz, (1963): 289-310.
Available in e-text at: http://www.al-islam.org/historyofmuslimphilosophy/title.htm
Hamdani, Abbas. "Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi and the Brethren of Purity." International Journal of
Middle East Studies, Vol. 9 (1978): 345-353.
Ikhwan al-Safa'. Rasa'il Ikhwan al-Safa (Epistles of the Brethren of Purity). Beirut: Dar Sadir, 4
vols., 1957 (The complete text of the fifty-two epistles in the original edited by Arabic Butrus
Bustani).
Ikhwan al-Safa'. Al-Risala al-Jami'a. Edited by J. Saliba. Damascus, vol. 1, 1387/1949, vol. 2 n:d.
Maquet, Yves. "Ikhwan al-Safa'." Encyclopaedia of Islam. Vol. 3 (1971): 1071-1076.
Marquet, Yves. La philosophie des Ihwan al-Safa'. Algers: Socit Nationale ddition et de

Diffusion, 1975.
Marquet, Yves. "Les ptres des Ikhwan as-Safa', uvre ismalienne." Studia Islamica. Vol. 61
(1985): 57-79.
Marquet, Yves. "Ihwan as-Safa', Ismaliens et Qarmates." Arabica. Vol. 24 (1977): 233-257.
Marquet, Yves. "Les Ihwan as-Safa' et lismalisme." In Convegne sugli Ikhwan as-Safa. Rome,
1971.
Marquet, Yves. La Philosophie des alchimistes et l'alchimie des philosophes: Jabir ibn Hayyan et
les Ihwan al-Safa. Paris: Maisonneuve et Larose, 1988.
Poonawala, Ismail K. "Ikhwan al-safa'." Vol. 7. The Encyclopedia of Religion. (1987): 92-95.
Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. Islamic Cosmological Doctrines. London: Thames Hudson, 1978: 23-96.
Nasr, Seyyed Hossein and Mehdi Aminrazavi (ed.). An Anthology of Philosophy in Persia. Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 2001: 201-279.
Netton, I.R. Muslim Neoplatonists: An Introduction to the Thought of the Brethren of Purity
(Ikhwan al-Safa'). London: Allen & Unwin; 1982.
Steigerwald, Diana. "The Multiple Facets of Isma'ilism." Sacred Web: A Journal of Tradition and
Modernity. Vol. 9 (2002): 77-87.
Tamir, 'Arif. La ralit des Ihwan as-Safa' wa Hullan al Wafa. Beirut, 1957.

Rasail-e Ikhwan us Safa

Epistles of the Brethren of Purity
Pages of Medieval Mideastern
History
By Eloise Hart
Whatever happened to those pages in
books between Ancient and Modern
times? Why were we left at the
destruction of Alexandria's fabulous
library -- heartsick to contemplate the
loss and to imagine, half buried in ashes
and rubble, charred pages of Aeschylus'
immortal dramas, faded diagrams of
Euclidean mathematics, and smoldering
bundles of Aristotelian scientific
classifications?
If indeed all was destroyed, how is it that
our law, our government, our science and philosophy are based on concepts of Hellenic culture?
Those chapters so often skipped, evidently, bear rereading. In them we'll discover that the
knowledge that seemed irretrievably lost -- especially those philosophical and scientific works
treasured in the library and museum of the Alexandrian royal palace, where scholars had
accumulated, translated, edited and catalogued the best of every field of knowledge -- was not
completely destroyed. Some valuable remnants were transported and enriched in a far land.
In those 'missing' pages we'll learn how the malicious efforts of Roman mercenaries and Christian
zealots to obliterate all trace of pagan culture were thwarted by wary scholars who saw in their
critical frowns, heard in their biased questions, a spirit of bigotry which might well, and indeed
did, grow into a veritable holocaust. These scholars, fortunately for posterity, quietly packed their
belongings, slipping in 'accidentally' a few irreplaceable manuscripts, and left the city. Others -translators, copywriters and researchers, employed at the Library-museum -- also became
apprehensive. Whenever possible they too secreted out fragile papyri and parchments.
