Study – Imam al-Ghazali, and the renewal of the Islamic faith

By Dr Mohamed Chtatou.

The Prophet Muhammad promised that in every century a new faith of Islam would arise. Throughout history, great Muslim intellectuals, leaders, generals and artists have come and succeeded in rejuvenating the faith in the Muslim world and helping Muslims deal with the problems of this time. For each of these great figures, a specific historical context was necessary for them to accomplish what they did.

One of the greatest restorers of faith in history was the 11th century scholar Abu Hamed al-Ghazali. Today he is known as Houjjat al-Islâm, “the Proof of Islam“, because of his efforts to intellectually challenge some of the most dangerous ideas and philosophies that plagued the Muslim world in its time.

From the pervasive nature of ancient Greek philosophy to the rising tide of political Shiism, Imam al-Ghazali has worked hard to bring back serious Islamic scholarship in the face of heterodox threats.

The Muslim thinker al-Ghazali was one of the most influential theologians and philosophers in Islam and was considered an authority in both Western and Islamic philosophical traditions. Born in northeastern Iran, he held the most prestigious academic post in Islamic theology in Baghdad, only to give up that post and teach in small provincial schools without any pay. His contributions to Islamic scholarship range from responding to the challenges of Aristotelian philosophy to creating a new type of Islamic mysticism and integrating these two traditions – falsafa and Sufism – into the Sunni mainstream.

Who is al-Ghazali?

Al-Ghazali was born in Ṭous (near Mashhad in eastern Iran) and studied there, then in Jorjan, and finally in Nichapour (Neychabur), where his teacher was al-Jouwayni, who obtained the title of Imam al-ḥaramayn (the Imam of the two sacred cities of Mecca and Medina). After the latter's death in 1085, al-Ghazali was invited to go to the court of Niẓam al-Moulk, the powerful vizier of the Seljuk sultans. The vizier was so impressed with al-Ghazali's scholarship that in 1091 he appointed him head teacher at Niẓamiyyah College in Baghdad. While lecturing to over 300 students, al-Ghazali also mastered and critiqued the Neoplatonic philosophies of al-Farabi and Avicenna (Ibn Sina). He went through a spiritual crisis that made him physically unable to teach for a time.

In November 1095, he abandoned his career and left Baghdad on the pretext of going on a pilgrimage to Mecca. Making arrangements for his family, he disposes of his wealth and adopts the life of a poor Sufi, or mystic. After some time in Damascus and Jerusalem, with a visit to Mecca in November 1096, al-Ghazali settled in Ṭous, where Sufi disciples joined him in quasi-monastic communal life. In 1106 he was persuaded to return to teach at Niẓamiyyah College in Nishapur. A consideration in this decision was that a "renovator" (mujaddid) of the life of Islam was expected at the beginning of each century, and his friends argued that he was the "renovator" for the century beginning in September 1106. He continued to lecture at Nishapour at least until 1110, when he returned to Ṭous, where he died the following year.

More than 400 works are attributed to al-Ghazali, but he probably did not write that many. The same work with different titles is often found in different manuscripts, but many of the many manuscripts have not yet been carefully examined. Several works have also been wrongly attributed to him, and others are of dubious authenticity. There are at least 50 authentic works. Al-Ghazālī's greatest work is Iḥyâʾ ʿOloum ad-dîn. In 40 “books” he explained the doctrines and practices of Islam and showed how these can become the basis for a life of deep devotion, leading to the higher stages of Sufism, or mysticism.

The abandonment of his career and the adoption of a mystical and monastic life are defended in his autobiographical work al-Mounqidh min ad-ḍalāl (“The Liberator from Error“).

His philosophical studies began with treatises on logic and culminated in Tahāfout al-falāsifah (“The Inconsistency-or Inconsistency-of the Philosophers“), in which he defended Islam against philosophers such as Avicenna who sought to demonstrate certain speculative views contrary to accepted Islamic teaching. In preparation for this great treatise, he published an objective account of Maqāṣid al-falāsifah (“The Goals of the Philosophers“, i.e. their teachings). This book had a great influence in Europe and was one of the first to be translated from Arabic into Latin (12th century).

Most of his activity is in the field of jurisprudence and theology. Towards the end of his life, he completed a work on general legal principles, al-Mustaṣfā (“Part of Choice“, or “Essential Elements“). His standard theological doctrine compendium (translated into Spanish), al-Iqtiṣād fī al-iʿtiqād (“The Golden Mean in Belief“), was probably written before he became mystical, but nothing in the authentic writings shows that he rejected these doctrines, even though he came to consider theology – the rational and systematic presentation of religious truths – to be inferior to mystical experience. In a similar vein, he wrote a polemical work against the militant Assassin sect (Nizārī Ismāʿīliyyah), and he also wrote (if genuine) a critique of Christianity, as well as a book Naṣīḥāt al-molouk (“ Counsel to Kings“).

Al-Ghazali's abandonment of a successful career as a teacher to lead a kind of monastic life won him many followers and critics among his contemporaries. Western scholars were so drawn to his account of his spiritual development that they gave him far more attention than other equally important Muslim thinkers.

Al-Ghazali and philosophy

Having already made a name for himself as a competent author of legal works, al-Ghazali published a number of books around 1095 in which he addressed the challenges posed by falsafa and by the theology of Shia Ismailis . The falsafa movement (from the Greek: philosophía) was born from the translation of Greek philosophical and scientific literature into Arabic from the 8th to the beginning of the 10th century. The Arab philosophers (falâsifa) were heirs to the late antiquity tradition of understanding the works of Aristotle in Neoplatonic terms.

In philosophy, Greek-to-Arabic translators have focused on the works of Aristotle and although some distinctly Neoplatonic texts have been translated into Arabic – notably the “Pseudo-Aristotelian Theology,” a compilation of the “Enneads “ of Plotinus ((205-270) – the most important Neoplatonic contributions came to the Arabs through commentaries on the works of the Stagirite. Falsafa was a movement in which Christians, Muslims and even pagan authors took part. After the 12th century, it would also include Jewish authors. Al-Ghazali focused his commentaries on Muslim falsafa. By the early 10th century, al-Farabi (872-950) had developed a systemic philosophy that challenged the key beliefs of the Muslim theologians, notably the creation of the world in time and the originality of the information that God reveals to the prophets. Following Aristotle, al-Farabi taught that the world has no beginning in the past and that the celestial spheres, for example, move from preeternity. The prophets and the revealed religions they bring articulate the same ideas that the philosophers express in their teachings, but the prophets use the method of symbolization to make this wisdom more accessible to ordinary people.

Avicenna continued al-Farabi's approach and developed his metaphysics and prophecy to the point of offering comprehensive explanations of the essence of God and his actions as well as a psychology that accounts in detail for how the prophets receive their knowledge and how they perform, for example, miracles that confirm their missions. Avicenna's philosophy offers philosophical explanations of key Muslim principles such as the unity of God (tawhîd) and the central position of prophets among humans.

In his autobiography, al-Ghazali writes that during his stay at the Nizamiyya in Baghdad, he studied the works of the Falasifa for two years before writing his “Incoherence of the Philosophers” in a third year. However, it is hardly credible that al-Ghazali only began to deal with the Falasifa after he became a professor at the Nizamiyya in Baghdad. This account is apologetic and aims to dismiss the claim by some of his detractors that he learned falsafa before completing his own religious education. It is very likely that he had become acquainted with falsafa while studying with al-Juwayni (1028-1085), whose works already show an influence of Avicenna. Al-Ghazali's response to Aristotelianism, "The Incoherence of the Philosophers," is a masterpiece of philosophical literature and may have been crafted over decades. This work is accompanied by works where al-Ghazali provides faithful reports on the teachings of the philosophers.

