Al-Kindi Quotes
Abu Yusuf al-Kindi was an Arab philosopher, mathematician, and polymath, often called the father of Arab philosophy. Working at the House of Wisdom in Baghdad under the Abbasid caliphs, he supervised the translation of Greek philosophical and scientific works into Arabic and composed more than two hundred treatises of his own. The quotes below are attributed to Al-Kindi, organized by topic.
Browse Al-Kindi by topic
Al-Kindi on Knowledge
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Attributed to Al-Kindi:
“Philosophy is the knowledge of things in their realities, insofar as is possible for man.”
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Attributed to Al-Kindi:
“Knowledge of the cause is more excellent than knowledge of the effect.”
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Attributed to Al-Kindi:
“There is nothing more excellent for the soul than the acquisition of knowledge.”
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“Ibid. , trans. Alfred L. Ivry, Al-Kindi's Metaphysics (SUNY Press, 1978) p. 58”
We ought not to be ashamed of appreciating the truth and of acquiring it wherever it comes from, even if it comes from races distant and nations different from us. For the seeker of truth nothing takes precedence over the truth.
Al-Kindi on Time
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“Fi’l-falsafa al-ula ("On First Philosophy") in M. A. Abu Rida (ed.) Rasa’ il al-Kindi al-falsafiyya (Cairo, 1950), p. 103; trans. R. Walzer in Greek into Arabic (Oxford, 1962), p. 12; reported in Albert Hourani , A History of the Arab Peoples , 2nd ed. (2005) ch. 4”
We should not be ashamed to acknowledge truth from whatever source it comes to us, even if it is brought to us by former generations and foreign peoples. For him who seeks the truth there is nothing of higher value than truth itself.
Al-Kindi on Truth
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“We ought not to be ashamed of acknowledging truth from whatever source it comes to us, even if it is brought to us by former generations and foreign peoples.”
Fi’l-falsafa al-ula ("On First Philosophy") in M. A. Abu Rida (ed.) Rasa’ il al-Kindi al-falsafiyya (Cairo, 1950), p. 103; trans. R. Walzer in Greek into Arabic (Oxford, 1962), p. 12; reported in Albert Hourani , A History of the Arab Peoples , 2nd ed. (2005) ch. 4 -
Attributed to Al-Kindi:
“It is fitting for us not to be ashamed to admire and to acquire truth from wherever it comes.”
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“We ought not to be ashamed of appreciating the truth and of acquiring it wherever it comes from, even if it comes from races distant and nations different from us. For the seeker of truth nothing takes precedence over the truth.”
Ibid. , trans. Alfred L. Ivry, Al-Kindi's Metaphysics (SUNY Press, 1978) p. 58