Topics

Major Works

  • Plato’s Laws

    - Parens, Joshua and Joseph Macfarland, "Plato's Laws," in Medieval Political Philosophy: A Sourcebook. Cornell University Press, Ithica, NY, 2011.
    Excerpt from Alfarabi’s introduction: “Our purpose in making this introduction is this: the wise Plato did not feel free to reveal and uncover every kind of knowledge for all people. Therefore he followed the practice of using symbols, riddles,… More

  • Philosophy of Aristotle

    - Philosophy of Plato and Aristotle. Trans. Muhsin Mahdi. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1962.
    Excerpt: “1. Aristotle sees the perfection of man as Plato sees it and more. However, because man’s perfection is not self-evident or easy to explain by a demonstration leading to certainty, he saw fit to start from a position anterior to that… More

  • Harmonization of the Opinions of the Two Sages: Plato the Divine and Aristotle

    - Alfarabi: The Political Writings. Trans. Charles Butterworth. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2001.

  • Commentary and Short Treatise on Aristotle’s De Interpretatione

    - Alfarabi’s Commentary and Short Treatise on Aristotle’s De Interpretatione. Trans. F.W. Zimmerman. London: Oxford University Press, 1981.
    Book Review: “This book represents a comprehensive study of Alfarabi’s expositions of Aristotle’s logical treatise, the De Interpretatione. It includes a substantial Introduction, a translation of Alfarabi’s lengthy commentary and his… More

  • Book of Demonstration

    - Classical Arabic Philosophy: An Anthology of Sources. Trans. Jon McGinnis and David C. Reisman. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Co. Inc., 2007.
    Excerpt: “1. Perfect assent is certainty. Perfect conceptualization is to conceptualize something by means of a concise account of what it is in a manner proper to it, because conceptualizing something by means of what signifies it is to define the… More

  • Book of the Opinions of the Inhabitants of the Virtuous City

    - Recommended edition: Al Farabi. Alfarabi on the Perfect State. Trans. Walzer, Richard. New York, NY. Oxford University Press, 1985.
    From Book Review: “Farabi is Islam’s first and, pace Ibn Sina, perhaps greatest Islamic Neoplatonist. He is certainly more original than his successor who leaned heavily upon him. Farabi in The Virtuous City produced a work “written by a… More

  • Aims of Aristotle’s Metaphysics

    - Classical Arabic Philosophy: An Anthology of Sources. Trans. Jon McGinnis and David C. Reisman. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Co. Inc., 2007.
    Excerpt: “1. Our intention in this treatist is to point out the aim and primary divisions of the book by Aristotle known as the Metaphysics, since many people have the preconceived notion that the point and purpose of this book is to discuss the… More

  • The Book of Letters

    - Medieval Islamic Philosophical Writings. Ed. Muhammad Ali Khalidi. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005.
    Excerpt: “The capacities for dialectic, sophistry, and for the uncertain or dubious philosophy must precede the capacity for the certain philosophy, which is demonstrative philosophy, since one becomes aware of demonstrations after these others (i.e.… More

  • Book of Religion

    - Alfarabi: The Political Writings. Trans. Charles Butterworth. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2001.
    Excerpt: “1. Religion is opinions and actions, determined and restricted with stipulations and prescribed for a community by their first ruler, who seeks to obtain through their practicing it a specific purpose with respect to them or by means of them.… More

  • The Philosophy of Plato and Aristotle

    - Philosophy of Plato and Aristotle. Trans. Muhsin Mahdi. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1962.
    Excerpt: “1. First he investigated the human things that make man enviable as to which of them constitutes the perfection of man as man, for every being has a perfection. Thus he investigated whether man’s perfection consists only in his having… More

  • Selected Aphorisms

    - Alfarabi: The Political Writings. Trans. Charles Butterworth. Contains Selected Aphorisms. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2001.
    Introduction by Translator: “In the Selected Aphorisms, Al Farabi begins with, then develops, a comparison between the health of the soul and that of the body. That is, somewhat abruptly, he starts his exposition by defining the health of each and… More

  • Political Regime

    - Part one found in:   Classical Arabic Philosophy: An Anthology of Sources. Trans. Jon McGinnis and David C. Reisman. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Co. Inc., 2007. Part two found in:   Medieval Political Philosophy: A Sourcebook. 2nd. Edition. Eds. Joshua Parens and Joseph C. MacFarland. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2011.
    Excerpt: “1. The principles by which the six types of bodies and accidents subsist are divided into six major levels, each one comprising a single kind. The First Cause is in the first level. The secondary causes are in the second. The active intellect… More

  • Enumeration of the Sciences

    - Alfarabi: The Political Writings. Trans. Charles Butterworth. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2001.
    Excerpt: “1. Political science investigates the sorts of voluntary actions and ways of life; the dispositions, moral habits, inclination, and states of character from which those actions and ways of ife come about; the goals for the sake of which they… More

Other Works

  • Utterances Used in Logic

    - Al Farabi. Utterances Used in Logic. Trans. Angela Jaffray, “At the Threshold of Philosophy: A Study of al-Fārābī’s Introductory Works on Logic” (PhD diss., Harvard University, 2000), pp. 431-517.

