Ibn Hazm

When Abenhazan (26) explains that human activity is carried out in order to “distract oneself,” he shows that “placing oneself before” is at the root of doing. If a historiology “seen from outside” were constructed on the basis of that thought, surely it would try to explain historical facts through distinct modes of doing with reference to this type of distraction. If, on the other hand, an attempt were made to organize that historiology “seen from within,” it would try to find a reason for the historical human fact, starting from the “placing oneself before.” This would result, then, in two very different types of exposition, search, and verification.

The second approach would bring us closer to an explication of the essential characteristics of historical facts, insofar as they are produced by the human being, whereas the former would leave us with a mechanistic and psychologistic explanation of history, without an understanding of how that simple “distraction” can engender processes and be itself a process. This is the form of understanding things that, in diverse philosophies of history, has held sway until today. But this approach has not taken those philosophies much beyond what Hegel conveyed to us in his study of mechanical and chemical processes.

It is clear that up until the time of Hegel such positions were acceptable. However, to continue with them after his explanations denotes, at the very least, a kind of intellectual shortsightedness for which it would be difficult to compensate simply through historical erudition.

Abenhazan points to doing as a distancing of oneself from what we could call “placing oneself before,” or the Heideggerian “being-already-in (the world) as being-together-with.” Insofar as its existence, all human structure is projection, and in this projection the existent play with their destiny.

(26) Abu Muhammed Ali bin Ahmad bin Said Ibn Hazm, 994–1063. From “Cuidado,” Diccionario de Filosofía, José Ferrater Mora (Madrid: Alianza, 1984).

In: Historiological Discussions, Silo,

Chapter 3: History and Temporality, 3.1 Temporality and Process

Ibn Hazm (994 - 1064)

"Aben Hazam - Ibn Hazm - Cordoba - 01.jpg" von Xosema ist lizenziert unter CC BY-SA 4.0. Link zur Bildquelle

Theologian, teacher, storyteller, philosopher

Biographical information

994 AD Birth in Córdoba, Al-Andalus (present-day Spain) Ibn Hazm was born into an influential and wealthy family professing Islam. Córdoba was then a major centre of Islamic culture and learning, which fostered Ibn Hazm's intellectual growth.
1013 During the political unrest and civil war that rocked the Cordoban Caliphate, Ibn Hazm's family lost its prosperity and political influence. These events shaped his thinking and increased his interest in politics and society.
1016, Ibn Hazm tried to restore his family's political power and served in the Umayyad government for a time. However, his political activity repeatedly led to conflicts and several banishments.
1027 After his final political defeat Ibn Hazm devoted himself more to studying and writing. He wrote numerous works on theology, law (fiqh), ethics and philosophy, including the famous book ‘The Ring of the Dove’ about love and ethics. Ibn Hazm became a prominent representative of the Zahirite school, which advocated a literal interpretation of the Qur'an and the Sunnah. His unconventional views earned him many opponents, but also great prestige in religious and intellectual circles.

1040 Ibn Hazm's opponents arranged for many of his writings to be publicly burned. However, these measures could not prevent him from continuing to write and spread his ideas, especially through students and followers.

1064 Ibn Hazm died in Huelva in exile.

Topics

philosophy and theology: Ibn Hazm was an encyclopedic thinker who relied on Neoplatonism and Aristotelian logic. He defended the value of science and reason as a preparation for faith and argued that it is possible through philosophy to prove the existence of a single perfect creator God.

Islamic jurisprudence: He was an advocate of Zahirism, one of the schools of Islamic law. His focus on the literal interpretation of the sacred texts influenced his legal and theological thinking.

Literature and love theory: His work ‘The Dove's Necklace’ is considered a masterpiece about love and aesthetics. In it, Ibn Hazm develops a theory of love based on Platonic and Neoplatonic ideas that influenced later literature.

Comparative studies of religions: Ibn Hazm is considered the ‘founding father of comparative religious studies’. He undertook critical analyses of other religions, particularly Judaism and Christianity.

Philosophical criticism: He questioned the ideas of other philosophers, such as his criticism of the metaphysics of al-Kindī, particularly with regard to the idea of God as a cause.

Theory of female prophethood: Ibn Hazm was one of the main proponents of the possibility of female prophethood in Islam, although this theory was controversial and widely discussed.

Major works

1. The Dove's Necklace (Ṭawq al-ḥamāma)

2. Works on Islamic jurisprudence: Although no specific title is mentioned, his writings on jurisprudence and his advocacy of Zahirism were important.

3. Works on comparative religious studies

4. Works on philosophy and theology: Although no specific titles are mentioned, it is known that Ibn Hazm wrote extensively on these topics, drawing on Neoplatonism and Aristotelian logic.

Ibn Hazm wrote about 400 works, of which only about 40 have survived.

Influence

Ibn Hazm's critical analyses of other religions, especially Judaism and Christianity, laid the foundation for future studies in this field.

His work ‘The Dove's Necklace’ had a significant influence on later literature. It can be compared to the Italian ‘dolce stil nuovo’ and had an impact on authors such as the Archpriest of Hita and his ‘Book of Good Love’ as well as on William IX (Aquitaine) ‘Gaya Ciencia’ and the world of the troubadours.

