ABSTRACT
In philosophy, Abu Yusuf Ya c qub b. Ishaq al-Kindi (d. circa 260 ah/ad 873) is generally credited with writing the first surviving philosophical Book of Definitions in Arabic. 1 The earliest cited example of hudud (definition) literature in Arabic is Kitab al-hudud, written by the grammarian al-Farra’ (d. 207 ah/ad 822), but it does not survive. 2 Al-Kindi’s book, Fi hudud al-ashya’ wa rusumiha (On the Definitions and Descriptions of Things), indicates the importance the falasifa placed on accurate philosophical terminology. Because al-Kindi was the first philosopher writing in Arabic, he faced problems concerning the expression of technical terms that were not faced by his successors.
