In spite of the scanty information we have about his family...

In spite of the scanty information we have about his family, his childhood, and his youth, it has been believed that he was Turkish by birth, that his father was a general, and that he himself worked as a judge for some time.[^3] What is better known is the cultural and intellectual movement which flourished and spread with the introduction of Islam in Farab at the beginning of the third/ninth century, and that the reputed philologist al-Jauhari, the compiler of al-Sihah , was one of his eminent contemporaries.

Al-Farabi was able to draw largely on this movement. The basis of his early education was religious and linguistic: he studied jurisprudence, Hadith, and the exegesis of the Qur'an. He learnt Arabic as well as Turkish and Persian.

It is doubtful whether he knew any other language, and what has been stated by Ibn Khallikan about al-Farabi's mastery of “seventy tongues” is more akin to the fabulous than to exact history.[^4] From his interpretation of the word safsafah (sophistry), it is obvious that al-Farabi had no knowledge of the Greek languages.[^5] He did not neglect to benefit himself from the rational studies which were current in his time, such as mathematics and philosophy, although it appears that he did not turn to them until much later.

Contrary to what has been held, it does not appear that he paid much attention to medicine.[^6] And when he became extremely interested in these rational studies, he did not remain content with what he had acquired in this respect in his native town. Spurred by intellectual curiosity, he had to leave his home and wander abroad in pursuit of more knowledge. That marks the second period of his life, the period of old age and full maturity.

Baghdad, as an outstanding centre of learning throughout the fourth/tenth century, was naturally his first destination where he encountered various scholars among whom were philosophers and translators. It was the study of logic which attracted him to that circle of distinguished logicians of Baghdad of whom the most renowned was Abu Bishr Matta ibn Yunus considered to be the foremost logician of his age. Al-Farabi studied logic under Ibn Yunus for some time.

He surpassed his teacher and, on account of the eminent position he had gained in this field, he came to be called “The Second Teacher.” Another famous logician, Yahya ibn 'Adi, was his disciple. Al-Farabi remained twenty years in Baghdad and then his attention was engaged by another cultural centre in Aleppo.