Explore Iranica

ʿAQL, “intellect, intelligence, reason.” i. General. ii. In Persian Literature.   i. General The term ʿaql is said by Arab philologists to mean originally “to restrain” or “to tie.” It then comes to mean “reason” because it “restrains man from precipitous conduct” (see standard Arabic dictionaries). Its use in Islamic…

ʿAQL-E SORḴ, “The Crimsoned Archangel” (lit., “The Red Intellect”), title of one of the visionary recitals or treatises on spiritual initiation of Šayḵ-al-ešrāq Šehāb-al-dīn Yaḥyā Sohravardī Maqtūl (d. 587/1191). The Arabic word ʿaql corresponds to the Greek noûs and Latin intelligentia intellectus (not “reason”) while the “hierarchical Intelligences” (ʿoqūl) of…

ʿARAB i. Arabs and Iran in the pre-Islamic period. ii. Arab conquest of Iran. iii. Arab settlements in Iran. iv. Arab tribes of Iran. v. Arab-Iranian relations in modern time. See also ARABIC.

ʿARAB i. Arabs and Iran in the Pre-Islamic Period As two of the most prominent ethnic elements in the Middle East, Arabs and Iranians have been in contact with each other, and at times have had their fortunes intertwined, for some three millennia. Herodotus (3.5) relates how in the 6th…

ʿARAB ii. Arab Conquest of Iran During the first two centuries of the Muslim era (7th-8th centuries A.D.) the Sasanian state and much of the east Iranian region in Central Asia were conquered by the mostly Arab armies of the early Islamic state. The accounts of this conquest are often…

ʿARAB iii. Arab Settlements in Iran Arab settlements in Iran proliferated after the wars of conquest that destroyed the Sasanian empire. Though it is difficult to trace accurately their extent and development, they certainly were critical in making the effects of the conquest long term rather than transient and in…

ʿARAB iv. Arab Tribes of Iran 1. General. Since ancient times Iranians and Arabs have lived in neighboring areas. During the Sasanian period several large Arab tribes, including the Tanūk, the Asad, the Nezār, the Bakr, the Tamīm, and the Taḡleb, moved into the Fertile Crescent and established their grazing…

ʿARAB MĪŠMAST, an Arab tribe of Fārs, Tehran, and Khorasan. According to J. J. Morier, it was one of the “principal and purest” branches of the Arabs of Iran (“Iliyats,” p. 232). Sir J. Malcolm asserts that the Mīšmasts once belonged to the Jūmāllī tribe and acquired their name, which…

ʿARAB MOḤAMMAD B. ḤĀJJĪ, khan of Ḵīva 1013-32/1602-23 (?). ʿArab Moḥammad, who succeeded his father in 1013/1602, was the second of a number of Khwarazmian Turkic rulers intimately involved with Iran in the 11th/17th century. His rule was based upon his descent from Jengiz Khan and upon a coalition of…

ʿARAB v. Arab-Iranian Relations in Modern Times Modern Iran’s relations with the Arab states began during the inter-war period. Since Iran was preoccupied with the consequences of prolonged Anglo-Russian rivalry and domination and the lack of centralized government, the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire and the emergence of modern Turkey…

ʿARABŠĀH, ʿEMĀD-AL-DĪN ʿARABŠĀH YAZDĪ, a poet and mystic of the 8th/14th century. He was a contemporary of Shah Yaḥyā, grandson of Mobārez-al-dīn Moẓaffar, founder of the Moẓaffarid dynasty, who ruled Yazd and was put to death by Tīmūr in 795/1392. Shah Yaḥyā and his two sons are eulogized by ʿArabšāh…

ʿARABŠĀHĪ, a dynasty of Chingisid origin that ruled in Ḵᵛārazm from the beginning of the 10th/16th century. The name, accepted by some modern scholars as a matter of convenience (though apparently not found in Eastern sources), comes from one of the ancestors of the dynasty, ʿArabšāh b. Fūlād, a descendant…

ʿARAŻ, a term of philosophy meaning “accident.” In this article, chiefly the views of some major Iranian philosophers are discussed. The term ʿaraż, which translates the Greek symbebēkós, came from Aristotle, particularly from his Organon or logical works. Among Muslim philosophers, however, the discussion on ʿaraż has been strongly affected…

ʿĀREF QAZVĪNĪ, ABU’L-QĀSEM (ca. 1300-1352/1882-1934), poet, musician, and singer during and after the Constitutional Revolution. i. Life and poetry. ii. ʿAref’s music. i. Life and Poetry ʿĀref was born in Qazvīn, where he studied Persian language and grammar and also some music. His father Mollā Hādī earned his dislike by…