Examination and Analysis of the Intellectual Foundations of Ikhwān al-Ṣafā in the Esoteric Exegesis of the Qur an

Ikhwān al-Ṣafā's opinions and viewpoints about the nature of religion and their esoteric interpretations on the Qur'ānic verses have drawn the attention of a group of thinkers, in particular, the interpreters of the Qur'ān. A number of interpreters have been influenced by the esoteric viewpoints of Ikhwān al-Ṣafā and have directly or indirectly employed their opinions. Although Ikhwān al-Ṣafā have not viewed resorting to the apparent meaning of the Qur'ānic verses for understanding them and regard esoteric exegesis of the verses as essential, they have not deemed as permissible any type of esoteric exegesis and have strongly opposed to many such interpreters, particularly the Mu‘tazilites. The writer has tried in this article to study the esoteric-interpretive viewpoints of Ikhwān al-Ṣafā concerning the verses of the Qur'ān as well as the impact of their opinions on the interpreters.