This thesis is an examination of the extant psychological treatises of Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Ishaq al-Kindi, the ninth century A.D. Arab scholar who was among the first of his race to interest himself in strictly philosophical questions. Al-Kindi's writings were among the first fruits of the translation of Greek philosophical and scientific works into Arabic. It is under that aspect that this thesis approaches his views on soul and intellect - as an instance of the passage of Greek philosophical ideas to the Muslim Arabs. Apart from his specifically Islamic position on the nature and value of divine revelation, nearly all of al-Kindi's ideas on psychology can be traced to Greek sources, and the version of that philosophy with which he was directly familiar was that of the late Greek schools. This thesis is an attempt to understand and present al-Kindi's psychology in the light of the Greek sources from which it was derived.

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The present work deals with establishing of the exact meaning of the technical terms used by al-Kindi in the longest of his extant philosophical treatises, The Letter on the First Philosophy. On many occasions, however, when the meaning of a term appeared to be obscure in the Letter, the evidence of al-Kindī's usage of such a term has had to be brought forward from his other philosophical works in order to elucidate its meaning as accurately as possible. / Much attention has been paid to the original significance of the terms that are al-Kindī's translation of Aristotle's philosophical vocabulary. In some instances, when the difference between the Aristotelian usage and that of al-Kindī appeared to be crucial (as for example, in case of the terms ή κοvιή άίσθησις (the common sense), and al-ḥiss al-kullī (the universal sense), both usages have been given in a detailed exposition. / Whenever helpful to clarify the meaning of the terms, the definitions of philosophical terms given by al-Tahānawī in the Ka shshaf, have been included with the definitions proper to al-Kindī. / Most of the philosophical terms have been analyzed in their proper philosophical contexts, which allows not only elucidating more distinctly their meanings but also delineating the main themes of al-Kindī's philosophy.

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Shurayh&dotbelow; b. al-H&dotbelow;arith al-Kindi, the Successor and qad&dotbelow;i is, without a doubt, the most famous Kufan jurist prior to Ibrahim al-Nakha`i (d. 95/713). But neither Shurayh&dotbelow; nor his Kufan contemporaries left any books or written records. All information about the qad&dotbelow;i comes in the form of traditions provided by the later generations of Muslim chroniclers. These traditions do not satisfy any standard of historical verifiability; they tell us primarily and reliably only about what those later generations thought important to say about, or in the name of, Shurayh&dotbelow;. This is, nonetheless, vital information, and its importance is defined in the thesis question: what can we, by examining the traditions about Shurayh&dotbelow;, learn about the development of Islamic law? / The traditions are categorized into the following typologies, each of which is analyzed in a separate chapter: (a) biographical traditions, (b) legal theory, (c) legal ethics and procedure, (d) substantive law, (e) Shi`a juridical traditions. The analysis of the biographical traditions reveals that quite early after Shurayh&dotbelow;'s death---estimated at sometime between 76/695 and 99/718, he had evolved into a hazy figure. / In addition to providing a response to the thesis question, the conclusion seeks to answer some other questions, among them: why did Shurayh&dotbelow;, who was not the legal reasoner par excellence of his time, metamorphose into an aretological figure? Why did the Kufans seek to back-project his appointment to the time of `Umar? Based on the evidence, it is concluded that in Kufan imagery, Shurayh&dotbelow;'s legal opinions were deemed as valid as those of a Companion, and he personified the Kufan authority of "pastness."

Les Épîtres des Frères en Pureté forment une encyclopédie des sciences philosophiques (au sens hégélien) composée par Aḥmad b. aṭ-Ṭayyib as-Saraḫsī vers 280/894 à partir des travaux effectués par les Frères en Pureté, héritage du « cercle d’al-Kindī ». Le système trouve ses fondations dans l’arithmétique de Nicomaque de Gérase, est composé de la science kindienne, et s’élève sur les préoccupations politiques d’al-Ǧāḥiẓ, mais réalise une construction philosophique originale. Historiquement, une fois démontrée l’unicité du rédacteur, établi qu’Abū Ḥātim puise sa réfutation d’Abū Bakr ar-Rāzī dans la doctrine rasaélienne de l’héritage scientifique des prophètes, compris que les Rasāʾil sont alimentées par le kindisme, repéré que le seul héritier d’al-Kindī apte à cette entreprise est as-Saraḫsī, la comparaison des fragments saraḫsiens avec les épîtres révèle l’identité de style et de doctrine. L’identification de surcroît d’as-Saraḫsī au réviseur de l’Introduction arithmétique de Nicomaque autorise à postuler un système philosophique fondé mathématiquement. Préoccupées par le problème ontologique de la diversité du réel sous l’unité du Créateur, par le problème épistémologique de la divergence des méthodes et des doctrines scientifiques et religieuses malgré l’unité de la vérité et par le problème politique de la discorde malgré l’interdépendance des hommes, les Rasāʾil Iḫwān aṣ-Ṣafā entreprennent d’unifier la multiplicité empirique des êtres, de coordonner les savoirs et de réconcilier les hommes en une communauté vertueuse au moyen de trois concepts mathématiques : par leur origine dans l’émanation des êtres à partir du Créateur exprimée par la suite arithmétique, dans leur structure par la compréhension des analogies et des puissances entre les choses que révèle le rapport harmonique, et dans leur finalité au moyen de l’abstraction géométrique des formes hors de la matière constituée en modèle initiatique des âmes à la séparation d’avec le corps. / The Epistles of Brethren in Purity are an encyclopedia of philosophical sciences (in the Hegelian meaning) and were composed by Aḥmad b. aṭ-Ṭayyib as-Saraḫsī around 280/894. They are based on the work of the Brethren in Purity, which are the social inheritance of the “circle of al-Kindī.” The system itself is based on the arithmetic works of Nicomaque of Gerase. It is full of kindian science and erected on al-Ǧāḥiẓ political concerns. But as-Saraḫsī builds a very particular philosophical object. At the historical level, once we determine that the author is unique, that his views on the scientific heritage of the prophets is largely used by Abū Ḥātim ar-Rāzī to dispute with Abū Bakr, that the epistles are full of kindian elements, that the only al-Kindī’s student able to write such a book is Aḥmad b. aṭ-Ṭayyib as-Saraḫsī, we can compare the text with his fragments and reveal that they both share a particular style and philosophical ideas. So, because as-Saraḫsī is also the corrector of Nicomaque’s Introduction on Arithmetics, we can assume that he gives great importance to mathematics and base his system on it. The Epistles are focused on the ontological problem of the diversity of reality under the reign of the Creator’s unity, on the epistemological problem of contrariety of sciences and religions in methods and beliefs, and on the political problem of adversity of men in spite common interdependence. So they unify the effective multiplicity of beings, order the different disciplines of knowledge and build human reconciliation in the virtuous city, thanks to three mathematical concepts: they rewrite the emanation of beings from the Creator’s spring with the arithmetical sequence, they unify the actual structure of the world with the harmonic relation that rationalizes the different analogies and the mutual powers of their parts, and they educate the soul to its spiritual end with the geometric abstraction of forms from the material.