Al-Kindi

by

Peter Adamson

• LAST MODIFIED: 19 February 2025
• DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195390155-0317

Introduction

Abu Yusuf Yaʿqub ibn Ishaq al-Kindi (b. c. 800–d. c. 870) was the first faylasuf, that is, the first philosopher to write in Arabic in response to Greek sources. He was deeply involved in the translation of Greek science and philosophy into Arabic, as he oversaw the so-called “Kindi circle,” a group of mostly Christian translators who produced versions of works by Aristotle, Plotinus, and Proclus, among others. It does not seem that al-Kindi himself was a translator. Instead, he “corrected” the translations and probably helped select the works to be translated. His own philosophical writings, many of which are preserved in a single manuscript, show the deep impact of Aristotle and Neoplatonism on his thought. Yet he was an original thinker who aimed to show the relevance of the Greek sources for a Muslim audience. He freely adapted, combined, and built on these sources in his own treatises.

Life and Works

Al-Kindi was honored as “philosopher of the Arabs,” a reference to his descent from the Arab tribe of Kinda. He was supposedly descended directly from a king of the Kinda who was a companion of the Prophet Muḥammad. Al-Kindi’s immediate family was influential, as his father was the governor of the city of Kufa in Iraq. This no doubt facilitated his connection to the caliphal family, who retained him as a court scholar. There is evidence of a connection to the caliph al-Maʾmūn (r. 813–833), to whom al-Kindi dedicated a treatise, but the height of his influence seems to have been under the next caliph al-Muʿtasim (r. 833–842). Al-Kindi dedicated his most important work, On First Philosophy, to this caliph, and was tutor to his son Ahmad, who was the recipient of several of al-Kindi’s epistles. Al-Kindi’s works are mostly in the form of epistles addressed to Ahmad and other patrons (Endress 2011). Bio-bibliographers including Ibn al-Nadim, author of the invaluable Fihrist, an overview of scholarly literature available in the tenth century CE, ascribe hundreds of titles to the name of al-Kindi (these lists are aggregated in McCarthy 1962 and translated in Adamson and Pormann 2012, under Editions and Translations). The majority of these are lost but we still have dozens of works on a wide range of philosophical topics, as well as sciences like medicine, optics, and astrology, and even more practical subjects like swordmaking and removing stains from clothing. These reporters also say that al-Kindi was a victim of court intrigue under the caliph al-Mutawakkil (r. 847–861), when scheming by his rivals, the Banu Musa (“Musa brothers”), led to his being whipped, and his library confiscated, before he was restored to favor. He seems to have died by 870, supposedly from an infection.

• Adamson, Peter. Al-Kindī. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.

  General monograph on all aspects of al-Kindi’s philosophy.

• Atiyeh, George N. Al-Kindi: The Philosopher of the Arabs. Rawalpindi, Pakistan: Islamic Research Institute, 1966.

  Early general survey of al-Kindi.

• Endress, Gerhard. “The Circle of al-Kindī.” In The Ancient Tradition in Christian and Islamic Hellenism. Edited by Gerhard Endress and Remke Kruk, 43–76. Leiden, The Netherlands: Research School CNWS, 1997.

  Introduction to the activities of the translation circle and its significance within early philosophy of the Islamic world.

• Endress, Gerhard. “Höfischer Stil und wissenschaftliche Rhetorik: al-Kindī als Episteolograph.” In Islamic Philosophy, Science, Culture, and Religion: Studies in Honor of Dimitri Gutas. Edited by Felicitas Opwis and David Reisman, 289–306. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2011.

  An investigation of al-Kindi’s social and patronage network using information taken from the introductions to his epistolary writings.

• Endress, Gerhard, and Peter Adamson. “Abū Yūsuf al-Kindī.” In Grundriss der Geschichte der Philosophie. Philosophie in der islamischen Welt, Bd.1: 8.-10. Jahrhundert. Edited by Ulrich Rudolph, 92–147. Basel, Switzerland: Schwabe, 2012.

  A detailed entry on al-Kindi, with an overview of what is known of his life and a summary of the contents of individual texts; also offers the largest available up-to-date bibliography. Translated into English in Philosophy in the Islamic World: 8th-10th Century. Edited by Ulrich Rudolph, Rotraud Hansberger, and Peter Adamson. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2016.

• McCarthy, Richard J. Al-Taṣānīf al-mansūba ilā Faylaūf al-ʿArab. Baghdad: Matbaʿat al-ʿAni, 1962.

  Arabic list of the titles of al-Kindi’s works, based on medieval bibliographers.

• Tornero Poveda, Emilio. Al-Kindi: la transformacion de un pensamiento religioso en un pensamiento racional. Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 1992.

  General study of al-Kindi’s philosophical works.