Mir?at al-akwan

Ahmad Husayni Ardakani's (d. 1242/1826-7) Mir?at al-akwan is a Persian adaptation of Sadr al-Din Shirazi's (d. 1050/1640) Sharh al-Hidaya, a commentary on Athir al-Din al-Abhari's (d. ca 663/1264) seminal philosophical summa the Hidayat al-hikma. The Hidaya has been of tremendous influence in the Islamic world, producing a huge commentary tradition. Sadr al-Din Shirazi's commentary yielded its own series of glosses and commentaries, and in India it even became a foundational text in the madrasas. Ardakani is mostly known as a translator of religious and philosophical works. He wrote the present adaptation at the request of Muhammad Wali Mirza (d. 1285/1869), a son of Fath ?Ali Shah Qajar (d. 1249/1834). The Mir?at al-akwan covers just the physics and the metaphysics, leaving out the logic after the example of Shirazi. The metaphysics part being lost, the editor added the section on metaphysics of Ardakani's translation of Shirazi's al-Mabda? wal-ma?ad, published earlier by him.