The Formation of the Ikhwānian Corpus

A Philological Study of the Epistles and Two Summaries Attributed to the Brethren of Purity
Erscheinungsjahr 2025
ISBN: 978-90-04-69013-4
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 132, 285 Seiten, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 235 mm

Reihe: Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Science. Texts and Studies

The Epistles of the Brethren of Purity (9th-10th cent.) constitute one of the most enigmatic works in the history of Islamic philosophy. This book presents an in-depth study of the Epistles and its two summaries. Mattila argues that the Ikhwanian corpus evolved from a mainly philosophical encyclopedia of the Epistles to the largely religious treatises of its summaries. Based on philological analysis, the book's first part shows the gradual transformation of the contents of the Epistles. The second part demonstrates that the Comprehensive Epistle was not composed by the same authors but instead represents an Isma'ili adaptation of the encyclopedia.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Mattila, Janne

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Nicht-Westliche Philosophie Islamische & Arabische Philosophie
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Wissenschafts- und Universitätsgeschichte
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften: Allgemeines Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften, Formalen Wissenschaften & Technik
• Geisteswissenschaften Islam & Islamische Studien Islam & Islamische Studien
• Geisteswissenschaften Islam & Islamische Studien Islam: Philosophie & Wissenschaften

Über Autor(innen)

Janne Mattila, Ph.D. (2011), is a research fellow at the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies. He has published extensively on the history philosophy in the Islamic world, including the monograph, The Eudaimonist Ethics of al-Farabi and Avicenna (Brill, 2022).