Abu'l-Barakāt al-Baghdādī

Who was Abu'l-Barakāt al-Baghdādī?

Abu'l-Barakāt Hibat Allah ibn Malkā al-Baghdādī was an Islamic philosopher and physician of Jewish descent from Baghdad, Iraq. Abu'l-Barakāt, an older contemporary of Maimonides, was originally known by his Hebrew birth name Nathanel before his conversion from Judaism to Islam towards the end of his life.

His writings include the anti-Aristotelian philosophical work Kitāb al-Muʿtabar; a philosophical commentary on the Kohelet; and the treatise "On the Reason Why the Stars Are Visible at Night and Hidden in Daytime". Abu'l-Barakāt was an Aristotelian philosopher who in many respects followed Ibn Sina, but also developed his own ideas. He proposed an explanation of the acceleration of falling bodies by the accumulation of successive increments of power with successive increments of velocity.

His thought influenced the Illuminationist school of classical Islamic philosophy, the medieval Jewish philosopher Ibn Kammuna, and the medieval Christian philosophers Jean Buridan and Albert of Saxony.