  • Epistle on the Canons of Poetry

    - Epistle on the Canons of Poetry (Risālah fi Qawanīn Ṣinā’at al-Shi‘r). Trans. A.J. Arberry. In Rivista degli Studi Orientali 17 (1938), pp. 267-78.
    Could not find link to book on Google.

  • Eisagōgē

    - Classical Arabic Philosophy: An Anthology of Sources. Trans. Jon McGinnis and David C. Reisman. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Co. Inc., 2007. pp 54-140.
    Excerpt from Introduction: “Our aim in this book is to enumerate the things from which proposition are composed and into which they are divided, that is, each one of the parts of the premises used generally in all of the syllogistic disciplines. So we… More

  • Epistle on the Intellect

    - Classical Arabic Philosophy: An Anthology of Sources. Trans. Jon McGinnis and David C. Reisman. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Co. Inc., 2007. Pages 68-78.
    Excerpt: “1. The term “intellect” is used in many ways. The first is the thing by virtue of which most people say that man is rational. The second is the “intellect” that the theologians constantly have on their tongues, saying X… More

  • Directing the Attention to the Way to Happiness

    - Medieval Political Philosophy: A Sourcebook. 2nd. Edition. Eds. Joshua Parens and Joseph C. MacFarland. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2011. pp. 13-53.
    Excerpt: “1. The human things through which nations and citizens of cities attain earthly happiness in this life and supreme happiness in the life beyond are of four kinds: theoretical virtues, deliberative virtues, moral virtues, and practical arts. 2.… More

  • Article on Vacuum

    - Fārābī’s Article on Vacuum. Ed. and Trans. Necati Lugal and Aydin Sayili. Ankara: Turk Tarih Kurumu Basimevi, 1951.

Commentary

  • Quelques Remarques sur la Science Politique de Maimonide et de Fārābī

    - Strauss, Leo. “Quelques Remarques sur la Science Politique de Maimonide et de Fārābī.” Revue des Etudes Juives. Paris: Janvier-Juin 1936, no. 199-200, pp. 1-37.
    Overview: An early but still useful attempt by Strauss to appreciate the role of political science in Alfarabi and Maimonides’ work.

  • Alfarabius: De Platonis Philosophia

    - Rosenthal, Franz, and Walzer, Richard. Alfarabius: De Platonis Philosophia. London: Warburg Institute, 1943.
    Overview:  The original, pioneering edition of the Philosophy of Plato, translated into, and even introduced in, Latin. The introduction contains some useful historical information, as well as example of the same source-hunting approach that Walzer would… More

  • Farabi’s Plato by Leo Strauss

    - Strauss, Leo. ”Farabi’s Plato.” In Louis Ginzberg: Jubilee Volume. New York: The American Academy for Jewish Research, 1945, pp. 357-393.
    Excerpt: “It is generally admitted that one cannot understand the teaching of Maimonides’ Guide for the Perplexed before one has understood the teaching of “the philosophers”; for the former presents itself as a Jewish correction of the latter. To… More

  • The Editio Princeps of Fārābī’s Compendium Legum Platonis

    - Mahdi, Muhsin. “The Editio Princeps of Fārābī’s Compendium Legum Platonis.” Journal of Near Eastern Studies. Vol 20, No.1, Jan. 1961, pp. 1-24.
    Overview: A powerful and philologically competent defense of the view that Alfarabi’s work on Plato’s Laws represents far more than a more summary of Plato or Galen. Excerpt: “The “Summary of Plato’s Laws” by Alfarabi is the only… More

  • Language and Logic in Classical Islam

    - Mahdi, Muhsin. “Language and Logic in Classical Islam” in Logic in Classical Islamic Culture. Ed. G.E. von Grunebaum, Wiesbden, Germany: 1970, pp. 51-83.
    Overview: An excellent summary of a live debate over the importance of Greek language and logic in the Islamic world that is said to have shaped Alfarabi’s own views on the subject.

