Why Is Al-Farabi Considered First Muslim Philosopher?

TEHRAN (IQNA) – There were scholars before Al-Farabi in the Islamic world who studied philosophy, but Al-Farabi is the first person who can be considered a philosopher based on his remaining writings.

Fatemeh Shahidi, a faculty member of the Iranian Research Institute of Philosophy, gave a speech about Al-Farabi at a convention held for commemorating him.

Abu Nasr Muhammad Al-Farabi (870-950 CE) is considered the first Muslim philosopher in the history of Islamic philosophy. The history of Islamic philosophy starts before Al-Farabi, but he is the first scholar who can be called a philosopher because the definition of philosopher does not apply to those who did philosophical work before him. This is also true about many figures who lived from the Greek period onwards as few of them were truly philosophers.

A philosopher is someone who has a rational understanding of the issues of the time. Accepting this definition, it can be said that a person who follows the thoughts of others and elaborates on the opinions of other philosophers is not a philosopher in the true sense of the word.

There are Muslim scholars before Al-Farabi who engaged in philosophical thought and wrote philosophical works but none of them cannot be called philosophers. Philosophy for these people was a branch among other branches of science which found their way into the Muslim world.

Al-Farabi is the first person in the Islamic world who comprehensively thinks rationally about various issues of his time, and this can be understood from his works. He did not limit himself to a specific part of science. He wanted to think about the issues of his time and use scientific resources and express his thoughts. Although some of his works are commentaries on Plato and Aristotle, Al-Farabi has other works in which he expressed his own opinions.

Living in a strict religious society, Al-Farabi wanted to propose a new way of thinking. Farabi understood the essence of philosophy and dealt with issues such as politics and society. The fields that Al-Farabi dealt with became less prominent in the history of Islamic philosophy after him.

Islamic philosophy had its ups and downs and finally, in the 16th century, it reached Transcendent Theosophy and Mulla Sadra, who offered no works and views on political and social issues. This is an important difference between Al-Farabi and Muslim thinkers after him.