Some were stored in underground crypts, or hidden in Egyptian mummy cases; others, wrapped
in Chinese silk were smuggled out on merchant caravans winding their way along age-old trade
routes to cities in the Near East like Damascus, Antioch, Edessa, Harran and Jundishapur where
the refining influences of Greek culture had been felt since the Alexandrian colonization some 300
years BC, and where now prosperous Arabian merchants and knowledge-hungry students bartered
to possess these precious manuscripts. In so doing they gathered up those vital seeds of
civilization which they and their countrymen would not only nurture during Europe's long ages of
darkness, but would cultivate into hardy, fruitful growth.
Undeniably, the Islamic movement has had its cruel and militant conquests. Hardly had the
Prophet Mohammed died, in 632 AD, than his zealous Bedouin hosts, already at the frontiers of
the Byzantine and Persian empires, swept on to conquer Syria, taking Jerusalem and Palestine,

then Tripoli, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Armenia and Georgia. By 732 they had extended their empire to
the foothills of the Himalayas, to Persia, Spain and into France where Charles Martel, in a brilliant
victory at Tours, stopped their invasion of Europe. But religious zeal is resilient. Fanatical ghazis -fighters for the faith -- have marched forth time and again, seeking to destroy all who, in their
uncompromising views, were heretical.
However, Islam also had its corps of intellectuals who quietly, persistently, besieged the citadels of
truth -- their banners, emblems of benevolence, their scimitar, the pen. "The ink of the scholars is
more precious than the blood of martyrs." But for their role in the recovery of ancient learning, in
its preservation and circulation throughout their empire and on to the Schoolmen of Western
Europe, our culture might well have lacked its scientific renaissance, lost its philosophical heritage.
Just here it is well to remember that all Arabians were not Arabs. During those centuries when
Christian orthodoxy had become unbearably oppressive, whole communities of Persians, Turks and
Barbers, desperate to retain their intellectual freedom, submitted to the Arab conquerors and, as
a matter of self-preservation, called themselves Arabians. Thus the term included those who
spoke Arabic, those of the Moslem faith, and those under the protection of Arab rule -- a rule
which at that time sought the cooperation of its subjects. By tolerating local customs and offering
even those of humble birth opportunities for wealth and position, it encouraged volunteers to
participate as soldiers, laborers and merchants in the rapidly expanding Moslem empire. Those
who left the familiarity of their circumscribed culture -- where aged bards had woven local history,
morality, and religious lore into tales of tribal valor -- inevitably felt the challenge of foreign
customs and beliefs. Seeking explanations, strangers asked each other about their way of life,
about their customs and their religion.
The exchange was electrifying. As each tried to give convincing arguments he discovered his own
urgent need for knowledge. Questions followed questions. The search for truth spread like a
contagion through all levels of society. Wealthy and influential families rivaled each other, vied
even with the caliphs to hire wise and gifted men to instruct their children and themselves.
One of these enthusiastic patrons was the Caliph of Baghdad, al-Ma'mun, who in 830 AD founded
the famous Bait al-Hikhmah. In this 'House of Wisdom' the Caliph daringly separated scientific
studies from traditional theology, and not only collected rare and valuable manuscripts and a
galaxy of teachers skilled in the arts of 'ancient learning,' but he himself regularly presided over
their discussions. His dissertations, written down as treatises and aphorisms, reflect an openmindedness and an intellectual candor remarkable even today.
Al-Ma'mun did much to build Baghdad -- the ancient Babylonian town which Persian poets called
Bag-Da-Du, Garden of God -- into a major center of learning in the Moslem world. Its prosperity
and cultural influence attracted both scholars and adventurers from far-off China, India, Persia,
Syria, Bactria, from Egypt and Greece. When these people, from such varied backgrounds,
mingled in the market place, royal court or university hall, groping to break through language
barriers, they discovered exciting new facets of knowledge. Ideas sprang up in their minds like
seedlings after a heavy rain.
From ideas came progress, especially in mathematics and astronomy. After the adoption of Indian
ciphers, including the zero and decimal system, and the subsequent simplification of the principles
and calculations of Archimedes, Euclid and Ptolemy, the Arabians' advances in algebra, geometry,
plane and spherical trigonometry brought them wide acclaim.
