Averroes

Lore & Background

Averroes was a strong proponent of Aristotelianism; he attempted to restore what he considered the original teachings of Aristotle and opposed the Neoplatonist tendencies of earlier Muslim thinkers such as al-Farabi and Avicenna. He defended the pursuit of philosophy against criticism by Ash'ari theologians like Al-Ghazali, arguing that philosophy was permissible in Islam and even compulsory among certain elites. He also argued that scriptural text should be interpreted allegorically if it appeared to contradict conclusions reached by reason and philosophy.

In Islamic jurisprudence, he wrote the Bidāyat al-Mujtahid on the differences between Islamic schools of law. In medicine, he described the signs and symptoms of Parkinson's disease for the first time, and might have been the first to identify the retina as the part of the eye responsible for sensing light. His medical book Al-Kulliyat fi al-Tibb, translated into Latin as the Colliget, became a textbook in Europe for centuries.

His legacy in the Islamic world was modest; in the West, his commentaries on Aristotle reignited interest in Greek thought and triggered the philosophical movement called Averroism. His unity of the intellect thesis became one of the best-known and most controversial Averroist doctrines. His works were condemned by the Catholic Church in 1270 and 1277.

Reader's Guide

Averroes was born on 14 April 1126 in Córdoba. His family was well known for public service in legal and religious fields. His grandfather was chief judge of Córdoba and imam of the Great Mosque under the Almoravids; his father was also chief judge until the Almoravids were replaced by the Almohads in 1146. Averroes's education included hadith, fiqh, medicine, and theology.

He learned Maliki jurisprudence under al-Hafiz Abu Muhammad ibn Rizq and hadith with Ibn Bashkuwal. He studied medicine under Abu Jafar Jarim al-Tajail, who probably also taught him philosophy. He knew the works of Ibn Bajjah and might have known him personally.

He joined a regular meeting of philosophers, physicians, and poets in Seville attended by Ibn Tufayl, Ibn Zuhr, and the future caliph Abu Yusuf Yaqub. By 1153 he was in Marrakesh to perform astronomical observations. In 1169, Ibn Tufayl introduced him to the Almohad caliph Abu Yaqub Yusuf.

That same year, Averroes was appointed qadi in Seville, and in 1171 qadi in Córdoba. In 1182 he succeeded Ibn Tufayl as court physician and was appointed chief qadi of Córdoba. In 1195 his fortune reversed; a tribunal condemned his teachings, ordered the burning of his works, and banished him to nearby Lucena. Reasons for this fall include possible insult to the caliph or political factors.