The theory of body in Islamic philosophy after Ibn Sīnā: In the context of Hikmat al-'Ayn and its commentaries

Body has been the subject of many philosophical inquiries from a variety of perspectives. While the set of meanings that define a body is usually studied in semantic analysis, identifying and demonstrating its principles require a philosophical-metaphysical investigation. Also, around the question of how the multiplicity is generated from unity (necessary being), as a contingent quiddity, how first body is emerged and what is the main principle provides this emergence require a series of philosophical investigations spanning over metaphysic and natural philosophy. In addition that, the examination of body in terms of being the subject of motion pertains to the natural philosophy. Ḥikmat al-'ayn, a handbook of classical philosophy written in the thirteenth century, has been a subject of numerous commentaries and glosses and thus, formed a tradition with that. The author of the work, Najm al-Dīn al-Kātibī (d. 675/1276), represents a new phase in Avicennian philosophy initiated by Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (d. 606/1210). Kātibī's work, in its style and content bears the traces of Rāzī's influence. His students Ibn al-Muṭahhar al-Ḥillī (d. 726/1325) and Quṭb al-Dīn al-Shirāzī (d. 710/1311), as well as Muhammad bin Mubārak Shāh al-Bukhārī (d. after 784/1382) are considered to be the most important commentators of the work, whereas Sayyid al-Sharīf al-Jurjānī (d. 816/1413) is deemed to be its most important supercommentator. In the context of Ḥikmat al-'ayn and its commentaries, this study explores a range of topics including the literal meaning of a body, its metaphysical principles, its coming into being, its essential and accidental properties. It also investigates the issues related to the concept of body that were received by the authors in the Ḥikmat al-'ayn tradition, and traces the direction towards which those issues were later evolved as a result of a subsequent commentarial tradition.