ABSTRACT
Originally this translation was planned without a commentary. However, the obscurity of medieval Islamic thought without the benefit of a context and references to some of the ideas has been demonstrated repeatedly. Coming upon an English translation of an Arabic text without a commentary is like joining the spectators for a murder trial two-thirds of the way through – the spectator has no idea what issues have been raised, who the participants are, and, particularly, what strategic lines of argument opposing counsels are developing. All medieval Arabic treatises are part of a continuing conversation held among players interested in a particular subject, and consequently much background is assumed by the author to be in the consciousness of the reader. Although on one level The Book of Definitions seems obvious, it is more obvious for those who have read such treatises before. When Ibn Sina gives definitions he merely gives the word to be defined and a short definition. He does not use some formula such as “the term x.” 1
