DAWANI

in full Muhammad Ibn Jalal Ad-din Dawani born 1427, Dawan, in the Kazerun district of Iran died 1502/03 jurist and philosopher who was chiefly responsible for maintaining the traditions of Islamic philosophy in the 15th century. Dawani's family claimed descent from Abu Bakr (the first caliph of Islam). He received a traditional Islamic education, first at Dawan, where he studied with his father, who was a qadi (judge), and later in Shiraz. During his career he held judicial and teaching appointments. His most important judicial appointment was as the qadi for the Fars province. He was also at various times the principal of a theological college in Shiraz. He wrote about 75 philosophical works, which are of two kinds: commentaries on the philosophy of Suhrawardi al-Maqtul, founder of the illuminationist school; and ethics and moral philosophy, including a revision of the ethical doctrines of Nasir ad-Din at-Tusi, the 13th-century Persian philosopher and mathematician. Akhlaq-i Jalali (The Practical Philosophy of the Mohammadan People, 1839) is an account of what a just ruler should or should not do. It describes the various components of an ideal society and how that society should be administered. Dawani also attempted to demonstrate that there need be no conflict between the mystical and philosophical views of the world, that they could coexist but that, because a mystic reaches his conclusions through faith based on divine grace, he is superior to a philosopher, who is motivated by human knowledge and possibly doubt. After his death Dawani was taken to his native village of Dawan for burial.