Exploring philosophical boundaries in seventeenth-century Cairo: al-Munāwī’s (d. 1031/1621) commentary on the Qaṣīdat al-Nafs

Abstract Al-Munāwī’s commentary, alongside that of his older contemporary Dāʾūd al-Anṭākī (d. 1008/1599), represents one of the most extensive works on the poem known as the Qaṣīdat al-nafs (Poem on the Soul), attributed to Avicenna. Al-Munāwī remains an understudied figure, best known for his hagiographical works and, more recently, his approach to Sufism. His commentary, besides the Sufi influence, demonstrates a relative openness to philosophy by a member of Cairene intellectual elites and a cautious attempt to establish its permissibility. Once this objective is achieved, al-Munāwī embarks on an encyclopaedic survey of philosophical psychology, interwoven with lexical and grammatical commentary on the poem’s verses. His commentary stands out for its reliance on authoritative sources and its intricate intertextuality, which is manifested in a dense web of quotations, crypto-quotations, paraphrases, and allusions. In comparison with other commentators who focus primarily on the Qaṣīda’s central themes—the soul’s fall and its relationship with the body—al-Munāwī’s work is notable for providing an overview of nearly every aspect of the traditional science of the soul (ʿilm al-nafs). This exploration is filtered through the reception of these doctrines by figures such as al-Ghazālī, Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī, and others.