The Curse of Philosophy
Ibn Taymiyya as a Philosopher in Contemporary
Islamic Thought
Georges Tamer
Arabic philosophy, or falsafa, was born out of the translation of Greek
and Syriac works of logic, philosophy and other sciences to meet the
intellectual and practical challenges facing Muslims in Abbasid soci-
ety. In the realm of Arabic, it flourished as a uniquely Muslim hybrid
creatively integrating the intellectual traditions of Plato, Ptolemy and
Aristotle. Though these thinkers were foreign and ancient, their reli-
ance on sound reasoning established their reputation – especially that
of Aristotle – as representatives of the highest truth to be attained
by human intellectual endeavor.^1 In some cases, rational judgments
might even be more esteemed than revealed knowledge; al-Fārābī
(d. 339/950), for instance, did not consider religion to be the ultimate
foundation unconditionally necessary for the existence of the virtuous
city (al-madīna al-fāḍila), but rather viewed philosophy (ḥikma, also
meaning “wisdom”, itself the basis for wise leadership) as essential for
the perfect society’s survival.^2 Similarly, Ibn Rushd (d. 595/1198) grant-
ed authority to philosophers – whom he describes as those well estab-
lished in knowledge – to interpret Koranic statements as metaphorical
if seeming to contradict reason. In doing so, Ibn Rushd endorsed a
method for establishing harmony between reason and religion on the
1 Maimonides, who ascribes to Aristotle perfect knowledge in regards to the sub-
lunar world, adequately represents this pertinent view in the pre-modern period
of Arabic philosophy; knowledge of the supralunar world, on the other hand, is
reserved for the prophets: Dalālat al-ḥāʾirīn, edited by Ḥussayn Atay, Cairo n. d.,
part 2, chapter 22, pp. 342–343. English: Maimonides, Moses: The Guide of the
Perplexed, translated by Shlomo Pines, Chicago 1963, pp. 319–320.
2 Al-Fārābī, Abū Naṣr: Al-Farabi on the Perfect State. Abū Naṣr al-Fārābī’s
Mabādiʾ ārāʾ ahl al-madīna al-fāḍila, edited with introduction, translation and
commentary by Richard Walzer, Oxford 1985, chapter 15, § 14, p. 252.
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