Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi
Encyclopedia
Ali ibn Mohammed ibn Abbas, (Arabic أبو حيان التوحيدي) also known as Abū Hayyān al-Tawhīdī (923–1023) was one of the most famous intellectuals and thinkers in the 10th century.
Yaqut Al-Hamawi
(ياقوت الحموي) described him saying: "the philosopher of adibs and the adib of philosophers". However, it was neglected and ignored by the historians of his era. This disregard continued until Yaqut wrote his famous book Mu'jam Al-'Udaba (معجم الأدباء), which consists a biography of at-Tawhidi including expression of surprise and astonishment of ignoring an eminent person such as al-Tawhidi,and was adopted in the biography a lot of what al-Tawhidi wrote on himself in his books.
origin, was born in 923 in Baghdad
, and died in 1023 in Shiraz
. Al-Tawhidi long lived a hard life and tormented. He was born in a poor family that works in the sale a sort of dates
called Tawhid (hence his surname comes), and spent the rest of his childhood as an orphan in bail of his uncle which was always offending him.
No exaggeration in saying that the life of al-Tawhidi is a series of successive failures and frustrations, the most cause is al-Tawhidi himself; he had a melancholic and depressed mood, and he was sad, pessimistic, and had resentment against others, alluring defamatory distinguished from the good people in his time, the envier own them. It was, in addition to all this, the aggressors themselves, the most literary self, somewhat ambitious rashness, so he lived most of his life suffering from violent conflict between over-ambitious and painful reality is full of all the colors of failure and deprivation.
This conflict has forced him eventually to succumb to despair and Thrown resorted to Sufism
to escape the bitter reality. Perhaps the burning of his books by himself which happened later in his life is a good evidence that the despair of himself and people and that he choose to live the life of asceticism in his remaining days.
And also he wrote a series of letters, all are verified and printed.
style; and relies on reasoning, duplication, division, cynicism and redundancy, and in his writings pay a careful attention.
Yaqut Al-Hamawi
Yaqut al-Hamawi
Yāqūt ibn-'Abdullah al-Rūmī al-Hamawī) was an Islamic biographer and geographer renowned for his encyclopedic writings on the Muslim world. "al-Rumi" refers to his Greek descent; "al-Hamawi" means that he is from Hama, Syria, and ibn-Abdullah is a reference to his father's name, Abdullah...
(ياقوت الحموي) described him saying: "the philosopher of adibs and the adib of philosophers". However, it was neglected and ignored by the historians of his era. This disregard continued until Yaqut wrote his famous book Mu'jam Al-'Udaba (معجم الأدباء), which consists a biography of at-Tawhidi including expression of surprise and astonishment of ignoring an eminent person such as al-Tawhidi,and was adopted in the biography a lot of what al-Tawhidi wrote on himself in his books.
Origin
In spite of the turmoil and different views on the at-Tawhidi's dates of birth and death, and his origin, the most correct that he is from an ArabArab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
origin, was born in 923 in Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, and died in 1023 in Shiraz
Shiraz
Shiraz may refer to:* Shiraz, Iran, a city in Iran* Shiraz County, an administrative subdivision of Iran* Vosketap, Armenia, formerly called ShirazPeople:* Hovhannes Shiraz, Armenian poet* Ara Shiraz, Armenian sculptor...
. Al-Tawhidi long lived a hard life and tormented. He was born in a poor family that works in the sale a sort of dates
Date Palm
The date palm is a palm in the genus Phoenix, cultivated for its edible sweet fruit. Although its place of origin is unknown because of long cultivation, it probably originated from lands around the Persian Gulf. It is a medium-sized plant, 15–25 m tall, growing singly or forming a clump with...
called Tawhid (hence his surname comes), and spent the rest of his childhood as an orphan in bail of his uncle which was always offending him.
Education
Al-Tawhidi received learning in Baghdad at the hands of senior scientists and writers of that era, and the culture of his time taking the same encyclopedic which gleaned from the following sources:- 1. Apprenticeship at the hands of senior scientists and writers. The Nahw Arabic grammar and SufismSufismSufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
on Abu Said Al-Sirafi, and studied the Arabic language and KalamKalamʿIlm al-Kalām is the Islamic philosophical discipline of seeking theological principles through dialectic. Kalām in Islamic practice relates to the discipline of seeking theological knowledge through debate and argument. A scholar of kalām is referred to as a mutakallim...
on Ibn Isa Al-Rummani, and studied philosophyPhilosophyPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
on Abu Zakaria ibn Yahia Uday al-Mantiqi.
- 2. His eagerness to attend the councils of literature, science, and philosophy, which was convened a lot in his era.
- 3. Read many books on various subjects of the knowledge of that era, and that because of his long years of work as a handwriter for the manuscripts, a job which often complained about it in his writings.
Contact with statesmen
In spite of that al-Tawhidi tried hard to improve his status when he contacted some of the high-ranking statesmen, such as the viziers: Al-Muhallabi, Ibn al-'Amid, Sahib ibn 'Abbad and others, but it was disappointing every time, probably because of lack of luck.No exaggeration in saying that the life of al-Tawhidi is a series of successive failures and frustrations, the most cause is al-Tawhidi himself; he had a melancholic and depressed mood, and he was sad, pessimistic, and had resentment against others, alluring defamatory distinguished from the good people in his time, the envier own them. It was, in addition to all this, the aggressors themselves, the most literary self, somewhat ambitious rashness, so he lived most of his life suffering from violent conflict between over-ambitious and painful reality is full of all the colors of failure and deprivation.
This conflict has forced him eventually to succumb to despair and Thrown resorted to Sufism
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
to escape the bitter reality. Perhaps the burning of his books by himself which happened later in his life is a good evidence that the despair of himself and people and that he choose to live the life of asceticism in his remaining days.
Works
In spite of the incident of burning his books collectively (which was symbolic of course) by himself, he have left to us a set of literary, philosophical, and Sufi works, which were distinctive in the history of the Arabic literature. Perhaps the most important works are: ِ- Al-'Imta' wa al-Mu'anasa
- Al-Sadaqa wa al-Sadiq
- Mathalib al-Wazirain
- Al-Hawamil wa al-Shawamil
- Al-Basaer wa al-Dhakha'ir
- Al-Muqabasat
- Al-Isharat al-Ilahiyya
And also he wrote a series of letters, all are verified and printed.
Literary Style
In terms of writing style, al-Tawhidi has never yield to the technique of Saj' and Badi' (Arabic Eloquence) which was prevailed in his era, but his style was mostly JahizianAl-Jahiz
Al-Jāḥiẓ was an Arabic prose writer and author of works of literature, Mu'tazili theology, and politico-religious polemics.In biology, Al-Jahiz introduced the concept of food chains and also proposed a scheme of animal evolution that entailed...
style; and relies on reasoning, duplication, division, cynicism and redundancy, and in his writings pay a careful attention.