Document Type : Research Paper
Author
scientific member of university of Tehran
Abstract
“The Concept of Taʾwīl in Nāṣer Khusraw’s Works”
Nāṣer Khusraw was one of the missionaries of the Ismaili faith and among the great Iranian sages and poets. His exceptional mastery of the sciences of his time made him a true polymath. Yet beyond these sciences, he is regarded, alongside Rudaki and Hafez, as one of the three great Iranian poets who had memorized the entire Qur’an.
This distinction granted Nāṣer Khusraw an extraordinary capacity to draw extensively upon the Qur’an in his works. Moreover, in accordance with the Ismaili intellectual tradition—which viewed taʾwīl as the key to unlocking the inner mysteries of the Qur’an—he was able to present his insights, discoveries, and, most importantly, his interpretations in a revelatory and symbolic framework.
This article examines Nāṣer Khusraw’s intellectual indebtedness to thinkers such as the Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ in the field of taʾwīl, and then analyzes his profound application of this method in some his works. These texts have been studied and critically examined in order to uncover Nāṣer Khusraw’s distinctive perspective on taʾwīl—not merely as a means of decoding Qur’anic verses, but also in interpreting the traditions of the Infallibles, and even the views and opinions of philosophers such as Aristotle. This demonstrates his particular expertise and originality in this domain.
Employing an analytical–interpretive approach, this study shows that the project initiated by the Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ and the Ismailis within Islamic civilization, and later institutionalized by figures such as Nāṣer Khusraw, undoubtedly played a significant role in expanding the horizons of rationality and intellectual thought grounded in taʾwīl.
Keywords: Nāṣer Khusraw, Qur’an, Taʾwīl, Ismaili Thought.
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