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Ibn TufaylHayy Ibn Yaqzan: A Philosophical Tale
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1177A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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Historical Context: Al-Andalus
Hayy Ibn Yaqzān was written in a region referred to as al-Andalus. The term refers to the Muslim-ruled parts of the Iberian Peninsula (modern-day Spain and Portugal) that existed in various forms from 711 to 1492 CE. Al-Andalus was originally a province of the Umayyad Caliphate, a political power stretching from the Arabian Peninsula across Northern Africa to the Iberian Peninsula. However, by the 12th century when Ibn Tufayl wrote Hayy Ibn Yaqzān, the Umayyad Caliphate had fragmented and al-Andalus became a part of an Almohad Caliphate.
Ibn Tufayl served in the court of Sultan Abu Yaqub Yusuf (1135-1184), a descendant of the North African Berber Muslims. The Almohad dynasty helped to repel attacks by Christian Castilians seeking to invade from the north. However, by 1236 CE, these Christian kingdoms captured the Islamic capital city of Córdoba and the last remaining Islamic rulers only controlled a small portion of southern Iberia around the city of Granada. This period, sometimes referred to as the Reconquista, ended when the Emir of Granada surrendered to Queen Isabella I of Castille in 1492 CE, with the Christian kingdoms regaining total control of the Iberian Peninsula.
Culturally, al-Andalus had a significant impact on the Western intellectual tradition. The Caliphates created major libraries and universities, making Córdoba into a center for medical sciences, philosophy, and theological education. Al-Andalus was home to the Islamic polymath and philosopher Ibn Rushd, also referred to as Averroes. Notably, Islamic scholars translated many works by Ancient Greek philosophers and wrote commentaries on these texts that merged Classical science with Islamic theology. The works of Aristotle, previously nearly unknown in Western Europe, were translated by Islamic philosophers in al-Andalus and thereby reintroduced to Latin Christians such as Thomas Aquinas.
Al-Andalus also served as a center for Medieval Jewish intellectual culture. While Jews were a minority in Islamic society, they were allowed to co-exist and created a prosperous community.
Cultural Context: Sufism
Sufism is a form of Islamic practice known for its focus on purity, asceticism, and mysticism. Sufism, also known as Tasawwuf, grew in popularity during the rule of the Umayyad dynasty in the 7th and 8th centuries, partially as a reaction against the perceived worldliness and material culture of the ruling Caliphate.
Sufi Muslims are notable for several specific practices, as well as a theological tradition of writings that emphasize striving for internal spiritual perfection. Some distinctive features of Sufi practice include muraqaba, a meditative state wherein a person concentrates on cutting off contact with the bodily senses and focusing entirely on God, and whirling, a dance that is said to imitate the orbital motion of the planets to aid a worshipper in achieving total focus on the divine.
In comparison to other Islamic traditions, Sufism is notable for its prioritization of achieving mystical union with God during mortal life. Rather than striving entirely for salvation in the afterlife, Sufis attempt to access knowledge of God during their life by returning to a state known as fitra. Fitra refers to the natural or original state of humans that is pure and one with God, but which can be forgotten due to fixation on the sensory world and material temptations.
Hayy Ibn Yaqzān is a Sufi text that explores this very idea through the allegorical story of a boy raised without any outside influence by other humans, allowing him to more clearly connect with his primordial and innate condition.
Philosophical Context: Avicennism
One of the major philosophical influences on the composition of Hayy Ibn Yaqzān is the school of Islamic thought known as Avicennism. This philosophy is what Ibn Tufayl terms the “Oriental Philosophy“ in the introduction to his philosophical tale, referring to its founder‘s origins in the Middle East. Named for its founder, Avicenna (Ibn Sina), Avicennism synthesizes the works of Greek and Latin writers, such as Plato and Aristotle, with Islamic theology.
Avicenna was one of the most influential thinkers of the Muslim tradition. He lived from 980-1037 CE under the rule of the Samanid Empire in Central Asia and modern-day Iran. Avicenna was a famous physician and his medical texts were used across the medieval world, but his writings also engaged with other natural sciences such as astronomy and alchemy, and with Islamic theology. The combination of medical knowledge and spiritual knowledge is a major concern within Hayy Ibn Yaqzān, as Ibn Tufayl was also both a physician and a theologian.
Two of the major influences on Avicennism were the earlier philosophical movements of Aristotelianism and Neoplatonism, which Avicenna sought to harmonize with Islamic doctrine. From Aristotelean philosophy, Avicenna took the notion of trying to deduce the structures of reality through rational thinking. In particular, Avicenna was inspired by reading Aristotle’s Metaphysics, which asserts the need for an eternal first cause of all created matter. From Neoplatonic philosophy, Avicenna was inspired by the concept of emanations from the One. The One refers to the first cause of all matter and introduces terms such as hyle, meaning the undifferentiated essence of any material object, and nous, referring to the concept of human reason or intuition.
By synthesizing these Greek philosophical schools with Islamic doctrine, Avicennism provides the intellectual backdrop for the narrative of Hayy Ibn Yaqzān. Hayy’s intellectual development over the course of the narrative closely mirrors the metaphysical teachings of Avicennism, allowing Hayy to intuitively come to know God without ever learning the literal teachings of the Islamic faith.
Notably, the main character Hayy was actually first written about in a philosophical romance by Avicenna. While Ibn Tufayl’s version substantially alters the story and its philosophical meaning, his use of the character’s name suggests the text’s close relationship with Avicenna’s ideas.
Authorial Context: Ibn Tufayl
Ibn Tufayl was an Arab Andalusian who lived from 1105 until 1185 CE. He was born in the town of Guadix near Granada and spent much of his life as a minister to the ruler of Granada and as a vizier for the Caliph Abu Yaqub Yusuf. In addition to serving as an advisor and philosopher, Ibn Tufayl was also a physician and taught medicine. He helped to spread Aristotelian philosophy throughout the Islamic world, and his astronomical research helped to overturn the Ptolemaic model of the universe in favor of the Aristotelian one.
One of Ibn Tufayl’s students is the Islamic writer and polymath Ibn Rushd (Latinized as Averroës). When Ibn Tufayl retired from his position at court in 1182, Ibn Rushd became his successor. Ibn Rushd was a prolific writer and a proponent of Aristotelianism, helping to spread the works of Aristotle throughout Islamic intellectual circles as well as into the Latin Christian tradition. By writing extensive commentaries on Aristotle’s works that attempted to synthesize Classical Greek philosophy with Abrahamic religion, Ibn Rushd’s work revived the study of Aristotle in the Latin Christian West.
