No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the author.
Al-Ghazali's Philosophical Theology
Abstract
Al-Ghazali (d. 1111) is one of the most important theologians, philosophers, and Sufis of Islam. Born around 1056 in northeastern Iran, he became the holder of the most prestigious academic post in Islamic theology in Baghdad, only to renounce that position and teach at small schools in the provinces for no money. His contributions to Islamic scholarship range from responding to the challenges of Aristotelian philosophy to creating a new type of mysticism in Islam, and integrating both these traditions-falsafa and Sufism-into the Sunni mainstream. Using the most authoritative sources, including reports of his students, his contemporaries, and his own letters, this book reconstructs every stage in al-Ghazali's turbulent career. The al-Ghazali that emerges still offers many surprises, particularly on his motives for leaving Baghdad and the nature of his "seclusion" afterwards. In its close study of al-Ghazali's cosmology-meaning, how God creates things and events in the world, how human acts relate to God's power, and how the universe is structured-the book reveals the significant philosophical influence on al-Ghazali. His cosmology has always been one of the most challenging aspects of his work. This book shows how al-Ghazali created a new discourse on cosmology that moved away from concerns held earlier among Muslim theologians and Arab philosophers. This new cosmology was structured to provide a framework for the pursuit of the natural sciences and a basis for science and philosophy in Islam to continue to flourish beyond the 12th century.
... There remains a pressing need to explore non-Christian traditions that offer alternative, yet equally rigorous, perspectives on these issues (Guessoum 2011a;Alkemade et al. 2024). Islamic theology, with its rich history of engagement with reason and revelation, presents a fertile ground for such inquiry (Griffel 2009;Jackson 2009;El-Tobgui 2020;Hassan 2020;Griffel 2021). ...
... This argument, often directed at the Ash arī tradition more broadly, assumes that theological commitments inherently stifle scientific inquiry. However, this claim has been increasingly challenged by scholars who have demonstrated that Ash arī theology historically accommodated and even encouraged scientific and philosophical exploration (Griffel 2009(Griffel , 2021Adamson 2016). Nevertheless, theological openness to scientific engagement does not automatically translate into a thriving scientific culture. ...
This article examines the Ashʿarī theological framework of Imam Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Yūsuf al-Sanūsī (d. 1490) and its potential for shaping contemporary Muslim engagement with science. At the heart of al-Sanūsī’s thought is a tripartite typology of judgements—legal (ḥukm sharʿī), nomic (ḥukm ʿādī), and rational (ḥukm ʿaqlī)—as articulated in The Preliminaries of Theology (al-Muqaddimāt). This classification distinguishes between rulings grounded in revelation, patterns observed in nature, and conclusions drawn from reason. Unlike other theological approaches, al-Sanūsī’s model integrates core Ashʿarī doctrines such as radical contingency, occasionalism, and divine command theory, offering a coherent synthesis of metaphysics, empirical inquiry, and ethics. Building on recent scholarship that re-engages with Ashʿarī theology in the context of Islam and science, this article argues that al-Sanūsī’s schema offers a meta-framework—one that positions science not merely as an object of analysis but as a locus for theology.
... According to Griffel (2009), Al-Ghazali, a renowned Islamic theologian and philosopher, approached the topic of the Crusades and Christian-Muslim relations with a multifaceted perspective. In his seminal work "The Revival of the Religious Sciences" (Ihya Ulum al-Din), Al-Ghazali emphasized the importance of internal spiritual renewal as a prerequisite for addressing external conflicts, including those with non-Muslim entities. ...
... Al-Ghazali emphasized the importance of upholding agreements and treaties with non-Muslims, promoting peaceful coexistence based on mutual respect and understanding. Griffel (2009), While acknowledging theological differences between Islam and Christianity, he advocated for dialogue and engagement as means to bridge divides and promote social cohesion. Al-Ghazali's teachings continue to serve as a source of inspiration for contemporary efforts to foster interfaith understanding and cooperation. ...
This article scrutinizes the motivations behind the Crusades initiated by Western European Christians, concentrating on religious, political, and cultural aspects. Analyzing the complex dynamics between Christians and Muslims during this period, marked by both conflict and cooperation. The study delves into various modes of communication, particularly cultural exchange, to foster a nuanced understanding of relationship dynamics. Emphasizing the lasting impact of the Crusades on Christian-Muslim relations, this article addresses the ongoing problem of the impact of the Crusades and their effects on the relationship between Muslims and Christians, whose echoes still resonate in contemporary perspectives. These effects remain engraved in the minds of many to the extent that some believe similar wars could recur today. The article aims to bridge the scholarly gap by examining the implications that influence the present relationship between Christians and Muslims, including in the African context. The article adopting a literature-based approach, relies exclusively on library sources for data collection, conducting a comprehensive review of scholarly works, books, and academic journals. This approach aims to gather insights from historical, and comparative perspectives, contributing to a thorough exploration and analysis of the subject matter.
... Gazaliu, një nga mendimtarët më të njohur të periudhës së mëparshme, kishte krijuar një traditë të mendimit që e përjashtonte filozofinë spekulative si të rrezikshme për teologjinë dhe praktikën fetare. Në veprën e tij të famshme Tahafut al-Falasifah (Inkoherenca e Filozofëve), ai hodhi poshtë disa prej ideve kryesore të filozofisë islame dhe greke, duke argumentuar se këto ide binin ndesh me parimet themelore të besimit islam (Griffel, 2009, Campanini, 2019. Ndikimi i kësaj vepre kishte arritur në gjithë botën islame dhe kishte nxitur një prirje anti-filozofike që përforconte dogmatizmin dhe refuzonte mendimin spekulativ. ...
... Ai e konsideronte filozofinë një rrezik për besimin islam dhe argumentonte se përpjekjet e filozofëve për të integruar filozofinë me teologjinë binin ndesh me mësimet themelore të fesë. Gazaliu kritikon filozofët për disa ide që ai i konsideron herezi, duke përfshirë idenë e përjetësisë së botës, që ishte në kundërshtim me konceptin islam të krijimit; mohimin e dijes së veçantë të Zotit mbi ngjarjet dhe detajet specifike të krijimit; dhe mohimin e ringjalljes trupore, që përbënte një nga doktrinat qendrore të besimit islam (Griffel, 2009). Sipas tij, këto qëndrime përbënin një devijim të papranueshëm nga ortodoksia islame, duke rrezikuar doktrinat e qarta të besimit dhe traditës fetare. ...
Ky artikull shqyrton përpjekjen e Ibn Rushdit për të legjitimuar filozofinë në mendimin islam, duke u fokusuar në veprën e tij thelbësore Fasl al-Maqāl. Ibn Rushdi mbron idenë se filozofia është në harmoni me Islamin dhe argumenton se kërkimi filozofik është jo vetëm i lejueshëm, por një obligim fetar për myslimanët intelektualisht të aftë. Ai kundërshton kritikat e teologëve të shquar si Gazaliu, duke theksuar se arsyeja dhe shpallja hyjnore kanë një burim të përbashkët dhe duhet të shihen si plotësuese të njëra-tjetrës. Studimi e vendos veprën e Ibn Rushdit në kontekstin politik dhe intelektual të Kordobës së shekullit të 12-të, nën ndikimin e dinastisë Almohade, dhe shpjegon se si ky mjedis racionalist ndihmoi zhvillimin e projekteve të tij filozofike.
... Al-Ghazali, 1961). While analyzing al-Ghazali in the very structure of the authority of reason (al-ma'qul) and the authority of revelation (al-manqul), Frank Griffel underlines that If a demonstration maintains the impossibility of the "outward meaning" the interpreter has to explore other levels of being where the words are attributed to a sensible perception of the Prophet or according to him, the final level of interpretation is that of capturing words in symbolic or a metaphoric forms (Griffel, 2009). ...
... Second, the role of the reason in Al-Ghazali's epistemology can better be in his methodologies of interpretation that pts the Qur'an and Hadith (Prophetic traditions) into three categories; the first category contains the passages that are contradicted by a "demonstrative argument" where reason determines the meaning of the text simply in an agreement with revelation. The second category illustrates that "the results of demonstrative proofs either agree or do not affect the text of revelation (Griffel, 2009). The third and final category represents the texts where demonstrative proofs do not contradict the information contained in revelation. ...
