On 29th April 2026, Al-Mahdi Institute hosted its inaugural Islamic Philosophy and Theology Reading Workshop — a new scholarly forum dedicated to bringing together specialists in Islamic philosophy and theology to share their latest research, engage closely with primary texts, and forge lasting academic connections. The workshop was generously supported by the British Society for the History of Philosophy (BSHP), and attracted 101 participants — 24 in person at Al-Mahdi Institute and a further 77 joining via live online stream from across the UK and beyond. The workshop is envisioned as the first instalment of a regular annual gathering — a dedicated space where scholars working across the Islamic intellectual tradition can come together to discuss their work in a rigorous, collegial, and text-focused setting. At a time when the field is growing in depth and ambition, the organisers believe there is a real and pressing need for exactly this kind of recurring scholarly community.
Format
Each of the five one-hour sessions followed a close-reading format. Presenters worked through a selected excerpt from their chosen text in its original Arabic or Persian, attending to both the philological and philosophical dimensions of the passage. This dual focus — linguistic precision alongside philosophical analysis — made the sessions valuable for specialists and broader audiences alike. Each presenter guided the reading for approximately 45 minutes, followed by 15 minutes of open discussion. Reading materials were circulated to registered participants in advance, allowing everyone to engage meaningfully from the outset.
The Sessions
The day opened with Professor Mohammad Saleh Zarepour (University of Manchester), who led a close reading of Ibn Sīnā’s Persian philosophical encyclopaedia, the Dānishnāmah-i ʿAlāʾī. Professor Zarepour examined Ibn Sīnā’s account of divine knowledge — including God’s knowledge of particulars, the contrast between God’s concise and extensive modes of knowing, and divine foreknowledge of future contingents — drawing out the distinctive philosophical perspective that the Dānishnāmah offers alongside Ibn Sīnā’s better-known Arabic works.
The second session was led by Dr Shoaib Ahmed Malik (University of Edinburgh), who focused on Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī’s Maʿālim Uṣūl al-Dīn, a landmark work of Ashʿarī theology. Dr Malik examined al-Rāzī’s systematic proofs for God’s existence — centred on the contingency and origination of essences and attributes — and situated them within al-Rāzī’s broader engagement with the Avicennian philosophical tradition. The session revealed the sophistication with which al-Rāzī both drew upon and argued against the philosophers while remaining within a fundamentally theological framework.
After lunch, Dr Wahid M. Amin (Al-Mahdi Institute) presented on Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī’s defence of Avicenna against the criticisms of Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Karīm al-Shahrastānī. The session examined al-Ṭūsī’s systematic rebuttal of al-Shahrastānī’s objections to the Avicennian conception of God as Necessary Existent, and in particular al-Shahrastānī’s claim that the Avicennian conception of a Necessary Existent contradicts Avicenna’s doctrine of divine simplicity. Dr Amin demonstrated how al-Ṭūsī counteracted each of al-Shahrastānī’s claims by highlighting the importance of correctly analysing terms and their reference to substantiate Avicenna’s doctrine of divine simplicity.
The fourth session was led by Dr Zoheir Esmail (Al-Mahdi Institute), who offered a close reading of two chapters from Volume 7 of Mullā Ṣadrā’s al-Asfār al-Arbaʿa. The session explored what Esmail described as the hermeneutical confluence at the heart of Ṣadrā’s transcendent philosophy: the integration of philosophical demonstration, mystical disclosure, and scriptural exegesis within a single argumentative architecture. Working through Ṣadrā’s engagement with a ḥadīth attributed to Imām ʿAlī and his layered hermeneutic ontology of the Qurʾān, the session provoked rich discussion about the relationship between reason and revelation in the Islamic philosophical tradition.
The day concluded with Professor Seyed Fatemi (Al-Mahdi Institute), who presented on the moral philosophy of Ākhūnd Khurāsānī, the influential nineteenth-century Shīʿī jurist and author of Kifāyat al-Uṣūl. Dr Fatemi examined Ākhūnd’s treatment of moral responsibility, moral luck, and incomplete crimes within the framework of Islamic jurisprudential ethics, raising important questions about what the Islamic tradition has to offer these ongoing philosophical debates.
Looking Ahead
The close-reading format generated substantive and lively discussions across all five sessions, and the hybrid model proved both technically effective and pedagogically rewarding. Participants from across the UK and internationally engaged with the sessions in real time, and the connections formed over the course of the day have already begun to develop into ongoing scholarly exchanges and collaborative work.
The organisers intend to build on this foundation by hosting the workshop on an annual basis, bringing fresh presenters and texts to each instalment and gradually expanding the network of scholars involved. Al-Mahdi Institute is grateful to the British Society for the History of Philosophy for making the inaugural event possible and looks forward to continuing this partnership in support of rigorous, accessible scholarship in Islamic philosophy and theology.
The workshop was supported by the British Society for the History of Philosophy.
www.bshp.org.uk | www.almahdi.edu
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