Abu Hamid Muhammad al-Tusi al-Ghazali

1058-1111

Philosopher

Sources

Early Years . Abu Hamid Muhammad al-Tusi al-Ghazali was born in 1058 in Tus, near the present-day city of Mashhad in eastern Iran. He and his brother, Ahmad, were orphaned at an early age, but their father had directed a friend to help them get an education. Although the meager funds left for this purpose soon ran out, they were fortunate to live in a time when education for young people of humble origins was sponsored by many private foundations and by the Saljuk rulers of Iran. After acquiring a basic education, al-Ghazali studied throughout Iran, completing his studies in Nishapur, the site of a well-known Nizamiyyah religious college, where he studied under the renowned theologian Abu al-Ma’ali al-Juwayni.

Career . In 1085 al-Juwayni introduced al-Ghazali to the Saljuk wazir Nizam al-Mulk, and in 1091 al-Ghazali was appointed chair of Shafn law at the Nizamiyyah madrasah in Baghdad. He was well received there, and within a few years he became a prominent lecturer with hundreds of students. During this period he wrote several works, including his refutations of the Ismaili Shntes and the philosophers. Although he had attained great success, al-Ghazali was not satisfied, and on the pretense of making the hajj, he left Baghdad, renouncing his career as a jurist and theologian. In his autobiography he stated that he was disillusioned with the corruption among scholars, the dangerous political atmosphere in ruling circles, and the adulation that he feared might corrupt him. During his withdrawal from academic life, he lived in Damascus and Jerusalem. He became a Sufi, and he devoted himself to spiritual exercises, prayer, and meditation and became committed to the mystic way. He composed his greatest work, Ihya ‘Ulumal-Din (Revival of the Religious Sciences), during his retreat in Jerusalem. In 1106 the son of Nizam al-Mulk encouraged al-Ghazali to return to academic life. He began teaching once again, this time at the Nizamiyyah in Nishapur. There he wrote an autobiographical work called al-Munqidh min al-Dalal (The Deliverer from Error). Shortly before his death in 1111, he returned to his native city of Tus, where he is said to have established a Sufi hermitage.

Writings . Al-Ghazali wrote several important works on theology in the Kalam tradition, as well as mystical treatises and works on ethics. Many of his writings were intended for general audiences. Certain of his books, such as the Persian-language Kimiya-i saadeh (Alchemy of Salvation), are thought to have been written on two levels: the apparent text, a straightforward essay on religious life, is believed to mask a hidden text that reveals mystical secrets. One of al-Ghazali’s best-known works is Tahafut al-Falasifa (Incoherence of the Philosophers). This work is a Kalam critique of the philosophies of al-Farabi and Ibn Sina, in which al-Ghazali attempted to prove that the philosophers held many views that were both illogical and inconsistent with Sunni Islam. His masterwork, Ihya Ulum al-Din, is a veritable encyclopedia of Sunni Islam. Written as a blueprint for attaining purification and progress along the spiritual path, it is also a statement against blind traditionalism and the sterility of religious knowledge wielded for worldly gain and prestige.

Sources

Richard M. Frank, Al-Ghazali and the Ash’arite School (Durham & London: Duke University Press, 1994).

Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, Deliverance from Error: Five Key Texts, including His Spiritual Autobiography, al-Munqidh min al-Dalal, translated by R. J. McCarthy (Louisville, Ky.: Fons Vitae, 2001).

al-Ghazali, The Incoherence of the Philosophers, translated by Michael E. Marmura (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1997); also translated by Sabih Ahmad Kamali as Al-Ghazali’s Tahafut al-Falasifah (Incoherence of the Philosophers) (Lahore: Pakistan Philosophical Congress, 1963).