Al-Ghazālī on Error

American Journal of Islam and Society

Al-Ghazali (Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Tusi al-Ghazali,1058-1111) is one of the most important thinkers in the history of Islamic andArabic thought. He lived and wrote at the height of the intellectual ferment ofIslam. Originally from Tus (in modern day Iran), he traveled extensivelythroughout the Muslim world. Al-Ghazali was a leading religious intellectualduring his lifetime; he was a jurist (faqīh), a theologian (mutakallim), as wellas a Sufi. Three of his most famous works are: The Incoherence of the Philosophers,Deliverer from Error, and Revivification of the Religious Sciences. Thefirst work contains al-Ghazali’s famous and devastating attack on philosophy,and while it deals in large measure with theology and theological claims, it isprincipally a refutative work. In this book, al-Ghazali investigates philosophicaldoctrines and criticizes philosophers for holding many heretical opinions,especially for three blasphemous views that are deserving of death: the beliefin th...

The Medieval Review. Online Journal (see link below)

British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 2016

Modern Islamic Studies

Introduction Certainty is the state of definitely known which establishes the concept of beyond doubt or question. In Merriam-Webster dictionary the term certainty is used in the meanings of «assurance, conviction, doubtlessness and sureness». It refers to the «state of mind in which one is free from doubt or the quality or state of being impossible to avoid or evade». In Oxford Dictionary certainty refers to the «firm conviction that something is the case» as we say 'she knew with absolute certainty that they were dead'. Certainty is an epistemic property of beliefs. It is the acceptance of a fact without any minute confusion and suspicion. A person is certain when he knows something is true, and has no doubts. Some philosophers take knowledge and certainty in a same way and make no difference between these two terms. In this connection, certainty is either the highest type of knowledge or merely superior to knowledge. The term «degrees of certainty» refers to describe how close we are to being certain. Thus certainty is the upper most limit of the knowledge or the state where no doubt exists. The quest of certainty is as old as the philosophy itself is. Socrates and Plato began to search certainty and laid the foundations for syllogism and geometry. They thought that they could prove the knowledge by proving the geometric deductions for which Aristotle used the logic but later found tiny cracks in his perfect system. While looking from Islamic perspective, we find the roots of certainty in the Holy Quran in a very unique dimension as the Holy Quran stated that: ‫ِينُ‬ ‫َق‬ ‫ي‬ ْ ‫ال‬ ‫َكَ‬ ‫ِي‬ ‫ت‬ ْ ‫َأ‬ ‫ي‬ ٰ ‫ى‬ َّ ‫ت‬ َ ‫ح‬ ‫َّكَ‬ ‫ب‬ َ ‫ر‬ ْ ‫ُد‬ ‫ْب‬ ‫اع‬ َ ‫و‬ «And worship your Lord until there comes to you the certainty» [Al Qur'an, 15: 99] Likewise the Noble Quran, state of certainty is described by the Holy Prophet (PBUH) while angel Jib reel asked about Ihsan. The Holy Prophet (PBUH) described the characteristics of Ihsan that: ‫اكَ‬ َ ‫َر‬ ‫ي‬ ُ ‫َّه‬ ‫ن‬ ِ ‫َإ‬ ‫ف‬ ُ ‫اه‬ َ ‫َر‬ ‫ت‬ َ ‫ال‬ ‫نْ‬ ِ ‫إ‬ ‫كَ‬ َّ ‫ن‬ ِ ‫َإ‬ ‫ف‬ ُ ‫اه‬ َ ‫َر‬ ‫ت‬ ‫كَ‬ َّ ‫ن‬ َ ‫َأ‬ ‫ك‬ َ ‫للاَّ‬ َ ‫ُد‬ ‫ْب‬ ‫َع‬ ‫ت‬ ‫نْ‬ َ ‫أ‬ «To worship Allah as if you see Him, for even though you do not see Him, He sees you». [Qazvini, 1997] Stated that academically, the search for the rational foundations in Islam might have begun by the Holy Prophet (PBUH) as he used to prayer continuously: «God! Grant me knowledge of the ultimate nature of things». [Iqbal, 2009]. In Muslim philosophers, Al-Ghazali was the first philosopher who paid such special attention towards the certainty and made it a particular subject in philosophy. He applied several methods and techniques in order to accomplish the state of certainty. The research therefore intended to uncover the Al-Ghazali's experience for the certainty and possible means for its achievement. Al-Ghazali's life: A Brief Account Abu Hamid Muhammad bin Muhammad al-Al-Ghazali is famous with the title of «Hujjat ul Islam» around the globe. He was a prominent jurist, philosopher and mystic of Islam as his contribution reflects the three major dimensions about the concept of Islamic rationality: inquiry on theoretical and philosophical grounds, legislation and mystical vies [Nasr, 2002]. «He was born at Tus, a city in Khrasaan, in Persia, in 450/1058. He got his early education in his own city and went afterwards to Neshapur for higher education». Al-Ghazali was a student of al-Juvayni (419-478AH) who earned the title of Imam al-Haramayn. After his death, Al-Ghazali was invited by Seljuq vizier, Nizam al-Mulk who became impressed by him and (in 484/1091) appointed him chief professor in the Nizamiyyah College in Baghdad. After about three years of study, he was able to write his well-known work, Tahafut al-Falasifah, in which he criticized the philosophers and defended Islam against Muslim philosophers, who sought to demonstrate certain speculative views in contrast with accepted Islamic teaching [Watt, 2010].

