Bahyā ibn Pāqudā (Bahya ben Joseph ibn Pakuda, Pekudah, Bakuda; Judeo-Arabic: בחיי אבן פקודה, Arabic: بهية بن فاقودا), c. 1050–1120,[1] was a Jewish philosopher and rabbi who lived in the Taifa of Zaragoza in al-Andalus (now Spain).
He wrote, "It is impossible to think that the nations would recognize us as being wise and understanding if we were not to provide infallible proofs and explanations for the truths of the Torah and our faith.
According to The Jewish Encyclopedia: Bahya combined in a rare degree great depth of emotion, a vivid poetic imagination, the power of eloquence, and beauty of diction with a penetrating intellect; and he was therefore well fitted to write a work the main object of which was not to argue about and defend the doctrines of Judaism, but to appeal to the sentiments and to stir and elevate the hearts of the people.Duties of the Heart became a popular book among the Jews worldwide, and parts of it were once recited for devotional purposes during the days before Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.
He often followed the method of the anonymously-authored "Encyclopedia of the Brethren of Purity'" (Arabic: رسائل إخوان الصفاء وخلان الوفاء, romanized: Rasā'il Ikhwān al-Ṣafā).
Bahya, inclined to contemplative mysticism and asceticism, eliminated from his system every element that he felt might obscure monotheism or interfere with halakha.