al–Faràbi

Abu Nasr Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Tarkhan ibn Uzlugh al-Farabi, known as Alpharabius in the Latin West, was an early Islamic philosopher and music theorist. He is credited as the "Father of Islamic Neoplatonism" and the "Founder of Islamic Political Philosophy." Al-Farabi's fields of philosophical interest included philosophy of society and religion; philosophy of language and logic; psychology and epistemology; metaphysics, political philosophy, and ethics. He was an expert in both practical musicianship and music theory. His work aimed at synthesizing philosophy and Sufism, paving the way for the work of Avicenna. Al-Farabi had great influence on science and philosophy for several centuries, and was widely considered second only to Aristotle in knowledge, earning him the title of the "Second Teacher." He played an essential part in the handing down of Aristotle's thought to the Christian West during the Middle Ages. His cosmology is based upon Aristotelian metaphysics, Plotinian emanational cosmology, and Ptolemaic astronomy.