Born in Fayyûm (upper Egypt) in 882, Saadya was the first major rabbinical writer to work in Arabic and is the father of Judeo-Arabic literature. He was a Hebrew linguist and philosopher, whose Book of Beliefs and Opinions was the first truly systematic attempt to synthesize aspects of Jewish theology with aspects of Greek philosophy. As a translator and theologian. He left two Arabic translations of the Bible, a Biblical commentary in Arabic (most of it lost), a Hebrew dictionary, liturgical poetry, and a Jewish book of prayer.
As a philosophical theologian, Saavya combined a commitment to reason with a belief in revelation. Together, these guided both knowing and morality. He considered and discussed the difference between “laws of reason” and “laws of revelation,” arguing for the validity of both. His philosophy of religion, as expressed in the Book of Beliefs and Opinions (compiled in 933 and variously revised) endeavored to demonstrate harmonious parallels between the truths delivered to the Israelites by divine revelation and conclusions reached by way of rational argument. Saadya asserted the necessity of reason even in the context of faith and revelation.
Saadya was so revered in his own time that David ben Zakkai, exilarch (leader of the Jewish community in Babylon) appointed him Gaon (head of the academy), the first foreigner ever to be so appointed. Saadya died in Baghdad in 942.
