Showing posts with label Toshihiko Izutsu Sufism And Taoism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Toshihiko Izutsu Sufism And Taoism. Show all posts

2023/05/03

** 「수피즘과 노장 사상-비교 철학 시론」(상·하) 이즈쓰 토시히코 井筒俊彦

https://www.tenri-u.ac.jp/topics/oyaken/q3tncs00001rj7hq-att/GT237-HP-page11.pdf 

『スーフィズムと老荘思想―比較哲学試論』(上・下).

本書は、イスラーム哲学および東洋思想の碩学として名高い井筒俊彦(1914 ~ 1993)の代表作の一つである英文著書、Sufsm and Taoism: A Comparative Study of Key Philosophical Concepts(1983)の待望の邦訳である。=

井筒俊彦とその著作.

井筒俊彦は東洋思想のみならず、西洋思想にも深く精通した思想家であった。しかしながら、彼の名は以前、イスラームの聖典『コーラン』(岩波文庫)をアラビア語原典から最初に邦訳した慶應義塾大学教授として、ごく一部の研究者たちのあいだで知られていたにすぎなかった。=

彼が長年、海外で研究生活を送り、著作の大部分も英語で著していたこともあり、彼の名
はむしろ日本よりも海外で広く知られていた。=

井筒の名が日本で広く知られるようになったのは、1979 年、イラン革命によってイラン王立哲学アカデミーを離れて、日本への帰国を余儀なくされてからであった。『意識と本質』(1983)をはじめ、日本語で出版された著書は、数多くの読者に愛読されている。=

井筒の日本語著作は、これまで「井筒俊彦著作集」(中央公論社、全 10 巻、1991 ~ 1993)によって知られてきた。近年、出版された「井筒俊彦全集」(慶應義塾大学出版会、全 12 巻+別巻、2014 ~ 2016)には、彼の論文などもすべて収録され、井筒が日本語で著した思想の全容を窺い知ることができる。しかし、井筒の日本語著作のみに触れてきた読者は、それだけでは「本当」の井筒を知らないと言えるかもしれない。=

筆者自身、海外の研究者たちとイスラーム哲学などについて議論するなかで、井筒俊彦を高く評価する人々―そして、時には熱心な井筒ファン―に幾度も出会ってきた。様々な研究分野の研究者たちにも読まれている井筒は、私たちの前に聳え立つ知の巨人である。井筒が英語で著した著書も、ようやく「井筒俊彦英文著作翻訳コレクション」(慶應義塾大学出版会)として順次邦訳され、本書の出版をもって完結した。ここに井筒思想の全貌を日本語
で読むことができるようになった。=

構成と概要.

本書の構成は、以下の通りである。
第1部 イブン・アラビー(全 17 章 上巻).
第2部 老子と荘子(全 12 章 下巻).
第3部 結論―比較考量(全5章 下巻).

原著タイトルの副題に “A Comparative Study of Key Philosophical Concepts” と記されているように、鍵となる哲学的概念が比較検討されている。

比較検討の対象として取り上げられているのは、イブン・アラビーによる存在一性論(イスラーム哲学)と老子と荘子の老荘思想(中国哲学)である。井筒の著書は、文献学的・思想研究的な視座にもとづき、時間と空間を越えた「超メタ・ヒストリカル歴史的・言い換えれば歴トランス・ヒストリカル史状況を越境する対話」試みている。
そこに通底する「久遠の哲学」(フォロソフィア・ペレニス)を意味論的に導き出そうとする大胆な試みである。

井筒は難解なイブン・アラビーの思想を、後代のイブン・アラビー学派の思想家であったカーシャーニーの枠組みを援用しながら分析する
イブン・アラビーの存在一性論の特徴は、通常、「アッラー」(アラビア語で「神」)を意味するものは、らかのかたちで限定された状態の絶対者でしかない。
むしろ、言語を越え、いかなるかたちでも描写できない絶対性の状態にある超越的な絶対者が想定され、その絶対存在は「ハック」(h4 aqq 絶対者)と呼ばれる。存在一性論では、この絶対者が「神」、「一者」、さらに「世界」などの存在や名前を通して顕われる過程を、自己顕現(tajallī)と呼ぶ。=

世界の創造物が存在であるかぎり、絶対者と「存在」(wujūd)のレベルでつながっているのである。さらに、イブン・アラビー思想の有名な概念のなかに、「完全人間」(al-insān al-kāmil)という語がある。この語は、神が人間のうちに、己れをもっとも完全なかたちで顕現させたことを示すものである。すなわち、人間は被造物でありながらも、同時に絶対者の顕れでもある。マクロコスモスとミクロコスモスを、一つの個体に同時に湛たたえる存在こそが人間―それゆえに完全人間―なのである。=

翻って、老荘思想において、たとえば『老子』(『老子道徳経』)と呼ばれる古典テクストを中心に宇宙を捉えなおすとき、「渾沌」こそが存在の本来的なあり方であり、存在世界の本源である。老子はこの捉えようもない「無名」の次元を「道」と呼び、その極致を探究する。「道」とは、「何かで在る」(有)も「何かで在らぬ」(無)も超えたものであり、まさしくイブン・アラビーの存在一性論における「存在」と形而上学的に対応する。
道家で用いられる「一なる者」の語は、イブン・アラビーの捉える「一なる者」、すなわち絶対的に「一なる者」(アハドの次元)と、多を内包した「一なる者」(ワーヒドの次元)のそれぞれを包摂している。その意味で、両者はともに隠された不可視界(道家における玄や、存在一性論におけるガイブ)から、それぞれを顕われを論じている。井筒はこれら隠された存在論的レベルとその顕われの仕方を、二つの思想テクストを交錯させながら読み解きつつ、厳密な意味論的分析によって議論を進めていく。=

ちなみに、諸言語に通暁した井筒の意図を読み解きつつ、翻訳を行うことはきわめて骨の折れる作業である。もちろん、本書の翻訳に際しては、アラビア語と中国語に関する知見が不可欠である。井筒の諸著作を精読し翻訳した仁子寿晴氏は、イスラーム思想研究のまさに鬼才であると言えるだろう。筆者も仁子氏が担当する大学の講義を聴講したことがあるが、講義には学外の研究者も参加していた。ときに、授業時間以上に長い授業後の「雑談」では、翻訳の試行錯誤がしばしば話題に上がっていた。「訳者あとがき」の紙幅では語り尽くせていない、訳者と編集者の5年以上に及ぶ奮闘を素直に讃えたい。

(井筒俊彦著、仁子寿晴訳、慶應義塾大学出版会、2019 年)
====
「수피즘과 노장 사상-비교 철학 시론」(상·하). 