Philosophy East West, 2009

In the Age of Averroes: Arabic Philosophy in the Sixth/Twelfth Century, 2011

In the preface to his Maqās . id al-falāsifa (The Doctrines of the Philosophers), 1 Abū H . āmid al-Ghazālī (d. 505/1111) explains that this book is intended to act as a prelude to his more in uential work Tahāfut al-falāsifa (The Incoherence of the Philosophers). Before putting forth his refutation of many of the philosophers' doctrines and arguments in the latter book, he found it imperative, as he indicates, to expound them to the non-specialist reader. This he does in a concise and neutral manner in the Maqās . id, which he divides into three parts, on logic, metaphysics and physics, respectively. The philosophers' metaphysical doctrines, he writes, are mostly erroneous, their logic mostly correct, whereas their physics contain a mixture of truth and falsehood. Truth, as he indicates in the preface, will be sifted from falsehood elsewhere: 'The erroneousness of [those doctrines] that one ought to deem erroneous will be made clear in the Tahāfut.' 2 A similar point is made in the concluding statement in the Maqās . id: This is all that we had intended to report (nah . kī) concerning [the philosophers'] disciplines of logic, metaphysics and physics, without seeking to sift the good from the bad, or what is true from what is false. After this, we will commence Tahāfut al-falāsifa, so that the falsehood of what is false among these views becomes evident. 3

This paper tries to answer the question of whether there is an overall line of argument in al-Ghazali’s Tahāfut al-falāsifa. The book is divided into twenty discussions, most of which could stand by themselves and are not explicitly connected to an overall aim of the book. The book, however, also has five different “introductions” (singl. “muqaddima”) where al-Ghazali addresses a number of subjects. This paper offers a close reading and analysis of these introductions and concludes that there is indeed an overall strategy in the Tahāfut that is different from being a straightforward “refutation” (radd) or the philosopher’s (falāsifa) teachings. Al-Ghazali identifies two kinds of adversaries, first a group of “vulgar followers” (“jamahir”) of the philosophers, who misunderstand their teachings, believe that the falāsifa offer an alternative to revealed religion, and use their teachings as an excuse to neglect religious duties. Then, there are the philosophers themselves, or “leaders and the heads of the falāsifa,” who do believe in God, divine prophecy, and who abide by the religious law. Yet, through their claim of apodictic or demonstrative knowledge in the field of metaphysics they have led people astray. In his Tahāfut, al-Ghazali aims at addressing this claim of apodeixis or demonstration (Arab. “burhān”) in the metaphysical sciences. While he acknowledges that demonstration is possible in such sciences as geometry, for instance, he denies its possibility in metaphysics. In the twenty discussions, he aims to show that “in [their] metaphysics, they are unable to fulfill apodeixis (burhān) as they have set it out as a condition in their logic.” Thus, al-Ghazali made his “refutation” of the teachings of the falāsifa easy for himself. He does not need to show that their teachings are wrong, he only needs to show that they are not supported by demonstrative arguments.

The two stages of al-Ghazâlî's skeptical crisis in the Munqidh: (a) what he describes as the "breaking of tallied and (b) his loss of confidence in his cognitive faculties (senses and intellect). Carefully examine his arguments for distrusting his cognitive faculties and his account of how this trust was restored.

2020

Hujjat al-Islam Imam al-Ghazali is a thinker, mystic, jurist, and theologian who has still influenced today since his time. In his al-Munqidh min ad-Dalal, he writes about how he survived the crisis that his inquiries about life had driven him to depression. Due to the distress caused by the crisis in him, he left the place where he lived and moved away from people. During this abandonment, he confesses his experiences, inquiries, introspection, and ways of getting to know himself in al-Munqidh. In this article, I will try to understand how he reached guidance from this crisis, what his method was, and how he gained personal religious experience. I will examine the differences and similarities of the way of Sufism from the clergy, where the concept of rational theosophy corresponds in al-Ghazali's thought. He shows us the limits of reason on the way to reach precise information. He talks about realities that cannot be explained within these limits, what he has learned in the uzlat (escaping from community life and living alone), and why the love for the world is dangerous. The reason why al-Ghazali returned to social life is explained with the idea of 'fiqh of priorities' in Islam. Al-Ghazali attributes the "nour" (light) that descends to his heart to the will of God in explaining his salvation from the turning point in his life.

Al-‘Abqari: Journal of Islamic Sciences and Humanities, 2016

This study offers a brief analysis on some biographical works on Imām al-Ghazāli and his view on the issue of faith and good deeds through examination of various relevant literature. Imām al-Ghazāli has been regarded as one of the world's most influential thinkers as well as the greatest scholar Islam has ever produced. The life, teaching and thought of al-Ghazāli have attracted the attention of many scholars, both Western and non-Western. The influence of al-Ghazāli is not limited within his own tradition, but is felt both in the East and the West, reaching Jewish and Christian traditions. This study is theoretical in nature, and it involves bibliographic/library research. It surveys and offers a brief analysis of some literatures-mostly in English-that are relevant to al-Ghazāli's biography and his view on the issue of faith and good deeds. This study found that although there are some critical assessments and misunderstandings of al-Ghazāli's life and views, majority of literature consulted acknowledge his great scholarship and contributions in many aspects. Al-Ghazāli did not remain indifferent but indeed ardently refuted the various interpretations related to the issue of good deeds which he considered as heretical. The research also shows that not only al-Ghazāli always emphasised the observance of religious commandments, but he also breathed spirituality and gave deeper content and insight into the religious life.