Introduction
This paper intends to give an overview of the Islamic philosophy during its classical period, which stretches roughly from the 9th to the 12th century. For this aim it is necessary to first discuss the development of Islam and the translation of Greek texts into Arabic. Through the following discussion of a few of the key Islamic thinkers from this period, it will become clear that the relationship between philosophy and this religion is of a very different nature than in the Christian or European world during this period. Where in the European ages after the Hellenistic period philosophy has always had to defend itself against accusations of paganism, in the Islamic realm philosophy came to be considered an inherent part of Islam. Therefore, an overview of the historical development of Western philosophy cannot neglect the vital role the Arabic-speaking world played in the preservation and assimilation of our Greek heritage.
Further more, the constant interaction that took place between Islam and the Arabic philosophy needs to be taken into full account when thinking about the designation of this philosophy. I will therefore finish with an argumentation against Adamson and Taylor’s views in their The Cambridge Companion to Arabic philosophy, and support a term that does more justice to this interaction: Islamic Philosophy.
Development of Islam
During the time of the emergence of Islam, a number of other religions already had a strong hold on the region around the Mediterranean Sea. Judaism and Christianity, for instance, are rooted firmly in this world. A new religion couldn’t just abolish them; and the Islamic religion did not attempt to, instead incorporating these and other religions. According to the Islamic tradition, the people of these other religions have received parts of the revelations through their prophets, for example, Abraham and Jesus. That is why people of these religions are considered ‘people of the book’, because they are mentioned in the Qur’ān and are therefore not to be mistreated. Islam has its own prophet, Muhammad Ibn `Abd Allāh Ibn `Abd al-Muttalib (c. 570-632). Muhammad is considered the seal of the prophets, meaning he is the last of the prophets that God has sent to us – so with Muhammad, the revelations are finished. He is not considered the creator of Islam, but restorer of the original monotheistic faith of the prophets.
In 610 Muhammad received his first revelations from God via the angel Gabriel, and he continued to receive such revelations throughout his life. After having received the first, Muhammad started preaching to the citizens of Mecca. He told them they had to surrender (in Arabic: Islam) to God and give up their polytheism, since God is one (tawḥīd – doctrine on the Oneness of God). In 622 he had to flee Mecca, and went on a journey to the city that would later be known as Medina(al-Madīnah, the city of the prophet). This journey would later be known as Hijra, and would mark the start of the Islamic calendar. In Medina Muhammad became the leader of the people. He was their spiritual leader, but also judged and decided on other conflicts, for instance, trade. In 629 Muhammad returned to Mecca, where this time, he was welcomed. When he died in 632 he had successfully united the tribes of Arabia into one religious society.
As mentioned Islam means ‘surrendering to God’ and to its followers, Muslims, this means they have to live according to the Qur’ān and the example and teachings of Muhammad. Muslims believe the Qur’ān contains the verbatim words of God, as received by Muhammad. During his lifetime the main way of transmission of the Qur’ān was oral memorization, hence the name it was given, Qur’ān, which literally means ‘the recitation’. The current version of the Qur’ān is believed to have been canonized by ʻUthmān ibn ʻAffān (c. 579 – 656), the third caliph. (‘Caliph’ is the Arabic word for the substitute leader of the Muslims, being a substitute in the absence of a prophet to guide them.) ʻUthmān had other versions burned.
The Qur’ān is also viewed as the finest poetic literature written, because of the beauty of Gods words. According to Islam, Arabic is the language that God chose to talk to humans. Therefore the Arabic had an absolute and transcendental character; the Qur’ān contains the actual words of God. It is therefore also impossible to translate the Qur’ān, as translation requires interpretation. The words of God are sacred and are therefore not interpretable by his mere servant, a human being. Every translation of the Qur’ān that exists, is, as a mere interpretation, by default deficient. And yet it was very important to get the right interpretation. Gods words are so sacred they should guide Muslims throughout their lives. Since it is believed that the Qur’ān is the source for all morals and values, the Muslim scholars tried to deduct moral laws from the Qur’ān. Not for long a tradition of reading, exegesis (tafsir) and jurisprudence was founded. In the two centuries that followed, grammatical and rhetorical theory was also developed as a study. The scholastic theology that came into shape by these disciplines is what is now called Kalām.
Translation and Assimilation
Kalām literally means the study of words, and within the Islamic practice it is a discipline of seeking theological knowledge through debate and argument, i.e. through dialectic. Of course there were important differences within different Kalām schools. For instance, one of the major schools was that of that of the speculative Mu‘tazili (the separatists), who approached theological problems with rationalism, as they had a deep believe in the possibilities for human knowledge in these matters. Another large school was that of the Ash’ari; their founder, al-Ash’arī (died in 935) was a reformer who tried to defend the orthodox heritage by using the Ancient Greek ideas. The traditional (conservative) Islamic theology, Kalām, that solely focused on the ideas set forth by the Qur’ān and Islam itself, was no longer enough.
The need to translate and interpret the Ancient Greek texts increased, as refuge was often sought in their answers on difficult and important topics. As these texts were translated, along the way more complimenting commentary was created. Arabic philosophy, falsafa (after the Greek word ‘philosophy’), became more and more important. It helped theology become stronger by constructive criticism via the debates on important questions for the Islamic thinkers, like the Oneness doctrine; the possible interpretations of the Qur’ān (metaphorical or anthropomorphic); whether or not the world was created – or that it emanated from God; the first principle(s); Gods nature; the soul and the intellect; and determinism versus free will.
After the foundation of the Islamic religion the Arabs gained more control over the Mediterranean region. The Arabic language gradually became the official language[1], and therefore increasingly required translation. In Bagdad, the translation and interpretation movements flourished during the ‘Abbāsid dynasty (750-1258). The importance of the ‘Abbāsid caliphs cannot be overlooked. Many of the first translations of Ancient Greek philosophical texts were prepared in the House of Wisdom (Bait al-Ḥikmah), which caliph al-Ma’mūn founded in 830. The House of Wisdom is an official institute with a complete library for translation and research. The first translators there did not translate many texts, but those they translated turned out to be fundamental in the development of Islamic thought – and for the reception of the Greek heritage in that tradition. In due time the falsafa that developed would become an independent intermediary between early and late Western philosophy.
Since the start of the translation process, the emphasis moved from pure translation, to interpretation and commenting on the ideas of the texts. Yet there was often remarkable freedom of thought under the Islamic rulers. According to Leezenberg, this is simply due to the fact that the ‘Abbāsid rulers tried to establish their political power by their religious positions as caliphs[2], and not primarily because of the need for a correct and complete interpretation of Qur’ān. Either way, to conclude the above described genesis of the falsafa, we can say that within the Islamic realm an environment was created which allowed for a substantial freedom of thought for the Islamic classical thinkers which we will be examining underneath. More over, their critical ideas were often welcomed as part of Islamic thinking as a whole.