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Arabic Literature of the Jews Arabic Philosophy

THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA

56

namely,

ARABIC PHILOSOPHY — ITS INFLUENCE ON JUDAISM Arabic philosophy dates

legendary biographies of the Patriarchs, of Joseph, of Moses, and of Solomon (Bombay, 1886). Of more secular character is a volume entitled D'yCJJtf r&]}Q (Leghorn, 1868), which contains a version of Sind'abad's travels. An anonymous historical work was edited by Ad. Neubauer (" Medieval Jewish Chroni-

from the appearance of dissenting sects in Islam. A century had hardly elapsed after Mohammed revealed the Koran, when numerous germs of religious schism began to arise. Independent minds sought to investigate the doctrines of the Koran, which until then had been accepted in blind faith on the

exists a rich literature of tales, mostly of sacred

character, both originals

cles,"

89

ii.

and

translations,

et seq.).

12. Medicine:

Jews distinguished themselves early in medicine, partly by translating from Greek and Syriuc, partly by independent works. The oldest is Meserjawaih (883), to whom Steinschneider has devoted a special article (" Z. D. M. G." liii. 428-434). The most prominent Jewish physician of the tenth century was Isaac Israeli (Wilstenfeld, "Gesch. d. Arab. Aerzte," p. 51; Steinschneider, "Hebr. Uebers." p. 761) of Kairwan, mentioned above, who made himself famous by his treatise on " Fevers. Moses b. Eleazer al Israili ("Ibn Abi Oseibia," ed. A. Muller, ii. 87), as well as his sons Isaac and Ishmael, and Jacob the son of the last-named, were

physicians to the Vizier Muizz al-Din (end of the century). At the beginning of the twelfth century Jewish physicians in Spain also began to write in Arabic. Abu Ja'far Joseph Ahmad b. Hisdai (a friend of the philosopher Ibn Baja) {ib. p. 51) translated the works of Hippocrates for Al-Ma'mun, vizier to the Egj r ptian calif, Amir bi ahkam Allah. Likewise in Cairo flourished (1161) the Karaite, Sadid b. Abi al-Bayyan (Steinschneider, " Hebr. Bibl. xiii 61-63). Maimonides was distinguished as a medical author among other works on medicine he wrote a commentary on the Aphorisms of Hippocrates (idem., "Z. D. M. G." xlviii. 218-234; idem, "Hebr. Uebers. " p. 769). His son Abraham (Wilstenfeld, ib. p. Ill), also, was a medical authority, and so was Joseph b. Judah (Munk, "Notice sur Joseph b. Jehouda," p. 58). In the middle of the twelfth century flourished Amram al-Israili ("Ibn Abi Oseibia," p. 213; Steinschneider, "Zwei Jiid. Aerzte Imran b. Sadaga und Muwaffak b. Sebua," in "Z. D. M. G." 1871), born in 1165 at Damascus; died 1239 at Emesa (Hims). Samuel b. Judah b. Abbas (see Abbas) wrote a work styled " Kitab al-Mufid "



authority of divine revelation. The first independent protest was that of the Kadar (from the Arabic kadara, to have power), whose partisans affirmed the freedom of the will, in contrast with the Jabarites (jabar, force, constraint), who maintained the belief in fatalism.

In the second century of the Hegira, a schism arose in the theological schools of Bassora, over pupil, Wasil which Hasan al-Basri presided. ibn Atha, who was expelled from the school because

A

answers were contrary to tradition, proclaimed himself leader of a new school, and systematized all the radical opinions of preceding sects, particularly those of the Kadarites. This new school or sect was called Motazilite (from itazala, to separate oneself, to dissent). Its principal dogmas were three: (1) God is an absolute unity, and no attribute can be ascribed to Him. It is on (2) Man is a free agent. account of these two principles that the Motazilites designate themselves the "Ashab al-'Adl w'al Tauhid " (The Partizans of Justice and Unity). (3) All knowledge necessary for the salvahis

Rise of First

.

Radical



Abu

al-Hayyaj Jusuf of Fez (ib. p. 213) studied under Maimonides. He lived later on in Aleppo and composed a commentary on Hippocrates, as well as a work on pharmacy. To the twelfth century belongs also Al-Asad al-Mahalli (b. Jacob ben Isaac), who lived in Egypt and afterward In the thirteenth century in Damascus (ib. p. 118). Ibn Abi al- Hasan al-Barkamani wrote on hygiene. A medical encyclopedia was compiled by Abu Mansur al-Haruni (end of the fourteenth century Steinschneider, " Cat. Berlin," ii. 98,102; see"Z. D. M. G." xlvii. 374) under the title " Al-Muntakib." 13. Mathematics The oldest Jewish mathematician was Mashallah (Steinschneider, "Z. D. M. G." (ib.

p. 31).



xlviii. 434-440), who was a prolific writer. An anonymous work on astronomy by a Yemen Jew is described by Steinschneider ("Cat. Berlin," p. 80).

Bibuography: idem. e.

Steinschneider, Hehr. TJebers. Berlin, 1893; Introduction to the Arabic Literature of the Jewish Quarterly Review, ix.-xiii.

An

Jexcn, in

H. Hie.

School.

tion of man emanates from his reason he could acquire knowledge before as well as after Revelation, by the sole light of reason a fact which, there-

—

fore,

upon

makes

knowledge obligatory and in all places. The

men, at all times, compelled to defend their principles against the orthodox religious party, looked for support to the doctrines of philosophy, and thus founded a rational theology, which they designated " Tlm-alall

Motazilites,

Kalam

"

(Science of the

Word) and

those professing

were called

Motekallamin. This appellation, originally designating the Motazilites, soon became the common name for all seeking philosophical demit

onstration in confirmation of religious principles. The first Motekallamin had to combat both the orthodox and the infidel parties, between whom they occupied the middle ground but the efforts of subsequent generations were entirely concentrated against the philosophers. From the ninth century onward, owing to Calif

al-Ma'mun and introduced

his successor,

among

Greek philosophy was

the Arabs, and the Peripatetic school began to find able representatives among them such were Al-Kindi, Al-Farabi, Ibn Sina, and Ibn Roshd, all of whose fundamental principles were considered as heresies by the Motekallamin. Aristotle, the prince of the philosophers, demonstrated the unity of God; but from the view which he maintained, that matter was eternal, it followed that God could not be the Creator of the world. Again, to assert, as the Peripatetics did, that God's knowledge extends only to the general laws of the universe, and not to individual and accidental things, is tantamount to giving denial to prophecy. One other point shocked the faith of the Motekallamin—