Al-Farabi, the melancholic thinker and philosopher poet.

• Author: Pormann, Peter E.
• Position: Essay

In his masterly article on al-Farabi's biography, Dimitri Gutas rightly remarks that "[t]he sources for the life of Farabi are such as to make the reconstruction of his biography beyond a mere outline nearly impossible," (1) and he distinguishes between information that is beyond doubt and "stories and legends" about al-Farabi that are, as he puts it, "dubious at best and legendary at worst." We know little for certain about Abu Nasr Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Farabi. He studied philosophy in Baghdad in a circle of Christian Aristotelians among whom was Yuhanna ibn Haylan (who died during the reign of the caliph al-Muqtadir, i.e., between 908 and 932). Another Christian philosopher, Yahya ibn cAdI (d. 974), was his student. He also visited Egypt and lived in Syria, where he died, probably in late 950 or early 951.

What Gutas calls "legends," on the other hand, abound. For instance, later sources report that he was of Turkish ancestry, and that he was a veritable polyglot, mastering not only Arabic, but also Greek, Persian, and Sogdian; one source puts the number of languages that al-Farabi knew at more than seventy. (2) Moreover, they report that al-Farabi followed a philosophical way of life, bordering on the ascetic; and that he was totally absorbed by his studies. This last point interests us here, as al-Farabi's poetry appears to confirm that he retired from the world to study the ancient authorities. Moreover, a hitherto overlooked medical author lists al-Farabi as a person suffering from scholarly melancholy--like Mr. Casaubon in George Eliot's Middlemarch, he is the quintessential melancholic scholar who eventually succumbs to his passion for learning.

Dimitri Gutas and others have tried hard to distinguish myths and legends from historical truths when it comes to al-Farabi's biography. The present article challenges this dichotomy. It draws attention to hitherto overlooked aspects in the accounts of al-Farabi's biography, notably by investigating closely the poetry attributed to him and confronting it with a new medical source for his life. On the basis of previously known sources that are reconsidered and new sources that are discussed here for the first time, it will argue that the topoi of literature are often the topoi of life. In other words, even when accounts appear to be anecdotal or legendary, they may well reflect historical reality. Although one might never reach absolute certainty about the exact details of al-Farabi's life, some accounts hitherto labeled legends may contain at least a grain of truth.

THE ASCETIC PHILOSOPHER

Let us look at one aspect of this legendary information about al-Farabi, namely, his ascetic behavior and love of study. Ibn Abl Usaybi'a offers the most extensive bio-bibliographical entry on al-Farabi in 'Uyun al-anba' fi tabaqat al-atibba' (Essential Information about the Classes of Physicians), (3) which as a work is known to include historical inaccuracies, chronological impossibilities, and information that cannot possibly reflect historical realities. (4) At the beginning of his entry, Ibn Abi Usaybi'a paints al-Farabi as someone devoted to studying (M, 2: 134 11. 4-6; CU, 557 11. 5-7): '

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He used to [...] turn away from the world and eke out some means of subsistence by living like the ancient philosophers [...] At night, he would stay up to read and write. This corresponds well to what al-Zawzani reports in 1249 in his epitome of the Ta'rikh al-hukama' by Ibn al-Qifti (d. 1248), namely, that al-Farabi "stayed under his protection [sc. Sayf al-Dawla] for a while, wearing the dress of the Sufis (wa-aqama fi kanafihi muddatan bi-zayyi l-tasawwuf)." (6) Sufis were known for meditation and retreat from the world, even if some of them became involved in worldly affairs. (7) Likewise, Ibn Khallikan (d. 1282) insists that al-Farabi was a loner, and singles out his time in Damascus (ed. cAbbas, 5: 156 11. 3-5):

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He kept to himself and did not keep anybody's company. During his stay in Damascus, he was generally only found at collections of water and the undergrowth in a garden: there he wrote his books and his students besieged him. The topos of the philosopher who disdains material goods and withdraws from the world dates back at least to Classical Greek times. In the Arabic tradition, Socrates, for instance, appears as a Cynic philosopher, residing in a barrel and eating with the dogs. (8) Gutas notes that "[a]s for the real Farabi, beyond the idealized image of the abstemious philosopher of the later biographers and of the Turkish philosopher of Ebn Kallikan, we have no direct means of knowing." (9) Indeed, we cannot know for certain whether the historical al-Farabi really lived the life of an abstentious philosopher, but similarly, one could say that it is also possible to doubt the information about his death in Damascus in 339h. I shall develop this point further, but it is necessary first to consider al-Farabi's poetry and rhymed prose, as well as a new medical source.

