Journal of Religion and the Contemporary World

Journal of Religion and the Contemporary World

Evaluating Al-Farabi's Expectations of Religion Based on His Philosophical Views

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 Master's student in Philosophy of Religion, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
2 Associate Professor, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
In this article, an attempt has been made, with emphasis on the philosophical views of Abū Naṣr Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Fārābī, the Muslim philosopher of the fourth century AH, such as his definition of religion as a comprehensive and all embracing system that must respond to the individual and social needs of human beings, or his emphasis on individual felicity as intellectual perfection and abstraction, and social felicity as the realization of a virtuous and just society, to set forth his expectations from religion. Finally, in the evaluation of his views, it is stated that his expectation from religion—corresponding to the higher levels of human needs, his attention to the allegorical language of sacred texts for the general public, his use of philosophical theories to defend the teachings of religion, and his emphasis on the social function of religion in accordance with historical circumstances—are counted among the salient aspects of his thought. Yet, in criticism of his views, it has been argued: first, that his definition of felicity and the virtuous city is idealistic; second, that his view of the relation between religion and philosophy entails a reduction of religion to philosophy;
Keywords

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