Scholars and Scientists of Andalusia

Mufti Muhammad Ashraf Atif, Lahore.

Muslims began to rule Andalusia (present day Spain) in 711AD/ 92Hijri. Although the development of science and literature started at a later stage, Andalusia became the cradle of science and literature due to the personal interest and patronage of the its Muslim rulers. There camea time when every man in Andalusia could read and write, while Christian Europe knew only the primitive knowledge and that too only a few members of the church. At that time, there were about eight hundred educational institutions in Cordoba alone, where secondary and higher education was organized. The University of Cordoba was the largest university in the world, teaching all disciplines of contemporary knowledge, including physics, mathematics, astronomy, chemistry, medicine and philosophy. From these institutions, such great scholars and scientists were born, who discovered new aspects of various sciences and arts and areregarded asthe inventorsof these sciences and arts, and to this day humanity is benefiting from their contributions in various fields of knowledge.

One of the schools of thought that emerged during this period was the Aristotelian school of thought, represented by the eminent philosophers like Ibn e Tufayl and Ibn e Rushd. The second school of thought was the Platonist school of thought, spearheadedby Mohi-ud-Din Ibn Arabi. During the golden eraof Islam, Islamic philosophy as a branch of knowledge began to be taught all over the world and many eminent experts of this field emerged. These philosophers did not indulge themselves in futile debates, but rather their debates revolve around the basis of ultimate truth on which the order of the whole universe is based. For example, some of the important themes of Islamic philosophy were: Allah (God) and Universe, the reality of Almighty Allahs’ attributes, the interpretation of good and evil, the search for happiness, the reality of pleasure and pain, the survival and destruction of nations, the unity of humanity, etc.

One of the most prominent philosophers of this period,Abu Bakr Muhammad bin Abdul Malik bin Muhammad bin Tufail (1110-1185) is famouslyknown by the surname of Ibn Tufayl, .He was from Granada. He was a physician, philosopher, writer, theologian, astrologer and a novelist. He was the chiefphysician of Abu Yaqub bin Yusuf, the ruler of Tangier. He later became a judge and then a minister. He was the mentor and teacher of Ibn Rushd. On his recommendation, Ibn Rushdgot access to theroyal court. He wrote numerous books on various topics. At the end of the preface to his book abouthistory of philosophy, Ibn Tufayl praises Imam al-Ghazali, Ibn Sina and Ibn Baja (Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Yahya). All his writings were burntby the Christian clergy. Only one philosophical novel that is attributed to Hayye bin Yaqzan nowadays survived this persecutionand has been translated into numerouslanguages. In the said novel, he has presented the idea that the ultimate essence of human thought is to grasp the concept of Almightyand the ultimate destination of life is meeting with Almighty.

Translation:Muhammad Ahsan, Abu Dhabi