Aquinas in the Arab World: A Reception History
How the works of Tomas Aquinas have been understood, misunderstood, and selectively translated in the Arabic-speaking theological tradition from the medieval era to the present.
Tomas Aquinas (1225–1274) is one of the towering figures of Western theology. His Summa Theologica has shaped Catholic doctrine for seven centuries; his synthesis of Aristotelian philosophy and Christian theology remains one of the most ambitious intellectual achievements in history. And yet, in the Arab world — where Aristotle was transmitted, preserved, and in many respects developed far beyond the attainments of Latin Europe — Aquinas is largely unknown.
The Irony of the Arabic Aristotle
This is one of the great ironies of intellectual history. The Aristotle that Aquinas read was, to a significant extent, the Aristotle who had been filtered through Arabic philosophy — through Avicenna, Averroes, and al-Farabi. Aquinas cited Averroes ("The Commentator") more than 500 times in his works. And yet the Christian theologian who owed so much to Arabic thought remained almost entirely unknown to Arabic readers.
Early Attempts
There were sporadic attempts at transmission. In the 16th century, Maronite scholars associated with Rome made partial translations of scholastic texts into Arabic as part of the broader Counter-Reformation effort to strengthen Eastern Christian communities. But these translations were never widely disseminated and remained confined to ecclesiastical libraries.
In the 19th century, the Jesuit University of Beirut (later Saint Joseph University) produced Arabic translations of selections from scholastic philosophy. These were primarily educational texts, designed for seminarians — not scholarly translations intended for broader circulation.
The Current Gap
Today, no complete Arabic translation of the Summa Theologica exists. No critical Arabic edition of the Summa Contra Gentiles has been produced. CCTR's project to translate selected works of Aquinas into Arabic is, in this respect, genuinely pioneering.
Challenges of Reception
The reception history of Aquinas in the Arab world is complicated not only by the absence of translations but by the theological and cultural context in which Arabic-speaking Christians live. In a predominantly Muslim cultural context, the scholastic distinction between reason and revelation — which Aquinas uses to establish the foundations of natural theology — carries different resonances than it does in a Western Christian context.
Our translations will include substantial introductory essays addressing this reception context, helping Arabic readers situate Aquinas within both the Western tradition and the history of Arabic philosophy.