By employing Utility tools or moral conducts based on “the greatest good for the greatest number”, the Utilitarian mechanism maximizes the Utility for majority. This ethical theory is evidently grounded in human reason free from any transcendent revelation which is all the way expounded as a purely secular product of renaissance. While, in contrast to “Utilitarianism”, the Islamic “Maṣlaḥah” transcends the spatial structure and materiality to connect the life hereafter, hence the immediate good and bad of this world are but the function for the final good or bad pertaining to the Afterlife. Reviewing and analyzing relevant contents, this paper explores the key differences and similarities between Western “Utilitarianism” and Islamic “Maṣlaḥah”. Firstly, the paper identifies that both “Utilitarianism” and “Maṣlaḥah” aim to promote human welfare and happiness, but differ in their approach to defining and measuring the concept. Secondly, the paper examines the role of reason and revelation in shaping ethical decision-making in both traditions. Finally, it discusses the practical implications of “Utilitarianism” and “Maṣlaḥah” in contemporary societies. While “Utilitarianism” is often associated with individualistic and secular societies, Islamic “Maṣlaḥah” is deeply embedded in Islamic culture and tradition, which emphasizes community values and religious obligations.
... Nizam al-Muluk tertarik dengan keilmuannya sehingga membawa kepada pelantikan sebagai tenaga pengajar ilmu fiqh di Madrasah Nizhamiyah, salah satu institusi pengajian tinggi terkemuka di Baghdad (Langgulung, 1987). Selain itu, al-Ghazali turut diberi amanah untuk memegang jawatan naib canselor (Griffel, 2009), suatu pengiktirafan tertinggi terhadap keunggulannya dalam keilmuan dan kepetahannya berhujah. Sepanjang tempoh berkhidmat di Madrasah Nizhamiyah, kepakaran serta kebijaksanaannya semakin terserlah. ...
Pendidikan Islam memainkan peranan penting dalam membentuk akhlak dan karakter individu Muslim yang diwarisi melalui pemikiran dan pendekatan ilmuan Islam. Imam al-Ghazali merupakan salah seorang tokoh terkemuka dalam sejarah pendidikan Islam. Beliau telah memberikan sumbangan yang besar kepada falsafah pendidikan melalui karyanya yang masyhur iaitu Ihya’ Ulum al-Din. Beliau dikenali sebagai "Hujjatul Islam" kerana usaha gigihnya dalam mengembangkan pendidikan yang mengintegrasikan ilmu naqli dan aqli. Oleh yang demikian, artikel ini akan membincangkan tentang konsep pendidikan, tujuan pendidikan, kurikulum, prinsip, pendekatan pengajaran dan pembelajaran, serta kaedah pengajaran guru menurut pandangan al-Ghazali. Kajian ini menggunakan pendekatan metode kepustakaan dengan meneliti artikel, sumber internet dan bahan ilmiah berkaitan. Konsep pendidikan menurut al-Ghazali menekankan kesepaduan ilmu naqli dan aqli manakala tujuan pendidikan adalah mendekatkan diri kepada Allah. Prinsip dan pendekatan yang ditekankan oleh al-Ghazali seperti keikhlasan guru, kasih sayang kepada pelajar dan penggunaan kaedah pengajaran yang berkesan dapat meningkatkan keberkesanan pengajaran. Oleh itu, penting untuk mengaplikasikan kembali falsafah pendidikan al-Ghazali dalam sistem pendidikan kontemporari untuk membentuk individu yang holistik dalam aspek spiritual, fizikal dan intelektual.
... Its influence extended to the Ottoman Empire, making it a notable fusion of these traditions (cf. for his theology Griffel 2009). Written during a period of internal strife in the Seljuk Empire, this work addresses both theological and practical aspects of rulership (al-Ghazālī 1938;al-Ghazālī 1971). ...
Research Problem: Islamic ideas on rulership and governance are disseminated through various textual traditions, among which the mirrors for princes genre holds a prominent place. These texts, serving as manuals for rulers and future leaders, encapsulate a blend of ethical, spiritual, and practical guidance. However, there is a lack of clarity regarding the nature of this genre, particularly its integration of religious and political dimensions, as well as its significance in shaping Islamic thought on governance. Research Purposes: This study aims to explore the historical and cultural development of the mirrors for princes genre, analyze its content to uncover insights into Islamic rulership, and challenge the notion that this genre is quasi-secular by highlighting its intrinsic connection to Islamic principles. Research Methods: The research employs a qualitative approach, drawing on a comprehensive review of primary and secondary sources within the mirrors for princes tradition. Historical analysis and textual interpretation are utilized to examine the themes, structures, and intended purposes of these works across different Islamic contexts. Results and Discussion: The study reveals that mirrors for princes are deeply embedded in Islamic ethical and political thought, offering rulers guidance that intertwines religious obligations with administrative responsibilities. These texts emphasize the ruler's role as a moral and spiritual guide, as well as a political leader. The research demonstrates the diversity of traditions that contributed to the genre and highlights its adaptability across time and regions in the Islamic world. Research Implications and Contributions: This study contributes to a deeper understanding of Islamic political and ethical thought, emphasizing the mirrors for princes genre as a vital source of historical insights into governance. It challenges secular interpretations by illustrating the genre's rootedness in Islamic values and its role in shaping the ideals of rulership. The findings provide a foundation for further research into the interplay between religion and politics in Islamic history and offer valuable perspectives for comparative studies in governance and leadership.
... Such division, albeit, rests upon an epistemic distinction between sciences that rely on the testimony of the community in their epistemic authority and those that rely on human rational opinions.10 Be that as it may, this divide can also be misleading, as we know that someone like al-Ghazālī draws upon different discourses of knowledge and uses philosophy in his theological, legal theory, as well as mystical writings to articulate his own vision of the universe (see Griffel 2019;2004;Treiger 2012). At any rate, the aim here is to underline that certain distinctions between the different discourses of knowledge should be taken with prudence when discussing the medieval context. ...
... In Islamic teachings, the significance of work's dignity is underscored, offering individuals the opportunity to make meaningful contributions to society. The philosophical musings of Al-Ghazali illuminate the profound elegance of labor within the framework of Islam (Griffel, 2009;Tahir, Ullah, et al., 2022). A poignant example is reflected in a statement attributed to Hazrat Umar, wherein he expressed a preference to pass away while striving for his personal sustenance and that of his offspring (Abdul-Rauf, 1984). ...
In today's global pursuit of material wealth, business organizations have transmuted into profit-driven entities, prioritizing financial gains over moral considerations in, both, Western and Eastern societies. This shifting trend has eclipsed the fundamental Islamic principle of “Ibadah,” emphasizing complete surrender to Allah (SWT) in daily business operations. To counter the prevailing trend, the chapter puts forth a Teaching Model suggesting the integration of an Islamic entrepreneurship mindset in academic institutions, particularly in business schools. This model involves incorporating the economic philosophy of Islamic scholars like Al-Ghazali into curricula to foster a moral community, encouraging individuals to contribute meaningfully to society while addressing market dynamics through an internal governance framework, mitigating monopolistic tendencies and unethical practices.
... This research discusses the evolution of philosophical interpretation in Islam, from the classical to the modern period. Islamic philosophy, especially after the emergence of al-Ghazali's criticism, according to Frank Griffel (2009), is often considered a view that occupies a marginal position within the Islamic intellectual framework. This view emerged because philosophy was considered to violate the limits of faith and cause controversy among Muslims. ...
This research examines the evolution of philosophical interpretation (tafsir falsafi) from the classical to the modern period within the context of the Islamic intellectual heritage. Philosophical interpretation, integral to the journey of Muslim scholars since the classical era, serves as a "gateway" to the progress of Islamic thought. However, the philosophical nature of this interpretation has sparked controversy and is deemed problematic from an epistemological perspective, becoming a focal point of debate among the Muslim community. The research employs a library research method, utilizing various literature sources as supporting evidence, with a primary focus on both primary and secondary data. The findings indicate that the emergence of philosophical interpretation is linked to the translation of Greek works into Arabic. Some fully reject or accept it, while others integrate it with Eastern traditions. Overall, a comprehensive interpretation fully incorporating the philosophical style has not been found; usually, this style is expressed separately through writings that do not specifically interpret the Quran. The epistemology of early-generation philosophical interpretation tends to be peripatetic, involving the use of reason in discussing aspects such as divinity, the afterlife, and scientific disciplines. Some figures or philosophers relevant to the philosophical interpretation of Quranic verses include al-Kindi, al-Farabi, the Ikhwan al-Shafa order, and Ibn Sina.
... According to Ghazālī, divine revelation comes directly from a divine source, and neither the intellect nor the imaginative faculty plays a decisive role in this process. For Ghazālī, divine revelation is an experience that transcends human reason and is accepted as the knowledge that comes directly from God, beyond the capabilities of human intellect (Ghazālī 2000;Griffel 2009). Thus, the role of the imaginative faculty in the process of receiving divine revelation does not hold a central place in Ghazālī's thought. ...
