The Awakening of the Soul   By: Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Malik Ibn Tufayl (-1185)

EDITED BY

L. CRANMER BYNG

Dr. S. A. KAPADIA

THE AWAKENING OF THE SOUL

Motto

"'Twas what it was, 'tis not to be expressed. Enquire no further, but conceive the best."

GHAZALI.

WISDOM OF THE EAST

THE AWAKENING OF THE SOUL

RENDERED FROM THE ARABIC WITH INTRODUCTION

BY DR. PAUL BRÖNNLE

F.R.G.S., F.R.HIST.S., M.R.A.S., ETC.

[Illustration]

FOURTH IMPRESSION

LONDON

JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET

1910

PRINTED BY HAZELL, WATSON AND VINEY, LD., LONDON AND AYLESBURY.

To Her Excellency THE COUNTESS OLGA ÜXKÜLL GYLLENBAND Lady in Waiting to Her Majesty The Queen of Wurtemberg Respectfully dedicated by PAUL BRÖNNLE

CONTENTS

Page

INTRODUCTION, 9

Different Accounts of the Birth of Hayy Ibn Yokdhan, 29

Hayy Ibn Yokdhan, son of a Princess, 30

Hayy is exposed by his Mother, 30

Hayy is driven by the tide to another Island, 31

Hayy is found by a Roe, which takes care of him, 31

Spontaneous Generation, 32

Hayy grows up nursed by the Roe, 33

Hayy learns to imitate animals' voices, 34

Hayy begins to take a careful view of things, 34

Hayy observes the difference between the animals and himself, 35

Hayy as a boy of seven. He covers himself with leaves, 36

Hayy becomes aggressive, and attacks wild beasts, 36

Hayy covers himself with the skin of an Eagle, 37

Hayy spreads terror among the beasts, 37

Hayy is grief stricken at the death of the Roe, 38

Hayy takes an aversion to the dead body, 38

Hayy buries the body of the Roe, 39

Hayy observes divers kinds of living creatures and plants, 39

Hayy discovers Fire kindled by the friction of reeds, 40

THE THIRD SEPTENARY

Hayy makes himself clothes and shoes of the skins of animals, 42

Hayy learns to ride, 43

Hayy examines the nature of bodies, 44

Hayy transfers his thoughts to the heavenly bodies, 46

THE FOURTH SEPTENARY

Hayy ponders over heaven and stars, 47

Hayy finds that the body of heaven is finite, 47

Hayy contemplates sun, moon, and stars, 48

Hayy concludes that the heaven is of a spherical figure, 48

Hayy ponders over the creation of the world, 50

Hayy concludes that the world must have a Creator without bodily substance, 51

Hayy admires the work of the Creator, 56

FIFTH SEPTENARY

Hayy is completely taken up with the contemplation of the superior intellectual world, 58

Hayy examines all his senses and faculties, 58

HAYY RETURNS TO THE SENSIBLE WORLD 63

SEVENTH SEPTENARY

Asal and Salaman appear on the scene, 65

Nature and character of Asal and Salaman, 66

Further differences of Asal and Salaman, 66

Asal repairs to Hayy's Island, 67

Hayy and Asal meet, 69

Hayy catches hold of Asal, 70

Hayy and Asal stroke one another, 71

Hayy and Asal try to understand each other, 71

Asal makes Hayy eat of his food, 72

Hayy Ibn Yokdhan at last joins Asal at dinner, but repents afterwards, 72

Asal becomes Hayy's companion and teacher, 73

Hayy enlightens Asal on his inner life, 74

Asal tells Hayy of the Island from whence he had come, 75

Hayy observes that men are dull, stupid, and brutish, 78

Asal persuades Hayy to follow him to his Island, 79

Hayy and Asal return together to Asal's Island, 79

Hayy begins to teach and instruct Salaman's subjects, 80

Hayy despairs of being able to reform the vulgar crowd, 81

Hayy's philosophical views on the value of this world, 81

Hayy gives up his preachings and teachings, 84

Asal and Hayy return to their Island, 85

Epilogue of the Author, 86

EDITORIAL NOTE