Lützen, Florian
Junior Fellow: September 2018–February 2019
Research Project: The Deconstruction of the Philosophical Doctrine of True Knowledge: The Case of “The Magnificent Pearl” by ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān al-Ǧāmī (d. 1492)
For a long time, scholars assumed that there was a rivalry between theologians and philosophers in the history of the Islamicate world. Only recently, and due to development both inside and outside Islamic studies, a third player entered the stage, taking into account the vast tradition of Sufi literature that was inspired by the turn initiated by Muḥyī d-dīn Ibn ʿArabī (d. 1240). From the thirteenth century onwards, the Sufis developed their own school of thought. They criticised the philosophers for—among other things—the contested question of acquiring knowledge. Generally speaking, it can be asserted that they provided a different explanation regarding the nature of reason (ʿaql).
In the relatively short work “The Magnificent Pearl” (ad-durra al-fāẖira), ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān al-Ǧāmī (d. 1492) summarises the positions of the philosophers, the mutakallimun and the Sufis, favouring that of the Sufis. The aim of Florian Lützen's research is to explore the criticism al-Ǧāmī directs at the philosophers. Al-Ǧāmī’s scepticism towards the philosophers stems from his tradition, which goes back to the teachings of Ibn ʿArabī. Lützen hypothesises that although he finds overlapping methodological aspects with the philosophers—especially with regard to the technical terms—he deconstructs their arguments with particular attention to the concept of knowledge.
Florian Lützen received his doctorate from Universität Hamburg. His thesis deals with the concept of religion in the works of the scholar and Sufi Aḥmad Ibn ʿAǧība (d. 1809)”?