Two of these books have come down to us. The first is an almost complete fragment of a long book in which al-Ghazali copies or paraphrases passages from the works of the philosophers and combines them into a comprehensive report on their teachings in metaphysics. Unfortunately, the fragment does not bear a title. The second work, “Doctrines of the Philosophers“ Maqâsid al-falâsifa, (on the translation of the title see Shihadeh 2011, 90-92), is a loosely adapted Arabic translation of the parts on logic, metaphysics and the natural sciences of Persian work by Avicenna, “Alâ' ad-Dawla“ (Dânishnamah-yi Alâ'î) (Janssens 1986).

Previously, it was assumed that the work “Doctrines of the Philosophers“ had been written as a preparatory study for his major work, the “Incoherence of the Philosophers“. This hypothesis can no longer be accepted. The two reports by al-Ghazali have only a very vague connection with the text of the “Incoherence of the Philosophers”.

“Incoherence” and “Doctrines” use different terminologies and the latter presents its documents in a way that does not support criticism of Inconsistency. The "Doctrines of the Philosophers" may have been a text that was not initially related to the "Incoherence" or that was generated after the composition of it. Only its introduction and its brief explanation create a link with the refutation in the “Incoherence“. These parts were almost certainly written (or added) after the publication of the “Incoherence” (Janssens 2003, 45; Griffel 2006, 9-10).

Abu Hamed al-Ghazal in Arabic calligraphy

The “Doctrine of the Philosophers” was translated into Latin in the third quarter of the 12th century and into Hebrew for the first time in 1292 and at least twice more during the following fifty years. These translations were much more successful than the Arabic original. While in Arabic many books that pursue a similar goal of presenting (and soon improving) Avicenna's philosophical system were composed during the 12th and 13th centuries, none of them were translated. in Latin and very few became available in Hebrew. Both in the Latin tradition and in the Hebrew tradition, the translations of the “Doctrines of the Philosophers” eclipsed all other writings of al-Ghazali. The Latin translation, sometimes called “Summa theoricae philosophiae or Logica et philosophia Algazelis“, was the only book by al-Ghazali translated during the period of transmission of Arabic philosophy to Christian Europe (the part on logic is edited by Lohr 1965, the two other parts on metaphysics and the natural sciences in al-Ghazâlî 1933). It was translated by Dominicus Gundisalivi (Gundissalinus, died 1190) of Toledo together with someone called Magister Iohannes (died 1215), also known as Iohannes Hispanus (or Hispalensis), probably an Arabized Christian (a Mozarab), who was dean of the cathedral of Toledo in the 1180s and 1190s. Both translators seem to have omitted the short introduction where the work is described as an uncommitted report of falsafa teachings. A small number of Latin manuscripts show signs that this translation was revised during the 13th century (Lohr 1965) and in one case they retain a Latin version of al-Ghazali's original introduction (edited in Salman 1935, 125-27). This, however, had virtually no influence on the reception of the text (Salman 1935), and the version that circulated among Latin readers does not include al-Ghazali's distancing statements. The book therefore conceals its character as a report of the teachings of Avicenna and its author "Algazel" is considered a faithful disciple of Avicenna who produced a masterful collection of the latter's philosophy. In the late 12th, 13th and 14th centuries, the “Summa theoricae philosophiae” was a primary source on the teachings of Arab philosophers in books by authors such as Albert the Great (died 1280) and Thomas Aquinas ( died in 1274) which were essential to the development of the Latin philosophical tradition. The work was still used sporadically in the 15th century and even more often in the 16th century.

However, the assumption that the “Doctrine of the Philosophers” is not simply a report of the teachings of the Falasifa but rather represents the authentic positions of al-Ghazali in philosophy remains prevalent. There are Arabic manuscripts that attribute to al-Ghazali a text quite similar to the “Doctrines of the Philosophers” without mentioning that the teachings therein are an uncommitted report. The earliest of these manuscripts was produced in the early 13th century in Maraghah, an important center of learning in northwestern Iran, and is available in facsimile. It shows that, in the Arab tradition as well, the positions reported in the “Doctrines of the Philosophers” were closely associated with al-Ghazali. The "false identification" of al-Ghazali as a follower of Avicenna may have its roots in an attitude of certain Arab readers of al-Ghazali who saw in him a follower of the falasifa closer than the dominant Arab tradition wanted to recognize him. .

The last page of Al-Ghazali's autobiography in MS Istanbul, Shehid Ali Pasha 1712, dated AH 509 (AD 1115-1116)

Refutation of philosophy

In his autobiography, “Deliverance from Error,” al-Ghazali describes the approaches people take to find the truth. One of the popular ideologies of the time was philosophy, based on Aristotle's ancient Greek philosophical models. Among the main Muslim proponents of Aristotelian philosophy are Ibn Sina and al-Farabi.

The dangers of Aristotelian philosophy and logic, according to al-Ghazali, are the conclusions that philosophers have reached. Some philosophers would come to believe such things as the eternity of the world and the non-existence of God, or that God is not omniscient. For al-Ghazali and other Muslims who held themselves to orthodox Islamic beliefs, these new ideas were seen as an incredulity of the adherents of Islam.

For al-Ghazali, no Muslim scholar had so far succeeded in effectively refuting these philosophers. As the philosophers were experts in logic and argument, they seemed to present very clear arguments in favor of their positions, despite the fact that these positions directly contradicted Islamic belief.

Al-Ghazali took up the challenge of showing the problems of the philosophers' arguments on their own terms in “The Incoherence of the Philosophers“, published in 1095. By using the logic of the philosophers against them, he managed to show clearly the holes in the philosophical arguments that led to disbelief. To do this, he had to delve into the philosophy itself, a practice he did not recommend to the masses. Throughout his writings, he emphasizes the importance of being firmly grounded in correct belief before delving into heterodox beliefs.

Another major problem that al-Ghazali has had to deal with is the rising tide of Muslims who have accepted the Shia Ismaili belief that a hidden, infallible imam is a valid source of Islamic law and belief. For Ismailis, Prophet Muhammad's prophecy was not the final word in religious matters, and one can turn to a particular holy figure, known as the Imam, for guidance.

In his book "Deliverance from Error", al-Ghazali refuted their claims that they had an imam based on the scriptures, showing that there were no authentic accounts of the Prophet Muhammad regarding an imamate after his death. He also went beyond that to logically respond to claims that an imam is needed by analyzing the role of Islamic law and how it is derived. Without going too far in his evidence (which is much better understood by reading his original work), he comes to the conclusion that, regarding the Ismailis:

“The substance of their doctrine boils down to deceiving commoners and fools alike by showing the need for an authoritative teacher. "

After analyzing approaches to Islam through philosophy, Shiism and other means, al-Ghazali comes to the conclusion that the only effective way to understand the world is to practice Islam authentically, as the prophet and the first generations taught. In his time, this practice was that of the Sufis, a group that renounced dependence on this world and focused entirely on purifying their own souls in an attempt to better serve Allah.

The contributions of al-Ghazali

The major contribution of al-Ghazali lies in religion, philosophy and Sufism. A number of Muslim philosophers followed and developed several views of Greek philosophy, including Neoplatonic philosophy, and led to conflicts with several Islamic teachings.

