The First Ruler of the Virtuous City in Al-Farabi's Thought and Its Philosophical Foundations

The theory of the first ruler of the Virtuous City is one of the most important subjects of al-Farabi's political science. Using the method of text-oriented analytic interpretation, firstly, sixteen epistemic and non-epistemic characteristics of the first ruler are extracted; the most prominent of which are perfection of rational and imaginative faculties. In addition, the main responsibility of the first ruler, i.e. supplying the supreme happiness of the citizens, is explained through three minor duties: establishing the state, giving rise to the virtues and eliminating the vices, and resolving the problems of the state. Then, it is discussed that this theory is based on six foundations in al-Farabi's philosophical system, including human social innate disposition, theory of individual souls, concept of happiness, and status of active intellect, volition and religion(prophecy) in man's happiness. Finally, it is concluded that the theory of the first ruler, which is based on al-Farabi's philosophical foundations, enjoys internal coherence and is not in any sense imitative.