This article examines the conceptions of divine revelation held by two prominent figures in Islamic thought, Ibn Sīnā and Al-Ghazālī, through a comparative lens within the context of metaphysical and epistemological processes. Ibn Sīnā views divine revelation as a metaphysical process occurring at the highest level of intellect. According to him, divine revelation is an abstract reflection of divine knowledge transmitted to the prophet’s imaginative faculty through the Active Intellect. This process, explained within a philosophical framework, is grounded in the development of human intellectual capacity. In contrast, Ghazālī defines divine revelation as a mystical experience and considers it a divine encounter beyond the limits of human reason. For Ghazālī, divine revelation manifests as an expression of God’s attribute of speech and occurs solely by divine will. Moreover, this experience cannot be fully comprehended by reason. Ghazālī’s approach, imbued with Sufi depth, regards divine revelation as an integral part of spiritual growth. This article explores the fundamental similarities and differences between these two thinkers’ understandings of divine revelation and metaphysics. By analyzing how Ibn Sīnā’s reason-based approach intersects and diverges from Ghazālī’s intuition and inspiration-based Sufi approach, this study provides an in-depth examination of how the concept of divine revelation has been shaped within Islamic theology and philosophy, highlighting the contributions of both thinkers to the discourse on divine revelation.
... Next is a figure admired both in the Sufi world and among Muslims generally. Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī (1058-1111) is best known for what is taken to be a demonstration of the perfection of Islamic knowledge in his The Revival of Islamic Sciences (Griffel, 2009). This is because it was a fusion of what were, during his lifetime, tenuously related methods or schools of thought: jurisprudence, theology, and mysticism ('ilm al-fiq, 'ilm al-kalām, 'ilm al-taṣawwuf). ...
This article presents an ontological reading of Sufism in the style of Heidegger’s ontological examination of ancient philosophy. In this regard, it is a novel approach to the study of Sufism as a metaphysical conundrum within the Islamic context. The article explores what we mean by the nature of Sufism and the question of “being Sufi.” It does this for two reasons: to show the frontiers of metaphysical reasoning in Islamic intellectual history and to demonstrate that Sufism is the “setting-into-work” of the mystical within the Islamic.
... The intellectual discourse surrounding the concepts of predestination, determinism, and human free choice among mediaeval Muslim scholars had significant ramifications for numerous areas of thought. The matter, which originally pertained to theology (Griffel, 2009), subsequently encompassed educational, economic, cultural, and political concerns. The intellectual discourse can be identified in the scholarly writings of mediaeval scholars (Fancy et al., 2023). ...
This work focuses on a crucial subject in mediaeval religious discourse within the realm of education. The objective of this study is to gain a comprehensive comprehension of educational theology during the mediaeval Islamic era and intellectual culture. This will be achieved by examining the innovative, influential, and inherently intricate philosophical, kalām, and sufism ideologies, which have not been fully recognised until now. This study employs a discourse analysis methodology, which is commonly utilised to examine both oral and written conversation. This work provides a comprehensive analysis of the contributions made by mediaeval scholars to the field of educational theological discourse, focusing on the areas of philosophy, kalām, and sufism. The study’s findings demonstrate that mediaeval scholars effectively reconciled philosophical, theological (kalām), and mystical (sufism) perspectives in the field of educational theology. This was particularly evident in their treatment of the human nature, which they portrayed as both possessing free will and being subject to fate. This accommodating stance becomes remarkable, particularly because the content and approach of philosophy, kalām, and Sufism are frequently perceived as highly distinct or even conflicting.
... Baseados nesta noção, eles negaram a queda de Abraão no fogo sem que a queima ocorresse, o fogo permanecendo fogo, e alegaram que isso só é possível tirando o calor do fogo -o que faz que não seja mais fogo -ou transformando a essência e o corpo de 60 Cf. Griffel 2009, p. 152. 61 Cf. ...
Este artigo aborda se a discussão XVII do Tahafut al-falasifa pode fornecer elementos para se obter qual seria a noção ghazaliana de causalidade apesar da natureza eminentemente disputativa da obra. O artigo sugere uma leitura do texto em que al-Ghazali, ao considerar haver dois sistemas alternativos de explicação da causalidade no mundo (o dos filósofos e o que incorpora uma noção forte de vontade divina), ambos não demonstrados, defenderia que a participação divina na relação entre causa e causado seria preferível à um necessitarismo estrito ou mitigado dos filósofos devido à possibilidade do milagre.
... Abu Hamid meninggalkan pengaruh yang mendalam di berbagai bidang, termasuk bidang pendidikan, khususnya pendidikan akhlak (Ahmed, 2021). Menurut Griffel (2009), Al-Ghazali adalah seorang penulis pada abad ke-12 yang paling berpengaruh dalam bidang agama dan filsafat, yang sebagian karyanya didedikasikan untuk moralitas. Berbeda dengan pendidikan akhlak non-agama yang mementingkan kesejahteraan manusia di dunia, perhatian utama kehidupan dan pemikiran Ghazali adalah kesejahteraan akhirat (Quasem, 1975). ...
Today's rapid and sophisticated technological advances have created problems. Without being accompanied by moral fortification from the school or family, it can have a negative impact on students. Moral degradation is currently an increasingly worrying problem, including in Indonesia, which is caused by the negative influence of western culture and thought patterns, which are normalized by information technology and lead to various actions that are contrary to religion and even criminal in nature. Various phenomena related to the decline in ethics in society, especially juvenile delinquency, are proof that moral education needs to be strengthened in education system. Tazkiyyatun nafs purification of the soul taught by Imam Al Ghazali is a very rich and comprehensive concept of moral education. The aim of this research is to find out and analyze how moral education is in the concept of tazkiyatun nafs from AL-Ghazali's perspective, as well as the relevance of moral education from tazkiyatun nafs from Al-Ghazali's perspective in overcoming the moral decline of today's young generation. A qualitative approach was used in this research to obtain in-depth results through literature study. The results show that Imam Al-Ghazali developed the concept of tazkiyatun nafs, which means purification of the soul through cleansing oneself of despicable traits and replacing them with habituation to praiseworthy traits. Apart from that, Al-Ghazali's thoughts are a reference in dealing with current educational problems, where students' behavior often does not reflect moral values. By integrating the concept of tazkiyatun nafs, the education system can form a generation that has faith, noble character and piety, according to what Al-Ghazali emphasized regarding the importance of forming moral character through education which is actualized through habituation and example.
... Through deconstruction, we can uncover layers of meaning about maqāman maḥmūdan, for instance, by examining how al-Ghazali (Griffel, 2009) saw it as the ultimate goal of the spiritual journey, while Ibn Arabi (Ibn al-Arabi, 1852) considered it a spiritual state attained by the Prophet, and Rumi (Varma, 2016) described it as the highest stage of divine love and union with God. Arkoun's theory also acknowledges the plurality of meanings, as seen in the various interpretations of these scholars. ...
Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis konsep maqāman maḥmūdan dalam perspektif Ibn ʻAjībah yang terdapat dalam tafsir al-Baḥr al-Madīd fī Tafsīr al-Qurʼān al-Majīd. Maqāman maḥmūdan merupakan konsep penting dalam pemahaman spiritual Islam, yang merujuk pada status atau tempat yang diberkahi dalam perjalanan hidup manusia. Ibn ʻAjībah, seorang cendekiawan terkemuka dari Maroko abad ke-19, mengembangkan pemahaman yang mendalam tentang konsep ini dalam karya-karyanya. Metodologi penelitian ini menggunakan analisis tekstual (semiotik) terhadap tafsir Ibn ʻAjībah, al-Baḥr al-Madīd fī Tafsīr al-Qurʼān al-Majīd. Data primer diperoleh melalui penelusuran langsung terhadap teks-teks tafsir yang relevan dengan konsep maqāman maḥmūdan, sementara data sekunder dikumpulkan melalui studi literatur terkait. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa konsep maqāman maḥmūdan memiliki implikasi teologis dan praktis yang signifikan dalam memahami al-Qur'ān dan relevansinya dalam konteks kehidupan manusia modern. Kesimpulan dari penelitian ini memberikan wawasan yang mendalam tentang pentingnya memahami konsep spiritual seperti Maqāman maḥmūdan dalam menafsirkan pesan-pesan Al-Quran dan bimbingannya bagi kehidupan manusia.
... We follow Frank Griffel (2009) lead on al-Ghazālī's overall thought, and develop an interpretation of death in al-Ghazālī on such lines. Griffel notes how al-Ghazālī's provides a 'cum-possible cosmological view' between occasionalism and secondary causality (Griffel 2009(Griffel , 2020. Occasionalism, based on the works of the 10 th century Arab theologian Abū al-Hasan Al-Ashʿari(d. ...