On the other hand, the movement of Sufism has taken on such excessive proportions that it has avoided respecting the obligatory prayers and duties of Islam. Based on his undoubted scholarship and personal mystical experience, al-Ghazali sought to rectify these tendencies, both in philosophy and in Sufism.

In philosophy, al-Ghazali argued that the approach of mathematics and the exact sciences was essentially correct. However, he adopted the techniques of Aristotelian logic and Neoplatonic procedures and used these same tools to lay bare the flaws and shortcomings of the then-dominant Neoplatonic philosophy and to lessen the negative influences of Aristotelianism and excessive rationalism. . Unlike some Muslim philosophers, for example al-Farabi, he depicted the inability of reason to understand the absolute and the infinite. Reason could not transcend the finite and was limited to the observation of the relative. Also, several Muslim philosophers had argued that the universe was finite in space but infinite in time. Al-Ghazali held that infinite time is bound up with infinite space. In the field of religion, especially mysticism, he rid the approach of Sufism of its excesses and restored the authority of the orthodox religion ( i.e. Sunni). However, he emphasized the importance of authentic Sufism which he believed was the way to achieve absolute truth. Al-Ghazali was a prolific writer. His books include Tahâfout al-Falâsifa (“The Incoherence of the Philosophers“), Ihyâ’ al-‘Oloum al-Islamiyya (“The Renovation of Religious Sciences“), “The Deliverance from Error”, etc. Some of his works were translated into Latin in the Middle Ages, where al-Ghazali was known as Algazel and by the translation of a truncated work, the Maqâsid al-Falâsifa (“The Intentions of the Philosophers“).

Al-Ghazali's influence was deep and undying. He is one of the greatest theologians of Islam and his influence penetrated Europe, influenced Jewish and Christian scholasticism, and many of his arguments seem to have been adopted by Thomas Aquinas in order to similarly restore way the authority of the Orthodox Christian religion in the West.

Economic views of Al Ghazali

Al-Ghazali was not only a Muslim philosopher, theologian, jurist and mystic of Persian origin, but he was also an expert in the field of economics, especially with regard to the ethics of finance Islamic. In his book "Reading in Islamic Economic Thought" Nejatullah Muhammad Ash-Shiddiqy mentioned al-Ghazali's name in a rank of Muslim economic thinkers along with Ibn Taymiyya (1263-1328), Ibn Khaldoun (1332-1406) and other personalities. During this period, the discourse of Islamic economics had developed and is characterized by the expansion of the Muslim empire.

Islamic economic thought at this time focused on micro-economic analysis and the functions of money. Al-Ghazali, for example, alluded to money, and the evolution of its use. He also explained the issue of banning riba and its impact on a nation's economy.

With regard to microeconomic analysis, he addressed the issue of weight scales, price controls, and the determination of tax in some of the circumstances. He also talked about how the economy coped with the impact of rising prices. Could this be done through the market mechanism or government intervention.

Al-Ghazali said that engaging in lawful economic activities was fard kifaya and that economic activity should be based on the goal of happiness in the hereafter. Further, it explains the reasons why people should engage in economic affairs, namely:– Firstly, God created the abundance of natural resources to be exploited by man for his survival, as well as a proof of gratitude to God, the provider of food;– Second, the person who is economically powerful will be free, free from all dependence and can, thus, enforce religious teachings, such as zakât, infâq, charity and spending on relatives: and– Thirdly, the behavior of the economy in search of flourishing cannot deviate from the teachings and principles of Islam. Al-Ghazali stressed the importance for economic actors to know the principles and rules of Islam. Islam in economic transactions. They must know the types of transactions that are prohibited and permitted. They must know: bay' (sale), riba (usury), salâm, ijâra, moudaraba and mouchâraka. Any economic transaction has pillars and conditions that must be known to the business world in order to avoid defects and damages that may arise later.

Al-Ghazali's socio-economic thinking is rooted in a concept he calls the "Islamic social welfare function." From this concept was born the term masâlih (public services, benefits) able to strengthen social well-being. According to al-Ghazali, the welfare of society will only be achieved if it maintains five basic goals, namely: religion, life, intellect, property and progeny, then he considered three levels of individual and social utility, that is to say: darouriyât (basic necessities), hâjiyât (needs) and tahsinât (improvements for the purposes of comfort and luxury).

Thus, the concept of well-being and vice was put forward by al-Ghazali long before the concept was developed in modern economics with the term “social well-being”. He said that any individual act that harms others, including acts of destruction, such as examples of actions that harm the public and in the category of destructive acts according to al-Ghazali are the hoarding of goods and the money forgery. They were considered destructive acts because they affected the balance of the market and ultimately harmed the interests of the general public (al-maslaha al-'âma). Al-Ghazali highlighted the importance of the market formation process. The market is formed by the search for the needs of each other. The market is a place to exchange items and meet everyone's different needs. Al-Ghazali later discovered that on the basis of trade (exchange), there will be movement of goods from one place to another. The main motivation for this activity is to raise capital and make profits. formation of the market (the stock market), but using a different term, namely: butcher, brewer and baker:

“It is not by the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker from whom we expect our dinner, but by their concern for their own interest. We are speaking to ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-esteem”. (Adam Smith, “The Wealth of Nations“).

Al-Ghazali well understands the function of money as a medium of exchange. The exchange of goods and services will not be effective if it relies solely on a barter system. This is where the blessings of creation called dinars and dirhams, which have intrinsic value and can be used as an effective medium of exchange. In this regard al-Ghazali said:

"Possession of money (dinar and dirham) is not useful unless it is used as a medium of exchange for goods and services. »

Money not only serves as a medium of exchange but also as a measure of control. Al-Ghazali reminds again that we should not practice usury:

“If one exchanges dinars and dirhams to obtain the dinar and the dirham, that makes the dinar and the dirham the destination. This is in contrast to the function of the dinar and dirham. Money was not created to make money. It is an offence. The dinar and the dirham is a tool to obtain other objects. They are not made for them. “ (Al-Ghazali, “Ihyâ’ ‘Oloum ad-Din”). Al-Ghazali also thinks of the functions of the state and the authorities in the regulation of economic activity. Economic progress will be achieved if there is justice, peace, prosperity and stability. And that is the scope of the state's responsibility to make that happen. Besides, al-Ghazali also talked about the concept of public finance. State revenue comes from zakât, bay', ghanimah and jizya. Regarding public spending, al-Ghazali advocated the need to build a socio-economic infrastructure whose benefits can be directly felt by the people.

In his monumental work, Ihyâ' 'Oloum ad-Din, al-Ghazali defines money as the article or object that serves to obtain other articles. The object is considered to have no value as an object (intrinsic value). Therefore, he compares silver as a mirror which does not have its own color, but can reflect all kinds of colors. Referring to these criteria, in the definition of money, he emphasizes the aspects of the functions of money. Such a definition is more perfect than the limits set by most conventional economists who define money as being limited to functions inherent in money itself.

Al-Ghazali, the great restorer of the Islamic faith

Therefore, according to al-Ghazali, money, just like the standard price of goods or items, has no intrinsic value. Or more precisely the intrinsic value that manifests through its actual existence has never been considered. Al-Ghazali's assertion that money has no intrinsic value is ultimately tied to issues surrounding the demand for money, usury and the selling of currencies.

In Islamic concepts, money is the public body that has an important role in the economy. Therefore, when silver is taken out of circulation, it loses a significant part of its function. This is why the practice of hoarding money is strictly prohibited in Islam as instability will affect the economy of a society. According to al-Ghazali, the basic reason for the ban on hoarding cash is because such actions would eliminate the inherent function of money. As mentioned, the goal is to circulate money in the community because it is a means of transaction and not an object of monopoly by certain groups. In fact, the worst effects of the practicalities of hoarding money is inflation.

