Refonder ou revivifier l’islam. Les stratégies d’écriture d’Abū Ḥāmid al-Ġazālī (m. 505/1111)

Abstract

At the end of the 11th century, Islam saw an upsurge of a takfīr bent toward exclusion, in reaction to a perceived infidelity to orthodoxy or orthopraxy. It was in this context that Vizier Niẓām al-Mulk founded new schools of theology, the niẓāmiyyāt, and appointed the young Abū Ḥāmid al-Ġazālī as director in Nīsābūr. Yet, how can one reconstruct a consensual synthesis, integrating self-exclusive trends, without in turn risking being accused of infidelity (takfīr)? The article shows that in the face of this challenge, al-Ġazālī deploys theological writing strategies: he returns to the sources and etymology of the Islamic sciences, neutralizes the reality of kufr through spirituality, and adapts his theological language and leaves room for a hidden teaching that invites one to read and reread the master, through the lens of a proleptic reading which allows for a progressive shift while at the same time safeguarding the accusation of infidelity.

Keywords

• al-Ġazālī
• takfīr
• kufr
• strategies
• ambivalence