Although some authorities insist that this Indian arithmetic had been developed in Alexandria, had
traveled to India via sea-routes from Egypt to northwest India, then through Persia to Baghdad,
al-Khowarizmi explained in a book published in about 825 and later translated into Latin, Liber
Algorismi de numero Indorum, that Indian numerals were adopted in Baghdad after certain of

their astronomical tables had been translated there. Other research has uncovered our 'Arabian'
numbers in the ancient Indian inscriptions of Asoka, Nana Ghat and in the Nasik caves.
Gradually through the centuries this 'new mathematics' was adapted to other fields, and its
benefits spread throughout Europe. When the printing press was invented in the mid-15th
century, thousands of copies of their arithmetic texts and nautical almanacs were produced and
distributed. In fact, the success of Christopher Columbus is attributed largely to his pilots'
knowledge of Arabian mathematics and astronomy.
Until the 9th century astronomy had been a popular subject at the caliph's court. Only
occasionally had the Zoroastrian star-gazers, oracular interpretations of celestial configurations
been questioned -- denounced -- by strict Moslems who insisted that God's will, not the stars,
ruled man's life. But when the simplified Indian ciphers were adopted a new scientific approach
developed. Astro-mathematicians checked and corrected the observations and figures of both
ancient and contemporary astronomers, and with amazing accuracy measured the size of the
earth and plotted the orbits of the planets. And then they 'discovered' the Surya-Siddharta -- that
ancient Indian treatise on astronomy a traveler had brought to Baghdad about 772 AD -- and
found in its Arabic translation, the Sindhind, information that revealed vast new horizons in time
and space.
More and more the Moslem world was consumed by the Greek spirit of inquiry. Every field of
human knowledge was examined with probing curiosity. To know things as they are became the
aim of life, indeed, the insignia of true and just religion.
Unrecognized but essential to this progress were teams of translators who labored tirelessly to
satisfy the increasing demands. When Greek and Roman sources were exhausted they made
selections from other languages. One of their most beautiful works, Kalilah-wa-Dimnah, has been
used throughout the world as a standard of Arabic prose style. It is a translation of The Fables of
Bidpai by the Persian, Ibn al-Muqaffa (born c. 725), a book brought out of India by Christians who
sent there to buy drugs, had returned with a triple bonus: a good supply of drugs, a game of
chess (hitherto unknown in the West), and this remarkable collection of philosophical fables
attributed to the Indian sage Bidpai of the 3rd century AD. The original Sanskrit work is lost, but
much of the material can be found in the Panchatantra and Mahabharata. Of the many
adaptations of these fables, the most familiar are Aesop's Fables and Kipling's Jungle Book.
The translator's skill also contributed to the broad curricula of Arabian medical academies which
included Indian preventive medicine and hygiene, Greek and Egyptian chemistry, Hermetic
metaphysics and psychology, and descriptions of the practice and theory of the foremost Greek,
Persian, Indian and Assyrian physicians. This knowledge, combined with their accuracy in
observation and diagnosis, produced outstanding medical men like Ibn-Rushd (Averroes) and AlRazi, whose medical tracts and compendiums have been studied by doctors and pharmacists well
beyond the 16th century.
The greatest demand, however, was for the works of Plato and Aristotle; in them Islamic students
found insights into ambiguous passages in the Koran. Unlike earlier Moslems who had regarded
their holy book as that part of an infinite wisdom which was put into words 'by the hands of
scribes honored and righteous and communicated to mankind through the Prophet Mohammed, to
be accepted without question, these later scholars found that by using the scientific approach of
interpreting the unknown in terms of the known, of leading the mind gradually into the profound
and abstract, they could explain even the most puzzling 'revelations.' Enthusiastically now, they
studied and discussed the sacred writings of antiquity, attempting to interpret their own canonical
tradition and to elucidate questions, ranging from human conduct to divine justice, which arose
from confrontations with the Christians. Their results are the innumerable explanatory
commentaries which form the basis of present-day Islamic philosophy.

The tremendous advance of knowledge made between 800 and 900 AD captured man's
imagination. A few searched even deeper, seeking to understand their destiny and higher
responsibility to the cosmos. Insight of this kind had been held sacred and entrusted only to the
worthy and disciplined, within the sanctuary of such Mystery centers as those of Eleusis and
Samothrace. But when the Christian Emperor Justinian ordered the Mystery schools closed in 529
AD, their neophytes and hierophants, alarmed by public animosity and fearing possible betrayal of
their occult sciences, fled their homeland to continue their studies privately in a safer climate.
