Mir Damad (Persian: ميرداماد) was a philosopher, teacher, and leader of the cultural renaissance of Iran during the Safavid dynasty; he was the main founder of the Isfahan School.

His major contribution to Islamic philosophy was the concept of time and nature. Within a major controversy as to whether the universe was created or eternal, he was the first to advance the notion of huduth-e-dahri (eternal origination) as an explanation of creation. He argued that, with exception of God, all things, including the Earth and other heavenly bodies, are of both eternal and temporal origin. He influenced the revival of al-falsafa al-yamani (Philosophy of Yemen), a philosophy based on revelation and sayings of prophets rather than the rationalism of the Greeks, and he is widely recognized as the founder of the School of Ifahan, which embraced a theosophical outlook known as hikmat-i ilahi (divine wisdom).

Mir Damad’s many books on Islamic philosophy include Taqwim al-Iman (Calendars of Faith, a treasure on creation and divine knowledge), he also wrote poetry under the pseudonym of Ishraq. As a measure of his stature, he was given the title of mu’allim al’thalith (the third teacher, Aristotle being the first and al-Farabi the second). His work was continued by his pupil Mulla Sadra, who became a prominent Muslim philosopher in the 17th century.

Among his many other students were Seyyed Ahmad-ibn-Reyn-al-A’bedin Alavi, Mohammad ibn Alireza ibn Agajanii, ([Qutb-al-Din Mohammad Ashkevari, and Mulla Shamsa Gilani.

Works

• Taqwim al-Iman (Calendars of Faith)

See also

• Islamic scholars
• List of Iranian scholars

References

• Webster Encyclopedia of Religion

External links

• ^*

Persian philosophers | Iranian scientists | Muslim philosophers