A critique of Avicenna's Account of Mystical Precept

Avicenna, can be regarded as the most prominent of Islamic philosophers. Despite the fact that he lived in the medieval era, he did not follow the medieval line of thought. He was rather like Renaissance thinkers in opposing any sort of narrow-minded dogmatism and blind imitation of the ancients as well as in relying on reason and experiment as the only touchstone of truth and never rejected a belief before he found conclusive evidence in its refutation and meanwhile regarded it as possible. That is why he considered the intuitive findings of mystics and the miracles of saints as logically possible and in some of his works sought to provide philosophical justifications for them. However drawing on evidence from Avicenna's life, we will to show that he never set foot on the path of mystic quest and neither did he adopt a Sufi's life style.