Mahdi cornell university press ithaca, new york 1963 c. Philosophical themes hayy ibn yaqdhan dealt with many philosophical themes, especially in regards to epistemology. Hayy ibn yaqzan posted a topic in general islamic discussion i would really like to understand a variety of views on this topic. His protagonist, hayy, adopts habits reminiscent of sufi practices asceticism, leaving his cave only once a week to obtain food, moving in circular motions like the famous whirling dervishes of the mawlawi or. It was the first arabic novel, and anticipated such european works as daniel defoes robinson crusoe and jeanjacques rousseaus emile, as well as the thought of a number of western philosophers including locke and kant. Why richard rosengarten likes to teach hayy ibn yaqzan, by. Nov 07, 2019 isolated from human civilization, the infant hayy ibn yaqzan is raised by a gazelle on a deserted island through observation, experimentation, and speculation. Nov 06, 2014 hayy ibn yaqzan became a popular and oftencopied work in early modern europe. Tufayl, ibn, goodman, lenn evan, goodman, lenn evan, goodman, lenn evan. Ibn tufayl on learning and spirituality without prophets. Ibn tufayl, abu bakr muhammad before 111085 ibn tufayls thought can be captured in his only extant work, hayy ibn yaqzan the living son of the vigilant, a philosophical treatise in a charming literary form. In this first video of its kind on this channel, i discuss the 12th century philosophical tale hayy ibn yaqzan written by ibn tufayl.
Hayy ibn yaqzan became a popular and oftencopied work in early modern europe. From a young age, hayy was very intelligent, curious, and observant. One of the most widely circulated books of the islamic intellectual tradition, ibn tufayls work was translated into latin in 1617 by edward pococke, the son of dr. Ibn tufail wrote this novel in alandalus as a response to another philosophical story by ibn sina decades earlier in persia which contained characters by the same name. This book will inspire future scholars along three different paths. Ibn tufayl on learning and spirituality without prophets and. Ibn tufails hayy ibn yaqzan is one of the most influential books in american philosophy in the 1600s. The medieval arab book hayy ibn yaqzan is a long forgotten philosophical novel from the socalled golden age of islamic spain.
The arabic philosophical fable hayy ibn yaqzan is a classic of medieval islamic philosophy. The 12thcentury muslim mystic ibn tufayl relates the story of a spontaneously generated child raised by a gazelle on a desert island, and the process by which he attains union with god through the naturally acquired art of mystic contemplation. This is a story that has had a significant impact on the. Hayy ibn yaqdhan and the european enlightenment daily. It was the first arabic novel, and anticipated such european works as daniel defoes robinson crusoe and. Hayy ibn yaqzan the name means alive, son of the awake, the vigilant was the title of a work by avicenna, and the two other characters of the tale, absal and salaman. His book, hayy ibn yaqzan was about a boy who is raised on a deserted island by a gazelle.
I would like to imagine that these philosophers and. Ibn tufayls hayy ibn yaqzan was derivative in basing its title and several characters on avicenna. Ibn tufayl 1116 to 1185, one of the luminaries of andalusian islam, is best known for his philosophical tale hayy ibn yaqdhan, literally meaning alive, son of awake. Mar 10, 2018 ibn tufayl 1116 to 1185, one of the luminaries of andalusian islam, is best known for his philosophical tale hayy ibn yaqdhan, literally meaning alive, son of awake. Noncorporeal creator of all life, but also present in all life known as the dao the dao is naturalness and as such runs counter to the machinations of human nature the source of human deviation from the dao is language cut off sagehood. Dec 12, 2016 a parody of science class filmstrips of the 60s and 70s with an interpretation of hayy ibn yaqzin. Ibn alnafis wrote this book in direct response to ibn tufayls hayy ibn yaqzan, as is clear from the fact that ibn alnafis took both the core idea of a comingofage story and the main plot of ibn tufayls novel as a model. The present study attempts a philosophic examination of two fundamental themes of the treatise. Ibn tufayl teaching children about islam in america. It relates the story of human knowledge, as it rises from a blank slate to a mystical or direct experience of god after passing through the necessary natural experiences. Depictions of religion in ibn tufayls hayy ibn yaqzan prezi. According to the story, hayy ibn yaqdhan was found on an island as a baby and raised by gazelles. Profiles of notable literary works and the historic events that influenced them dictionary.
