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Ibn Rushd-The Great Muslim Philosopher Who Planted The Seeds of European Renaissance
By Habeeb Salloum
Abu al-Walid Muhammad Ibn Rushd, better known in the West as
Averroës, but also in medieval times as Avén Ruiz
and Averrhoes, was born in 1126 A.D. in Cordova, once the
illustrious capital of Moorish Spain. The descendant of a
distinguished Cordovan family of scholars, he was the third
generation of his lineage to hold the office of qadi [judge].
One of the foremost figures of Arab civilization, he became
known as the "Prince of Science"-the master of jurisprudence,
mathematics, medicine and, above all, philosophy.
The twelfth century produced some of the most outstanding
scholars of Al-Andalus (Muslim Spain), like the neo-Aristotelian
school developed by Avempace (Ibn Bajja), Ibn Tufayl and Maimonides
(Ibn Maymun) which was to have considerable influence on Christian
Europe. However, Ibn Rushd, who it is said never missed reading
or writing except the day he married and the day his father
died, was to overshadow them all in medieval intellectual
thought.
In the Middle Ages, his ideas influenced the transformation
of thought in medieval Europe. The last of the great Muslim
thinkers, his beliefs were to have an affect on the minds
of many Middle Ages intellectuals, living well beyond the
borders of Moorish Spain.
As was the practice among the well-known families in his
time, Ibn Rushd acquired his education within the family,
excelling in Qur'anic studies, jurisprudence, theology and
tradition. In addition, he became versed in astronomy, literature,
mathematics, music and zoology, but his most outstanding accomplishments
were in the areas of medicine and philosophy.
Ibn Rushd owes much of his success in life to his ardor for
learning and to patronage by the two enlightened Almohade
(the ruling dynasty 1145-1269 A.D.) caliphs, Abu Yaqub Yusuf
(1163-1184) and Abu Yaqub al-Mansur (1184-1199). Under their
rule, toleration and friendship were generally experienced
by intellectuals, in contrast to the hostility to philosophy
by the Almoravides, 1056-1145 A.D., and the Malikite school
in Islam, which was the main intellectual faction of Islamic
thought in Al-Andalus.
After appointing Ibn Rushd in 1169 as qadi in Seville, the
Almohade Caliph Abu Yaqub brought him two years later to Cordova
and, bestowing on him favors and honors, made him his chief
judge and his personal physician. Under his sponsorship, Ibn
Rushd took on the task of commenting on Aristotle's works.
From their first meeting, which was arranged by their free-thinking
companion Ibn Tufayl, Ibn Rushd and Abu Yaqub became great
friends. Thereafter in private, Ibn Rushd was able to discuss
Greek philosophy freely with Abu Yaqub who encouraged him
to write his commentaries on the works of Aristotle.
Early in his life Ibn Rushd greatly admired Aristotle and
considered him a giant who had attained the truth. He regarded
Aristotle as embodying the highest development of the human
intellect. It is said that Ibn Rushd understood, and interpreted
and analytically discussed Aristotle's true thoughts more
than any of his Muslim predecessors or contemporaries.
Ibn Rushd maintained that the deepest truths must be approached
by means of rational analysis and that philosophy could lead
to the final truth. He accepted revelation, and attempted
to harmonize religion with philosophy without synthesizing
them or obliterating their differences. He believed the Qur'an
contained the highest truth while maintaining that its words
should not be taken literally. He argued that as the milk-sister
of religion, philosophy confirms and does not contradict the
revelation.
To Ibn Rushd, the supremacy of the human intellect did not
allow for the possible contradiction between science and revelation.
He gives religion an important role in the life of the state,
considering that the scriptures, when philosophically understood,
are far superior to the religion of pure reason. Striving
to bring the two together, he wrote that in the case of differences-provided
scriptural language did not violate the principles of reason,
that is, it does not commit a contradiction-science should
give way.
Ibn Rushd is also noted for developing a theory of the intellect,
which greatly influenced the history of Aristotelian scholarship.
Many Aristotelian scholars, past and present, believe that
it represents a correct understanding of Aristotle. It, however,
goes beyond Aristotle and is rightly identified with Ibn Rushd.
