Abraham ibn Daud facts for kids

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Abraham ibn Daud (Hebrew: אַבְרָהָם בֵּן דָּוִד הַלֵּוִי אִבְּן דָּאוּד; Arabic: ابراهيم بن داود) was an important Spanish-Jewish astronomer, historian, and philosopher. He was born in Córdoba, Spain around 1110. It is believed he died in Toledo, Spain, as a martyr, around 1180. People sometimes call him Rabad I or Ravad I for short. His grandfather on his mother's side was Isaac Albalia. Some experts think he was the person known as “Avendauth,” who translated Arabic texts into Latin.

His Writings
His Philosophy
See Also

His Writings

Abraham ibn Daud wrote a history book in Hebrew in 1161. It was called Sefer ha-Qabbalah (Hebrew: ספר הקבלה). In this book, he strongly argued against Karaism. He supported Rabbinic Judaism by showing a long chain of traditions. This chain went all the way from Moses to his own time. The book also has lots of useful information about the Geonim period. It tells about the history of Jews in Spain.

In his book, he tried to explain how the Jewish community in Spain became so important. Before the Spanish Inquisition, Spain was a major center for Jewish learning. He wrote that in 990, four rabbis from Babylonia were traveling by ship. Babylonia had been the center of Jewish study for hundreds of years. Their ship was captured by a Spanish royal fleet. The four rabbis were sold as slaves in different places around the Mediterranean Sea. In each place, local Jewish communities bought their freedom.

One of these rabbis was Rabbi Hanoch ben Moshe. He was freed in the Spanish city of Córdoba. When he started attending Torah classes, he gave brilliant answers. The community quickly saw he was a very smart scholar. They made him their leader. This event, according to Ibn Daud, moved the "crown of Torah" (meaning the main center of Jewish learning) from Babylonia to Spain.

However, historians like Gerson Cohen have pointed out problems with this story. The leader of the Spanish fleet, Abd al-Rahman III, died about 30 years before the story supposedly happened. Also, the tale of Rabbi Moshe, disguised as a poor man, surprising scholars is very similar to an older story about Hillel the Elder. So, the account in Sefer ha-Qabbalah has some parts that are not historically accurate.

He also wrote a book about astronomy in 1180. Another philosopher, Isaac Israeli the Younger, spoke highly of it. His most famous philosophical work was al-ʿaqida l-Rafiya (The Sublime Faith). He wrote it in Arabic in 1168. We have it today thanks to two Hebrew translations. One is called Emunah Ramah.

His Philosophy

Thinking Like Aristotle

Ibn Daud was one of the first Jewish thinkers to use the ideas of Aristotle. This way of thinking became very important later with Maimonides. Hasdai Crescas, another philosopher, said Ibn Daud was the only Jewish philosopher before Maimonides who truly followed Aristotle. However, Maimonides' book, Guide for the Perplexed, became much more famous. Because of this, Ibn Daud's Emunah Ramah ("Sublime Faith") didn't get as much attention. Even so, Maimonides himself learned many valuable ideas from Ibn Daud's work.

Ibn Daud said he only had two Jewish philosophy books before him. These were Saadia's Emunoth ve-Deoth and "The Fountain of Life" by Solomon ibn Gabirol. He respected Saadia Gaon's work. But he didn't agree with Saadia's ideas about free will. Ibn Daud strongly disagreed with Gabirol's "Fountain of Life." He was the first strict follower of Aristotle among Jewish thinkers. He believed Aristotle and his Arabic followers, Alfarabi and Ibn Sina, were the only true philosophers. Gabirol, on the other hand, followed Neoplatonism. This led Ibn Daud to often oppose Gabirol's ideas.

Ibn Daud believed that true philosophy does not pull us away from religion. Instead, it makes religion stronger. He thought it was every thinking Jew's duty to see how Judaism's main ideas fit with philosophy. If they seemed to disagree, he believed we should find a way to make them agree. Ibn Daud felt that even though philosophy is valuable, Judaism's religion is better. He said that the knowledge philosophers gained over thousands of years was given to Judaism from the very beginning through revelation. He even thought that philosophers might have learned moral truths from the teachings of the Holy Scripture.

