Religion, Learning and Science in the `Abbasid Period

305 Pages·1990·22.6 MB·English

by  M. J. L. Young

RELIGION, LEARNING
AND SCIENCE
IN THE
^ABBASID PERIOD
EDITED BY
M. J. L. YOUNG, J. D. LATHAM AND
R. B. SERJEANT
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CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
CAMBRIDGE
NEW YORK PORT CHESTER
MELBOURNE SYDNEY
Published by the Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge
The Pitt Building, Tnimpington Street, Cambridge cbz irp
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© Cambridge University Press 1990
First published 1990
Religion, learning and science in the 'Abbasid period. -
(The Cambridge history of Arabic Literature).
I. Arabic literature, 750-1258 - Critical studies)
I. Young, M. J. L.
892.7090054 Minerva mirabilis nationes hominum circuire videtur, et a fine
usque ad finem attingit fortiter, ut se ipsam communicet
Library of Congress cataloguing in publication data
Religion, learning, and science in the “^Abbasid period/edited by universis. Indos, Babilonios, Aegyptios atque Graecos, Arabes et
M. J. L. Young . . . [et al.]. Latines earn pertransisse iam cernimus.
p. cm. - (The Cambridge history of Arabic literature)
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN o 521 32765 6 Richard of Bury, Philobiblon (ad i 544)
1. Islamic Empire - Intellectual life. 2. Civilization, Islamic.
I. Young, M. J. L. II. Series.
DS36.85.R45 1990
909'.09767i — dc 20 90-1549 CIP
ISBN 0521 32763 6
Transferred to digital printing 2003
C O N T E N T S
page
List of plates xiv
Editorial preface xv
L.ist of abbreviations xxi
Map Literary, political and religious centres in the ‘^Abbasid period xxii
1 Sunni theology
by Salvador G 6 mez Instituto Hispano-Arabe de
Cultura, Madrid i
Muslim theology and fiqh z
Muslim theological schools 5
Later developments 9
The pillars of Islam 10
Wahhabism 12
Dogma 12
^Aqtdat 14
2 Shfl theological literature
^ L K. A. Howard, University of Edinburgh 16
3 Ibac^T theological literature
by J. C. W ilkinson, University of Oxford 5 3
the expansion of Iba^ism 33
Literature of the period 34
The fourth/tenth to sixth/twelfth centuries 36
4 Quranic exegesis
by J ohn B urton, University of St Andrews 4°
Traditional exegesis 4°
Written exegesis 43
Dating {sahab) and identification {ta'yln) 44
The linguistic approach 45
The rational approach 49
The role of intuition 5 2
vii
Vlll CONTENTS CONTENTS IX
5 The prose literature of §ufism The Qur’an and books of tafslr *59
Caesar E. F arah, University of Minnesota 56 The smnah and books of Tradition 140
Moralizing literature 60 The early jurists and the development of the schools of law 140
Biography 62 The major legal works of the different schools of law 146
Literature of veneration 64 Collections offatawa M3
Reference literature 64
Etiquette literature 66 10 Administrative literature
Literature of divine converse 67 by C.'E. Bosworth, University of Manchester
The allegorical 68 Descriptive, practical manuals on administrative procedure 156
Literature of the Path {tarlqah) 68 Didactic treatises for the training and guidance of secretaries 161
Apologetic literature 70 Biographical material and collections of anecdotes on viziers
The qasas technique 71 and secretaries 163
The theme of love 71 Mirrors for Princes and manuals of statecraft 165
The theme of the Logos 72
Other themes 74 11 Arabic biographical writing
^ M. J. L. Young, University of Leeds 168
6 Philosophical literature Biographical dictionaries 169
by M uhsin M ahdi, Harvard University 76 The biographical dictionaries as registers of vital data 176