본서는 이슬람 철학 및 동양 사상의 귀학으로서 유명한 이즈쓰 토시히코 (1914~1993)의 대표작 중 하나인 영문 저서, Sufism and Taoism: A Comparative Study of Key Philosophical Concepts(1983)의 오래 기다렸던 일어 번역이다. 

이즈쓰 토시히코와 그 저작. 

이즈쓰 토시히코는 동양 사상뿐만 아니라 서양 사상에도 깊게 정통한 사상가였다. 그러나 그의 이름은 이전에 이슬람의 경전 '코란'(이와나미 문고)을 아랍어 원전에서 처음으로 번역한 게이오 대학교 교수로서 극히 일부 연구자들 사이에서 알려져 있었던 것에 불과했다. 

 그가 수년간 해외에서 연구생활을 보내고 저작의 대부분도 영어로 저명했던 적도 있었고 그의 이름은 오히려 일본보다 해외에서 널리 알려져 있었다. 이즈쓰의 이름이 일본에서 널리 알려지게 된 것은 1979년 이란 혁명에 의해 이란 왕립 철학 아카데미를 떠나 일본으로의 귀국을 강요당한 이후였다. '의식과 본질'(1983)을 비롯해 일본어로 출판된 저서는 수많은 독자들에게 애독되고 있다. 

이통의 일본어 저작은 지금까지 「이즈쓰 토시히코 저작집」(중앙공론사, 전 10권, 1991~1993)에 의해 알려져 왔다. 최근, 출판된 「이즈쓰 토시히코 전집」(게이오 기학 대학 출판회, 전 12권+별권, 2014~2016)에는, 그의 논문 등도 모두 수록되어, 이즈쓰가 일본어로 현저한 사상의 전용을 엿볼 수 있다. 그러나, 이통의 일본어 저작에만 접해 온 독자는, 그것만으로는 「진짜」의 이즈쓰 토시히코를 모른다고 말할 수 있을지도 모른다. 

필자 자신, 해외의 연구자들과 이슬람 철학 등에 대해 논의하는 가운데, 이즈쓰 토시히코를 높이 평가하는 사람들―그리고 때로는 열심한 이즈쓰 팬―을 몇번이나 만나 왔다. 다양한 연구 분야의 연구자들에게도 읽혀지는 이즈쓰 토시히코는 우리 앞에 떠오르는 지식의 거인이다. 이즈쓰 토시히코가 영어로 저술한 저서도 드디어 ‘이즈쓰 토시히코 영문 저작 번역 컬렉션’(경기의학 대학 출판회)로 순차적으로 방역되어 본서의 출판으로 완결되었다. 여기에 이즈쓰 사상의 전모를 일본어로 읽을 수 있게 되었다. =


구성 및 개요 

본 설명서의 구성은 다음과 같다. 
제1부 이븐 아라비(전 17장 상권). 
제2부 노자와 장자(전 12장 하권). 
제3부 결론―비교 고량(전 5장 하권).

 "Key Philosophical Concepts"라고 명시된 바와 같이 핵심 철학적 개념이 비교 검토되었다.

비교 검토의 대상으로 다루어지고 있는 것은, 이븐 아라비에 의한 존재 일성론(이슬람 철학)과 노자와 장자의 노장 사상(중국 철학)이다. 이즈쓰의 저서는 문헌학적·사상연구적인 시좌에 근거해 시간과 공간을 넘은 「초메타・히스토리컬 역사적・바꾸어 말하면 역사 트랜스・히스토리컬 사 상황을 넘어서는 대화」를 시도하고 있다. 거기에 공통적인 기반을 갖는 '영원의 철학'(피로소피아 페레니스)을 의미론적으로 이끌어내려는 대담한 시도이다.


이즈쓰는 난해한 이븐 아라비의 사상을, 후대의 이븐 아라비 학파의 사상가였던 카셔니의 틀을 원용하면서 분석한다. 이븐 아라비의 존재 일성론의 특징은, 통상, 「알라」(아랍어로 「신」)를 의미하는 것은, 어떠한 형태로 한정된 상태의 절대자일 뿐이다. 오히려 언어를 넘어 어떠한 형태로도 묘사할 수 없는 절대성 상태에 있는 초월적인 절대자가 상정되어 그 절대 존재는 '해킹'(h4 aqq 절대자)이라고 불린다. 존재 일성론에서는, 이 절대자가 「신」, 「하나의 자 一者」, 한층 더 「세계」등의 존재나 이름을 통해서 나타나는 과정을, 자기현현(tajallī)이라고 부른다.

세계의 창조물이 존재하는 한, 절대자와 「존재」(wujūd)의 레벨로 연결되어 있는 것이다. 또한 이븐 아라비 사상의 유명한 개념 속에 '완전 인간'(al-insān al-kāmil)이라는 단어가 있다. 이 말은 하나님께서 인간 가운데서 자신을 가장 완전한 형태로 현시시켰음을 나타내는 것이다. 즉, 인간은 피조물이면서도 동시에 절대자의 현시이기도 하다. 마크로 코스모스와 마이크로 코스모스를 하나의 개체에 동시에 찢는 존재야말로 인간—그러므로 완전 인간—인 것이다.

