Hakim Sabziwari’s Impact on the School of Tehran: Continuity of the Qajar Philosophical School of Isfahan

The present study examines the quality of the realization of Islamic schools of philosophy in the Iranian cultural field between eighth and thirteenth centuries (AH). Initially, the authors discuss the development of such schools from the “Philosophical School of Shiraz (represented by Qutb al-Din Shirazi and Sadr al-Din Dashtaki) to the “School of Safavid Isfahan (represented by Mir Damad and Mulla Sadra) and from there to the School of Qajar Isfahan (represented by Mulla Ali Nuri and Mulla Isma’il Khwajavi), and finally to the “School of Tehran” (represented by Mulla Ali Mudarris Zunuzi, Mulla Mohammad Reza Ghomshei, and Hakim Jilwah). Then they deal with the key role of Hakim Sabziwari in the development of the third school in the School of Tehran. Clearly, because of the chosen period, there is no place for focusing on the schools preceding the philosophical school of Shiraz, such as “School of Maragheh” (represented by Khawaja Nasir al-Din Tusi) or the schools succeeding the School of Tehran, such as the “Neo-Sadrian School” (represented by ‘Allamah Tabataba’i). In line with the purpose of the study, the authors have tried to refer to the specific features of the four target schools, the social conditions dominating the society, and the reasons behind people’s referring to the distinguished philosophers and scholars of each school. Following a library method of research and a comparative design, this study demonstrates that the rulers’ coercion and cruelty and the scholars’ attempts at granting legitimacy to their acts and following them were the main causes of the creation of certain pseudo-parties and centers around spiritual authorities in the garb of philosophers and Sufis.