In this article, we suggest that one important if neglected way through which we can make sense of political theories is by understanding their philosophical position on death. Comparative political theory analysis has been made for this purpose, and the history of political thought is read backwards. Focus has been made on Islamism to interpret its position on death and, through this, to see how Islamism approaches political institutions and critiques a modern justice tradition. The utility of such comparative history of political thought is that it shows how death and justice interconnect in political thought.
This study examines the contextual interpretation of Surah al-Fatihah in Jawāhir al-Qur’an, a work by al-Ghazali, through the lens of Abdullah Saeed’s contextual hermeneutics. Al-Ghazali’s approach to Surah al-Fatihah combines esoteric and philosophical dimensions, emphasizing its spiritual and transcendental messages. Unlike traditional interpretations, his thematic focus refrains from detailed grammatical analysis, instead highlighting its role as a reflection of a believer’s spiritual journey. Employing a qualitative and library research methodology, this study contextualizes al-Ghazali’s interpretations for modern relevance, particularly in addressing contemporary issues of servitude and obedience to Allah. The findings suggest that al-Ghazali’s model of exegesis, rooted in Sufi thought, offers a dynamic framework for reinterpreting Qur’anic messages to maintain their applicability in contemporary life.
This paper critically examines the ongoing debate surrounding the Islamic nature of Islamic philosophy by engaging with key Qur'anic narratives and philosophical discourses. The central question addressed is whether Islamic philosophy can genuinely be classified as “Islamic”, considering its amalgamation of Greco-Roman and Persian intellectual traditions. In common, Islamic philosophy addresses themes familiar to broader philosophy, but it does so from an Islamic perspective, using the language and context of Islamic civilization. By analyzing the works of prominent Muslim philosophers, including al-Farabi, Ibn Sina, and al-Ghazali, the study explores how their interpretations and methodologies align—or diverge—from the foundational texts of Islam. Additionally, this paper highlights how Qur'anic narratives have been employed within Islamic philosophical thought to construct ethical, metaphysical, and theological frameworks. In conclusion, the “philosophical discussion of Islamic issues” is considered to be representative term for Islamic philosophy as it captures its essence and clarifies debates about its origins, actors, and focus discussions.
Bu makale, bilimsel gerçekçiliğin kelâm ilminin mühim bir yaklaşımıyla uyuştuğu ve bu yaklaşımı desteklediği iddiasını doğrulamayı amaçlamaktadır. Bu gerekçelendirme ise bilimde ve kelâmda teorileştirmenin ortak prensiplerinin tanımlanmasına dayanmaktadır. Bu açıdan çalışma, görünmeyen varlıklarla ilgili kelâmî soruların bilim felsefesindeki sorularla örtüştüğünü ve kelâmda benimsenen pozisyonun, bilimsel gerçekçilik konusundaki duruşu büyük ölçüde belirleyeceğini savunmaktadır. Bu iddiayı temellendirmek için kelâm ilminin en önemli isimlerinden biri olan Ebû Mansûr el-Mâtürîdî’nin yaklaşımı ele alınmaktadır. Öncelikle, Mâtürîdî’nin benimsemiş olduğu tecrübi yaklaşım, ilk olarak mahiyetler ve cevherler gibi görünmeyen varlıkların varlığına yönelik şüpheciliğiyle ve ikinci olarak, Tanrı ispatları ve insanın hür iradesini tasdik eden argümanlarıyla gösterilmektedir. Son olarak, hem bilimde hem de kelâmda kullanılan en iyi açıklama çıkarımı prensibi, İslâm kelâmında bilimsel gerçekçilikle bir paralellik bulunduğu iddiasını temellendirmektedir. Neticede, kelâmda örneklendiği gibi, Allah’ın varlığını ispat etmek için kullanılan yaklaşım kabul edilirse, gözlemlenemez tabii varlıklara yönelik gerçekçi bir yaklaşımın da kabul edilmesi gerekir.
This paper examines the dynamic interplay between faith (īmān) and reason (ʿaql) in early Islamic theology, analyzing how seminal scholars navigated the tension between divine revelation and rational inquiry. By engaging with the works of Al-Ghazālī, Ibn Sīnā, Al-Fārābī, and Ibn Rushd, as well as the theological schools of the Muʿtazila and Ashʿariyya, this study demonstrates that early Islamic thinkers constructed sophisticated frameworks to harmonize scriptural authority with philosophical rigor. These frameworks not only shaped Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) but also laid the groundwork for intellectual traditions that continue to inform contemporary debates on epistemology, ethics, and hermeneutics. The paper concludes that early Islamic theology offers a nuanced model for reconciling faith and reason, one that resists simplistic binaries and emphasizes the interdependence of revelation and rationality. keywords : Faith and Reason, Early Islamic Theology, Islamic Philosophy, Kalām (Dialectical Theology) This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
This article delves into two Iranian Sufi women’s approaches to the Qurʾān, gender, and visual culture: (1) Parvāneh Hadāvand, a Sufi leader in Tehran, uses visual means to enhance the spiritual–aesthetic–emotional experiences of her students. She challenges gender norms within male-dominated spaces by reinterpreting visual-material objects and asserting her authority as a woman Sufi guide. (2) Mītrā Asadī, a Sufi teacher in Shiraz, problematizes the overall visual culture of gender roles by arguing that, through the spiritual transformation of the human being’s genderless essence (Arabic rūḥ; Persian jān), categories of gender become ephemeral and irrelevant. These two case studies are examined in terms of how these Sufi women utilize aesthetic experience, visual aspects, and visual-material culture in their Sufi practices and teachings. Further, it is investigated how these practices shape Hadāvand’s and Asadī’s gender performativities.
This study examines the phenomena leading to the Muslim liberation of Jerusalem in 1187 A.D., namely: (1) solidification of Sunni worldview, (2) liberation strategy, and (3) revival of Sunnism. The study refers to the framework of Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, a contemporary proponent of the Sunni-Sufi metaphysical system chiefly represented by metaphysicians of the focus milieu. The study uses textual analysis to explain the undermining of the Sunni worldview and its later solidification. The historiography method is used by adopting liberally the approaches of A. R. Azzam, Majid ʿIrsan al-Kaylani, and Ali M. Sallâbi to explain the phenomena of Sunni revival and liberation strategy, focusing on the rise of notable figures and operationalisation which contributed to the efforts through the establishment of important centres of learning acting as catalysts for intellectual and spiritual development in the milieu, all of which explain Muslim survival in the wake of Crusader invasion, recovery, and success of the 1187 counterattack.
This volume surveys the diversity of Islamic legal thought and practice, a 1500 - year tradition that has been cultivated throughout the Islamic world. It features translations of Islamic legal texts from across the spectrum of literary genres (including legal theory, judicial handbooks, pamphlets) that represent the range of temporal, geographic and linguistic contexts in which Islamic law has been, and continues to be, developed. Each text has been chosen and translated by a specialist. It is accompanied by an accessible introduction that places the author and text in historical and legal contexts and explains the state of the relevant field of study. An introduction to each section offers an overview of the genre and provides a useful bibliography. The volume will enable all researchers of Islamic law - established academics, undergraduate students, and general readers - to understand the tremendous and sometimes bewildering diversity of Islamic law, as well the continuities and common features that bind it together.
This volume surveys the diversity of Islamic legal thought and practice, a 1500 - year tradition that has been cultivated throughout the Islamic world. It features translations of Islamic legal texts from across the spectrum of literary genres (including legal theory, judicial handbooks, pamphlets) that represent the range of temporal, geographic and linguistic contexts in which Islamic law has been, and continues to be, developed. Each text has been chosen and translated by a specialist. It is accompanied by an accessible introduction that places the author and text in historical and legal contexts and explains the state of the relevant field of study. An introduction to each section offers an overview of the genre and provides a useful bibliography. The volume will enable all researchers of Islamic law - established academics, undergraduate students, and general readers - to understand the tremendous and sometimes bewildering diversity of Islamic law, as well the continuities and common features that bind it together.
This Element intends to contribute to the debate between Islam and science. It focuses on one of the most challenging issues in the modern discussion on the reconciliation of religious and scientific claims about the world, which is to think about divine causality without undermining the rigor and efficacy of the scientific method. First, the Element examines major Islamic accounts of causality. Then, it provides a brief overview of contemporary debates on the issue and identifies both scientific and theological challenges. It argues that any proposed Islamic account of causality for the task of reconciliation should be able to preserve scientific rigor without imposing a priori limits on scientific research, account for miracles without turning them into science-stoppers or metaphors, secure divine and creaturely freedom, and establish a strong sense of divine presence in the world. Following sections discuss strengths and weaknesses of each account in addressing these challenges.
