Brethren Of Purity
The Brethren of Purity (Arabic: اخوان الصفا Ikhwān aṣ-Ṣafā; also The Brethren of Sincerity) were a secret society of Muslim philosophers in Basra, Iraq, in the 10th century CE.
The structure of this mysterious organization and the identities of its members have never been clear. Their esoteric teachings and philosophy are expounded in an epistolary style in the Encyclopedia of the Brethren of Purity (Rasa'il Ikhwan al-safa'), a giant compendium of 52 epistles that would greatly influence later encyclopedias. A good deal of Muslim and Western scholarship has been spent on just pinning down the identities of the Brethren and the century in which they were active.
Read more about Brethren Of Purity: Name, Meetings, Ranks, The Epistles of The Brethren of Purity
Famous quotes containing the words brethren and/or purity:
“And call ye this to utter what is just,
You that of justice hold the sov’reign throne?
And call ye this to yield, O sons of dust,
To wronged brethren ev’ry man his own?”
—Bible: Hebrew Psalm LVIII (Paraphrased by The Countess of Pembroke)
“My death, taking the light from my eyes, gives back to the day the purity which they soiled.”
—Jean Racine (1639–1699)