In this case, economic theory explains that the amount of money in circulation and the amount of goods available at the same time have a close inverse relationship. If money exceeds the amount of goods available, there will be inflation. Conversely, if the money supply is lower, the available items will be deflationary. These two economic aspects must be avoided so that between the money supply and the available goods the relationship can be balanced in the market.

In simple terms, riba (usury) is an addition to principal capital obtained through vanity. The explicit prohibition of usury is contained in the following suras of the Qur'an: al-Baqara verse 275, 278-279, ar-Roum 29, an-Nisâ' 160-161, and al-'Imran 130. For al- Ghazali money-related usury is based on the purpose of printed money itself, only as a medium of exchange. Therefore, the act of usury by way of exchange is outside the action of creating money and is, thus, prohibited by the Islamic religion.

One of the things included in the category of riba is the buying and selling of currencies. In this regard, al-Ghazali prohibits such practices. For him, if the practice of currency trading is allowed, it is the same as letting someone else make money by hoarding practices that will lead to a shortage of money in society.

As a result, money will only circulate in certain circles, that of rich people. This action is, without a doubt, unjust. Al-Ghazali spoke of money in terms of its function in the economy, where its function is that of a tool which is perceived as a means of transaction, even if money were considered as capital with the capacity to produce goods and services, or in other words as a means of production, which in turn could be a factor in stimulating growth and the production of goods and services in the economy.

Al-Ghazali and science

A common charge leveled against Imam al-Ghazali by Orientalist scholars is that his refutation of philosophy led to a general decline in Islamic scientific progress. They claim that many of those refuted by al-Ghazali, such as Ibn Sina and al-Farabi, were among the greatest scholars of the time. The truth, however, is of course more nuanced.

While al-Ghazali clearly challenged the philosophical ideas of scholars who also wrote great mathematical and scientific treatises, he very clearly distinguished between philosophy and science. Al-Ghazali says:

“Anyone interested in these mathematical sciences marvels at the precision of their detail and the clarity of their proofs. From this fact, he has a high opinion of philosophers and assumes that all their sciences have the same lucidity and the same solidity as this science of mathematics. "

The danger of studying mathematics and other sciences, al-Ghazali argues, is not that the subject itself is un-Islamic and should be avoided. Rather, the student must be careful to accept the scientific ideas of scholars without blindly accepting everything they say regarding philosophy and other problematic topics.

He goes on to state that there is another danger for a student ignorant of science, namely the rejection of all scientific findings by academics on the grounds that they were also philosophers with heterodox beliefs. He declares :

“The crime against religion committed by anyone who assumes that Islam must be defended by the denial of these mathematical sciences is truly great. For the Revealed Law nowhere undertakes to deny or affirm these sciences, and the latter nowhere address religious questions. "

When one reads the works of Imam al-Ghazali on a very superficial level, one can easily misunderstand what he says as being anti-scientific in general. The truth, however, is that Imam al-Ghazali's only warning to students is not to fully accept all beliefs and ideas of a scholar simply because of his achievements in mathematics and science. By issuing such a warning, al-Ghazali is in effect protecting the scientific enterprise for future generations by isolating it from a mixture of theoretical philosophy that could eventually dilute science itself into a field based on mere guesswork and guesswork. reasoning.

The moral philosophy of al-Ghazali

A characteristic of al-Ghazali's attitude is of considerable importance in the search for increased study of his works as a factor in the revival of Islam: his tolerance. Although considering the expressions of al-Hallaj (858-922) (for example, “I am the truth, that is to say God“) as reckless, he helped to defend him and save him from execution for blasphemy. He wrote a treatise on tolerance: “The criterion of the difference between Islam and heresy“. In this teaching of tolerance, he felt he was referring to the politics of early Muslim times and to the greatest authorities of primitive Islam. According to Goldzieher (1910), al-Ghazali

“strove to draw the souls of his fellow Muslims to the unifying spiritual faith, to worship on the altars that are in the hearts of men. "

The influence of al-Ghazali has been represented by Mr. Macdonald as being primarily that he brought men back into living contact with the Qur'an and traditions, their study and exegesis; that it gave Sufism a secure position within Islam; and that he brought philosophy and philosophical theology within the reach of the ordinary mind.

Al-Ghazali reported on his own religious development in a work entitled: Mounqidh min ad-Dalâl. This account is significant, but as Bernard Carra de Vaux (1867-1953) points out, his explicit adoption of a Sufi mysticism was not simply a consequence of the failure of his other attempts to find a solution to the most serious problems. deeper in life, but the result of its first influences. Indeed, shortly after his birth in Tous in Khorassan in 1059, his father died and he was brought up by a Sufi. Nevertheless, his mystical inclinations did not assert themselves vigorously until he was well advanced in his maturity. Until that time he devoted himself to the usual studies of canon law, orthodox theology, the doctrine of the Mutazilites and various other subjects, including the works of the Sufis. For a time he was a student of Asharite Imam Al Haramayn in Nysabur. He himself represents his attitude as being at that time that of a worker eager to acquire reputation and wealth. In 484 A.H., he was honored with his appointment to the "University" or "Academy" of Baghdad, where he quickly acquired great fame as a lawyer and theologian.

On the threshold of maturity, he is afflicted with doubts as to the validity and value of the theological and philosophical bases of his religious belief. The strain of his thinking and the intensity of his anxiety to attain secure faith seem to have caused his health to deteriorate. With unexpected suddenness, he left Baghdad in 488 A.H. (1095). He had examined in all detail the traditional orthodox school system of the Kalams, the positions of the Mutazilites and the philosophers, and in the light of his new doubts and experiences, he turned again to a deeper study of the writings of the leading mystics, such as Abu Talib, al-Muhasibi and al-Jounayd. His early training had predisposed him to the acceptance of mysticism, and this acceptance carried through to the conclusions of his reflection, in which it was maintained that he carried doubt as far as Descartes.

Thus, he himself writes: "The thirst for understanding the essential natures of all things has indeed been my idiosyncrasy and my distinguishing characteristic from the beginning of my career and in the prime of life: a gift and a natural disposition which was granted to me by God and which he implanted in my nature by no choice or device on my part, until the bond of blind conformism was finally detached from me and the beliefs whose I had inherited were broken when I was little more than a child. "

Manuscript “Council of Kings“

Bernard Carra de Vaux therefore graphically describes the process in the mind of al-Ghazali, as he himself suggests to us: Religious beliefs, he reflected, are transmitted by the authority of parents; but authority is not proof. To arrive at certainty, he had to reconstruct all his knowledge from the very foundation. With a keen sense of this necessity, he aspired to certainty, defining it purely psychologically as a state in which the mind is so bound and so satisfied with knowledge that nothing can henceforth deprive it of it. This curious definition, which applies just as much to religious faith as to scientific knowledge, does not escape pure subjectivity. As one might expect, the great desire for certainty at first only led him to a series of doubts. He sought certainty in sense perception, so he could no longer trust his senses. Sight, the most powerful of the sensory faculties, for example, led him to the perception of a fixed shadow on the sun and an hour later, this shadow had disappeared. Sight showed him a very small star, and geometry made him recognize that it was larger than the earth. He then turns to the first principles of reason, but the perception of the senses takes revenge by saying to him:

“Before, you believed in me and you abandoned me when this judge of reason showed up. If this judge had remained hidden, you would have continued to believe in me. Who can tell you that beyond reason, there is no other judge who, if it were evident, would condemn reason for lying? It is quite a dramatic movement of thought, although a little contrived perhaps, as the thinker pursues his search for certainty. He stopped and thought about the famous comparison of life with a dream and death with an alarm clock. Perhaps after this awakening he would see things in a different way than he saw them then. Mysticism therefore offered itself to him: This real dream of death could be anticipated by the condition of ecstasy, by less than ecstasy, by a light that God pours into the heart. In this light he saw not only the truth of the dogmas of faith or the beauty of the moral life, but he was assured of the truth of the first principles of reason, the foundation of all knowledge and all reasoning. He no longer doubted, he was cured of his pain, he had found certainty and peace.

