Ikhwan al-Safa'

"Its style is eloquent and lucid, and its arguments are coherent and delicately articulated.The text is informative and its reading enjoyable as well as engaging." Nader el-Bizri - The Institute of Ismaili Studies

Chronicling the work of 'The Brethren of Purity', a 4th-century group of encyclopaedists who tried to reconcile reason and faith.

The Ikhwan Al- Safa' or Brethren of Purity were a highly secretive group of tenth-century Shi'ite thinkers, their identities remaining unclear even today. Renowned for creating the legendary Rasa'il Ikhwan al-Safa, an encyclopedia of philosophical sciences, they proposed a coherent intellectual system that sought to reconcile human reasoning with prophetic revelation.

This fascinating survey provides a clear, objective and innovative introduction to the Brethren of Purity and their encyclopedic project, showing its critical place in the history of Arabic science, philosophy and literature.