Al-Farabi

Abu Nasr Mohammad Ibn al-Farakh Al-Farabi was born to a noble family in the small village of Wasij, in the province of Farab in Turkestan, in 872 AD (259 AH). His works included several rich commentaries on Aristotle's physics, meteorology, and logic - in addition to a large number of books on several other subjects embodying his original contributions. As a result, he was called the "Second Teacher" (al-Mou'allim al-Thani) - with Aristotle being the "First".

Al-Farabi had a great desire to understand the universe and humankind, and to understand the latter's place within the former, so as to ascertain a comprehensive and intellectual picture of the world and of society as a whole. When he undertook his meticulous study of ancient philosophy, particularly of Plato and Aristotle, he absorbed the components of Platonic and Neo-Platonic philosophy, which he then integrated into his knowledge of the Qur'an and the various sciences derived from it.

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