Document Type : Research
Authors
1 Assistant Professor, Department of Theology, Faculty of Humanities and Sports Sciences, Gonbad Kavous University, Gonbad Kavous, Iran
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Theology, Faculty of Humanities and Sports Sciences, Gonbad Kavous University, Gonbad Kavous
Abstract
Hasan al-Baṣrī can be regarded as one of the first pessimistic thinkers in the Islamic world. His pessimism concerns the relationship between human beings and the terrestrial world (Dunyā), and consequently, their eternal felicity or wretchedness. From his perspective, humanity has no destiny but wretchedness, except for a few individuals who, by attending to their true nature, are exempted from this general rule. According to al-Baṣrī, the essence of the world is deceitful, while the human essence is inherently susceptible to being deceived. Accordingly, the world in all its manifestations prevents human beings from attending to the hereafter, and what ensues is their eternal wretchedness and misfortune. This article, written through logical and rational analysis, examines and critiques al-Baṣrī’s view concerning the world and his opinion on human nature. It clarifies that al-Baṣrī’s identification of the “world” with the “terrestrial world” led to a deviation in his understanding of asceticism (Zuhd) and world-renunciation, the consequences of which are evident even in his political and social stances. From a typological perspective, although al-Baṣrī’s pessimism ostensibly pertains to human felicity, in reality, his pessimism ultimately reverts to suspicion toward God and His names and attributes.
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