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Аннотация

This article presents a comparative analysis of Poetics in the writings of two major medieval Islamic philosophers: Abū Naṣr al-Fārābī (Al-Farabi) and Abū ‘Alī Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna). Both scholars engaged deeply with Aristotle’s Poetics, integrating it into the Arabic-Islamic intellectual milieu. Al-Farabi’s Canons of Poetry and Ibn Sina’s Poetics (as part of his encyclopedic Kitāb al-Shifā’, “Book of Healing”) are examined to elucidate their respective theories of poetic art. Key areas of comparison include their classification of poetics within the Aristotelian logical corpus, their conceptions of poetic syllogism and imaginative “assent,” and their treatment of tragedy and comedy as high versus low forms of art. Drawing on Aristotle’s legacy and the Neoplatonic context, Al-Farabi and Avicenna each made distinct contributions: Al-Farabi emphasized the logical and social function of poetry (often linking it to rhetoric and political philosophy) while Avicenna expanded the moral and psychological dimensions of poetics. Influences from Aristotle’s Poetics and late antique commentary are traced, alongside insights from modern scholars (e.g. Dimitri Gutas, Jon Walbridge, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, and Abd al-Raḥmān Badawī). The study concludes that Ibn Sina’s commentary builds upon and departs from Al-Farabi’s foundations – for instance, by rejecting the notion that poetic syllogisms must be false and by affirming the role of imaginative discourse in eliciting emotional responses and conveying moral insights. This comparative inquiry sheds light on how medieval Islamic thinkers preserved, interpreted, and transformed Aristotle’s Poetics, laying groundwork for subsequent literary theory in both the Islamic world and, via Ibn Rushd (Averroes), medieval Europe. Keywords: Aristotle’s Poetics []; Al-Farabi [Dahiyat, 1974]; Avicenna (Ibn Sina []); Medieval Arabic Poetics; Tragedy and Comedy; Imitation; Poetic Syllogism. al-Shi‘r, “Book of Poetry”), in an effort to present a Introduction: Aristotle’s Poetics [Black, 1990] – a ‘purer’ and more accessible version of Aristotle’s foundational work on aesthetics and literary theory – Poetics [ found new life in medieval Islamic philosophy through Arabic translation and commentary. By the 9th century, Both Al-Farabi [Dahiyat, 1974] and Avicenna thus the Poetics had been translated into Arabic (via Syriac) integrated Aristotle’s Poetics [] into the framework of by the Christian philosopher Abū Bishr Mattā ibn the Aristotelian logical corpus (the Organon). However, Yūnus. This translation was imperfect, containing they did so with different emphases and innovations. omissions and misunderstandings twice removed from Al-Farabi [ the Greek original. Against this backdrop, Muslim The aim of this study is to compare Ibn Sina []’s and Al- philosophers sought to clarify and adapt Aristotle’s Farabi [Dahiyat, 1974]’s treatises on poetics, ideas for an Arabic-speaking intellectual milieu. Al-Kindī highlighting how each understood key concepts – such (d. 873) reportedly wrote an epitome of the Poetics, as poetic imitation (Arabic muhākāt), the role of now lost. A generation later, Abū Naṣr al-Fārābī (870– imagination (takhyīl), and the genres of tragedy and 950), often titled “the Second Teacher” after Aristotle, comedy [] – and how each was influenced by (and composed a work known as Kitāb al-Qawānīn al-Shi‘r diverged from) Aristotle. By examining their works side (“The Canons of Poetry”) as well as an epitome (Kitāb American Journal Of Philological Sciences 155 https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ajps American Journal Of Philological Sciences (ISSN – 2771-2273) by side, we can discern the evolution of medieval he identifies the three primary media of poetry as: (i) Arabic literary theory from Al-Farabi [ rhythm (meter), (ii) language (words), and (iii) melody. In practice, Arabic poetry normally combines meter and LITERATURE REVIEW language, and may be accompanied by musical Aristotle’s Poetics [Black, 1990] in the Arabic Tradition: chanting. Al-Farabi [ The reception of Poetics among medieval Muslim Importantly, Al-Farabi [Dahiyat, 1974] emphasizes the scholars has been charted by modern researchers (e.g. psychological faculty of imagination (al-khayāl) as the by Salim Kemal, Deborah Black, and others). Aristotle’s bridge between poetic images and the intellect. In Poetics [ Canons of Poetry, he explores how poetry works by Modern scholarship on Al-Farabi [Dahiyat, 1974]’s stimulating the imaginative faculty to create mental poetics is highlighted by Abdurrahman Badawī’s critical images (khayālāt) that can move the emotions【 editions and analyses. Badawī edited the Arabic text of 78†L411-419】. He aligns this with his epistemology: in Aristotle’s Poetics [] and its Arabic commentaries Al-Farabi [ (including Al-Farabi [ To summarize Al-Farabi [Dahiyat, 1974]’s contribution: Modern scholars have paid special attention to the he refashioned Aristotle’s Poetics [] into a logically concept of