Some were welcomed in foreign courts, as in Persia by King Khosru Nushirwan I. Others may have
established minor schools or joined one of the many secret fraternities existing in the remote
cities, mountain and desert communities of the Hither East, where they conformed to local
theology and concealed their real teachings within the symbolic ideology of their new environs.
Those suspected of thus giving only an appearance of orthodoxy were branded as Zindigs, atheists
(from siddiq, an initiate). As implied, they did indeed frequently couch esoteric doctrine in the
inspired poetry of love, or even in language and metaphor offensive to cultivated tastes.
Intriguing allegories and recurrent references to the existence and teachings of these mysterious
brotherhoods in factual and romantic literature leave little doubt that they were the heirs to an
ageless wisdom-tradition, and that their contribution to the enlightenment of mankind, though
subtle, was significant.
For example, there is an almost identical pattern in the teachings, conduct and dedication of the
Sufis, Druzes, Sabaeans, Assassins, and the Brethren of Purity. Of these, the Sufis have since
earned the respect and admiration of all who find in the beauty and nobility of their mystical
philosophy the same humility, devotion and lofty principles which characterize the words and
examples of such illumined men as Lao-tzu, Plotinus and Jacob Boehme.
These were the qualities which the earliest Sufis had adapted in part from the Hellenic, Buddhist
and Egyptian Mystery teachings, and which so inspired the first Mohammedan caliphs that they
endeavored to live humbly and in accord with spiritually-oriented principles. They recognized the
equality and nobility of all life by treating animals and men, including those conquered in battle,
with justice, respect and tolerance.
Although Sufi philosophy contains doctrines of a cosmological world system, its ultimate goal is to
attain Reality, or union of the soul with Deity, by living a pure and devoted life. "In the world of
Divine Unity is no room for Number . . ." wrote their famous poet, Jalal-ud-din Rumi.
Such realization, however, is not to be confused with the ecstatic visions of the darwish, nor of
those on drugs, whose unfortunate experiences are decried by established Sufi orders as a low
form of illumination in which only the supernatural beings of an elementary nature, like the jinns,
are contacted -- definitely not spiritual enlightenment.
Strange as though marked by destiny was part the Sabaeons played in the transmission of Greek
culture to the Western world. Prior to the rise of Islam's power there was located in the northern
Mesopotamian city of Harran, a Syrian fraternity which for hundreds of years had refused to
submit to Christian authority. Despite recurrent persecution their members held inviolate a
religious philosophy which embodied Hermetic, Mithraic and Neoplatonic teachings. But in the year
830 their very existence was threatened when the caliph of Baghdad with a formidable
detachment of soldiers stopped at Harran for provisions during his campaign against Byzantine
heretics.
Accustomed to being met with some show of apprehension, Caliph al-Ma'mun was puzzled by a
hospitable welcome. Who, he wondered, were these fearless and obviously scholarly infidels? "Are

you Moslems?" he asked them, "Christians? Zoroastrians? Do you have a holy book or a prophet
recognized by the Koran?"
Though well aware of their danger, these 'infidels' replied with characteristic honesty, simply "No."
Such courage amazed al-Ma'mun. Surprisingly, he deferred their execution, but 'suggested' they
become Moslems -- or Christians -- before his return. Whether or not this encounter actually
occurred is open to question, but it does reflect the atmosphere of the time.
Under threat, some of the Harranians did convert, outwardly. Others, still refusing to compromise
their beliefs, fled to Baghdad where they had heard non-Moslems would be protected as clients of
the State on payment of a personal safety tax. Had not their Persian neighbors from Jundishapur
recently migrated there, and already been employed translating their ancient knowledge of
medicine and astronomy into Arabic?
However, when the pagan Harranians arrived at Baghdad the question of their religion again arose
and they were saved only by heeding the advice of a clever jurist: "Call yourselves Sabaeans -the Koran mentions that ancient Roman cult, although now it is extinct."
So it was that the 'scholarly infidels' from Harran received official recognition in a Moslem city.
