L. W. C. van Lit
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781474415859
- eISBN:
- 9781474435024
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9781474415859.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
This book traces the notion of a world of image from its conception until today. This notion is one of the most original innovations in medieval Islamic philosophy, and is unique compared to other ...
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This book traces the notion of a world of image from its conception until today. This notion is one of the most original innovations in medieval Islamic philosophy, and is unique compared to other parts of the history of philosophy. The notion originated out of discussions on the fate of human beings after death; would this be spiritual only or physical as well? The world of image suggests that there exists a world of non-physical (imagined) bodies, beyond our earthly existence. This world may be entered after death and glimpses of it may already be witnessed during sleep or meditation. Ibn Sīnā (d. 1037) was the first to suggest something along these lines, arguing that people could simply imagine their afterlife without the need for it to be actually physical. Suhrawardī (d. 1191) included this suggestion in his innovative thinking on epistemology, known as ‘knowledge by presence’, without fully ontologizing it. Shahrazūrī (d. > 1286), finally, turned Suhrawardī’s thinking into the full-blown notion of a world of image. Notably through Taftāzānī (d. 1390) and Shaykh Bahāʾī (d. 1621), the idea gained wider popularity and continued to be discussed, especially in Shīʿī circles, up to this day. This book gives an insight into late medieval and early modern Islamic philosophy, especially the role of commentary writing. It sets the record straight for the provenance and development of the world of image and reconsiders the importance of Suhrawardī for the development of philosophy in the Islamic world.Less
This book traces the notion of a world of image from its conception until today. This notion is one of the most original innovations in medieval Islamic philosophy, and is unique compared to other parts of the history of philosophy. The notion originated out of discussions on the fate of human beings after death; would this be spiritual only or physical as well? The world of image suggests that there exists a world of non-physical (imagined) bodies, beyond our earthly existence. This world may be entered after death and glimpses of it may already be witnessed during sleep or meditation. Ibn Sīnā (d. 1037) was the first to suggest something along these lines, arguing that people could simply imagine their afterlife without the need for it to be actually physical. Suhrawardī (d. 1191) included this suggestion in his innovative thinking on epistemology, known as ‘knowledge by presence’, without fully ontologizing it. Shahrazūrī (d. > 1286), finally, turned Suhrawardī’s thinking into the full-blown notion of a world of image. Notably through Taftāzānī (d. 1390) and Shaykh Bahāʾī (d. 1621), the idea gained wider popularity and continued to be discussed, especially in Shīʿī circles, up to this day. This book gives an insight into late medieval and early modern Islamic philosophy, especially the role of commentary writing. It sets the record straight for the provenance and development of the world of image and reconsiders the importance of Suhrawardī for the development of philosophy in the Islamic world.
Kenneth Garden
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- April 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199989621
- eISBN:
- 9780199395590
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199989621.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
Al-Ghazali’s departure from Baghdad in 1095 has been understood as the result of a spiritual crisis that led him to a radical break with his past thinking and an embrace of Sufism. But his Scale of ...
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Al-Ghazali’s departure from Baghdad in 1095 has been understood as the result of a spiritual crisis that led him to a radical break with his past thinking and an embrace of Sufism. But his Scale of Action, a work written very shortly before this date, shows a supremely confident al-Ghazali, not a man plagued by doubt. It further shows al-Ghazali’s major concern being the quest for “felicity” (sa?ʿāda) in the hereafter, a state above salvation alone and the ultimate objective of Islamic philosophers, whose method for attaining it al-Ghazali prefers in that book. Though the Revival of the Religious Sciences is a vastly larger book written after 1095, its fundamental objective remains the same.Less
Al-Ghazali’s departure from Baghdad in 1095 has been understood as the result of a spiritual crisis that led him to a radical break with his past thinking and an embrace of Sufism. But his Scale of Action, a work written very shortly before this date, shows a supremely confident al-Ghazali, not a man plagued by doubt. It further shows al-Ghazali’s major concern being the quest for “felicity” (sa?ʿāda) in the hereafter, a state above salvation alone and the ultimate objective of Islamic philosophers, whose method for attaining it al-Ghazali prefers in that book. Though the Revival of the Religious Sciences is a vastly larger book written after 1095, its fundamental objective remains the same.
Kenneth Garden
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- April 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199989621
- eISBN:
- 9780199395590
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199989621.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
Earlier generations of scholarship had presented al-Ghazali as an inwardly directed mystic primarily concerned with his own salvation and the definitive refuter of Islam’s philosophical tradition. ...
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Earlier generations of scholarship had presented al-Ghazali as an inwardly directed mystic primarily concerned with his own salvation and the definitive refuter of Islam’s philosophical tradition. However, a new wave of revisionist scholarship has shown him to be an appropriator of both philosophy and Sufism who did not identify fully with either. This book offers a new narrative of al-Ghazali’s life and thought, focusing on his masterpiece, the Revival of the Religious Sciences, and presenting him as an engaged religious scholar who aimed to transform the religious landscape of his age. Rather than an inward-directed seeker, al-Ghazali was an outward-directed reviver, the first in the Islamic tradition to so consciously marshal the rhetoric of revival and reform.Less
Earlier generations of scholarship had presented al-Ghazali as an inwardly directed mystic primarily concerned with his own salvation and the definitive refuter of Islam’s philosophical tradition. However, a new wave of revisionist scholarship has shown him to be an appropriator of both philosophy and Sufism who did not identify fully with either. This book offers a new narrative of al-Ghazali’s life and thought, focusing on his masterpiece, the Revival of the Religious Sciences, and presenting him as an engaged religious scholar who aimed to transform the religious landscape of his age. Rather than an inward-directed seeker, al-Ghazali was an outward-directed reviver, the first in the Islamic tradition to so consciously marshal the rhetoric of revival and reform.
