Document Type : Scientific Research
Author
Associate Professor of Islamic Philosophy and Wisdom, University of Tehran
Abstract
In this article, first the expansion of the field of religious education of Islam (i.e., Islamic Theology) until the end of the first century A.H. is pointed out, and then the expansion of knowledge in various fields of science and education from literature, history, jurisprudence, rational sciences, medicine, and other sciences is briefly considered. Besides, the formation of Islamic civilization from the second century A.H. onwards, especially the House of Wisdom (Daarolhekma) in Baghdad in the late second and early third century A.H., is considered, and its effect on the general tendency of the people of knowledge to compile large collections in various religious, cultural, scientific, literary and historical fields—such as Poetry and Poets by Ibn Qutaybah Dinevari (267 A.H.), Al-Tabaqaat Al-Kubra by Ibn Sa'd (230 A.H.) and tens of other titles over decades and centuries—have been discussed. After a brief explanation of these preliminaries, the features of the three encyclopedias (1) Al-Ma'aref by Ibn al-Qutaibe al-Dinevari, (2) Mafatih al-Uloom by al-Khwarizmi, and (3) Ibn Sina’s encyclopedia are discussed.
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