Encyclopedia of Islam

Brethren of Purity

The Brethren of Purity (Ikhwan al-safa), or True 

Friends, were a group of 10th-century Muslim 

intellectuals who compiled a remarkable philo-

sophical and scientific encyclopedia in Arabic 

known as Essays of the Brethren of Purity (Rasail 

ikhwan al-safa). According to some accounts, the 

original author was supposed to be a venerated 

figure such as a

li

 

ibn

 a

bi

 t

alib

 (d. 661) or J

aaFar

al

-s

adiq

 (d. 765), but scholars are skeptical about 

this. Rather, there is general agreement among 

scholars that the encyclopedia was the product 

of a philosophical movement in Basra, i

raq

, that 

was influenced by Ismaili (Seven-Imam) Shiism 

and s

UFism

. The members of this movement were 

from the elite learned class in Abbasid society. 

What is most notable about the encyclopedia is 

that it contains a synthesis of major traditions of 

learning that flourished in the Middle East at the 

time when the culture of the a

bbasid

  c

aliphate

(750–1258) was at its height. It combined Islamic 

thought with other traditions of knowledge that 

had originated in the cultures of the ancient Medi-

terranean region and in ancient India and Persia 

and that were later inherited by Muslims. Thus, 

the work recognized the previous intellectual and 

ethical achievements of Greek, Jewish, Christian, 

Hindu, and Buddhist cultures. Because of its 

cosmopolitan outlook, conservative Sunni 

Ulama

condemned it.