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BRILL'S STUDIES IN INTELLECTUAL HISTORY General Editor A.J. VANDERJAGT, University of Groningen Editonal Board M. COLISH, Oberlin College J.I. ISRAEL, University College, London J.D. NORTH, University of Groningen H.A. OBERMAN, University of Arizona, Tucson R.H. POPKIN, Washington University, St. Louis-UCLA VOLUME 67 PHILOSOPHIES OF MUSIC IN MEDIEVAL ISLAM BY FADLOU SHEHADI KEG/ EJ. BRILL LEIDEN · NEW YORK · KÖLN 1995 The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Shehadi, Fadlou. Philosophies of music in medieval Islam / by Fadlou Shehadi. p. cm. — (Brill's Studies in Intellectual History, ISSN 0920-8607 ; v. 67)) Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 9004101284 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Music, Islamic—Arab Countries.—500-1400—History and criticism. 2. Music, Islamic—Arab Countries—15th century—History and criticism. 3. Music—Greece—To 500—History and criticism. 4. Music—Philosophy and aesthetics. 5. Music—Religious aspects- Islam. I. Title. II. Series. ML189.S48 1995 780'.917'671—dc20 95-38537 CIP Die Deutsche Bibliothek - CIP-Einheitsaufhahme Sahädl, Fadluh: Philosophies of music in medieval islam/ by Fadlou Shehadi. Leiden ; New York ; Köln : Brill, 1995 (Brill's studies in intellectual history ; Vol. 67) ISBN 90-04-10128-4 NE:GT ISSN 0920-8607 ISBN 90 04 10128 4 © Copyright 1995 by E.J. Bull, Uiden, The Netherlands All nghts reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by E.J. Brill provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910 Danvers MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. PRINTED IN THE NETHERLANDS CONTENTS Preface vii Introduction 1 PART ONE: GREECE WITHIN THE CRESCENT Music in the Larger Scheme of Things Chapter One: Kindi 15 Chapter Two: Ikhwan al-Safa 34 Focus on Music and Its Elements Chapter Three: Farabi 50 Chapter Four: Ibn Sina 66 Music, Knowledge and Appreciation Chapter Five: Al- Hasan al-Katib 81 PART TWO: LISTENING TO MUSIC AND ISLAM Mostly Prohibited Chapter Six: Ibn Taymiyyah 95 The Moderate View Chapter Seven: Ghazali 115 Mostly Permitted Chapter Eight: Ibn cAbd Rabbihi 131 And Some Others Chapter Nine: Ibn Khaldun, Majd al-Din al-Ghazali, and Ibn al-cArabi 146 Appendix 163 Bibliography 165 General Index 171 PREFACE The nucleus of this work originated as a few short conference papers delivered over the past few years. A few of these appeared in the conference publications at the time, either in full or in the form of paragraph abstracts. We have made use of that material, but it has now been considerably developed, expanded and altered for the pre sent purpose. The material for chapters six, eight and nine, however, appears here for the first time. We have relied primarily on original sources, some of it in unpub lished manuscripts located in Istanbul and Paris. There are very few secondary works on the philosophy of music, as such, of the period we are concerned with. However, for an overall guide to the writers and to certain topics on music, in general, in medieval Islam, the collective works of Henry Farmer are still sine qua non, even though some of these have been supersceded by later scholarship. The editions and commentaries of Mahmud Ahmad al-Hifnï on Kindi and Ibn Sina were very useful. We have found the works of Amnon Shiloah of great value, and, in particular, his book The Theory of Music in Arabic Writings proved to be an indispensable resource and companion. It is the most complete and up to date reference we now have. Also of value as a general survey is the substantial article by Werner and Sonne "The Philosophy and Theory of Music in Judaeo- Arabic Literature". In writing the Arabic names of the thinkers featured in our book, we have followed a principle of economy by using a short version of the name, and without diacritics. Other names of writers mentioned once or infrequently are given in the full diacritcal transliterated form. One often sees acknowledgements to one's family in scholarly books, but these are usually of the 'thank you for your support, and for putting up with me during...' kinds of expression. While I would undoubtedly want to do that, I have something much more concrete to acknowledge. For this project my wife Alison, my daughter Muna and my son Charles, singly and collectively took this Lisa Dolittle out of the gutter of the yellow pad, and Henry Higgensed me into the computer age. Alison counselled me patiently and persistently throughout my phobias, and taught me all the basics. Muna offered some simple solutions to simple—to her—problems. And for high level technical assistance I always called on Charles, a veritable wizard and high priest of that technological temple.