Muģammad al-Aqkirmānī and his ‘Iqd al-La’ālī: The Reception of Ibn Sīnā in Early Modern Ottoman Empire

Abstract

Muģammad al-Aqkirmānī (d. 1174/1760) seems to be a rather under- studied figure in modern history. One of the most important (but still unedited) works of this philosopher is entitled “Pearl Necklace in the Exploration that Knowled- ge of the All-Highest is Unlimited” ‘Iqd al-La’ālī fī ‘ilmihi ta‘ālā bi-ghayr al-mutanāhī. This work was written on the basis of various philosophical sources, mainly associa- ted with the influence of famous Islamic philosopher Ibn Sīnā (d. 1037). Using the well-preserved copy of this treatise from the King Saud University Library (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) as our primary source along with some other manuscripts of  al-Aqkirmani,  our  study  provides  an  outline  of  his  scholarly  biography  and  a detailed observation of his influences in the context of Ottoman science. Finally, our article states the significance of al-Aqkirmānī’s rationality and new horizons to emphasize  the  development  of  original  philosophical  traditions  in  Early  Modern Ottoman Empire.