Averroës by Habeeb Salloum

AVERROËS

by Habeeb Salloum: Abû al-Walîd Muhammad Ibn Rushd, better known in the West as Averroës, but also in medieval times as Avén Ruiz and Averrhoes, was born in 1126 A.D. in Cordova, once the illustrious capital of Moorish Spain. The descendant of a distinguished Cordovan family of scholars, he was the third generation of his lineage to hold the office of qâdî (judge). One of the foremost figures of Arab civilization, he became known as the 'Prince of Science’ - the master of jurisprudence, mathematics, medicine and, above all, philosophy.

The twelfth century produced some of the most outstanding scholars of Al-Andalus (Muslim Spain), like the neo-Aristotelian school developed by Avempace (Ibn Bajja), Ibn Tufayl and Maimonides (Ibn Maymûn) which was to have considerable influence on Christian Europe. However, Ibn Rushd, who it is said never missed reading or writing except the day he married and the day his father died, in medieval intellectual thought, was to overshadow them all.

In the Middle Ages, his ideas influenced the transformation of thought in medieval Europe. The last of the great Muslim thinkers, his beliefs were to have an affect of the minds of many of the Middle Ages intellectuals, living well beyond the borders of Moorish Spain.

As was the practise of the well-known families in his time, Ibn Rushd acquired his education within the family, excelling in Qur'anic studies, jurisprudence, theology and tradition. In addition, he became versed in astronomy, literature, mathematics, music and zoology, but his most outstanding accomplishments were in the areas of medicine and philosophy.

Ibn Rushd owes much of his success in life to his ardour for learning and to patronage by the two enlightened Almohade, (the ruling dynasty 1145-1269 A.D.) caliphs Abû Ya'qûb Yusûf (1163-1184) and Abû Ya'qûb al-Mansûr (1184-1199). Under their rule, toleration and friendship were generally experienced by intellectuals in contrast to the hostility to philosophy by the Almoravides, 1056-1145 A.D., and the Malikite school in Islam which was the main intellectual faction of Islamic thought in Al-Andalus.

After appointing Ibn Rushd in 1169 as qâdî in Seville, the Almohade Caliph Abû Ya'qûb, two years later, brought him to Cordova and, bestowing on him favours and honours, made him chief judge and his personal physician. Under his sponsorship, Ibn Rushd took on the task of commenting on Aristotle’s works. From their first meeting, arranged by their free-thinking companion Ibn Tufayl, Ibn Rushd and Abû Ya'qûb became great friends. Livermore writes describing this encounter:

“Averroës, the great reviewer of Islamic thought, tells how, on first being presented to Abû Ya'qûb, he found him alone with Ibn Tufayl and 'after a few friendly enquiries about my family, the Emir suddenly asked my opinion about the nature