Al-FarabI on Plato and Aristotle 78 Individual biographies 177
The philosopher and the city 87 Characteristics of Arabic biography 178
Ibn Tufayl on al-Farabl 98 Medieval Arabic autobiography 183
Ibn Jufayl on Ibn Slna 100
Ibn Tufayl on al-GhazalT 101 12 History and historians
Ibn Tufayl’s path to truth 105 by Claude Cahen, Universite de la Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris III 188
From the beginnings to the time of al-Tabari 189
7 Arabic lexicography The classical period 201
by M. G. Carter, New York University 106 The post-classical period 216
Conclusion 232
8 Arabic grammar
by M.G. Carter 118 13 Fafimid history and historians
The origins of grammar 119 by A bbas H amdani, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee 234
Primitive grammar 120 Fafimid literature 255
The creation of grammar 122 The “Period of Concealment” 236
The emergence of pedagogical grammar 123 The North African period of the Fatimid caliphate 239
Basrans and Kufans 126 Period of al-Hakim 240
The perfection of method 127 The reign of al-Mustan§ir 241
The search for form 132 The Tayyibi da^wah ^43
The great masters 133 The Nizari dd'wah 244
The last period of the Fatimid caliphate 245
9 Islamic legal literature General histories 246
^ P. W. B aker, University of London^ and I. D. Edge, Later developments 246
University of L.ondon
139
CONTENTS CONTENTS XI
14 Mathematics and applied science 18 The literature of Arabic alchemy
by D onald R. H ill, University College, London 248 by D onald R. H ill 328
Mathematics 251 The nature and aims of alchemy 328
Physics 256 Alchemical literature 331
Mechanical technology 260
Arabic medical literature
15 Astronomy by H askell D. Isaacs, University of Cambridge 342
hj D avid A. K ing, Jobann Wolfgang Goethe-Universitdt, The period of translation and Jundlshapur 343
Frankfurt am Main 274 The period of development and original contribution 345
Education, professionalism and specialism 346
Folk astronomy 275
Religious aspects of astronomy 275 Encyclopaedic medical works 354
Synoptic medical literature 358
Mathematical astronomy 276
Theoretical astronomy 285 Ophthalmology 359
Paediatrics and obstetrics 360
Astronomical timekeeping 284
Materia medica and materia alimentaria 361
Astronomical instruments 286
Al-BIriinl 288 Astrology and medicine 363
Conclusion 288
20 Al-Kindl
by F ritz W. Z immermann, University of Oxford 364
16 Astrology
hy D avid Pingree, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 290 21 Al-RazI
The sources of Arabic astrology 290
by A lbert Z. Iskandar, Wellcome Institute for the History of
The earliest astrological works in Arabic 291
Medicine 37°
The Persian influence 293
Biography and religious views 37°
Astrology in the third/ninth century 295
The philosophy of al-RazT 37*
Abu Ma'^shar Ja'^far al-Balkhi 297
The medical writings of al-RazI 373
Later Arabic astrology 299
22 Al-FarabI
17 Geographical and navigational literature by A lfred L. Ivry, New York University 378
^ J. F. P. H opkins, University of Cambridge 301
The Sindhind 302 23 Ibn Slna
Ptolemy 303 by Salvador G 6 mez NocALEsf 389
Abu Ja^far Muhammad b. Musa al-KhwarazmI 504 Biographical sketch 390
Geodesy 306 Original features of Ibn SIna’s works 392
From geodesy to adab 307 Theory of knowledge 395
Al-BalkhI - al-I§takhri - Ibn Hawqal - al-MuqaddasI 312 Emanation or creation? 395
Al-Mas'udI
3M
Al-B!rum 316 24 Al-BIrunl and the sciences of his time
“Post-Classical” geographers: al-BakrI and al-IdrlsT 317 by G eorge Saliba, Columbia University 405
Dictionaries and encyclopaedias Biographical background 405
319
Travellers 322 Al-BIrunl’s works 406
Navigational literature 3M Conclusion 421