Before long their knowledge of Hellenic science and culture so impressed the local intelligentsia
that not only were they welcomed into the House of Wisdom, and invited to lecture and publish
their writings, but were even encouraged to establish their own school of pagan Neoplatonism!
The result was an academy, similar to the Greek Mystery schools Justinian had closed 350 years
earlier, which was to contribute generously to Arabian erudition during the following centuries.
Another fraternal order, the Druzes, have an ancient and profoundly mystical tradition. They too
have survived centuries of vilification as infidels, thieves and idolaters by outsiders frustrated in
attempts to exploit their sacred tradition.
Their members, whether living in the Syrian and Lebanese villages of Jabalu'd-Duruz (mountain of
the Druzes), in forest hamlets of Abyssinia, in Egypt, in Arabia, Israel, India or in the United
States, have generally been considered affiliates of the Isma'ili sect of Shi'ite Mohammedans,
although among themselves they prefer being called disciples of Hamza, an 11th century messiah.
But whatever the title, the 'uqqal, those initiated into the deeper mysteries, were, and are,
distinguished as much by a calm, dignified conduct and abstinence from worldly distractions, as by
their black robes, white turbans and the veils and red slippers their women wear. They shun
notoriety, conform to local religious formalism, refrain from proselytism, and never disclose the
inner teachings which are revealed only to their worthy and initiated members.
That portion of their exoteric doctrines which has been made public contains moral precepts of a
high order as well as certain tenets found also in Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Gnosticism, Christianity
and Islam. They subscribe to one God, incomprehensible and ineffable, who is made known unto
men through a succession of incarnations at specific periods of world history -- Jesus was one
such divine incarnation, but Mohammed was not. They believe that this world is a 'mirror' of
Divine Intelligence, and that the destiny of man (the total number of souls being limited), is to
ascend to perfection through a continuous process of soul-imbodiment. An ascent which may be
hastened by the right exercise and direction of human will -- never by the impertinence of prayer
or supplication!
Yet another interesting society, the Assassins, was generally stigmatized and condemned in stories
told by returning Crusaders, by Marco Polo, and by Dante who branded all members of this
Egyptian branch of Isma'ilians as 'Assassins' -- those who use hashish to induce ecstatic visions of
the Garden of Paradise or, to goad themselves into committing fanatical murders of non-believers.

Such accusations were no doubt directed against sects of zealous Assassins like the band Hasan
Ben Sabbah led in treacherous attacks against both Seljuk Turks and Crusaders. It was this
notorious Hasan whose name is linked with that of Omar Khayyam (d. 1123?), for as schoolboys
they had been close friends, but later went their separate ways. Omar became the scholarly and
accomplished mathematician, astronomer and poet, whose beautiful and intriguing Rubaiyat
reflects a depth of Assassin metaphysics that remains obscure and mysterious only to those
'outside' who lack an esoteric understanding of its allegories.
There is evidence, however, to indicate that all this while, secluded from worldly affairs, Assassins
of superior degree studied and lived by the principles formulated, partly from Alexandrian or neoEgyptian rites, in the 9th century by their first grand master, the Mahdi 'Abdullah. For, when the
Mongols finally captured their mountain stronghold, Alamut, in 1256, they found neither armed
fortress nor schemes of political intrigue. The imposing castle, extensive library, laboratories and
observatory had been used exclusively for the study of Hellenic science and philosophy, of
Babylonian, Egyptian and Persian traditions, and of the revelations of Islamic prophets. For, unlike
dogmatic Moslems, these Isma'ilians regarded the prophets as the source of living truths, superior
in authority to the written Koran.
This mountaintop community, called Alamut for its 'eagle's teaching,' had been the headquarters
for a network of centers scattered throughout Syria and central Asia, and the home of their grand
masters, who supervised a training program similar to Freemasonry. Only students who had
passed through nine degrees of progressive discipline and whose trustworthiness and devotion
were unquestioned, were entrusted with keys to the occult significances of numbers, to
understanding the illusory nature of this world, including heaven and hell, and to an esoteric
interpretation of the Koran and other religio-philosophical scriptures.