The theory is difficult and there has been controversy in
interpreting it. It has been understood, in a general way,
to mean that he envisaged the human soul as part of an all-embracing
divine soul. Like a number of others in his time, he attempted
to draw a picture of the ultimate truth by a mixture of analytical
arguments and innate intuition derived from man's participation
in the world soul.
He contended that philosophy is nothing more than the the
systematic probing into the phenomenon of creation, revealing
God's wisdom and might. Hence, revelation dictates the study
of philosophy. Ibn Rushd tried to reconcile the Aristotelian
precept of the eternity, which seemingly denied the creation
of the world, to the creationism in Jewish, Christian and
Muslim theology.
Ibn Rushd believed that God was timeless and His creative
effort is continuous. He theorized that the world is continuously
developing on what existed before and taking on new shape.
According to Ibn Rushd, God created time as well as the world,
and He may have created it from all eternity inasmuch as He
is Himself without cause.
Anwar Chejne, in "Muslim Spain-Its Historic Culture,"
explains further some of Ibn Rushd's ideas. He writes: "To
Averroës, the world has been moving from eternity and
has an Eternal Mover (Muharrik), which is God. Matter and
form are inseparable except in the mind; there is a hierarchy
of existing beings and forms. Matter is always in motion,
whereas the intellect is motionless and perceives itself.
The soul is one in all men, but is maintained separately by
bodies, and its relation to the body is like the relation
between form and matter."
Ibn Rushd believed that the words of God express truth in
imaged symbolic language that the non-philosopher majority
can understand.
Aware of the inconsistency between those who believed through
religious faith and others who believed by use of reason,
Ibn Rushd held that both philosophy and revealed religion
were true, arguing that truth is comprehended on different
levels. He contended that even if philosophers were mistaken
in their interpretation of scriptures, their error is permissible.
One of the greatest exponents of Arab philosophy, he tried
to modify philosophical ideas to harmonize with those of religion.
In an essay, "The Harmony of Religions and Philosophy,"
he asserts that "since philosophy is true and the revealed
scriptures are true there can be no disharmony between them."
Ibn Rushd proposed a dual method of expounding theology,
one for intellectuals and another for the masses in general.
Further, he wrote that Muslim leaders should prohibit books
of religious science for those not versed in these works.
To him, the holy texts are clothed in perceivable images
and their truths can be reached by exercising the process
of thought. His views, in the intellectual world of medieval
Christendom, earned him the undeserved reputation of having
preached a 'double truth,' a theory which he did not teach,
namely that a proposition may be true in theology while its
opposite is true in philosophy.
Ibn Rushd explains that there are three types of men: the
first and largest in number is receptive to ideas that can
be expressed logically; the second is amenable to persuasion,
and the third, few in numbers, will only be convinced by conclusive
evidence. He believed that to the simple masses, one must
speak of religion, but to the enlightened few one may disclose
scientific truth.
In his daily life Ibn Rushd did not like power or possessions
and was humble and generous, believing that a virtuous person
is one who gives to an enemy. A compassionate and tender human
being, he decried the position of women in society, who he
said only lived for childbearing and suckling. Moved to compassion
for their misery, he wrote that women were so reduced in servitude
that all their capacity for higher pursuits had been destroyed.
He was saddened by their fate, stating that they only live
like plants, looking after their men. In his book "The
Moors in Spain and Portugal," Jan Read cites from Ibn
Rushd's commentary on the status of women: "Our society
allows no scope for the development of women's talents. They
seem to be destined exclusively to childbirth and the care
of children, and this state of servility has destroyed their
capacity for larger matters. It is thus that we see no women
endowed with moral virtues; they live their lives like vegetables,
devoting themselves to their husbands. From this stems the
misery that pervades our cities, for women outnumber men by
more than double and cannot procure the necessities of life
by their own labors."
Besides writing some 38 philosophical works, Ibn Rushd's
works spanned a wide field of knowledge which included a commentary
on Galen's writings, and books in connection with astronomy,
music, poetry and rhetoric. He was also a distinguished physician,
having studied medicine in Seville under the famous physician
Abu Harun al-Tajali. His writings included 16 excellent medical
works, topped by Kulliyat fi 'I-tibb, a medical encyclopedia
of seven volumes dealing with anatomy, diagnosis, materia
medica, pathology, physiology and general therapeutics.
