Reactualization of Al-Farabi’s Philosophy

Abstract

—The intellectual heritage of Abu Nasr Al-Fârabî' (870-950 AD) just received public recognition in Muslim world in the last fifty years and has not sufficiently been exploited within scientific studies and inquiries. For more than one millennium, Al-Fârabî was forgotten since some of his works were not properly assembled while few others were almost lost. This condition requires reactualization efforts to establish the eminent position of Al-Fârabî’s philosophy within the comprehensive treasures of Islamic thoughts. This present study aims to explore Al-Fârabî’s philosophy in terms of his creativity as an original Muslim philosopher. The analysis was carried out through the ideological critique. In this context, ideological critique is defined as the functional aspect of ideology like that of the socio-political, cultural, and economic system, surrounding the founder of a philosophical thought, which in turn influence the thought itself. Some of Al-Fârabî's ideas are closely related to the ideological critique that he developed, such as the initiation for the project of translating Greek classical texts in Islamic world, the solution for the harmony between philosophy and religion, his tendency towards logic established by Aristotle, and the ideas of the Ultimate State.