Leaving Baghdad, he retired to meditate in the mosques of Damascus, and is also said to have made pilgrimages to Jerusalem, Hebron (Abraham's burial place), Medina and Mecca. By surrendering to his immediate religious experience of God's love, he found more peace. Over time, he again became more permanently associated with his family. Finally, in 499 A.H. (1106), the sultan ordered him to teach at the Academy of Nysabur. After a life in which he wrote a large number of independent treatises and effectively brought about a great change in the trends of Islam, he died in his native town of All in 505 A.H. (1111).

If in his initial process of doubt, al-Ghazali resembled Descartes, in his vision of causality he reminds us of Hume; in his general attitude, he approaches Kant and Schleiermacher. On the one hand, he insists on the limitation of the effectiveness of theoretical reason, on the other hand, he finds in the will, in moral and religious experience, a more immediate path towards real knowledge. For the study of religion in our time, it is important to note that al-Ghazali (here in contrast to Kant) sees religious experience as a path to certainty. But in this he is led to recognize that the advancement of the human spirit towards its goal of real knowledge and peace depends upon the active influence of God upon man. It can be argued that he places here, in religious terminology, the central idea of ​​the Aristotelian conception of the scholastic era, namely the relation of "active intelligence" to the minds of men. His point of view allowed him to give the Prophet Muhammad and the Koran their rightful place. For the knowledge of God must be conceived as coming not from the immediate mystical intuition of all, but indeed, to a certain extent, from all, and to a certain extent, from some. The position that Maimonides (1138-1204) presents in his “Guide for the Perplexed” with regard to religious knowledge and the functions of the prophets is parallel to that of al-Ghazali.

The list and classification of al-Ghazali's works shows that he was a writer on all sides of the theory and practice of his religion. He was an authority on canon law and jurisprudence, and a commentator on the Quran. He examined the positions of the scholastic theologians, and found that they depended entirely on the acceptance of their initial dogmatic assumptions. The disputes of the scholastics among themselves seemed to have little or nothing to do with religious life, and were rather an obstacle to true religion. And in the face of the philosophers, the scholastic theologians were almost powerless. But the books which exerted the greatest influence inside and outside Muslim circles, and the books which still retain their interest today are: Maqâsid al-Falâsifa (“The Goal of the Philosophers“), Tâhafout al-Falâsifa (“The Refutation of the Philosophers“) and Ihyâ' 'Oloum ad-Din (“The Renovation of the Sciences of Religion“). In the first of these works, he reports on the different philosophical positions that were more or less widespread. In the second, he examines these positions critically. In the third, he gives a general overview for a constructive purpose, mainly moral and religious. It is thanks to this last work more than to all the others that al-Ghazali has been called “The restorer/regenerator of religion”, “The Proof of Islam”. His work Ihyâ' exposes the theology and ethics of the moderate Sufi school. Although it was set on fire, mainly in Spain, probably by those who held opinions that al-Ghazali had bitterly attacked. It, however, quickly established its position in the Muslim world, in which it has been widely studied until today.

Aims and principles of education

Al-Ghazali's philosophy of education represents the culmination of Islamic thought in education, in which is manifested his penchant for reconciliation and the integration of various intellectual schools. He achieves here a synthesis of legal, philosophical and mystical educational thought.

Al-Ghazali was not an “educational philosopher” (although he worked as a teacher early in his career); he was a philosopher of religion and ethics. When he completed the outline of this great philosophical edifice and began to put it into practice, al-Ghazali turned to education and teaching, as the great philosophers had done before. him. Al-Ghazali's philosophy was more an expression of the spirit of the times in which he lived than a response to its challenges; his thinking on education, like his philosophy, favored continuity and stability over change and innovation.

For al-Ghazali, the goal of society is to apply Sharia, and the goal of man is to achieve happiness close to God. Therefore, the purpose of education is to cultivate man to abide by the teachings of religion, and thus be assured of salvation and happiness in the eternal life hereafter.

Other worldly goals, such as the pursuit of wealth, status, or power, and even the love of knowledge, are illusory because they relate to the fleeting world.

Man is born as a tabula rasa, and children acquire personality, characteristics and behavior by living in society and interacting with the environment. The family teaches the child its language, customs and religious traditions, the influence of which he cannot escape. Therefore, the primary responsibility for the upbringing of children rests with the parents, who take credit for their probity and bear the weight of their mistakes; they are partners in everything the children do, and this responsibility is then shared by the teachers. Al-Ghazali stresses the importance of childhood in character formation. A good upbringing gives children a good character and helps them live a righteous life, while a bad upbringing spoils their character and it is difficult to bring them back to the right path. It is therefore necessary to understand the special characteristics of this period in order to treat the child effectively and healthily.

It is important for boys to start attending maktab (elementary school) at an early age, because what they learn then is set in stone. Those responsible for raising the boy at school need to know how his motivations develop and his interests change from period to period: a fascination with movement, games and fun, followed by a love of adornments and appearances (in infancy and childhood), then an interest in women and sex (adolescence), a burning desire for leadership and domination (after the age of 20), and finally the joy of knowing God (around the age of 40). These changing interests can be used by educators to lure the boy into school, first offering him the lure of ball games, then fancy ornaments and clothes, then responsibilities, and finally arousing his desire. from beyond.

At the elementary stage, children learn the Koran and the words of the companions of the Prophet Muhammad; they must be preserved from love poetry and the company of men of letters, two elements which sow the seeds of corruption in the souls of boys. They must be trained to obey their parents, teachers and elders, and to behave well towards their classmates. They should be prevented from bragging to their peers about the wealth of their parents or the food they eat, their clothes and their accessories. Rather, they should be taught modesty, generosity and civility. Attention is drawn to the potentially pernicious influence of children's peers on their character. They must therefore be informed that their friends must possess the following five qualities: intelligence, good morals, good character, abstinence and honesty.

Education is not limited to forming the mind and filling it with information, but concerns all aspects – intellectual, religious, moral and physical – of the personality of the learner. It is not enough to transmit theoretical learning, it is also necessary to put this learning into practice. Real learning is that which affects behavior and by which the learner makes practical use of his knowledge.

Guardians of children should pay attention to religious education. First, the principles and foundations of the religion are inculcated in them such that at the age of about 7, they must perform the ritual ablutions and prayers, and undertake several days of fasting during Ramadan. until they get used to it and are able to fast for the whole month. They should not be allowed to wear silk or gold, which is forbidden by faith. They must also learn everything there is to know about the precepts of religious law and must learn not to steal, eat forbidden foods, act disloyally, lie, swear, or do anything that children are inclined to do. .

Al-Ghazali’s flagship work, Ihyâ’ Oloum ad-Din

Naturally, at this young age, they won't be able to understand the intricacies of what they're being taught or expected of them, and there's nothing wrong with that. As they grow, they will come to understand what they have been taught and what they practice. Sometimes al-Ghazali the Sufi eclipses al-Ghazali the educator: for example, he recommends cutting the boy off from the world and its temptations so that he renounces them, and accustoming him to a simple and harsh life in the poverty and modesty.

