The Concept of Friendship in Ikhwan al-Safa and Ibn Miskawayh

In this study, the friendship views of Ikhwan al Safa and Ibn Miskawayh were examined and compared. In order to build a happy life, a person needs to create some material and spiritual relationships. Through these relationships, they are able to meet their needs for a peaceful life. According to both understandings, human beings are creatures that need their fellow humans due to their nature. This feature obliges him to lead a social life. One of the basic types of relationships in social life is friendship. Both Ikhwan al-Safa and Ibn Miskawayh think that friendship is a means of sustenance and happiness. According to them, friend means two separate bodies and one soul. In both approaches, the need for friends, the points to be considered when making friends, and the conditions necessary to maintain friendship have been identified and evaluated. In the thought system of the Brotherhood of Safa, friendship is considered more important for loyalty to the society, Ibn Miskawah’s understanding of friendship is more individual and practice-oriented. Ibn Miskawayh also benefited from religious data while shaping his understanding of friendship in Ikhwan al- Safa. The starting point of this study is the Treatises of Ihvân-ı Safâ and the works of Ibn Miskawayh called Tehzîbü’l-Ahlâk. The fact that Ikhwan al-Safa and Ibn Miskawayh were thinkers of the same age and that they focused on morality and friendship in their systems was the reason for our study.