Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi

(c. 923 - 1023)

After finishing his scribal education, Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi joined the Baghdad circle of Abu Sulayman al-Sijistani, a philosopher seeking to combine Sufism with Greek ideas. In 985 al-Tawhidi’s employer, a Buyid vizier, was executed; unable to find a new patron, al-­Tawhidi was reduced to poverty. He resolved to burn his collection of books before dying, declaring, “I have no child, no friend, no pupil, no master and would not leave my books to people who would trade with them and smirch my honor.”