The nature of the soul/the nafs and theory of knowledge according to Sayyid Sharīf Jurjānī

This study deals with the comprehensive transition that the theory of soul that changed in the post-classical period of kalām –that is, the acceptance of the theory of the immaterial/rational soul – brought about in the theory of knowledge of kalām, from the nature of knowledge to sense perceptions and from there to rational perception. In particular, Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī's internal and external criticisms which are directed on the immaterial soul theory of the Peripatetic tradition and the theory of knowledge that developed under the influence of this theory not only create new challenges that only Peripatetic philosophers had to reckon with but also they created new challenges that the theologians who accepted the immaterial soul theory in the post-classical period had to answer. So much so that it would not be wrong to consider the tradition of theology and philosophy after Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī as an accounting/reasoning of his mentioned criticisms. In order to make a comprehensive and systematic presentation of the aforementioned accounting/reasoning, this study has centered Sayyid Sharīf al-Jurjānī who dealt with the challenges of Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī in the most competent and permanent way. Our study aims to show how the theory of the immaterial soul which is produced in a different metaphysical commitments and the theory of knowledge which is centred round its influence were transformed with theological/kalāmic commitments and how the post-classical theologians (al-muta`akhkhirūn) made these theories a part of their own thought systems. The post-classical theologians like Sayyid Sharīf not only reinterpreted these theories on their own theological/kalāmic commitments, but also structurally transformed them in order to respond to Fahreddin er-Razi's challenge. In fact, the transitions they brought about in the sub-issues of the theory of knowledge even reached a level that deserves to be a different genre from the theories produced by Peripatetic philosophers relating to those issues. In this respect, our study argues that the acceptance of the theory of the immaterial soul by the theologians like Sayyid Sharīf and then harmonizing their theory of knowledge with it did not cause a loss of identity or a plurality of identity in them.