Al-Kindi

Abū Yūsuf Yaʻqūb ibn ʼIsḥāq aṣ-Ṣabbāḥ al-Kindī (; ; ; ) was an Arab polymath who was active as a philosopher, mathematician, physician, and music theorist. Al-Kindi was the first of the Islamic peripatetic philosophers, and is hailed as the "father of Arab philosophy".

AI overview

Al-Kindi was an Arab scholar who worked across multiple fields—philosophy, mathematics, medicine, and music theory—and is recognized as the first Islamic philosopher to follow the peripatetic tradition and the founder of Arab philosophy. His work across these diverse disciplines and his foundational role in Islamic philosophical thought make him a significant figure in the history of medieval intellectual development.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Person · Open Library

Born: ca. 801
Died: ca. 873
Works: 6

Top works

Mesuae Graecorum ac Arabum clarissimi medici Opera quae extant omnia
al-Kindi's Metaphysics
The medical formulary; or, Aqrabadhin of al-Kindi
Medical Formulary of Aqrabadhin of Al-Kindi (Medieval Science Pubns, No 7)
Astrorū indices Alkind'

via Open Library + Wikidata

Music · MusicBrainz

Type: Group
Origin: Syria
Active from: 1983

Discography

Official site Discogs

via MusicBrainz · CC0

Listeners · Last.fm

Listeners: 19
Total plays: 101

The Al-Kindî Ensemble, founded in 1983 by the french virtuoso of Arab zither (qânûn) Julien Jâlal Eddine Weiss, resident in Aleppo (capital of northern Syria and a stopping place on the famous Silk Road) is currently rated among the best formations devoted to classical Arab music, owing to the musical qualities displayed by its performers, and to the high standard of its work, steeped in the various musical traditions of the near and middle East. <a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Al-Kindi">Read

via Last.fm · Al-Kindi

Key facts

Philosopher.region: Islamic philosophy
Philosopher.era: Islamic Golden Age
Philosopher.image: Stamp IQ 1962 6f.jpg
Philosopher.caption: al-Kindi on Iraqi stamp from 1962
Philosopher.name: al-Kindi
Philosopher.birth_place: Kufa, Abbasid Caliphate
Philosopher.death_date: (aged approximately 72)
Philosopher.death_place: Baghdad, Abbasid Caliphate
Philosopher.main_interests: Philosophy, Islamic theology (kalam), logic, ethics, mathematics, cryptography, physics, chemistry, psychology, pharmacology, medicine, metaphysics, cosmology, astrology, music theory
Philosopher.notable_works: Manuscript on Deciphering Cryptographic Messages, Epistle on Informative Parts on Music, De radiis, De aspectibus
Religious biography.embed: yes
Religious biography.religion: Islam
Religious biography.denomination: Mu'tazila

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of: human
Given name: Yakub
Gender: male
Citizenship: Abbasid Caliphate
Place of birth: Kufa
Place of death: Baghdad
Occupation: astronomer
Employer: House of Wisdom
Languages spoken: Arabic
Native language: Arabic
Religion: Islam
Field of work: medicine
Image: Al-kindi.jpeg
Work location: Baghdad

Show 14 more facts

Commons category: Al-Kindi
Commons gallery: Al-Kindī
date of birth: 0796-00-00
described by source: New International Encyclopedia
Commons Creator page: Al-Kindi
student: Ahmad ibn al-Tayyib al-Sarakhsi
pseudonym: Abú-Júsuf ibn Ishák
name in native language: الكندي
relative: Muhammad ibn al-Ash'ath al-Kindi
birth name: أبو يوسف يعقوب بن إسحاق الصبّاح الكندي
madhhab: Zaidism
P13311: Gerola Alta
tribe: Kinda
date of death: 0870-01-01

Sources (10)

via Wikidata · CC0

~31 min read

Encyclopedic overview

24 sections

Contents

Early life
Accomplishments
Philosophy
Astronomy
Optics
Medicine
Chemistry
Mathematics
Cryptography
Meteorology
Music theory
Philosophical thought
Influences
Metaphysics
Epistemology
The soul and the afterlife
The relationship between revelation and philosophy
Critics and patrons
Legacy
References
Bibliography
English translations
Works about al-Kindi
External links

Al-Kindi was born in Kufa and educated in Baghdad. He became a prominent figure in the House of Wisdom (Bayt al-Hikma), an institute of translation and learning patronized by the Abbasid caliphs, in Baghdad, and a number of Abbasid caliphs appointed him to oversee the translation of Greek scientific and philosophical texts into the Arabic language. This contact with "the philosophy of the ancients" (as Hellenistic philosophy was often referred to by Muslim scholars) had a profound effect on him, as he synthesized, adapted and promoted Hellenistic and Peripatetic philosophy in the Muslim world. He subsequently wrote hundreds of original treatises of his own on a range of subjects, from metaphysics, ethics, logic and psychology, to medicine, pharmacology, mathematics, astronomy, astrology and optics, and further afield to more practical topics like perfumes, swords, jewels, glass, dyes, zoology, tides, mirrors, meteorology and earthquakes.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Al-Kindi” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.