Al Farabi: Political Philosophy

Introduction

When reading the philosophies of a political thinker, one must maintain a multi-dimensional perspective, taking into account three fundamental aspects that significantly shape and enrich one’s understanding of their work.

· Firstly, the personal life experiences of a philosopher. These experiences, whether marked by triumph or adversity, invariably mold their worldview and beliefs, influencing the very foundations upon which their philosophical edifice is constructed.

· Secondly, contextualising a philosopher within the socio-economic and political milieu of their era. The prevailing conditions, whether marked by social upheaval, economic inequality, or political transformation, provide the backdrop against which their ideas are formulated. The philosopher’s engagement with the socio-political dynamics of their time, their reactions to the prevailing power structures, and their critiques of existing norms all serve as windows into the pressing issues of their day.

· Lastly, the temporal dimension of a philosopher’s life and thought. Just as seasons change, so too does the human mind evolve over time. The age at which a philosopher articulates their ideas holds intrinsic importance. Early writings may exude the fervour of youthful idealism, while later works may reflect the wisdom borne of experience and reflection. The process of refinement, reformulation, or even the outright transformation of philosophical views over the course of a philosopher’s life is a testament to the dynamic nature of intellectual inquiry. Understanding this evolution, punctuated by shifts in perspective, allows us to grasp the depth and breadth of their intellectual journey.

Thus, these three interwoven facets — personal life experiences, socio-economic and political context, and the evolving nature of a philosopher’s thought — are vital threads that together compose the fabric of their ideas.

Al Farabi was no exception

Al Farabi-His Life

Known as Alpharabiusc in Europe and as “The Second Teacher” after Aristotle in the Islamic World, Al Faarabi (872–950 CE) was born in Farab (Kazhistan) but spent most of his time in Baghdad with Christian and Shia scholars. Their ideas were reflected in his political philosophy

Unlike most political philosophers, Al-Farabi was not close to the rulers and did not serve in the government; as such, his theories are too idealistic. He got freedom of thought without adjusting to the political situation that occurred at that time.

C. Al Farabi-His Time

Al Farabi lived during the Caliphate of al-Muti’, a chaotic period with pathetic political instability. Then, with the destruction of the dynasty, he imagined and thought about the ideal form of state he had seen in the Sammaniyyah dynasty.

It was also a time when Greek philosophers were being translated into Arabic. Al-Farabi wrote a lot of commentaries and explanations about Plato, Galenus, and Aristotle’s philosophy. Consequently, his philosophy has left deep imprints on these philosophers

Thus his association with Christian/Shia scholars, his never holding a government job, the chaotic times he was living in, and the spread of Greek philosophy in the Arab world influenced his ideas, as they are reflected in his utopian state governed by the prophet and his successors: the Imams.

D. Core Ideas of Political Philosophy of Al Farabi

1. Pursuit of happiness is the main aim of life

2. Collaboration and Solidarity

3. State and Politics

4. Qualities and Duties of Ruler

5. Crucial Role of Philosophers

6. Al Farabi’s Universalism

1. Pursuit of happiness is the main aim of life

Following Aristotle’s concept of Eudaimonia, Al Farabi also believes that the ultimate goal of life is to attain “true happiness,” which can be achieved through self-philosophical enlightenment.

To Al Farabi human beings are born with certain intellects and faculties, their task consists in actualizing this potential, “by which a human being is a human being”. Like Aristotle, he is convinced that attaining the highest possible degree of perfection entails happiness,

For Al Farabi, happiness is achieved when the soul of a person reaches perfection, in which it needs no material substance to exist. One must not only comprehend and be conscious of happiness; one must also desire it and make it the purpose of life.

How can a person achieve this level of happiness? Here, Al Farabi gives a long list of subjects a person must be knowledgeable of, ranging from science and philosophy on the one hand to metaphysics and earthly knowledge on the other. He visualizes every person as having a round personality

However, besides stressing the need for this individual self-actualisation, Al Farabi acknowledges that man, being a social animal, must strive to contribute to the well-being of the community. This is, as per him, essential for the salvation of a person’s soul in the hereafter.

True individual happiness, as al-Farabi sees it, thus turns out to be a peculiar blend of Aristotelian and Islamic elements. It simultaneously embraces the idea of individual felicity attained by the philosophers, the notion of purification, and the deification of the human soul

2. Collaboration and Solidarity

Besides making maximum personal efforts to pursue happiness, Al Farabi emphasises a lot on the role of society in this endeavour of a person to attain happiness, both as an end in this life and for the salvation of his soul in the hereafter.

