Kevin R. D. Shepherd
www.independentphilosophy.net |
Kevin R. D. Shepherd |
Kevin R. D. Shepherd (born 1950) is the British author of eleven books, including Pointed Observations (2005) and Minds and Sociocultures Vol. One (1995). He undertook private research at Cambridge University Library during 1981-1993. He has four other websites, the earliest being citizeninitiative.com (2007). Subsequent additions were kevinrdshepherd.net (2008) and kevinrdshepherd.info (2009). There is also citizenphilosophy.net (2010). In addition, he has the blog On Philosophy. He is generally known as an independent philosopher.
The present website will comprise a set of annotated articles on subjects relating to the history of religions and the history of philosophy. These articles will appear in succession as each one is completed.
Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) and Zoroastrianism
This overview was originally composed in the late 1990s, soon after the author's phase of private research at Cambridge University Library. The text and notes have been revised and updated. The initial chapters devote attention to the Iranian prophet Zarathushtra. Despite the legendary profile of this ancient figure, there is an extensive amount of scholarly argument relating to his Gathas, a complex verse text in Avestan that is of uncertain date. The present treatment surveys various theories and themes exhibited in the literature. The author moves on to describe events and complexities in the more tangible historical vistas of Zoroastrianism, starting with the Achaemenian era associated with Persepolis. The subsequent Sassanian era is much more detailed, and this is given some attention, including profiles of the Gnostic leader Mani and the conservative Mazdean high priest Kirder. Also outlined is the heretical situation of Mazdak and his followers, a situation that requires careful probing in the face of some simplistic general statements made in this direction. Extending from this feature is an analysis of the offshoot and hybrid trend known as NeoMazdakite, operative in early Islamic times. The fate of the Iranian Zoroastrians during the Islamic centuries is also detailed, and the account finishes with the subject of religious reformism in the Parsi Zoroastrian milieu of India.
Early Sufism in Iran and Central Asia
The formative development of Sufism occurred over a wide geographical area from Syria and Egypt to Central Asia. The Iraqi tradition, based at Baghdad, was very influential in later centuries. A focus is here attempted upon the complementary Iranian events occurring in Khurasan, a sprawling province which once encompassed territories in Central Asia. The malamati phenomenon of Nishapur is described, along with the ascetic Karrami movement, and also the trend known as Sufiyyat al-Mutazila. The early Sufi annalists like Hujwiri and Qushayri are profiled, and reference is made to many figures such as Ibrahim ibn Adham, Abu Hafs al-Haddad, and Hakim Tirmidhi. The hagiology attaching to Abu Yazid al-Bistami is investigated in more detail, and in relation to the contested theory of Vedantic influence and other factors. The geographical zone from Nishapur and Tus to Balkh and Bukhara is the basic background for this investigation, though developments to the west are also mentioned, as in the instances of Junayd and Hallaj.
Al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi
The ninth century Islamic mystic al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi lived in Central Asia, composing many works in Arabic. His output has been considered by specialist scholars to be significant for the period generally known in terms of early Sufism. However, Tirmidhi himself did not use the word Sufi. His recovered major treatise Sirat al-Awliya outlines his version of wilaya (saintship), which was later adapted by the influential Sufi exponent Ibn al-Arabi (d. 1240).
The Egyptian Sufi Dhu'l Nun al-Misri
Born at Akhmim (Panopolis) in Upper Egypt, the ninth century gnostic Dhu'l Nun al-Misri is one of the most enigmatic and challenging figures of early Sufism. Sufi literature, and the accounts of Muslim historians and bibliographers, furnish details that are apparently contradictory in certain respects. Reputed to be an alchemist, Dhu'l Nun links with the version of Hermetic philosophy revived by early Muslims. More controversially, he was reported to possess a knowledge of the Egyptian hieroglyphs, a claim apparently rooted in the temple architecture that was prolific in Akhmim during early Islamic times prior to later destruction. Becoming a Sufi gnostic and heretic, Dhu'l Nun is also closely associated with Fustat (Cairo) and Giza in Lower Egypt. Various theories and presentations are here reviewed.
PO Box 5757 Dorchester Dorset DT2 7ZX UK
None of the written materials on this website may be copied for public use or posting wihout written permission.
The photograph of Kevin R. D. Shepherd is copyrighted and requires due permission for public use or posting.
Copyright © 2010 Kevin R. D. Shepherd. All Rights Reserved. Page uploaded November 2009, last modified April 2010.