As Islam spread across Europe, Asia, and Africa, it came into contact with many cultures and philosophies. People of other religions, such as Christians and Jews, learned about Islam and helped to bring in some facets of their own ideologies. For the most part, people of other religions were not forced to convert to Islam when their land was taken over by the Islamic empire. As long as people paid a weighty tax, they were permitted to maintain their own religion. Therefore, people of different faiths intermingled in the empire and shared the best aspects of their ideologies. Al-Farabi was one of the many Muslims who could then learn about Christian and ancient Greek philosophies. It was as a result of this exposure that Al-Farabi became one of Islam's best-known medieval philosophers.

Greek philosophy proved to be desirable at such a vulnerable time in the medieval world. People were being pulled by new and different teachings such as those of Islam. There was some sense of security in trusting the philosophies of the ancient Greeks because they had been successful in finding answers and truths in their own changing society. Al-Farabi investigated the philosophers and determined that his world with ever-changing governments and communities needed to find a grounding in philosophy. He came to see the philosopher as the ideal man with the true understanding of the world-- particularly the world as God desired it revealed to Muhammad. Al-Farabi believed that the philosopher was intelligent enough to examine Muhammad's revelations and to decipher what was truly intended by the message. In essence, it was human reason that could shed new light on where Islam as a religion and political philosophy was heading in this world.

Influenced by his exposure to Aristotle and Plato, Al-Farabi concentrated much of his philosophy on politics. He advanced the idea that all men could guide their actions and beliefs to attain an ideal end. Man must concentrate and have a clear understanding of what he hopes to achieve (such an understanding could be obtained through studying the revelations made to Muhammad). However, man cannot work alone. People are called to join together in the hope of reaching perfection. It is this gathering of people for identical means that can be compared to the philosophies of ancient Greeks who saw the community working together politically in order to succeed.

Al-Farabi called for people to work together in their search for perfection. It was Muhammad who called the people to become perfect in their attempt to please God. Plato called for people to be loyal to the principles which governed their world; in the Islamic empire, the governing principles would be those defined by Muhammad. Plato also acknowledged that there were people of varying ranks and importance in society, yet all played their own role in achieving that perfect state. Al-Farabi uses similar logic by calling for all individuals to be good Muslims and follow the appropriate paths for attaining the perfect Islamic state.