Ibn Rushd
The great commentator on Aristotle. He argued that philosophy and religion are two paths to the same truth, and neither should silence the other.
Ibn Rushd was born into a family of judges in Cordoba and served as chief judge himself. Ibn Tufayl introduced him to the Almohad caliph, who commissioned him to write commentaries on Aristotle. He produced three levels of commentary on nearly every Aristotelian work, earning the title The Commentator in medieval Europe. His Incoherence of the Incoherence defended philosophy against Al-Ghazali's attacks. He argued for the compatibility of reason and faith. He was briefly exiled for his views, then restored. His work shaped Latin Scholasticism more than any other Islamic thinker.
Places
Ideas
Words
“Ignorance leads to fear, fear leads to hate, and hate leads to violence.”
Works
Life & Moments
Born in Cordoba
Born into a family of distinguished jurists in Cordoba. His grandfather had been the chief judge of the city. He grew up surrounded by law, theology, and the intellectual life of al-Andalus at its peak.
Commissioned to Comment on Aristotle
The Almohad caliph, at Ibn Tufayl's suggestion, asked Ibn Rushd to make Aristotle's works accessible. He spent the next thirty years writing commentaries so thorough that Latin scholars would simply call him 'the Commentator.'
The Incoherence of the Incoherence
Wrote a point-by-point rebuttal of al-Ghazali's Incoherence of the Philosophers. Philosophy and religion, he insisted, are two different paths to the same truth, and neither has the right to silence the other.
Exile and Restoration
In 1195, Caliph al-Mansur briefly exiled Ibn Rushd and banned his philosophical works, bowing to pressure from conservative scholars. The exile was short. He was restored to favor, but his health was broken.
Death in Marrakesh
Died in Marrakesh in 1198 at seventy-two. His body was carried back to Cordoba on a mule, with his books balanced on the other side. His influence in the Islamic world faded, but in Latin Europe, translated into Latin, he reshaped philosophy for centuries.
Influence
Influenced by
- Aristotle
Ibn Rushd wrote three levels of commentary on nearly every work of Aristotle.
- Al-Ghazali
Ibn Rushd wrote the Incoherence of the Incoherence as a direct response to Al-Ghazali.
- Ibn Tufayl
Ibn Tufayl introduced Ibn Rushd to the Almohad caliph who commissioned the Aristotle commentaries.
- Ibn Bajja
Ibn Rushd knew Ibn Bajja's work on how the human intellect connects with the active intellect and argued against it in his own commentaries, a dispute conducted entirely within Andalusia.
Influenced
- Thomas Aquinas
Aquinas called Ibn Rushd 'The Commentator' and engaged deeply with his Aristotle commentaries throughout the Summa.
- Ibn Arabi
The young Ibn Arabi met the aging Ibn Rushd in Córdoba, an encounter of the rational and the mystical paths of Islamic thought.