  • Aristotle’s Politics in Arabic Philosophy

    - Pines, Shlomo. “Aristotle’s Politics in Arabic philosophy.” In Israel Oriental Studies, Vol. V, 1975, pp. 150-160.
    Overview: A famous scholar provides a characteristically erudite account of the uncertain presence of Aristotle’s Politics in medieval Islam, shedding light on a couple of important passages of Alfarabi in the process.

  • Democracy in Islamic Political Philosophy

    - Najjar, Fauzi M. “Democracy in Islamic Political Philosophy.” Studia Islamica, No. 51 (1980), pp. 107-122.
    Overview: The earliest article devoted exclusively to democracy in medieval Islamic political philosophy takes a rather pessimistic view of the subject. This article should be compared with the work by Khalidi that was cited above. Excerpt: “It is… More

  • Philosophy in the Renaissance of Islam by Joel Kraemer

    - Kraemer, Joel. Philosophy in the Renaissance of Islam. Leiden: E.J. Brill. 1986.
    Overview: This important work of intellectual history provides outstanding historical background to Alfarabi. Excerpt: “In Humanism in the Renaissance of Islam, I portrayed the cultural revival that took place in the cosmopolitan atmosphere of Baghdad… More

  • The Jihād of the Falāsifa

    - Kraemer, Joel. “The jihād of the falāsifa.” Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam, vol. 10, 1987.
    Overview: The first of a number of articles to treat the question of war and jihād in Alfarabi. The author’s interpretation is learned but also rather literal.

  • Alfarabi

    - Muhsin Mahdi, "Alfarabi" in History of Political Philosophy, eds. Leo Strauss and Joseph Cropsey (Chicago: University of Chicago Press), 1987.
    Excerpt: “Alfarabi was the first philosopher who sought to confront, to relate, and as far as possible to harmonize classical political philosophy with Islam – a religion that was revealed through a prophet-legislator (Muhammed) in the form of a… More

  • Logic and Aristotle’s Rhetoric and Poetics in Medieval Arabic Philosophy

    - Black, Deborah. Logic and Aristotle’s Rhetoric and Poetics in Medieval Arabic Philosophy. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1990.
    Overview: An important discussion of the reworking of Aristotle’s Organon in the medieval Islamic world. It is not exclusively devoted to Alfarabi but contains many discussions of him. Description: As the title of this book imitates, it investigates the… More

  • Politics and Excellence: The Political Philosophy of Alfarabi

    - Galston, Miriam. Politics and Excellence: The Political Philosophy of Alfarabi. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1990.
    Overview: An attempt to make sense of Alfarabi’s various treatments of virtue, happiness, and political science. It also contains some interesting suggestions about the manner of his writing. Description: Widely recognized as one of the most original… More

  • Al-Fārābī’s Imperfect State

    - Mahdi, Muhsin. ”Al-Fārābī’s Imperfect State.” Review of Richard Walzer. Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 100, no. 4  (Oct.-Dec.1990), pp. 691-726.
    Overview: This analysis of Walzer’s important edition of Alfarabi’s Virtuous City contains a critique of both Walzer’s ‘source-hunting’ approach and his attribution of Shi’ism to Alfarabi. It is so thorough and convincing that it sometimes becomes… More

  • Al-Fārābī’s Statecraft: War and the Well-Ordered Regime

    - Butterworth, Charles. “Al-Fārābī’s Statecraft: War and the Well-Ordered Regime.” In Cross, Crescent, and Sword: The Justification and Limitation of War in Western and Islamic Tradition. Eds. James Turner Johnson and John Kelsay. New York: Greenwood Press, 1990. pp. 79-100.
    Overview: A helpful account of Alfarabi’s various discussions of war and jihād, none of which seems to resemble the other. It presents Alfarabi as highly suspicious of the notion of ‘just war. Description : This timely and scholarly book includes… More

  • Du Coran à la Philosophie

    - Langhade, Jacques. Du Coran à la Philosophie. Damas: Institut Français de Damas, 1994.
    Overview:  This extremely informative book offers a summary of Alfarabi’s teachings on language, religion, and philosophy, as well as extensive historical and religious background to them.

  • Metaphysics as Rhetoric: Alfarabi’s Summary of Plato’s ‘Laws’

    - Parens, Joshua. Metaphysics as Rhetoric: Alfarabi’s Summary of Plato’s ‘Laws.’ Albany: State University of New York Press, 1995.
    Overview: The first attempt at a comprehensive interpretation of Alfarabi’s puzzling Summary of Plato’s Laws. The claim that Alfarabi had access to the original text, which had also been suggested by Mahdi a generation earlier, has provoked a vicious… More

  • Galen’s Synopsis of Plato’s Laws and Fārābī’s Talhīs

    - Gutas, Dimitri. "Galen's Synopsis of Plato's Laws and Farabi's Talhis." In The Ancient Tradition in Christian and Islamic Hellenism. Eds. Gerhard Endress and Remke Kruk. Leiden: Research School CNSW, 1997.
    Overview: Argues that Alfarabi had access to Plato’s Laws only through a lost commentary by Galen, a fact that explains many of the peculiarities of his summary.