And yet the educator quickly reappears, for he feels that once the boy has left the school premises, he should be allowed to play appropriate games in order to recover from study fatigue and to free themselves from the constraints imposed on them. However, he should not get tired or overworked while playing. Preventing the boy from playing and constantly overloading him with study can only tire his heart and dull his mind, spoil his life and make him despise study so much that he resorts to all sorts of tricks to escape it.

If the boy obeys his guardians, has good morals, excels and progresses in his studies, he should be honored and praised in public in order to be encouraged and to inspire others to imitate him . If he makes a mistake, but seems to be aware of it, the tutor should not worry about it, because the boy may have understood his mistake and be determined not to repeat it. If, however, he makes the same mistake again, his tutor should give him a small reprimand in private. The teacher may sometimes need to punish his students by beating them lightly, with the aim of chastising them rather than physically hurting them.

Teachers should take into account the differences in character and ability among students and treat each one appropriately. Teachers should not push students beyond their abilities, nor attempt to bring them to a level of knowledge that they cannot absorb, as this would be counterproductive. Likewise, they should not hold a brilliant pupil down to the level of his classmates, for the teacher would then find himself in the position of someone who feeds an infant with flesh that he cannot eat, digest or from which he cannot benefit, or from someone who would give a strong man human milk, which he has long since passed. To feed someone with the right food is to give life; to burden someone with what is not good can only bring ruin.

The impact of al-Ghazali

Al-Ghazali's influence was not limited to the Islamic world, as he also had an impact on European Christian thought. At the end of the 11th century, and especially in the 12th century, a large number of his works in Arabic on mathematics, astronomy, natural sciences, chemistry, medicine, philosophy and religion were translated into Latin. Several of al-Ghazali's books, including Ihyâ' 'Oloum ad-Dîn, Maqâsid al-Falâsifa (which some scholars have mistaken as al-Ghazali's thought rather than a compendium of the philosophical principles common to his time ), Tahâfout al-Falâsifa and Mizân al-'Amal. A number of European scholars knew Arabic and thus were able to learn of al-Ghazali's views in the original.

The influence of al-Ghazali can be clearly seen in the works of many medieval and early modern philosophers and scholars, especially Saint Thomas Aquinas, Dante and David Hume. In his “Summa Theologiae“, Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) is largely inspired by the ideas of al-Ghazali contained in Ihyâ' "Oulum ad-Din, Kimiya-yi Sa'adat and Ar-Risala al- Laduniya. The works of Dante (1265-1321) clearly show the Islamic influences of al-Ghazali and Risâlat al-Ghoufrân (“The Epistle of Forgiveness“) of al-Ma’arrî (973-1057). Al-Ghazali's influence is also apparent in the writings of Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), notably in the primacy he gives to intuition over reason and the senses, and David Hume (1711-1776 ) in his rejection of causation.

Al-Ghazali had an even more profound influence on Jewish theology than on Christian theology. Many medieval Jewish scholars were well versed in Arabic, and some of al-Ghazali's books were translated into Hebrew. Mizân al-‘Amal, in particular, was widely read by Jews in the Middle Ages; several translations have been made into Hebrew, and it has been reworked for Jewish readers by replacing verses from the Quran with passages from the Torah. One of the greatest Jewish thinkers influenced by al-Ghazali was Maimonides (Arabic: Mousa Ibn Maymoun; Hebrew: Moshe ben Maimon (1135-1204)), whose Dalâlât al-Ha'irîn (“Guide for the Perplexed “, originally composed in Arabic) is one of the most important books of medieval Jewish theology.

The writings of al-Ghazali on education constitute the culmination of reflection on this subject in the Islamic world. The theory of education that he elaborated is the most complete edifice on the subject; it clearly defines the aims of education, charts the course to be followed and the means of attaining the objectives. From the 12th to the 19th century, Islamic thought on education was strongly influenced by al-Ghazali.

Indeed, theoretical and practical educators, with few exceptions, have done little more than borrow from al-Ghazali and summarize his ideas and books. To support this assertion, it suffices to note some of the writings on education which have come down to us:– The work of az-Zarnouji (1135–1197) entitled Ta'lîm al-Muta'allîm Tarîq at-Ta'allom (“Teaching the Student the Method of Study“) is essentially a compilation of passages from Ihyâ' 'Oloum ad-Dîn of al-Ghazali and Mizân al-'Amal reproduced literally, with some minor additions. This work, which is distinguished by its conciseness, simplicity of style and liveliness, has been one of the most widely distributed books on education.

– The indirect influence of al-Ghazali can be found in the writings of at-Tousi (died 1273), one of the greatest scholars of the Middle Ages, author of a vast and varied production of more than 100 books on philosophy, logic, ethics, mathematics and astronomy. His most important works on education were Akhlaq-i Nasiri (“Nasirian Ethics“ in Persian) and Adâb al-Mouta’allimîn (“Rules of Conduct for Students“). In the first case, he was influenced by the Tahdhîb al-Akhlâq wa-Tathîr al-A'râq (“The Refinement of Character and the Purification of the Races“) of Ibn Miskawayh (932–1030) and by Greek philosophy . The latter is only a summary of Ta'lîm al-Muta'allîm Tarîq at-Ta'allom (“Teaching the Student the Method of Study“) by az-Zarnouji, who in turn was influenced by al-Ghazali.

– Similarly, Ibn Jama'a (d. 1332), the author of Tadhkirât as-Sâmi' wa al-Mutakallim fi Adâb al-'Alim wa al-Muta'allim (“Memorandum for the Student and the Master on the Rules of Conduct for the Scholar and the Student“) was directly influenced by al-Ghazali, as well as by az-Zarnouji and at-Tousi, both of whom borrowed from al-Ghazali. He lived in Egypt, Palestine and Syria and worked variously as a teacher, preacher and judge. His book is known for its simplicity and order, and contains an abundance of prophetic hadiths, sayings and stories. It deals in a traditional way with themes that have become familiar in Islamic education, such as the merit of knowledge and rules of conduct for scholars, teachers and students. One chapter is devoted to the rules of conduct for residents of madâris (which were widespread at the time), and another chapter deals with the art of using books.

– The work of Ibn al-Hajj al-'Abdari (died in 1336), Madkhal ach-Char' ach-Charîf (“Introduction to the Sublime Revelation“) is practically in the same mold as Ihyâ' 'Oloum ad-Dîn, but reflects the great difference between the Islamic civilization of the 5th century A.H. and that of the 8th century A.H. education.

– In the 16th century, we find Ibn Hajar al-Haitami (1503-1566), the author of Tahrîr al-Maqâl fi Adab wa-Ahkâm wa-Fawâ'id Yahtajou ilayha Mu'addibou al-Atfâl (“The Writing the Discourse on the Rules of Conduct and the Moral Benefits Required by the Educators of Children“), an Egyptian who studied and taught in al-Azhar before settling in the vicinity of Mecca. His writings are typical of the thought and literature of the Ottoman period. It focuses on teaching in the katâtîb and on the situation and status of teachers. He cites al-Ghazali and frequently refers to him. Islamic (especially Sunni) educational thought followed the path set by al-Ghazali and this influence remained valid even after the influx of Western civilization and the emergence of a modern and contemporary Arab civilization.