The volumes were translated in 1255 A.D. into Latin under
the title "Colliget." This work was reprinted several
times and surpassed all other medical works in the Middle
Ages. As a memorial, Ibn Rushd's statues have been placed
in the vestibule of the University of Barcelona and along
the ancient walls in the city of Cordova.
In the Muslim world, Ibn Rushd is known above all for his
"Tahâfut al-Tahâfut al-Falâsifa"
[The Collapse of the Philosophers] and "Mabâdi
'l-Falâsifah" [The Beginning of Philosophy]. In
"Tahâfut al-Tahâfut al-Falâsifa,"
Ibn Rushd bitterly attacked Al-Ghazili's "Tahâfut
al-Falâsifah" [Self Destruction of the Philosophers],
a work in which the 12th century theologian Al-Ghazali sought
a strengthening of piety by attacking the philosophers.
Ibn Rushd, point by point, discussed the error in al-Ghazali's
approach. He asserted that the evidence brought out by al-Ghazali's
attack on philosophers arises when isolated parts of philosophy
are taken out of context, appearing to contradict the remainder.
He goes on to say that the only acceptable way would be to
show the entire system in question contradicting reality as
it is.
In the Christian and Jewish worlds, Ibn Rushd is renowned
for his important commentaries on Aristotle; and in his works,
namely Talkhis [resume], Jâmi' [summary], and Tafsitr
or Sharh [a long commentary]. These had an important hand
in paving the way for the European Renaissance. Strange as
it may seem, even though Ibn Rushd's "Great Commentary"
left a deep impression on Western students and caused an absolute
upheaval in the West, it had hardly any affect on eastern
Islamic thought.
Many of his commentaries have been lost. The only ones which
still exist are a number of his translated works which have
survived in Latin. Yet even these few give us an idea of how
outstanding were the thoughts of that renowned Muslim philosopher.
When, in 1184, al-Mansur took over as caliph, like his father,
he kept Ibn Rushd as his physician and advisor. In the same
fashion as he had with Abu Yacub Yusuf, Ibn Rushd enjoyed
great favor with the new caliph, who always called him brother
and gave him in marriage to one of his daughters.
In the ensuing years, Ibn Rushd was prolific in his literary
output. The upper classes appreciated his controversial writings,
but to the masses he was an enemy. He came under attack by
fundamentalists for his vigorous defense in reconciling the
tradition of Greek philosophy with the teachings of Islam.
His views were so offensive to the zealots that once they
had him stoned in the Great Mosque of Cordova.
Even though al-Mansur was an enlightened ruler, seeing the
dangers facing Islam and wishing to appease the conservative
scholars, he accused Ibn Rushd of heresy and ordered the burning
of some of his books. He needed the support of the Malikite
jurists in his fight against the Castilians. To maintain appearances,
al-Mansur had to remove Ibn Rushd from his post as qadi and
exile him for a time from his court in Marrakesh to Al-Isalah,
now known as Lucena, near Cordova.
However, another story has it that Ibn Rushd, in one of his
works on zoology, referred to al-Mansur as 'King of the Berbers'-
a derogatory expression among the Arabs in Muslim Spain. This
is supposed to have greatly displeased the caliph and was
the reason for his exile.
After al-Mansur won the Battle of Alarcos in 1195, Muslim
Spain relaxed, and fanaticism subsided. Ibn Rushd was pardoned,
but he was by this time utterly disillusioned. He returned
a short time before he passed away on December 10, 1198, to
once again serve in the caliph's court.
Nevertheless, his death did not sweep away his ideas. In
the subsequent centuries, they were to ignite the fire of
change in Christian Europe. It was through the translations
of Ibn Rushd's "Commentaries" on Aristotle into
Latin in the 13th century by Michael Scotus, a Scot, and Hermannus
Alemannus, a German, that the revival of true Aristotelianism
took place in the West. In fact, Roger Bacon acknowledged
that Scotus was largely responsible for the most important
change in the history of medieval thought, which resulted
from the introduction of Ibn Rushd's Aristotle to the Christian
West.
Through these translations of Ibn Rushd's works, the subject
of harmony between reason and faith was passed on to Christian
Europe, giving impetus to the development of rationalism.
This new thought moving into Christian Europe, bringing about
the West's emancipation from the thoughts of Plato, which
was much less evident in the Muslim East.
