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.

Aristotle’s Poetics [], Al-Farabi [Dahiyat, 1974], Avicenna (Ibn Sina [])

Zubaida, S. & Adibah, A. (2025). “An Islamic Approach to Poetics: The Role of Muslim Philosophers in the Development of Literary Theory.” International Journal of Islamic Thought, 25 (June 2025): 193–204. – Discusses the transmission of Aristotle’s Poetics [] into Arabic and the contributions of Al-Kindi, Al-Farabi [Dahiyat, 1974], Ibn Sina [], and Ibn Rushd.

Arberry, A. J. (1938). “Fārābī’s Canons of Poetry.” Rivista degli Studi Orientali, 17(2): 266–278. – Edition and English translation of Al-Farabi [Dahiyat, 1974]’s Kitāb al-Qawānīn al-shi‘r, providing insight into Al-Farabi [

Dahiyat, Ismail M. (1974). Avicenna’s Commentary on the Poetics of Aristotle: A Critical Study with an Annotated Translation. Leiden: Brill. – Comprehensive study of Ibn Sina []’s Poetics (from the Shifā’) with English translation. It analyzes Avicenna’s logical approach to poetry and comparisons with Al-Farabi [Dahiyat, 1974].

Black, Deborah L. (1990). Logic and Aristotle’s Rhetoric and Poetics in Medieval Arabic Philosophy. Leiden: Brill. – Examines how Al-Farabi [Dahiyat, 1974], Avicenna, and others integrated Aristotle’s Rhetoric and Poetics into their logical frameworks. Notably discusses the concept of poetic syllogism [] and imaginative assent [] (takhyīl).

Kemal, Salim. (1991). The Poetics of Alfarabi and Avicenna. Leiden: E. J. Brill. – A focused comparison of Al-Farabi [Dahiyat, 1974]’s and Avicenna’s theories of poetics, highlighting how each justified the logical and moral power of poetic discourse in different ways.

Kemal, Salim. (2003). The Philosophical Poetics of Alfarabi, Avicenna and Averroes [Butterworth, 1986]: The Aristotelian Reception. London: RoutledgeCurzon. – Expands on Kemal’s earlier work to include Averroes [

Gutas, Dimitri. (2014). Avicenna and the Aristotelian Tradition (2nd rev. ed.). Leiden: Brill. – Provides historical context for Avicenna’s engagement with Aristotle. Gutas particularly praises Avicenna’s handling of the garbled Poetics translation as a “masterpiece of literary analysis” and discusses Avicenna’s place in transmitting Aristotelian thought.

Walbridge, John. (2010). God and Logic in Islam: The Caliphate of Reason. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. – Contains a chapter on logic in the Islamic tradition with references to how philosophers like Al-Farabi [Dahiyat, 1974] and Avicenna viewed the logical arts. Walbridge contrasts Al-Farabi [

Nasr, Seyyed Hossein & Leaman, Oliver (eds.). (1996). History of Islamic Philosophy. Part I (London: Routledge). – Includes discussion of Al-Farabi [Dahiyat, 1974]’s and Avicenna’s philosophical systems. Nasr remarks on the integration of Greek philosophy into Islam, noting Al-Farabi [

Badawī, ‘Abd al-Raḥmān. (1952). Manṭiq Arisṭū (Aristotle’s Logic), Vol. 2. Cairo: al-Maṭba‘a al-Ḥadītha. – Contains the Arabic text of Aristotle’s Rhetoric and Poetics with commentary. Badawi’s edition collates the Arabic translation by Abū Bishr and the commentaries. In his introduction and notes, Badawi evaluates the translation choices (e.g. tragedy→madḥ, comedy→hijā’) and identifies errors and interpretations by Al-Farabi [Dahiyat, 1974] and others.

Badawī, ‘Abd al-Raḥmān. (1966). Avicenna: Kitāb al-Shifā’: al-Shi‘r. Cairo: al-Hay’a al-Miṣriyyah al-‘Āmma. – Arabic critical edition of Avicenna’s chapter on Poetics from the Shifā’. This is the primary source for Avicenna’s text, which scholars like Dahiyat and Kemal have used. (In-text citations in this article to Avicenna’s ideas are based on this text as translated by Dahiyat).

Averroes [Butterworth, 1986] (Ibn Rushd). (1986). Middle Commentary on Aristotle’s Poetics []. Translated with notes by Charles Butterworth. Princeton: Princeton University Press. – While not directly about Farabi or Avicenna, this work shows the culmination of the Arabic tradition of Poetics. Averroes [

Leezenberg, Michiel. (2001). “Katharsis, Greek and Arab style: On Averroes []’s Misunderstanding of Aristotle’s Misunderstanding of Tragedy.” In Documenta, 22(4) (Ghent, 2004), pp. 274–300. – An article discussing how Aristotle’s concept of catharsis and tragedy was interpreted by Arabic commentators. It highlights that Arabic philosophers had a “radically different idea” of poetic language focused on social/political concerns. It underscores the high-low art distinction and how philosophers like Al-Farabi [Dahiyat, 1974] and Avicenna politicized poetics in a way foreign to Aristotle.

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy – “Al-Farabi [Dahiyat, 1974]’s Philosophy of Society and Religion.” (2020). – This online resource provides background on Al-Farabi [

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy – “Ibn Sina [Kemal, 1991] [Avicenna].” (2020). – Offers an overview of Avicenna’s life and works. It mentions Avicenna’s contributions to logic and his inclusion of subjects like poetry in his encyclopedias. The article references Avicenna’s interest in combining philosophy with literary forms (e.g., his allegorical stories) and how he saw a role for imaginative literature in philosophy.