Ibn Sab‘īn’s Sicilian Questions: the Text, its Sources, and their Historical Context

Abstract

The Sicilian Questions are the earliest preserved text of the philosopher and Sufi Ibn Sab‘īn of Murcia (c. 614/1217-668/1270). Even though the prologue of the text claims that it is a response to questions sent by Frederick II to the Arab world, it seems more likely that it was an introductory manual for Arab students of philosophy, dealing with four specific and controversial problems as a way of presenting general concepts of Aristotelian philosophy. This article analyses the structure and way of argumentation in the Sicilian Questions. Particular attention is being paid to the relationship between mysticism and philosophy and the sources of the text, above all the philosophical writings of Ibn Rushd. Ibn Sab‘īn and his Sicilian Questions are interpreted as reflecting the intellectual milieu of late Almohad Spain. The text might have been originally composed in a ṭalaba context, and it also reflects some of the key concerns of Almohad ideology.