Abstract
sHort communicAtionsAl-Farabi's Doctrine on the Head of the Virtuous city in the context of contemporary Kazakhstan Abū Naṣr al-Farabi is rightfully considered one of the greatest thinkers in the world whose teachings have always been and will remain relevant through all stages of human history.Al-Farabi's greatness lies in the fact that every man, nation, and state can find answers to their questions in their encyclopedic heritage and define a path of future development.When speaking about the role of philosophy in human life and society, the well-known Kazakh writer Mukhtar Auezov described al-Farabi as a ray of light in the dark labyrinths of the human path to the truth.The philosophy of al-Farabi can be defined in the same terms.His philosophy has always remained modern, it is close to each of us, and offers solutions to the most challenging issues, especially today when human history has changed quite unpredictably.There is, hopefully, a way out of this crisis, and the philosophies of the great world thinkers, such as al-Farabi, will help overcome this situation.This paper discusses the research into the legacy of al-Farabi in Kazakhstan.Mukhash Burabayev, the famous Kazakh researcher, claims that al-Farabi was widely known among the Kazakhs in previous centuries but his works in Arabic were available only to a selected few.During the Soviet regime, the Kazakhs were forced to change their alphabet first into Latin, then into Cyrillic, which could be considered a deliberate policy aimed at the destruction of the historical memory of Kazakhs.Fortunately, despite such harsh measures, Kazakhs were able to preserve their language, traditions, culture and rich spiritual heritage.According to Burabayev, the eminent philosopher, historian, statesman and diplomat Kazybek Tauasaruly (1692-1776) thoroughly studied and translated many of al-Farabi's works, after spending about eight years in the Middle East (Burabayev, 1994, p. 18).Kazybek's book, which title translates as From Ancient Times to My Life, was written in 1776 but was published as late as in 1993, when Kazakhstan restored its political and spiritual independence.In his book, Kazybek calls al-Farabi a wise ancestor, emphasizes his social and ethical treatises but also acknowledges that al-Farabi's work on natural sciences was difficult to comprehend.