  • Alfarabi and the Foundation of Islamic Political Philosophy by Muhsin Mahdi

    - Mahdi, Muhsin. Alfarabi and the Foundation of Islamic Political Philosophy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001.
    Overview:  The final work of perhaps the most important scholar of Alfarabi in the past generation was unfortunately left incomplete. The essays it contains, many of which have also been published elsewhere, are nonetheless extremely illuminating. Excerpt:… More

  • Al-Fārābi’s Philosophical Lexicon

    - Alon, Ilai. Al-Fārābi’s Philosophical Lexicon. Wiltshire, England: Aris & Phillips Ltd. 2002.
    Overview: This helpful reference work contains examples of the usage of important Arabic terms in Alfarabi. This edition consists of two volumes; volume one quotes the Arabic text of al-Farabi’s philosophical definitions and those of parallel authors,… More

  • Falaquera’s Alfarabi: An Example of the Judaization of the Islamic Falâsifah

    - Harvey, Steven “Falaquera's Alfarabi: An Example of the Judaization of the Islamic Falâsifah”, Trumah, 12: 97–112, 2002

  • Aristotelian Logic and the Arabic Language in Alfarabi

    - Alon, Ilai. Al-Fārābi’s Philosophical Lexicon. Wiltshire, England: Aris & Phillips Ltd. 2002.
    Description: A competent study of one of the central themes in Alfarabi: the relationship between language and logic. Excerpt (from introduction): “Medieval Islamic scholars widely referred to Aristotle as the ‘First Teacher,’ evidence of… More

  • Can a Tenth Century Aristotelian Help us Understand Plato’s Laws? by Steven Harvey

    - Harvey, Steven. "Can a Tenth Century Aristotelian Help us Understand Plato's Laws?" in Plato's Laws: From Theory of Practice. Eds. Samuel Scolnicov and Luc Brisson. Sankt Augustin: Akademica Verlag, 2003.  
    Overview: Argues that even if Alfarabi did not have access to the same Platonic text that we possess, he can still help us understand Plato’s Laws. Volume Description: The articles of this volume are a selection of the papers presented at the Sixth… More

  • Al-Fārābī on the Democratic City

    - Khalidi, Muhammad Ali. “Al-Fārābī on the Democratic City.” British Journal for the History of Philosophy 11 (3) 2003, pp. 379-394.
    Overview: A spirited attempt to show that Alfarabi’s account of democracy resembles modern liberal democracy. Khalidi probably overstates his case, but this intelligent articles remains well-worth reading. Excerpt: “This essay will explore some of… More

  • Alfarabi’s Imperfect Constitutions

    - Crone, Patricia. “Alfarabi’s Imperfect Constitutions.” Mélanges de l’Université Saint-Joseph, Vol. LVII, 2004, pp. 191-228.
    Overview: A lively and learned discussion of Alfarabi’s treatment of the non-virtuous governments, including democracy.

  • The Meaning of madanī in al-Fārābī’s ‘Political’ Philosophy

    - Gutas, Dimitri. "The Meaning of madani in al-Farabi's 'Political' Philosophy." Melanges de l'Unviversite Saint Joseph, Vol. LVII, 2004, pp. 259-282.  
    Overview: A leading scholar and polemicist argues that Alfarabi does not have an political philosophy at all. He interprets the term normally translated as ‘political’ to mean ‘city-dweller.’

  • Plato’s Republic in Arabic: A Newly Discovered Passage

    - Reisman, David C. “Plato’s Republic in Arabic: A Newly Discovered Passage.” In Arabic Sciences and Philosophy, vol. 14, 2004, pp. 263-300.
    Overview: A recent and important contribution to the debate over Plato’s reception into the Islamic world. By indicating that a crucial passage of the Republic was indeed translated into Arabic, it adds fuel (but of course no proof) to the speculation that… More

  • Y-a-t-il une pensée politique dans le Kitāb al-Ḥurūf d’al-Fārābī?

    - Gannagé, Emma. “Y-a-t-il une pensée politique dans le Kitāb al-Ḥurūf d’al-Fārābī?” In Mélanges d’Université Saint-Joseph: Volume LVII 2004, pp. 229-257.
    Overview: Discusses some of the more puzzling aspects of the second chapter of the Book of Letters, such as the relationship between philosophy and religions and the political hierarchy of human arts.

