Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1
1Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy and Theology, Research Institute of Islamic Sciences and Culture, Qom, Iran
2
2Assistant Professor, Department of Critical Editing, Research Institute of Islamic Sciences and Culture, Qom, Iran
10.22081/pwq.2026.73553.1261
Abstract
Abū Naṣr Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Fārābī (d. 339 AH / 950 CE), known as the "Second Master" (al-Muʿallim al-Thānī), ranks among the preeminent philosophers of the Islamic world, leaving behind a substantial corpus of works in diverse fields including politics, philosophy, ethics, social theory, music, and others. Notwithstanding that a considerable portion of his oeuvre has thus far been edited and studied, some of his writings have not received the critical editorial attention they deserve. Among these is the treatise al-Daʿāwī al-Qalbiyyah (The Heartfelt Claims), whose attribution to al-Fārābī is beyond dispute. In this treatise, al-Fārābī presents in a concise manner various important philosophical themes, including the divisions of existence, the attributes of the Necessary Existent (wājib al-wujūd), the manner of emanation of the ten intellects (al-ʿuqūl al-ʿasharah), the principle of emanation of the celestial spheres and heavenly bodies, the principles of motion in physical objects, the vegetative and animal soul with their faculties and laws, good and evil, matters pertaining to prophets and their miracles, and human felicity (saʿādah). The present critical edition, undertaken for the first time on the basis of three manuscripts and one printed version, is distinguished by the following features: recording variant readings in cases affecting meaning, correcting scribal errors, rectifying deficiencies of previous editions, introducing systematic section headings, providing appropriate marginal annotations, elucidating select technical terms and expressions, supplying vocalization (iʿrāb) where necessary, and offering analytic exposition of certain Fārābian doctrines addressed in the treatise—particularly regarding the unity of the Necessary Existent, the modality of emanation of the ten intellects from the Divine Essence, and the theory of ibdāʿ (innovative creation)—while also delineating their distinctiveness in relation to the theories of other thinkers and philosophers. The editorial method employed in this work is the comparative-recensional (qiyāsī) approach.
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