Suhrawardi and the Problem of Knowledge

Benefiting from the old intellectual and illuminative traditions of Iran and Greece, as well as the rational and spiritual heritage of Islam, Suhrawardi created an exquisite philosophical system, called “Illuminative philosophy”. The pivotal concept in this sophisticated system is the notion of “light”, which is a multi-level reality, extending from “the Light of lights”, to the visible light. The reality of knowledge is also hierarchical. For him, the fountainhead and the beginning point of human knowledge is knowledge by presence. Sense perception is considered an instance of knowledge by presence, generated by an illumination by the soul. Suhrawardi, as other Muslim philosophers, also believes in an abstract rational knowledge, and considers logic and self-evident statements necessary elements in this regard. However, the real—and for him, supreme—knowledge is the intuitively illuminative knowledge. This kind of unparalleled comprehension is unattainable through mere reflection and academic discourse. It needs self-purification, detachment from temporal bonds, esoteric journey, and focusing on the almighty God. In this way, Suhrawardi was able to introduce a comprehensive system of knowledge by coordinating philosophically acquired knowledge with mystically intuitive one.