As humans cannot live alone or isolated from communal life because of their social nature and their needs, everybody needs help from others to meet all requirements. This obligation creates a community where everybody needs each other to preserve themselves and attain perfection

According to Al Farabi, living in a community is a two-way street; if one member of the community suffers, then the suffering is felt by other members of the community itself. If the community is happy, then the pleasure is also felt by its members within the community itself.

Thus, to Al Farabi, society serves a specific purpose, beyond the mere allocation of daily needs, such as food, shelter, and protection. Societies have their own ‘natural purpose, which consists, according to al-Farabi, of guiding their members towards their end: true felicity.

3. State and Politics in Al Farabi’s Political Philosophy

Although Al Farabi is not the first Muslim scholar to discuss this issue, he is considered the first Muslim scholar who has a complete concept of the state with various concepts and political theories.

Considering politics as the practical application of philosophy, Al Farabi maintains that politics (ilmi siyaset) is a kind of art to reach true happiness. However, Al Farabi explains this functionality by Islamic theology in a special kind of socio-political form.

Therefore, to Al Farabi, the meaning of politics is not related only to the distribution and allocation of resources but also to the harmonizing of different talents by providing ideal conditions for the development of society through collaboration among its members

Al Farabi considers ethics and politics inseparable and maintains that virtuous cities consist of virtuous citizens. Therefore, a good character and a sound power of discrimination between right and wrong are essential prerequisites for attaining happiness for all living in a society

Al-Farabi’s philosophy of state flows directly from his views about the aim of an individual, namely the pursuit of happiness. Thus, a state can only be “excellent (fadil)”, if it seeks to equip its members with the necessary means for the attainment of individual happiness.

Al Farabi likens a state to that of a human body, composed of different limbs, each doing a certain action, all their actions come together in mutual assistance to perform human actions. To him, the relationship between households and the state is similar.

4. Qualities and Duties of Ruler

Al-Farabi has given a long list of qualities he would like to see in an ideal head of state, namely a person whose understanding is high, his intelligence is excellent, his limbs are complete, not tricky in opinion and easy to understand the love for education & teaching, not greedy for food or power or women, like honesty and throwing away lies, big-hearted, virtuous, not seeing that matter is everything, not too in love with worldly, just, away from cruelty, fixed stance & no doubt — — -(and the list goes on!)

Similarly, the duties Al Farabi assigns to an ideal leader are also onerous. He is not only to regulate his country but also to educate people so that they have good morals. He has to deal with the spiritual realm, invite their people and educate their souls to the beauty of light.

He must ensure that every citizen is taught the things they need to do and to know, thus inducing individual felicity; and, secondly, that everyone is instructed in and carries out those “things which each class knows and does on its own” to bring about the well-being of the city

5. Crucial Role of Philosophers

Deeply influenced by Greek Philosophy, Al-Farabi introduced Plato’s philosopher king into his political philosophy, but with a caveat. Kindly note, to him, and all other Muslim political philosophers, it is the Ulema who are Islamic philosophers.

Al Farabi compared the philosopher’s role concerning society with that of a physician about the body; the body’s health is affected by the “balance of its humour” just as the city is determined by the moral habits of its people.

Secondly, Al Farabi’s philosophy has more to do with the spiritual realm. Therefore, the philosopher’s duty, he wrote, was to establish a “virtuous” society by healing the souls of the people, establishing justice, and guiding them towards “true happiness”.

Thirdly, while Plato wanted the philosopher-king to descend from the realm of reflection into the world of politics, Al Farabi’s head of state should enter into his spiritual realm, besides having to be in constant contact with the Mind-Spirit-becomes a wise judge

Of course, al-Farabi realized that such a society was rare and required a very specific set of historical circumstances to be realized. He, therefore, makes a concession; if there are people who have these characteristics, the state should be left to people like them!

Of course, al-Farabi realized that such a society was rare and required a very specific set of historical circumstances to be realized. He, therefore, makes a concession; if there are people who have these characteristics, the state should be left to people like them!

6. Universalism in the Philosophy of Al Farabi

It is not clear how the universalist ideas of Al Farabi were shaped, but the real values and ideas of Al Farabi related to the different classifications of states and politics.

Al-Farabi, like Plato and Aristotle, believed that human beings are social creatures who have a proclivity to form communities and social lives. However, Al-Farabi thought that the ultimate goal of being a community was not only related to this life but also to the hereafter.

