The Significance of Ḥakīm Al-Tirmidhī’s Distinctive Approach to the Classification of Knowledge in His Work “Al-Amthāl”

The article examines the distinctive approach to the classification of knowledge set out by Ḥakīm al-Tirmidhī in his work al-Amthāl min al-Kitāb wa al-Sunnah. It is shown that the scholar assesses knowledge not by the field to which it belongs but by the outcome it produces in a person’s heart, character and conduct. On the basis of a narration distinguishing knowledge of the heart from knowledge of the tongue, and of verse 32 of Sūrat Fāṭir, the article analyses the division of knowledge into beneficial and harmful, and then the four relative levels at which inherently beneficial knowledge manifests itself according to two criteria – acting upon knowledge and teaching it to others. The parables through which Ḥakīm al-Tirmidhī expounds these ideas are examined, together with the ethical and philosophical significance of the classification and its relevance for contemporary education.