Some aspects of Abu al-Barakat al-Barakat al-Baghdadi`s metaphysics: a partial translation of kitab al-mu`tabar with introduction

Abstract

Metaphysics, which is the science of qua being, was first formulated by Aristotle (d. 322 BCE) and later developed by Ibn Sina (d. 1037 CE). One of the fundamental issues dealt with in metaphysics is the existence of God and His relation to the world, that is, whether or not it is co-eternal with God. Most Muslim philosophers agree that the world was co-eternal with God, but they were divided over the question whether the world had always existed in a temporal sense or over how this question should be understood in the first place. Many of them observed that the world was created together with time, and in this sense had always existed, that is, there was no past at the time of creation. This study presents the views of Abu al-Barakat al-Baghdadi (d. 1157 CE) on various issues in metaphysics, including one of the most controversial issues among Muslim philosophers, that is, the question of eternity or the temporality of the world, as reflected in his major work, Kitab al-Mutabar fi al-Hikmah. It shows how Abu al-Barakat al-Baghdadi refutes Ibn Sina's doctrines, which go back to that of Aristotle, and how Abu al-Barakat al-Baghdadi uses their arguments to arrive at a different conclusion, that is, that the world is not eternal, but rather had a beginning. This study consists of an analytical introduction to the relevant text, followed by a partial English translation of it. It further discusses certain aspects of metaphysics according to Abu al-Barakat al-Baghdadi, including the problem of the existence and the nature of time. It is hoped that this study will provide the reader with a better understanding of Abu al-Barakat al-Baghdadi’s metaphysics and philosophy