However...

However, despite the indisputable impact of Aristotle, Plato and other Greek philosophers, we find that a number of Muslim philosophers found the courage to be critical of these great masters, and, being inspired by the Qur'an, the sunnah, and also by the civilization progress, they added to their works concepts that could never have occurred to the Greeks.

Admittedly, it was the topics related to metaphysics and the unseen that the Muslims were most fervent about; but the topic of the soul ( al nafs ) gradually gained momentum among the philosophers and doctors, some of whom had different concepts of the soul from Aristotle's. Thus, Al-Kindi, in opposition to Aristotle, asserted that the soul is an entity separate from the body (Kasim, p.15).

Similarly, Al-Farabi whose opinion on the soul combines both the views of Aristotle and Plato, as, in his eyes, the human being is made up of two entities: the body and the soul. Al-Farabi however did not agree with Plato's position regarding the transmigration of the souls (ibid, p.16).

Yet, despite these additions made by the Muslim philosophers particularly by Razi and Ibn Al-Qiyam on the concepts of the soul and the spirit, their addendum were not considered as topics that stood apart from philosophy.

The same happened to Muslim scholars who wrote about ethics, for example Ibn-Miskawayah's in his Tahdib Al - Akhlaq wa Tatyib Al - A'raq, and Ibn-Hazm in his Mudawatu - nufus , although the influence on these subjects derived more from the Qur'an and the sunnah, than from Greek philosophy.

What I am trying to convey through this brief account of the status of philosophy in the domain of Islamic thought, which started with Al-Kindi, Al-Farabi and Ibn Sina, and ended with Al-Ghazzali, Ibn Tufayl and Ibn Rushd, is the emphasis that was placed on science during this period of Islamic civilization, which demarcated their place from those established during the reign of Greek philosophy.

At this time there were also developments in the fields of mathematics, logic, natural sciences, and theology by Muslim philosophers using as their main sources the Qur'an and the prophetic traditions (Hadith). In addition to the gains made from Greek and other philosophies, there appeared new disciplines in the sciences of the Qur'an and Hadith, and other disciplines that developed from them, for example, the study of the Arabic language and literature.