Tehran University, Faculty of Literature & Humanities Persian Literature 2251-9262 14 2 2025 03 10 On the peripatetic Origins of Nāser-e Khosrow's Theology: Substance and Accident On the peripatetic Origins of Nāser-e Khosrow's Theology: Substance and Accident 69 84 103513 10.22059/jpl.2025.395937.2311 FA Pedram Shahbazi The Department of Persian Language and Literature, University of Tehran Ahmad Ahmadi The Department of Persian Language and Literature. University of Tehran. Journal Article 2024 08 25 Nāser-e Khosrow has repeatedly boasted of his philosophical knowledge, often dismissing his contemporary poets and dabirs as inferior. Yet, his poetic persona has long overshadowed his reputation as a theologian. Furthermore, due to his historical context and Persian-language corpus, his theological and philosophical ideas have been studied far less than those of his predominantly Arabic-writing predecessors. This disparity stems partly from the marginalization of Persian philosophical texts in classical Islamic scholarship. This paper examines the theological dimensions of his work by comparing his discourse on Substance and Accident—a foundational concept in Aristotelian metaphysics—particularly in Zād al-Musāfir (his most significant philosophical work), with Ibn Sinā’s treatment of the same subject in Dānish-nāma-yi ‘alāyī (the latter’s sole work originally composed in Persian). Through this analysis, we demonstrate how Nāser-i Khusrow strategically engaged with Peripatetic thought to articulate his theological arguments, repurposing its frameworks to advance the Ismailis’ apophatic theology. We contend that the Ismailis’ intellectual disputes with philosophers are rooted in these reinterpretations. By highlighting philosophical reflections on Substance and Accident in his poetry, we argue that his philosophical expertise is inextricable from his poetic identity and that interpreting his verse requires close engagement with his prose—an approach many commentators of his poetry have overlooked or neglected, resulting in fragmented readings of his interdisciplinary legacy Nāser-e Khosrow has repeatedly boasted of his philosophical knowledge, often dismissing his contemporary poets and dabirs as inferior. Yet, his poetic persona has long overshadowed his reputation as a theologian. Furthermore, due to his historical context and Persian-language corpus, his theological and philosophical ideas have been studied far less than those of his predominantly Arabic-writing predecessors. This disparity stems partly from the marginalization of Persian philosophical texts in classical Islamic scholarship. This paper examines the theological dimensions of his work by comparing his discourse on Substance and Accident—a foundational concept in Aristotelian metaphysics—particularly in Zād al-Musāfir (his most significant philosophical work), with Ibn Sinā’s treatment of the same subject in Dānish-nāma-yi ‘alāyī (the latter’s sole work originally composed in Persian). Through this analysis, we demonstrate how Nāser-i Khusrow strategically engaged with Peripatetic thought to articulate his theological arguments, repurposing its frameworks to advance the Ismailis’ apophatic theology. We contend that the Ismailis’ intellectual disputes with philosophers are rooted in these reinterpretations. By highlighting philosophical reflections on Substance and Accident in his poetry, we argue that his philosophical expertise is inextricable from his poetic identity and that interpreting his verse requires close engagement with his prose—an approach many commentators of his poetry have overlooked or neglected, resulting in fragmented readings of his interdisciplinary legacy https://jpl.ut.ac.ir/article_103513_0a3aea11d11d045689d84b34fea92cca.pdf