Al-Ghazali for children

Conclusion: Legacy

Al-Ghazali (1055-1111) was one of the most prominent and influential philosophers, theologians, jurists and mystics in Sunni Islam. He was active at a time when Sunni theology had just gone through its consolidation and was entering a period of intense challenges to Shia Ismaelite theology and the Arab tradition of Aristotelian philosophy (falsafa). Al-Ghazali understood the importance of falsafa and crafted a complex response that rejected and condemned some of his teachings, while allowing him to accept and apply others. Al-Ghazali's criticism of twenty positions of the falsafa in his “Incoherence of the Philosophers” (Tahâfut al-falâsifa) is an important milestone in the history of philosophy because it advances the nominalist critique of Aristotelian science developed later in fourteenth-century Europe. On the Arab and Muslim side, al-Ghazali's acceptance of demonstration (apodeixis) led to a much more refined and precise discourse on epistemology and a flowering of Aristotelian logic and metaphysics. With al-Ghazali begins the successful introduction of Aristotelianism, or rather Avicennism, into Muslim theology. After a period of appropriation of the Greek sciences in the movement of translation from Greek into Arabic and of the writings of the Falasifa up to Avicenna, Ibn Sina, (980-1037), Greek philosophy and sciences were "naturalized" in the discourse of kalam and Muslim theology (Sabra 1987). Al-Ghazali's approach to resolving the apparent contradictions between reason and revelation was accepted by nearly all later Muslim theologians and had, via the works of Averroes (Ibn Rochd, 1126-1198) and authors Jews, a significant influence on medieval Latin thought.

The present work does not attempt to give an overview of Imam al-Ghazali and all his ideas and contributions. To do this, one would need complete textbooks analyzing his writings. Rather, the aim is to show the impact al-Ghazali had on his own time and on subsequent Islamic history.

Imam al-Ghazali is known today as Houjjat al-Islam, in Arabic "the Proof of Islam", because of his contribution to the protection of the Muslim world against the intellectual challenges to which he was confronted. Traditional Islamic beliefs and practices were confronted with the rise of nihilistic philosophy and extreme Shiism which threatened to change the face of Islamic scholarship forever. Through his efforts and the many scholars he inspired, the way was opened for the resurgence of Islamic belief as taught by the Prophet Muhammad, free from outside corruption. His life was clearly in line with the prophet's word promising a renewal of the faith every century, 500 years after it was spoken.

Al-Ghazali died at the age of fifty-five, after a life that was not as long as it was productive, extensive and influential. He is rightly considered one of the most important and profound Islamic thinkers, and has been rightly called the "Renovator of the 5th Century of the Hegira". Al-Ghazali's influence can be attested to by a number of factors, such as:– The depth, power and comprehensiveness of his thought, contained in some fifty different works, the most important of which are Ihyâ ' 'Oloum ad-Dîn, Tahâfout al-Falâsifa and al-Mounqidh min ad-Dalâl, which are still studied today.– The fact that his opinions were well suited to his age and environment, and that they were more a reflection of that era than a response to its needs and demands- they were more an element of continuity and conservatism than a factor of renewal and change.– After al-Ghazali, Islamic society and thought are entered a long period of stagnation and decline, and produced few other great minds. Al-Ghazali therefore remained alive and influential.

Al-Ghazali's influence on Islamic thought can be summarized as follows:– He reinstated the “principle of fear” in religious thought and emphasized the role of the Creator as the center around which human life, and as an agent directly and continuously intervening in the course of human affairs (once the "principle of love" gained supremacy among the Sufis).– He introduced several principles of logic and of philosophy (despite his attacks on these subjects) in the disciplines of fiqh and kalâm.– He reconciled Sharia and Sufi mysticism (fuqahâ' and Sufis) and contributed to the spread of Sufi brotherhoods.– He defended Sunni Islam against the principles of philosophy and Shiism.