= 또 한편으로는, 노장 사상에 있어서, 예를 들면 「노자」(「노자 도덕경」)라고 불리는 고전 텍스트를 중심으로 우주를 다시 잡을 때, 「혼돈」이야말로 존재의 본래적인 방식이며, 존재 세계의 본원이다. 노자는 이 포착할 수 없는 '무명'의 차원을 '길'이라고 부르며 그 극치를 탐구한다. 「길」이란, 「무언가로 존재한다」(유)도 「무언가로 존재하지 않는다」(무)도 넘은 것이며, 바로 이븐 아라비의 존재 일성론에 있어서의 「존재」라고 형이상학 적으로 대응한다. 도가에서 사용되는 「하나의 자」의 말은, 이븐 아라비가 포착하는 「하나의 자」, 즉 절대적으로 「하나의 자」(아하드의 차원)와 다를 내포한 「하나의 자」( 워히드의 차원)의 각각을 포섭하고 있다. 그 의미에서 양자는 모두 숨겨진 불가시계(不可視界 - 도가에서의 현과 존재 일성론에서의 가이브)로부터 각각을 드러내는 것을 논하고 있다. 이즈쓰는 이러한 숨겨진 존재론적 수준과 그 드러나는 방식을 두 가지 사상 텍스트를 교차시키면서 읽어내면서 엄밀한 의미론적 분석에 의해 논의를 진행해 나간다.

덧붙여서, 여러 언어에 쓰여진 이즈쓰의 의도를 읽어내면서 번역을 하는 것은 매우 힘든 작업이다. 물론 이 책을 번역할 때 아랍어와 중국어에 대한 지식이 필수적이다. 이즈쓰의 여러 저작을 정독해 번역한 니코 스하루씨는 이슬람 사상 연구의 바로 귀재라고 할 수 있을 것이다. 필자도 니코씨가 담당하는 대학의 강의를 청강한 적이 있지만, 강의에는 학외의 연구자도 참가하고 있었다. 때때로 수업시간 이상으로 긴 수업 후 '잡담'에서는 번역 시행착오가 자주 화제에 오르고 있었다. '역자 후기'의 종이 폭에서는 말을 다하고 있지 않은, 역자와 편집자의 5년 이상에 이르는 분투를 솔직하게 칭찬하고 싶다.


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世界大百科事典 第2版 「カーシャーニー」の意味・わかりやすい解説
カーシャーニー【Kāshānī】

1885ころ‐1962
イランの宗教家。イラクのシーア派の聖地で研鑽を積み,アーヤトッラーの称号をもつ。第1次世界大戦時にイラクにおける反英ジハードを体験し,以後反英・民族主義を掲げ政治活動を展開した。バーザールおよび下層中間層を組織化して〈イスラム同志会〉を結成し,イラン国王暗殺未遂事件の容疑で国外に追放された。1950年帰国,国会議員となり国民戦線(NF)と共闘,モサッデクの石油国有化案を支持した。53年国会議長,モサッデクとの対立が表面化し下野,反革命への道を開いた。

ブリタニカ国際大百科事典 小項目事典 「カーシャーニー」の意味・わかりやすい解説
カーシャーニー
al-Qāshānī, Abū al-Qāsim `Abd Allāh b. Muḥammad

[生]?
[没]1335/1336?
イラン,イル・ハン国の歴史家。カーシャーンの著名なタイル職人の家に生れる。主著『ウルジャーイトゥー史』 Tārīkh-i Uljāytūはウルジャーイトゥー・ハン (在位 1304~16) 1代の年代記。


2023/04/30

崔明淑 - [메모: 이븐 알라비] 12세기 이슬람 신비주의 철학자 이븐 알라비의 존재 일성론 ”모든 존재가 하나이다“

(1) 崔明淑 - [메모: 이븐 알라비] 12세기 이슬람 신비주의 철학자 이븐 알라비의 존재 일성론 ”모든 존재가 하나이다“... | Facebook

[메모: 이븐 알라비]
12세기 이슬람 신비주의 철학자

이븐 알라비의 존재 일성론 ”모든 존재가 하나이다“ 
존재하는 모든 것들, 전 우주가 존재, 신, 알라이다. 그런데 이즈츠 도시히코는 이것이 이슬람 철학의 세계관만이 아니고 동양철학의 바탕에 흐르는 것이라고 한다. 
1장:
이븐 알라비:
  • 현실은 꿈에 지나지 않지만 단순한 환상이 아니다. 
  • 절대적 실재가 개별적으로 나타난 것, 자기현현한 절대적 실재의 특수형태이다. 
  • 현실은 형이상에 기반을 둔 꿈이다.
  • 무언가이고 무언가가되는 세계는 상상이지만 실제로는 “실재”그 자체이다. 
  • (현실은 환상이지만 주관적 환상이 아니고 객관적인 환상, 존재론적으로 견고한 기반을 가진 비현실이다. 즉 현실은 환상이 아니다. 통상적으로 사용하는 환상은 아니다.)

이븐알라비제자 카샤니의 5 지평..
수피의 세계관에서 5가지 세계로 구별됨
 
  • 1. 본질그자체 절대적으로 드러나지 않은 세계 
  • 2. 속성과 이름의 세계, 신성의 현전
  •  3 행위의 지평, 주성의 현전 
  • 4 이미지와 상상의 지평 
  • 5 감각과 현실 경험
 
보다 낮은 지평의 것이 보다 높은 지평의 이마주로서 기능.

이븐 알라비의 존재론은 신비주의에 근거한 존재론. 
개시라는 신비체험에 의해서 드러난 무언가에 인도된 존재론. 이븐 알리비는 5지평의 각각 “있다” 지평을 현전(하드라)로 표현. 
각각의 하드라(현전)는 각각의 “있다”가 자기를 드러내는 특정의 존재론적 측면.
학크(절대자) 는 다음의 상태에 있다.
 
  • 비 타자리-제 1하드라-절대성의 상태에 있는 절대자
  • (타자리:현실적 구체적 차원으로 절대자가 자기를 드러낸 것)

  • 타자리-제2 하드라-스스로를 신으로 나타난 절대자
  • 타자리-제3하드라-스스로 주로 나타나는 절대자
  • 타자리-제4하드라-반은 영적, 반은 물질적으로 나타나는 절대자
  • 제5하드라-스스로를 감각세계로 나타나는 절대자
 
이븐 알라비에 의하면 2-4하드라,,가시적 불가시적이든 절대자가 자신을 드러낸 것이다.

