Alharizi was a rationalist, conveying the works of
Maimonides and his approach to rationalistic Judaism. He translated Maimonides'
The Guide for the Perplexed and some of his
Commentary on the Mishnah, as well as the ''Mahbarot Iti'el'' of the Arab poet
al-Hariri, from the
Arabic to
Hebrew. Alharizi's poetic translation of the
Guide for the Perplexed is considered by many to be more readable than that of
Samuel ibn Tibbon. However, it has not been very widely used in Jewish scholarship, perhaps because it is less precise. It had some
influence in the Christian world due to its translation into Latin. Alharizi's own works include the
Tahkemoni, composed between 1218 and 1220, in the Arabic form known as
maqama. This is written in Hebrew in unmetrical rhymes, in what is commonly termed
rhymed prose. It is a series of humorous episodes, witty verses, and quaint applications of Scriptural texts. The episodes are bound together by the presence of the hero and of the narrator, who is also the author. Another collection of his poetry was devoted to preaching ethical self-discipline and fear of heaven. Alharizi undertook long journeys in the lands of the Middle East. His works are suffused with his impressions from these journeys. He not only brought to perfection the art of applying Hebrew to secular satire, but he was also a brilliant literary critic and his maqama on the
Andalusian Hebrew poets is a fruitful source of information. • 1899 edition of
Tahkemoni in Hebrew • Tahkemoni in Hebrew, Istanbul 1578 •
Saul Isaac Kaempf,
Nichtandalusische Poesie andalusischer Dichter aus dem elften, zwölften und dreizehnten Jahrhundert: Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Poesie des Mittelalters, vol. 1 (Prague: Bellmann, 1858) (here a considerable section of the
Tahkemoni is translated into German). •
Moses Gaster Hebrew MS 95,
John Rylands Library, 14th-15th century Hebrew and Judeo-Arabic manuscript scanned folios, == Literature on Alharizi's influence in the Christian world ==