Kenneth Garden
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- April 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199989621
- eISBN:
- 9780199395590
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199989621.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
Al-Ghazali’s masterpiece, the Revival of the Religious Sciences, has been misunderstood and mischaracterized. It is not a work of Sufism, but of what al-Ghazali calls the “Science of the Hereafter.” ...
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Al-Ghazali’s masterpiece, the Revival of the Religious Sciences, has been misunderstood and mischaracterized. It is not a work of Sufism, but of what al-Ghazali calls the “Science of the Hereafter.” This science, in turn, is divided into the “Science of Praxis” and the “Science of Unveiling,” and the Revival focuses on the former. Praxis aims ultimately at Unveiling, knowledge of God and His creation, whose reward is “felicity” in the hereafter, a reward above the salvation enjoyed by most believers. Praxis begins with following the law in a spirit that looks beyond its letter to the higher goal of single-minded dedication to God. It further entails the cultivation of ethical self-perfection through methods drawn from both Sufism and philosophy.Less
Al-Ghazali’s masterpiece, the Revival of the Religious Sciences, has been misunderstood and mischaracterized. It is not a work of Sufism, but of what al-Ghazali calls the “Science of the Hereafter.” This science, in turn, is divided into the “Science of Praxis” and the “Science of Unveiling,” and the Revival focuses on the former. Praxis aims ultimately at Unveiling, knowledge of God and His creation, whose reward is “felicity” in the hereafter, a reward above the salvation enjoyed by most believers. Praxis begins with following the law in a spirit that looks beyond its letter to the higher goal of single-minded dedication to God. It further entails the cultivation of ethical self-perfection through methods drawn from both Sufism and philosophy.
Kenneth Garden
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- April 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199989621
- eISBN:
- 9780199395590
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199989621.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
Building on recent revisionist scholarship, this book offers a new overview of the last two decades of the life of the seminal 11th-century Islamic thinker Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (d. 1111). It focuses ...
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Building on recent revisionist scholarship, this book offers a new overview of the last two decades of the life of the seminal 11th-century Islamic thinker Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (d. 1111). It focuses on his masterpiece, the Revival of the Religious Sciences, and argues that al-Ghazali was the first Muslim thinker to self-consciously marshal the rhetoric of revival to promote his new vision of the Islamic religious sciences. This vision was not a Sufi one, as has often been asserted. Rather, the “Science of the Hereafter” that is the subject of the Revival draws on Islamic law, Sufism, and the philosophy al-Ghazali is understood to have refuted. While his autobiography suggests that his masterpiece grew out of a radical break with his earlier thought, a reading of his earlier work shows that its major theses were present before his famous spiritual crisis. Al-Ghazali’s letters show him actively promoting his revivalist agenda in the final decade and a half of his life. Reconstructing a controversy over the Revival later in his life, this book contextualizes al-Ghazali’s famous autobiography and explains what led him to give such a misleading account of his life and thought.Less
Building on recent revisionist scholarship, this book offers a new overview of the last two decades of the life of the seminal 11th-century Islamic thinker Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (d. 1111). It focuses on his masterpiece, the Revival of the Religious Sciences, and argues that al-Ghazali was the first Muslim thinker to self-consciously marshal the rhetoric of revival to promote his new vision of the Islamic religious sciences. This vision was not a Sufi one, as has often been asserted. Rather, the “Science of the Hereafter” that is the subject of the Revival draws on Islamic law, Sufism, and the philosophy al-Ghazali is understood to have refuted. While his autobiography suggests that his masterpiece grew out of a radical break with his earlier thought, a reading of his earlier work shows that its major theses were present before his famous spiritual crisis. Al-Ghazali’s letters show him actively promoting his revivalist agenda in the final decade and a half of his life. Reconstructing a controversy over the Revival later in his life, this book contextualizes al-Ghazali’s famous autobiography and explains what led him to give such a misleading account of his life and thought.
Kenneth Garden
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- April 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199989621
- eISBN:
- 9780199395590
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199989621.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
This book offers a narrative of al-Ghazali’s biography that is at odds with the best known accounts of his life, which draw heavily on the Deliverer from Error. This conclusion returns to the ...
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This book offers a narrative of al-Ghazali’s biography that is at odds with the best known accounts of his life, which draw heavily on the Deliverer from Error. This conclusion returns to the Deliverer to show that the account of al-Ghazali’s life found in this book can also be found in al-Ghazali’s autobiography, casting that work in a very different light.Less
This book offers a narrative of al-Ghazali’s biography that is at odds with the best known accounts of his life, which draw heavily on the Deliverer from Error. This conclusion returns to the Deliverer to show that the account of al-Ghazali’s life found in this book can also be found in al-Ghazali’s autobiography, casting that work in a very different light.