As an advocate of Zahirism, one of the schools of Islamic law, his ideas on the literal interpretation of sacred texts influenced Islamic legal thought.

Although his approach was controversial, his advocacy of the value of science and reason as a preparation for faith contributed to the debate on the relationship between philosophy and religion in Islam.

His defence of the possibility of female prophethood in Islam, while controversial and widely debated, has led to discussions in Islamic theology to this day.

His critical and analytical approach to various fields of knowledge influenced the methodology of later studies in the Islamic world.

Why is he mentioned by Silo in ‘Historiological Discussions’?

Silo made comments on this in various conversations. Here are comments from 02.04.1990 at a meeting in Farellones/Chile:

Silo's comment: Abenhazan is an Arab thinker with a lot of brains. People do things to be carefree (to free themselves from worries/despreocuparse), says Abenhazan. Everything they do is to be carefree. They are dealing with themselves to get rid of worry. He says you should get rid of worrying about death. A 15th-century thinker thinking like an existentialist. Getting rid of worry. What that means is there is an initial concern, a worry. And that worry leads to doing. Because in the intimate nature of man is the concern about his finitude. So, let's do things, let's do things... - ...

Question: Is this ‘freeing oneself from worries’ like putting death in parentheses? -

Silo: A bit, but he doesn't say that. So we infer more than what he says. He notes that, nothing more. But it is an interesting observation. It is a characteristic of the human being to be carefree because he has the certainty, the evidence of his finitude. The certainty of his finitude. We would say, the evidence, certainty of his physical, temporal and spatial finiteness, that he cannot reach objects, that he cannot control things, that he sees little..., so clearly: telescopes, microscopes..., what man adds to compensate for this ‘non-achievement’. Prostheses that he adds; he transforms everything into his own prosthesis. These inadequacies mobilise him. What Abenhazan says is very strange. It is strange... as a sentence, it is strange. An intelligent guy, isn't he?

From the book Abenhazan's ‘The Characters and Behaviour’

4. When you examine all things, you see that they all elude you, and you come to the conclusion, in this examination of the decay of things in this world, that the only reality consists in works that are useful for the next life , and in nothing else, for every hope you see realised here is followed by sadness, either because what you long for flees from you or because you have to give it up. Only a good work done out of love for God escapes both these dangers; and it alone is always followed by joy in the present and in the future: in the present, because you are freed from the countless worries that disturb the peace of the world, and because, moreover, friends and enemies will praise you together; and in the future, because you will gain heaven.

5. I have earnestly sought for an end of human action which all men would unanimously find good and desire, and I have found only one: the end of avoiding sorrows. And when I reflected on the full significance of this end, I found not only that all men consider it good and desire it, but also that despite the contradictory diversity of men's opinions, intentions, desires, and ends, no one is moved to action or decides to say a word unless he hopes by his actions or words to dispel worry and banish it from his mind. It is clear that some go astray on the straight path leading to this goal, others almost go astray, and still others, the fewest and in the fewest cases, succeed; but avoiding worry has always been the common goal of people of all ethnicities and nations since God created the world and will be until its end.... All their efforts have their only basis in this goal.

7. Wealth is sought by those who seek it only to get rid of the worry of poverty; fame is sought by others to get rid of the worry of being despised; sensual pleasures are sought to avoid the pain of their deprivation; knowledge is sought to dispel the worry of ignorance; some take pleasure in hearing news and chatting with others because they want to banish the sadness of loneliness and isolation. In a word, man eats, drinks, marries, dresses, plays, lives under the same roof, rides, walks or rests just to dispel the opposite of all these actions and all other concerns. But each of these actions is in turn a breeding ground for new worries that cannot be avoided: unforeseen disruptions in their execution, difficulties that arise suddenly, loss of what has already been achieved, inability to bring it to a successful conclusion because of misfortunes; and then the unpleasant consequences that satisfaction itself brings: fear of the rival's competition, the hostility of the envious, and the fear that one's own satisfaction might lead to the loss of one's life. Rivals, the hostility of the envious, the theft of the stingy, the displeasure when we see in the hands of the enemy what we desire, the criticism, the slander, etc.

8. On the other hand, I find that a good job, one that is useful for the life to come, is free of any error, free of any blemish, and is also a sure way to truly get rid of all worries. I have observed that anyone who works for the goal of the future life not only does not worry, but rejoices even when facing unpleasant trials in the journey of life, because the hope he has for the end of his present life helps him to seek what he desires and encourages him to continue in the direction of the goal he is striving for. And when an obstacle presents itself in his path, I have also observed that he is not worried about it, because since he did not seek it out himself, he does not consider it a punishment imposed on him. I have also seen that he is happy when something happens to him, and that he is also happy when misfortune befalls him, and that he is also happy when he experiences pain or tiredness in what he does. He lives constantly in constant joy, while the opposite is the case with other people. So do not forget that there is only one thing worth seeking: the absence of all worries; and that there is only one way that leads to it: the good work of God. Anything that is not this is deception and folly.

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