: A Philosophical Tale\u00a0<\/em>(Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 2009).<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
I excerpt a couple of passages here from it that caught my interest.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the first, the author, Ibn Tufayl, is describing or, rather, not describing, the experience of ecstasy or intimacy with the divine achieved by the eponymous hero of his tale.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now do not set your heart on a description of what has never been represented in a human heart. \u00a0For many things that are articulate in the heart cannot be described. . . . \u00a0The ambition to put this into words is reaching for the impossible \u2014 like wanting to taste colors, expecting black as such to taste either sweet or sour. . . . \u00a0[F]or there is no way of finding out what truly occurs at this plateau of experience besides reaching it. \u00a0(149)<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Compare that exalted description with the account of \u201ca certain true religion\u201d (left unidentified because, I suspect, to Ibn Tufayl its specific identity wasn\u2019t especially important) on an adjacent but populated island:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Near the island where, according to one of the two conflicting accounts of his origin, Hayy was born, there was, so they say, a second island, in which had settled the followers of a certain true religion, based on the teachings of a certain ancient prophet \u2014 God\u2019s blessing on all such prophets. \u00a0Now the practice in this religion was to represent all reality in symbols, providing concrete images of things and impressing their outlines on the people\u2019s souls, just as orators do when addressing a multitude. \u00a0(156)<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
This suggests that Ibn Tufayl held a very curious view of \u201crevealed religion\u201d in general and of Islam in particular.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 Some, I think, will find this article interesting: \u00a0 \u201cWhy do Muslim women wear a\u00a0hijab?\u201d \u00a0 *** \u00a0 I\u2019m way behind, but I\u2019m grateful to Matthew Wheeler for calling these items (as well as the photograph above) to my notice: \u00a0 \u201cRancho Cucamonga Muslims deliver food to police, city staff on Christmas Eve\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3160,653,656,66,2013,2112,2010],"class_list":["post-69742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-hayy-ibn-yaqzan","tag-ibn-tufail","tag-ibn-tufayl","tag-islam","tag-islamic-mysticism","tag-mysticism","tag-sufism"],"yoast_head":"\n
Muslims, Christians, and a Medieval Philosopher<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\" Some, I think, will find this article interesting: "Why do Muslim women wear a\u00a0hijab?" *** I'm way behind, but I'm\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/01\/muslims-christians-and-a-medieval-philosopher.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Muslims, Christians, and a Medieval Philosopher\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\" Some, I think, will find this article interesting: "Why do Muslim women wear a\u00a0hijab?" *** I'm way behind, but I'm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/01\/muslims-christians-and-a-medieval-philosopher.html\" 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![\"Muslim](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2019\/01\/48407743_10157267620680016_4078803473187995648_n.jpg\")
<\/a>