Ibn Tufail facts for kids

Ibn Tufail (around 1105 – 1185) was a brilliant Arab scholar from Al-Andalus (which is now Spain). He was a true "polymath" – meaning he was skilled in many different areas. He was a writer, novelist, philosopher, theologian, doctor, astronomer, and even a government official.

He is most famous for writing the first philosophical novel, called Hayy ibn Yaqdhan. As a doctor, he was one of the first to support studying the body through dissection and autopsy. He even wrote about these ideas in his novel.

Life and Influence

Ibn Tufail was born in Guadix, a town near Granada. He learned from the famous scholar Ibn Bajjah. His family came from the Arab Qays tribe.

He worked as a secretary for several leaders, including those in Ceuta and Tangier. Later, he became a secretary for the ruler of Granada. He then served as a vizier (a high-ranking advisor) and physician to Abu Yaqub Yusuf, who was the caliph (ruler) of the Almohad empire.

Ibn Tufail was very influential. In 1169, he suggested that Ibn Rushd (another famous scholar) should take his place as the caliph's physician. Ibn Tufail also encouraged Ibn Rushd to write his important commentaries on the works of Aristotle. He explained that the caliph found Aristotle's writings difficult to understand. Ibn Tufail believed Ibn Rushd could make them clearer.

Ibn Tufail retired in 1182, and Ibn Rushd became his successor. Ibn Tufail passed away a few years later in Morocco in 1185. The astronomer Nur Ed-Din Al-Bitruji was also one of Ibn Tufail's students. Ibn Tufail convinced Al-Bitruji to follow the ideas of Aristotle in astronomy, moving away from the older Ptolemaic system.

Ibn Tufail's work in astronomy was very important. He played a big part in changing old ideas about how the universe worked. This change is sometimes called the "Andalusian Revolt" in astronomy. Many other Islamic philosophers, writers, doctors, and astronomers were influenced by Ibn Tufail and his ideas.

Hayy ibn Yaqzan: A Unique Novel

Ibn Tufail wrote the famous novel Ḥayy ibn Yaqẓān (which means Alive, son of Awake). In Latin, it's known as Philosophus Autodidactus. This book is a philosophical story that combines ideas from Avicennism (a school of thought based on the philosopher Avicenna) and Sufism (a mystical branch of Islam).

The story is about a feral child named Hayy. He is raised by a gazelle and lives all alone on a desert island. Without any human teachers, Hayy uses his reason and observations to discover deep truths about the world and God. He learns everything by himself, which is called autodidacticism.

Later, Hayy meets a castaway named Absal. Hayy realizes that some parts of religion, like using images or owning many things, are helpful for most people to live good lives. However, he also believes that those who can think deeply should move beyond these things to find the real truth. The names of the characters in the novel, Hayy, Salamān, and Absāl, were borrowed from stories by Ibn Sina. Ibn Tufail used these names on purpose to connect his work to Ibn Sina's philosophy.

Ibn Tufail's Philosophus Autodidactus was written as a response to another famous book, The Incoherence of the Philosophers by al-Ghazali. Later, in the 13th century, Ibn al-Nafis wrote Theologus Autodidactus as his own response to Ibn Tufail's novel.

Hayy ibn Yaqdhan had a huge impact on both Arabic literature and European literature. It became a very popular book in Western Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries. It also had a "profound influence" on both classical Islamic philosophy and modern Western philosophy. Many historians believe it was "one of the most important books that heralded the Scientific Revolution" and the European Enlightenment. Ideas from the novel can be found in the writings of famous thinkers like Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Isaac Newton, and Immanuel Kant.

A Latin translation of the book, called Philosophus Autodidactus, came out in 1671. The first English translation was published in 1708. These translations might have inspired Daniel Defoe to write Robinson Crusoe, which also tells a story about someone on a desert island. The novel also helped develop the idea of "tabula rasa" (meaning "blank slate") by John Locke. This idea suggests that people are born without any built-in knowledge, and all knowledge comes from experience. Locke's ideas influenced many other philosophers, like David Hume and George Berkeley.

Works

• Rajaz tawīl fī al-tibb (ارجوزة ابن طفيل في الطب): This is a long poem about medical science. It describes how to diagnose illnesses and find their cures. The poem is written in the Arabic Rajaz metre. It was only found recently in Rabat, the capital of Morocco.
• English translations of Hayy bin Yaqzan (in order of publication):
  • The improvement of human reason, exhibited in the life of Hai ebn Yokdhan, translated by Simon Ockley. London: Printed and sold by E. Powell, 1708.
  • Abu Bakr Ibn Tufail, The history of Hayy Ibn Yaqzan, translated by Simon Ockley, revised by A.S. Fulton. London: Chapman and Hall, 1929. available online
  • Ibn Tufayl's Hayy ibn Yaqzān: a philosophical tale, translated by Lenn Evan Goodman. New York: Twayne, 1972.
  • The journey of the soul: the story of Hai bin Yaqzan, translated by Riad Kocache. London: Octagon, 1982.
  • Two Andalusian philosophers, translated by Jim Colville. London: Kegan Paul, 1999.
  • Medieval Islamic Philosophical Writings, edited by Muhammad Ali Khalidi. Cambridge University Press, 2005.
  • Ben-Zaken, Avner, "Taming the Mystic", in Reading Hayy Ibn-Yaqzan: A Cross-Cultural History of Autodidacticism (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2011). ISBN: 978-0801897399.

See also

In Spanish: Ibn Tufail para niños