Ibn Rushd (Arabic: ابن رشد; Full Arabic name: أبو الوليد محمد ابن احمد ابن رشد,. Abu Al-Walid Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Rushd; 1126 - 11 December 1198), often translated as Averroes, is a philosopher and thinkers from Al-Andalus who wrote in disciplines, including Islamic philosophy, creed or theology, medicine, astronomy, physics, jurisprudence or Islamic law, and linguistics. His philosophical works include many commentaries, paraphrases and summaries of Aristotle's works, for which the western world has dubbed him "The Interpreter." During his lifetime, Ibn Rushd served as a court judge and doctor for the Muwahhidun Caliphate.
Ibn Rushd was born in Cordova to a family that gave birth to famous judges; his grandfather was qadhi al-qudhat (chief judge) and a well-known jurist in the city. In 1169 he met the caliph Abu Yaqub Yusuf, who was impressed by Ibn Rushd's knowledge. The caliph then supported Ibn Rushd and many of Ibn Rushd's works were projects he commissioned. Ibn Rushd also served several times as a judge in Seville and Cordova.
In 1182, he was appointed court physician and chief judge in Cordova. After Abu Yusuf's death in 1184, he remained on good terms with the court, until 1195 when he was charged with various charges with political motives. The court then ruled that his teachings were heretical and Ibn Rushd was exiled to Lucena. After several years in exile, the court called him back to duty, but it did not last long because Ibn Rushd died.
Ibn Rushd is a supporter of Aristotle's philosophical teachings (Aristotelianism). He tried to restore the philosophy of the Islamic world to Aristotle's original teachings. He criticized the Neoplatonism style found in the philosophy of earlier Islamic thinkers such as Al-Farabi and Ibn Sina, which he considered deviating from Aristotle's philosophy. He defended his philosophical activities against criticism from Asy'ariyah scholars such as Al-Ghazali.
Ibn Rushd argues that in Islam, it is permissible to take philosophy of law, it may even be mandatory for certain circles. He also argues that the text of the Quran and Hadith can be interpreted implicitly or figuratively if they appear to contradict the conclusions found through reason and philosophy. In the field of fiqh, he wrote Bidayatul Mujtahid which discusses different schools of thought in Islamic law. In medicine, he produced new ideas about retinal function in vision, the causes of stroke and the symptoms of Parkinson's disease, and wrote a book that would later be translated into a standard textbook in Europe.
Ibn Rushd's influence to the Western world was far greater than that of the Muslim world. Ibn Rushd wrote many commentaries on Aristotle's works, which were later translated into Hebrew and Latin and circulated in Europe. The translation of Ibn Rushd's works sparked Western European thinkers to re-examine the works of Aristotle and other Greek thinkers, after long neglect since the fall of the Roman Empire. Ibn Rushd's opinions also caused controversy in the Latin Christian world, and inspired a philosophical movement called Averroism.
One of his controversial doctrines in the Western world is a theory called the "unity of reason" (unitas intellectus in Latin), which states that all human beings share one mind or "intellect". His works were declared heretical by the Roman Catholic Church in 1270 and 1277, and the Christian thinker Thomas Aquinas wrote sharp criticisms of Ibn Rushd's doctrine. Despite this, Averroism continued to have followers in the Western world until the 16th century.
Equipped with:
- Complete Yasin Letter and Amma Juice (Tahlil and Daily Prayer)
- Islamic Motivation Stories (Faith Enhancer and Proof of the Greatness of Allah)
- The awesomeness of Dzikir and Prayer
Ibn Rushd was born in Cordova to a family that gave birth to famous judges; his grandfather was qadhi al-qudhat (chief judge) and a well-known jurist in the city. In 1169 he met the caliph Abu Yaqub Yusuf, who was impressed by Ibn Rushd's knowledge. The caliph then supported Ibn Rushd and many of Ibn Rushd's works were projects he commissioned. Ibn Rushd also served several times as a judge in Seville and Cordova.
In 1182, he was appointed court physician and chief judge in Cordova. After Abu Yusuf's death in 1184, he remained on good terms with the court, until 1195 when he was charged with various charges with political motives. The court then ruled that his teachings were heretical and Ibn Rushd was exiled to Lucena. After several years in exile, the court called him back to duty, but it did not last long because Ibn Rushd died.
Ibn Rushd is a supporter of Aristotle's philosophical teachings (Aristotelianism). He tried to restore the philosophy of the Islamic world to Aristotle's original teachings. He criticized the Neoplatonism style found in the philosophy of earlier Islamic thinkers such as Al-Farabi and Ibn Sina, which he considered deviating from Aristotle's philosophy. He defended his philosophical activities against criticism from Asy'ariyah scholars such as Al-Ghazali.
Ibn Rushd argues that in Islam, it is permissible to take philosophy of law, it may even be mandatory for certain circles. He also argues that the text of the Quran and Hadith can be interpreted implicitly or figuratively if they appear to contradict the conclusions found through reason and philosophy. In the field of fiqh, he wrote Bidayatul Mujtahid which discusses different schools of thought in Islamic law. In medicine, he produced new ideas about retinal function in vision, the causes of stroke and the symptoms of Parkinson's disease, and wrote a book that would later be translated into a standard textbook in Europe.
Ibn Rushd's influence to the Western world was far greater than that of the Muslim world. Ibn Rushd wrote many commentaries on Aristotle's works, which were later translated into Hebrew and Latin and circulated in Europe. The translation of Ibn Rushd's works sparked Western European thinkers to re-examine the works of Aristotle and other Greek thinkers, after long neglect since the fall of the Roman Empire. Ibn Rushd's opinions also caused controversy in the Latin Christian world, and inspired a philosophical movement called Averroism.
One of his controversial doctrines in the Western world is a theory called the "unity of reason" (unitas intellectus in Latin), which states that all human beings share one mind or "intellect". His works were declared heretical by the Roman Catholic Church in 1270 and 1277, and the Christian thinker Thomas Aquinas wrote sharp criticisms of Ibn Rushd's doctrine. Despite this, Averroism continued to have followers in the Western world until the 16th century.
Equipped with:
- Complete Yasin Letter and Amma Juice (Tahlil and Daily Prayer)
- Islamic Motivation Stories (Faith Enhancer and Proof of the Greatness of Allah)
- The awesomeness of Dzikir and Prayer
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