The Brethren of Purity's Use of Zoroastrian Religious Figures in their Thought

The majority of scholars, such as Henry Corbin (d. 1978) and others of Islamic Philosophy, argue that Suhrawardī (d. 1191) was the first Muslim philosopher to seriously use the thought of ancient Persian and Hermetic schools of wisdom in his thought. While the scholars above acknowledge that earlier Muslim philosophers were aware of the thought of the Persians and the Sabians, there is little research on how their thought was actually utilized. This presentation argues that the Brethren placed a significant amount of respect on pre-Zoroastrian religion and Persian culture. Furthermore, they saw the figures within the Zoroastrian religion as spiritual beings who could be incorporated into the Islamic conception of “Oneness of God” (tawḥid). By spiritually incorporating them into the Islamic worldview, one can then invoke them and seek their intercession. It is here that one can see how the Hermetic conception of theurgy manifests in early Islam.