The Philosopher and the King

“Invited to the court of the reigning king,

The ragged philosopher asked,

‘Where shall I sit?’

The king commanded from afar,

‘Remain where you are.’

So the philosopher walked right up and

Sat on his throne beside him.
He forced him from his place.

The king was not pleased.”

Biographies of the tenth century philosopher al-Farabi, acolyte of Plato’s musical tradition, tell a story of his visit to King Sayf al-Dawla. The Philosopher and the King relates this 1000-year-old tale, in which the word prevails over the sword, and music emerges as the highest form of wisdom. Interweaving poetry, essay, and the author’s own illustrations, the design of this little book allows for different modalities of reading: one focussing on a critical consideration of our factual knowledge of the historical events, one centering on the melodious truths of the tale, and one relying on the immediate force of visual storytelling.

Wendy M. K. Shaw is the author of What is “Islamic” Art: Between Religion and Perception (Cambridge University Press, 2019). Her analysis of how Islamic thought underlies visual form led her to rethink the boundaries of academic prose, and to explore alternative forms of communication, traversing different temporalities, cultural traditions, languages, and media.