and just as al-Fārābī, Mubashshir ibn Fātik, and others rank the philosopher above the prophet.

As for those who say that the prophet knew the truth, they may say:
“The prophet is superior to the philosopher, because he knew what the philosopher knew and more, and could address the masses in a manner that the philosopher could not match.”

Ibn Sīnā and others like him belong to this group.

Broadly speaking, this is the position of the adherents of philosophy and the esotericists, such as the Ismā‘īlī heretics and the authors of