Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

• Pedram Shahbazi ¹
• Ahmad Ahmadi ²

¹ The Department of Persian Language and Literature, University of Tehran

² The Department of Persian Language and Literature. University of Tehran.

Abstract

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

Keywords

• Nāser-e Khosrow
• Ibn Sinā
• Substance and Accident
• Ismaili theology
• The Peripatetic School
• Zād al-Musāfir
• Dānish-nāma-yi ‘alāyī

Main Subjects

• Persian Language and Literature