F?r?b?, Ab? Na?r Mu?ammad, Al-°
F?R?B?, AB? NA?R MU?AMMAD, AL-°
F?R?B?, AB? NA?R MU?AMMAD, AL- ° (c. 870–c. 950), one of the greatest philosophers of the medieval Islamic world. Al-F?r?b? had considerable influence on Jewish philosophers, particularly *Maimonides. Having spent most of his life in *Baghdad, he became associated in 942 with the illustrious court of Sayf al-Dawla, the ?amd?nid ruler of Syria, residing mainly in *Aleppo.
Al-F?r?b? played a major role in the dissemination of ancient philosophy in the Islamic world. His teacher was the Nestorian Yu?ann? ibn ?ayl?n (see M. Meyerhof, Von Alexandrien nach Bagdad (1930), 405, 414, 416ff.). He was thus familiar with the Christian tradition of Aristotelian studies initially cultivated in *Alexandria and transmitted by Syriac-speaking Christians to the Islamic world. While in Baghdad, al-F?r?b? apparently had contacts with the Christian Baghdad school of Aristotelian studies, the leading member of which was Matt? ibn Y?nus. Aristotle was studied together with his commentators, *Alexander of Aphrodisias and *Themistius, as well as with commentators of the neoplatonic school of Alexandria (Ammonius son of Hermias and his pupils). The paramount philosophical task al-F?r?b? faced was to naturalize the pagan philosophic tradition of antiquity within the confines of a society structured by a revealed law.
His Philosophy
The bulk of al-F?r?b?'s teaching and writing was devoted to interpreting Aristotle, particularly the logical works. He wrote commentaries and paraphrases on the entire Organon. In natural philosophy he followed the Physics closely. His metaphysics is a blend of the Metaphysics and neoplatonism. Creation is viewed by him as an atemporal process of emanation which flows from the unique, unqualified First Being. Al-F?r?b? combines the neoplatonic theory of emanation with the Aristotelian-Ptolemaic *cosmology which posits a system of celestial spheres and their intelligences encompassing the sublunar world. The intelligence of the last sphere (the moon) presides over the sublunar world and is called the active *intellect. Al-F?r?b? thus follows that interpretation of the nous poietikós ("active intellect"; De anima, 3), which regards it as a cosmic entity. The active intellect is "the Giver of Forms" (w?hib al?uwar; dator formarum): it conveys forms to the world, thus constituting the rational structure of the universe. It also actualizes the potential intellect of the individual. Al-F?r?b?'s theory of intellection is complicated and his various discussions of the subject, mainly in the treatises "On the Intellect" and Ar?? Ahl al-Mad?na al-F??ila ("The Opinion of the Citizens of the Virtuous City," ed. by A. Nader, 1959) are not entirely consistent. The individual potential (or material) intellect, influenced by the active intellect, becomes the intellect in act. When it achieves perfection, it becomes what is termed the acquired intellect, which is said to be close to the active intellect. The one who achieves this perfection thereby becomes intelligizer (??qil), intelligized (ma?q?l), and intellect (?aql), free from matter, and "divine" (see al-Siy?sa al-Madaniyya ("The Political Regime," ed. by F. Najjar (1964), 36). In "The Virtuous City" (p. 31), this threefold identity is posited of God.
Al-F?r?b? equates intellectual perfection with supreme happiness. The individual who achieves this perfection and happiness is considered to be the philosopher or sage. If such a person has the additional quality of a perfect imagination, so that intelligible forms flow from the intellect to the imagination becoming embodied in sensible forms, he is more thana sage: he is a *prophet. The process by which the forms flow from the First Being through the active intellect to the particular intellect and then the imagination is called "revelation" (wah?). To become a statesman, in addition to being a prophet, he needs also the power of persuasion in order to lead men to the correct actions that bring happiness ("The Virtuous City," 104). The prophet is thus essentially a philosopher, one who is capable of conveying philosophical truth (theoretical and practical) to the unreflective masses on the level of the imagination, in myths and symbols. The philosopher, lawgiver (i.e., prophet), and im?m (head of the community) are ideally one and the same person (Ta???l al-Sa??da, "The Attainment of Happiness," tr. by M. Mahdi, in Alfarabi's Philosophy of Plato and Aristotle (1962), paras. 57, 58). Religion is thus "an imitation of philosophy" (ibid., para. 55). This concept of prophecy is traced by R. Walzer to certain ideas in middle Platonism (Greek into Arabic (1962), 206ff.). The identity of the philosopher and ruler is, of course, rooted ultimately in Plato's concept of the philosopher-king in the Republic.
