al-Farabi- الفارابي

Abu Nasr Muhammad al-Farabi

Al-Farabi as depicted on a Kazakhstani banknote.
Abu Nasr Muhammad al-Farabi (born 260 AH/874 CE in Farab, a city in Transoxiana, part of what is now Kazakhstan, and died 339 AH/950 CE) was a Muslim philosopher who mastered the philosophical sciences, excelled in mathematics, possessed a pure soul and sharp intellect, and was detached from worldly affairs, content with only what he needed to sustain himself. He followed the path of the ancient philosophers and had a strong command of the science of medicine and a knowledge of its general principles, but he did not practice it or delve into its specifics.
His full name is Abu Nasr Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Uzlagh ibn Tarkhan, from his city of Farab, a city in the land of the Turks in the region of Khorasan. His father was a military commander. He lived in Baghdad for a time, then moved to Syria, traveled between countries, and returned to Damascus, where he settled until his death. He is credited with introducing the concept of vacuum into physics. He influenced both Ibn Sina and Ibn Rushd.
His Works
Among his most famous books are:
• The Great Book of Music
• The Opinions of the People of the Virtuous City
• The Reconciliation of the Opinions of the Two Sages — in which he attempted to reconcile Plato and Aristotle
• Introduction to Logic
• Civil Politics
• Enumeration of the Sciences and a Definition of Their Purposes
• Compendium of Politics
A Brief Overview of Al-Farabi
Al-Farabi belonged to Farab, a Turkmen town. He was born in 257 AH and died in 339 AH. He traveled throughout the country and in Syria, going to Aleppo and residing for a period at the court of Saif al-Dawla al-Hamdani. He then went to Damascus and lived there until his death at the age of approximately 80 years. He was buried in Damascus. He wrote several works, the most famous of which is a book in which he classified the types and categories of sciences; this book is called “The Enumeration of the Sciences.” Al-Farabi was called the “Second Teacher” in relation to the First Teacher, Aristotle, and this title was given to him because of his interest in logic, as Al-Farabi was a commentator on Aristotle’s logical works.
His belief in the unity of truth:
He believed that philosophical and natural truth is one, and that there are not two truths on the same subject, but rather one truth, which was revealed by Plato and Aristotle. In his opinion, all philosophies that present a system of knowledge should follow the path of Plato and Aristotle. However, there was a fundamental contradiction between Plato and Aristotle, and Al-Farabi believed that Plato’s philosophy was identical to Aristotle’s philosophy, and he wrote a book (The Reconciliation of the Opinions of the Two Sages, Plato and Aristotle). Both Plato and Aristotle investigated existence from the perspective of its first causes. For Plato, existence and the first causes are (the Forms), and for Aristotle (the Four Causes). However, Al-Farabi believed in his book that there was no difference and tried to reconcile the two philosophers, presenting a set of evidence to argue that they both revealed the truth, and that everyone who came after them should follow their example. Q: Why did Al-Farabi make the mistake of saying that they were not contradictory, even though they were? A: Because in his comparison in his book, he used the book (Theology), which was attributed to Aristotle, but it is not by Aristotle, but rather by Plotinus of Alexandria. When the book was translated into Syriac, they made a mistake, and consequently, when the Arabs translated it from Syriac, they also made a mistake. Al-Farabi based his conciliatory effort on the book Theology, and it was as if he was reconciling Plato and Plotinus, so the contradiction did not appear. We see that many, like Al-Farabi, fell into this error. His theory of emanation
His theory of existence: Here appears the theory called emanation and effusion, which is the most prominent characteristic of Al-Farabi’s philosophy. He distinguishes between two types of beings: the contingent being and the necessary being. There are many contingent beings, but only one necessary being. The contingent being: a being whose existence or non-existence does not lead to any contradiction. Its existence or non-existence is not impossible. However, if it exists, it must have a cause, and all beings whose existence is realized are contingent events. The necessary being: a being whose non-existence, if assumed, leads to a contradiction. This means that it can only exist, and in religious terminology, it is God. We cannot say that God does not exist, because if we say that God does not exist, how did the world come into being? (The one who brings beings into existence from nothingness) means the one who creates beings from non-existence. Q: We cannot understand how contingent beings came into existence from the necessary being? Al-Kindi’s answer was (the one who brings into existence…). As for Al-Farabi, he says that the necessary being is by nature pure intellect, one in all aspects, a pure intellectual substance that comprehends itself, and the object of its comprehension is itself. Unlike us, we comprehend ourselves and also comprehend natural beings, but the necessary being, according to Al-Farabi, comprehends only itself. Al-Farabi says that from its self-comprehension, a first intellect emanates. It is sufficient for the necessary being to comprehend itself for a first intellect to emanate from it; the act of comprehension is a creative act that occurs necessarily, not by will or intention. From its comprehension of what is above it, another intellect emanates, and from its self-comprehension, a sphere emanates… etc. The last intellect is the active intellect, and its corresponding sphere is the sphere of the moon. The Relationship Between the Philosopher and the Prophet
Al-Farabi’s distinction between the prophet and the philosopher: Knowledge is acquired by abstracting universal meanings from sensory perceptions. Both the prophet and the philosopher receive truths and convey them to others. Al-Farabi says that all knowledge of ultimate truths originates from God, but he differentiates between the truths of the prophet and the truths of the philosopher. The philosopher receives truths through the active intellect, so their nature is intellectual, not sensory. The messenger receives knowledge revealed from God through the angel Gabriel, and he receives revelation through the imagination. The imagined images are then transformed into images and meanings that are conveyed to people. Prophetic knowledge is fundamentally based on the imagination.
His Political and Ethical Philosophy
What distinguished Al-Farabi, in addition to his contributions to logic, was his work in politics and ethics. Among his most famous books are: 1- The Opinions of the Inhabitants of the Virtuous City 2- The Great Book of Music
The Opinions of the Inhabitants of the Virtuous City: This describes the best possible city on earth for humankind. The author’s central theme is happiness, which all people seek. The book is divided into two parts: the first part in which Al-Farabi discusses the theory of existence, and in which we see the distinction between the possible and the necessary; the second part is dedicated to the city and the opinions of the inhabitants of the virtuous community. The first part corresponds to the second part and to the cities that are the opposite of the virtuous city. Al-Farabi constructs the city in a similar manner to…