Ibn al-Qayyim’s Kitāb al-Rūḥ
Some Literary Aspects
Y. Tzvi Langermann
1. Preface: An Essay in Progress
This project originally grew out of my interest in some early medieval
discussions whose purpose is to distinguish between the two concepts,
nafs and rūḥ.^1 Each of the two terms carries a variety of psychological,
medical, and metaphysical or religious meanings; some of the earliest
writers in Arabic on science and philosophy, such as Qusṭā b. Lūqā
(d. 300/912–913) and Isaac Israeli (d. ca. 343/955), perceived a need to
sort matters out in special monographs. I was drawn to Ibn al-Qay-
yim’s Kitāb al-Rūḥ because it is a vast repository of information, much
of it drawn from early sources. As I studied Ibn al-Qayyim’s book
more closely, my interests expanded, and some additional topics sug-
gested themselves; one study has already appeared. However, it also
became increasingly clearer that there are some basic literary issues
that must be dealt with. Though I have no reason to doubt that Ibn al-
Qayyim authored the materials that make up the book (as we shall see,
some do question its authenticity), I do not believe that Ibn al-Qayyim
intended to present this book to his audience in the form in which it
now circulates. I am more and more convinced that the book that has
been such a resounding success was left unfinished by its author.
Kitāb al-Rūḥ is without doubt Ibn al-Qayyim’s most successful
book, if we measure success in terms of printings, circulation, and
so forth. Birgit Krawietz has called it “a real best-seller” and adds
that it “gained him a reputation even in circles opposed to him other
1 See Langermann, Y. Tzvi: David Ibn Shoshan on Spirit and Soul, in: European
Journal of Jewish Studies 1 (2007), pp. 63–86; idem: Abū al-Faraj Ibn al-Ṭayyib
on Spirit and Soul, in: Le Muséon 122 (2009), pp. 149–159.
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