Sicilian Questions

Sicilian Questions (المسائل الصقلية, al-Masāʼil al-Ṣiqilliyya, in Arabic) is the name of Ibn Sab'in's masterpiece, one of the leading representatives of the Andalusian mystic of the 13th century. Its doctrines are marked by the influence of two great philosophical areas, the Peripateticism and Sufism, which makes it a very interesting writing for researchers and scholars. This work contains the answer given by him to some philosophical questions raised by the famous Emperor Frederick II of Hohenstaufen (1215 -1250) and has been defined as "symbol on the intellectual relations between medieval Christian Europe and the Islamic world". On the Sicilian Questions exist, so far, the complete editions of Serefettin Yaltkaya, according to the 534th Arabic manuscript from the Bodleian Library at Oxford; and several complete translations: to Turkish, to Italian, and to Spanish; as well as diverse partial translations: to French, to Italian, to Spanish, and to German.

Regarding the author's style, the book has obvious signs of eloquence and elegance, as well as extensive scientific knowledge. But at the same time, it warns, sometimes, a certain monotony, excessive rhetoric, with consequent abrupt interruptions retakes, disjunctions, etc. Through its pages the text shows a peculiar mix of Aristotelian influence and Neoplatonic Sufi mysticism, and an overview of the most important doctrines of the science of antiquity, including for instace, the logic of Aristotle.

The treatise is divided into a prologue, wrote perhaps one of his disciples, which explains the origin of the correspondence, the answer to the four philosophical questions raised by Frederick II of Hohenstaufen, a Appendix referred to several issues, and finally, an epilogue. These parts are of variable length and are subdivided, in turn, into several sections. Given, then, that its structure is as follows:

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