  • Farabi et l’École d’Alexandrie

    - Vallat, Philippe. Farabi et l’École d’Alexandrie. Paris: J. Vrin, 2004.
    Overview: This book is noteworthy for the very thorough list of primary and secondary sources in its index, far superior in detail to that available on this site. The book itself is erudite but notoriously difficult to follow.

  • Breaking with Athens: Alfarabi as Founder

    - Colmo, Christopher. Breaking with Athens: Alfarabi as Founder. Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books, 2005.
    Overview: Makes the unusual argument that Alfarabi, despite his stated admiration for Plato and Aristotle, was in fact a precursor to modern political thought. The single-handed determination with which the author drives home this point is often helpful.… More

  • An Islamic Philosophy of Virtuous Religions by Joshua Parens

    - Parens, Joshua.  An Islamic Philosophy of Virtuous Religions: Introducing Alfarabi. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2006.
    Overview: This cogent effort to situate Alfarabi’s thought within the broader context of the political conditions of the Islamic world contains good discussions of war, tyranny, religion, and world government. Excerpt: “Now more than at any time in… More

  • Philosophy and ‘Jihād.’ Al-Fārābī on Compulsion to Happiness

    - Sweeney, Michael. “Philosophy and ‘Jihād.’ Al-Fārābī on Compulsion to Happiness.” Review of Metaphysics. Vol. 60, No. 3 (March 2007), pp. 543-572.
    Overview: A spirited effort to understand Alfarabi’s views of jihād in a manner very different from both Butterworth and Kraemer. Excerpt: “Abu Nasr Muhammed Alfarabi (870-950 A.D), arguably the most important political philosopher of medieval Islam,… More

  • What Might We Learn From al-Fārābī about Plato and Aristotle With Respect to Lawgiving?

    - Butterworth, Charles. ”What Might We Learn From al-Fārābī about Plato and Aristotle With Respect to Lawgiving?” In Mélanges de l’Université Saint-Joseph, Vol. LXI, 2008, pp.471-491.
    Overview: A good introduction to Alfarabi, followed by an explanation of his attempts to reconcile Plato and Aristotle in one particularly important area.

  • Al-Fārābi’s Kitāb al-Ḥurūf and his Analysis of the Senses of Being

    - Menn, Stephen. “Al-Fārābi’s Kitāb al-Ḥurūf and his Analysis of the Senses of Being.” Arabic Sciences and Philosophy, vol. 18, pp. 59-97.
    Overview: An admirable effort by a leading professor of Greek philosophy to drum up interest in Alfarabi in his field. It attempts to explain some very difficult, and hitherto rarely examined, discussions of being in the Book of Letters. Abstract:… More

  • Milla in al-Fārābī and the Brethren of Purity

    - Heck, Paul L. “Milla in al-Fārābī and the Brethren of Purity.” In In the Age of Alfarabi: Arabic Philosophy in the Fourth/Tenth Century. Ed. Peter Adamson. London: Warburg Institute, 2008.
    Overview:  An effort to explain Alfarabi’s somewhat unusual attitude toward religion, and compare it with another important philosophical text from the same era. Volume Description: The papers in this volume were given at a conference held at the Warburg… More

  • Reflections on al-Fārābī’s Mabādi’ ārā’ ahl al-madīna al-fāḍīla

    - Rudolph, Ulrich. “Reflections on al-Fārābī’s Mabādi’ ārā’ ahl al-madīna al-fāḍīla.” In In the Age of Alfarabi: Arabic Philosophy in the Fourth/Tenth Century. Ed. Peter Adamson. London: Warburg Institute, 2008, pp.1-14.
    Overview: Tries to explain the unusual structure of Alfarabi’s Virtuous City by referring to other important religious texts of the period. Overview of volume: The papers in this volume were given at a conference held at the Warburg Institute in 2006 to… More

  • Escaping the Scholastic Paradigm: The Dispute between Strauss and His Contemporaries about How to Approach Islamic and Jewish Medieval Philosophy

    - Parens, Joshua.  “Escaping the Scholastic Paradigm: The Dispute between Strauss and His Contemporaries about How to Approach Islamic and Jewish Medieval Philosophy,” in Encountering the Medieval in Modern Jewish Thought, 203–227, eds. Aaron Hughes and James Diamond. Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2012.
    Overview: Shows how disputes over the interpretation of Alfarabi are linked to the larger issue of the difference between Christian and Judeo-Islamic thought. Excerpt: “At first it might appear to be a mere accident that many of the same contemporary… More

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