The Book of That Which Has Been Established by Personal Reflection

Abū ’l-Barakāt al-Baghdādī

Kitāb al-mu‘tabar, Chapter 3

First Half of the 12th Century

Thus the wise man sees . . . that the concept of time is prior—in existence and as intelligible—to all motions and all [states of] rest and that none of these [motions or states of rest] could be supposed without it being so; [time] would remain [in existence] if they did not, while they could not continue to exist without it. The motion of all…

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The Book of That Which Has Been Established by Personal Reflection (Kitāb al-mu‘tabar), influenced by the eleventh-century Muslim philosopher Ibn Sīnā, addresses logic, psychology, and metaphysics. Abū ’l-Barakāt examines the philosophical teachings of earlier figures, revising their theories when necessary. The Aristotelian definition of time is that it is the measure of motion or change, and therefore is dependent on, or posterior to, motion. It is an accident, rather than a substance, and has no existence in and of itself. Here, Abū ’l-Barakāt explains his innovative theory of time, in which it exists prior to motion. Time measures both motion and rest; indeed, it measures existence itself.

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Related Guide

Intellectual Culture in the Early Medieval World

6th to 12th Century

Creator Bio

Abū ’l-Barakāt al-Baghdādī

ca. 1085–ca. 1165

Abū ’l-Barakāt al-Baghdādī was a physician and philosopher active in Baghdad. Some of his contemporaries praised him as Aristotle’s equal. For unclear reasons, Abū ’l-Barakāt converted to Islam late in life, apparently with his protégé and student Isaac Ibn Ezra, the son of Abraham Ibn Ezra (1089–1167), who had settled in Iraq. Abū ’l-Barakāt composed biblical and talmudic commentaries; portions of his Judeo-Arabic commentary on Ecclesiastes survive. He attracted attention among later Muslim thinkers, and Samuel ben Eli, a leader of Baghdadi Jewry in the late twelfth century, quoted his writings during the controversy over Maimonides’ approach to the belief in the resurrection of the dead.

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