The Guide For The Perplexed (دلالة الحائرين) [Part Two] By Moses Ben Maimon (Maimonides)

The Guide for the Perplexed by Mūsá ibn Maymūn (known throughout the Christian West as Moses Maimonides) is regarded as one of the most important works of Medieval Jewish thought. The book attempted to harmonize the philosophy of Aristotle with the Rabbinical teachings, but was regarded by many at the time as antithetical to Jewish theology, despite its earnest arguments in vindication of the ways of God.
In the Guide of the Perplexed Maimonides (Moses ben Maimon) achieved an original and highly influential synthesis of religious and secular learning, drawing on Rabbinical teachings, the Aristotelian and neo-Platonic doctrines then current in the Islamic world, as well as his own scriptural exegeses and philosophical arguments. According to Encyclopaedia Judaica, "almost every philosophic work for the remainder of the Middle Ages cited, commented on, or criticized Maimonides' views."
The Guide for the Perplexed by Moses Maimonides (1138-1204). Translated by Michael Friedländer (1833-1910).
The Guide for the Perplexed (Arabic: دلالة الحائرين, romanized: Dalālat al-ḥā'irīn, דלאלת אלחאירין; Hebrew: מורה נבוכים, romanized: Moreh Nevukhim) is a work of Jewish theology by Maimonides. It seeks to reconcile Aristotelianism with Rabbinical Jewish theology by finding rational explanations for many events in the text.
It was written in Classical Arabic using the Hebrew alphabet in the form of a three-part letter to his student, Rabbi Joseph ben Judah of Ceuta, the son of Rabbi Judah, and is the main source of Maimonides' philosophical views, as opposed to his opinions on Jewish law. A small minority believe the Guide for the Perplexed was written by an anonymous heretic and not Maimonides; most notable amongst these is the revered 18th-century scholar Jacob Emden.
Since many of the philosophical concepts, such as his view of theodicy and the relationship between philosophy and religion, are relevant beyond Judaism, it has been the work most commonly associated with Maimonides in the non-Jewish world and it is known to have influenced several major non-Jewish philosophers.[2] Following its publication, "almost every philosophic work for the remainder of the Middle Ages cited, commented on, or criticized Maimonides' views."[3] Within Judaism, the Guide became widely popular, with many Jewish communities requesting copies of the manuscript, but also quite controversial, with some communities limiting its study or banning it altogether.
Moses ben Maimon[a] (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (/maɪˈmɒnɪdiːz/)[b] and also referred to by the acronym Rambam (Hebrew: רמב״ם),[c] was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah scholars of the Middle Ages. In his time, he was also a preeminent astronomer and physician, serving as the personal physician of Saladin. Born in Córdoba within the Almoravid Empire (present-day Spain), on Passover eve, 1138 (or 1135),[d][8][9][10] he worked as a rabbi, physician and philosopher in Morocco and Egypt. He died in Egypt on 12 December 1204, his body was transported to the lower Galilee and was eventually buried in Tiberias.
During his lifetime, most Jews greeted Maimonides' writings on Jewish law and ethics with acclaim and gratitude, even as far away as Iraq and Yemen. Yet, while Maimonides rose to become the revered head of the Jewish community in Egypt, his writings also had vociferous critics, particularly in Spain. Nonetheless, he was posthumously acknowledged as one of the foremost rabbinic decisors and philosophers in Jewish history, and his copious work comprises a cornerstone of Jewish scholarship. His fourteen-volume Mishneh Torah still carries significant canonical authority as a codification of Halacha. He is sometimes known as הנשר הגדול ("haNesher haGadol" The Great Eagle)[13] in recognition of his outstanding status as a bona fide exponent of the Oral Torah.
Aside from being revered by Jewish historians, Maimonides also figures very prominently in the history of Islamic and Arab sciences and he is mentioned extensively in studies. Influenced by Aristotle, Al-Farabi, Ibn Sina, and his contemporary Ibn Rushd, he became a prominent philosopher and polymath in both the Jewish and Islamic worlds.