Illuminating Minds: The Formation of Classical Islamic Educational Thought, From Ibn al-Muqaffa to Miskawayh (8th-11th Century)

Illuminating Minds offers the first comprehensive intellectual history of classical Islamic educational thought from the eighth to the eleventh century CE. Tracing a line from Ibn al-Muqaffa’s vision of educated leadership to Miskawayh’s ethical pedagogy, the book reconstructs education not as a marginal concern but as a central discourse shaping ethics, philosophy, theology, mysticism, literature, and political reflection. Drawing on a wide range of Arabic primary sources—many examined for...