Xll CONTENTS CONTENTS Xlll
25 Al-Ghazall 29 Didactic verse
498
bj A dIb N ayif D iyab, University of Jordan 424 by $AFA^ Khulu§i, Oxford
Pupil and teacher 424
Spiritual conversion 426 Glossary 510
Al-Ghazall’s style 427 Bibliography 524
The philosophy of al-Ghazall 429 Index 549
The §ufi anthropology
457
Morality and education 458
Freedom and politics 441
Divine love and beauty
443
26 Christian Arabic literature in the *^Abbasid period
bj Samir K halil S amir, SJ, Pontificio Istituto Orientate,
Koma 446
Biblical exegesis 446
Canon law 449
Christian theology 450
History
455
Religious encyclopaedias
459
z~i Judaeo-Arabic literature
bj Paul B. F enton, Universite Jean-Moulin, Ljon III 461
Origins 463
Scope 465
Theology and philosophy 466
Philology and exegesis 468
Legal literature 470
Belles-lettres 470
Arabic in Hebrew characters 471
The study of Judaeo-Arabic literature
473
Conclusion
475
28 The translation of Greek materials into Arabic
bj'L.'E. G oodman, University of Hawaii 477
The beginnings of the translation movement 480
Al-Ma^mun and the translation of Greek works 484
Thabit b. Qurrah 485
liunayn b. Ish^ 487
Translation after Hunayn 491
The end of the translation movement
494
PLATES
E D ITO R IA L PREFACE
1 Page from a seventh/thirteenth-century manuscript of Ibn STna’s page
The five centuries of the 'Abbasid caliphate in Baghdad saw the flowering of
(Cambridge University Library Add. Or. MS 1013, fol. lob: Arabic writing over an extraordinary variety of literary fields, from poetry
published by courtesy of the Syndics.) 89 and humane letters to philosophy, law, history and the natural sciences. The
2 Design for a dredging machine. second volume of The Cambridge History of Arabic 'Literature is devoted to
(Staatsbibhothek Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Berhn, Orientabtei- belles-lettres in the "Abbasid period; the present volume takes as its province
lung, MS Or. quart. 739, fol. 74a.) 265 the literature of the scholarly disciplines broadly delineated by “religion,
3 Design for a pump for raising water driven by a paddle wheel. learning and science”.
(Arthur M. Sackler Museum, MS 1965, 476 Mamluk, Harvard Arabic scholarship began with the study of the Qur^an, the Hadith and
University, Cambridge, Mass: bequest of Meta and Paul J. the various fields of learning which were ancillary to these; but the
Sachs.) 269 translations from Greek and other languages which began in the second
4 A water-raising device. century after the death of Muhammad and which continued through the
(Topkapi Sarayi Miizesi MS Ahmad III 3472, fol. 161.) 271 third/ninth century greatly extended the horizons of Arabic literature, and
5 The constellation Lepus, as illustrated in al-§ufl’s ^uwar al- the resulting proliferation of learned disciplines led a number of Muslim
kawakih al-thabitah. writers to draw up lists classifying the various “sciences” or fields of
(Bodleian Arabic MS Marsh 144, fol. 342: published by courtesy learning. These classifications differ in many details, but there was a
of the Bodleian Library, Oxford.) 281 generally admitted distinction between the “religious sciences” and the
6 Map of North Africa and Spain from al-I§takhr!’s Kitab al- “foreign sciences”. The former included Quranic exegesis. Tradition,
Masalik wa-l-mamalik. theology, jurisprudence and all those subjects such as philology and
(Chester Beatty MS 3007, fol. 29V: published by courtesy of the historiography which developed from them. The “foreign sciences”
Chester Beatty Library, Dublin.) 515 included medicine, the natural sciences, mathematics, astronomy, astro-
