The Illuminative Identity of Martyred Sage Sohravardi

The standard-bearer of the illumination school of thought, Sohravardi, through his approach to light which is a peaceful sanctuary for man’s soul, tried to reform and revive a school of thought that offers a wayfaring mode through which human beings can achieve true knowledge and illumination, that is, their true identity through reasoning, inner contemplation and care. This theosophy - in which verve and witness accompany reason and go beyond it - becomes the manifestation of knowledge in man’s soul, dissociating him from himself and connecting him to God. In this approach, the true sage and theosophist is the one who is competent to lead the society and can lead human beings towards true felicity by establishing a utopia. The essence of this theosophy was created by the Persian theosophists and sages, while Plato and others followed it. Hence, this theosophy that was revived by Sohravardi is first and foremost Persian (Iranian) in nature, but it is compatible with the Quranic revelation and Mohammaden thought, for it is in the search of establishment of justice, felicity and virtue. The division offered by Sohravardi, that is, East (the heavenly and illuminated world) and West (the dark realm of this world) is not a geographical division, rather it is based on right and wrong, light and darkness and justice and injustice, which has been manifested in the East more than in any other place.