When He Disagreed with Aristotle

Sometimes, Ibn Daud's ideas did not fully match Aristotle's. This was especially true about Aristotle's theory of creation. Aristotle believed that everything comes from matter taking a certain form. This meant that matter itself must be eternal, without a beginning. But this idea doesn't fit with the Bible's story of creation. The Bible says God created everything from nothing, and it happened at a specific time.

Ibn Daud found it hard to solve this disagreement. He tried to explain creation as a series of creative acts. This idea was similar to Gabirol's. But he admitted this was just a way to organize our thoughts. It showed how things might have developed if creation went through stages. However, he also said that accepting such a gradual process would go against our idea of how God acts.

Ideas About God

Like Aristotle, Ibn Daud thought about how things move. He concluded there must be a First Cause or Prime Mover for all motion. This Prime Mover is God. God Himself does not move. This idea helps us understand God's existence.

Ibn Daud also explained that God must be incorporeal, meaning not made of matter. This is because the First Cause is infinite. Nothing made of matter can be infinite. Since God is infinite, He cannot be physical.

God must also be absolutely simple and one. If God had many parts, His existence wouldn't be necessary on its own. It would depend on something else bringing those parts together. From this idea of absolute unity, we get the idea that God is unique. If there were two such beings, God's unity would be lost.

Ibn Daud also talked about God's attributes (qualities). He said we can only describe God using "negative attributes." This means we say what God is not (e.g., God is not limited, God is not physical). This way, even if we list many negative attributes, it doesn't mean God has many different parts. It means our knowledge of God is limited. We know He exists, and His true nature is beyond our full understanding. We can also use "relative attributes." These describe God's relationship to the world, not His inner being.

Some beliefs come from reasoning, but others are historical facts. These historical facts are based on divine revelation. This means God revealed them to people. If an event happened publicly, with many witnesses, and was passed down without interruption, it is very convincing. This trust in historical tradition helps us believe in prophecy. This is especially true for important public revelations, like those of Moses. It's different from private miracles, like those attributed to Elijah and Elisha.

How Prophecy Works

Ibn Daud, following thinkers like Alfarabi and Avicenna, believed that prophecy is not a sudden, random event. Instead, it's the highest stage of human mind development. Even when someone becomes a true prophet, their gift can still grow. Sometimes, very special people can reach the highest level of prophecy right away.

The prophet's mind connects with higher intelligences, especially the Active Intelligence. This explains why prophets have special knowledge and can sometimes go beyond natural law. A prophet acts as a link between God and humans. They are almost like angels.

On Free Will

Ibn Daud also explored the idea of human free will and how it relates to divine providence (God's plan) or predestination. Some people argue that if God controls everything, then evil shouldn't exist. Ibn Daud said that evil doesn't exist on its own. It's just the absence of good. So, evil doesn't need a creator.

He believed that problems and imperfections in the world don't mean God isn't wise or good. These flaws only seem like flaws when we look at things separately. If we look at them as part of the whole world, they might even be seen as good or helpful.

Human free will means we can choose between different options. This doesn't limit God's omniscience (knowing everything). God can create a world where certain choices are truly "possible" for humans. God might leave the final outcome of some actions undecided, even for His own knowledge. This allows human freedom to show its power.

Ibn Daud admitted that our free will is somewhat limited by our natural tendencies. These tendencies can be different for individuals and nations. But humans can overcome their natural desires. They can improve themselves and reach a higher moral level. The Torah and the study of ethics (which he called "the healing of souls") guide us to this higher level. He believed that no scientific book on ethics could reach the moral heights found in the Scriptures.

Even the ceremonial laws (like rituals) help with moral education. They are also moral laws. However, they are less important than the main beliefs and ethical laws. The Bible also shows that sacrifices are less important than moral laws.