Journal of the stylistic of Persian poem and prose
volume Number 19، number In Volume 8، November 2026 ، issue Number 126

The ʿIyār-i Dāniš as a Link between Avicennian Philosophy and the Polyphonic Philosophical Milieu of the Safavid Era (An Article Derived from a Doctoral Dissertation)

Ahmadreza Tavajohi FINi , Seyyed Mohammad Mansour (Author in Charge), Ali Mohammad Moazzeni

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The ʿIyār-i Dāniš, written by ʿAlīnaqī ibn Aḥmad Bahbahānī, is a relatively understudied work of Persian philosophy from the late Safavid period. In its overall structure, the work is grounded in the principles of Peripatetic philosophy, particularly the Avicennian philosophical tradition and Avicennian thought. The central question of this study is whether the work can be regarded merely as a Persian translation or abridgment of al-Ishārāt wa al-Tanbīhāt, or whether the ʿIyār-i Dāniš performs a function extending beyond translation in the transmission and reconstruction of Avicennian philosophy.

METHODOLOGY: Employing a descriptive-analytical methodology and drawing on the critical edition of the ʿIyār-i Dāniš as well as an analysis of the evidence presented in the doctoral dissertation, this study demonstrates that, while remaining faithful to the general framework of Avicennian philosophy, the work repeatedly explains, expands, systematizes, and reorganizes its material within a broader network of the views of post-Avicennian commentators and thinkers.

FINDINGS: Examples drawn from discussions of substantial form and the composition of the elements, natural and forced inclination, astronomy and the account of the Ṣāḥib-i Tuḥfa, as well as the questions of the soul and resurrection, together with the incorporation of the views of Saʿd al-Dīn al-Taftāzānī, Illuminationist philosophy, substantialist philosophy, and other intellectual currents, demonstrate that the relationship between the ʿIyār-i Dāniš and the Avicennian legacy is not unidirectional. Thus, the ʿIyār-i Dāniš cannot be regarded simply as a translation of Avicenna’s al-Ishārāt wa al-Tanbīhāt. In this work, the Peripatetic tradition enters into historical dialogue with the views of commentators, theologians, and later intellectual currents and is presented in a Persian, pedagogical, and analytical form.

CONCLUSION: From this perspective, the ʿIyār-i Dāniš may be regarded as one of the lesser-known links in the continuity, mediation, and reformulation of Avicennian philosophy in Safavid Iran. Its significance lies not merely in the transmission of philosophy into Persian, but also in its capacity to illuminate the ways in which philosophy was read, transmitted, and taught in the later Islamic period.

Keyword
ʿIyār-i Dāniš , ʿAlīnaqī ibn Aḥmad Bahbahānī , Avicenna , al-Ishārāt wa al-Tanbīhāt , Peripatetic Philosophy , Safavid Philosophy , Commentary Tradition , Persian Philosophical Prose.