<研究創案ノート>シャアラーニー研究の軌跡とその課題

Abstract

‘Abd al-Wahhāb ibn Aḥmad al-Sha‘rānī (d. 973/1565) was a Sufi thinker who lived through the early period of Ottoman Egypt. He was greatly influenced by Ibn al-‘Arabī (d. 638/1240), one of the most famous mystical philosophers in the Islamic tradition, and espoused Ibn al-‘Arabī’s ideas in the face of opposition. It has been pointed out that al-Sha‘rānī’s books about Ibn al-‘Arabī played a role in spreading the latter’s theory throughout the Islamic world. Therefore, research on al-Sha‘rānī and analyzing how he interpreted Ibn al-‘Arabī will give us a new aspect in understanding the philosophy of Ibn al-‘Arabī. As a preliminary survey for my future research, this paper examines previous studies on al-Sha‘rānī and clarifies how research on him has progressed so far. They discuss al-Sha‘rānī from three different points of view. First of all, many previous studies use his works in order to get a historical and cultural record of 16th of Egypt. Secondly, some studies recognize him as a great Sufi thinker who appeared in the early Ottoman Empire and describe his background and basic ideas. Finally, a couple of studies take up his own theory and discuss it in depth. In this paper, each study is analyzed according to these viewpoints. This process will make it clear that despite the fact that al-Sha‘rānī supported Ibn al-‘Arabī’s theory, little research has focused on how al-Sha‘rānī interpreted it and what he really advocated in his works. The paper concludes by nominating a subject for further scholarly examination: the clarification of al-Sha‘rānī’s own ideas taking into consideration the social and governmental background in 16th century Egypt. This will lead to the elucidation of the thought inherited and developed among the school of Ibn al-‘Arabī in time of the Ottoman Empire.