Sicilian Questions (المسائل الصقلية, al-Masāʼil al-Ṣiqilliyya, in Arabic) is a 13th-century philosophical work by Ibn Sab'in. It contains the answer given by him to some philosophical questions raised by the Frederick II of Hohenstaufen and has been defined as "symbol on the intellectual relations between medieval Christian Europe and the Islamic world".[1] On the Sicilian Questions exist, so far, the complete editions of Şerefettin Yaltkaya,[2][3] according to the 534th Arabic manuscript from the Bodleian Library at Oxford; and several complete translations: to Turkish,[4] to Italian,[5] and to Spanish;[6] as well as diverse partial translations: to French,[7][8] Spanish[9] and German.[10]
Regarding the author's style, the book has obvious signs of eloquence and elegance, as well as extensive scientific knowledge. But at the same time, it warns, sometimes, a certain monotony, excessive rhetoric, with consequent abrupt interruptions retakes, disjunctions, etc.
- ^ Dario Cabanelas, "Federico II de Sicilia e Ibn Sab'in de Murcia. Las Cuestiones Sicilianas", Miscelánea de Estudios Árabes y Hebraicos, 4, 1955, pp. 48-49.
- ^ Ibn Sab'in, al-Kalam 'ala-l-al-Siqiliyya Masa'il, text published by Şerefettin Yaltkaya, Bayrut 1941.
- ^ Ibn Sab'in, Correspondance philosophique avec l'Empereur Frederic II of Hohenstaufen, Arabic text published by Şerefettin Yaltkaya, with Introduction by Henry Corbin, Paris 1941.
- ^ Şerefettin Yaltkaya, Sicilya cevaplari Ibni Sabinin Sicilya Krali ikinci Frederikin felsefi sorgularina verdigi cevaplarin tercemesidir, Istanbul 1934 (full translation into Turkish).
- ^ Patrizia Spallino, Le questioni siciliane. Federico II e l' universo filosofico, Introduction, translation and notes, presentation of Aladdin Bakri, Palermo 2002 (full translation into Italian).
- ^ Luisa Arvide, Las Cuestiones Sicilianas, Introduction, edition, translation and notes, Grupo Editorial Universitario, Granada 2009 (full translation into Spanish).
- ^ Michele Amari, "Questions philosophiques adressées aux savants musulmans par l´empereur Frédéric II", Journal Asiatique, 5. série, 1 (1853), pp. 240-274 (French translation of fragments).
- ^ August Ferdinand Mehren, "Correspondance du philosophe soufi Ibn Sab´in Abdou l-Haqq avec l´empereur Frédéric II de Hohenstaufen", Journal Asiatique, 7. série, 14 (1879), pp. 341-454 (French translation of Question IV).
- ^ Dario Cabanelas, Ofm., "Federico II de Sicilia e Ibn Sab´in de Murcia. Las Cuestiones Sicilianas", en Miscelánea de Estudios Árabes y Hebraicos, 4 (1955), pp. 31-64 (Spanish translation of fragments).
- ^ Anna Akasoy, Die Sizilianischen Fragen, Freiburg 2005 (German translation of fragments).