Which Muslim philosopher attempted to combine Islam with the ideas of Plato and Aristotle?

• A. Al-Farabi
• B. Ibn Rushd
• C. Avicenna
• D. Al-Ghazali

Answer: (B)

The idea being tested is who tried to fuse Islamic thought with the ideas of both Plato and Aristotle. Al-Farabi is the philosopher who did this most prominently. He built a system that brings Islamic theology together with Platonic political ideals and Aristotelian philosophy, aiming to show that reason and revelation can coexist. He imagines a virtuous city guided by rational knowledge and leadership shaped by philosophy within an Islamic framework, drawing on Plato’s vision of a wise, well-ordered society and on Aristotle’s logic and metaphysics. This blend of Platonic and Aristotelian ideas with Islam is what marks him as the figure who attempted that synthesis. Ibn Rushd (Averroes) is known for reconciling Islam with Aristotelian thought, but not in the same sustained way with Plato. Avicenna (Ibn Sina) blends Aristotle with Neoplatonism, and Al-Ghazali critiqued philosophy rather than integrating it.