Prophetic Niche in the Virtous City

Prophetic Niche in the virtous city: the concept of ḥikmah in early Islamic thought, by Hikmet Yaman (Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Science, Texts and Studies: 81) (Leiden & Boston: Brill, 2011), ix + 316 pp., ISBN: 978-90-04-18662-0, EUR121.00 / $166.00 (hb) (First paragraph) The concept of ḥikma, which first appeared in pre-Islamic poetry, exists in every field of Islamic thought. It permeates the Qurʾān and its commentaries, lexicons and dictionaries of terms, law and its sources, mysticism, theology, and philosophy. Hikmet Yaman discusses this concept in all these domains, to the exclusion of law and theology, informing us that "it would be a more realistic project to address ḥikmah in fiqh and kalām literatures in separate detailed studies" (p. 1, n. 1). To my mind, the author's explanation for omitting these two important domains of Islamic thought from his presentation seems somewhat opaque, and hence unconvincing. Besides, it weakens the general statement included in the title of the book

Epistemology · Fiqh · Islam · Islamic studies · Mysticism · Paragraph · Political science · Sharia · Theology · Education and Islamic Studies · Islamic Finance and Banking Studies · Islamic Studies and History · Law · Philosophy · Religious studies