Nasir al-Din al-Tusi

Nasir al-Din al-Tusi

Nasir al-Din al-Tusi (b. 17 February 1201 – d. 26 June 1274) was a member of the Khorasan Seljuk State and, on account of his literary language, a Persian scientist who produced Persian works, and a Batini/Sufi philosopher of Shia Islam. The period in question was, because of the Mongol invasion, on the one hand a dark era in Baghdad, and on the other an era in which important schools of thought were founded and Islamic scientific institutions opened. Nasir al-Din al-Tusi was a renowned sage of the Islamic world who came of age in this period. According to the Azerbaijani folklorist Memmedhüseyn Tehmasib, the legendary figure Nasreddin Hoca is in fact al-Tusi.

Life

Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, through the influence of his father and his maternal uncle, began from an early age to take an interest in kalam, philosophy, and mathematics. At a certain stage of his philosophical development he read Avicenna's al-Isharat and dealt with this text for many years. Following these efforts he composed his Sharh-i Isharat, considered one of his most important works.

He learned mathematics from Kamal al-Din Hasip and hadiths from Burhan al-Din Hamadani. He took an interest in many branches of knowledge and sought to deepen his understanding; he trained renowned scholars (such as Allama Hilli and Qutb al-Din Shirwani). He took part in the assembly of Nasir al-Din Abu'l-Fath ibn Mansur in the fields of the Ismailiyya school, Batini-Alawi branches such as Jafarism, and literature, Sufism, and philosophy. After he wrote a qasida praising the Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tasim-Billah, they fell out, and he was sent into exile. Through Muhammad II, the seventh successor of Hasan Sabbah, he hid in the fortress of Alamut. Later, until 1247, he was held as a semi-prisoner in the fortress of Maymun Dez. He was set free when the Mongols captured the fortresses. He served as an adviser to the Mongol ruler Hülagü and received his support in all his scientific and philosophical works. He founded the famous Maragha Observatory at this time, and this institution stood as one of the greatest Islamic scientific institutions. A large library was also established beside the observatory; it is thought that four hundred thousand books were gathered here. Hülagü Khan, while on the one hand burning and destroying Baghdad, was on the other the person who supported the re-establishment of scientific institutions there. He was also supported by the later ruler Abaqa Khan, and in his old age, thanks to this support, he produced his important works.

His Philosophy

Nasir al-Din al-Tusi did not put forth a new philosophical school in Islamic philosophy; nevertheless, he has secured a place as a sage whose philosophical works were influential in their depth and scope. It can be said that he followed largely in the path of the Peripatetic (Mashsha'i) philosophers; he tried to adapt their philosophical theses to the principles of Shiism. He became the first person in the Islamic world to write a systematic book of ethics. In his system he sought to evaluate together the moral principles of Aristotle and the mystical and Sufi moral ideas of al-Ghazali. He was in search of a kind of synthesis. His thoughts on education form one part of this moral philosophy. According to him, from the child's birth an appropriate name should be given to it (because names have an effect on destiny), it should have a good wet-nurse, and during its upbringing the child should be protected from environments in which it would acquire bad character. In this process it is necessary to teach the child to use its reason and to love the virtues attained through reason. It must be taught that mastering one's desires and self-restraint is a virtue. After this, the child should be directed and encouraged toward whatever art or interest it is talented in.

His Books

Sharh-i Isharat (a fundamental philosophy book, prepared over 20 years)

Zij-i Ilkhani (on astronomy)

Tajrid al-Aqa'id (a kalam book)

Asas al-Iqtibas (a logic book)

Sources

Türkçe →