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
When, therefore, he understood the state and condition of men to be such
as this, and seeing that most of them might be justly ranked amongst
unreasonable creatures--were, in fact, like brute beasts--he knew that
all wisdom, discretion and success was grounded on and consisted in
that which the messengers of God spoke and the law delivered, and that
there was no other rule possible, and that there could be nothing added
to it, and that these were men appointed to every work, and every one
was mostly capable of that thing unto which he was ordained by nature:
and that the law of God was the same unto those that had gone away
before, neither was there any change in the law of God.
_Hayy gives up his Preachings and Teachings._
Whereupon, returning to _Salaman_ and his companions, he craved pardon
for those things that he had spoken amongst them and desired to be
excused, and told them that he was of the same opinion with them, and
went on in the same way and persuaded them to stick firmly to their
resolution of respecting and following the customs of the law and the
performance of the external rites without intruding themselves upon
things that did not concern them or intermeddling therewith, that in
doubtful things they should give credit and yield a ready assent to
those rules that they had of old received: that they should be averse to
novel opinions and to their appetites, and follow the examples of their
good Forbears, and leave novelties severely alone.
He also commanded that they should shun and avoid that neglect of the
laws that is seen in the vulgar sort of men, and the love of the world,
and this he specially bade them to take heed of: for he and his friend
_Asal_ well knew that there was no salvation to this weak, tractable,
and defective sort of men but by this means; and that if they were
forced away and raised above this to curious speculations, their
condition would be much worse, so much so that it would be impossible
for them to obtain the state and degree of the Blessed; but that they
would be wavering in their motives, and tossed up and down, and at last
meet with a bad end. But if they remained in that state of things in
which they were till death overtook them, they should obtain salvation
and should be placed amongst those that are on the right hand. But, on
the other side, as for those who had gone before and outwent them, those
came near unto them: yet these came next after and approached near to
them.
_Asal and Hayy return to their Island._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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