On the outskirts of the Assyrian city of Haleb, where the route of the Great Silk Road passes, a lonely, poorly dressed, elderly man stood timidly, leaning on his staff. His sad gaze was fixed on the caravan departing towards Sara-Arka.
At times he wiped the tears from his eyes with the tip of his turban. He was in a hurry to go home because he felt death approaching and wanted to visit the graves of his ancestors one last time, to fulfill the duty of every true believer.
In spite of his advanced age — he was already over eighty — he packed for a long journey. The caravan left Damascus a week ago. He could hardly keep up with everyone else and could hardly catch his breath at rest stops, quenching his hunger with tortillas and his thirst with green tea.
At the town of Haleb he realized that he could not continue. At his own helplessness he cried. Old age is a tree whose roots have rotted,» they say in the East.
The strength was leaving the old man. Taking his dombra with a weak hand, he played:
«Seyhun is a deep-water river.It is not so far from the village, How could I get there…»
His voice became quieter and quieter, his head slowly bowed… The sound of strings faded away…..
This was Abu Nasr al-Farabi, the greatest thinker of the Middle Ages, the founder of Eastern rationalism, nicknamed for his scholarship «Aristotle» of the East.
Having become a wanderer willy-nilly, he visited many major cities of Asia and the East — Jenda, Bukhara, Sogd, Khiva, Merv, Cairo, Baghdad, Damascus….
But in his thoughts and dreams he always returned to his native steppes, to his native city of Otrar.
The greatness and beauty of Otrar overshadowed the glory of many cities of that time. It is not by chance that in Arabic sources it is called «Faraba» — that is beautiful, generous and green. The city was located at the crossroads of the Great Silk Road. The Silk Road first served for the export of Chinese silk, then for the spread of cultivated plants — grapes, peach, melon, pepper… Along with gold, silk at that time was an international currency — it was given to kings, ambassadors and paid salaries.
Abu Nasr ibn-Muhamed al-Farabi was born in the year 257 AH in the Muslim calendar or in 870 AD in the village of Visije in the yurt of a Kipchak warrior who guarded the approaches to the city of Otrar.
When Abu Nasr’s father was appointed a military commander, the family moved to live in Otrar. The boy was delighted by the grandeur and beauty of the city. There were many beautiful palaces, mosques, madrassas and mausoleums in Otrar. Here was the world-famous Otrar library, where the first heavy books were kept — the works of Aristotle, Plato, Ar-razi and others.
In the fall, his father took Abu to the mekteb, where the boys memorized the Koran. The surahs came one after another: «Meal», «Obstacles», «Extraction» and so on. Abu recounted all the verses without missing a line. The teacher was shocked and said: «At such a young age you have learned the whole book. What I myself knew, you have learned everything. I can’t help you with anything else. You should not come here.»
The thirst for knowledge led the young man to a madrasa, where he studied for several years. After graduating from the madrasa he could have become a mullah, a lawgiver or a theologian. But Abu Nasr was interested in natural and humanitarian sciences. And here scientists — sages came to his aid. He especially liked to listen to stories about planets, stars and celestial luminaries.
Having learned literacy very early, the young man often visited the library, where there were countless chests of books. In one room there were books only on mathematics, in the second — on travel, in the third — on celestial luminaries, in the fourth — on history.
After his father died in an unequal battle, Abu Nasr traditionally took his place. But he never became a true warrior. Books drew him more and more strongly with their wisdom and mysterious realities.
Once, passing by the caravanserai, al-Farabi heard enchanting, gentle melodies — it was Persian and Turkmen musical instruments. He paused. The beauty and richness of instruments’ sound inspired him and he became interested in music. He began to secretly make a musical instrument for himself. Soon the dombra was ready. Having learned to play virtuoso, he aroused delight and adoration of his listeners by performing cues.
Today Abu Nasr was sad, it was the anniversary of his father’s death. Taking the dombra, he began to play. It was Korkyt-ata’s melody «Elim-ai». At first the dombra sounded like a swift running of Tulpar, then the sounds of nightingale trills began to slip in the music and the kyu ended with sounds resembling the crying of an orphaned camel.
