|
Ibn
Rushd provoked discussion about the relationship between
the Muslim faith and philosophical reasoning, stating
the two are not only compatible but are in fact
complimentary. He was also interested in other
scientific subjects, such as medicine and astronomy. The
following is a brief account of Ibn Rushd’s life and
achievements
Ibn Rushd’s Early Life
Abu
Al Walid Muhammad Ibn Ahmad Ibn Muhammad Ibn Rushd,
widely known simply as Ibn Rushd, was born in 1126 in
the town of Cordova, then part of the Muslim dynasty in
Spain. The young Ibn Rashid grew up in his hometown,
spending much of his early life in studies and academic
pursuit. On the whole, he led a calm life, and was close
to his father and grandfather; they were both
accomplished judges in Cordova. His grandfather, in
particular, was very involved in Fiqh (Maliki School)
and was also acting Imam of the Jamia Mosque in Cordova.
Ibn Rushd acquired a great deal of knowledge from his
father and grandfather as the family was scholarly
oriented and this gave him the proper setting to shine
in education. He also had formal tutors appointed for
him in the subjects of law and philosophy and was very
interested in the study of medicine as well. Ibn Rushd
was indeed at the right time at the right place to
further his academic interests. At his disposal were
around 500,000 books and manuscripts on various subjects
housed at the grand library of Cordova. The extensive
library collection started to build up under Al-Hakam,
the eminent Umayyad Caliph of Spain who ruled two
centuries earlier. This invaluable resource for
information made possible the academic awakening in
Muslim Spain, a trend in which Ibn Rushd took active
part.
Building a Career and
Venturing into Aristotelian Logic
After
reaching a certain level of academic maturity and
scholarly accomplishment, Ibn Rushd continued the family
tradition by becoming a chief Qadi (judge) of Cordova as
his father and grandfather had. As Ibn Rushd was rising
to prominence, in 1169 Ibn Tufail introduced him to
Caliph Abu Yaqub who was incidentally also interested in
philosophical trends. Abu Yaqub challenged Ibn Rushd by
asking him whether the heavens were created or not. The
Caliph provided the answer before Ibn Rushd, which took
the pressure away from the latter. They proceeded to
have a long amiable conversation, which impressed the
caliph. He sent Ibn Rushd home as a dignitary with
expensive presents. Along with the gifts, the caliph
presented Ibn Rushd an appointment proposal for a
thorough analysis of the philosophical works of the
Greek philosopher Aristotle. Ibn Rushd accepted and
spent years of arduous labor working on the project and
balancing it with his demanding career as a chief Qadi.
After the philosopher Ibn Tufayl died, Ibn Rushd got
appointed in his place as personal physician to the
Caliph Abu Yaqub Yusuf in 1182 and then to his son Abu
Yusuf Yaqub in 1184.
Ibn Rushd
continued his work on interpreting Aristotle until 1195
and finalized it by producing a methodical set of
commentaries on most of the great philosopher’s works.
Most notable are the famous De anima (Of the Soul),
Physica, and Metaphysica. Others include De Partibus
Animalium, Rhetorica, Parva Naturalia, Nicomachean
Ethics, Meteorologica, and Poetica. On Politica, Ibn
Rushd wrote an indirect commentary in the sense that he
retrieved it through Plato’s Republic, which can be
viewed as a rewording of Politica. On most of the other
works he wrote thorough analyses accompanied by
summaries. Sometimes the analysis on a particular work
was longer than the original text. Ibn Rushd’s
commentaries and interpretations proved so effective to
understanding Aristotle that they are all included into
the Latin publication of Aristotle's complete works.
Unfortunately, that is the most authentic representation
of the commentaries in existence today. The Arabic
original script has been lost.
Without any
doubt, the analysis Ibn Rushd wrote on Aristotle’s work
had an enormous eye-opening effect on Muslim and
Christian philosophical and intellectual thought
throughout the Middle Ages.