 
나의 텍스트 이해:

  • 절대자는 하나로 “있다”인데 그것이 분절되어 언어와 속성으로 나뉘어 행위로 드러나는 세계로 
  • 성서의 천지창조나 예수나 모하메드의 세계가 2,3의 지평 하드라이고 
  • 우리가 사는 감각의 세계나 명상과 정진, 신의 계시를 받았다고 하는 특별한 체험을 하기도하며 
  • 또한 물질적이기도 한 현실 세계가 4,5인 것으로 읽었다. 

  • 이븐 알라비의 신비체험의 논리적 구축인데 
  • 그때 무언가 체험이 있었다면 지금도 있는 것이고 
  • 신비체험의 분석은 현대라면 다른 식으로도 볼 수 있겠지만 (뇌과학, 인지 심리학…생물학, 화학 등등.) 
  • 무언가 실재한다는 각성을 하는 또는 하고자하는 사람들이 있다.
  •  
  • 모든 종교에서 공통으로 말하는 그것이 무언지 
  • 나같은 사람은 공부로서 접근할 수는 있을지도 모르겠다. 
  • 독서모임에서 읽자고 하니까 읽는 책이지 자발적으로 읽게 되는 책은 아니다.
 =====  
2장: 절대성 상태에 있는 절대자

  • 절대자를 알라로 말하지만 이븐 알라비에게 알라는 한정된 상태의 절대자이다. 
  • 진정한 절대자를 신이라고 부르지도 않는 무언가인데 학크라고 하는데 진리, 리얼리티를 말한다. 학크는 절대성 상태에 있어 알려지지 않고 알 수도 없는 무언가이다.

  • 무조건적으로 초월한 상태의 절대자는 순수 일성 단계에 있다. 
  • 하지만 거기는 타자리가 일어나지 않아 인식할 그 무엇이 없다. 
  • 절대자는 일인데 일은 다수를 묶는 것도 대립되는 것도 아닌 “있다”가 본질적으로 갖는 원초적 단순성, 
  • 영원한 정적, 절대자의 타자리가 시작되는 것은 다음 단계.
  •  
  • 이븐 알라비는 현상계에 일어나는 여러 인식 경험, 신비경험에서 조차 
  • 보는 자와 보여지는 대상이 있다. 이것이 순수 일성을 방해한다. 
  • 신비가가 나에의해 나를 보았다고해도 마찬가지. 
  • 순수일성 단계의 절대자는 영원히 알 수 없는 채이다.
  •  
  • 그럼 절대자에대해 한마디도 못하나? 
  • 엄밀히는 아무 술어도 붙이지 못하지만 “있다”라는 술어가 최고도의 무조건성을 가지는 표현. 
  • 이 입장에서 본 절대자를 이븐 알라비는 “본질”이라고 부른다.
 
(이부분은 스승 대신에 카샤니가 스콜라 철학풍으로 해석. 
순수일성차원의 본질의 본래적 존재)카샤니는 “있다”를 세가지 범주로 언급 
  • 1.절대적 있다 
  • 2.원형 
  • 3.감각세계의 구체적 존재자.
 
이분알라비의 있다의 세계의 층차..
  • 1.절대적 있다 
  • 2한정된 있다 
  • 3 있다도 없다도 술어적으로 붙일 수 없는 무언가. 

2번이 감각적으로 느낄 수 있는 세계. 있다고도 없다고도 할 수 없는 3번 세계는 원형의 세계. 
이븐 알라비는 절대적 있다와 알라를 동일시한다. 
  • 존재론에서 시작해 결론은 거기에서 벗어나 믿는 사람의 종교적 차원으로 이행. 
  • 알라로 명명되는 차원은 신비가 자기현현(타자리)하는 최초단계. 
  • 알라비는 무사의 대답을 인용, 신이란 무엇인가라는 질문에 
  • ”하늘과 땅의 그리고 그 사이에 있는 것들의 주인이다, 
  • 당신들이 확고한 신앙이 있다면“이라고 대답했다고 
  • 이븐 알라비는 평범한 문구 뒤에 큰 비밀이 있다고 진리를 본다. 

  • 즉 하늘과 땅 사이에 있는 모든 형태의 스스로 그 안에서 출현되는 것이 신
  • 혹은 여러 형태속에서 현현하는 것이 신(예지의 대좌)

문구: 'non-tajalli tajalli tajalli Haqq (Absolute) tajalli the first hadrah (the Absolute in its absoluteness) the second hadrah (the Absolute mani- festing itself as God) the third hadrah (the Absolute mani- festing itself as Lord) the fourth hadrah (the Absolute mani- festing itself as half-spiritual and half-material things) the fifth hadrah (the Absolute mani- festing itself as the sensible world) tajalli'의 이미지일 수 있음
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2023/03/27

AN ASSESSMENT OF IZUTSU’S SUFISM AND TAOISM by Anis Malik Thoha

13._Izutsu_Anis.pdf

IZUTSU’S APPROACH TO THE COMPARATIVE STUDY OF RELIGIONS:
AN ASSESSMENT OF HIS SUFISM AND TAOISM

Anis Malik Thoha


Introduction

Doing comparison is man‟s „business as usual‟. Even the simple person does it in his daily affairs in order to get a better choice. However, to do it scholarly or scientifically has been evidently and exceptionally the concern of sophisticated minds throughout the ages. Especially when the comparison involves belief systems or religions toward which complete neutrality or objectivity is almost impossible.1 Hence arose the important question on “who should carry out the exercise” and “how it should be carried out” in the long and fierce debates among the scholars and students of modern study of religions.
As for the former, there seems to be no conclusive and objective answer as to whether the student of comparative study of religions must be a religious or non-religious person (skeptic and atheist). And it is quite unlikely to have such an answer,2 since the very question is actually problematic. Because, in the final analysis, man has never been human, and cannot continue to be so, without a “set of value” in which he/she believes to be the ultimate truth, so that based upon this “set of value”, he/she judges, evaluates, and selects. Accordingly, it will certainly make no difference whether we call it religion or not.3

