Al-Qalam 
Al-Farabi on Reimagining Philosophical Rulership in the Virtuous City
By Ayesha Omar
Al-Farabi (872-950), widely acknowledged as the progenitors of the Muslim philosophical tradition, made substantial and enduring contributions to Islamic political thought. His seminal work, “The Virtuous City” (al-Madina al-fadila), represents a pioneering attempt to synthesise Hellenistic philosophical doctrines, particularly those of Plato and Aristotle, with Islamic principles. As a scholar of Turkish heritage, Al-Farabi lived in Baghdad for most of his life. He sought to revive the work of the Greek Masters in Muslim lands, believing this was paramount to achieving a perfect society. Al-Farabi understood philosophy to be under threat during his time and sought ways to re-establish true philosophy when it became confused or extinct.
Central to Al-Farabi’s approach was the assertion that religion must be reinterpreted in line with the superiority of Greek ideas, where the Islamic worldview ought to adjust itself according to these philosophical ideas. In political theory, Al-Farabi held that the concept of the ideal ruler is best explained in Plato, and thus, the Islamic concept of the Caliph or ruler can be theoretically reshaped to fit the Platonic ideal of the philosopher king.
Al-Farabi claimed that although philosophy was the “highest perfection of which man was capable”, it did not necessarily oppose religion, as both would lead to the same truths, albeit in different forms. Philosophy employed demonstrative reasoning, while religion used rhetoric and symbolic language. The superiority of philosophy, however, was that it provided direct access to knowledge of the ultimate truth.
Al-Farabi’s political theory expounded in “The Virtuous City” emphasised the relationship between ilm (knowledge) and imama (leadership). It argued that the ruler must be able to instruct and teach people based on their specific intellectual capacity. Al-Farabi collapsed the concept of the Philosopher, Supreme Ruler, Prince, Legislator, and Imam into one. He further incorporated the concept of prophecy, fundamental to Islamic belief, into the concept of ideal rulership. A prophet, like a philosopher, he argued, was connected to the Aristotelian notion of an “active intellect” and could achieve a level of wisdom and perfection.
Al-Farabi set a unique standard for Islamic political philosophy, especially with regard to the way in which he used the “theological-political thought” of Plato as the primary method of responding to the challenges of scriptural revelation. Plato’s political thought quite evidently appealed to Al-Farabi in his articulation of the shared fundamental premises with Platonic ideas and Islam. Al-Farabi was the first of two Muslim philosophers (the other being Ibn Rushd) to comment on Plato’s Republic, which was regarded as a manual of political philosophy that successfully encapsulated the theoretical and practical dimensions of political science.
Al-Farabi’s political theory extended to discussions on human society, government, and the division of labour. His concept of the virtuous city, led by a philosopher-ruler, offers a model of political organisation aimed at achieving happiness through the cultivation of virtue and knowledge. While idealistic, Al-Farabi’s thought continues to provide valuable insights into the nature of good governance and the relationship between politics, ethics, and metaphysics in the Islamic tradition.
Dr Ayesha Omar is a Senior Lecturer in Political Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand and currently a British Academy International Fellow at SOAS, University of London. She is working on a new book project on Black Intellectual History in South Africa.
