al-Siyasa lil-Farabi
- Author died
- 339 AH
- Editions
- Mu'assasat Shabab al-Jami'ah
al-Siyasa (also known as al-Siyasa al-Madaniyya or Mabadi' al-Mawjudat) is a foundational philosophical treatise on metaphysics, political theory, and sociology by Abu Nasr al-Farabi (c. 260–339 AH / 874–950 CE) . Along with Ara' Ahl al-Madina al-Fadila (Opinions of the Inhabitants of the Virtuous City), it constitutes al-Farabi's primary contribution to Islamic political philosophy .
Subject Matter and Structure
The treatise integrates first philosophy, cosmology, psychology, and political organization into a single coherent system . In its metaphysical section, it expounds celestial and spiritual principles following the Aristotelian tradition, detailing the six spiritual principles and how bodily substances emanate from them in an orderly cosmological hierarchy governed by wisdom .
From cosmological principles, the work transitions to human psychology and ethics, discussing:
- The human soul, its psychic faculties, and the levels of human development .
- The distinction and harmony between philosophical inquiry and divine revelation .
- The social strata of humanity (superiors, equals, and inferiors) and the corresponding political conduct required when dealing with each class: to attain the standing of superiors, surpass peers, and avoid degrading to the level of inferiors .
- The essential necessity of regal governance (al-sira al-malakiyya) and prophetic laws (al-nawamis al-nabawiyya) for the establishment and preservation of order within the city .
- The taxonomy of political regimes, contrasting the virtuous city (al-madina al-fadila) with imperfect and deviant regimes, including the ignorant city (al-jahiliyya), the corrupt city (al-fasiqa), the altered city (al-mubaddala), and the astray city (al-dalla) .
Method and Sources
In al-Siyasa, al-Farabi synthesizes Platonic and Aristotelian philosophical traditions, drawing inspiration from Plato's Republic and Aristotle's Politics while framing them within an overarching metaphysical scheme adapted to Islamic philosophical discourse . The treatise addresses human association through naturalistic and systematic analysis, drawing analogies between the interdependent organs of a living body and the cooperative roles of citizens under a supreme ruler .
Reception and Manuscripts
The medieval historian and judge Sa'id al-Andalusi commended al-Siyasa al-Madaniyya alongside al-Sira al-Fadila as peerless works in metaphysical and political science .
Manuscript copies of the work are preserved in several international libraries, including the Ayasofya collection in Istanbul, the Leiden University Library, the British Museum in London, the Raza Library in Rampur, and the Institute of Oriental Studies in Tashkent . A medieval Hebrew translation of the text was produced under the title Mabadi' al-Mawjudat and later printed .
Answer updated