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al-Tawhidi,
Abu Hayyan (c.930-1023)
al-Tawhidi, Abu Hayyan (c.930-1023) Al-Tawhidi was
an Arabic litterateur and
philosopher, probably of Persian
origin, and author of numerous books
which reflect all the main themes of
debate and reflection in the
cultivated circles of his time. His
basic outlook could be defined as a
kind of simplified and vulgarized
Neoplatonism, influenced by Gnostic
elements, with four hypostases: God,
Intellect, Soul and Nature. He also
has a strong interest in moral
questions on both the individual and
social level. ‘Ali ibn Muhammad
Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi was probably
of Persian origin. However, Arabic
is the only language he is known to
have used, and most of his life was
spent in Baghdad and in Rayy
(Tehran) at the court of the Buyid
princes and their ministers, in
particular the famous Ibn Sa‘dan.
It is in the latter’s presence
that the discussions recorded in al-Imta‘
wa’-mu’anasa (Enjoyment and
Conviviality) took place. His last
years were spent in Shiraz, where he
died in AH 414/AD 1023.
Al-Tawhidi
is a representative of Arabic
belles-lettres (adab) rather than a
philosopher in the strict sense.
However, some of his main works
report discussions devoted to
philosophical themes and shed
interesting sidelights on questions
dealt with in a more systematic
fashion by the great Arab
philosophers. It goes with the genre
adopted by al-Tawhidi that he rarely
expresses his own opinions; his main
authority is his master, Abu
Sulayman al-Sijistani. He also
appears to make extensive use of the
Rasa’il Ikhwan al-Safa’
(Epistles of the Brethren of
Purity), although their name is
rarely cited (see Ikhwan al-Safa’).
Another source of inspiration is the
ethical thinker Ibn Miskawayh, with
whom he exchanged a philosophical
correspondence, al-Hawamil
wal-shawamil (Rambling and
Comprehensive Questions).
Among
Greek philosophers, Aristotle is by
far the most commonly invoked
authority. Al-Tawhidi’s main
philosophical work is al-Muqabasat
(Borrowed Lights). Al-Imta‘
wa’-mu’anasa also contains some
philosophical material, besides some
which is predominantly literary or
grammatical. In metaphysics, he
follows the basic Neoplatonic scheme
of emanation (see Neoplatonism in
Islamic philosophy). The First,
frequently called the Creator, is
the source of the world of nature
which emanates continuously from
him; God is thus also characterized
by his generosity. Intellect, Soul
and Nature are the three main levels
of being, or hypostases, emanating
from the First. The process is
sometimes expressed in terms of
illumination; the Intellect receives
its light from the First, the Soul
from the Intellect and Nature from
the Soul. Elsewhere, the soul is
considered as being pure light.
Conversely, the First is said to
encompass the Intellect, which in
turn encompasses the Soul and so
forth. Many paragraphs are devoted
to the human soul, concerning which
al-Tawhidi takes up positions that
can be defined as Platonic. The soul
subsists by itself and is not tied
down to the body; on the contrary,
it uses the body as an instrument.
The soul does not arise from the
mixture of the elements; thus the
Galenic theory is implicitly
rejected, although it is ascribed in
one passage to Zeno (probably
meaning the Stoic)
(see Galen; Zeno of Citium).
The union with the body is described
as a kind of fall in a way which has
clear antecedents in some
soteriological conceptions of
Gnosticism and Neoplatonism (see
Gnosticism; Neoplatonism). In the
course of the soul’s descent from
the heavenly realm it became covered
in scales or veils, which it will
cast off after physical death, that
is, when it relinquishes the body.
The soul becomes like a rusty
mirror; just as the latter is no
longer capable of reflecting
external objects, the soul forgot
what it knew in the intelligible
world. Its true nature is also more
fully active in sleep.
In our
ordinary waking life, we do not
remember the world where our soul
originated because we have been
overcome by matter. These two states
of the soul, incarnate and
immaterial, correspond to the two
realms of intellection and
sense-perception. Intellection is an
immediate form of apprehension,
devoid of reflection and
deliberation, whereas
sense-perception is linked to
discursive and inductive modes of
thought, such as syllogism. Humanity
is thus in an intermediate position
between the world of intellect and
the world of nature. The latter is
integrated into the emanationist
scheme more neatly than is the case
in Greek Neoplatonism; nature is a
life force which emanates from the
First Principle and penetrates all
bodies, giving them their forms and
linking them together. The
Aristotelian definition of nature as
principle of motion and rest is also
quoted more than once. Al-Tawhidi
evinces a keen interest in
linguistic questions.
He predictably
maintains the superiority of Arabic
over other languages, but also
discusses such topics as the
respective place and function of
prose and verse (see Aesthetics in
Islamic philosophy). It is thanks to
him that we have a report of the
controversy between the partisans of
logic and Greek culture and those of
traditional Arabic grammar. Another
discussion tackles the sensitive
problem of the relationship between
philosophy and religion. Among the
current themes of his time, that of
the characters and respective merits
of the nations is taken up on
several occasions. In the field of
ethics, he devoted an entire epistle
to friendship, and this is one of
his more personal and interesting
works. See also: Ibn Miskawayh;
Neoplatonism in Islamic philosophy;
al-Sijistani CHARLES GENEQUAND
Routledge Encyclopedia of
Philosophy, Version 1.0, London:
Routledge
List of works
al-Tawhidi (c.977-82) al-Hawamil wa’-shawamil
(Rambling and Comprehensive
Questions), ed. A. Amin and A. Saqr,
Cairo, 1951.(A correspondence with
Ibn Miskawayh on a variety of
topics.) al-Tawhidi (c.983-5) al-Imta‘
wa’-mu’anasa (Enjoyment and
Conviviality), ed. A. Amin and A.
al-Zayn, Cairo, 1953.(A collection
of forty ‘nights’ or gatherings
devoted to the discussion of
literary, philosophical, religious,
grammatical and other subjects.) al-Tawhidi
(c.996) al-Muqabasat (Borrowed
Lights), ed. M.T. Husayn, Baghdad,
1970.(A collection of 106
discussions, mainly theological and
philosophical.) al-Tawhidi (c.1010)
al-Sadaqa wa’-sadiq (Friendship
and Friend), ed. I. Keilani,
Damascus, 1964.(A short personal
essay on friendship.) References and
further reading Berge, M. (1979)
Pour un humanisme vécu: Abu Hayyan
al-Tawhidi (Towards a Living
Humanism: Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi),
Damascus: Institut Français de
Damas, 1979.(A general study of
Tawhidi’s life, works and thought,
the only such in a European
language.) Leaman, O. (1996)
‘Islamic Humanism in the
Fourth/Tenth Century’, in S.H.
Nasr and O. Leaman (eds) History of
Islamic Philosophy, London:
Routledge, ch. 10, 155-64.(Analysis
of the nature of this important
period of Islamic philosophy,
concentrating on the ethical thought
of the period.) Rowson, E.K. (1990)
‘The Philosopher as Littérateur:
al-Tawhidi and his Predecessors’,
Zeitschrift für Geschichte der
Arabisch-Islamischen Wissenschaften
6: 50-92.(Short study of al-Tawhidi
in English.) Routledge Encyclopedia
of Philosophy, Version 1.0, London:
Routledge
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