Farabi, al-

(born c. 878, Turkistan—died c. 950, Damascus?) A logician and one of the great philosophers of medieval Islam. He was probably the son of one of the caliph's Turkish bodyguards, and he grew up in Baghdad. From 942 he resided at the court of Prince Sayf al-Dawlah. Greatly influenced by Baghdad's Greek heritage in philosophy, especially the writings of Aristotle, he was known as the Second Teacher or the Second Aristotle. He used Artistotle's ideas in his proof of the existence of God and was influenced also by Neoplatonic ideas and Sufi mysticism. Like Plato, he believed it was the philosopher's task to provide guidance to the state. He wrote more than 100 works, notably The Ideas of the Citizens of the Virtuous City.