 by a gazelle (fawn/deer). As Hayy grows up he discovers natural religion. Later on when he grows up a sailor is shipwrecked on the Island who teaches him human language and religion and much to surprise they find many points of agreement.
 The point the author here is trying to make is that religion can be arrived at naturally without the aid of revelation. Interestingly this concept is not so foreign to Islam, which sees itself as the “Natural religion”. Surprisingly, this neo-Platonist would be the mentor of the most famous Arab Aristotelian, Ibn Rushd. [Historical Note: This last claim of Ibn Rushd's mentor is really open to question perhaps it is the stuff of legend along with a similar historical claim that Ibn 'Arabi learned philosophy from Ibn Rushd. Perhaps Ibn 'Arabi learned (if not emptied) Ibn Rushd of Ibn Tufail's philosophical (read Sufi) thought.]
 Ibn Rushd (1126-1198) -known as Averroes in the west and sometimes ‘the commentator’- would fare well in the west then among his own people. The reason for this is the both see him as an expositor of Aristotelian ideas. He is a strict follower of Aristotle to a fault. Ibn Rushd would make a brave attempt to extract Aristotle’s ideas on politics from Plato’s Republic. He would not only comment on all of the existing Aristotle’s work but also would summarize them and write grand commentaries on them. He would also write a point-by-point refutation of al-Ghazali’s criticism of philosophy, the tahafut -the success of of which is widely debated due to the fact that he only defended Aristotle's doctrines.
 However, in his attempt to defend philosophy he would only defend Aristotle’s ideas only. He believed that the peak of philosophical teachings ended with the master, Aristotle. Many later scholars would see this as an attempt to defend Aristotle and not a complete refutation of al-Ghazali. The philosophical ideas that al-Ghazali was attacking were the ideas of Avicenna and al-Farabi some of which came from Aristotle while the majority came from Plato and Plotinus.
 To his credit, Ibn Rushd would have quite an influence on the medieval philosophy of Europe through Latin translation of his works. He would also cast doubt on the authenticity of the attribution of the “theology of Aristotle” to Aristotle. The work, as mentioned above, was a compilation of some of the chapters from Plotinus’ Enneads.
Philosophy in the Muslim East a history yet to be completed:
 The history of the philosophical debate that was started by al-Ghazali and Ibn Rushd would continue at the hands of authors in the Islamic East in general and in the Ottoman lands after the eclipse of the Muslim rule of Andalusia. In fact the famed sultan Mehmet II (a.k.a. fatih [conqueror] r.(1451-1481) orders two of the empires’ scholars to compile books to summarize the debate between al-Ghazali and Muslim Philosophers. Both of these works have been published one of which in a critical edition. (both of which is available online c.f. ipo) As indicated this part of history needs is yet to be written, any takers?
Written by Muhammad Hozien
How did the translation of Greek works into Arabic skew the Muslim interpretation of Hellenistic Philosophy?
How did Al-Ghazali present philosophy as useful to Islam?
What was Ibn Rushd's stubborn
fault as a philosopher?
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