Editing Al-Farabi (section)

=== Philosophy ===
[[File:Bnf lat 9335.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Gerard of Cremona]]'s Latin translation of ''Kitab ihsa' al-'ulum'' ("Enumeration of the Sciences"){{efn-ua|name=Enumeration}}]]

As a philosopher, al-Farabi was a founder of his own school of [[early Islamic philosophy]] known as "Farabism" or "Alfarabism", though it was later overshadowed by [[Avicennism]]. Al-Farabi's school of philosophy "breaks with the philosophy of [[Plato]] and [[Aristotle]] [... and ...] moves from [[Islamic metaphysics|metaphysics]] to [[Scientific method|methodology]], a move that anticipates [[modernity]]", and "at the level of philosophy, Farabi unites theory and practice [... and] in the sphere of the [[Politics|political]] he liberates practice from theory". His [[Neoplatonism|Neoplatonic]] theology is also more than just metaphysics as rhetoric. In his attempt to think through the nature of a [[Primum movens|First Cause]], Farabi discovers the limits of human [[knowledge]]".<ref>{{Cite journal|first=Ian Richard|last=Netton|title=''Breaking with Athens: Al-Farabi as Founder'', Applications of Political Theory By Christopher A. Colmo|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|journal=Journal of Islamic Studies|year=2008|volume=19|issue=3|pages=397–8|doi=10.1093/jis/etn047|jstor=26200801}}</ref>

Al-Farabi had great influence on science and philosophy for several centuries,{{sfn|Weber|2017|pp=170a ff.}} and was widely considered second only to Aristotle in knowledge (alluded to by his title of the "Second Teacher"),{{efn-ua|name=Title}} in his time. His work, aimed at synthesis of philosophy and [[Sufism]], paved the way for the work of [[Avicenna]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia| url =http://www.iep.utm.edu/a/avicenna.htm| title =Avicenna/Ibn Sina (CA. 980–1137)| access-date =2007-07-13 | encyclopedia =The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070623051601/http://www.iep.utm.edu/a/avicenna.htm| archive-date= 23 June 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref>

Al-Farabi also wrote a commentary on [[Aristotle]]'s work, and one of his most notable works is ''Ara Ahl al-Madina al-Fadila'',{{efn-ua|name=Virtuous}} where he theorized an ideal [[Sovereign state|state]], supposedly modelled on Plato's ''[[The Republic (Plato)|The Republic]]''.{{sfn|Netton|1994|p=100}} Al-Farabi argued that religion rendered truth through symbols and persuasion, and, like [[Plato]], saw it as the duty of the philosopher to provide guidance to the state. Al-Farabi incorporated the [[Platonism|Platonic]] view, drawing a parallel from within the Islamic context, in that he regarded the ideal state to be ruled by the [[Prophets of Islam|Prophet]]-[[Imam]], instead of the philosopher-king envisaged by Plato. Al-Farabi argued that the ideal state was the city-state of [[Medina]] when it was governed by [[Muhammad]] as its [[head of state]], as he was in direct communion with [[Allah]] whose law was revealed to him. In the absence of the Prophet-Imam, al-Farabi considered democracy as the closest to the ideal state, regarding the order of the Sunni [[Rashidun Caliphate]] as an example of such a republican order within early Muslim history. However, he also maintained that it was from democracy that imperfect states emerged, noting how the order of the early Islamic Caliphate of the [[Rashidun Caliphate|Rashidun caliphs]], which he viewed as republican, was later replaced by a form of government resembling a monarchy under the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties.<ref>Ronald Bontekoe, Mariėtta Tigranovna Stepaniants (1997), ''Justice and Democracy'', University of Hawaii Press, p. 251, {{ISBN|0824819268}}</ref>