This paper investigates the continuation of Ibn ʿArabī's doctrine of takhalluq bi akhlāq Allāh in the writings of his Iranian expositors in the post-Ṣadrā era until present. Typical of classical Islamic culture, according to which Man will reach perfection when he is adorned with divine ethics, takhalluq gains a new twist in the writings of Ibn ʿArabī's predecessors, chief among them the Algerian Sufi Aḥmad Ibn ʿAlī al-Būnī (d. 1230?), who disccuseed the topic in a nuanced way. In line with Būnī and other like-minded Sufis, al-Shaykh al-Akbar discusses the triad of takhalluq, taʿalluq and taḥaquq in several of his writings, including a book with the same title, Kashf ul-maʿnī ʿan sirr-i asmāʾ ul-Allah al-ḥusnā (the Unveiling of the Meaning from the Secret of the Beautiful Names). If intellectual history is an inquiry that focuses on the role of ideas in the thinking and actions of the human being, the present research first reads and analyzes the writings of a number of Ṣadrīan philosophers to debate the ways in which they undertood the discourse of takhalluq bi akhlāq Allāh. Secondly, it will investigate how their contributions to this legacy have left their imprint on the configuration of politics in post-revolutionary Iran. The ethicists of takhalluq have been more influential than one imagines in shaping public and political life since 1979 onwards.
The madhhab is usually investigated from the standpoint of fiqh. But there was also a social aspect to the importance of the madhhab , which at no time played a more crucial social role than during the Seljuq period (1040–1194). In particular, Ḥanafī madhhab affiliation became both the post-conquest ideological justification for Seljuq rule, and the glue holding together the two elements of the Seljuq ruling class: The Turkish magnates and the Khurasani bureaucrats. This article proves three points: First, that the original Seljuq conquest neither looked like nor purported to be the religious mission the Seljuqs later claimed it was; second, it traces the post-facto madhhab-based justification of their rule which the Seljuqs adopted, and its success in obtaining Khurasani support for the Seljuq regime; and, finally, it shows also the negative consequences this ideology of partisan Ḥanafism had on the internal peace of their realm and its urban flourishing.
Según Algazel, el espíritu infundido por Dios en el hombre, tal como dice el Corán, hace posible que el hombre pueda amar verdaderamente a Dios, pues le proporciona una naturaleza afín a la divina y la afinidad de naturalezas es la causa más profunda y verdadera de la que surge el amor. Muestra Algazel algunos de los aspectos de la naturaleza humana afínes a la divina con lo que se sitúa en los límites extremos del islam, ya que la afinidad se puede interpretar en un sentido de igualdad, cosa que él no admite. Pese a ello, ha habido quien, como Ibn al-‘Arabī, le ha negado rotundamente dicha afinidad. En cualquier caso, Algazel se mantiene dentro de los límites del islam al negar, como la ortodoxia, la libertad en el hombre, pues esta es un atributo exclusivo de la divinidad. Pero dado que la esencia del espíritu es la libertad (Hegel), esta doctrina del espíritu presentada es totalmente ilusoria. Sigue finalmente la traducción del texto de la causa quinta del amor del hombre a Dios: la afinidad de naturalezas
This article critically evaluates Jeffrey Koperski’s decretalism, which presents the laws of nature as divine decrees functioning as constraints rather than dynamic forces. Building on his work, we explore whether his model successfully avoids the implications of occasionalism, as he claims. By analysing his latest publications, we first reconstruct Koperski’s argument and then present three key objections. These include (1) issues related to scientific realism, (2) the principle of simplicity, and (3) the reduction of Koperski’s model to occasionalism. We argue that despite his attempts to distinguish his framework, Koperski’s model ultimately collapses into occasionalism due to the continuous divine sustenance required for natural processes. By engaging with recent developments in metaphysical and scientific debates, this article highlights the limitations of Koperski’s decretalism.
Renowned for his profound scholarship, the philosophical theologian and mystic Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī (d. 505/1111) has profoundly influenced Islamic thought and education for centuries. This article presents a novel approach to studying his body of works. It analyzes six of al-Ghazālī's key works on logic in chronological order, offering a fresh perspective on his views on reasoning. Additionally, the study explicitly focuses on al-Ghazālī's concept of "logic as a tool of learning," leading into an exploration of the relevance of his insights for contemporary humanistic education.
The objective of this study is to analyse the concept of rulership according to the perspectives of two scholars from the area of political philosophy, namely al-Ghazali and Machiavelli. It is important to fully understand the concept of rulership according to these two scholars as presented in their books Nasīhat al-Mulūk and The Prince in order to know the basis of political systems advocated by al-Ghazali and Machiavelli in relation to the advice they gave to their respective rulers in ruling the states during their time. It is necessary to research on this since their respective views on rulership are not only for the people who lived in the past, but also for the present and future generations. Of course, both scholars have contradictory views. Al-Ghazali upholds religion as the foundation of his political approach, whereas Machiavelli is a secular thinker, who detaches religion and morality for the foundation of his political approach. However, both scholars use the same framework of political system, which is the authoritarian political system framework, in giving advice to the rulers in governing their states. Thus, this thesis analyses the concept of rulership in order to justify the authoritarian style of political system that has been theorised by both al-Ghazali and Machiavelli, based on Nasīhat al-Mulūk and The Prince respectively using Juan Linz’s framework of authoritarian political system which are 1) limited pluralism, 2) mentally, 3) mobilization and 4) leadership.I used qualitative methodology, which is library research and content analysis in analysing the concept. In conclusion, based on the books, Nasīhat al-Mulūk by al-Ghazali and The Prince by Machiavelli, both scholars advocated authoritarian political system in giving advice to the rulers.
A tanulmány Gerhard Ebeling szóeseményének kapcsán arra keresi a választ, vajon mennyiben lehet értelmezni a mai metamodern teologizálás közepette a Jézus-eseményt mint tanúnarratívát az univerzáliák szemlélésében és értelmezésében. Ennek a nagyívű folyamatnak számos pillére van. A nominalizmus, a realizmus és Duns Scotus gondolkodásán át próbáljuk értelmezni a fenomenológia maiságát és üzenetét a teológiai értelmezésünk hasznára.
تغيّر معنى «الفلسفة الوسيطية» عند أهل الاختصاص خلال العقدين الأخيرين. ولم يقتصر هذا التغير على تغيّر معنى «الفلسفة الوسيطية» عند أهل الاختصاص خلال العقدين الأخيرين. ولم يقتصر هذا التغير على التحقيب الزمني الذي ما برحت الأنظار بشأنه متباينة (انظر: §5): إذ يتفق جل الباحثين على أن هذه الحقبة تمتد على الأقل من 500م إلى 1500م، ولو أن البعض يمُطّ إلى الوراء مبتدأها أو يمدّ إلى الأمام منتهاها.
إنما طرأ التغير على الجغرافيا، وبالتبع على اللغة والثقافة. ففي القرنين التاسع عشر والعشرين، نُظِر إلى الفلسفة الوسيطية بوصفها فلسفة حدثت في أوروبا الغربية، بلسان لاتيني في معظمها، وبباريس وأكسفُرد كأهم مراكزها. ولم يُدرَج المفكرون الإسلاميون واليهود الذين كتبوا بالعربية إلا بمقدار تأثير أعمالهم المترجمة إلى اللاتينية في المفكرين المسيحيين. أما اليوم، فبات يُنظَر إلى «الفلسفة الوسيطية» من جهة شمولها لا فقط لعمل المسيحيين الذين كتبوا باللاتينية (وأحيانا بالألسن المحلية الأوربية)، بل أيضا لعمل المسيحيين في الإمبراطورية البيزنطية الذين كتبوا باليونانية، ولعمل المسلمين (وبعض المسيحيين) الذين كتبوا بالعربية، واليهود الذين كتبوا بالعربية في العالَم الإسلامي وبالعبرية في العالَم المسيحي.
ورغم التفاوت في عرض مختلف التوجهات، إذ تعتني جل الدراسات بالفلسفة اللاتينية ويتسارع العمل على الفلسفة العربية بينما لا تزال بقية الميادين مهملة، فهناك إجماع اليوم على أن وجوه التفلسف الوسيطي بمختلف هذه الألسن والبلدان يجب (ولو بقليل من التحفظ) أن تُعَد فروعا لتقليد واحد، يرجع إلى العصر الإغريقي القديم ويستمد اتساقَه عبر سلاسل حركات الترجمة بين الألسن المختلفة. لذا، فإن هذا التقليد (وإنْ دُعِي تقليدا «غربيا» فينبغي حمل معنى «الغربي» على أوسع مما هو معتاد) يجدر أن يُدرَس منفصلا عن الآثار العظيمة للفلسفة خلال الحقبة نفسها في الهند والصين وغيرهما.
