Employing Suhrawardi in the Field of Islamic Political Philosophy

Abstract

In this thesis I examine how the illuminationism of the 12th century philosopher Suhrawardi relates to the field of Islamic political philosophy. The specific question ‘Is Suhrawardi a political philosopher?’ is addressed, as well as the more general question ‘What is Islamic political philosophy?’. I will argue that Hossein Ziai’s description of an alleged ‘illuminationist political doctrine’ unconvincingly portrays Suhrawardi as a political philosopher. After this, certain ontological and epistemological elements of Suhrawardi’s philosophy are introduced---elements that the 20th entury philosopher Mehdi Ha'iri Yazdi (a.k.a. Mehdi Haeri Yazdi) uses to embed his own thought in the field of Islamic philosophy as a whole. Ha'iri’s Hekmat va Hokumat [Philosophy and Government] is then presented as a genuine account of an Islamic political philosophy.