"Corbin; an unlucky author in Iran"

A session was held in the House of Literary in which Kamran Fani said: "Before Corbin's death, a perfect translation of his works weren’t released. However the condition improved following the Islamic Revolution and more of his books were translated but still many of his noted works weren’t converted into Persian."

 

 

"Henry Corbin and Shiite theosophy" was held on Wednesday, 18 Jan. by the Philosophy Book of the Month. The meeting was attended by philosophy and theosophy expert Kamran Fani, Yahya Bbnaud French expert of Islamic philosophy and wisdom, translator of Corbin's works into Persian Inshaallah Rahmati as well as the session's secretary Malek Shojaee Joshoghani.

 

Firstly Shojaee said that Rahmati is more than an ordinary translator and Corbin is a philosophy which is talked regularly in Iran but not usually understood.

 

Then Fani talked about the translation of western texts in Iran and said:" During the past 200 years ago, the process is flourishing. However the works aren’t planned. Usually a publisher or translator converts a book which the work or its author is his favorite. Thus works of many noted writers haven’t been translated or weak translations are usually presented. Corbin is among those authors are well.

 

He added:" Corbin is indeed the biggest servant of Shiite culture. He spent his entire life on evaluating a nation's thoughts and created distinguished works in the field as well. Reading Corbin's works will lead us into our history. Corbin spent half of his life in Iran and during those 30 years only some of his books were translated while he wrote and edited dozens of books. However during the recent years the situation improved."

 

Before the Islamic Revolution Ahmad Fardid and Isa Sepahbodi were the first translators of Corbin's works.

 

He then said that why the author's books weren’t translated into Persian saying that his works were usually difficult. He wasn’t a researcher who evaluated philosophical thoughts simply, but he expressed his own spiritual thoughts in the heart of the culture's nature and intellect.

 

He added that Corbin was lucky that a translator like Inshaallah Rahmati translates his books. Rahmati opened a new way. He has translated books including "Creative Imagination in the Sufism of Ibn 'Arabi" and "Avicenna and the Visionary Recital". Recently Corbin's "Temple and Contemplation" has been published. Rahmati is currently translating En Islam Iranien which is among Corbin's significant books. It is written in more than 2500 pages. The Iranian translator has penned a great and detailed introduction which makes the readers familiar with Corbin's thoughts. I believe that Rahmati's translation will introduce him to the Iranians better.

 

In other news, Yahya Bbnaud said that Corbin saw something specific in philosophy and theosophy which attracted him, something which was useful for today's world and the west philosophy.

 

Henry Corbin (14 April 1903 - 7 October 1978) was a philosopher, theologian and professor of Islamic Studies at the Sorbonne in Paris, France.

 

In 1928 he encountered the formidable Louis Massignon, director of Islamic studies at the Sorbonne, and it was he who introduced Corbin to the writings of Suhrawardi, the 12th century Persian mystic and philosopher whose work was to profoundly affect the course of Corbin’s life. The stage was then set for a personal drama that has deep significance for understanding those cultures whose roots lie in both ancient Greece and in the prophetic religions of the Near East reaching all the way back to Zoroaster. Years later Corbin said “through my meeting with Suhrawardi, my spiritual destiny for the passage through this world was sealed.

 

 

 

Source: IBNA News Agency

 

 

Jan 22, 2012 15:16
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