Lessons in the Keys of the Rational Sciences
Foundations of Rational Inquiry: Logic, Metaphysics, and Kalām in the Later Ashʿarī Tradition
Overview
This course lays the rational groundwork for reading the later Ashʿarī tradition on its own terms. It begins with logic as the disciplined instrument of inquiry, moves to the general principles of existence and the epistemological questions bound up with them, and equips the student with the core philosophical vocabulary and the principal questions of ḥikmah. It closes with the major theological questions as the Eastern school treated them. The aim is preparatory: a clear, controlled foundation sufficient to approach the advanced texts independently.
Texts & teachers
Yāniʿ al-Azhār, an abridgment of Ṭawāliʿ al-Anwārby Shaikh Sulayman al-AbdNajdat Haj AliUnderstand the structure and nature of kalām (theology) as it developed among the later scholars (al-mutaʾakhkhirūn), and to become acquainted with the major theological questions according to the method of the Eastern Ashʿarī school.
Al-Maqālāt fī al-Maqūlātby Shaikh MudarrisNajdat Haj AliUnderstand the highest genera of existence, the particularity of each genus and its rulings, and to grasp the impact of epistemological inquiry on this domain.
Tahdhīb Mughnī al-Ṭullābby Shaikh Mahmud Al-MaghnisiAtaullah SarbalinAcquire an initial conception of the most important philosophical terms, along with an understanding of the principal questions of ḥikmah (philosophy).
Principles of Philosophyby Shaikh Saeed Ahmad PalanpuriAtaullah SarbalinUnderstand the science of logic in a disciplined and clear manner that prepares the student for the higher levels, and to apply what has been understood within the sciences.
Weekly schedule
Saturday
Yāniʿ al-Azhār, an abridgment of Ṭawāliʿ al-Anwār
Najdat Haj Ali
Istanbul17:00–18:30London15:00–16:30New York10:00–11:30Tahdhīb Mughnī al-Ṭullāb
Ataullah Sarbalin
Istanbul18:45–20:15London16:45–18:15New York11:45–13:15
Sunday
Al-Maqālāt fī al-Maqūlāt
Najdat Haj Ali
Istanbul17:00–18:30London15:00–16:30New York10:00–11:30Principles of Philosophy
Ataullah Sarbalin
Istanbul18:45–20:15London16:45–18:15New York11:45–13:15
All times shown for Istanbul (TRT), London (BST) and New York (EDT).
Add schedule to calendarWhat's included
- Live Zoom sessions with the teachers
- Recordings of sessions (select lessons live-only)
- Prepared lesson slides
- A small, focused cohort
Prerequisite
Functional reading and comprehension of Classical Arabic, and basic Islamic knowledge. Dar al-Hikma transmits the Islamic sciences in Arabic — it does not teach Arabic.
Read this sentence
البرهانُ قياسٌ مؤلَّفٌ من مُقدِّماتٍ يقينيّةٍ يُنتِجُ نتيجةً يقينيّة.
If you can read and understand it comfortably - you're ready. All teaching is at this level of Classical Arabic.
If it feels hard, build your Arabic first - Dar al-Hikma transmits the sciences in Arabic; it does not teach Arabic.
Enrollment
Full program
Every text in the program, taught live - one enrollment, recordings included.
Save $15 vs buying texts individually
Prefer one text? Each can be taken on its own - live sessions and recordings for that text.