Abu Yousef Al-Kindi

Yaqub Al-Kindi, born in Kufa 801 AD, during Haroun Al-Rashid's rule.  Al-Kindi was educated in Basrah and Baghdad and served under four of the Caliphs, he was in top standing as a philosopher during the rule of Al-Ma'mun, when Baghdad was the foremost cultural center in the world.

Al-Kindi was one of the earliest Arab students of the Greek philosophers and one of the first translators of the works of Aristotle into Arabic.

Called the philosopher of the Arabs because he was descended from Arab nobility he is the author of more than 270 works covering philosophy, medicine, mathematics, engineering optics and astrology.  Some of his works were translated into Latin during the Middle Ages and influenced European scholars.

Al-Kindi has a brilliance of mind, intellectual courage, a love of truth, an open mind, abstinence and patience, he felt it was his position to reconcile disputes between theologians and philosophers.

During his life time he encountered many difficulties which is reflected in his advice to his students "For a seeker of learning it is essential to have a superior mind, uninterrupted passion, gracious patience, a free from worry heart, a competent teacher and plenty of time". In his later life he fell victim to the unsympathetic attitude of the fourth Caliph he served under, but he viewed suffering and death as an inescapable part of human life and he succumbed with pride & dignity and died in 873 at the age of 72.