Journal of Legal Research

Journal of Legal Research

What Is Fārābī’s Legal Theory? Deriving a Theory of Virtuous Law from His Civil Philosophy

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 MA Student in Philosophy, Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
2 PhD student of Jurisprudence and Fundamentals of Islamic Law, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
3 Associate Professor, Department of Islamic Philosophy and Theology, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
Fārābī’s legal theory, embedded in his writings on civil philosophy, comprises three fundamental components: foundation, source, and ultimate purpose. The foundation of virtuous law, according to Fārābī, is natural law, which is also consistent with the objectives of Islamic law. The laws governing the virtuous city are established by its first ruler and derive from divine revelation and divine traditions. Some of these divine traditions, or natural laws, are accessible to sound reason, while others lie beyond the intellectual grasp of the majority. The latter are either revealed to the first ruler or apprehended by him through intellectual insight, by virtue of his acquired intellect. Such knowledge also forms part of the divine traditions. The ultimate purpose of both the first ruler and the laws of the virtuous city is the attainment of ultimate happiness. Employing a descriptive-analytical method, this article examines and explains these three components of Fārābī’s thought. It argues that, taken together, they constitute a coherent framework that may be identified as the theory of virtuous law, or Fārābī’s legal theory.
Keywords

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