A Muslim Quotation in Baḥya's Duties of the Heart

Baḥya b. Joseph Ibn Paqūda (fl. late 11th century) was a Jewish thinker who lived in Zaragoza in al-Andalus. He is best known for his ethical-theological work entitled al-Hidāya ilā farāʾiḍ al-qulūb (Guide to the Duties of the Heart). It has long been recognized that Baḥya often cites Muslim sources in his work without naming them. In his day, there was no requirement for proper citation and he may have also wanted to avoid accusations that his work was influenced by other religions. Baḥya's borrowings from the Muslim sources can often be easily identified since he commonly presents them as the words of a "saint" or "sage."

In what follows, I will discuss one such instance of a Muslim saying borrowed by Baḥya in the Duties of the Heart. This saying is in the First Treatise (on Unity), Chapter 10, and is presented here in the Arabic version of A.S. Yahuda in Arabic letters (Hebrew and English translation at Sefaria):

I have been unable to find the exact saying (yā rabbi ayna ajidu-ka bal ayna lā ajidu-ka iḥtajabta fa-lā turā wa-l-kull min-ka maliʾ) in Muslim works. However, this saying, which is addressed to God, may be divided into three components, some of which have clear Muslim parallels. I will now discuss these three components.

The First Component (ya rabbi ayna ajidu-ka...)

The first component is yā rabbi ayna ajidu-ka bal ayna lā ajidu-ka (Lord, where may I find you? Moreover, where may I not find you?). This component is part of a long tradition in the Kitāb al-mustaghīthīn bi-Llāh taʿālā ʿinda l-muhimmāt wa-l-ḥājāt (Those Who Seek God's Help during Times of Crisis and Need) authored by Ibn Bashkuwāl (d. 1183) of Cordoba (the tradition is cited here at length though only the part highlighted in yellow primarily concerns us):

According to Ibn Bashkuwāl, he found this tradition in an autograph written by al-Qāḍī [Abū l-Walīd] Yūnus b. ʿAbdallāh [Ibn Mughīth] (d. 1038) of Cordoba (not to be confused with his descendant Yūnus b. Muḥammad b. Mughīth, who was Ibn Bashkuwāl's teacher). Ibn Mughīth (the elder) cites the tradition with a chain of transmission that begins with an unnamed shaykh of his:

Ibn Mughīth is thus likely responsible for the wording of this tradition. He composed various works about religious devotion, including Kitāb al-ibtihāj bi-maḥabbat Allāh (Rejoicing in the Love of God). As far as I have been able to ascertain, none of his works are extant. In any case, Ibn Mughīth's fellow countryman, Baḥya, likely consulted his works, since they appear to have shared similar interests.

Ibn Bashkuwāl's text differs slightly from Baḥya's text in that it uses the particle am ("or") instead of bal ("moreover"). However, Ibn Bashkuwāl's original text likely had bal. This is evident from the work of a later Shīʿī author, Ibn Ṭāwūs (d. 1266) of Baghdad. In his al-Mujtanā mina l-duʿāʾ al-mujtabā (A Selection of the Best Prayers), Ibn Ṭāwūs reproduced an abridged version of Ibn Mughīth's tradition, which he found in Ibn Bashkuwāl's al-Musataghīthīn. Ibn Ṭāwūs's abridged version is as follows (some similarities between his version and Ibn Bashkuwāl's original are highlighted in different colors):

Where Ibn Bashkuwāl had am, Ibn Ṭāwūs has bal, likely preserving the original reading. Therefore, Baḥya's text, which has bal, probably resembled Ibn Bashkuwāl's original text.

I will not go into detail about other similarities and differences between the texts of Ibn Ṭāwūs and Ibn Bashkuwāl. It will suffice to say that Ibn Ṭāwūs misrepresents Ibn Bashkuwāl's text by claiming that the saying ayna ajidu-ka etc. is found in "one of the revealed books." However, if one looks at Ibn Mughīth's tradition, it is clear that the saying is attributed to a pious student of Hadith, who utters it in response to words reportedly found in "one of the revealed books."

It should also be noted that the beginning of the first component yā rabbi ayna ajidu-ka (Lord, where may I find you?) is found in earlier collections of ascetic Hadith. For example, the famous traditionist Abū Nuʿaym al-Iṣfahānī (d. 1038) records the following traditions in his Ḥilyat al-awliyāʾ (The Adornment of the Righteous):

or in this one:

Ibn Mughīth's tradition seems to draw inspiration from traditions of this sort.

The Second Component (iḥtajabta fa-lā turā)

The second component of Baḥya's saying is iḥtajabta fa-lā turā (you veiled yourself and so you may not be seen). This component resembles the words found in a tradition also recorded in Ḥilyat al-awliyāʾ (again only the part highlighted in yellow primarily concerns us):

Baḥya uses a perfect form iḥtajabta instead of the participle muḥtajib that appears in this tradition. He is not the only one to do so. The Egyptian expert on magic Muḥyī al-Dīn al-Būnī (d. 1225) writes in his Shams al-maʿārif (The Sun of Knowledge):

Al-Būnī and Baḥya may share a common source.

The Third Component (wa-l-kull min-ka maliʾ)

The third component al-kull min-ka maliʾ ("the universe is completely filled up by You") is perhaps the primary reason Baḥya cites the Muslim saying, which he thinks resembles in meaning Jeremiah 23:24 ("The earth and the heavens are filled up by Me, thus said YHWH"). So far, I have been unable to find a parallel for this saying in the Muslim sources. Nevertheless, I will not be surprised if such a parallel exists.

Conclusion

Baḥya borrowed the the saying yā rabbi ayna ajidu-ka bal ayna lā ajidu-ka iḥtajabta fa-lā turā wa-l-kull min-ka maliʾ from a Muslim source. The rudimentary components of this saying are found in collections of ascetic traditions, like Ḥilyat al-awliyāʾ. Baḥya's saying shares a close affinity to a tradition that appeared in a now-lost work of Ibn Mughīth. Baḥya may have consulted this work or one closely related to it, where he found the saying.

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NB I thank Ehud Krinis for making some important corrections on this posting. Any remaining errors are my own.

Update (August 2022): Yoav Philips has recently uploaded his unpublished thesis titled "Identifying the Islamic Sources of baḥya ibn paqūda’s: “kitāb al-hidāya ʾilā farāʾiḍ al-qulūb” Using Automatic Transliteration and Text Reuse Processes." This thesis is a promising first step in digitally uncovering the sources of Baḥya's famous work and potentially the sources of other Judeo-Arabic works.