Building the
Philo-theological Bridge
If
controversy can be accounted for in the work of Ibn
Rushd, it would have to be about the sensitive topic of
bringing philosophical reasoning into the religious
realm – a subject many theologians of the time
considered inappropriate. In this respect, Ibn Rushd
managed to stir quite a debate around him, which
eventually erupted into a crisis. When in venturing into
the topic of compatibility between the science of
philosophy and the interpretation of Islamic doctrines,
Ibn Rushd was again influenced by the reasoning of
Ancient Greek texts. On the same subject, he wrote his
3-part magnum opus representing 3 religious
philosophical books. They were written during the course
of two years and completed in 1180. Ibn Rushd entitled
the three treatises the Fasl, Manahij, and
Tahafut al Tahafut – as his work in defense of
philosophy. The Fasl and the Manahij reveal statements
that were quite revolutionary for their time. Among
other things, a main theme in these two works is related
to the statement that only certain men can fully
comprehend the doctrines in the Shariah – the religious
law as revealed by the Prophet. These men had to be
metaphysicians and to be basing their interpretations on
syllogism – certain proof. As opposed to the
metaphysician, the dialectic Muslim theologian who is
basing his prophetic interpretations on dialectical
argumentation is incapable of fully understanding the
Shariah. Therefore, it is the philosopher ‘s highest
deed to find the true and essential revelation contained
in the religious law. Thus, the essential meaning should
not be and cannot be communicated to the ordinary
people. They must instead limit their comprehension to
the Shariah’s external and direct moral found in
metaphorical compositions and easy to understand
stories. On such grounds, Ibn Rushd came to the
conclusion that there are three types of arguments and
that each should be applied in communication to the
respective type of people it is meant for. The three
types of people were classified as philosophers,
theologians, and the masses. The three respective types
of argumentation that should be applied were classified
as demonstration, dialectical, and persuasive.
In the third
book, Ibn Rushd makes an extensive effort to present a
well-grounded defense to philosophy. However, the work
failed to bring back the reputation of philosophy. It
was so because of the fact that in the Iberian
Peninsular and North Africa at the time works based on
assumptions, no matter whether well founded or not, were
looked down on. These claims, in their revolutionary for
the time statements, won quite a few enemies for Ibn
Rush. Many theologians found his claims nothing more
that offensive suppositions. Soon after, Ibn Rushdi
found no more purpose in his life. In his mind, he was
misunderstood and alienated. The Caliph, however,
continued to respect and support him, believing he was
only trying to arrive at the absolute truth. So, after
he came back to Marakesh, the Caliph invited Ibn Rushd
to his court to stay and work there. Despite this
generous offer, Ibn Rushd’s depression grew and soon
after he fell sick and died. A burial was held for him
in Marakesh, but his remains were eventually moved to
the family tomb in Cordova.
Some historian
sources claim that Ibn Rushd's works encompassed more
than twenty thousand pages of manuscript. While this may
be somewhat of an exaggeration, he certainly produced
extensive and innovative, if not outright revolutionary,
works in a number of disciplines. The one with most
substance and impact were undoubtedly those on
philosophy and religion, and those on jurisprudence. Ibn
Rushd also wrote on medicine and is said to have written
more that twenty books on the subject. On jurisprudence,
he wrote what is considered to be the best 12-th century
manuscript on the Maliki School of Fiqh. The book was
called Bidayat al-Mujtahid wa-Nihayat-al-Muqtasid. Latin
translations of Ibn Rushd’s books were widely spread but
the books were also translated in other languages,
including German and English. Most of the Arabic
originals are now lost but many of the translations have
remained, especially those on philosophy in Latin. This
is indicative of the interest towards Ibn Rushd’s works
in the west. Two of the preserved famous translations
are the commentary on Plato's Republic, and on Al
Farabi's Logic. An impressive eighty-seven of his
translated manuscripts are still in existence today.
SIGNIFICANT DATES
1126 (520 AH by the Islamic Calendar) - Ibn Rushd is
born in Cordova, Muslim Spain.
1169 (565 AH) - Becomes Judge in Sevilla. Translates
Aristotle's famous book “de Anima,”(Of the Soul) in the
same year.
1171 (567 AH) - Relocates to Cordova to act as Qaadi
– Judge – for the next ten years. Writes commentaries on
major works of Greek philosophers such as Aristotle’s
Metaphysics and Plato's Politcia.
1182 (578 AH) – Relocates to Marrakesh as the
Caliph’s physician; soon afterwards returns to Cordova
to act as Great Qaadi, or Chief Judge.
1195 (591 AH) – Ibn Rushd finds himself in conflict
with the Caliph when tension builds up as theologians
disfavor the former. Accused of heresy. Banned to Lucena,
near Cordova. His books are destroyed.
1198 (595 AH) Ibn Rushd dies in Marrakesh. |
