Abstract

Islamic philosophy education in the seminary tradition has relied on texts shaping the "faculty of philosophical understanding." Recently, with its shift to academia, Mullā Hādī Sabzavārī's Sharḥ al-Manẓūma has been evaluated against modern textbook criteria. Moqaddam (2023/1402), from this perspective, deems its conciseness, versified form, and linguistic complexity as causes of educational inefficacy. This study asks whether these judgments arise from the text's inherent weakness or from imposing a framework incompatible with traditional texts. Using conceptual-functional analysis and a comparative approach, it distinguishes between "information-oriented" (modern) and "cultivation-oriented" (Islamic philosophical tradition) educational models, then reinterprets Moqaddam's critiques within these frameworks. Findings indicate that features like conciseness, poetic form, mystical elements, and interdisciplinary references—deemed "learning disruptors" in the modern paradigm—serve an educational role in the philosophical tradition. Within the teacher-centered system, exegesis, and scholarly dialogue (mubāḥatha), they foster conceptual practice, technical language familiarity, and readiness for foundational texts like Asfār. Distinguishing "inherent difficulties" (from the textual tradition's logic) from "accidental difficulties" (from content arrangement), the article defends the former while allowing for the latter's reform. Thus, the disagreement over Sharḥ al-Manẓūma's efficacy stems from differing educational paradigms, requiring a framework that considers both the tradition's internal logic and contemporary standards for analyzing Islamic philosophical texts.