يبدأ هذا المدخل بمقطع عن مقومات الفلسفة الوسيطية. فيبين استناد الفلسفة الوسيطية على النصوص وشرحها خاصة، وينظر في انتقال هذه النصوص إلى الفروع الأربعة للتقليد الوسيطي وانتقال بعضها إلى بعض. وينظر المقطع الموالي في مختلف أساليب التفلسف خلال هذه الحقبة، فيما سيركز المقطع الذي يليه على ثلاث مسائل تبرز قدرا من خصوصية انشغالات الفلسفة الوسيطية، وتفاعل الانشغالات الدينية مع التعقل وكذا الفروق بين الفروع الأربعة. ثم يختص المقطع ما قبل الأخير بالمنطق وأهميته الفريدة إبان هذه الحقبة، فيما يناقش المقطع الأخير حدود تحقيب الفلسفة الوسيطية.
Al-Andalus (the Iberian Peninsula under Muslim control) exerted an enormous influence on the cultural, scientific, medical and religious ideas of Northern Europe. Despite the resistance of the Catholic powers,1 Andalusian culture and intellectual traditions had a significant impact upon the mores, values, art forms and spiritual ideas of the rest of Europe. Northern European literary, musical, court fashions, philosophies and manners mimicked developments and trends in Andalusian courts.2 This is not to be wondered at, as the musicians of the more sophisticated Christian courts of Europe employed Moorish instruments, scales, polyrhythms, verse forms, compositions and techniques—and often hosted entire troupes of Moorish musicians, performers, storytellers and jongleurs in residence. It would be surprising had there not endured a constant and lively exchange of cultural themes, motifs, media and techniques.
Avicenna holds that since God has existed from all eternity and is immutable and impassible, he cannot come to have an attribute or feature that he has not had from all eternity. He also claims for the simultaneous causation. A puzzle arises when we consider God’s creating this world. If God is immutable and impassible, then his attributes associated with his creating this world are unchanging. So, God must have been creating the world from all eternity. But then God’s creative act, one might object, seems to be no different from a matter of natural necessity. This is a threat to divine freedom, for God would then have no choice concerning his creative action. Anthony Ruffus and Jon McGinnis argue that this puzzle can be solved in such a way that Avicenna can consistently affirm divine freedom along with divine simplicity. They suggest that Naṣīr al-Dīn Ṭūsī’s interpretation might help to show that it is false that Avicenna’s God cannot choose absolutely. For it is still open to him to choose either to create eternally or to refrain from creating anything at all. Ruffus and McGinnis argue that since creating or not creating anything at all do not correspond to two distinct concepts, Avicenna’s account of divine simplicity, which denies any multiplicity in divine mind, is safeguarded along with divine freedom. I claim that God’s omnirationality requiring that he always acts for reasons is a serious threat to such an interpretation.
Ten years after Muḥammad’s death in 632, Arabic warriors kept together by the new creed he had established had conquered Egypt, Syria (both from the Byzantine Empire), as well as the Sasanid Empire (Iraq and Iran), and before 714 the whole of North Africa and most of the Iberian Peninsula. In 661, power had gone to a family dynasty, the Umayyad, at the cost of a split which left the partisans of Muḥammad’s son-in-law (the Ši‘ah) as an internal opposition. Umayyad power was ended by the Abbāsid revolution in 750, in which the Šīʿites participated without profiting.
Under the Umayyads, conversion to Islām was allowed, but converts became subordinate “clients” to an Arabic tribe. Elite Persian clients had been another driving force in the Abbāsid revolution, and they became the real beneficiaries of the revolution.
The earliest sciences in the Islamic world can be characterized as “Muslim” sciences; they deal with problems of religious importance: first sciences of language, needed for the production of the Qurʾān (Muḥammad’s revelations were at first handed down orally); criticism of the also orally transmitted traditions about Muḥammad’s sayings and decisions; theoretical theology born from the political conflicts. After the Abbāsid revolution, first Sasanid astronomy-cum-astrology (with appurtenant mathematical techniques) and medicine were taken over, but soon the whole range of Greek learning was translated into Arabic, becoming the foundation for further unfolding. These “original” sciences were certainly “Islamic”, woven into the fabric of Islamic society and culture though cultivated also by Jewish and Christian scholars; but they were not “Muslim”.
In particular the “original” sciences created a counterpart of the so-called “Greek miracle”, the discovery of the possibility of theory not meant to serve any practical purpose. This “Islamic miracle” was the stance that no theory is too majestic to be used, and no practice too lowly to be dealt with by theory.
After the Mongol invasions and the dissolution of much of the Islamic world into impoverished statelets, the economic basis for active scientific life and creativity dwindled.
The text selections represent Muslim as well as well as “original” sciences. To the former group belong theoretical theology, historiography and lexicography; to the latter philosophy, medicine, astrology, alchemy, algebra (a newly created mathematical discipline), sociological meta-historiography and commercial science.
Résumé
L’objectif de cet article est de reconstituer l’évolution chronologique du traitement de la question de l’origine du langage chez les savants musulmans, qu’ils soient théologiens, grammairiens ou théoriciens du droit, mais aussi de son analyse dans la recherche moderne. Du fait de ses nombreuses implications théologiques et linguistiques (notamment sur la question du verbe divin, du maǧāz , des noms légaux, ou encore de l’évolution de la langue), l’origine du langage chez les savants musulmans a suscité un vif intérêt de la recherche académique portant sur le kalām ou sur la philologie. Dans un premier temps, cet intérêt allait de pair avec un autre beaucoup plus large, qui tenait presque de l’obsession chez de nombreux orientalistes du XIX e siècle, à savoir la question des origines et l’éventualité d’une paternité hellénistique de la notion. Celle-ci, comme d’autres, sera progressivement contestée.
This essay explores the ways in which two distinct spiritual traditions, Ghazālī’s Ṣūfīsm and Śaṅkarian Advaita Vedānta, articulate an exclusive metaphysical affirmation of the Ultimate Reality with an empirical recognition of relative existence. Both perspectives are shown to be radically absolutist in their discernment of the Real and in their denying metaphysical reality to other-than-the-Absolute. This raises the question of the ontological status of relativity and empirical existence. Although Islam would seem to assign a greater reality to the world of relativity and human experience, Ghazālī’s most metaphysical treatise, Mishkāt al-anwār (The Niche of Lights), utterly denies the intrinsic reality of creatures in themselves. Similarly, Śaṅkara affirms the non-existence of māyā, the principle of ignorance and duality, as a superimposition upon ātman, the Divine Self immanent to all. Ghazālī concedes, however, that relative existence is “metaphorically” existent (majāz) while Śaṅkara acknowledges the “transactional” reality (vyāvahārika) of empirical existence. Such recognitions involve a multi-stratified view of reality that must account for both metaphysical consistency and empirical access to Reality. This essay shows that although fundamental parallels between the two worlds of meaning can be highlighted, their respective metaphysical perspectives and views of relativity are also quite distinct inasmuch as they are informed by profoundly different religious and traditional contexts.
One of the most striking features of speculative theology (kalaam) as it developed within the Ash'arite tradition of Islam is its denial of causal power to creatures. Much like Malebranche in the seventeenth century, the Ash'arites saw this denial as a natural extension of monotheism and were led as a result to embrace an occasionalist account of causality. According to their analysis, causal power is identical with creative power, and since God is the sole and sovereign creator, God is the only causal agent. To assert anything else is to compromise monotheism. This position, of course, was in direct opposition to the prevailing accounts of causality within the philosophical tradition of Islam at the time. The philosophers (falaasifa) had by and large taken over accounts of causality from Aristotle and the Neoplatonists and adapted them in accordance with their own set of concerns. In such accounts, while God stands as the first cause, secondary causationis unambiguously affirmed, even if variously understood. Thus, as they offered a sophisticated account of causal action in direct opposition to the occasionalist thesis, thefalaasifa posed something of challenge to the theologians.
The present study considers Ibn Sînâ's (Lat. Avicenna) account of induction (istiqra') and experimentation (tajriba). For Ibn Sînâ induction purportedly provided the absolute, necessary and certain first principles of a science. Ibn Sînâ criticized induction, arguing that it can neither guarantee the necessity nor provide the primitiveness required of first principles. In it place, Ibn Sînâ developed a theory of experimentation, which avoids the pitfalls of induction by not providing absolute, but conditional, necessary and certain first principles. The theory of experimentation that emerges though not modern, does have elements that are similar to a modern conception of scientific method.
