Al Ghazali between Philosophy and Sufism

Abstract

Al Ghazali embarked on his investigation of four different schools of thought that were influential in his time-BaJinism, theology, philosophy, and Sufism’-in order to find truth in them. The first three did not satisfy him, while Sufism provided him the truth for which he had been searching. There have always been notable Sufis of varied backgrounds throughout the history of Islamic thought. Whereas most of them received the traditional education, some had so much interest in logic and philosophy that they pursued these fields in depth. However, none of them penetrated into these sciences as far as al Ghazali, who acquired an intimate knowledge of both philosophy and theology. Of all of the theologians who penetrated philosophy so deeply, none but al Ghazali managed to escape its harmful impact and, after mastering it, refute it. Many previous intellectuals had attacked philosophy from the viewpoint of religious or other convictions, but none were as original and influential as al Ghazali. Their arguments against philosophy were not taken seriously, for they were unable to use philosophical terminology properly and could hardly grasp the meanings of the various complicated and abstract arguments. However, al Ghazali’s case is completely different. His rejection of philosophy and his status as the author of such philosophical works as The Intentions of the Philosophers and The Inconsistency of the Philosophers, which rank high in the Islamic version of Peripatetic philosophy, are milestones. The contents of these two books have been subjected to frequent distortion by various factions: Theologians hailed these works as representing the victory of religious faith over philosophical thinking, while intellectuals inclined toward philosophy considered them to be examples of sheer antagonism toward philosophy in general. However, this case is not so trivial that it can be exploited by a scholar-jurist or so shallow and lacking in depth that it can be considered “a prejudicial act against philosophy” by a mediocre philosopher. Al Ghazali himself discloses why he was frustrated by philosophy in his quest for truth and why he chose to adopt Sufism instead. His account may be summed up as follows: His disillusionment with philosophy was, derived from its destructive effect on the fundamentals of religion, while his attraction to Sufism was rooted in the fact that ethical refinement and the purification of the soul were necessary conditions in this discipline ...