Andalus and Sefarad: On Philosophy and Its History in Islamic Spain by Sarah Stroumsa continues her innovative exploration of Islamic intellectual history with what she deems an “integrative approach” across social and religious boundaries in Islamdom during the ninth through twelfth centuries. In a sense, this singularly important aspect of her work mirrors the challenge scholars of the Cairo Geniza pose to Islamic studies historians who have made scant use of this documentary resource. Stroumsa also breaks with some students of philosophy in interrogating its practice and textual manifestations in time and place—that is, as inseparable from the historical process. This method is critical for the study of philosophy in al-Andalus/Sefarad because of the reputation it acquired for tacking in a distinctive direction. Here too Stroumsa's preferred term (integrative) applies in how she masterfully incorporates social, economic, and political developments in her study of the history of Andalusi philosophy. In the process she challenges more than a few conventional notions in the history of scholarship regarding speculative thought in al-Andalus derived from highly constructed, ideologically infused literary sources.

Following the introduction devoted to the geographical, linguistic, intellectual, and political terrain of al-Andalus and its three religious communities, Andalus and Sefarad is organized chronologically and thematically. Andalusi Christians belong to this tableau but do not figure in the narrative of Andalusi philosophy. Chapter 1, “Beginnings,” identifies the tenth century origins of philosophy in al-Andalus with the influx of books arriving from the Islamic East and the influential but controversial figure of the mystic Ibn Masarra. Stroumsa also discusses the significant social phenomenon of Muslim and Jewish philosophical networks. The Jews’ shared language (Arabic), terminology, and texts with Muslim thinkers represents the strongest argument for considering them as party to a specifically Andalusi philosophical tradition and for the study of Islamicate philosophy as transcending religious boundaries in the West as well as in the East. Stroumsa applies her paradigm-shifting method in the ensuing chapters. Chapter 2, “Theological and Legal Schools,” proceeds to detail the intellectual orientations and intersections of the Mu‘tazilis (whose heterodox rationalist ideas already appealed to Jewish thinkers in the Islamic East), Ẓāhiris, Rabbanites, and Karaites respectively. It also explores the intersection of religion and theology in religions based on divine law. Chapter 3, “Intellectual Elites,” turns to the philosophical curriculum and the social settings in which Andalusi intellectuals engaged in speculative thought including philosophical friendships and the scarcely realized ideal of philosophical solitude. Stroumsa observes an important distinction between the experiences of the most prominent Muslim and Jewish thinkers since the former were enmeshed frequently in political life with its typically unforeseen consequences. So too when Andalusi rulers soured upon philosophy or banned Muslims from engaging with it, Jews continued to carry out speculative thought without impediment. Chapter 4, “Neoplatonist Inroads,” traces the influence of The Epistles of the Pure Brethren and the penetration of Ismā‘īlī inspired Neoplatonism among Andalusi Muslim (al-Baṭalyawsī) and especially Jewish thinkers (Ibn Gabirol, Ibn Paqūda, and later Abraham ibn Ezra) during the eleventh century. Chapter 5, “Aristotelian Neo-Orthodoxy and Andalusian Revolts,” analyzes the twelfth-century turn to neo-Aristotelian philosophy (albeit incorporating Neoplatonic elements) in the work of Ibn Bājja (Avempace), Ibn Rushd (Averroes), and Maimonides within the complex Almohad religious and legal context. In the process, Stroumsa provides an important revisionist account of the relationship between the Ash‘arite Almohads and philosophy, which challenges long-held views of their supposed sponsorship of a philosophic program. The conclusion follows the afterlife of Andalusi philosophy in its classical age, principally in the form of translations from Arabic into Latin in the Iberian Christian kingdoms and from Arabic into Hebrew in Provence.

Sarah Stroumsa is widely appreciated as a meticulous reader of primary sources, a pioneering interpreter of Islamicate intellectual life, and a consummate historian of ideas. She employs these skills and practices her craft with great insight and analytic clarity in Andalus and Sefarad. The book proves to be an invaluable contribution to a fuller understanding of Andalusi philosophy in the context of Andalusi history. At every turn, it further illuminates one of the significant traditions and practices that contributed to what was unique about al-Andalus.