The Physics deeply influenced Arabic philosophy and science. It was translated into Arabic several times in the ninth and tenth centuries, but only the version by Ishaq ibn Hunayn (d. 910) survived. It is transmitted in the Leiden MS (Bibliotheek der Rijksuniversiteit, or. 583), which contains the transcription of lectures given in 1005, and is a witness of the continuity of the tradition of this work during the centuries. Ishaq quotes passages from the translations by Qusta ibn Luqa (d. 912) and by al-Dimashql (d. 900).
The Greek commentaries on the Physics by Alexander of Aphrodisias (c. 200), Themistius (c. 320-390) and Philoponus (sixth century; called Yahya al-NahwI, ‘‘the Grammarian”) were also known; those by Eudemus (fl. c. 320 BCE), Theophrastus (372-288 BCE), and Galen (131-201) are occasionally mentioned.
While a treatise by Alexander exists in Arabic, refuting Galen’s position about a passage of the Physics stating that every moving object which is not moved by an external mover must have an internal mover (because when a part of it stops moving the whole stops moving), neither the Arabic paraphrase of Themistius nor the commentary by Philoponus survived (however, Books III-VII of this commentary are reported by Ishaq). A complete survey of the preserved Arabic commentaries, compared with each other and with the Greek commentaries, is given by Lettinck (1994).
The most important center for the study of the Physics was the Baghdad school of Yahya ibn ‘Adl (d. 973) and his pupil Ibn al-Samh (d. 1027). Besides the commentaries by Abu Bishr Matta ibn YUnus (d. 940), Yahya’s teacher, and Abu l-Faraj ibn al-Tayyib (d. 1044), the Physics was studied and commented by philosophers such as al-FarabI (d. 950), Ibn Sina (Avicenna, d. 1057), Ibn Bajja (d. 1138), and Ibn Rushd (Averroes, d. 1198).
Al-FaaraabaI wrote a commentary on the Physics under the title On Changeable Things, which is not preserved but was known to Ibn Baajja and Averroes. Avicenna dealt with the Physics extensively in his al-Shifa’ and al-Najat; he knew Philoponus’ commentary but was independent from it.
Ibn Bajja was the first commentator on Aristotle in the Muslim West, and the precursor of Averroes in this field. He often quotes Aristotle, sometimes deviating from Ishaaq’s version. As he seems familiar with Philoponus’ ideas, he might have used Qustaa’s translation, which was accompanied with Philoponus’ commentary. He was influenced by al-FarabI and influenced Averroes.
Averroes wrote three commentaries on the Physics: the Short (1159), the Middle (1170), and the Long Commentary (1186). Only the first exists in Arabic, the Middle and the Long are extant in Latin and Hebrew translations. He relied on Ishaaq’s translation; he too was influenced by Philoponus, and knew Avicenna’s ideas well.
Philoponus’ ideas on place, the motion of physical bodies, and the eternity of the world differed from Aristotle’s ones; they influenced the Arab thinkers and scientists. Ibn Baajja, too, differs from Aristotle in his commentary, for example, about the place of the celestial spheres and the universe as a whole. Sometimes his ideas were shared by Averroes, at other times he criticized them.
Ibn Baajja’s commentary was not translated into Latin, but some of his theories were transmitted, thanks to some quotations of Averroes regarding the motion of a body in air or water, and the influence of the resistance of the medium on velocity; through the Hebrew translations of Averroes, Ibn Baajja’s ideas were known to the medieval Jewish philosophers in Spain.
Ibn Baajja contributed to the discussion of three other subjects: (1) the divisibility of a body in motion or changing, (2) the idea that a motion does not have a beginning but does have an end, and (3) the question whether any motion or actuality must be preceded by a potentiality. He represents an important stage in the development of ideas about motion from Aristotle to Galilei. Also Avicenna’s concept of mayl (inclination) influenced the Latin West.
See also: > Abu Bishr Matta ibn YUnus > Alexander of Aphrodisias and Arabic Aristotelianism > Alexandrian Tradition into Arabic: Philosophy > Aristotle, Arabic
> al-FarabI, AbU Nasr > Ibn Rushd, Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-HafId (Averroes) > Ibn SIna, AbU ‘AlI (Avicenna) > Impetus > Natural Philosophy, Arabic
> Themistius, Arabic > Theophrastus, Arabic > Translations from Greek into Arabic > Yaltya ibn ‘Adi
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