"The story of Islamic philosophy is the story of the development of the human intellect from the rationalistic phase, represented in this study by Fārābi (d. 950), to an illuminative phase represented by Ibn Ṭufayl (d. 1185) and Ibn al-`Arabī (d. 1240). Illuminative philosophy is based on a model of mystical illumination that found its best expression in Plato's Seventh Letter....In this book, I use Ibn .Tufayl's work and the work of other Islamic thinkers to present the main principles of illuminative or liminal philosophy...."--Introduction, p. 1