1 Yet according to Søren Kierkegaard, “religion is something that toward which neutrality is not possible.” [Quoted in Joachim Wach, The Comparative Study of Religions (New York: Columbia University Press, 1961), p. 9].
2 Geoffrey Parrinder, for instance, tries to discuss in his Comparative Religion the question and concludes finally with an answer which is in favour of the religious. [Geoffrey Parrinder, Comparative Religion (London: Sheldon Press, [1962] 1976), pp. 65, 120].
3 That religion has been the main source and supplier of value is self-evident and commonly
 

Whilst the latter, apparently the major discussions are addressed mainly to the issue of “descriptiveness-normativeness” or “objectivity- subjectivity” along with the types of approach to the study of religions (i.e., psychological, sociological, anthropological, historical, phenomenological, etc.),4 neglecting the issue of what we may call “representation”, which is equally (if not more) important to be taken into account, in order for the study to have its expected validity, credibility and commendability. This is true especially when the study involves a comparison between two or more religions. Otherwise, in the absence of the valid representation, it will be invalid, non-credible and non-commendable.
However, as far as my humble readings can tell, there are only very few scholars who really have paid due attention to this issue of “representation”, although many of them may have implemented this principle implicitly in their works. From the classical scholars, among these few, is Abū al-Ḥasan al-ʿĀmirī (d.381 AH/922 CE),5 a prominent Muslim philosopher, who deliberately addressed this issue and made it crystal clear in the introduction to his work on “comparative study of religion” under the title al-Iʿlām bi-Manāqib al-Islām, in which he compared “six world religions” between each other.6 He was fully

undeniable. But evidently, the ideologies and isms have remarkably functioned the same throughout the ages. In this regard, Paul Tillich observed that:
The outside observer is always an inside participant with a part of his being, for he also has confessed or concealed answers to the questions which underlie every form of religion. If does not profess a religion proper, he nevertheless belongs to a quasi-religion, and as consequence he also selects, judges, and evaluates. [Paul Tillich, Christianity and the Encounter of the World Religions (New York and London: Columbia University Press, 1963), p. 2].
Since by design they are usually meant as alternative to religions proper, some modern scholars simply call them “quasi-religions” [see: Paul Tillich, op. cit.], or “worldviews”, “semi-religions”, “weltanschauungs” [see: Ninian Smart, Dimensions of the Sacred: An Anatomy of the World’s Beliefs (London: Harper Collins, 1996)].


4 See a critical analysis of this issue: Anis Malik Thoha, “Objectivity and the Study of Religion,” in Intellectual Discourse, Vol. 17, No. 1, 2009, pp. 83-92.
5 He is Muḥammad ibn Abī Dharr Yūsuf al-ʿĀmirī al-Nīsābūrī, well-known as Abū al-Ḥasan al-ʿĀmirī, born in Nīsābūr in the beginnings of 4th century AH, died in the same city in 381 AH/922 CE. [Muḥammad ibn Yūsuf al-ʿĀmirī, al-Iʿlām bi-Manāqib al-Islām, edited by Aḥmad ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd Ghurāb (Cairo: Dār al-Kitāb al-ʿArabī li al-Ṭibāʿati wa al-Nashr, 1387 AH/1967 CE), p. 6].
6 Based on the Qur‟anic āyah 17, sūrah al-Ḥajj:
 
ﭫﭬﭭ
 
ﭢﭣﭤﭥﭦﭧﭨ ﭩﭪ ﴿ﭛﭜﭝﭞﭟﭠﭡ
ﭮﭯ ﭰ ﭱﭲ﴾،
 

aware that many of the writers and researchers had, wittingly or unwittingly, ignored this important issue. Further he said:

The description of merit of a thing against the other by way of comparing between the two could be right or otherwise. The right form is subject to two conditions. First, one must not make comparison except between the two similar types, i.e. he must not resort purposely to the noblest thing in this, then he compares it with the lowest in its counterpart; nor must he resort purposely to a principle among the principles of this, then he compares it with a branch among the branches of the other. Second, one must not resort purposely to a qualified property in some sect, which is not extensive in its whole, but then he attributes it to all of its classes.
Whenever the intelligent one observes these two conditions in comparing between things it will be easy for him to fulfill all the portions of comparisons adhering to the right in his exercise.7

Regardless of whether al-ʿĀmirī, in his work, was committed to what he had stated above or not (this is subject to further research), it is worth emphasizing here that these two principles of comparative study espoused by him in this passage – i.e., (i) the two (or more) objects of comparison must be of the same level in all respects, and (ii) each of them must be the qualified “representative” of its constituents – are logically and incontestably self-evident.
Meanwhile, among the modern scholars in the comparative study of religion, who have the same concern is Robert Charles Zaehner (1913- 1974). He stated vividly in his Mysticism: Sacred and Profane that:

It is quite absurd, for example, to quote the late philosophic mystic, Ibn al-
„Araby, as an authentic exponent of the Muslim Tradition since he has been rejected by the majority of the orthodox as being heretical. Such a ‘method’ has
nothing to commend it. It merely serves to irritate those who are genuinely puzzled by the diversity of the world‟s great religions.8

Al-ʿĀmirī confined the number of world religions to six only: Islam, Judaism, Sabeanism, Christianity, Magianism, and Polytheism. [see Muḥammad ibn Yūsuf al-ʿĀmirī, op. cit.]


