I read this a while ago and found it very interesting, here is a part of it:

One of the founders of the neoplatonising schools in the Islamic community was the Persian Muhammad al-Nasafi, who began his activities in Nishapur and later in Bukhara; reputedly converted the Samanid Amir Nasr ibn Ahmad and several of his courtiers to the Ismailiyya (a branch within Shi'a), but was executed in 943 by the latter's son and successor Nuh. Citations from his main work al-Mahsul (the produce, the result) are perserved in later Ismaili documents.

Nasafi's theology and cosmology can be reconstructed in terms of their characteristic features: God is neither Thing nor Not-Thing; His being goes beyond all linguistic concepts and is beyond all knowledge. By means of His creates (abda'a)) from nothing the original creature (al-mubda' al-awwal), the Intellect (al-'aql), which - eternal and perfect - rests itself and through tought graps all Being in itself. In it the (universal) Soul (nafs), whose essence, unlike that of the Intellect, is movement in time, comes into being (tawallada); it is imperfect because its constant movement is symptomatic of its striving for perfect knowledge which it will one day obtain with the help of the Intellect. Its movement produces matter (hayula, from Greek. hyle), while the repose of the Intellect gives rise to form (shura); thus the material world is formed. The individual human soul is a part (juz') of the Universal Soul and likewise strives restlessly for perfection and peace, which it ultimately finds in knowledge in the universal intellect.


*Shi'ism by Heinz Halm.
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I find it a very interesting philosophical concept, not only having ellements of Neoplatonism, but also Buddhism (I refer to the form created by the Intellect). Also I believe such conecpt is in sharp contrast wit the view the average muslim today has about God. Not only that, I also believe such concept is actually not in favour of the dogmatic doctrine that all mainstream Monotheistic religions have in common, but more akin to the spirituality based religious approaches.

I was always saying,if it wasn't arabs, i doubt if we would have 1/10 of the information we have for ancient greece now....they maintained loads of information in their libraries while the christian bishops and patriarchs were burning and destroying them!!!