From Mā Warāʾ al-Nahār to the Southeast Asian Archipelago: Tracing Ibn Sīnā’s Intellectual Connections

Abstract

It is commonly assumed that major thinkers (such as al-Fārābī, Ibn Sīnā, and al-Bīrūnī) were Arabs, whereas in fact, they originated from Central Asia. Considering the profound contributions these thinkers made not only to the intellectual heritage of the Islamic world but also to global thought, scholarly engagement with their works—whether individually or collectively—is of critical importance. Regrettably, rigorous studies on their biographies and intellectual legacies remain limited, resulting in a lack of widespread recognition of their significant contributions among Muslim communities. Therefore, in this paper, I feel compelled to undertake a focused study on a prominent intellectual figure from the 10th–11th century in Central Asia: Ibn Sīnā (d. 1037), who was born and flourished in the Central Asian region and its surroundings, and who made significant contributions to the development of philosophical, scientific, and mystical thought—not only in the Middle East as commonly thought but also in the Malay World (Nusantara).