7 The original Arabic text is as follows:
إن تجٍبن فضٍهخ انشًء ػهى انشًء ثحست انمقبثالد ثٍىٍمب قد ٌكُن صُاثب َقد ٌكُن خطأ    . َصُزح
انصُاة مؼهقخ ثشٍئٍه: أحدٌمب: أال ٌُقغ انمقبٌسخ إال ثٍه األشكبل انمتجبوسخ، أػىً أال ٌؼمد إنى أشسف مب
فً ٌرا فٍقٍسً ثأزذل مب في صبحجً، ٌَؼمد إنى أصم مه أصُل ٌرا فٍقبثهً ثفسع مه فسَع ذاك . َاَخس:
إنى خهخ مُصُفخ فً فسقخ مه انفسق، غٍس مستفٍضخ فً كبفتٍب، فٍىسجٍب إنى جمهخ طجقبتٍب . انؼبقم فً انمقبثهخ ثٍه األشٍبء ػهى ٌرٌه انمؼىٍٍه فقد سٍم ػهًٍ انمأخر فً تُفٍخ حظُظ أال ٌؼمد َمتى حبفع
انمقبثالد، َكبن مالشمب نهصُاة فً أمسي. 127] p. cit., op. .[al-ʿĀmirī,
8 R. C. Zaehner, Mysticism: Sacred and Profane (London: Oxford University Press, 1961),
p. 31. (emphasis added).
 

It is clear that, according to both al-ʿĀmirī and Zaehner, in order for the comparative study of religions to be credible and commendable, it must fulfill the requirements of “representation” adequately.

Preliminary Assessment of Izutsu’s Approach

Perhaps, the book entitled Sufism and Taoism is the only work of Professor Toshihiko Izutsu (1914-1993) which might fall under the discipline of comparative study of religion, in its narrowest sense. Although it is unclear whether he has purposely wished it to be so or not, yet he did make it clear that it is a work meant for a comparison. Moreover, according to him, it is a structural comparison between the two “worldviews” – one of which is sufistic (Islamic) and the other Taoist, that have no historical connection. He said further:

[T]he main purpose of the present work in its entirety is to attempt a structural comparison between the worldview of Sufism [Islam] as represented by Ibn ʿArabī and the worldview of Taoism as represented by Lao-tzŭ and Chuang- tzŭ….
[T]he dominant motive running through the entire work is the desire to open a new vista in the domain of comparative philosophy and mysticism.9

The term “worldview” and “weltanschauung” is increasingly used in the contemporary religious and philosophical studies to mean religion exchangeably.10 And on top of that, the work is deliberately written by the author to facilitate the existing inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue by providing an alternative ground to the current practices, which he calls “meta-historical or transhistorical dialogue”, borrowing Professor Henri Corbin‟s term “un dialogue dans la métahistoire”.11
Hence, the main task of this essay is focusing exclusively on this particular issue of approach used by Professor Izutsu in this particular work, in order to assess the extent to which it is logically and comparatively adequate, credible and commendable. No doubt at all that his extensive study of the key philosophical concepts of Ibn ʿArabī

9 Toshihiko Izutsu, Sufism and Taoism: A Comparative Study of Key Philosophical Concepts (Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press, [1983] 1984), p. 1. (emphasis added)
10 See the footnote 3 above.
11 Ibid., p. 2.
 

(1165-1240) and Lao-tzŭ and Chuang-tzŭ, taken independently, is exceptionally excellent, as so are his other works seem to be. However, when it is seen from a comparative perspective properly, taking into account that it is principally meant by the author as a comparative study – and not just any comparison but a structural comparison between the two worldviews, a crucial question is indeed in order. It is a question on whether the issue of representation for these two worldviews has been addressed adequately in this work or not. In other words, whether the representatives (figures and thoughts) selected by Izutsu in this work do represent adequately the two worldviews respectively, that is, Ibn ʿArabī for Sufism and Lao-tzŭ and Chuang-tzŭ for Taoism.
As far as Taoism is concerned, I think nobody will dispute or disagree with Izutsu. For all scholars (insiders as well as outsiders) on this religion unanimously recognized Lao-tzŭ and Chuang-tzŭ as founders of Taoism, and their thoughts as representing the mainstream of Taoism.12 Thus, such a question of representation does no longer arise. (Therefore, this essay will not touch this issue with regard to Taoism). But the case is totally different with regard to Ibn ʿArabī in Sufism, let alone in Islam. Although his followers and admirers recognized him as al-Shaykh al-Akbar (the greatest master),13 his thoughts are by no means the mainstream of Sufism. Yet, contrary to that, they are considered by the majority of ʿulamā’ (Muslim scholars) as deviating from the mainstream of Sufism and, above all, of Islamic thought in general. The main charge against Ibn ʿArabī is his unusual and unorthodox thought which is commonly identified as pantheism, the unity of existence (waḥdat al-wujūd). Since this line of sufistic thought has never been known in the early tradition of Islam, especially in the Prophet‟s tradition, the Muslim scholars tend to consider it as heresy or heterodoxy (bidʿah).14 Hence, later on, many of

12 All references on world religions and faiths confirm this fact. See for instance: Huston Smith, Religions of Man (New York, Cambridge, London: Perennia Library – Harper & Row Publishers, [1958] 1965); Ninian Smart, The Religious Experience of Mankind (Glasgow: Collins Fount Paperbacks, [1969] 12th impression 1982); S. A. Nigosian, World Faiths (New York: St. Martin Press, 1994).
13 The title of al-Shaykh al-Akbar (the greatest master) for Ibn ʿArabī became well-known after Sultan Salim I issued a decree in 922 AH to build a mosque in Damascus on the name of this Sufi master. [See Dr. Muḥammad ʿAlī Ḥājj Yūsuf, Shams al-Gharb: Sīrah al-Shaykh al-Akbar Muḥyī al-Dīn Ibn al-ʿArabī wa-Madhhabuh (Aleppo: Dār Fuṣṣilat, 1427/2006), p. 16].
14 See for instance: Taqiyy al-Dīn ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm ibn Taymiyyah in his Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā, Vol. 2, p. 143; ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Khaldūn in his Muqaddimah, (Beirut: Dār wa Maktabah al-Hilāl, 1983), pp. 206, 297; Shams al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿUthmān Al-Dhahabī,
  