The Discourse and Its GenreWhen Descartes' mathematics, and what was true in his physics, were surpassed, and what was false in his physics was refuted and ridiculed, the two main works that survived the wreck, and continue to shape our picture of the man, were the Discourse on the Method and the Meditations. Of these, the Meditations is less personal. The Meditator of the Meditations is not specifically René Descartes. Rather he, or she, is a rolethat any of us can fill if we choose to pursue this path of thinking. By contrast, theDiscourse presents to us the life and aims and undertakings, not precisely of René Descartes – forthe original 1637 publication was anonymous – but at any rate of the person who is the author of the Essays that the Discourse introduces (the Geometry, the Dioptrics, and the Meteors), who has made many new discoveries through a special method of “searching for truth in the sciences” and who is also the author ofsome more mysterious teatises that he has chosen not to publish. The Discourse presents this impressive but anonymous person as having made an almost-complete break with the traditional disciplines in which he was educated; he begins his own intellectual work, when he does begin it, not from the lessons of his teachers or from books or from what he learned by travelling in “the book of the world,” but from his own private reflections that lead him to the method described in Part Two.
The muslim judgement against apostates has in recent years been applied in cases of publicly expressed conviction that contradict generally accepted foundations of the Muslim faith. This situation is, however, only the outcome of a theological and legal development in the 5th/11tth century. Until that time, the judgement of apostasy (irtidad) could not have been applied against Muslims who voiced opinions that were regarded as unbelief. The rules for this earlier period were written down by al-Shafii in his "Kitab al-Umm" . His interpretation of the legal institution of istitaba leads to the acknowlegement that the judgement of irtidad is applicable only in a very small number of cases. This reflects legal sensitivity in the period of mass conversions when the secret practice of pre-Islamic religious rites amongst newly converted Muslims might have been widespread. Al-Shafii's guidelines, based on earlier judgements within the Kufan tradition, gained widespread acceptance in the Hanafi, Hanbali, and Shafii schools of law. A first change can be noted on the middle of the 5th/11th century when authors such as al-Mawardi and Abu Yala argued for a less generous application of the istitaba. Two generations later, al-Ghazali (d. 555/1111) and his contemporaries such as Ibn Aqil (d. 513/1119) did not restrict the judgement of irtidad to cases of openly declared apostasy. Al-Ghazali develops a reasoning which is fully aware of the change in law and of the deviation from long-established principles. His own condemnation of three key statements of the falasifa, expressed in his Tahafut al-falasifa, would be impossible without his identification of kufr with irtidad in earlier works.
The aim of this paper is to identify the position the ru'yat Allāh holds within the curriculum of sciences described by the Ihcombining breve belowwān al-Scombining dot belowafā'. Their concept of knowledge is first clarified. The Ihcombining breve belowwān use the terminology of rational knowledge to describe items of faith too. But faith is only an introduction to a greater knowledge. Now: is the supreme knowledge to be considered as speculative and theoretical, or are the hcombining breve belowawāss, the only ones entitled to the vision of God, eventually obliged to rely on a kind of divine "revelation" or "inspiration"? If the "vision of God" appears beyond any possible connotation of knowledge in "rational" terms, it is unclear, however, whether the Ihcombining breve belowwān use the concepts of "revelation" and "inspiration" as a way of explaining in a theological terminology the utmost degree of human knowledge (perhaps according to the same analogical function wahcombining dot belowy and ilhām appear to have in Ibn Sīnā). Moreover, the qualities and moral dispositions attributed to the "Friends of God" remind us of Sufi doctrines. Consequently, the question of the relation between Sufism and imāmite theories could be re-opened: the Ihcombining breve belowwānian definition of the "science of the transcendent" shows that the gnoseological itinerary is not concluded even with the "vision of God."
The writings of al-Ghazālī (d. 1111) mark a critical stage in the history of Arabic philosophy. He is noted for his classic, The Incoherence of the Philosophers (Tahāfut al-falāsifa), an incisive critique largely of the metaphysics and psychology of Avicenna (d. 1037). At the same time, he is also noted for adopting Avicennian philosophical ideas. This at first sight seems paradoxical, if not downright inconsistent. In fact, he adopted them after reinterpreting them in terms of his Ash'arite occasionalist perspective (to which we will shortly turn), rendering them consistent with his theology. This reinterpretation is not without intrinsic philosophical interest. Al-Ghazālī was a renowned Islamic lawyer (faqīh), speculative theologian (mutakallim), but above all an Islamic mystic (sūfī). In his autobiography, written a few years before his death, he states that it was the quest after certainty that motivated his intellectual and spiritual journey and that he finally found this certainty in direct mystical experience, dhawq, a technical Sūfī term that literally means “taste.” Although trained in the Ash‘arite school of speculative theology, kalām, to which he contributed two works, he was also critical of this discipline. This has raised the question of whether his mysticism was at odds with his theology, which included the reinterpreted, assimilated, Avicennian philosophical ideas.
The scope of this chapter is dauntingly broad, since Avicenna was the central figure in the history of Arabic-Islamic philosophy. Before Avicenna, falsafa (Arabic Aristotelian and Neoplatonic philosophy) and kalām (Islamic doctrinal theology) were distinct strands of thought, even though a good deal of cross-fertilization took place between them. After Avicenna, by contrast, the two strands fused together and post-Avicennian kalām emerged as a truly Islamic philosophy, a synthesis of Avicenna’s metaphysics and Muslim doctrine. To talk about the sources, evolution, and influence of Avicenna’s ideas is, in fact, to talk about over two thousand years of philosophical activity. Avicenna’s sources begin with Aristotle in the fourth century B.C.E. and include the late antique Greek Aristotle commentators, both Peripatetic and Neoplatonist. Avicenna himself was extremely prolific: between 40 and 275 titles have been attributed to him by bibliographers ranging from his student Jūzjānī to the late Egyptian scholar Georges Anawati, with approximately 130 reckoned to be authentic by the Iranian scholar Yahyā Mahdavī. What is more, his ideas evolved during the course of his career, with the result that, as with Plato’s and Aristotle’s thought, Avicenna’s philosophy will often resist our attempts to systematize it, and his position on a number of important philosophical issues will appear frustratingly underdetermined. As for Avicenna’s impact, it was felt acutely in both the Islamic world and in Christian Europe.
The Ismā‘īlī attitude toward philosophy and the philosophers was decidedly ambiguous. They tried consistently to deny that philosophers, in particular the ancient Greeks, possess an authority in any way superior to that of the legislating prophets of their own tradition. Despite an admirable skill with, and even mastery of, mathematics, physics, and logic, the practitioners of philosophy, in their view, had achieved almost nothing that they had not taken from a prophetic source. Ismā‘īlī rejection of philosophy, however, covered less the content of that philosophy than the contributions claimed for individual thinkers. For the Ismā‘īlīs, the philosophers, on their own, were capable of little except personal speculations that yielded them mere opinions - often mutually contradictory ones at that. Anything that was true in philosophy depended in the end on the sure guidance of divinely inspired prophets; without it the work of philosophers, no matter how brilliant and profound, produced a result ultimately lacking validity and real value. Nevertheless, Ismā‘īlī thought in its formative period would be simply unintelligible without philosophy, most especially Neoplatonism, which so permeates the works of the main figures that what they said is incomprehensible otherwise than by reference to a classical Greek background. These writers had clearly imported and used various elements of philosophy, not merely in vague generalities, but in specific terms and a technical language that derived more or less directly from translations of ancient texts. Although the works they wrote to explain their Ismā‘īlīsm were not as a whole strictly speaking philosophical, many portions of them are in reality small treatises of philosophy.
LIFE AND WORKS The philosophy of al-Fārābī stands in marked distinction to that of al-Kindī but is no less representative of the major trends of thought inherited by the Islamic world. His tradition is consciously constructed as a continuation and refinement of the neo-Aristotelianism of the Alexandrian tradition, adapted to the new cultural matrix of the Near East. The Neoplatonic element of al-Fārābī ’s thought is most obvious in the emanationist scheme that forms a central part of his cosmology, though that scheme is much more developed than that of earlier Neoplatonists in its inclusion of the Ptolemaic planetary system. His theory of the intellect appears to be based on a close reading of Alexander of Aphrodisias and develops the concept of an Active Intellect standing outside the human intellect. Above all, al-Fārābī ’s legacy to later thinkers is a highly sophisticated noetics placed within a rigorous curriculum of instruction in Aristotelian logic. Fārābī was above all a systematic and synthesizing philosopher; as such, his system would form the point of departure on all the major issues of philosophy in the Islamic world after him. The status accorded al-Fārābī’s intellectual legacy here stands somewhat at odds with what we can reconstruct of his life with any certainty. With the exception of a few simple facts, virtually nothing is known of the personal circumstances and familial background of al-Fārābī. The great variety of legends and anecdotes about this second major philosopher of the Islamic period is the product of contending biographical traditions produced nearly three centuries after his death.
