al-Kindi

Abstract

Universally recognised as the first true philosopher of the Islamic world, Abū Yūsuf Ya‘qūb b. Isḥāq al-Kindi (c. 801–c. 873) is known as ‘the Philosopher of the Arabs’.⁶⁰ Taking his theological stance in the Mu‘tazilite tradition, Kindi proceeds to develop a philosophy that can best be characterised as a Neoplatonised Aristotelianism. Kindi stands historically as the bridge between kalām and falsafa, and it was his conviction that revelation and philosophy attain identical truths, albeit in different ways.⁶¹ Therefore, it is not surprising to find in him a strange blend of philosophical and theological doctrines not to be seen in the more purely philosophical thinkers who followed him. While his concept of God is thoroughly Neoplatonic,⁶² he nevertheless sided with the theologians with regard to his argument for the existence of God. For unlike his philosophical successors, Kindi argued that God’s existence may be demonstrated by proving that the universe was created in time. Indeed, the ‘most important argument for God’s existence in the philosophy of al-Kindi’ is his argument for creation, and he stands apart as the only Arabian philosopher not believing in the eternity of the universe and matter.⁶³