Illuminating Minds

The Formation of Classical Islamic Educational Thought, From Ibn al-Muqaffa to Miskawayh (8th-11th Century)

Series: 

Volume Editor:
Sebastian Günther
Illuminating Minds offers the first comprehensive intellectual history of classical Islamic educational thought from the eighth to the eleventh century CE. Tracing a line from Ibn al-Muqaffa’s vision of educated leadership to Miskawayh’s ethical pedagogy, the book reconstructs education not as a marginal concern but as a central discourse shaping ethics, philosophy, theology, mysticism, literature, and political reflection. Drawing on a wide range of Arabic primary sources—many examined for the first time through a pedagogical lens—it analyses curricular concepts, theories of knowledge, teaching methods, and ideals of character formation across diverse scholarly milieus.
By presenting ten major Muslim thinkers as pioneers of distinct yet interconnected educational visions, the study reveals a coherent movement toward ethics as the horizon of learning in classical Islam.
Copyright Year:
2026
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ISBN:
978-90-04-75540-6
Publication:
30 Jul 2026
Hardback
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ISBN:
978-90-04-75539-0
Publication:
20 Aug 2026
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Sebastian Günther, Ph.D. (1989, University of Halle-Wittenberg), is Professor and Chair of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Göttingen, and an International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has numerous publications on Islamic intellectual history, including Knowledge and Education in Classical Islam (ed., Brill 2020).
Acknowledgment

Introduction: Classical Islamic Pedagogy—An Outdated Legacy or Enduring Wisdom?
 1 Scope and Aims of the Book
 2 Recent Scholarship on Islamic Education
 3 Intellectual Currents in Classical Islamic Learning
 4 Methodological Reflections and Future Pathways
 5 Epistemological and Conceptual Challenges
 6 Analytical Approaches
 7 Navigating the Pedagogical Archive
 8 Tradition and Reform in Islamic Education
 9 Broadening the Scope of Inquiry
 10 Key Figures and Ideas: A Thematic Synopsis
 11 Toward a History of Classical Islamic Pedagogy: Reflections and Prospects
 12 Bibliography

1 Leadership Education in Literary Garb
Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ (ca. 720–ca. 756)
 1 Life, Education, and Scholarship
 2 The Principal Guide to Rules of Conduct
 3 Conclusions
 4 Appendix: Leadership Terms in Context
 5 Bibliography
 6 Further Reading

2 Scripture as the Focus of Religious Schooling
Ibn Saḥnūn (817–870)
 1 Life, Education, and Scholarship
 2 The Book of Rules of Conduct for Teachers
 3 Conclusions
 4 Bibliography
 5 Further Reading

3 Reading, Reasoning, and the Poetics of Teaching
al-Jāḥiẓ (776–869)
 1 Life, Education, and Scholarship
 2 The Book of Teachers
 3 The Book of Animals
 4 The Book of Elucidation and Exposition
 5 “Foolish Schoolteachers” as a Literary Topic
 6 Conclusions
 7 Bibliography
 8 Further Reading

4 Writerly Culture and Humanistic Education
Ibn Qutayba (828–889)
 1 Life, Education, and Scholarship
 2 The Scribe’s Manual of Proper Conduct
 3 The Book of Knowledge
 4 Poetry and the Poets
 5 The Excellence of the Arabs
 6 The Choicest Narratives
 7 Conclusions
 8 Bibliography
 9 Further Reading

5 Intuitive Knowledge and a Mystic’s Pedagogy
al-Ḥakīm al-Tirmidhī (ca. 830–ca. 910)
 1 Life, Education, and Scholarship
 2 The Broader Context of Mysticism
 3 The Taming of the Soul
 4 The Edification of the Soul
 5 The Sagacious and the Deluded
 6 Conclusions
 7 Bibliography
 8 Further Reading

6 The Philosopher’s Curriculum and Human Fulfillment
al-Fārābī (ca. 870–ca. 950)
 1 Life, Education, and Scholarship
 2 The Enumeration of the Sciences
 3 Selected Aphorisms
 4 The Philosophy of Plato
 5 The Book of Letters
 6 The Exhortation to the Path of Happiness
 7 The Utterances Used in Logic
 8 The Book of Demonstration
 9 The Book of Dialectic
 10 Educational Perspectives in Further Works
 11 Conclusions
 12 Bibliography
 13 Further Reading

7 Spiritual Pedagogy and Enlightenment
Ibn Manṣūr al-Yaman (ca. 883–ca. 958)
 1 Life, Education, and Scholarship
 2 The Master and the Disciple
 3 Conclusions
 4 Bibliography
 5 Further Reading

8 Encyclopaedic Learnedness and Human Wisdom
The Brethren of Purity (Tenth Century)
 1 The Authors and Their Epistles
 2 Epistle 7: On the Scientific Arts
 3 Epistle 8: On the Practical Arts
 4 Epistle 10: An Introduction to Logic
 5 Epistle 42: On Opinions and Religions
 6 Epistle 22: On the Categories of Living Beings
 7 Conclusions
 8 Bibliography
 9 Further Reading

9 Prophetic Traditions as a Basis of Learning
Ibn al-Sunnī (ca. 893–974)
 1 Life, Education, and Scholarship
 2 The Training of Students
 3 Conclusions
 4 Bibliography
 5 Further Reading

10 Ethics as Educational Discourse
Miskawayh (ca. 932–1030)
 1 Life, Education, and Scholarship
 2 The Refinement of Character Traits
 3 Random Questions and Exhaustive Responses
 4 The Rules of Conduct [and the Wisdom] of the Arabs and the Persians
 5 Educational Perspectives in Further Works
 6 Conclusions
 7 Bibliography
 8 Further Reading

Bibliographical Appendix: A Systematic Guide to Classical Islamic Education
Index
All interested in the intellectual and cultural history of Islam, and anyone concerned with pedagogy, virtue ethics, knowledge transmission, or formative scholarly traditions in the premodern Muslim world.
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