In his book, Al-Ghazali and the Ash?rite School, Richard Frank argues that al-Ghazali was critical of traditional Ash?rite theology and that his own theological views were greatly influenced by philosophical cosmologies and notions of causal determinism. Frank also argues that al-Ghazali chose to conceal his real theological views by manipulating language, and by deliberately using a traditional religious idiom to introduce his own unconventional ideas. However, it rather appears that there is, in the various writings of al-Ghazali, a consistent ideological and epistemological commitment to traditional Ash?rism. In particular, al-Ghazali was committed to the general Ash?rite objective of securing an authoritative role for the rational faculties against the Ba?iniyya who reject this authority, while at the same time avoiding the subordination of scriptural authority to human reason. The ambivalence or possible ambiguity in al-Ghazali's writings is a result of his systematic attempt to reconcile intertwined and at times conflicting epistemologies and systems of knowledge.
One of the most significant developments in medieval Islamic thought was the emergence in the ninth and tenth centuries of a theological reaction against some of the rationalistic and deterministic elements of Greek philosophy that had begun to influence Islamic life and thought. Alongside the assimilation of Greek ideas and the development of Arabic philosophy by al-Kindi, al-Farabi, and Avicenna, a counter-movement arose, among the Mutakallimun (speculative theologians), that rejected any attempt to view nature as a closed, eternal, and necessary system or to view God as limited by human conceptions of justice or by human free will.
Ancient commentators like Ammonius and Boethius tried to solve Aristotle's "sea battle argument" in On Interpretation 9 by saying that statements about future contingents are "indefinitely" true or false. They were followed by al-Fārābī in his commentary on On Interpretation. The article sets out two possible interpretations of what "indefinitely" means here, and shows that al-Fārābī actually has both conceptions: one applied in his interpretation of Aristotle, and another that he is forced into by the problem of divine foreknowledge. It also explains the relevance of al-Fārābī's remarks as a link between the non-statistical modal theories of Philo and Avicenna.
The present study seeks to lay out the most basic elements of the ontology of classical Aš‘arite theology. In several cases this requires a careful examination of the traditional and the formal lexicography of certain key expressions. The topics primarily treated are: (1) how they understood “Being/ existence” and “being/existent” and essential natures; the systematic exploitation of the equivocities of certain expressions (e.g., aqīqa, add, ma‘na) within a general context in which other than words there are no universals proves to be elegant as well as insightful; (2) the basic categories of primary entities: independant beings and nonindependant beings, (a) created and (b) uncreated, the equivocity of “being/existent” as predicated of contingent entities on the one hand and of God and His attributes on the other, and certain problems that arise because of the rigid application of the system's underlying analytic principles.
Journal of the History of Ideas 61.4 (2000) 539-560
In a recent article Simo Knuuttila has examined the argumentative patterns of modern cosmology, especially the search in fundamental physics for an "ultimate explanation," a unified "Theory of Everything" that would subsume all more local theories under its aegis. Knuuttila goes on to compare contemporary modes of explanation with previous ways of conceiving of the metaphysics of understanding. As it turns out, on the cosmological borderline where physics shades into metaphysics desires similar at heart have fueled the efforts of thinkers throughout the history of western thought. When what is at stake is the final intelligibility of the world, shared ideals of necessity, transparency, and simplicity come to the fore. More often than not, theological concerns and preconceptions accompany these notions.
One can react to this finding in one of two ways, either by retorting that the moderns have not gotten very far or by pointing out that earlier discussions on the topic were often quite philosophically sophisticated. In this article I propose to investigate how some of the issues raised by Knuuttila figure in a specific historical context. This is the debate on the pre-eternity of the world initiated by the celebrated Muslim theologian Abû Hâmid al-Ghazâlî (1058-1111) in his polemic arguing for The Incoherence of the Philosophers (Tahâfut al-falâsifa, 1095) and later picked up by the Andalusian philosopher Averroës (1126-98) in his reply, The Incoherence of the Incoherence (Tahâfut al-tahâfut, 1180). The exceptionally rich cosmological materials could be taken in any number of directions, but I will focus on three main issues: the discussants' construction of the domain of possibilities (i.e. the relation of the possible to the actual), their understanding of the reasonability of creation, and the question of its finitude and infinity. The study is undertaken partly to illustrate the sophistication with which the topics were handled in medieval Islamic philosophy, but in each case I will also draw parallels with certain modern conceptions, and I submit that in each case al-Ghazâlî's and Averroës's debate throws light on the contemporary discussion. In the final section I will develop this contention further by pointing to a connection between finitude and possibilities which I believe has both heuristic and existential value.
Among historians of philosophy it is now acknowledged that in late medieval discussions certain modal theoretical innovations were instrumental in bringing about profound change in the western worldview. A conceptual shift occurred where, roughly speaking, a single intelligible universe was exchanged for several possible worlds. In Knuuttila's estimation this change in worldviews was in some ways more fundamental than anything modern science has produced since. This claim deserves consideration but I would like first to outline what the change was about, for in al-Ghazâlî's and Averroës's debate this shift in modal paradigms is clearly discernible.
Representative of the philosophers' point of view, Averroës holds onto the received Arabic Aristotelian interpretation of setting possibilities in a statistical temporal-frequency framework. According to this account, what is truly possible must at some time be realized -- this is a technical interpretation of what has after Lovejoy commonly become known as the principle of plenitude. As a corollary, what always is is necessarily. The cosmological consequences of these assumptions can be outlined as follows. First, lest God's creative possibilities be limited, it must be admitted that the world could have been created however long ago in the past. By extension God must have been able to create the world an infinite time ago. But if it is a genuine possibility that the world is eternally old, then according to the principle of plenitude, this possibility is an actual fact. Once it is conceded that the world is eternal, recognition that it could never have been anything else is but a short step away: because there is no space in the whole of infinite time for an eternal thing's opposite (here, its destruction), then, following from plenitude, there could not in truth have existed any genuine possibility for such an...
In the present article, I discuss Goldziher's contention (echoed in more recent literature) that from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, Sunn Muslim scholars ('ulam') became increasingly hostile to rational sciences such as logic. On the basis of discussions and fatw by Sunni scholars in the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, I show that this idea is radically mistaken. Mainstream scholars in the Maghrib, Egypt and Turkey considered l ogic to be not only permissible but actually commendable or even a religious duty incumbent on the Muslim community as a whole (i.e. a fard· kifyah). Though there were dissenting voices in the period, such as the Qd·zdels, this seems to have been the mainstream opinion of Sunni scholars until the rise of the Salafiyyah movement in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
The present article aims at analyzing the terms “necessity” (Al-darura) and “habit” (al-Āda) in al-Ghazali's (1058 – 1111) theory of natural causality (Al-Sbābiah al-Tabī'īa) by answering the following question: Why does Al-Ghazali use term “habit” and negation of “necessity” with regard to natural Causality? Al-Ghazali denies causal necessity that links cause and effect since this relationship does not draw on logical rules that make it necessary. This, however, does not mean that he denies the existence of a causal relationship between things, as he recognizes its existence. He, however, denies the necessity of that relationship, as he claims that the source of causal necessity stems from a psychological emotion rather than from being inherent in things themselves. Al-Ghazali also attempts to base causal necessity on “habit” by claiming that the similarity of event A as cause and event B as effect stems from observation, repetition and the sequencing of natural phenomena. Al-Ghazali, then, endeavors to prove that science is based on expectation and assumption that draws on observation, the senses, and repetition and does not consider it as constant and absolute.
At the basis of Ghazali's criticisms of Ash'arite kalam is the thesis that its primary function is the defence of traditional Islamic belief, the 'aqida, against the distortions of heretical innovations (al-bida'). Kalam is not an end in itself and it is error to think that the mere engagement in it constitutes the experientially religious. In the I[hdotu]ya' he maintains in effect that when it is pursued as an end in itself, its dogmas can constitute a veil preventive of the attainment of gnosis (ma'rifa). On the other hand, Ash'arite kalam when not pursued as an end in itself can be an aid in the quest after gnosis. This is implicit in his reference (in Kitab
al-Arba'in) to his own major work of Ash'arite kalam, the Iqti[sdotu]ad
fi
al-i'tiqad, where he states that “it goes deeper in ascertaining [the truth] and is closer to knocking at the doors of gnosis than the official discourse encountered in the books of the mutakallimin.” The I[hdotu]ya' abounds with homilies, guides for the pious, particularly for those seeking mystical knowledge. Ash'arism pervades such homilies. Thus in Kitab
al-Tawba, Ghazali formulates, analyzes and defends the concept of human choice in Ash'arite terms. He thus argues that each of the ingredients of this concept - knowledge, power, the decisive will, as well as the ensuing choice - is individually the direct creation of God. Not that the argument for this concept yields experiential knowledge of its meaning within the cosmic scheme of things. For Ghazali such knowledge is only attained through mystical vision. But the Ash'arite argument, when not pursued as an end in itself, can be an aid to the seekers of gnosis. It can bring them closer to knocking at its doors.
