Nawbakhtī: An Independently-Minded Imāmī Theologian

Abū Isḥāq Ibrāhīm b. Nawbakht was an important Imāmī philosophical theologian whose life history is the subject of much controversy. Figuring out the era in which he lived is significant for two reasons. On one hand, we become aware of the inter-sectarian influences and impressionabilities within Islamic tradition. On the other hand, the relation between philosophy and theology can be elucidated. In this paper I review the evidence that Nawbakhtī was contemporary to Sayyid al-Murtaḍā and Abū al-Ḥusayn al-Baṣrī, thus locating him to the end of the fourth century AH and the beginning of the fifth; and I also state that Nawbakhtī adapted the views of different schools of thought which he accepted.