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Works of Al-Ghazali • Ayyuha-l-Walad [Letter to a Disciple]. Cairo, Maktabat al-Jundi, n.d. (Printed as part of a series.) (English translation and introduction by George H. Scherer, O Disciple, Beirut, Catholic Press, 1951. (UNESCO Collection of Great Works: Arabic series.)• Bidayat al-Hidaya [The Beginning of Divine Guidance].Cairo, Al-Halabi, 1912.• Ad-Durra al-Fakhira fi Kashf 'Ulum al-Akhira [The Precious Pearl that Unveils the Sciences of the Hereafter].Amsterdam, Oriental Press, 1974. • Fada'ih al-Batiniya wa-Fada'il al-Mustazhiriya [The Infamies of the Esotericists and the Virtues of the Exotericists] Cairo, Ad-Dar al-Qaumiya, 1964. (Also called Al-Mustazhiri [The Exotericist].) • Faisal at-Tafriqa bain al-Islam wa-z-Zandaqa [The Point of Separation between Islam and Apostasy]. Cairo, Dar Ihya' al-Kutub al-'Arabiya, 1961. • Fatihat al- 'Ulum [The Beginning of Sciences]. Cairo, Al-Matba'a al-Husainiya, 1904 (1322 H).• Ihya' 'Ulum ad-Din [The Revival of the Religious Sciences]. Cairo, Al-Matba'a al-Azhariya, 1898 (1316 H.) 4 vols.• Iljam al-'Awamm 'an 'Ilm al-Kalam [Restraining the Masses from Theological Disputation]. Cairo, Al-Matba‘a al-Muniriya, 1932 (1351 H). • Al-Iqtisad fi-l-I‘tiqad [The Golden Mean in Belief]. Cairo, Maktabat as-Sa‘ada, 1909. • Jawahir al-Qur’an [The Jewels of the Koran]. Damascus, Al-Markaz al-‘Arabi li-l-Kitab, n.d.• Al-Kashf wa-t-Tabyin fi Ghurur al-Khalq Ajma‘in [The Investigation and Demonstration of the Delusion of All Creatures]. Cairo, Al-Halabi, 1960. • Kimiya-yi Sa‘adat [The Alchemy of Happiness]. Bombay, 1903. (In Persian) (Translated into Arabic as Kitab al-Hikma fi Makhluqat Allah [The Book of Wisdom in God's Creations]. Cairo, Al-Qabbani, 1904.)• Kitab al-Arba'in fi Usul ad- Din [The Forty Fundamentals of the Faith]. Cairo, Al-Matba‘a al-‘Arabiya, 1926 (1344 H). • Al-Ma‘arif al-‘Aqliya [Rational Knowledge]. Damascus, Dar al-Fikr al-‘Arabi, 1963. • Ma‘arij al-Quds fi Madarij Ma‘rifat an-Nafs [The Ladder of Holiness Concerning the Degrees of Knowledge of Self]. Cairo, Matba‘at as-Sa‘ada, 1927. • Al-Madnun bihi ‘alà ghair Ahlihi [That Which Is to Be Withheld from Those Unworthy of It]. Cairo, Maktabat al-Jundi, n.d.• Maqasid al-Falasifa [The Aims of the Philosophers]. Cairo, Matba‘at as-Sa‘ada, 1913.• Al-Maqsid al-Asnà fi Sharh Ma‘anì Asma’ Allah al-Husnà [The Sublime Ideal in the Exegesis of the Most Beautiful Names of God]. Beirut, Dar al-Mashriq, 1982. • Mi‘yar al-‘Ilm [The Yardstick of Knowledge]. Cairo, Matba‘at Kurdistan, 1911 (1329 H).• Minhaj al-‘Abidin [The Path of the Worshippers]. Cairo, Maktabat al-Jundi, n.d.• Mishkat al-Anwar [The Niche of Lights]. Cairo, Ad-Dar al-Qaumiya, 1964. • Mizan al-‘Amal [The Criterion of Action]. Cairo, Maktabat Sabi, 1963. • Al-Munqidh min ad-Dalal [Deliverance from Error]. Cairo, Al-Maktaba al-Anglo-Misriya, 1962. • Al-Mustasfà fi ‘Ilm al-Usul [The Pure Teaching on the Science of Fundamentals]. Cairo, Al-Maktaba at-Tijariya, 1937. 2 vols.• Al-Mustazhiri [The Exotericist]. See Fada'ih al-Batiniya wa-Fada'il al-Mustazhiriya. • Al-Qistas al-Mustaqim [The Even Scales]. Damascus, Dar al-Hikma, 1986. • Ar-Risala al-Laduniya [The Message of Mystic Intuition]. Cairo, Maktabat al-Jundi, no date. • Ar-Risala al-Qudsiya fi Qawa‘id al-‘Aqa’id [The Jerusalem Epistle concerning the Foundations of the Articles of Faith]. (Forms part of Ihya’ ‘Ulum ad-Din.)• Tahafut al-Falasifa [The Incoherence of the Philosophers]. Cairo, Dar al-Ma‘arif, 1958. • At-Tibr al-Masbuk fi Nasihat al-Muluk [Ingots of Gold for the Advice of Kings]. Beirut, Al-Mu’assasa al-Jami‘iya, 1987. • On the editing of al-Ghazali’s works and the authenticity of attribution to him, see: Badawi, ‘A. Mu'allafat al-Ghazali [The Works of al-Ghazali]. Cairo, Al-Majlis al-A‘là li-Ri‘ayat al-Funun wa-l-Adab, 1961. Works by other classical Islamic or Arabic authors: • Al-‘Abdari, Ibn al-Hajj. Madkhal ash-Shar‘ ash-Sharif [Introduction to the Divine Revelation]. Cairo, Al-Matba‘a al-Ashrafiya, AD 1902 (1320 H), 3 vols. • Al-Haitami, Ibn Hajar. Tahrir al-Maqal fi Adab wa-Ahkam wa-Fawa'id Yahtaju ilaiha Mu'addibu-l-Atfal [The Liberation of Discourse on the Rules of Conduct and Moral Advantages Required by the Educators of Children]. Dar al-Kutub al-Misriya, manuscript No. 3182/Lit.• Ibn Jama‘a, Badr ud-Din. Tadhkirat as-Sami‘ wa-l-Mutakallim fi Adab al-‘alim wa-l-Muta‘allim [Memorandum for the Pupil and Master on the Rules of Conduct of the Scholar and Student]. Dar al-Kutub al-Misriya, manuscript No. 1831/Lit.• Ibn Miskawayh. Tahdib al-Akhlaq wa-Tathir al-A‘raq [The Refinement of Character and the Purification of Races]. Cairo, Al-Matba‘a al-Adabiya, 1899 (1317 H).• Ibn Rushd (Averroes). Tahafut at-Tahafut [The Incoherence of the Incoherence]. Cairo, Al-Matba‘a al-Islamiya, 1884 (1302 H).• Ibn Miskawayh.Fasl al-Maqal wa-Taqrib ma bain ash-Shari‘a wa-l-Hikma min al-Ittisal [An Authoritative Treatise and Exposition of the Convergence which Exists between Religious Law and Philosophy]. Cairo, Al-Matba‘a al-Mahmudiya, n.d.• Ikhwan as-Safa’ [The Brethren of Purity]. Rasa'il [Epistles]. Cairo, 1928 (1347 H). • Al-Ma‘arri, Abu-l-‘Ala’. Risalat al-Ghufran [The Epistle of Forgiveness]. Cairo, Dar al-Ma'arif, 1977.• Maimonides (In Arabic: Musà Ibn Maimun; in Hebrew: Moshe ben Maimon]. Dalalat al-Ha'irin [Guide for the Perplexed]. Cairo, Maktabat ath-Thaqafa ad- Diniya, n.d. (Originally composed in Arabic.)• Al-Qabisi. Ar-Risala al-Mufassala li-Ahwal al-Mu'allimin wa-Ahkam al-Mu'allimin wa-l-Muta'allimin [Detailed Report on the Situation of Schoolteachers and the Regulations Governing Schoolteachers and Pupils] Cairo, Al-Halabi, 1955. • Ash-Shaizari, 'Abdurrahman. Nihayat ar-Rutba fi Talab al-Hisba [Hierarchy of the Inspectorate]. Cairo, Matba'at Lajnat at -Ta'lif, 1946. (Edited, with French translation, by Bernhauer, as 'Les institutions de police chez les Arabes…', Asian Journal, 1860-61.) • At-Tusi, Nasiri ud-Din. Nasiri [Nasirean Ethics]. Bombay, 1850 (1267 H). (In Persian.)• At-Tusi, Nasiri ud-Din. Adab al-Muta'allimin [Rules of Conduct for Students].• Az-Zarnuji, Burhan ud -Din. Ta'lim al-Muta'allim ariq at-Ta'allum [Teaching the Student the Method of Study]. Cairo, Maktabat abi, 1956.Works on al-GhazaliIn Arabic:• Dunya, S. Al-Haqiqa fi Nazar al-Ghazali [The Truth in the Eyes of al-Ghazali]. Cairo, Al-Halabi, 1947. • Mahmud, Z. (ed.). Abu Hamid al-Ghazali fi-dh-Dhikrà al-Mi’awiya at-Tasi‘a li-Miladihi [Abu Hamid al-Ghazali on the Ninth Centenary of his Birth]. Cairo, Al-Majlis al-A‘la li-Ri‘ayat al-Funun wa-l-Adab, 1962. • Mubarak, Z. Al-Akhlaq ‘ind al-Ghazali [Al-Ghazali’s Ethics]. Cairo, Al-Maktaba at-Tijariya, n.d. • al-‘Uthman, ‘A. Ad-Dirasat an-Nafsiya ‘ind al-Muslimin wa-l-Ghazali bi-Wajhin Khass [Spiritual Studies by Muslims and by al-Ghazali in Particular]. Cairo, Maktabat Wahba, 1963. • al-‘Uthman, ‘A. Sirat al-Ghazali wa-Aqwal al-Mutaqaddimin fihi [The Life of al-Ghazali and the Remarks of the Ancients concerning him]. Damascus, Dar al-Fikr, n.d. In English and French:• Bello, I. E. The Medieval Islamic Controversy between Philosophy and Orthodoxy: Ijma‘ and Ta’wil in the Conflict between al-Ghazali and Ibn Rushd. Leiden, Brill, 1990. • Ghazali: La raison et le miracle [Ghazali: the Reason and the Miracle]. Paris, Maisonneuve & Larose, 1987. (Collection “Islam d’hier et d’actualité”, No. 30.) (Proceedings of a round-table held at UNESCO, Paris, 9-10 December 1985, on the 900th anniversary of the death of al-Ghazali. Articles in English, French and Arabic.) • Myers, E. Arabic Thought and the Western World in the Golden Age of Islam. New York, Frederick Ungar, 1964. • Othman, A. I. The Concept of Man in Islam in the Writings of Al Ghazali. Cairo, Dar al-Maaref, 1960. • Smith, M. Al-Ghazali the Mystic. London, Luzac, 1944. • Watt, M. Muslim Intellectual: A Study of Al Ghazali. Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 1963.• Zwemmer, S. M. A Moslem Seeker after God. New York, Fleming Revell, 1920.

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