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v Critically analyse Al-farabi’s metaphysical theology.
(YOUR INTRODUCTION)
v Critically analyse Al-farabi’s metaphysical theology.
(YOUR INTRODUCTION)
THE PHILOSOPHER ‘AL-FARABI’
Al-farabi was born at Wasij- a village near Farah in 870A.D. His full name is ‘’Muhammad Abu Nasi Al-farabi’’. He studied mainly in Baghdad and flourished as a Sufi. He was the first Turkish philosopher to make a name or gain popularity. Due to his great exposition of Aristotle’s logic, he was given the title ‘’AL-MUALLIM AL-THANI’’ meaning ‘the second teacher’.
AL-FARABI’S PHILOSOPHICAL COLLECTION
Al-farabi’s philosophical system was a creative combination of Platonism, Aristotelianism and Sufism. According to Ibn-khallikan, no Muslim thinker ever searched the same position as Al-farabi in philosophical knowledge. Al-farabi’s major philosophical views may be summed up under the following five headings:-
i. Ontology.
ii. Metaphysical theology.
iii. Cosmology.
iv. Rational psychology.
v. Political philosophy.
AL-FARABI’S METAPHYSICAL THEOLOGY
The metaphysical theology of al-farabi which focuses mainly on the being of God is broken down into three parts;
1) The knowability of God.
2) The proofs of God’s existence.
3) The nature and attributes of God.
§ The knowability of God
One of the fundamental questions in al-farabi’s metaphysical theology is ‘whether or not God is knowable’. For al-farabi, God is ‘Al-sahir wal batnu’ meaning ‘God is evident and hidden’. The best knowledge of God is to know him as something that the human mind cannot thoroughly know. Hence, it is difficult to know what God is because of the limitations of our intellect. God is infinitely perfect and is infinite perfection. This bewilders the human mind as the infinitely perfect cannot be understood by one who is finite and imperfect.
§ The proofs of God’s existence
The arguments advanced by al-farabi for the existence of God are many but only three of them shall be discussed;
a. Proof from motion
Everything in the world moves. Every object which moves receives its motion from a mover and so the process of motion continues. But, there must be a first mover which in itself is not moved by any other thing. This is the unmoved mover; and this is God.
b. Proof from efficient causation
There is an order of efficient causes in the world. Nothing in the world can be the cause of itself; rather what we find is that one thing is the cause of another. That which is the cause of another thing is itself caused by something else and so on. Thus, there is a chain of causes in the universe but this cannot continue endlessly. So, outside the chain of efficient causes, there must be an Uncaused Efficient Cause and this is God.
c. Proof from contingency
All beings in the universe are contingent beings for they come into existence and eventually pass away. They have no sufficient reason for their existence, so they may exist and they may not. But, since all beings in the universe are contingent, it follows that they must all emanate from a necessary source responsible for their contingent existence. This necessary being is God.
§ The nature and attributes of God
Al-farabi holds that we can have some knowledge of the nature of God by the means of a two-fold process; which are;
i. The process of exclusion
The process of exclusion is that by which we remove from God whatever implies defect such as limitation, dependence or mutability. In this regard al-farabi refers to God as;
û Having no component parts i.e. being whole in himself.
û Being his essence as well as his existence.
û A being which cannot be defined.
û An infinite being.
û An immutable being.
û Supremely one: God is a being of unity.
ii. The process of pre-eminence
The process of pre-eminence is that by which we attribute to God in an infinite degree, all perfections such as goodness, wisdom and so on. Accordingly, al-farabi says God is;
û Supreme intelligence i.e. intelligence himself.
û Supreme truth i.e. truth himself.
û Supreme life i.e. life in its most perfect degree
û A being that knows all things through knowledge of himself.
(YOUR CRITICISMS AND CONCLUSION)
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