7 Page from Ibn al-Nafis’ Sharif tashrll^ al-Qaniin. logy, geography, alchemy and mechanics.
(University of California Arabic MS 80: published by courtesy of In the present volume the first five chapters deal with the literature of
the History and Special Collections Division, Louise M. Darling theology and religious experience, ^llm al-kalam (theology, or defensive
Biomedical Library, University of California, Los Angeles.) 349 apologia) originated with the dissensions in Islam after the battle of §iffln,
8 Physicians’ dinner party. but it needed an external stimulus to develop fully, and this stimulus was
(Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milan, Islamic MS fol. 12b) 352 provided by the disputations with Christian apologists and the influence of
lx x ,
9 Page from a sixth/twelfth-century manuscript of al-RazI’s al- Greek thought. The disagreements among the Muslims resulted in the
Kitab al-Man^urt. establishment of the two heterodox sects of the ShHs (and their later
(Cambridge University Library Add. Or. MS 1512, fol. 128b: subsects) and the Kharijites (of which the most important surviving body is
published by courtesy of the Syndics.) ^ ^ that of the Iba^is), and this means that the study of Arabic theological
10 Diagrams from al-BIrunl’s al-TaJhlm H-awail sjna^at al-tanjlm. literature has to take into account Shfi works (chapter 2) and Iba^I works
(Chester Beatty MS 3910, fols. 5 3-4: published by courtesy of the (chapter 3), as well as those of orthodox or Sunni Islam (chapter i).
Chester Beatty Library, Dublin.) 414
XV
XVI EDITORIAL PREFACE EDITORIAL PREFACE XVll
The values of the Islamic religion are enshrined in the Qur’an, and as language as the normal means of literary expression, and no Arabic dialect
with all sacred books, the need was felt at an early stage for guidance in the (with the exception of Maltese) has succeeded in establishing itself as an
interpretation of the meaning of the text. The exegetical literature which independent literary and spoken language. Chapters 7 and 8 examine the
arose to fulfil this need sought to explain everything down to the smallest literary labours which are the basis of this extraordinary achievement.
detail. It is characteristic of this literature that to a far-reaching extent it has The sacred law of Islam {sharfah) is the “epitome of Islamic thought. . .
been a vehicle for the expression of differing doctrinal tendencies in Islam, the core and kernel of Islam itself”.' The cultivation of jurisprudence {fiqh,
different schools of thought having sought to justify their views through ht. “knowledge”) gave rise to the extensive body of Arabic legal literature
their own particular interpretations of the Quranic text. In the present (chapter 9). In its early stages the subject-matter of Islamic law varied from
volume, chapter 4 is devoted to an examination of the main lines of one place to another, and this was responsible for many of the divergences
development of this exegetical literature. between the later schools of law. Sunni Islam eventually recognized four
§iifi poetry is the subject of a chapter (14) in CHALjABL, while the schools of law as differing, but equally valid, interpretations of the sharf ah,
prose literature of §ufism is examined in chapter 5 of the present volume. while the Shfis and the Iba^Ts developed their own independent interpre­
Although reckoned among the “religious sciences” by Ibn Khaldun, tations of the law.
§ufism or Islamic mysticism had not always been accepted by the orthodox; Administrative law and constitutional rules in the caliphate and its
it was al-GhazalT who contributed most to breaking down the prejudice of successor states came to be regarded as matters within the discretionary
legalistic Islam and to ensuring the full acceptance of mysticism within the power of the caliph or sultan. This discretionary power was referred to as
mainstream of Islamic thought and practice. §ufl writings came to embody siyasah (lit. “policy”), and the sharf ah recognized the right of the sovereign
the highest ideals of Islam, and to Arabic literature they contributed flights and his agents to exercise this power in matters of public order, taxation and
of brilliant imagination, together with a style of expression free from criminal justice. The specialist literature to which this jurisdiction gave rise
literary affectation. comprised both works on administrative procedure and treatises on the
Philosophy (chapter 6) occupied a fringe position between the “religious training of secretaries {kuttab), and a number of other associated genres,
sciences” and the “foreign sciences”. Arabic philosophical thought had its which are discussed in chapter 10.
