THE STORY OF ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY

CHAPTER THREE

The Naturalistic Account of Hayy's Birth

Only part of the naturalistic account is presented in this chapter following Ibn Tufayl's own presentation, as he commences it with describing the naturalistic account but interrupts the description to provide the traditionalistic account in what Sami Hawi views as his attempt to conceal his naturalistic position. A significant part of the discussion is devoted to Ibn Tufayl's liminal depiction of natural existence, which is compared to Ibn Arabi's. The discussion of Ibn Arabi's account of his visions in the Earth of Barzakh aims to throw light on the liminal characteristics that Ibn Tufayl emphasizes in his description of Hayy's naturalistic birthplace.

IBN TUFAYL'S METHOD OF CONCEALMENT

Ibn Tufayl introduces two accounts of Hayy's birth: naturalistic and traditionalistic. The question that presents itself immediately is: why two accounts? According to Hawi, Ibn Tufayl applies a method of concealment that involves an exoteric aspect, intended for the public, and an esoteric aspect, intended for the enlightened few. The traditionalistic account comes under the exoteric aspect, which includes the belief of the general public in God through revelation and the creation of the world, whereas the naturalistic account comes under the esoteric aspect, which includes the rational depiction of God's existence, the eternity of the world, the unity of all existence, and pantheism. Since the two accounts are contradictory, Ibn Tufayl must be employing a method of concealment to hide his naturalistic views from the general public. To hide his real view, Ibn Tufayl opens with the description of the naturalistic account of Hayy's birth, interrupts it to provide a succinct description of the traditionalistic account, and then resumes his presentation of the naturalistic account to describe Hayy's emergence from nature in rich scientific detail.