Chovot HaLevavot

Chovot HaLevavot (Hebrew: חוֹבוֹת הַלְּבָבוֹת, romanized: Ḥoḇoṯ hal-Leḇāḇoṯ; Judeo-Arabic: כתאב אל-הידאיה אילא פרעיד אל-קולוב, romanized: Kitāb al‑Hidāyah ilā Farāʾiḍ al‑Qulūb, lit. 'Book of Guidance to the Duties [of] the Heart[s]'), known in English as The Duties of the Hearts, is the primary work of the Jewish scholar Bahya ibn Paquda, a rabbi believed to have lived in the taifa of Zaragoza in al-Andalus in the eleventh century. It was written in Judeo-Arabic c. 1080 CE and translated into Hebrew by Judah ben Saul ibn Tibbon during 1161–1180 as Torat Chovot HaLevavot (תּוֹרַת חוֹבוֹת הַלְּבָבוֹת, 'Teaching of [the] Duties [of] the Heart'). There was another contemporary translation by Joseph Kimhi, but its complete text did not endure time. In 1973, Yosef Qafih published his Hebrew translation from the original Judeo-Arabic, the latter appearing beside his Hebrew translation.

The Duties of the Heart is divided into ten sections termed "gates" (שערים, šeʿārîm), which correspond to the ten fundamental principles that, according to ibn Paquda's view, constitute human spiritual life. The book makes numerous references to both Hebrew Biblical and Talmudic texts.

The core principle of spirituality, according to ibn Paquda, is the acknowledgment of God as the singular creator and designer of all things. He sets "Sha'ar HaYihud" (Gate of the Divine Unity) as the introductory section of the work. Using the Jewish declaration of faith—"Shema Yisrael: the LORD is our God, the LORD is One!"—as his thought's foundation, the author underscores that Jewish religious life primarily involves an emotional connection with God, emphasizing love and ownership over intellectual understanding.

Ibn Paquda posited that acceptance of belief should not be based solely on unexamined faith, as exemplified by children, or on the teachings of predecessors, which may characterize those who adhere blindly to tradition and lack independent thought. He argued that belief in God should not be interpreted in an anthropomorphic manner but based on conviction stemming from thorough knowledge and research. The Torah encourages the use of reason and knowledge as validation for the existence of God, suggesting that it is the responsibility of individuals to engage in speculative reasoning and knowledge in pursuit of true faith.

Instead of intending to give a compendium of metaphysics, ibn Paquda furnishes a system of religious philosophy with merit in this first "gate". Unfamiliar with Avicenna's works, which replaced Neoplatonic mysticism with clear Aristotelian thought, ibn Paquda, like many Arabic philosophers before him, bases his arguments upon a creation myth. He starts from the following three premises:

The world is arranged and furnished like a great house: the sky forms the ceiling, the earth forms the floor, and the stars form the lamps. Humankind is the proprietor, to whom the three kingdoms—the animal, the vegetable, and the mineral—are submitted for use, each composed of the four elements. (The celestial sphere, composed of a fifth element—quinta essentia, according to Aristotle, or fire, according to others—makes an exception.) The four elements are composed of matter and form, substance and accidental qualities, such as warmth and cold, state of motion and rest, and so forth. Consequently, by combining many forces, the universe must have a creative power as its cause. Furthermore, the existence of the world cannot be due to mere chance. Where there is purpose manifested, there must have been wisdom at work.

Ibn Paquda then proceeds, following chiefly Saadia Gaon and the Mutakallimin ("Kalamists"), to prove the unity of God (tawhid) by showing:

Ibn Paquda then endeavours to define God as absolute unity, distinguishing it from all other possible unities. Ibn Paquda's work, in this regard, prompted Yemeni 12th-century Jewish philosopher Natan'el al-Fayyumi to compile a work that counters some of the basic arguments espoused by ibn Paquda; al-Fayyumi argues for a more profound unity of God than that expressed.