An Early Manuscript of The Book of Direction to the Duties of the Heart

Surprisingly little is known about the life of Baḥya ben Joseph Ibn Paqūda, an influential pietist and poet. Perhaps a native of Saragossa, Baḥya flourished in the second half of the eleventh century during the height of Andalusi Jewry. His popular and influential ethical work, The Book of Direction to the Duties of the Heart, has much in common with Sufism and other important streams in Islamic thought. Baḥya was also a poet; his liturgical poems reflect his theological and ideological positions.