beginnings in the third/ninth century as a result of the Muslim encounter Chapters 11 to 15 are concerned with aspects of Arabic biography and
with Greek philosophy. This included not only the thought of Plato and historical writing. Arabic historiography originally grew out of interest in
Aristotle, but also that of their successors and continuators, above all the the oral traditions of the Arab tribes in the time before Islam, but the
neo-Platonism of Plotinus and Proclus. Philosophy (fahafah) and theology concern of Muslims with the career of the Prophet and the lives of his
{kalam) were not originally thought of as being opposed to each other, but Companions gave an added impulse to collect and record information
after the triumph of the teaching of al-Ash"arI in the fourth/tenth century about the past. Subsequently historical scholarship expanded to take in the
relations between the two became characterized by a hostility which was biographies of later Muslims, the events of the Islamic conquests, the annals
epitomized in the celebrated “quarrel of the Tahafut'\ in which al-Ghazall’s of dynasties, local history and universal history, and the impressive
book Tahafut al-falasifah (“The Incoherence of the Philosophers”) was achievement of the medieval Arab historians is reflected in the great
answered by Ibn Rushd’s Tahafut al-Tahafut (“The Incoherence of ‘The number and variety of their surviving works.
Incoherence’ ”). Chapters 14 to 19 are concerned with those areas of natural science which
Concern for the correct understanding of the Quranic text was the are most prominently represented in medieval Arabic literature. These
starting-point of the literature of the Arabic philological sciences, and for range from the abstractions of mathematics to the practicalities of medicine.
more than a millennium Arabic grammar and lexicography have been the They include the now discarded hypotheses of astrology (which, however,
objects of constant cultivation. It is this concern for the means of expression had the merit of provoking astronomical observation), and also those of
provided by the literary ^arabiyyah that has been effective in ensuring the alchemy (which at least had the merit of involving experimentation).
survival and vigorous continuance of a single literary Arabic. With the Thanks to the non-confessional nature of such subjects non-Muslims were
partial exception of the use of dialects in modern drama, no local Arabic
dialect has been able to replace the “eloquent” {fu^f^a) form of the Arabic
' Joseph Schacht, An Introduction to Islamic Law, Oxford, 1964, i.
XVlll EDITORIAL PREFACE EDITORIAL PREFACE XIX
able to participate freely in these areas of Islamic culture, and Christians and were usually inaccessible. Chapters 26 and 27 consider Christian Arabic
Jews made important contributions to Arabic literature in a number of literature and Judaeo-Arabic literature respectively.
sciences, particularly medical literature. The first volume of this Historj {CHALUP, chapters 22, 25 and 24) has
The extensive scientific literature in medieval Arabic had a strong discussed some of the diverse influences on early Arabic literature; in
influence on European thought, a fact illustrated by those terms from the Chapter 28 of the present volume the processes are examined by which
sciences cultivated by the Muslims which have become part of the Greek themes and modes of thought were assimilated into Islamic
civilization as a result of the widespread translation of Greek materials into
European vocabulary, such as algebra, algorithm, cipher, alcohol, alembic,
alkali, zenith, nadir, azimuth, simoom, monsoon and many others. It was Arabic, and the consequent opening of the Hellenic “treasure house of
the achievements of Islamic civilization in the natural sciences and medicine wisdom”.
that first compelled the interest of Christian Europe in Arabic literature, Chapter 29 deals with Arabic didactic verse, that is verse intended to
and led to the movement of translation of Arabic scientific and philosophi­ assist the learning process and aid the student’s memory. This was not a
cal works into Latin which began at the end of the fifth/eleventh century literary form invented by the Arabs, but it was one which they employed
and continued until the tenth/sixteenth century. widely; moreover it was but one of various Hilfsmittel for the student which
The admiration which was felt for the Muslim achievement in these fields Islamic educational methods introduced, other notable ones being the
appears clearly in the widely circulated Quaestiones naturales (early sixth/ masa^ilot catechism (see chapter 19) and the epitome or mujiii.
