The seventh century witnessed the astonishingly rapid Arab conquests, which, immediately following the death of the Prophet Muhammad, transformed the geopolitical and intellectual landscape of the world. Syria, Egypt, Persia, and Spain quickly fell under Muslim rule, establishing an empire that stretched from the Straits of Gibraltar to the Indus.
This expansion was facilitated by the exhaustion of the Persian and Byzantine Empires from their prolonged wars. It was also aided by the strategic tolerance of the Muslim conquerors towards Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians, who were allowed to practice their own religions in return for tribute.
As a result, the Arab tribesmen, accustomed to a meager existence, suddenly found themselves masters of vast, rich regions. They absorbed the refinements of ancient civilizations without causing significant destruction.
The Arab Empire, an absolute monarchy under the Caliph, initially saw its rulers (like the Umayyads) focused more on political expansion than on religious zeal. However, Persian influence profoundly transformed Islam, making it more philosophical and religious, which led to the division into Sunni and Shiah sects.
Under the early Abbasids, particularly during the reign of Harun al-Rashid (d. 809 A.D.), the caliphate reached its greatest splendor. It became a brilliant center of luxury, poetry, and learning. This era saw the preservation and development of ancient knowledge, particularly in mathematics, astronomy, and philosophy.
📚 Translating and Transforming Greek Thought
The Muslim world played a crucial role as a transmitter of Hellenism to the West. Their initial knowledge of Greek philosophy came primarily from the Syrians, who admired Aristotle (whom Nestorian Christians preferred to Plato). This led to an early emphasis on Aristotle in Arabic philosophy, though it was often filtered through Neoplatonic interpretations.
A notable example is Kindi, the first to write philosophy in Arabic. He translated parts of Plotinus’s Enneads and published them as The Theology of Aristotle, which caused significant confusion about Aristotle’s true doctrines for centuries to come.
Meanwhile, contact with India brought knowledge of astronomy. This led to the adoption of what became known as “Arabic” (but were originally Indian) numerals and the development of algebra by scholars like al-Khwarazmi, whose works became standard textbooks in the West until the sixteenth century.
🌟 Avicenna and Averroes: Pillars of Islamic Philosophy
Persian civilization, intellectually and artistically vibrant until the Mongol invasions, produced great poets like Firdousi and remarkable mystics like the Sufis. Within this world, two Muslim philosophers demand special notice: Avicenna (Ibn Sina, 980-1037 A.D.) in Persia and Averroes (Ibn Rushd, 1126-1198 A.D.) in Spain.
Avicenna, renowned in both medicine and philosophy, synthesized Aristotelian and Neoplatonic thought, greatly influencing the West through Latin translations. He famously articulated the view that universals exist in three ways: “before things” (in God’s mind), “in things” (in natural objects), and “after things” (in our thought as concepts).
Averroes, living at the opposite end of the Muslim world in Cordova, sought to purify the Arabic interpretation of Aristotle from Neoplatonic additions. He argued for the existence of God through reason alone and held that the intellect, not the individual soul, was immortal.
Despite facing opposition from orthodox theologians who condemned philosophy, these thinkers were crucial. Though primarily commentators, they preserved and transmitted Greek philosophical traditions, stimulating the revival of learning in the eleventh century and paving the way for Scholastic philosophy in Europe.
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Russell, Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. Simon and Schuster, 1945.
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