the contemporary Muslim scholars, such as Abū al-Wafā‟ al-Taftāzānī, term it as “heretical Sufism” (al-taṣawwuf al-bidʿī) to be distinguished from the one which is “traditional” (al-taṣawwuf al-sunnī) following the mainstream tradition of Islam. And because the former is more philosophical in nature, it is also known as “philosophical Sufism” (al- taṣawwuf al-falsafī).15 At any rate, the foregoing discussion has clearly shown that the place of Ibn ʿArabī in Sufism is far beyond the mainstream. Therefore, any attempt to introduce this Shaykh as representative of Sufism is methodologically questionable.
This question becomes more vibrant, pertinent and crucial when the comparative study is meant specifically as an attempt to embark on propagating certain agenda (be it ideological, philosophical or religious), such as philosophia perennis which is very controversial and to which Professor Izutsu seems to belong and subscribe ardently, or, rather idealizes. It is well-established that scholars in the discipline of comparative study of religion are particularly very sensitive to such an agenda, emphasizing the necessity to freeing it from any sort of attempts that would eventually divert and disqualify its neutrality and objectivity. Regardless of the question pertaining to the possibility and impossibility of full-fledge neutrality and objectivity, Izutsu rather spells this agenda out clearly following his conviction with “un dialogue dans la métahistoire” or “meta-historical or transhistorical dialogue”, as he states:

And meta-historical dialogues, conducted methodologically, will, I believe, eventually be crystallized into a philosophia perennis in the fullest sense of the term. For the philosophical drive of the human Mind is, regardless of ages, places and nations, ultimately and fundamentally one.
I readily admit that the present work is far from even coming close to this
ideal.16
Although philosophia perennis, as a school of philosophy, badly needs in itself to be studied and analyzed further, but since the main concern of this essay is on the issue of methodological approach employed by

in his Siyar al-Aʿlām al-Nubalā’, Vol. 23 (Beyrut: Mu‟assasat al-Risālah, 11th Printing, 1422 H./2001M.), pp. 48-9.
15 Further detail, see for instance: Dr. Abū al-Wafā‟ al-Ghunaymī al-Taftāzānī, al-Madkhal ilā al-Taṣawwuf al-Islāmī (Cairo: Dār al-Thaqāfah, 1988); and Abū Muḥammad Raḥīm al-Dīn Nawawī al-Bantanī, Madkhal ilā al-Taṣawwuf al-Ṣaḥīḥ al-Islāmī (Cairo: Dār al-Amān, 1424 H./2003 M.).
16 Toshihiko Izutsu, Sufism and Taoism, p. 469. (emphasis in the second paragraph added)
 

Izutsu, we should confine ourselves to this approach leaving aside the study and analysis of this school of philosophy in detail to the other relevant works.17
It is interesting to note, nevertheless, that Izutsu‟s perennial tendency is not clearly spelt out in any of his works other than Sufism and Taoism. Not even in his The Concept and Reality of the Existence18 and God and Man in the Koran19 which are rightly supposed to address the point elaboratively and clearly. Probably this is the main reason why many of the students and scholars on Izutsu fail to notice this point. For instance, in his presentation under the title “Communicating Pure Consciousness Events: Using Izutsu to address A Problem in the Philosophy of Mysticism,” Dr. Sajjad H. Rizvi from University of Exeter, UK, on the conviction of the possibility of „pure consciousness experience‟ (PCE) of mystical experience, tried all out to argue that Izutsu is far from being a perennialist,20 ignoring the very fact of text written by himself above which is quite straight forward and, thus, obviously self-evident. Indeed, even in this latter work of Izutsu, a careful and meticulous reading of the chapter “Existentialism East and West,” will surely show, though by way of inference, the perennial tendency of Izutsu. He says:

…. Then we shall notice with amazement how close these two kinds of philosophy [Western existentialism and Islamic existentialism] are to each other in their most basic structure. For it will become evident to us that both go back to one and the same root of experience, or primary vision, of the reality of existence. This primary vision is known in Islam as aṣālat al-wujūd, i.e. the “fundamental reality of existence”.21

The phrase “both go back to one and the same root of experience, or primary vision, of the reality of existence,” is a typical expression of

17 There are studies on the perennial philosophy or Sophia perennis. And I have a humble contribution to this study in my book, Al-Taʿaddudiyyah al-Dīniyyah: Ru’yah Islāmiyyah (Kuala Lumpur: IIUM Press, 2005).
18 Toshihiko Izutsu, The Concept and Reality of the Existence (Tokyo: The Keio Institute of Cultural and Linguistic Studies, 1971).
19 Toshihiko Izutsu, God and Man in the Koran: Semantics of the Koranic Weltanschauung
(North Stratford: Ayer Co. Publisher, [1964] repr. 2002).
20 Sajjad H. Rizvi, “Communicating Pure Consciousness Events: Using Izutsu to Address A Problem in the Philosophy of Mysticism,” a paper presented in the International Conference on Contemporary Scholarship on Islam: Japanese Contribution to Islamic Studies – The Legacy of Toshihiko Izutsu, International Islamic University Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, 5-7 August 2008, and is included in this volume, pp. 157-170.
21 Toshihiko Izutsu, The Concept and Reality of the Existence, p. 27. (emphasis added)
 

the perennialism (Sophia Perennis or al-Ḥikmah al-Khālidah). “The Masters”22 of this school of philosophy expressed it differently: René Guénon (1886-1951) used a phrase the Multiple States of Being;23 Aldous Huxley (1894-1963), in The Perennial Philosophy, paraphrased it as “the Highest Common Factor;”24 Frithjof Schuon (1907-1998) and Seyyed Hossein Nasr (b. 1933) called it the Transcendent Unity of Religion.25 In fact, Izutsu‟s Sufism and Taoism is comparable to one of René Guénon‟s posthumous collections entitled Insights into Islamic Esoterism and Taoism.26

Why not Islam and Taoism?