twelfth century) of Adelard of Bath, the first English Arabist. Adelard is at In how many copies, and how widely, did the literary works discussed in
pains at different points in his book to emphasize the contrast between the this volume circulate? No precise answer can be given to these questions,
learning of the Arabs which, he believed, followed the leadership of reason, although the "Abbasid period saw the elaboration of methods of publica­
and the hidebound reliance on established authority among the savants of tion, transcription, bookbinding and bookselling to a remarkable degree,
Christendom in his day. and the circulation of books was greatly assisted by the introduction of
Chapters 20 to 2 5 deal with the lives and works of six universal scholars paper in the second/eighth century. The extensive holdings reported of the
whose careers span 300 years of Islamic history, from the third/ninth to the great medieval Islamic libraries such as the "Abbasid library of Baghdad, the
beginning of the fifth/eleventh century: Ya'qub b. Ishaq al-Kindl, Abu Fafimid libraries of Cairo, and the library of al-Hakam II in Cordova give an
Bakr Muhammad al-RazI, Abu Na§r Muhammad al-FarabI, Abu “^All al- indirect indication of the considerable volume of book production before
Husayn b. Sma, Abu ’1-Ray^ian Muhammad al-BTrunI and Abii Hamid the days of printing. It has recently been estimated that there are some
Muhammad al-GhazalL Of these only al-Kindl was an Arab, while al-FarabI 600,000 surviving Arabic manuscript books, of which half are still
was a Turk and the remainder Iranians, but the language in which most of uncatalogued;^ clearly much remains to be learned of Arabic literary
their numerous works were written was Arabic. The intellectual range of history.
these polyhistors covered virtually all the knowledge of their time, and
their erudition was equalled only by their industry - al-BIruni is credited Many of the matters discussed in the following pages are relevant to more
with 146 scholarly works, al-Kindl with 265, Ibn Sina with 276, and so on. than one chapter, and the more important instances have been cross-
As a result of the Arab conquests Arabic not only became the learned referenced; elsewhere use of the index should help the reader to find further
language of non-Arab Muslims, such as the Persians, but also the language references to topics treated in several places. As in the first volume of this
of the Christian and Jewish communities of western Asia and north Africa. work only abbreviated references to sources are given in the footnotes
In this way Arabic literature came to encompass extensive Christian and where the full details are given in the bibliographies.
Jewish writings in theology, philosophy and law, as well as in medicine and It has been pointed out in the editorial preface of CHALfABL that the
the natural sciences, as mentioned above. Moreover the "^Abbasid period term “"Abbasid” is a cultural rather than a political designation, and in the
saw the production of a considerable body of historical works in Arabic following chapters literary developments may sometimes be traced well
composed by Christian authors and these may sometimes record matters
2 A. Gacck, “Some remarks on the cataloguing of Arabic manuscripts’, Bulktin of the British Socittyfor
unknown to Muslim historians, to whom Greek, Syriac and Coptic sources
Middle Eastern Studies, x, 1983, 175.
XX EDITORIAL PREFACE
beyond the year 656/1258, the year of the destruction of the ‘'Abbasid
caliphate in Baghdad. In the cases of the chapters on Judaeo-Arabic
literature and didactic poetry, where it is not intended to treat these subjects
further in subsequent volumes of this History, literary developments have A B BR EV IA TIO N S
been brought down to the fourteenth/twentieth century.
The plates used to illustrate the present volume are taken from Arabic
manuscript books of the 'Abbasid period or a little later.
The much regretted death of Fr. Salvador Gomez Nogales prevented
him from revising his contributions as he would have wished, and it has
only been possible to make the most necessary changes in them for the sake CHALUP The Cambridge History of Arabic Literature: Arabic Litera­
of consistency. ture to the End of the Umayyad Period
Warm thanks are due to Dr Robin Derricourt and Elizabeth Wetton, and CHALIABL The Cambridge History of Arabic Literature: "Abbasid Belles-
latterly to Dr Katharina Brett, of the Cambridge University Press, for their Lettres
valuable help and advice in the process of preparing this volume. The £/> The Encyclopaedia of Islam, ist edn
Executive Editor is also most grateful to Margaret Jean Acland, who has EP The Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd edn
subedited the final typescript and improved its presentation in many ways, GAL, GAL, S C. Brockelmann, Geschichte der arabischen Litteratur, and
and to Barbara Hird, who has compiled the index. Supplements i-iii
GAS F. Sezgin, Geschichte des arabischen Schrifttums
M.J.L.Y. IBLA Revue de Plnstitut des Belles Lettres Arabes
Shorter El Shorter Encyclopaedia of Islam
XXI