After the Mongols' capture and massacre at Alamut, a few survivors fled into Syria where, taking
refuge in seclusion, they preserved their cherished doctrines. Over the years their membership
spread into Persia, central Asia, India and Pakistan; all giving allegiance to the Aga Khan, as a
direct descendant from Mohammed through his daughter and cousin, Fatima and the Caliph Ali.
For he, as does each successive Old Man of the Mountain, passes the 'flame of living truth' on to
his followers.
The Garden of Paradise envisioned by the Assassins differs little, allegorically, from either the
Biblical Garden of Eden, or the Persian gardens where enchanting flower beds, trees and lily ponds
are landscaped to suggest the seven stages of Paradise. Or from the Talmud's Garden of Delight
into which four youths entered: Ben Asai, who looked and lost his sight; Ben Zoma who looked
and lost his reason. Acher, who became confused and fled; and Akiba, who had entered in peace,
came out in peace and with glory.
Very possibly these gardens symbolize the blossoms, or fruitage of spiritual truth. Truths so
profound they confuse, corrupt, even destroy those morally weak or selfish; yet open vistas of
knowledge and inspiration to one disciplined and concerned for human welfare.
A most interesting society, the Ikhwan al-Safa -- the Brotherhood, Brethren or Philosophers of
Purity -- actually offered passers-by an initiation into their Garden of Splendor. "Come, enter and
enjoy rare and lovely flowers, rest beneath stately trees, taste the sweetest of fruit and drink
refreshing, spring-fed water." If any held back, skeptical or afraid, the 'wise and generous owner'
gave samples of the garden's bounty to whet his appetite and entice him to step within and
partake of the rich and satisfying beneficence awaiting those who live a spiritual life.
Samples they gave, but what 'samples' they were! Not fruits or flowers at all, but choice essays
from the Brotherhood's Rasa'il or Epistles, a scholarly and voluminous compendium of scientific,
philosophical and metaphysical information garnered from harvests of past and contemporary

cultures. Issuing this work in the last quarter of the 10th century, when other theological sects
were proclaiming their unquestionable monopoly of truth, was in itself miraculous. With it the
Brotherhood of Purity bridged the isolation of human differences and demonstrated that truth
cannot be fragmented by accidents of race, epoch or habitat -- that the many forms of religion are
but various approaches to, or degrees of, spiritual enlightenment.
Discarding the blinders of ritual and dogma their members dedicated themselves to shun no
science, scorn any book, or to cling fanatically to no single creed. For [their] own creed
encompasses all the others and comprehends all the sciences generally. This creed is the
consideration of all existing things, both sensible and intelligible, from beginning to end, whether
hidden or overt, manifest or obscure . . . in so far as they all derive from a single principle, a
single cause, a single world, and a single Soul. -- Ikhwan al-Safa, Rasa'il, IV, 52
To this end they labored, with painstaking care, to make complicated scientific teachings
understandable, and to preserve -- safeguarding without divulging -- the original sanctity of occult
and mystical knowledge that their own initiated members and those of other esoteric fraternities
had attained through 'visual perception of the truth' while ascending into the 'Kingdom of Heaven'
and receiving the instruction of angels.
Thus in their 52 Epistles one finds delineated or hinted at the same broad range of subjects that
were studied by the Sufis, Sabaeans, Druzes, Assassins and other fraternal orders of that period.
The same subjects, in fact, that had been pondered upon and debated in public discussions among
the groves and temple courts of Athens and Alexandria.
But times had changed since those golden days of Greece. It was only by meeting in secret that
the Brotherhood had been able to complete their monumental work. In so doing they had taken
upon themselves a task destined to have wide significance: transplanting and cultivating, as it
were, the vital seeds of civilization; and then, adding their own unique characteristics, they sent
them out into the far reaches of the Islamic empire where later generations carried them on into
'Modern Times.'
Fortunate today is the library that possesses the Epistles in one of its several translated and
condensed editions, for therein we may 'taste' those precious samples that appeal to all who
search for truth. These editions include Rasa'il ikhwani s-Safa, printed in toto at Calcutta;
Makrokosmos and Mikrokosmos, a two volume epitome of the Epistles which appeared in 1876
and 1879; Rasa'il of the Ikhwan al-Safa, translated and condensed by Khayr al-Din, 1928; and
Rasa'il, Beirut, 1957 (we are indebted to A History of Islamic Philosophy by Majid Fakhry for much
of our source material, including excerpts quoted from the Epistles).
