Rethinking the philosophical legacy of Abu Nasr Al-Farabi: an outstanding thinker of the Islamic renaissance in world culture

Abstract

  This article examines the formation of al-Farabi’s philosophical system and its position within the broader historical-philosophical context. The thinker’s intellectual legacy is analyzed in relation to the classical Greek philosophical tradition and the transformations of knowledge within Islamic civilization. The study interprets al-Farabi’s thought not merely as a body of commentaries or compilative works, but as a coherent normative theory of rational social order. Particular attention is given to the systematic interrelation of happiness (sa‘ada), intellect (‘aql), virtuous governance, and civic association. A comparative analysis also identifies structural affinities between al-Farabi’s philosophy and subsequent European rationalist traditions.
  The aim of the study is to reassess al-Farabi’s philosophical legacy from a historical-philosophical perspective and to determine his role in establishing intellectual continuity between Eastern and Western philosophical traditions. The research employs historical-philosophical, comparative, and textual analysis, together with an examination of the sociocultural context in which al-Farabi’s ideas were formulated and subsequently received. The findings demonstrate that al-Farabi’s philosophy constitutes an integrated theoretical system connecting questions of ethics, knowledge, politics, and social organization. His concepts of the virtuous city, happiness, intellect, and virtuous governance reveal the interdependence between human moral perfection and the rational organization of society. Examination of the reception of al-Farabi’s ideas in later Islamic and European philosophical traditions further demonstrates his importance as an intermediary in intercultural intellectual exchange. The study therefore argues that al-Farabi’s intellectual legacy possesses not only enduring historical significance but also considerable theoretical potential for contemporary social and political philosophy.
       Keywords: Al-Farabi, rationalism, happiness, intellect, virtuous city, political philosophy, Islamic philosophy, historical-philosophical analysis.