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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books A Compilation of Islamic Philosophy and Theology [edited] Chapter Six: Ibn Sina Life and Works Ibn Sina, Avicenna (370/980-429/1037), also known as al-Ra’ is (“Master and Head”) is among the very few medieval Muslim thinkers to have written an autobiography, which was completed by his student Abu Ubayd al-Juzjani.² This autobiography was later transmitted by a number of biographers, including al-Bayhaqi (d. 565/1170), al-Qifti (d.

646/1248), Ibn Abi Usaybiah (d. 669/1270) and Ibn Khallikan (d.680/1282). Ibn Sina was born in Afshanah (a small village neighbouring Bukhara, the capital of the Samanid dynasty), where his farther ‘Abd Allah, originally from Balkh, met and married Sitarah. They had three sons, ‘Ali, al-Husayn (Ibn Sina) and Mahmud. When Ibn Sina was about five years of age, the family moved to Bukhara. There the farther was appointed governor of Kharmayathnah, a village in the suburbs of Bukhara.

The rest of the story of Ibn Sina’s life, education and career is well known, and there is no need to recount it here in detail.

Suffice it to say that the most striking features of this story, as he and al-Juzjani tell it, are (1) his completing the study of the Qur’an and Islamic literature by the age of ten and the rest of the sciences, including Islamic law, astronomy, medicine, logic and philosophy, by the age of eighteen, and (2) his enormous productivity in spite of the unstable political conditions under which he lived that forced him at times to flee from one territory to another, to move in disguise and even to be imprisoned.

His great achievement in the various branches of learning seems to have resulted from a rare memory that enabled him to retain by heart, for example, the Qur’an and Aristotle’s Metaphysics; a high intellectual curiosity that helped him consider and solve difficult problems even in his sleep; and an inner determination that generated extraordinary physical and intellectual energy.

The number of works he wrote (estimated to be between 100 and 250), the quality of his work and his involvement in medical practice, teaching and politics all reveal an unusual level of competence. At a very early age, Ibn Sina was introduced to various religious, philosophical and scientific teachings. For example, he was introduced to the Epistles of the Brethren of Purity and Isma’ilism by his father, who was a member of this sect.