Political Theory
Al-F?r?b?'s political theory depends mainly on Plato, principally on the Republic and Laws. The Republic inspired his typology of the corrupt and perfect political regimes in "The Virtuous City" and "The Political Regime." The elaboration of a theory concerning the perfect city, the perfect nation, and the perfect world state in the whole of the inhabited world (ma?m?ra; oikoumene) is traced by Walzer to middle Platonic developments (see Oriens, 16 (1963), 46ff.). Plato's Laws was of crucial importance for al-F?r?b? (and Islamic philosophy in general), for it envisioned a society based on a single divine law comprehending both religious and civil aspects of life (see L. Strauss, in rej, 100 (1936), 2). Aristotle's dictum, "man is by nature a political animal," played an important role in al-F?r?b?'s political theory, but he apparently did not utilize the Politics to an appreciable extent. Al-F?r?b?'s choice of Plato's political philosophy had a determining effect upon the later development of Islamic, as well as Jewish philosophy. In ethical theory Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics was of decisive influence (along with Porphyry's now lost commentary).
Al-F?r?b?'s political theory thus posits a fundamental distinction in society between the elite (the sages who know by reason) and the masses (the believers who apprehend by imagination). Philosophical truth is universal. It is adapted by the prophets to the requirements of various groups and nations in the guise of religion. There are many religions; each is an approximation (of greater or lesser validity) of the single truth of reason (see, e.g., "The Political Regime," 85ff.). While giving priority to philosophy, al-F?r?b? recognized the role of religion in human life as an instrument for the welfare of society and the edification of the unphilosophical masses. He was interested in preserving the masses from the possible pernicious effects of the truths of reason. Consequently, he wrote esoterically so as not to disturb unreflective commitment to religion and morality, as well as to evade persecution by religious and state authorities (L. Strauss, in Louis Ginzberg Jubilee Volume, 1 (1945), 357ff.).
Influence on Jewish Thought
Al-F?r?b?'s impact on medieval Jewish thought was considerable. In Hebrew texts he is called either by his Arabic name (Ab? Na?r or al-F?r?b?) or by the Hebrew equivalent of the former (Ab? Yesha?). Ab? Bakr is sometimes erroneously substituted for Ab? Na?r.
Strauss (loc. cit.) first demonstrated the dominating influence of al-F?r?b?'s political philosophy on *Maimonides. Maimonides' esteem for al-F?r?b?, which no doubt encouraged the acceptance of the latter within Jewish philosophical circles, is clear from a letter he wrote to Samuel ibn Tibbon (see jqr, 25 (1934/35), 379). Maimonides recommended exclusively al-F?r?b?'s works on logic and praised all his writings, especially "The Book of Principles" ("The Political Regime"), as impeccably excellent and worthy of study, adding, "for he is a great man." In the introduction to his translation of The Guide of the Perplexed (1963), S. Pines states that in theoretical and political science Maimonides followed al-F?r?b? on all points (p. lxxviii). The main lines of influence are traced by Pines: Maimonides' esoteric style and the tendency to embed "outrageously unorthodox statements" in a cryptic, veiled context are fashioned according to the model of al-F?r?b? (see also Strauss, in Essays on Maimonides, ed. by S.W. Baron (1941), 37ff.). Maimonides was also influenced by al-F?r?b?'s negative assessment of the Kal?m, as well as his treatment of such crucial issues as creation, intellection, prophecy, and providence.
