Abstract

 This article is devoted to a comparative analysis of the philosophical ideas of two outstanding representatives of the Turkic-Islamic civilization, who had a significant influence on the development of Kazakh philosophy and culture – Abu Nasr al-Farabi (870–950) and Abai Qunanbaiuly (1845–1904). The main goal of the study is to identify the common worldview foundations of their teachings and to determine the spiritual continuity linking the Kazakh Enlightenment of the 19th century with classical Islamic philosophy. The work thoroughly examines al-Farabi’s concepts of the “Virtuous City” and the “virtuous man.” In these teachings, reason, morality, education, and the common good are put forward as fundamental values that ensure the harmonious development of society and the attainment of perfection by the individual. The study also analyzes Abai’s concept of the “tolyk adam” (“perfect man”), in which labor and conscience, faith and reason are harmoniously combined, with its philosophical content being revealed. In the works of both thinkers, special attention is given to the social significance of knowledge, education, and labor, as well as to the harmonious interrelation of faith and reason. As a result of the comparative analysis, al-Farabi appears as a thinker who theoretically formulated a universal model of a society based on justice. Abai, in turn, is described as a figure who adapted these ideas to the historical and social conditions of the Kazakh people in the 19th century and realized them within the framework of national culture. The philosophical heritage of al-Farabi and Abai is assessed as a unified spiritual system that mutually complements each other and integrates tradition with innovation.

Keywords: falsafa, Abai, worldview, Al-Farabi, religion, perfection, spirituality, Islam, peripatetism, literature