''Sicilian Questions'' (المسائل الصقلية, al-Masāʼil al-Ṣiqilliyya, in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

) is a 13th-century philosophical work by Ibn Sab'in. It contains the answer given by him to some philosophical questions raised by the Frederick II of Hohenstaufen and has been defined as "symbol on the intellectual relations between medieval Christian

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and the

Islamic world The terms Islamic world and Muslim world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs, politics, and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is ...

". On the ''Sicilian Questions'' exist, so far, the complete editions of Şerefettin Yaltkaya, according to the 534th Arabic manuscript from the Bodleian Library at Oxford; and several complete translations: to Turkish, to Italian, and to Spanish; as well as diverse partial translations: to French, Spanish and German.Anna Akasoy, ''Die Sizilianischen Fragen'', Freiburg 2005 (German translation of fragments). Regarding the author's style, the book has obvious signs of eloquence and elegance, as well as extensive scientific knowledge. But at the same time, it warns, sometimes, a certain monotony, excessive rhetoric, with consequent abrupt interruptions retakes, disjunctions, etc.

Structure

The treatise is divided into a prologue, wrote perhaps one of his disciples, which explains the origin of the correspondence, the answer to the four philosophical questions raised by Frederick II of Hohenstaufen, an Appendix referred to several issues, and finally, an epilogue. These parts are of variable length and are subdivided, in turn, into several sections. Given, then, that its structure is as follows: *A. Preface of the work **1. Question I: On the eternity of the world **1.1. On the framing of the question **1.2. The terms of the issue **1.2.1. The world **1.2.2. Eternity **1.2.3. Innovation **1.2.4. Creating **1.2.5. The invention **1.3. Controversy of opinions **1.4.

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

's philosophical way **1.5. Displayed on the eternity of the world (11 shows) **1.6. Several theories about the eternity of the world: Asharites Ibn Al-Sa'ig, Peripatetics,

Ibn Sina Ibn Sina ( – 22 June 1037), commonly known in the West as Avicenna ( ), was a preeminent philosopher and physician of the Muslim world, flourishing during the Islamic Golden Age, serving in the courts of various Iranian peoples, Iranian ...

, Mutazilites. **1.7. The innovation of the world according to Ibn Sab'in. **1.8. Epilogue of the matter. **2. Question II: On the Divine Science **2.1. The aim of the divine knowledge **2.1.2. The Ancients **2.1.3. The Sufis **2.1.4. The

Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...

**2.2. The premises of the divine knowledge **2.2.1. On the framing of the question **2.2.2. The premises according to the ancients **2.2.3. The art of

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...

**2.2.3.1.

Logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...

parts (8 parts) **2.2.3.2. Types of premises (13 types) **2.2.3.3. The states of the premises (5 states).

Syllogisms A syllogism (, ''syllogismos'', 'conclusion, inference') is a kind of logical argument that applies deductive reasoning to arrive at a conclusion based on two propositions that are asserted or assumed to be true. In its earliest form (define ...

**2.3. The soul **2.4. The intellect **2.5. The parts of

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

(science) **2.6. The premises of the divine knowledge **2.6.1. The conditions required for the divine knowledge according to the ancients **2.6.2. The conditions required for the divine knowledge according to the Sufis **2.7. The way of Walker (The proficient on the way to

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

) **2.8. Some considerations on the conditions required by the object **2.9. The end of divine knowledge **3. Question III: On the categories **3.1. On the framing of the question **3.2. Explanation of category **3.3. Branch of the categories **4. Question IV: On the Soul **4.1. On the framing of the question **4.2. The types of soul **4.2.1. The vegetative soul **4.2.2. The animal soul **4.2.3. Various theories about the soul: ancient brahmans, followers of the metempsychosis, that of Ibn Sab'in and others **4.2.4. The rational soul **4.2.4.1. The immortality of the rational soul **4.2.4.2. Demonstrations of the immortality of the soul (8 shows) **4.2.4.3. Commentary on the demonstrations **4.2.4.4. Some theories of the intellect *B. Appendix: Questions more **B.1. Comment of the term 'right' **B.2. Review of the word 'eye' **B.3. On the dual of the terms 'eye' and 'hand' **B.4. Comment of the term 'hand'. Explanation of the hadith "The heart of the believer is between two fingers of the Merciful" **B.5. Outline of the controversy of

Alexander of Aphrodisias Alexander of Aphrodisias (; AD) was a Peripatetic school, Peripatetic philosopher and the most celebrated of the Ancient Greek Commentaries on Aristotle, commentators on the writings of Aristotle. He was a native of Aphrodisias in Caria and liv ...

