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Abu Hamid
al-Ghazali was born in 1058 in the Persian province of Khurasan. He was educated
in Islamic theology at renowned institutions in Nishapur and Baghdad, and became
a professor in religion and philosophy at Nizamiyah University in Baghdad - one
of the Islamic world's most prominent institutions at that time. In 1095,
however, after a period of inner turmoil about his faith, Al-Ghazali left the
university, gave up his material possessions, and became a wandering ascetic. He
devoted himself to Sufism, the mystical branch of Islam concerned with direct
knowledge of God, and travelled to Mecca, Syria, and Jerusalem before returning
to Nishapur to write.
Al-Ghazali's works
on the relationship between philosophy and religion contributed to an ongoing
discussion in the Islamic world on how to reconcile the two fields. In adopting
the Aristotelian principals of the humanist ancient Greeks, Islamic philosophers
since the 9th century, such as Al-Farabi and Ibn Sina, had come into conflict
with theologians who claimed that Aristotelian philosophy contradicted Islamic
doctrine. Al-Ghazali staunchly defended religion against attack by philosophers,
and in doing so helped bridge the gap between the two streams of thought.
Al-Ghazali also sought to reign in what he believed were excessive views within
Sufism, to bring it more in line with orthodox Islam. He continued to stress the
importance of Sufism as the genuine path to absolute truth, but he sought to
redefine its extreme image as disobedient to the basic teachings of Islam.
Al-Ghazali wrote
several famous books on these subjects, one of which inspired the philosopher
Ibn Rushd to respond with a book of his own, after Al-Ghazali's death. In
Tuhafat al-Falasifa ("The Incoherence of the Philosophers"), Al-Ghazali laid
out several arguments as to why philosophy was sometimes heretical to Islam. He
particularly objected to arguments made by Greek-influenced philosophers
questioning the immortality of the soul, the resurrection of the body, reward
and punishment after death, God's knowledge of all things, and the eternity of
the world. Al-Ghazali welcomed the fact that philosophers questioned some tenets
of the Islamic faith, but he chastised them for not proving their positions. At
the same time, Al-Ghazali was careful not to rebuke everything the philosophers
had said. He did not reject discoveries of philosopher-scientists in the natural
sciences, freely admitting that many important scientific advancements had been
made. He also chastised Muslims who rejected every science connected with the
philosophers, in the name of defending religion, claiming that such an approach
only led the philosophers to conclude that Islam was based on ignorance. Rather,
Al-Ghazali advocated accepting valid scientific achievements, while challenging
philosophers to prove their objections to Islamic theology. Ibn Rushd, a devoted
Aristotelian philosopher and rationalist, responded to Al-Ghazali's book with
one of his own, Tuhafut al-Tuhafut ("The Incoherence of the
Incoherence"), in which he reproduced Al-Ghazali's book and commented on its
arguments, page by page.
Al-Ghazali is
considered one of Islam's greatest theologians. His arguments influenced Jewish
and Christian religious scholarship, and it has been suggested that in the 13th
century St. Thomas Aquinas used many of Al-Ghazali's themes in arguing for the
strengthening of Christianity in the West.
 Al-Ghazali Courtesy of Personalities Nobel |
Abu Hamid
al-Ghazali was born in 1058 in the Persian province of Khurasan. He was educated
in Islamic theology at renowned institutions in Nishapur and Baghdad, and became
a professor in religion and philosophy at Nizamiyah University in Baghdad - one
of the Islamic world's most prominent institutions at that time. In 1095,
however, after a period of inner turmoil about his faith, Al-Ghazali left the
university, gave up his material possessions, and became a wandering ascetic. He
devoted himself to Sufism, the mystical branch of Islam concerned with direct
knowledge of God, and travelled to Mecca, Syria, and Jerusalem before returning
to Nishapur to write.
Al-Ghazali's works
on the relationship between philosophy and religion contributed to an ongoing
discussion in the Islamic world on how to reconcile the two fields. In adopting
the Aristotelian principals of the humanist ancient Greeks, Islamic philosophers
since the 9th century, such as Al-Farabi and Ibn Sina, had come into conflict
with theologians who claimed that Aristotelian philosophy contradicted Islamic
doctrine. Al-Ghazali staunchly defended religion against attack by philosophers,
and in doing so helped bridge the gap between the two streams of thought.
Al-Ghazali also sought to reign in what he believed were excessive views within
Sufism, to bring it more in line with orthodox Islam. He continued to stress the
importance of Sufism as the genuine path to absolute truth, but he sought to
redefine its extreme image as disobedient to the basic teachings of Islam.
Al-Ghazali wrote
several famous books on these subjects, one of which inspired the philosopher
Ibn Rushd to respond with a book of his own, after Al-Ghazali's death. In
Tuhafat al-Falasifa ("The Incoherence of the Philosophers"), Al-Ghazali laid
out several arguments as to why philosophy was sometimes heretical to Islam. He
particularly objected to arguments made by Greek-influenced philosophers
questioning the immortality of the soul, the resurrection of the body, reward
and punishment after death, God's knowledge of all things, and the eternity of
the world. Al-Ghazali welcomed the fact that philosophers questioned some tenets
of the Islamic faith, but he chastised them for not proving their positions. At
the same time, Al-Ghazali was careful not to rebuke everything the philosophers
had said. He did not reject discoveries of philosopher-scientists in the natural
sciences, freely admitting that many important scientific advancements had been
made. He also chastised Muslims who rejected every science connected with the
philosophers, in the name of defending religion, claiming that such an approach
only led the philosophers to conclude that Islam was based on ignorance. Rather,
Al-Ghazali advocated accepting valid scientific achievements, while challenging
philosophers to prove their objections to Islamic theology. Ibn Rushd, a devoted
Aristotelian philosopher and rationalist, responded to Al-Ghazali's book with
one of his own, Tuhafut al-Tuhafut ("The Incoherence of the
Incoherence"), in which he reproduced Al-Ghazali's book and commented on its
arguments, page by page.
Al-Ghazali is
considered one of Islam's greatest theologians. His arguments influenced Jewish
and Christian religious scholarship, and it has been suggested that in the 13th
century St. Thomas Aquinas used many of Al-Ghazali's themes in arguing for the
strengthening of Christianity in the West.
