Reason, religion and power in Ibn al-Muqaffa-c

Kristó-Nagy, István (2009) Reason, religion and power in Ibn al-Muqaffa-c. Acta Orientalia, 62 (3). pp. 285-301. ISSN 0001-6446

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Abstract

The goal of my research is to put together from scattered mosaics an intellectual portrait of Ibn al-Muqaffa-c, a complex and enigmatic thinker, and a key figure in the transmission of the late antique heritage to the Arabo-Islamic culture. This article is the third in a series. The first, “ La Lumière et les Ténèbres dans l’œuvre d’Ibn al-Muqaffa-c ” (Light and Darkness in Ibn al-Muqaffa-c ) was published in AOH Vol. 61 (3). In that article, I set out the rationalist and anti-Islamic ideas presented in works attributed to Ibn al-Muqaffa-c. The second article, “On the authenticity of al-Adab al-ṣaġīr attributed to Ibn al-Muqaffa-c and the titles of the Kitāb al-ādāb al-kabīr, al-Adab al-ṣaġīr, tal-Yatīma and the Polemic against Islam ” was published in AOH Vol. 62 (2). This third article complements the picture of the rationalist and anti-Islamic Ibn al-Muqaffa-c that I have presented in the first article and shows another side of his attitude towards religion. According to the texts quoted here, the rationality of people is not enough to secure the peace of the individual soul, much less the peace of the state. The welfare of society requires a well functioning state whose cohesion is best ensured by religion.The introduction is a short outline of the correlation between Ibn al-Muqaffa-c’s social status and his attitude towards power, reason and religion. In the first section, I will quote and analyse some views attributed to him that reveal an unusual but coherent approach towards religion. The second section will present his ideas and reasoning that links reason, religion and power. The conclusion of this article will not end this series on Ibn al-Muqaffa-c, but will be followed by the next article entitled: “A Self-portrait of a Wise Jackal; Ibn al-Muqaffa-c’s Heroes: the Sage and the Sovereign.”

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