In the previous centuries, before Ibn Rushd, there was much
confusion among Muslim thinkers in understanding Aristotle
and, hence, a good number distorted his thoughts. More than
any other Muslim philosopher before him, Ibn Rushd was able
to recover the genuine Aristotle which the West, by way of
the translations, was later to discover.
In the ensuing centuries Ibn Rushd's works were taught in
the universities of Christian Europe, unleashing a movement
in the West that led to the victory of Aristotelian ideas
over the once prevailing Platonic thought. Through his commentaries
on the works of Aristotle, Ibn Rushd, now known in the West
as Averroës, played a leading role in the revival and
development of Christian scholasticism.
In spite of the fact that many Muslim scholars found his
approach too rationalistic, his writings were a mine of ideas
and information for Christian philosophers, creating turmoil
in the minds of many medieval European intellectuals. For
four centuries-from the 12th to the 16th-his works were subject
to heated dialogue among the scholars in Christian Europe,
forcing the Church to modify its teachings.
From among the medieval Latin religious literature, St. Thomas
Aquinas's "Suipma Theologia" was to a great extent
inspired by the views of Averroës, even though it also
took issue with some of these views. Many of the free-thinking
Latin-Christians of Europe felt him to be one of their own,
even Hispanicizing his name to Avé Ruiz.
However, his commentaries held views unacceptable to Orthodox
Christians and caused much perplexity for these traditional
Christians, since many of Averroës' theories ran counter
to the hallowed teachings of the Church. Yet, his views had
a very profound affect on medieval Christian theology.
On the other hand, a number of Christians studied his works
solely to comment on his errors. Some, like Arnold of Vila
Nova (1240-1311), decried the reliance of Christian thought
upon infidel teachings and in order to defeat them, openly
altered Ibn Rushd's ideas. At about the same time, a group
of scholars in the 13th century, known as Averroists, whose
principal exponent was Siger of Brabant, openly declared themselves
as adherents of Averroës, incurring the fury of the Church
leaders.
Also, a number of European scholars misunderstood some of
his teachings and this led to a line of thought called 'Averroism'
which was once thought to mean that philosophy was true, and
revealed religion false. This Averroism was discredited by
Aquinas, but which Averroës himself would also have disavowed.
This false interpretation of Ibn Rushd's doctrine was considered
as sacrilegious by the Church and universally denounced by
its leaders.
Yet, the Averroist conception of the eternity of matter and
God's communication with things through the medium of an active
intellect continued to be a vital factor in European belief
until the dawn of modern experimental science. For hundreds
of years, Averroës and Averroism provoked intense arguments
in the academic circles of Christian Europe.
Although the Islamic and Arab world were to see other great
thinkers (Ibn Khaldun, d. 1406, Mulla Sadr, d. 1641, for example),
Averroës remains one of the greatest of the Islamic philosophers.
He became known in both East and West as the Shârih
[the Commentator] because of his explanation and comments
on the works of Aristotle. The last and most genuine of all
the Aristotelian philosophers, his ideas affected much of
the philosophical and theological ideas in medieval Europe,
with the exception, strangely, of the Christians in Iberian
Peninsula.
Endowed with powerful logic, a keen understanding and a sharp
mind, he believed in the ability of reason to fathom the utmost
secrets of the universe. However, he came too late to bring
about any revival of philosophy in the eastern Islamic countries-there,
the theories of al-Ghazali, whose books were banned in Al-Andalus
by the Almoravides, were to reign supreme.
With Averroës, philosophy reached its epitome in Muslim
Spain. But his ideas were far too advanced for the world of
his time. The sophistication of his teachings can be seen
by the ease with which his thoughts and interpretations can
be adapted to include even the notion of evolution.
A convinced Aristotelian, his admiration of Aristotle never
wavered all through his literary career. One must agree with
Read when he writes: "The great virtue of Averroës'
work was that he did not allow later thinkers to obscure the
original; deeply imbued by Aristotle's thought, he transmitted
his writings for the first time in genuinely Aristotelian
fashion."
With the passing away of what some historians say was the
most eminent philosopher who wrote in Arabic, the long practiced
toleration of the Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula came to
an end. Yet, thanks to Averroës, the seeds of the Renaissance
were sown in Europe.
Habeeb Salloum, who lives in Canada, writes on Arab Culture
and Arts
This article appeared in Vol. 4, No. 22 (Winter 1998)
Copyright © 1998 by Al Jadid
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