28. Ibn Tufayl
(Died in 581H/1185AD)

His full name was Abu Baker Muhammad Ibn Abdulmalik Ibn Muhammad Ibn Tufayl, al-Qaysi al-Andalusi. He hailed from the Arab tribe of beni Qays. He was born near Cordoba in Andalusia. The exact date of his birth is unknown, but it’s likely that he was born at the beginning of the 12th century. Nothing also is known of his family and education(170). What is known of him is that he was educated under the scientists and scholars of his time. He had a deep and comprehensive knowledge of various sciences, especially medicine, philosophy and astronomy.

He held numerous positions. He first worked as a scribe in the Diwan of the Governor of Cordoba, then in the Diwan of the Emir Abu Said Ibn Abdulmoumen, the Governor of Tangier. He later became a vizier and doctor of the Almohad Sultan Abu Yakub Yussef. Ibn Tufayl is said to have had a great influence on the Sultan, which he invested to bring scientists to the Sultan’s palace. Among these scientists there was particularly the philosopher and doctor Ibn Roshd(171), who was introduced to the Sultan by Ibn Tufayl, at his late age, to comment on Aristotle‘s books and to replace him as a doctor. Ibn Tufayl served in the Sultan’s Palace until his death in Marrakech in 1185 AD / 501 H.

Scientific Contributions

In medicine : Lissan Uddin Ibn al-Khatib stated that Ibn Tufayl compiled a book of two volumes in medicine. Ibn abi-Usaibi'a for his part stated that Ibn Tufayl and Ibn Roshd had consultations and in discussions concerning the "prescription of medicines" which were included in Ibn Roshd's “Generalities”. Ibn Tufayl also composed a poem on medicine, made up of 7700 verse.

In Astronomy: Ibn Tufayl had reportedly innovative ideas in astronomy, and theories in the composition and movements of the celestial bodies.

The researcher Lyon Gauthier says in his book on Ibn Tufayl: "Though there is no writings on astronomy were left by Ibn Tufayl, except for the few short paragraphs he included in his “Hayy Ibn Yaqdhan”, we know that he did not agree with Ptolemy's astronomical system and thought of another one. To substantiate his statement, the author quoted Ibn Roshd and al-Batruji. In his mid-explanation on “al-Athar al-Ulwya” (the Supreme Deeds) of Aristotle, Ibn Roshd criticized the Ptolemaic theories on the composition and motion of celestial bodies, saying that Ibn Tufayl came up in this domain with excellent theories which could be very useful. Al–Batruji for his part stated in the introduction of his famous book on astronomy that Ibn Tufayl devised a new astronomical system along with principles for its motion different from Ptolemy's. The French researcher wonders if Ibn Tufayl's hypotheses did not contain the basic elements for the great astronomical reform, brought about by Copernicus and Galileo four centuries later(172).

Major Works

- “Muraja'at wa Mabahith”: (Consultations and Discussions) which took place between him and Ibn Roshd on the prescription of medicines, compiled by Ibn Roshd in his book “Generalities”;

-“Urjuza fi Tib” (A Poem on Medicine). It is conserved in the library of al-Qaraween in Fes, Morocco;

- The philosophical “Rissala fi Nafs”  (A treatise of the Psyche);

- “Haiy Ibn Yaqdhan”. This is the most famous of his works. It is a philosophical story in which Ibn Tufayl enshrined his philosophical views, arranged in the form of a narrative story, where he tried to conciliate between religion and philosophy. This story has been known in the West since the 17th century, and was translated into many different languages, such as Latin, Hebrew, English, French, German and Dutch(173).

ries of Paris, Oxford in England and Florence in Italy(167). In 1991, the Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco edited it after its annotation and preparation for printing by the researcher Mohammed Ibn Abdellah Rudani.

-“Kitab al-Iktisad fi Islah an-Nufus wa al-Ajsad” (Curing souls and bodies). It’s a sort of summary of diseases, cures, health prevention science and psychotherapy. Many copies of this book are conserved in libraries, including in the Royal Library in Rabat(168).

- “Kitab al-Aghdia wa al-adwya” (Nutrition and medication). Ibn Zuhr describes in this book various kinds of nutriments and drugs and their effects on Health. It was translated in Latin. It is still in the manuscript form. Two copies are preserved in the Royal Library in Rabat(169).

Along with these three books, abu Marwan has written other books and treatises in medicine.