Life
Ibn Rushd of Cordoba served as judge (qadi) and court physician to the Almohad rulers while producing his celebrated commentaries on Aristotle. Late in life he fell from favor and his philosophical works were briefly banned, before his death in Marrakesh in 1198.
The Struggle
He struggled against the theological suspicion of philosophy in his time; his defense of reason drew condemnation, and toward the end the Almohad caliph, under pressure from religious scholars, exiled him and ordered some of his books burned.
Teachings & Morals
Ibn Rushd argued for the harmony of philosophy and religion — that truth cannot contradict truth — and answered al-Ghazali's attack on the philosophers with the Tahafut al-Tahafut ("The Incoherence of the Incoherence"). His commentaries made Aristotle intelligible to later ages.
Wars & Conflicts
A judge and physician, Ibn Rushd took no part in war, though his fortunes rose and fell with the Almohad dynasty he served and the religious politics of its court.
The Debates
Historical figures are debated. What follows records the major questions raised by historians and within the traditions themselves — presented for study, not verdict.
His rationalism was contested in the Islamic world, where his influence waned, even as it flourished in Latin Christendom, where "Averroism" became a controversial current condemned by the Church. The gap between his modest legacy in Islam and his vast one in Europe is itself much discussed.
Legacy
Averroes is one of the most influential philosophers in history, above all in the Latin West, where his commentaries on Aristotle shaped scholasticism and provoked centuries of debate. His figure here complements the philosophers' entry devoted to him.