Abu nasyr al- farabi

ABU NASYR al- Farabi
Philosopher, encyclopedic scholar, one of the main representatives of Eastern Aristotelianism , intertwined with Neo-Platonism. Nickname - Second teacher (after Aristotle). He lived in Baghdad, Aleppo, Damascus. Major works: "Gems of wisdom", "Treatise on the views of the inhabitants of the virtuous city", a treatise on the classification of sciences, "The Big Book of Music".
Al- Farabi was born in 870 in the Farab region, in the town of Vasidzh , at the confluence of the Arys river and Syrdarya (the territory of modern Kazakhstan). He comes from the privileged layers of the Turks. Full name - Abu- Nasr Muhammad Ibn Mohammed Ibn Tarkhan Ibn Uzlag al- Farabi at -Turki.
Seeking to know the world, al- Farabi left his native place. According to some reports, he left in his youth, according to others - at the age of about forty years. Al- Farabi visited Baghdad, Haran , Cairo, Damascus, Aleppo and other cities of the Arab Caliphate.
There is evidence that, before his interest in the sciences, al- Farabi was a judge. It also tells about how he joined the knowledge. Once one of the closest people gave al- Farabi a deposit of a book, among which were many treatises of Aristotle. Al-Farabi began to leaf through these books and became interested in them.
Al- Farabi, before coming to Baghdad, spoke Turkic and some others, but did not know Arabic, and by the end of his life he knew more than seventy languages. Living in Baghdad, al- Farabi began to study various sciences, above all logic. At that time in Baghdad, Abu Bishr was the most popular thinker. Matta Ben Yunis. Al- Farabi , who wrote from the words of Abu- Bishr, joined the ranks of his students. Matta comments on the works of Aristotle on logic. Al- Farabi deepened in the study of the heritage of Aristotle, he finds the ease of perception of ideas and a set of tasks and problems posed by the great Greek.
The al- Farabi’s many-sided scientific research resulted in a treatise “On the classification of sciences”, in which the sciences of that time were listed in a strict order, and the subject of each was determined.
In Baghdad, al- Farabi thoroughly replenishes his knowledge, comes into contact with prominent scientists and quickly becomes the most authoritative among them. But in the midst of dogmatically minded theologians, there is a dislike for al- Farabi’swhole line of thinking , aimed at discovering rationalistic ways of knowing and seeking achievement for people of happiness in mortal life. In the end, al- Farabi is forced to leave Baghdad.
He goes to Egypt via Damascus. In his book "Civil Politics", he mentions that he began it in Baghdad, and finished in Cairo (Misr ). After the journey, al- Farabi returned to Damascus, where he lived to the end of his days, leading a solitary life in it. He writes his compositions on separate sheets (therefore, almost everything he created took the form of individual chapters and notes, some of them were preserved only in fragments, many were not finished). He died at the age of eighty and was buried outside the walls of Damascus at the Small Gate. It is reported that the ruler himself recited a prayer on him on four papyri.
The philosophical activity of al- Farabi is multifaceted, he was an encyclopedic scholar. The total number of works of the philosopher ranges between the 80th and the 130th.
Al- Farabi sought to comprehend the construction of the world systematically. The beginning looks quite traditional - it is Allah. The middle is the hierarchy of being. Man is an individual, comprehending the world and acting in it. The end is the attainment of true happiness.
Al- Farabi attached great importance to clarifying the place of a person in knowledge. Sensual knowledge is not enough to comprehend the essence. This is only possible through the mind.
Abu Nasyr Mohammed ibn Mohammed Farabi is one of the greatest thinkers of the early Middle Ages. He was a versatile encyclopedic scholar and one of the founders
Eastern rationalism. For this reason, he was awarded the honorary title of “second teacher” after “first teacher! - Aristotle. From history it is known that one hundred al- Farabi was born in the city of Otrar , which at one time was the center of ancient culture and Central Asia. Al- Farabi received his initial education precisely in Otar in his native Kypchak language.
The period of activity of Farabi coincided with the period of rapid development of Arab culture. Famous scientists, philosophers, poets, musicians flocked to Baghdad, they opened a university and an academy of sciences.

Among the Baghdad scientists, an honorable place was occupied by immigrants from Central Asia and Kazakhstan. Together with them, Farabi arrived in Baghdad, possessing outstanding abilities in all branches of knowledge, starting with music and ending with astronomy. Farabi was considered a major theorist of linguistics, a linguist, a poet. He wrote interpretations on spelling, calligraphy, versification, rhetoric. Abu Nasyr al- Farabi was a comprehensively developed musician and composer, a virtuoso performer and theorist, historian, and master of making musical instruments.

His famous multi-volume work, The Great Treatise on Music, has been translated into many languages. Farabi’s treatises haveearned the highest praise up to now. Geometry Farabi considered as the main foundation of all scientific natural-philosophical thinking. This idea he clearly stated in the treatise "On the necessary conditions for the development of philosophy."

Farabi enjoyed great popularity as an astronomer and astrologer; he referred these sciences to the category of high pedagogical science along with arithmetic, geometry, and music.

Known works of Farabi on physics and general natural science. In general physical and natural phenomena, he emphasizes the need for experiments. 

Farabi is also known as a wonderful doctor. In connection with his medical practice, F. was engaged, like all doctors of that time, in alchemy, botany, and mineralogy. All these branches of science were part of the natural sciences; Farabi paid much attention to geography. As a traveler, he visited many cultural and scientific centers in Kazakhstan and Central Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. It is documented that he lived and worked in the cities of Otrar , Talas, Shash , Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva, Kabul, Baghdad, Damascus. In all countries and cities where he was, Farabi as a naturalist, geographer and astronomer was engaged in the study of the region, the definition of the coordinates of the terrain, etc. Farabi attached great importance to the natural sciences . He wrote that “the science of nature is richer and has a wider scope than any of the pedagogical sciences” (the treatise “On the Origins of the Sciences”). In another of his works, he wrote that "before embarking on the study of philosophy, it is necessary to study the science of nature, because this science is the closest, specifically given and understood by him to the branch of knowledge."

In the field of philosophy, Farabi was considered the unsurpassed authority of his time. His basic world outlook is rationalistic. In his philosophical works a large place is occupied by comments on the philosophical works of Aristotle, Plato and other wise men of antiquity.

Farabi’s remarkable original work is the Pearl of Wisdom treatise, which for 1000 years served as a teaching tool in all universities of the East.

The works of Farabi played a large role in the process of the European Renaissance. Scientists such as Bacon, L. da Vinci, Copernicus, Kepler, Leibniz owe a lot to Farabi . It is difficult to overestimate his knowledge of the spiritual development of the entire civilized world.