For example, in the Epistles on astronomy we find explanations of the Hermetic and Platonic
teachings of worlds within worlds, visible and invisible; of how our seven planets, "round,
concave, and transparent bodies," are arranged round each other like the layers of an onion and
how the sun is the center of a moving family of planets -- an idea the Greek Aristarchus had
expressed some thirteen centuries before.
. . . in so far as the sun is to the heavens what the king is to his kingdom and the planets are to it
what soldiers, auxiliaries, and subjects generally are to the king, and the spheres are like regions
and the constellations like countries and the degrees and minutes like towns, it was enjoined by
divine wisdom that it should be located at the center of the universe. -- Rasa'il, II, 30.
Another section describes the creation of worlds and the evolution of life in details that would have
impressed Darwin. It explains how manifestation unfolds through successive layers, or stratified
planes down to the mineral kingdom. Where, in this lowest kingdom, the most developed mineral
entities live within its highest strata and blend imperceptibly into the next higher or vegetable
kingdom. Likewise the vegetable kingdom contacts, at its highest level, the animal kingdom,

whose culmination is man. The most evolved men contact higher spheres and, standing between
the angelic and animal orders, serve on earth as vicegerents of God.
Time and again the pages of these Epistles echo Stoic and Hermetic epigrams: that man is the
microcosm, the epitome, of the infinite universe; correspondences parallel his physical faculties
and organs with those of the celestial spheres; analogies show one pattern throughout -- in
earth's configuration, her meteorological phenomena and in man's physical body. Thus, in the
growth of a child from embryo to maturity, they saw mirrored the soul's spiritual development: its
birth a realization and true beginning of its higher vocation; its childhood, achievement in selfmastery. With maturity comes comprehension of objective and subjective world manifestations
and, finally, knowledge of deity. However, such maturity, the Brethren taught, comes only through
study and mastery of the mathematical sciences, including astronomy, music, geography, logic
and the arts and crafts. For through these one gains familiarity with the laws which govern both
the world without and the moral-intellectual environment of worlds within. It is this
understanding, when translated and applied to the problems of daily life, that assures ones
progress from circumscribed provincialism into comprehension of one's true, universal Self, for
"He who knows himself best knows his Creator best" (Rasa'il, I, 76) .
But the Brotherhood saw no sudden attainment. Gradually, they pointed out, through lifetimes of
in-body confinement, man purifies his self from thoughts and desires which blind his
consciousness from all but the most temporal, and often erroneous, interpretations of life and of
holy scriptures -- such as in the Christian doctrine, that God was killed by the Jews; or in the
Jewish, that He is a jealous and angry God; or in the Moslem, that on the Day of Judgment He will
order his angels to cast sinners and infidels into a 'ditch of fire' in which they will burn forever.
Behind the outer seeming the student was advised to find larger concepts which unify, and uplift
his vision to behold 'luminous beings of loftier spheres' -- and Truth. Then, they prescribed, he
shall dedicate his life, in his own particular environment, to the "emulation of the Divinity, in
proportion to human capacity" (Rasa'il, II, 30).
This dedication, this lofty idealism, sustained and inspired initiated members of these mysterious
medieval fraternities as well as those scholarly individuals whose writings enkindled Europe's
cultural renaissance. Al-Kindi, al-Farabi, Avicenna, al-Ghazali, Maimonides, Averroes, al-Andalusi,
Meister Eckhart, Raymond, the Archbishop of Toledo, the Dominican friar Albertus Magnus of
Padua, Thomas Aquinas of Naples, John of Salisbury, and many others, each in his way
perpetuated those very ideas that Arabian intellectuals adopted from the Greeks, preserved and
enriched, so that now we too may step across the ashes and splintered marble of the past into
that 'Garden,' whose bounty is everlasting.
Source material for this article includes: A History of Islamic Philosophy by Majid Fakhry, 1970;
Arabic Thought and Its Place in History by DeLacy O'Leary, 1922; and by the same author, How
Greek Science Passed to the Arabs, 1948.
(From Sunrise magazine, April & May, 1973. Copyright 1973 by Theosophical University Press)