Extensive quotations in Maimonides' Shemonah Perakim are taken from al-F?r?b?'s Fus?l al-Madan? (Aphorisms of the Statesman, ed. and tr. by D.M. Dunlop, 1961), as was shown by H. Davidson (in paajr, 31 (1963), 33–50). Al-F?r?b?'s influence may also be discerned in Maimonides' code of Jewish law. A passage in Mishneh Torah (De?ot, 6:1), to the effect that one who lives in an evil city should immigrate to a place where the people are righteous or, if this is impossible, live in isolation, seems to reflect a similar statement in al-F?r?b?'s Aphorisms of the Statesman (para. 88). The comparison of those who are physically infirm, and whose sense of taste is consequently impaired, with those who are psychologically infirm and morally corrupt (De?ot, 2:1) is virtually a verbatim translation of a similar comparison by al-F?r?b? in "The Political Regime" (p. 83). It is possible that al-F?r?b?'s specification and ordering of the ideas that should be taught in the virtuous religious community (al-milla al-f??ila) influenced the choice of subjects treated and their sequence in Mishneh Torah (Yesodei ha-Torah; cf. Kit?b al-Milla, "The Book of Religion," ed. by M. Mahdi (1968), 44ff.).
Hebrew Translations
Many of al-F?r?b?'s works were translated into Hebrew. M. Steinschneider (Uebersetzungen, para. 158) lists eight. The microfilm collection of the Institute of Hebrew Manuscripts at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem contains about 25 works, including some interesting logical works not mentioned by Steinschneider. A partial translation of the tripartite work that comprises "The Attainment of Happiness," "The Philosophy of Plato," and "The Philosophy of Aristotle," together with the music part of I???? al- ?Ul?m ("The Register of the Sciences"), is contained in Shem Tov ibn *Falaquera's Reshit ?okhmah (see M. Steinschneider, Al-Farabi (1896), 176ff., 224ff.; Strauss, in mgwj, 80 (1936), 96ff.). "The Political Regime" was translated in part under the title Sefer ha-Hathalot (ed. by Z. Filipowski in Sefer ha-Asif, 1849). Falaquera often cites al-F?r?b? in his commentary on the Guide, Moreh ha-Moreh. According to S.O. Heller-Wilensky, Isaac ibn *Lat?f quotes two whole chapters of "The Virtuous City" in his Sha?ar ha-Shamayim (in Jewish Medieval and Renaissance Studies, ed. by A. Alt-mann (1967), 196).
[Joel Kraemer]
As Musician
Al-F?r?b? was one of the outstanding theorists of Arabic music and several Arabic sources extol his musical talent and his excellence as an '?d player. He wrote several treatises on music of which the most famous are Kit?b al-M?s?q? al-Kab?r ("The Grand Book of Music") and I???' al- ?Ul?m ("The Classification of the Sciences") in which he enumerates all the known sciences and defines their nature and object; part of the third chapter deals with the science of music. This work became known in Medieval Europe through its several Latin translations (see H.G. Farmer, Arabic-Latin Writings on Music, 1934) and was translated into Hebrew by Kalonymus b. Kalonymus of Arles in 1314 under the title: Ma'amar be-Mispar ha-?okhmot (see A. Shiloah, Yuval, 2 (1971), 115–27). Among Jewish writers who used the section on music in their works are Shem Tov ibn *Falaquera in his Reshit Hokhma and Joseph ibn *Aknin in chapter vii of his ?ibb al-Nuf?s. The section on music as well as several passages compiled in the "Grand Book of Music" is included in the Hebrew version of Ibn Salt's treatise on music and occurs in a Genizah fragment (British Museum, Ms. Or.5565c).
[Amnon Shiloah (2nd ed.)]
bibliography:
Brockelmann, Arab Lit., 1 (1943), 232ff.; supplement, 1 (1937), 375ff., 957ff.; N. Rescher, Al Farabi. An Annotated Bibliography (1962); R. Walzer, in: eis2s.v.al-Farabi; H.G. Farmer, Al-F?rab?'s Arabic Latin Writings on Music (19602), 3–16; H. Avenary, in Tatzlil, 3 (1963), 163.