Sufism

Suhrawardi taught a philosophy of Illumination, where knowledge is a direct presential light, not mere logical proof

Suhrawardi built a philosophical system where the highest knowledge is not deduced through logic but given directly, the way light simply reveals what it falls on.

In the introduction to Hikmat al-Ishraq, The Philosophy of Illumination, Suhrawardi (1154-1191) sets out a rival to the dominant Peripatetic philosophy of his time, arguing the deepest knowledge - presential knowledge, al-'ilm al-huduri - is not mediated by concepts and syllogisms but is a direct, immediate illumination of the mind by reality itself, much as light simply reveals objects without needing to be inferred. He insisted this illuminative knowledge must be paired with rigorous logical training, not substituted for it - the ishraqi philosopher needed both discursive rigor and spiritual purification to attain vision. Suhrawardi drew on ancient Persian light-symbolism as well as Islamic philosophy and mystical experience, presenting light and darkness as the fundamental categories of his entire metaphysics. His school, ishraq, became one of the major independent streams of later Islamic philosophy, studied for centuries especially in Iran.

Hikmat al-Ishraq (The Philosophy of Illumination)