Ibn Tufayl’s depiction of Hayy in the philosophical tale presents a contrast between the curiosity and malevolence of human behavior. Similar to the story of Adam and Eve’s sin, Ibn Tufayl begins this human society with the story of a king’s sister that married someone without permission and subsequently had a baby, as explicated by, “Now this king had a sister whom he forbade to marry until he himself should find a fitting match […] But she had a kinsman named Aware, and he married her secretly […] She soon conceived and bore him a son” (Ibn Tufayl’s Hayy Ibn Yaqzan, Page 105). This shows the sin of lust, as the king’s sister married Aware secretly and had his child without permission. Ibn Tufayl continues to write that “but fearing exposure
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For instance, when Ibn Tufayl examines the Prophet’s words “I am the ears He hears by and the sight He sees by” and continues with “Hayy found himself a burning desire to know Him more fully” Ibn Tufayl demonstrates how human curiosity can be formed out of understanding the universe, which in this case was prompted by a religious phrase (Ibn Tufayl’s Hayy Ibn Yaqzan, Page 127-128). This also sparks Hayy’s curiosity to examine the heavenly bodies (planets) as shown by “Hayy left behind all these things and turned his mind to the heavenly bodies. He reached this level at twenty eight, having completed four seven-year phases in his development” (Ibn Tufayl’s Hayy Ibn Yaqzan, Page 128). With this in mind, Ibn Tufayl establishes that Hayy’s curiosity has no bounds since he is now studying the sky with accuracy, and by extension this suggests that humans have the same capability. Lastly, when Hayy contemplates that “Apparently, he was a species set apart from all other animal species, created for a different end than all the rest, dedicated to a great task which no animal could undertake” it suggests that humans are above all other life on Earth, and as such Ibn Tufayl further expresses how human curiosity can lead mankind to solve greater tasks than any other species on the planet (Ibn Tufayl’s Hayy Ibn Yaqzan, Page
For instance, when Ibn Tufayl examines the Prophet’s words “I am the ears He hears by and the sight He sees by” and continues with “Hayy found himself a burning desire to know Him more fully” Ibn Tufayl demonstrates how human curiosity can be formed out of understanding the universe, which in this case was prompted by a religious phrase (Ibn Tufayl’s Hayy Ibn Yaqzan, Page 127-128). This also sparks Hayy’s curiosity to examine the heavenly bodies (planets) as shown by “Hayy left behind all these things and turned his mind to the heavenly bodies. He reached this level at twenty eight, having completed four seven-year phases in his development” (Ibn Tufayl’s Hayy Ibn Yaqzan, Page 128). With this in mind, Ibn Tufayl establishes that Hayy’s curiosity has no bounds since he is now studying the sky with accuracy, and by extension this suggests that humans have the same capability. Lastly, when Hayy contemplates that “Apparently, he was a species set apart from all other animal species, created for a different end than all the rest, dedicated to a great task which no animal could undertake” it suggests that humans are above all other life on Earth, and as such Ibn Tufayl further expresses how human curiosity can lead mankind to solve greater tasks than any other species on the planet (Ibn Tufayl’s Hayy Ibn Yaqzan, Page