Love and the Brethren of Purity: A Comparative Study of Human Intimacy in Islamic Philosophy

What is it about?

What did Muslim philosophers think of love? While scholars have often studied the role of divine love in Islamic thought, few have examined Muslim views on human intimacy, romance, and sexual relationships. This article considers the opinions of the Brethren of Purity, or Ikhwān al-ṣafāʾ, on this subject. It compares the Brethren’s views to the attitudes found in writings of Ibn Sīnā, Suhrawardī, and Mullā Ṣadrā, the leading representatives of the Peripatetic, Illuminationist and Transcendental schools of Islamic philosophy, respectively.

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