Ibn Tufayl

Although known in his day as a philosopher, some of whose views were criticized by Averroes, ibn Tufayl is today remembered as the author of the philosophical novel Hayy ibn Yaqzan. An allegory of the conflict between reason and religion, the story traces the intellectual development of a man secluded on a desert island who, through his own unaided efforts, arrives at knowledge of the divine. Later, he encounters a wise man of religion, who is astonished to discover that, despite all his training and knowledge of doctrine, he knows no more than the untutored hermit.