The Virtuous City of the Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ: A Medieval Islamic Reflection on Worldliness and Communal Division

IF 0.4 4区 社会学 0 HUMANITIES, MULTIDISCIPLINARY Utopian Studies Pub Date : 2023-03-01 DOI:10.5325/utopianstudies.34.1.0034
Mohamad Ghossein
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Abstract

ABSTRACT The present article examines the utopian and theological politics of the Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ (Brethren of Purity). I focus on the Ikhwān’s elusive “virtuous city,” a harmonious and righteous community situated on a wondrous island, where residents work in unison toward salvation by deferring to one creed. This city’s imagery is intimately tied to principal theological dimensions of their work. Through the virtuous city, the Ikhwān utilize the imagery of estrangement to elucidate their theological position on the soul’s imprisonment in the body. But there is another, subtler dimension to their utopianism. I argue that the Ikhwānian utopia serves as a juxtaposition to their Muslim society, which they thought was afflicted by credal divisions. Accordingly, their utopia seamlessly weaves together a synthetic narrative about eschatology (i.e., the afterlife) and an empirical critique of their contemporary society. Additionally, this paper contributes to the development of scholarship on medieval Islamic utopianism.
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《贤德之城Ikhwān al-Ṣafā:中世纪伊斯兰教对世俗与社会分裂的反思》
本文考察了Ikhwān al-Ṣafā(纯洁兄弟会)的乌托邦和神学政治。我把重点放在Ikhwān这个难以捉摸的“贤德之城”上,这是一个坐落在奇妙岛屿上的和谐而正义的社区,居民们遵循同一个信条,为救赎而齐心协力。这座城市的意象与他们作品的主要神学维度密切相关。Ikhwān通过《贤德之城》,利用异化的意象来阐明他们对灵魂禁锢于肉体的神学立场。但他们的乌托邦主义还有另一个更微妙的方面。我认为Ikhwānian乌托邦与他们的穆斯林社会并置,他们认为穆斯林社会受到信仰分歧的困扰。因此,他们的乌托邦将关于末世论(即来世)的综合叙述与对当代社会的经验主义批判无缝地编织在一起。此外,本文还有助于中世纪伊斯兰乌托邦主义学术研究的发展。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
Utopian Studies
Utopian Studies HUMANITIES, MULTIDISCIPLINARY-
CiteScore
0.40
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0.00%
发文量
27
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