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Few figures have been of such enduring importance as Ibn Sina, also known as Avicenna (930 - 1037 AD), the great Persian philosopher and physician of the Abassid period. This work is a study of the fourth part of Ibn Sina's late and most comprehensive book al-Isharat wat-Tanbihat, Remarks and Admonitions, a book which Ibn Sina describes as 'the cream of the truth', containing 'the best pieces of wisdom' expressed 'in sensitive words'. The present volume includes an introduction, discussing the nature of the fourth part of al-Isharat (the nature of happiness, the stations of the knowers, and the signs manifested by the knowers); and a translation of this part.
The work shows that, to Ibn Sina, knowledge of the eternal aspects of the universe, primarily of God, is the highest human objective and the only thing that secures human happiness or heavenly existence. While no permanent knowledge of this kind is possible for a human being on earth, signs of its temporary acquisition are evidenced in many ways, one of which is possession of powers that a person who does not know the secrets of the universe may consider extraordinary. Although the focus of this volume is on the fourth part of al-Isharat, many references are made to some of Ibn Sina's other writings by way of clarifying certain points and placing this part of al-Isharat in the context of Ibn Sina's general philosophy.
SHAMS INATI, Associate Professor, Villanova University, Pennsylvania, USA.
Introduction.
Analysis of the Text.
The Nature of Happiness.
The Stations of the Knowers.
The Distinguishing Signs of Knowledge.
Remarks and Admonitions: Part Four.
Eight Class: On Joy and Happiness.
Ninth Class: on the Stations of the Knowers.
Tenth Class: On the Secrets of Signs.
Bibliography.
Index.
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