Brethren of Purity Profile picture
A group of Islamic philosophers committed to support mystical, philosophical, and historically grounded Islam and engage in informed interfaith discussions.
Mar 21 9 tweets 2 min read
Wahhabism is a movement that works on selective skepticism just like its imperial modernist counterpart.

They are deeply skeptical of anything that opposes them and fairly quick to charge them with fabrications and forgeries. Image When it comes to their own epistemology though, they would deny thousands of years of very careful principled reasoning developed by Jurists, particularly Ḥanafīs, that aims to meaningfully analyze reports and engage with them critically.
Mar 20 9 tweets 3 min read
Socialism and Islam

The reason contemporary mystical Islamic politics is matching some socialist and leftist anti-imperial takes is no coincidence. There have been historians of Islam, both traditional and secular, who have argued that the movement of Prophet Muḥammad... Image itself began as a movement that was revolutionary, promoting equality and anti-imperialism.

Daniel Beck, in his book on early Islam, argues that the Prophet's earliest surahs had a revolutionary and anti-imperial character. Image
Mar 9 7 tweets 2 min read
Ayatullah Sistani's Fatwa:

After the martyrdom of Ali Khamenei, many expected the Iraqi Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani to issue a fatwa calling for retaliation; a document now circulating online is being equated with that ruling.

However, this is not accurate. Image First of all, it must be noted that this document does not originate from the main Sistani office in Iraq. It originates from one of the offices in Iran, most like Mashhad.

Secondly, it is not an independent fatwa that the Jurist gives based on the analysis of the situation.
Mar 8 4 tweets 1 min read
Philosophical Islamism:

The Iranian government is motivated by Philosophical Islamism. It is one of the oldest notions of Islamism, originally supported by Fārābī and Shīʿī revolutionaries.

According to this view, Islam is nothing other than the acceptance of reality. Image Reality is gradational and has different levels. Since humans reflect reality, they are similarly of different levels. The person with the most integrated intellect should be the leader and set policies that can aid other citizens in spiritual ascent.
Jul 20, 2025 11 tweets 3 min read
Shīʿī Reports and HCM:

In the Sunnī tradition, the primary subject of attribution is the Prophet himself. Tracing a report back to the Prophet is difficult due to various methodological concerns that have been highlighted in the relevant scholarship. Image In the Shī'ī Ḥadīth, the attributions are primarily directed towards al-Sadiq and al-Bāqir. Historically confirming their reports is likely easier some of their contemporaries are already established common links; al-Zuhri and Hisham b. ʿUrwa are already arrested.
Aug 28, 2024 8 tweets 2 min read
The Meaning of Nikāh:

In classical Arabic, Nikāh was used to refer to marriage as well as sexual intercourse. In Qurʾān as well, it appears to be the case that it is used primarily in terms of marriage. Witztum (2009) has proposed a reading of 4:24 that entails a... Image hierarchical matrimonial system in Qurʾān. If such a reading is taken, then Nikāḥ might even particularly designate permanent marriage (as opposed to a temporary one). Whatever the case maybe, the Qurʾānic usage of it for marriage is conspicuous.
Aug 26, 2024 28 tweets 6 min read
Stylometry and Ḥadīth Corpus:

In a recent discussion "Refuting Orientalists" (@qadissiyah636 - RO) argued that the Reliability of the Sunnī Ḥadīth corpus can be established through a stylometry. This is problematic on multiple levels. In this thread, we will show what... Image exactly is the problem with this claim.

First of all, it is important to discuss the first study cited by RO. This study claims to apply stylometry on Qur'an and Ḥadīth to conclude that Quran and Ḥadīth have two different authors. It is clear that Qur'an and Ḥadīth have...
Jul 22, 2024 5 tweets 1 min read
Born in 1929 in Āmul, Ayatullāh Ḥasanzādeh Āmulī took interest in religious disciplines from the very beginning of his life. He describes a mystical vision during his teens — a light of some kind, that guided him to study Islamic philosophy, law and mysticism. Image As an initiate in the Ṣadrian tradition, he promoted the sysntehsis of all knowledge into one unity; mathematics, science, religion, law, philosophy and more. Due to this, apart from philosophy and mysticism, he worked on many other Islamicate disciplines that have become
Jul 21, 2024 11 tweets 2 min read
The Difference between contemporary Ṣadrian and Khayrabadī Pedagogy:

During the past year, certain Ṣūfī-leaning Sunnī circles have began claiming that Khayrabadī curriculum provides a strong alternative to Ṣadrian system for a student who aims to study Islamic philosophy. In a recent interview, Faḍal Subḥān Qādirī, a Khayrabadī scholar himself, has clarified the matter.

