Ibn Hazm

Ibn Hazm was born into a notable family — his grandfather Sa'id and his father Ahmad both held high positions in the court of the Umayyad Caliph Hisham II^[5] – and professed a Persian genealogy.^[6] However some scholars believe that Iberian converts adopted such genealogies to better identify with the Arabs and favor evidence that points to an Christian Iberian family background hailing from Manta Lisham (near Sevilla).^[6]

Career

From the death of the grand vizier al-Muzaffar in 1008 the Caliphate of Cordoba became embroiled in a civil war that lasted until 1031 resulting in its collapse and the emergence of many smaller states called the Taifa's.^[6] Ibn Hazm's father died in 1012 and Ibn Hazm continued to support the Umayyads, for which he was frequently imprisoned.^[6] By 1031 Ibn Hazm retreated to his family estate and Manta Lisham and had begun to express his activist convictions in the literary form.^[6]

According to a saying of the period, "the tongue of Ibn Hazm was a twin brother to the sword of al-Hajjaj" (a famous 7th century general and governor of Iraq)^[6] and he became so frequently quoted that the phrase “Ibn Hazm said” became proverbial.^[6]

He opposed the allegorical interpretation of religious texts, preferring instead a grammatical and syntactical interpretation of the Qur'an. He granted cognitive legitimacy only to revelation and sensation and considered deductive reasoning insufficient in legal and religious matters. He did much to revitalize the Zahiri madhhab, which denied the legitimacy of legal rulings based upon qiyas (analogy) and focused upon the literal meanings of legal injunctions in the Qur'an and hadith. Many of his rulings differed from those of his Zahiri predecessors, and consequently Ibn Hazm's followers are sometimes described as comprising a distinct madhhab.^{citations needed}

Quotes

In an effort to explain sensual matters between man and woman, Ibn Hazm eloquently noted:

Works

In classical Arabic literary tradition, the dove represented love, or romance, while the ring refers to a necklace. In essence, it is the "necklace of love". The book is meant to adorn one's love. It is inspired by 'ishq (defined by Hakim Bey as "crazed, hopeless passion"), and treats equally of desire both for males and females, but cautions the reader against breaking religious injunctions and praises remaining chaste.

Ibn Hazm also wrote more than ten books on medicine. Among his translated works:

al-Akhlaq wa al-Siyar fi Mudawat al-Nufus (Morals and Right Conduct in the Healing of Souls"), six Tawq al-Hamama fi al-Ulfa wa al-Ullaf ("The Ring of the Dove: Love and Lovers"), 7 Maratib al-`Ulum ("The Categories of the Sciences"), eight al-Mujalla, nine and – partially – partial translations of his al-Fisal fi al-Milal wa al-Ahwa' wa al-Nihal ("The Separators Concerning Religions, Heresies, and Sects"). ^[10]

Detailed Critical Examination

In his Fisal (Detailed Critical Examination), a treatise on Islamic science, philosophy and theology, Ibn Hazm stressed the importance of sense perception as he realized that human reason can be flawed. While he recognized the importance of reason, since the Qur'an itself invites reflection, he argued that this reflection refers mainly to revelation and sense data, since the principles of reason are themselves derived entirely from sense experience. He concludes that reason is not a faculty for independent research or discovery, but that that sense perception should be used in its place, an idea that forms the basis of empiricism.^[11]

Scope of Logic

Ibn Hazm wrote the Scope of Logic on logic in Islamic philosophy, in which he stressed on the importance of sense perception as a source of knowledge.^[12] He wrote that the "first sources of all human knowledge are the soundly used senses and the intuitions of reason, combined with a correct understanding of a language." Ibn Hazm also criticized some of the more traditionalist theologians who were opposed to the use of logic and argued that the first generations of Muslims did not rely on logic. His response was that the early Muslims had witnessed the revelation directly, whereas the Muslims of his time have been exposed to contrasting beliefs, hence the use of logic is necessary in order to preserve the true teachings of Islam.^[13]

Notes

^ ^a ^b Ibn Hazm. The Ring of the Dove: A Treatise on the Art and Practice of Arab Love. Trans. A. J. Arberry. Luzac Oriental, 1997 ISBN 1-898942-02-1
^ ^a ^b USC-MSA Compendium of Muslim Texts
^ A. R. Nykl. "Ibn Ḥazm's Treatise on Ethics". The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures, Vol. 40, No. 1. (Oct., 1923), pp. 30–36.
^ ^a ^b "Ibn Hazm." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2006. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 23 Oct. 2006
^ The court was under the effective rule of the Grand Vizier al-Mansur and his successor and son al-Muzaffar
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Ibn Hazm." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2006. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 23 Oct. 2006
^ Tawq al-Hamâmah (Ring of the Dove), translated by A.J. Arberry
^ [1]
^ Al-Dhahabi
^ Ibn Hazm
^ Ibn Hazm, Islamic Philosophy Online.
^ Muhammad Iqbal, The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam, "The Spirit of Muslim Culture" (cf. [2] and [3])
^ Seyyed Hossein Nasr and Oliver Leaman (1996), History of Islamic Philosophy, pp. 107-109, Routledge, ISBN 0415056675.

Contents

Lineage

Career

Quotes

Works

Detailed Critical Examination

Scope of Logic

Notes

References

See also

External links