The Otrar library was a kind of a center of scientific thought. Scholars from Abiverd, Suyab, Jand and even from distant Nisa, Gurgandj and Herat came here. Once a year the ruler of Otrar convened a Scientific Council, where anyone could make a scientific report or paper. At one of such Councils Abu Nasyr al-Farabi made a report «Scientific views of Aristotle». He spoke about the fact that the Earth and all celestial bodies have the shape of a ball, that the Earth is not the center of the Universe, as Aristotle writes, but revolves around the Sun, as Aristarchus of Samos. For such bold judgments the imam of the Otrar mosque expelled al-Farabi from the city and foretold him a hard fate. Abu Nasr left with a caravan going to Bukhara, together with wandering musicians and dervishes in shabby cloaks.
All the way from Otrar to Bukhara, al-Farabi indulged in reflections on the truth of life: he listened to the dreary songs of wanderers, the revelations of merchants and exciting stories of the drivers about the extraordinary adventures they had experienced on the way. A week later, the silhouettes of the city loomed ahead. Having crossed the Zeravshan River, the caravan approached the gates and, having paid the entry tax, the travelers entered Bukhara.
Al-Farabi stopped at a rich merchant selling Chinese silk, porcelain and spices. Having learned that his guest was a scholarly man, the owner asked him to teach his sons literacy and arithmetic, and for this he allowed him to live without payment. Al-Farabi was satisfied with this and stayed in the merchant’s house.
Here, in Bukhara, al-Farabi began to write a long-planned treatise «On the views of the inhabitants of a virtuous city». «Nature has provided people with great opportunities,» he wrote, «man can acquire the perfection for which he is intended by nature, perfection people living in society can achieve only with the help of science and education. Only educated members of society will be able to build a civilized state,» the scientist Kipchak finished his thought. At the same time he wrote a treatise «On Music», developed musical theory, creating the science of music.
It is interesting that in his work «Mathematical treatises» he referred to mathematical sciences not only arithmetic, geometry, optics, but also the science of stars, music, the science of gravity and the science of skillful techniques.
To continue his education, the philosopher went to Baghdad, a major cultural center of the Arab Caliphate. On his way he visited many cities in Iran: Isfahan, Hamadan, and Rey (Tehran). In Baghdad, Farabi settled during the reign of Caliph al-Muqtadir (908-932) and began to study various branches of science and languages; he studied medicine, logic, and Greek.
Baghdad was the Mecca for intellectuals of the time. It was here that the famous school of translators worked, in which Nestorians played a significant role. They translated and commented on the works of Plato, Aristotle, Galen, and Euclid. There was a parallel process of mastering the cultural achievements of India. Such work stimulated independent creative activity. Yuhanna ibn Khaylan and Abu Bishr Matta, a famous translator of ancient texts into Arabic, became Al-Farabi’s mentors in Baghdad.
Soon Farabi became a famous scholar. In 941 he moved to Damascus, where he spent the rest of his life doing scientific work. In Damascus he completes the previously begun «Treatise on the Virtuous City». Obviously, Farabi’s life in Damascus was not easy in the early years. There are stories in the literature that he was forced to work as a garden watchman, and was engaged in scientific activity only at night, by the light of a candle bought with money earned during the day. However, he soon found a patron — the Khaleb ruler Sayf al-Dawl Ali Hamdanid (943-967), who patronized the advanced people of his time, in particular poets from various Eastern countries, including Abu Firas, Abul Abbas al-Nami, Abul Faraj al-Wawa and others. However, al-Farabi did not become a court scholar. In 949-950, Abu Nasr visited Egypt. In his book «Civil Policy» he mentions that he started it in Baghdad and ended it in Cairo (Misr). He wrote down his works on separate sheets of paper (therefore, almost everything he created took the form of separate chapters and notes, some of them have survived only in fragments, many of them were not finished).
There are two versions of al-Farabi’s death. According to the first version, he died a natural death at the age of eighty and was buried outside the walls of Damascus at the Small Gate. It is reported that the prayer for him on four papyri was read by the ruler himself. According to the second version — he was killed by robbers while traveling to Askalan.
Mention is made of Farabi’s disciples — Yahya ibn Adi in Baghdad and Ibrahim ibn Adi in Aleppo, who after the teacher’s death continued commenting on his treatises and works of Greek philosophers.
Al-Farabi’s philosophical activity is multifaceted, he was a scientist-encyclopedist. The total number of works of the philosopher fluctuates between 80 and 130. Al-Farabi strove 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.