The foregoing analysis might lead eventually to such questions as, firstly, why Izutsu deliberately chooses Sufism and Taoism for his comparative study, rather than Islam and Taoism; and, secondly, why he chooses Sufism of Ibn ʿArabī per se among the prominent sufi figures. Of course, only Izutsu does know exactly the precise answer to this question. However, in the discipline of comparative study of religion today, scholars have discussed extensively the hypothetical definition of religion, and, thus, come up with some sort of typology of religions. Some of them have attempted to classify religions into “mystical” and “prophetic”, emphasizing that mysticism is “the highest type of religions”, as was commonly suggested by perennialists and transcendentalists. Accordingly, it is quite convenient for them to do a comparative study between Sufism and Taoism. Indeed, as I have just mentioned above, René Guénon wrote articles published later on in his posthumous collections entitled Insights into Islamic Esoterism and Taoism. From this perspective, Izutsu‟s Sufism and Taoism has been considered by some contemporary scholars, such as Professor Kojiro

22 In his works, Seyyed Hossein Nasr calls René Guénon, Ananda Coomaraswamy and Frithjof Schuon as “The Masters”.
23 René Guénon, The Multiple States of Being, (Hillsdale, NY: Sophia Perennis, [1932] 2002).
24 Aldous Huxley, The Perennial Philosophy (London: Fontana Books, [1944] 3rd impression 1961).
25 Frithjof Schuon, Esoterism as Principle and as Way, translated from French by William Stoddart (Pates Manor, Bedfont, Middlesex: Perennial Books, [1978] 1981); and his The Transcendent Unity of Religions, translated from French by Peter Townsend (New York, London: Harper Torchbooks, [1948] 1975); also Seyyed Hossein Nasr, „The Philosophia Perennis and the Study of Religion,‟ in Frank Whaling (ed.), The World’s Religious Traditions: Current Perspectives in Religious Studies, (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1984), pp. 181-200; and his Knowledge and the Sacred (Lahore: Suhail Academy, [1981] 1988).
26 René Guénon, Insights into Islamic Esoterism and Taoism (Hillsdale, NY: Sophia Perennis, 2003).
 

Nakamura, a prominent Japanese scholar in comparative religion,27 as a significant contribution which might offer a new vista in the field of comparative religion and interreligious dialogue. But then, whether Sufism is mysticism is actually a highly debatable question that badly needs further research and study. What is clear from the above discussion is that, as far as the Muslim scholars are concerned, they distinguished Sufism into sunnī (traditional) and falsafī (philosophical). And even if philosophical Sufism could be readily labeled mysticism, it represents only a part, nay a small part, of Sufism.
As for the second question, it seems that Izutsu‟s selection of Ibn ʿArabī, and not other ṣūfī figures, as the representative of Sufism is simply because the main interest of Izutsu is actually to establish what he called a “common language” which, according to him, is a necessary ground for the projected meta-historical dialogues could be made possible. He put it as follows:

These considerations would seem to lead us to a very important methodological problem regarding the possibility of meta-historical dialogues. The problem concerns the need of a common linguistic system. This is only natural because the very concept of „dialogue‟ presupposes the existence of a common language between two interlocutors.28

Yet, this “common language”, which is in the form of “key-terms and concepts”, is hardly to be found in the predominant and “authoritative” Islamic thought (kalām) and philosophy that are grounded directly on the Qur‟anic and Sunnatic (traditional) principles as well-represented in the thoughts and works of, for instance, al- Ghazālī,29 al-Qushayrī30 and the likes. Somehow, this is a matter of fact that has been recognized and realized by Izutsu himself indirectly when he wrote his God and Man in the Koran, in which he dealt with these two grand key-terms and concepts mainly from Qur‟anic perspective. In this work, the “common language”, in the sense of that which he wanted eagerly to establish in his comparison between Sufism and Taoism, is completely absent, though the main thrust of the

27 Kojiro Nakamura, “The Significance of Izutsu‟s Legacy for Comparative Religion,” a paper presented in the International Conference on Contemporary Scholarship on Islam: Japanese Contribution to Islamic Studies – The Legacy of Toshihiko Izutsu, International Islamic University Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, 5-7 August 2008, and is included in this volume, pp. 171-180.
28 Toshihiko Izutsu, Sufism and Taoism, p. 471. (emphasis added).
29 See, for example, his Iḥyā’ ʿUlūm al-Dīn.
30 See his Al-Risālah (Beyrut: Dār al-Jīl, 1990).
 

two works is almost, if not totally, the same, viz. about God and man.
Instead, the “common language” or “philosophical ground” for a comparative study, or a dialogue, between Sufism and Taoism is only to be found easily and definitely in such thoughts of the mystics or philosophers as that of Ibn ʿArabī‟s. Perhaps this is that can best explain the reason of Izutsu‟s selection of Ibn ʿArabī. But unfortunately the “common language” of those mystics is unintelligible, and thus, unacceptable by the majority of the ṣūfīs, let alone the traditional Muslim thinkers.

Conclusion

Seen from a comparative perspective, Izutsu‟s Sufism and Taoism might be listed under the discipline of comparative study of religion (in the narrowest sense of the term). It is even more so as Professor Toshihiko Izutsu has made it clear in the introduction and conclusion of the book. Scholars in the discipline have painstakingly been discussing and debating on subjects pertaining to the approaches or methodologies appropriate to conduct the study in order to ascertain its objectivity and credibility. It is particularly this crucial issue of approach that this essay has tried to focus on by assessing Izutsu‟s contribution to the field. The main question of this essay has been the problem of “representation,” viz. how methodologically justifiable it is to do a comparative study between, on the one hand, the thought of Ibn ʿArabī as representative of Sufism which is “unorthodox” in the Sufistic trends, let alone in Islam, and on the other, that of Lao-tzŭ and Chuang-tzŭ as representative of “the main stream” of Taoism.
Although the academic attempts made by this great scholar to explore and find alternative way that leads to the possibility of meta- historical dialogues must be duly acknowledged and credited, but taking into account the issue of “representation” mentioned above and looking at the underlying motive and main objective of the comparative study undertaken by Izutsu in this work, one is sufficiently reasonably justified to cast doubt on the credibility and commendability of the approach used by him and, in turn, on the common ground he proposed.