The Sufi Doctrine of Man: Ṣadr al-Dīn al-Qūnawī’s Metaphysical Anthropology by Richard Todd (review)

The examination of the works and views of Muḥy al-Dīn al-’Arabī’s spiritual heir Ṣadr al-Dīn al-Qūnawī, due to the notorious terseness of his style, is an extremely difficult task. In addition, al-Qūnawī expected the reader to be acquainted with the entire corpus of his works, since many important ideas are mentioned in only one of them, without ever being repeated elsewhere in his writings. In many cases, he limits himself to a brief allusion or hint, without discussing the point at issue in detail. Furthermore, not infrequently he warns the reader that, for certain reasons, one or more important aspects of the issue are not mentioned at all, since they must be kept secret. In his last will, he instructed his students to pack the copies of his works and send them to Damascus to his friend and opponent ‘Afīf al-Dīn al-Tilimsānī, since, after his death, these works would have been of no use to them.

In short, for an average student of philosophy, he was probably the most terrible type of teacher. That said, his teachings are considered to form an important link between Ibn al-’Arabī and the later Akbarian tradition (which deals predominantly with the Fuṣūṣ al-ḥikam). However, given the terseness and sometimes intentional obscurity of his style, can we be sure that we have understood al-Qūnawī’s point and message properly? This is the question that I have asked myself many times and that I would also like to ask Richard Todd, who has written a short but interesting book on the enigmatic Anatolian thinker.

The Sufi Doctrine of Man: Ṣadr al-Dīn al-Qūnawī’s Metaphysical Anthropology consists of a glossary of philosophical and Sufi terms, placed at the very beginning of the book; an introduction; two parts, each of which is divided into four chapters; a conclusion; and three appendices. In the introduction, Todd briefly discusses the current state of al-Qūnawī studies, justly pointing out the elusive character of the thinker, and formulates the principal theme of his research as “al-Qūnawī’s anthropology (or doctrine of man) in context.” He explains that the man at issue is the perfect man (al-insān al-kāmil) and discusses the political setting of al-Qūnawī’s career and the cultural and intellectual climate of his native Anatolia during his lifetime. The introduction ends with a succinct account of the biographical details found in medieval sources.

The first part of the book deals with al-Qūnawī’s life and work. Chapter 1, devoted to his life and times, provides an account of his early years and education, his travels and teaching in the Near East (Egypt and Syria), and his return to Konya, where he spent his final two decades. A separate subchapter deals with al-Qūnawī’s students and disciples, focusing on Mu’ayyad al-Dīn al-Jandī and Fakhr al-Dīn al-’Irāqī.

The second chapter discusses al-Qūnawī’s method, which, according to him, was based on inspiration rather than on meditation and deliberation, assuming that the reader would likewise experience a sort of “unveiling” (kashf) and “spiritual opening” (fatḥ) while studying his texts; this is followed by a discussion of his eleven main works, including Miftāḥ al-ghayb, I’jāz al-bayān, and al-Fukūk.

The third chapter is devoted to the intellectual currents and debates relevant to al-Qūnawī, focusing in particular on the relation of his work to that of Ibn al-’Arabī. Todd lists the borrowed elements of al-Qūnawī’s doctrine as well as those that are likely to be his own contributions (e.g., his theories...