Despite the wide-ranging nature of his scholarly pursuits, Maimonides used a consistent approach to all subjects: first he would study an array of concepts and information, then he would work to bring together all this knowledge and spell it out in a clear, easily understandable form. Thus his work has continued to remain fresh to readers over the centuries.
His principal writings on religious thought were The Illumination (1168) and the Mishneh Torah, later translated into English as The Code of Maimonides. The first of these books was an attempt to render the complex legal writings of
Avicenna
As Moses ben Maimon became more well known in Europe by the westernized name Maimonides, so the Islamic philosopher and scientist ibn Sina is better known in the West as Avicenna (av-i-SEN-uh; 980-1037). More than 150 years before Maimonides, Avicenna was the first to attempt a synthesis, or joining, of ancient Greek philosophy with the principles of religious faith—in this case, Islam.
Born in what is now Afghanistan, Avicenna displayed an early talent as a student, and at the age of ten had already read the entire Koran (ku-RAHN), the Muslim holy book. His family valued study as well, and engaged in lively discussions regarding a number of subjects. Avicenna gained other useful knowledge from an Indian teacher who exposed him to Indian principles of mathematics, including the numeral zero, first used by Hindu mathematicians.
Still more exposure to learning came from a well-known philosopher who stayed with the family for several years and convinced Avicenna's father to allow the boy to pursue a full-time education. The teenaged Avicenna rapidly mastered difficult texts in the sciences and religious scholarship, and was soon teaching physicians and engaging in discussions of Islamic law with highly trained scholars.
His study of logic, or the system of reasoning and testing conclusions, led him to read Aristotle. This reading initially upset him, because he did not know how to square the teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher with those of the Koran. One day, however, his reading of another Islamic scholar helped him unlock the seeming contradiction, and Avicenna was so overjoyed that he gave alms, or money, to the poor in gratitude.
The Mishnah into a form that average readers could understand, and the Mishneh Torah classified the vast knowledge contained in the Talmud.
Maimonides's most important philosophical work was the Guide of the Perplexed, in which he analyzed the ideas of the Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 b. c.), and reconciled these with Jewish beliefs. Although many Jewish scholars had recognized Aristotle's contributions to knowledge, many had found it hard to accept his ideas because he did not worship the God of the Israelites. Maimonides, however, was able to find much in Aristotle that was relevant to Jews' beliefs about morality and other questions.
Avicenna. Reproduced by permission of the New York Public Library Picture Collection.
Over the years that followed, Avicenna held a number of positions, primarily in the courts of various sultans and emirs, the equivalent of kings and dukes in
The Muslim world. He wrote more than a hundred books on a variety of subjects, and had a number of adventures as he went from place to place. Among his writings, the Canon of Medicine was particularly important, and became a principal source of medical knowledge both in the Middle East and in Europe for centuries. He also wrote poetry, inventing the rubaiyat form later used by Omar Khayyam (see box in Dante Alighieri entry).
Like many Muslims of his time, Avicenna owned slaves, and one of these turned against him when he was in his fifties. Hoping to steal his money, the slave put opium, a dangerous drug, into Avicenna's food; but with his knowledge of medicine, Avicenna was able to treat himself and recover. The drug overdose weakened him, however, and in 1037 he had a relapse and died.
World History
