Ibn Miskawayh ( fa, مُسْکُـوْيَه Muskūyah, 932–1030), full name Abū ʿAlī Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb ibn Miskawayh was a
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
chancery official of the
Buyid era, and
philosopher
A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
and
historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...
from
Parandak, Iran. As a
Neoplatonist
Neoplatonism is a strand of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a chain of thinkers. But there are some ide ...
, his influence on
Islamic philosophy
Islamic philosophy is philosophy that emerges from the Islamic tradition. Two terms traditionally used in the Islamic world are sometimes translated as philosophy—falsafa (literally: "philosophy"), which refers to philosophy as well as logic, ...
is primarily in the area of
ethics
Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns m ...
. He was the author of the first major Islamic work on philosophical ethics entitled the ''Refinement of Character'' ( ''Tah
dhīb'' ''al''-''A
khlāq''), focusing on practical ethics, conduct, and refinement of character. He separated personal ethics from the public realm, and contrasted the liberating nature of reason with the deception and temptation of nature. Miskawayh was a prominent figure in the intellectual and cultural life of his time.
Life
Miskawayh was born in
Rey, then under
Ziyarid
The Ziyarid dynasty ( fa, زیاریان) was an Iranian dynasty of Gilaki origin that ruled Tabaristan from 931 to 1090 during the Iranian Intermezzo period. The empire rose to prominence during the leadership of Mardavij. After his death, his ...
control. Miskawayh may have been a
Zoroastrian
Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic on ...
convert to
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
, but it seems more likely that it was one of his ancestors who converted.
During his early career, he spent his life in
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
, where he served as the secretary of Muhallabi, the vizier of the Buyid
emir
Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cerem ...
Mu'izz al-Dawla
Ahmad ibn Buya (Persian: احمد بن بویه, died April 8, 967), after 945 better known by his ''laqab'' of Mu'izz al-Dawla ( ar, المعز الدولة البويهي, "Fortifier of the Dynasty"), was the first of the Buyid emirs of Iraq, ...
. He was fluent enough in
Middle Persian
Middle Persian or Pahlavi, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg () in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasanian Empire. For some time after the Sasanian collapse, Middle Per ...
to have translated some pre-Islamic texts in that language into Arabic. After a long service to the Buyids of Iraq, Miskawayh moved to the court of
Rukn al-Dawla
Hasan (died September 976), better known by his ''laqab'' as Rukn al-Dawla (Persian: رکنالدوله دیلمی), was the first Buyid amir of northern and central Iran (c. 935-976). He was the son of Buya.
Struggle for power
Hasan was the ...
, where he spent seven years working there with the Buyid vizier
Abu 'l-Fadl ibn al-'Amid
Abu 'l-Fadl Muhammad ibn Abi Abdallah al-Husayn ibn Muhammad al-Katib, commonly known after his father as Ibn al-'Amid (died 970) was a Persian people, Persian statesman who served as the ''vizier'' of the Buyid ruler Rukn al-Dawla for thirty years ...
. In 966, a group of ''
ghazi'' marched towards the Library of Rey but Miskawayh managed to save it.
After the death of Abu'l-Fadl ibn al-'Amid in 970, Miskawayh continued to serve the latter's son, Abu'l-Fath, and in 975 along with him left for
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
.
He later worked as a secretary and librarian for a sequence of viziers, including
'Adud al-Dawla
Fannā (Panāh) Khusraw ( fa, پناه خسرو), better known by his laqab of ʿAḍud al-Dawla ( ar, عضد الدولة, "Pillar of the bbasidDynasty") (September 24, 936 – March 26, 983) was an emir of the Buyid dynasty, ruling from 9 ...
. Some contemporary sources associated him with the
Brethren of Purity
The Brethren of Purity ( ar, إخوان الصفا, Ikhwān Al-Ṣafā; also The Brethren of Sincerity) were a secret society of Muslim philosophers in Basra, Iraq, in the 9th or 10th century CE.
