Abū Hayyān Al-Tawhīdī

Abū Ḥayyān al-Tawḥīdī () (923–1023), full name ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbbās al-Baghdadi (), was an Arab or Persian intellectual, writer, and philosopher of the 10th century. He is widely regarded as one of the most original and influential thinkers of the Islamic Golden Age. The biographer Yāqūt al-Ḥamawī famously described him as ''"the philosopher of litterateurs and the litterateur of philosophers."'' Despite his intellectual stature, al-Tawḥīdī was largely neglected by contemporaneous historians and biographers until Yāqūt documented his life in ''Muʿjam al-Udabāʾ'' (), relying primarily on al-Tawḥīdī’s own autobiographical writings.

Life

The exact details of al-Tawḥīdī's birth and death remain uncertain. According to ''Tārīkh-i Sistān'', , he was born in 923 CE in either Baghdad or the region of Fars. He experienced a difficult and impoverished upbringing, reportedly raised by an uncle who treated him harshly. His nisbah, "al-Tawḥīdī," is believed to derive from his family's trade in a type of dates known as ''tawḥīd''.

Al-Tawḥīdī pursued a comprehensive education and later worked as a scribe in various administrative and scholarly roles across the Islamic world. His most significant employment was under the vizier Ibn Saʿdān, whom he served from 980 until the latter's execution in 985. During this period, he was associated with a notable intellectual circle led by the philosopher Abū Sulaymān al-Manṭiqī al-Siǰistānī. Most information about this circle comes from al-Tawḥīdī’s own writings.

Following the downfall of Ibn Saʿdān, al-Tawḥīdī appears to have struggled financially and lacked stable patronage. He spent the final two decades of his life in poverty, although he continued writing prolifically. He was known to be alive in 1009 CE and is believed to have died in Shiraz around 1023 CE.

Works

Al-Tawḥīdī was deeply self-critical and reportedly burned many of his own writings toward the end of his life. Nonetheless, a number of his works survive and are celebrated for their literary elegance, philosophical depth, and insight into the intellectual life of his time. His writings span adab (belles-lettres), ethics, theology, and sufism, and are considered significant contributions to Arabic literature.

Major works include:

* Al-Baṣā’ir wa al-Dhakhā’ir (''Insights and Treasures'') – A compendium of philosophical and ethical reflections.
* Al-Hawāmil wa al-Shawāmil (''Questions and Answers'') – A dialogic work composed with Abū ʿAlī Miskawayh, consisting of philosophical exchanges.
* Al-Imtāʿwa al-Mu’ānasa (''The Book of Enjoyment and Bonhomie'') – A collection of anecdotes and dialogues, offering rich insights into contemporary thought and culture. It includes a chapter on zoology, possibly influenced by Timotheus of Gaza’s treatise on animals.
* Al-Muqābasāt (''Borrowings'') – A series of intellectual discussions on diverse topics.
* Al-Sadaqa wa al-Ṣadīq (''On Friendship and the Friend'') – A treatise exploring the ethics and nature of friendship.
* Al-Ishārāt al-Ilāhiyya (''Divine Indications'') – A theological and mystical treatise.

* Mathālib al-Wazīrayn (''The Vices of the Two Viziers'') – A political commentary criticizing the rivalry and corruption of two contemporary viziers. An English translation by Noussaiba Roussi, affiliated with Abdelmalek Essaâdi University, was published in 2023 under the title ''The Vices of the Two Viziers''.

Despite his complex legacy, al-Tawḥīdī's works continue to be studied for their philosophical richness and literary merit, reflecting the intellectual dynamism of the 10th-century Islamic world.

References

*

*Salah NATIJ, "La nuit inaugurale d'al-Imatâ' wa l-mu'ânasa d'Abu Hayyân al-Tawhidi, une leçon magistrale d'adab", Revue Arabica, Vol. 55, No.2, 2008 = http://maduba.free.fr/Sur_Tawhidi.pdf
*I. Keilani, Abú Hayyán al-Tawhidi (in French), Beirut, 1950.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tawhidi, Abu Hayyan Al
923 births
1023 deaths
Medieval Islamic philosophers
Writers from Baghdad
11th-century philosophers
Zoologists of the medieval Islamic world
10th-century philosophers