The Nature of Religious Sciences in Al-Ghazali's Thought : A review of a Mystical Minimalism

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Assist Prof. of ALameh Tabatabaie University

Abstract

 
Al-Ghazali , the first person in the Islamic world,  who  paid attention to theological sciences and tried to sketch its borders more than any other thinker. Al-Ghazali's efforts in this area were motivated by the danger that he sensed was threatening pure Islamic Sciences. This was the most important motive for beginning his comprehensive project “Revival of the Religious Sciences” (Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din), which involves a wide spectrum of efforts- from his battle with anti-religious and heretical trends to defining Islamic theology and denominating its kinds.
These efforts simultaneously meant changes in the Islamic paradigm and discourse on Islamic theology, to the extent that the emergence of Al-Ghazali can be regarded as an inception for a new period in the exploration of Islamic theology. The trend in this period was particularly against rationalism and philosophy where the scholars made use of a Sufi-Sharia approach to proselytize a minimalistic vision to determine specific boundaries for special sciences which did not belong to the sphere of theological ones. In this context, only the sciences could be promoted and developed, which followed the path of the "righteous predecessor" and led the individual and society to prosperity in the hereafter.
 
 

Keywords

References

 
1. Al-Fārābī, (1962), Alfarabi’s Philosophy of Plato and Aristotle, translated with an introduction by M. Mahdi, New York: The Free Press of Glencoe.
2. Corbin, Henry, (2015), Iranian Islam, Spiritual and Philosophical Perspectives, Vol. 2, translated by Insha'Allah Rahmati, Tehran: Sophia.
3. Farabi, Abu Nasr, (1981), Statist Sciences, Ehsa Al Olum, translated by Hossein Khadivjam, Tehran: Scientific n.d. Cultural Publishing Company.
4. Ghazali, Abu Hamed Mohammad, (1996), Ehia Olum Al-ddin , Vol. 1-2-3-4, translated by Moayed Al-Din Kharazmi, compiled by Hossein Khadiv Jam, Tehran: Scientific and Cultural Publications.
5. Ghazali, Abu Hamed Mohammad, (1945), Ehia Olum Al-ddin, Vol 16, Beirut: Dar Al-Kitab Al-Arabi.
6. Ghazali, Abu Hamed Mohammad, (1970), Confessions, translated by Zinaldin Kianinejad, Tehran: Atai.
7. Ghazali, Abu Hamed Mohammad, (1994), Tahaft al-Falasfa, research by Ali Bumalham, Beirut: Dar Maktab Al-Hilal.
8. Ghazali, Abu Hamed Mohammad, (1964), Faza'ih al-Batniyah, research by Abdul Rahman Badawi, Kuwait: Dar al-Thaqafah.
9. Ghazali, Abu Hamed Mohammad, (1996), Kimia ye Sa'adat, edited by Ahmad Aram, Tehran: Ganjineh.
10. Ghazali, Abu Hamed Mohammad, (1996), Collected Essays of Imam Al-Ghazali, Beirut: Dar Al-Fikr.
11. Ghazali, Abu Hamed Mohammad, (1983), Ghazali's Persian Writings, edited by Abbas Iqbal, Tehran: Amirkabir.
12. Ghazali, Abu Hamed Mohammad, (1995), Mizan Al-Aamal, edited by Suleiman Dina, translated by Akbar Kasmaei, Tehran: Soroush.
13. Ghazali, Abu Hamed Mohammad, (1972), Nasihat Al Molouk, by Jalaluddin Homayei, Tehran: National Works Association.
14. Ibn Sina, (1968), Al Shafa, Cairo: The Ministry of Public.
15. Laust, Henry, (1975), Al-Ghazali's Politics, Vols. 1 & 2, translated by Mehdi Mozaffari
Iran's culture.
16. Mawardi, Abul Hassan, (1984), Al-Ahkam Al-Sultaniyah va Al-Walayat Al-Diniyah , Qom: Maktab Al-Elam Al-Islami.
17. Motahari, Morteza, (1999), Short Commentary on "Manzumeh", Qom: Sadra.
18. Mortazavi, Seyyed Rahman, (2010), "Ghazali from Ehia Olum al-ddin to Politics"; in: Jalili, Hassan (Editor), Ghazali Pajoohi, 18. Tehran: Kitab e Mah Institute.
19. Nizam-Al-Molk Tusi, (1985), Siasat Nameh, by Hubert Dark, Tehran: Scientific and
Cultural Publications.
20. Nofal, Nabil, (1993), (Paris, UNESCO: International Bureau of Education), vol. XXIII, no. 3/4, p. 519-542.
21. Tabatabai, Seyed Javad, (2006), Introduction to the History of Political Thought in Iran, Tehran: Kavir.
ir.

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics