Engaging the Master: Critical Thoughts in and on Avicenna's al-Mubāḥaṯāt

Dear friends of Avicenna,  


It is with great anticipation that we announce the Fifth International Meeting of the Avicenna Study Group (ASG V), to be held 2–4 December 2025 at the new Avicenna Study Center (ASC), hosted by the Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies at Ruhr University Bochum (RUB:AI) in Germany. This event is organised within the framework of the ERC project “Avicenna Live: The Immediate Context of Avicenna’s Intellectual Formation” (ALIVE).  

The central theme of ASG V will be Avicenna’s al-Mubāḥaṯāt, a text whose significance for understanding Avicenna’s intellectual development and his interactions with his own disciples cannot be overstated. Through fifteen presentations, leading scholars will explore the critical value of al-Mubāḥaṯāt for our knowledge of Avicenna’s philosophy, aiming to illuminate new perspectives on the evolution of his thought and the dynamics of his scholarly exchanges.   The necessity of this endeavour is underscored by the diversity of scholarly opinion: while some colleagues regard al-Mubāḥaṯāt as merely reiterative of Avicenna’s main works, others consider its discussions a unique and indispensable source. This striking divergence highlights the urgent need for a comprehensive and nuanced examination of the text.  

We are delighted to announce that the following distinguished scholars will present their latest research at our conference: Asad Q. Ahmed, Amilcar Aldama, Hamed Arezaei, M. Fariduddin Attar, Kübra Bahçi, Catarina Belo, Zhenyu Cai, Zachary Candy, Osama Eshera, Jari Kaukua, Haruo Kobayashi, István Lánczky, Ruizhi Ma, Stephen Ogden, and Meryem Sebti.

A special highlight of ASG V will be the launch of a new website dedicated to facilitating the study and collaborative translation of al-Mubāḥaṯāt. This platform will enable the global community of Avicenna scholars to engage with the text and contribute to its translation into English.

We warmly invite you to join us in Bochum for this exciting event and to participate in our collective effort to make al-Mubāḥaṯāt more accessible. Further details will follow soon.  


Best regards Kübra Bahçi and Andreas Lammer