THE PIOUS POET

Ibn Abi Usaybi'a's entry on al-Farabi can usefully be divided into five parts. The first (2: 134 Il. 2-7) contains a brief description of al-Farabi, from which we have just quoted. The second part (2: 134 1. 7-136 1. 8 from the bottom) consists of a number of stories about al-Farabi. at the end of which he states that "[but] in the History it is reported that (aqulu wa-fi l-ta'rikhi anna)" and then he relates that al-Farabi studied Arabic grammar with a famous exponent and also used to compose poetry. Finally, he lists two gnomic utterances in which al-Farabi describes his relationship with Aristotle. In the first, answering the question whether Aristotle or he was more knowledgeable, al-Farabi replied, "If I had known him, I would have been his greatest pupil (law adraktuhu, la-kuntu akbara talamidhihi)." As for the second, al-Farabi is reported to have said: "Although I have read the lecture (10) by Aristotle forty times, I am still of the opinion that I need to revisit it (qara'tu l-sama'a li-Aristu arba'ina marratan, wa-ara anni muhtajun ila mu'awadatihi)."

The third part (2: 136 1. 7 from the bottom-138 1. 1) consists of a long prayer in rhymed prose with four verses of poetry roughly in the middle. It begins as follows:

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O God, I ask Thee, Whose existence is necessary, O cause of causes ('ilal), O Ancient and Eternal One (lam yazal), that Thou protect me from error (zalal), and that Thou grant me hope (amal) in what Thou wishest me to do ('amal). The poem is a hymn to God, the creator and sustainer of all being. Some passages in this prayer certainly have Islamic overtones, such as "Thou art the God next to whom there is no God (anta llahu lladhi la ilaha illa anta)" (2: 137 11. 2-3), which obviously evokes the first of the two Muslim articles of faith ("There is no god but God"). But the prayer also strikes philosophical notes, as, for instance, when God is addressed as "cause of causes" or "cause of all things ('illata l-ashya'i jam'an)" (2: 136 1. 7 from the bottom; 137 1. 7). There is a long list of philosophers who address personal prayers to deities; examples include the Stoic philosopher Cleanthes and his hymn to Zeus, (11) and the Epicurean Lucretius and his address to Venus at the beginning of his De rerum natura. (12) In the Islamic tradition, the philosopher al-Kindl sought to reconcile revealed religion and philosophy and often resorted to pious formulae. Moreover, al-Farabi himself identifies God with the first cause from which all other beings emanate. (13) However, he also uses religious language in his own works, such as his so-called Kitab al-Huruf, which begins with a customary invocation to God in rhymed prose: (14)

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In the name of God the Merciful, the Compassionate, Him we ask for help. Thanks be to God, the Master of the Universe, And peace be upon His Prophet and all his family. The objection could be raised that this beginning is not actually by al-Farabi, but rather an addition by an overzealous scribe. This is unlikely, however, as al-Farabi describes God as the "Most Perfect, Most Stable, and Most Lasting Being (al-akmal wa-l-athbat wa-l-adwam)" on the same page. Al-Farabi also uses the example of God when he explains the concept of "for the sake of" saying (ed. Mahdi, 129 1. 19-130 1. 2):

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Jihad is for the sake of God. God is He for Whose sake there is jihad, prayer, acts of piety, and the observance of the laws that He legislates. (15) This would suggest that the prayer quoted by Ibn Abi Usaybica is not significantly different in tone from other utterances by al-Farabi. Whether the prayer can indeed be traced to him, however, is likely to remain speculative.

The fourth part (2: 138 11. 1-13), with the title "From the poetry (shi'r) of Abu Nasr al-Farabi," consists of two poems. The first poem deals with solitariness, and is discussed in detail below. The second poem, introduced by wa-qala aydan ("He also said"), begins (M, 2: 13811. 8-13):

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Brother, leave the realm (hayyiz) of the liar, and rather be in the possession (hayyiz) of the truth. The poem goes on to discuss the futility of human existence and competition. Ibn Khallikan also quotes this poem with some variations, and gives a provenance (ed. 'Abbas, 5: 156 11. 3-4 from bottom):

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I saw that in Kharida these verses were attributed to the shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Malik al-Fariqi who lived in Baghdad. Indeed, in the poetic anthology Kharidat al-qasr wa-jaridat ahl al-'asr (The Palace Pearl and Register of Contemporary Personages) by 'Imad al-Din al-Katib al-Isfahani (d. 1201), we find a slightly different and shorter version of this poem attributed to 'Imad's older contemporary Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Malik al-Fariqi (d. 1168). (16) Since this anthology, which...