The Development of Metaphysics in Persia

The Development of Metaphysics in Persia is the book form of Muhammad Iqbal's PhD thesis in philosophy at the University of Munich submitted in 1907 and published in 1908. It traces the development of metaphysics in Persia from the time of Zoroaster to the advent of the Baháʼí Faith.



Introduction
Muhammad Iqbal went to Germany and enrolled into Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich where he earned a PhD by submitting The Development of Metaphysics in Persia as his final thesis, in 1908. Iqbal's doctoral supervisor was Fritz Hommel. The book was published by Luzac & Company, London same year. Iqbal covers in this book from Zoroaster to Bahá'u'lláh era and metaphysical anatomy. This is one of the masterpieces of Muhammad Iqbal's research work. No such research had been done before or since in the English Language on the topic.

Quotes from the Book
"Owing to my ignorance of Zend, my knowledge of Zoroaster is merely second hand. As regards the second part of my work, I have been able to look up the original Persian and Arabic manuscripts as well as many printed works connected with my investigation. I give below the names of Arabic and Persian manuscripts from which I have drawn most of the material utilized here. The method of transliteration adopted is the one recognised by the Royal Asiatic Society"

Editions
First Edition of the book published by Luzac & Company, London in 1908. After that Bazm e Iqbal published it from Lahore in 1954. The book has been translated into many international languages including Persian, Urdu and Bosnian.