The Awakening of the SoulIbn Tufayl, Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Malik
ReligionIslamic
The Awakening of the Soul
Ibn Tufayl, Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Malik
Islamic philosophy -- Early works to 1800; Philosophy, Arab -- Early works to 1800
She suckled the babe whenever he pleased. When he thirsted for water,
she led him thereto; when the beams of the sun were in any way
troublesome to him, she shaded him. When he suffered from the cold, she
cherished and warmed him. And when the night approached, she brought him
home to his former abode and covered him with her own body and partly
with feathers such as remained of those wherewith the ark was stuffed
when he was first put into it. When they went forth in the morning or
came home of an evening, they were always accompanied by a herd of deer
that lay together with them, in the same place.
_Hayy learns to imitate animals' voices._
In this way the boy keeping company with them also learned their voice,
which he imitated so exactly that scarcely any difference could be
perceived between them. In like manner, whatever other voice he heard,
whether of bird or beast, he came very near it by virtue of a very
apprehensive faculty wherewith he was endowed. But of all the voices he
imitated, he made most use of the deer's when they cried out for help or
called their fellow-deer, when they wanted them nearer by or farther
off. For as you know, those creatures have diverse voices according to
their various ends and uses. Thus the child kept company with the deer,
and they were not in the least afraid of one another.
_Hayy begins to take a careful view of things._
Now when the images of things, after being removed out of sight, became
fixed in his mind, it affected him so that he took a fancy to some
things, whilst he had a distaste for others. In the meanwhile he took a
careful view of all the beasts. He saw them covered with wool, hair, and
different kinds of plumes; he beheld their great swiftness and strength
and the weapons they were armed with for protection and defence, viz.
horns, teeth, hoofs, spurs, nails, and the like. Then he viewed himself
and found he was naked, destitute of weapons, slow and weak. For
whenever they contended with him about the fruits they were to feed on,
he generally got the worst of it; they pulled the fruit from him,
keeping it for themselves, and he could not beat them off or flee from
them.
_Hayy observes the difference between the animals and himself._
Moreover, he observed that his fellow-fawns began to have little horns
which they had not had at first; and while they were at first weak, and
unable to run far, yet in progress of time grew to be very vigorous and
nimble, and active in their movements. But none of all this he perceived
to befall himself, and as often as he pondered over the matter, he could
not make out what should be the reason thereof.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account