*C. Epilogue of the work As usual in medieval Arabic treatises, and how could it be otherwise, if we take into account the rich and highly educated of Ibn Sab'in, in the ''Sicilian Questions'' the author quotes from other writers, especially those in the classical antiquity; among them are, for example,

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

's '' Phaedrus'' and especially those belonging to the logic of

, as the most relevant. Similarly, and for the same reason, it makes frequent references to ancient philosophers and thinkers to a greater extent, but also to his fellow followers of other faiths and representatives of the most varied theories and doctrines, explained or simply commented on the work, which make it a rich melting pot of scientific knowledge to justify the time and interest in it. Among all these philosophers, he notes, the volume of citations is made on his thought and his writings,

, which is really central to the treaty and the Andalusian mystic most often named as the Wise (''al-Hakim'') and the Man (''al-Rayul''). Other important philosophers and thinkers in the ''Sicilian Questions'' referred to are, in alphabetical order,

Anaxagoras Anaxagoras (; , ''Anaxagóras'', 'lord of the assembly'; ) was a Pre-Socratic Greek philosopher. Born in Clazomenae at a time when Asia Minor was under the control of the Persian Empire, Anaxagoras came to Athens. In later life he was charged ...

, Berossus, Crates,

Diogenes Diogenes the Cynic, also known as Diogenes of Sinope (c. 413/403–c. 324/321 BC), was an ancient Greek philosopher and one of the founders of Cynicism (philosophy), Cynicism. Renowned for his ascetic lifestyle, biting wit, and radical critique ...

Euclid Euclid (; ; BC) was an ancient Greek mathematician active as a geometer and logician. Considered the "father of geometry", he is chiefly known for the '' Elements'' treatise, which established the foundations of geometry that largely domina ...

al-Farabi file:A21-133 grande.webp, thumbnail, 200px, Postage stamp of the USSR, issued on the 1100th anniversary of the birth of Al-Farabi (1975) Abu Nasr Muhammad al-Farabi (; – 14 December 950–12 January 951), known in the Greek East and Latin West ...

Galen Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus (; September 129 – AD), often Anglicization, anglicized as Galen () or Galen of Pergamon, was a Ancient Rome, Roman and Greeks, Greek physician, surgeon, and Philosophy, philosopher. Considered to be one o ...

al-Ghazali Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111), archaically Latinized as Algazelus, was a Shafi'i Sunni Muslim scholar and polymath. He is known as one of the most prominent and influential jurisconsults, legal theoreticians, muftis, philosophers, the ...

, al-Hallaj, Ibn Bajja (Avempace),

(Avicenna),

Iamblichus Iamblichus ( ; ; ; ) was a Neoplatonist philosopher who determined a direction later taken by Neoplatonism. Iamblichus was also the biographer of the Greek mystic, philosopher, and mathematician Pythagoras. In addition to his philosophical co ...

Parmenides Parmenides of Elea (; ; fl. late sixth or early fifth century BC) was a Pre-Socratic philosophy, pre-Socratic ancient Greece, Greek philosopher from Velia, Elea in Magna Graecia (Southern Italy). Parmenides was born in the Greek colony of Veli ...

Pythagoras Pythagoras of Samos (; BC) was an ancient Ionian Greek philosopher, polymath, and the eponymous founder of Pythagoreanism. His political and religious teachings were well known in Magna Graecia and influenced the philosophies of P ...

Socrates Socrates (; ; – 399 BC) was a Ancient Greek philosophy, Greek philosopher from Classical Athens, Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and as among the first moral philosophers of the Ethics, ethical tradition ...

Themistius Themistius ( ; 317 – c. 388 AD), nicknamed Euphrades (, "''eloquent''"), was a statesman, rhetorician and philosopher. He flourished in the reigns of Constantius II, Julian, Jovian, Valens, Gratian and Theodosius I, and he enjoyed the favo ...

Theophrastus Theophrastus (; ; c. 371 – c. 287 BC) was an ancient Greek Philosophy, philosopher and Natural history, naturalist. A native of Eresos in Lesbos, he was Aristotle's close colleague and successor as head of the Lyceum (classical), Lyceum, the ...

and

Zeno of Elea Zeno of Elea (; ; ) was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher from Elea, in Southern Italy (Magna Graecia). He was a student of Parmenides and one of the Eleatics. Zeno defended his instructor's belief in monism, the idea that only one single en ...

. The masterful character of the work lies at the confluence of all these philosophical currents which combine great diversity of theories and beliefs.

References

External links

*http://www.marcialpons.es/libros/las-cuestiones-sicilianas/9788499150857 *http://www.minotaurodigital.net/textos.asp?art=216&seccion=Literatura&subseccion=articulos *http://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=2596570 *http://www.casadellibro.com/libro-ibn-sap-in-las-cuestiones-sicilianas/9788499150857/1703137 *https://openlibrary.org/books/OL20057399M/Le_questioni_siciliane *https://openlibrary.org/books/OL24837520M/Las_cuestiones_sicilianas {{Authority control Sufi literature 13th-century Arabic-language books Islamic philosophical texts Philosophical literature of the medieval Islamic world Bibliothèque nationale de France collections Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor Literature of al-Andalus