Socrates in Medieval Arabic Literature

This book describes Socrates as he was depicted in medieval Arabic literature. The body of anecdotes, sayings and evaluations of Socrates existent in Arabic literature leads one to search for an explanation for the popularity of this ancient, Greek, pagan philosopher. The author argues that Socrates played a role of legitimizing authority in the religious controversies between Christians and Muslims on the one hand and between the more rationalistic minded Muslims and the more traditionalistic ones on the other hand. Thus, three approaches are encountered: those belonging to the non-fundamentalistic stream in Islam refer to Socrates as a prophet, historians such as ibn Fātik or ibn Abī Usaib'ah, who relate to Socrates as an exemplary personality with tacit Islamic qualities. The third approach is that of orthodox writers such as al-Ghazālī who attack Socrates as a non-believer.