The Pen and the Tablet as Expressions for Neoplatonic Cosmology in the Works of Sayyid Ḥaydar Āmulī

Sayyid Ḥaydar Āmulī marks a significant moment in the integration of esoteric Neoplatonism into Shiʿi history. Ḥaydar Āmulī’s era also saw the emergence of lettrism as a major intellectual discourse, at times challenging Sufism and monism, representing itself as a legitimate and independent intellectual paradigm. The surge of lettrism during this period led to a renewed interest in certain quranic terms such as the pen (qalam) and the tablet (lawḥ) as vehicles for conveying lettrist concepts, which were also deeply rooted and invested in Neoplatonic cosmology. This presentation examines how Ḥaydar Āmulī employs these two imageries to shed light on the Neoplatonic process of world creation as an act of divine writing. Furthermore, by juxtaposing Sayyid Ḥaydar’s framework with that of his Sunni counterparts, it is argued that Islamic Neoplatonism offers a valuable perspective to position Shiʿi thought as an integral component of the broader trajectory of Islamic intellectual history.