According to him, the current system of study does not include theoretical mysticism. Rather the tradition is largely based on exoteric sciences (much like al-Azhar and Najaf).
Jul 3, 2024 9 tweets 3 min read
On the Light of the Prophet and Shīʿī Esotericism:

Students of Shīʿī Ḥadīth, academic and traditional alike, would recognize that two companions of the Prophet and Imām ʿAlī feature heavily in Shīʿī chains of transmission, particularly for esoteric content. Image 1) Salmān al-Fārsī
2) Jābir b. ʿAbd Allāh al-Anṣārī

We have already noted a tradition about Prophetic Light ascribed to Salmān al-Fārsī in a Sunnī work.

In this thread, we shall analyze Sunnī traditions attributed to Jābir b. ʿAbd Allāh al-Anṣārī. The provenance...
May 29, 2024 7 tweets 2 min read
Mullā Ṣadrā's Argument for God's Existence:

1) The only basis for existential differentiation is existence itself.

2) If the only reason for existential differentiation is existence itself, then existence must be gradational.

3) Therefore, existence is gradational. Image 4) If existence is a gradational reality, it can afford both pure existence and limited existence.

5) For any existent that is not pure existence, existence is merely a bestowed reality.

6) All such realities, therefore, are merely bestowed with existence.
Apr 25, 2024 5 tweets 2 min read
Can *anyone* go to Heaven?

In his remarkable work (Divine Justice), Shahīd Murtaḍā Mutahharī argues that the common Muslim belief in exclusivism (that only Muslims will go to heaven) is wrong. He posits that there are people like Descartes, who have sincerity towards Truth.
Image
Image
It is entirely possible that such sincere people can go to heaven.

He distinguishes between external Islam (Islām-i Ẓāhirī), an external expression of accepting Islām, and dispositional/inner Islām (Islām-i fiṭrī). It is actually the internal reality and submission...
Apr 4, 2024 17 tweets 5 min read
Alternate Reading of 4:24:

Many sources mention "for a specified time" (ilā ʾajal musammā) in Q 4:24.

فَمَا اسْتَمْتَعْتُمْ بِهِ مِنْهُنَّ إِلَى أَجَلٍ مُسَمَّى فَآتَوْهُنَّ أُجُورَهُنَّ فَرِيضَةً

And when you enjoy them for a specified time, give them their prescribed reward. Image This reading is mentioned in multiple sources, both Sunnī and Shīʿī. In this thread, we will mention some of these sources.

Maqātil b. Sulaymān (d. 767) mentions this in Tafsīr of Q 4:24.

1/367 Image
Mar 1, 2023 14 tweets 5 min read
Recently, there have been some Twitter discussions on chronology of Shīʾī sources and their comparison with Sunnī sources. The earliest Sunnī sources that are arguably extant and preserved include:
1) Musanaf Ibn Abi Shaybah
2) Mawta Imam Malik
3) Sahifa Hamam bin Munabah
... In comparison to this, there are few important Shīʾī works that can be mentioned. A very good secondary work on this topic is a great work by Hossein Modarresi "Tradition and Survival". This work includes most important works. It can be accessed at:

drive.google.com/file/d/1Hi_wi2…
Feb 19, 2023 4 tweets 2 min read
In support of the thesis of Pan-Arabic Ummah which @DrJavadTHashmi presented in his recent debate, there is a Jewish document from Yemen which notes an interaction between Prophet (and a letter he sent to Jews which was written by Imam Ali) and Jews. It says that... ImageImage Jews accepted the Prophet as a Messenger of Allah for Gentiles and they fought along with him and were supportive of his mission. While the document itself might not be a historical representation of what Prophet sent, it does show the general Jewish sentiment and view about...