The structure of the organization and the ide ...
, claiming that some of his writings were used in the compilation of the ''
Encyclopedia of the Brethren of Purity
The ''Encyclopedia of the Brethren of Purity'' ( ar, رسائل إخوان الصفا) also variously known as the ''Epistles of the Brethren of Sincerity'', ''Epistles of the Brethren of Purity'' and ''Epistles of the Brethren of Purity and Loyal ...
''.
[, page = 26]
Miskawayh died in 1030 at
Isfahan
Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...
, then under
Kakuyid
The Kakuyids (also called Kakwayhids, Kakuwayhids or Kakuyah) ( fa, آل کاکویه) were a Shia Muslim dynasty of Daylamite origin that held power in western Persia, Jibal and Kurdistan (c. 1008–c. 1051). They later became ''atabegs'' (g ...
control.
Works
*''Al-Fawz al-Kabir'' () - 'The Greatest Victory' contains a
Neoplatonic
Neoplatonism is a strand of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a chain of thinkers. But there are some ide ...
description of the
evolution
Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
of the soul. The work states that creation begins with God, with the
intellect
In the study of the human mind, intellect refers to, describes, and identifies the ability of the human mind to reach correct conclusions about what is true and what is false in reality; and how to solve problems. Derived from the Ancient Gree ...
being the first existence to emanate from him. A series of emanations from the intellect results in a
chain of being
The great chain of being is a hierarchical structure of all matter and life, thought by medieval Christianity to have been decreed by God. The chain begins with God and descends through angels, humans, animals and plants to minerals.
The great c ...
, starting with minerals and proceeding through vegetables, animals, and humans, which results in a cyclic spiritual evolution back to the source of man's creation: God. The Indian Islamic scholar Muhammad Hamidullah compared Miskawayh's views to Darwinian evolutionary thought.
*''Tajārib al-Umam'' () - 'Experiences of Nations' is one of the first eyewitness chronicles of contemporary events by a
Muslim historian
:''This is a subarticle of Islamic scholars, List of Muslim scholars and List of historians.''
The following is a list of Muslim historians writing in the Tarikh, Islamic historiographical tradition, which developed from hadith literature in the ...
. Miskawayh, as an official under the Buyid vizier al-Muhallabi, had access to the internal happenings of the court. The chronicle is a universal history from the beginning of Islam, but it cuts off near the end of the reign of 'Adud al-Dawla.
*''Tahdhib al'Akhlaq wa Tathir al'Araq'' () - 'Refinement of Morals and Cleansing of Ethics' his major work in the field of
philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
treats principally the philosophy of ethics and was written for students.
*''Kitab al-Hukama al-Khalida'' () - 'Book of Eternal Wisdom' is an
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
translation from the Persian work ''Eternal Wisdom'' ( fa, جاویدان خرد).
One manuscript is titled ''Book of Literatures of the Arabs and Persians'' ().
See also
*
List of Muslim historians
:''This is a subarticle of Islamic scholars, List of Muslim scholars and List of historians.''
The following is a list of Muslim historians writing in the Islamic historiographical tradition, which developed from hadith literature in the time of ...
*
List of Shia Muslims
The following is a list of notable Shia Muslims.
Scientists, mathematicians and academics
*Ibn Sina or Avicenna- was a Persian polymathwho is regarded as one of the most significant physicians, astronomers, philosophers, and writers of t ...
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miskawayh
932 births
1030 deaths
10th-century Arabic writers
10th-century Iranian historians
10th-century Iranian philosophers
11th-century Arabic writers
11th-century Iranian historians
11th-century Iranian philosophers
Alchemists of the medieval Islamic world
Historians under the Buyid dynasty
Buyid officials
Islamic philosophers
Persian Muslim historians of Islam
People from Ray, Iran
Shia Muslims
Iranian Arabic-language writers