Al Farabi also differs from Plato and considers a city-state too small an entity to serve this ultimate goal. To him, the bigger the unit, the more chances there are for a person to achieve self-actualisation and the pursuit of happiness, the goal of every human being.

Accordingly, Al Farabi classifies communities into three categories: small, middle and large;

1. Small Communities: A small community consists of the residents of a city. To him, villages, districts or families are incomplete communities Why? Because of limited solidarity. A family is part of a street community; a street community is a part of a village community; and a village community is a part of a city community. But, these are imperfect due to limited economic, social, and spiritual opportunities
2. Middle Communities: A medium-level community of people living in an area that could be associated with the meaning of the nation-state. No doubt a bigger unit of administration than a city-state, yet Al Farabi considers it not conducive to the attainment of happiness
3. Large Communities: Large communities consist of large groups of people who agree to merge to help each other and cooperate. This explanation seems to match the creation of the United Nations.

According to Al Farabi, solidarity and collaboration are essential for a person to achieve the goal of true happiness, but this goal is better achieved in a larger unit of administration. Smaller associations, such as villages, quarters, streets, and houses, are per se imperfect;

As per Al Farabi, larger ones, like nations and the “union of all the societies in the inhabitable world”, are the ultimate level of this collaborative development. It is a kind of societal evolution of the personality that begins from family & extends to the international community

E. Impact

In Islamic philosophical tradition, he was often called “the Second Teacher”, following Aristotle, who was known as “the First Teacher”.He is credited with preserving the original Greek texts during the Middle Ages via his commentaries and treatises and influencing many prominent philosophers, such as Avicenna and Maimonides. Through his works, he became well-known in the West as well as the East.

1. An original Thinker

Indeed, Al Farabi was a remarkable thinker in many fields like cosmology, logic and music besides dialectic philosophy. Al Farabi explained and commented on the philosophical ideas of Aristotle and Plato through the metaphysical, psychological, and philosophical implications of Islamic principles.

However, far from being mere repetitions of Aristotle’s, Alfarabi’s physics and metaphysics are. In an important passage in the Book of Demonstration, Alfarabi explains how logic needs to be completely reformulated to fit the premises familiar to his readers and the Arabic language of his time.

Alfarabi did not deliberately distort Greek thought, but he did present it to better suit his own time. Alfarabi is neither a Muslim nor a Platonist or Aristotelian simply, but an original thinker who first explored the questions raised by the intersection of Islam and classical philosophy.

2. Attempts to reconcile the thoughts of Aristotle and Plato

Alfarabi’s The Harmonization of the Opinions of the Two Divine Sages also attempts to reconcile the thoughts of Aristotle and Plato point by point. Although the accounts of the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle seem divergent in both tone and content, Alfarabi insists that both thinkers had the same intention and the same philosophy. It attributes the Theology of Aristotle to Aristotle himself, although it is an Arabic translation of Plotinus. Alfarabi does make such an attribution in the Philosophy of Aristotle, which includes almost all of Aristotle’s other works.

3. Founder of Islamic Philosophy

Abu Nasr al-Farabi is widely regarded as the founder of philosophy in the Islamic world. Although he had some noteworthy predecessors, such as al-Kindi and al-Razi, he was the first philosopher of his epoch to command the unqualified respect of future generations. Avicenna, Averroes, and Maimonides all considered many of Alfarabi’s themes and left written testimony of their admiration for him. He became known as the “second teacher,” that is, second only to Aristotle.

Therefore, Farabi has been perceived as an excellent representation of the “renaissance” of Islamic thinking in the medieval age. Al Farabi usually well-known by the books of Kitab-el Siyaset’ül Medeniye (Book of Politics) and Mebadi’i aren’t Ehl el-Medinet’il Fadıla (virtuous city), which includes utopian philosophy about the ideal state and administration.

He learned from the Greeks, but he wrote for Muslims. He did not attempt to explain Greek practices such as the cult of Zeus or elections by lot to his readers, most of whom would have recognized only the worship of Allah and the rule of the Caliph and his successors. Greek thought, as Alfarabi presents it, sheds light mainly on issues that concern his audience.

4. Global ambitions of Islam

Alfarabi returns repeatedly to such central Islamic themes as law, prophecy, political succession, and jurisprudence. He retains the ancient Greek concern with the virtuous city, but enlarges the size of the virtuous community to a nation or many nations, again reflecting the global ambitions of Islam and the imperial conditions of his time.