Work · Philosophy in the Islamic World
The Guide for the Perplexed
Written in Judeo-Arabic for a student perplexed by the clash between the literal sense of the Torah and philosophy: scripture is to be read figuratively and God described only negatively; that the world is eternal, Aristotle has not proved.
Introduction
Maimonides wrote the Guide in Arabic, in Hebrew script, and completed it around 1190 in Fustat. It is framed as a letter to his student Joseph ben Judah and deliberately written in a scattered, allusive way, as the introduction explains. Part I interprets biblical expressions for God and develops negative theology; Part II deals with the question whether the world is eternal or created and with prophecy; Part III treats the vision of Ezekiel’s chariot, providence, evil and the reasons for the commandments. Samuel ibn Tibbon’s Hebrew translation appeared in 1204; a Latin version was read by Thomas Aquinas. In the 1230s opponents had copies burned in Montpellier.
Read the full text
Free full text, often an older edition or translation
Connections
Builds on
- Metaphysicsc. 340 BCE · Aristotle
- The Book of Healing (Kitab al-Shifa)c. 1027 · Ibn Sina (Avicenna)
Taken up in
- Summa contra Gentilesc. 1265 · Thomas Aquinas
- Summa theologiae1273 · Thomas Aquinas
Criticized in
- The Wars of the Lord (Milhamot Adonai)1329 · Gersonides (Levi ben Gershom)
- The Light of the Lord (Or Adonai)c. 1410 · Hasdai Crescas
- Theological-Political Treatise1670 · Baruch de Spinoza
As of November 2026 · Improve this page · How Agora is made