Ibn Tufayl
- Died
- 581 AH
- Born in
- -
Abu Bakr ibn Tufayl (c. 494–581 AH / 1100–1185 CE) was an Andalusian philosopher, physician, and court official of the Almohad Caliphate, celebrated as the author of the philosophical narrative Hayy ibn Yaqzan.
Early Life and Education
Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Tufayl al-Qaysi was born in Guadix (Wadi Ash) northeast of Granada, though other accounts place his origin in Purchena (Barshanah) near Almería or in Tijola (Tajilah) in Jaén. Reports date his birth to around 494 AH (1100 CE), with other sources placing it in 506 AH (1110 CE) or generally within the opening years of the sixth century AH. In medieval Christian Europe, he became known under the Latinized name Abubacer.
He pursued studies in Islamic jurisprudence, hadith, and Arabic grammar under scholars including Abu Muhammad al-Rushati and Abd al-Haqq ibn Atiyya, while training in medicine in Granada. He studied philosophy with a number of specialists, engaging closely with the writings of Ibn Bajja, and acquired wide proficiency across natural philosophy, astronomy, and poetry.
Administrative and Court Career
Ibn Tufayl began his administrative career around 540 AH in service to Ahmad ibn Malhan al-Ta'i, the local ruler of Guadix, before becoming a secretary to the governor of Granada. In 549 AH (1154 CE), he served as secretary to the Almohad governor of Ceuta and Tangier, a son of the dynasty's founder Abd al-Mu'min.
When Caliph Abu Ya'qub Yusuf acceded to power in 558 AH (1163 CE), Ibn Tufayl was appointed as his chief physician and close adviser, enjoying immense favour at court. In this role, he acted as an intermediary between the caliph and scholars from across the region, encouraging royal patronage of the sciences. He introduced Ibn Rushd to the caliphal court and suggested to him the task of summarizing and commenting upon Aristotle's works. In astronomy, the theorist Nur al-Din al-Bitruji studied under him and adopted aspects of his cosmological system.
Philosophical Thought
Ibn Tufayl sought to harmonize rational philosophy with revealed religion and mystical illumination. His principal philosophical treatise, the allegorical narrative Hayy ibn Yaqzan (also known as Asrar al-Hikma al-Mashriqiyya, or The Secrets of Illuminative Wisdom), portrays an individual who grows up in complete isolation on an uninhabited equatorial island and attains knowledge of the physical cosmos, metaphysical realities, and the divine solely through innate capacity and natural contemplation. In later life he focused primarily on metaphysics and theology, leaving a treatise on the soul (Risala fi al-Nafs), as well as a lengthy medical poem (urjuza) preserved in the Qarawiyyin library in Fez.
Death
Following the death of Abu Ya'qub Yusuf in 580 AH, Ibn Tufayl briefly retained his court position under the succeeding caliph, Abu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Mansur. He died in Marrakech in late 581 AH (1185 CE), and the caliph personally attended his funeral.
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List of Works
Hayy ibn Yaqzan (The Living Son of the Vigilant, also known as Asrar al-Hikma al-Mashriqiyya / The Secrets of Eastern Wisdom) is an Arabic philosophical and mystical allegory. The work demonstrates the harmony between human reason and divine revelation through the story of a child who grows up alone on a deserted island and discovers cosmic and theological truths through innate disposition and natural contemplation.