The influence of the tale titled hayy ibn yaqzan, written by the 12th century andalusian philosopher ibn tufayl on english author daniel defoe who looked to ibn tufayls book along with accounts. Ibn tufayl frequently uses themes from islamic sufism. In ibn tufayls philosophical tale hayy ibn yaqzan, the main character hayy realizes that in order to become his ideal self, he must complete a series of duties. Jan 26, 2018 this is the philosophical tale hayy ibn yaqzan, named after the hero of this story and written by the muslim philosopher ibn tufayl 11051185. Hayy ibn yaqzan the name means alive, son of the awake, the vigilant was the title of a work by avicenna, and the two other characters of the tale, absal and salaman, are also the names of characters in avicennas work. Could it be that for ibn tufayl sufism even represents a way to redistribute power in the islam of his time. For the first time, the felix meiner verlag has published the text of a classical arab philosopher in its venerable and muchconsulted philosophical library series the philosophical novel hayy ibn yaqzan by ibn tufayl, a 12thcentury andalusian author. An arab robinson crusoe dag nikolaus hasse introduces the work. As in ibn tufayls work, ibn alnafis protagonist, kamil whose name means the.
How might these themes represent a way to avoid punishment for nonorthodoxy under traditional islamic law. It was written by the philosopher abu bakr muhammad ibn tufayl known in the west as abubacer, who served as an adviser and physician to the spanish almohad sultan. Hayy grows up a lone mother gazelle found hayy when he was still a baby. I think that this might be one of the core ideas that we grapple with, day to day, as muslims. Ibn tufails hayy ibn yaqdhan had a significant influence on arabic literature, persian literature, and european literature after it was translated in into latin. Hayy ibn yaqdhan project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Ibn tufail drew the name of the tale and most of its characters from an earlier work by ibn sina avicenna. Hayy ibn yaqdhan dealt with many philosophical themes, especially in regards to epistemology. Abu bakr ibn tufail, the history of hayy ibn yaqzan, translated from the arabic by simon ockley, revised, with an introduction by a. The story of hayy ibn yaqzan is also similar to the later story of mowgli in rudyard kiplings the jungle book. Oct 25, 2017 in this first video of its kind on this channel, i discuss the 12th century philosophical tale hayy ibn yaqzan written by ibn tufayl.
Explain some major sufi themes that are central in hayy ibn yaqzan. May 22, 2016 hayy ibn yaqzn is the name of the protagonist in ibn tufayls tale. Abu bakr muhammad bin abd almalik bin tufayl alqaisi. The journey of the three phases begins with the inarticulate animal, which then progresses to the celestial body, and then ends with some resemblance of god 146.
The basic themes of the treatise are not treated, and the commentary is more of a poetic and occasionally philosophic selfexpression which tells little about ibn tufayls philosophy. Synopsis source for information on hayy ibn yaqzan. He was known to the medieval west as abubacer, on account of his full name. At the heart of the story is a literal autopsy of a heart. It is the story of a selftaught man who lived on a lonely island and who, in his maturity, attained the full knowledge taught by philosophers and read more. As he grew up, he discovered that he is related to but different from other animals. The philosopher as a solitary individual in his philosophic story. As in ibn tufayls work, ibn alnafis protagonist, kamil whose name means the complete or the perfect. A parody of science class filmstrips of the 60s and 70s with an interpretation of hayy ibn yaqzin.
This human was born in an uninhibited island in the indian ocean, so goes the story, without human begetters. The boy grows up to be very curious and learns about god and science through his own discoveries and. Ibn tufails book was neither a commentary on nor a mere retelling of ibn sinas work, however, but a new and innovative work in its own right. The introduction of hayy ibn yaqzan contains an apology for the ecstatic utterances of famous sufis charged with blasphemy. Ibn tufayls hayy bin yaqzan has not been adequately studied from a philosophical point of view. Hayy ibn yaqzn is the name of the protagonist in ibn tufayls tale.