Al-Farabi

To the Arabs, Al-Farabi was well-known as the ‘Second Master’ (after Aristotle), and with good grounds. He was one of the greatest philosophers of the world. Especially for his originality, and spontaneity compared the many around him. He was not just a philosopher, logician and musician, but also a major political scientist. Although not much is for certain about his life, but as a philosopher and scientist, he gained immense expertise in a variety of branches of learning and is stated to have been an expert in numerous languages. He not only acquired mastery over languages but also knowledge and technology. He was known to be a great expert in the art and science of music and invented quite a few musical instruments, in addition to contributing to the knowledge of musical notes. It is believed and also reported that he was capable of playing instruments so well that he could make people laugh or weep at will. Such a command on music and interest in music could be seen in his works, especially his book captioned Kitab al-Musiqa. He contributed considerably to science, philosophy, logic, sociology, medicine, mathematics and music. Not just that but, he stood out as an Encyclopedic. His works, his books on psychology and metaphysics were largely based on his own research. He is to date respected as the Second Teacher in philosophy since centuries and his work, aimed at synthesis of philosophy and Sufism.