İhvan-ı Safa'da Aesthetics and Art

İhvan-ı Safa’da Estetik ve Sanat

Abstract

Ihwan al-Safa, recognized as the earliest humanists within Islamic philosophy, gave significant attention to the concept of the human being in the 10th century. According to Ihwan, humans represent a microcosm, while the universe itself is a macrocosm, both deeply interconnected. Ihwan al-Safa emphasizes that human beings can transcend their limitations and attain proximity to the Creator only through knowledge and education, encapsulated in their principle: "Whoever knows himself knows his Lord." Aesthetic and artistic concepts also occupy a central place in Ihwan's philosophical thought. They consider God as the ultimate source of beauty, believing every created beauty naturally indicates its divine creator. For them, art is a medium through which one transitions from visible forms of beauty to the invisible, ultimate beauty. Mehmet Karakuş’s book, Aesthetics and Art in Ihwan al-Safa, systematically explores aesthetic and artistic notions presented sporadically throughout Ihwan’s treatises. The book analyzes aesthetics through four fundamental elements: subject, object, value, and judgment. It also discusses how Ihwan’s thought was shaped by ancient Greek philosophers (Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus, and Al-Farabi) and their aesthetic legacy. Ihwan's aesthetic understanding particularly highlights concepts like order, proportion, harmony, and perfection. Karakuş’s study significantly fills a gap in the philosophy of Islamic art and carries potential for reviving aesthetic sensitivity, which has become diminished in the modern era.