Robert Pasnau
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780197265499
- eISBN:
- 9780191760310
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265499.003.0006
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy
Who can know? Who can merely believe on faith? Who should be kept in the dark entirely? This chapter considers various episodes from the history of philosophy—Locke, Aquinas, Averroes, Maimonides, ...
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Who can know? Who can merely believe on faith? Who should be kept in the dark entirely? This chapter considers various episodes from the history of philosophy—Locke, Aquinas, Averroes, Maimonides, al-Ghazali—where one or another such division of epistemic labour has been affirmed. It ends by considering the case that can be made for keeping secret some philosophical doctrines.Less
Who can know? Who can merely believe on faith? Who should be kept in the dark entirely? This chapter considers various episodes from the history of philosophy—Locke, Aquinas, Averroes, Maimonides, al-Ghazali—where one or another such division of epistemic labour has been affirmed. It ends by considering the case that can be made for keeping secret some philosophical doctrines.
Frank Griffel
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195331622
- eISBN:
- 9780199867998
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195331622.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology, Islam
Al-Ghazali (d. 1111) is one of the most important theologians, philosophers, and Sufis of Islam. Born around 1056 in northeastern Iran, he became the holder of the most prestigious academic post in ...
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Al-Ghazali (d. 1111) is one of the most important theologians, philosophers, and Sufis of Islam. Born around 1056 in northeastern Iran, he became the holder of the most prestigious academic post in Islamic theology in Baghdad, only to renounce that position and teach at small schools in the provinces for no money. His contributions to Islamic scholarship range from responding to the challenges of Aristotelian philosophy to creating a new type of mysticism in Islam, and integrating both these traditions—falsafa and Sufism—into the Sunni mainstream. Using the most authoritative sources, including reports of his students, his contemporaries, and his own letters, this book reconstructs every stage in al-Ghazali’s turbulent career. The al-Ghazali that emerges still offers many surprises, particularly on his motives for leaving Baghdad and the nature of his “seclusion” afterwards. In its close study of al-Ghazali’s cosmology—meaning, how God creates things and events in the world, how human acts relate to God’s power, and how the universe is structured—the book reveals the significant philosophical influence on al-Ghazali. His cosmology has always been one of the most challenging aspects of his work. This book shows how al-Ghazali created a new discourse on cosmology that moved away from concerns held earlier among Muslim theologians and Arab philosophers. This new cosmology was structured to provide a framework for the pursuit of the natural sciences and a basis for science and philosophy in Islam to continue to flourish beyond the 12th century.Less
Al-Ghazali (d. 1111) is one of the most important theologians, philosophers, and Sufis of Islam. Born around 1056 in northeastern Iran, he became the holder of the most prestigious academic post in Islamic theology in Baghdad, only to renounce that position and teach at small schools in the provinces for no money. His contributions to Islamic scholarship range from responding to the challenges of Aristotelian philosophy to creating a new type of mysticism in Islam, and integrating both these traditions—falsafa and Sufism—into the Sunni mainstream. Using the most authoritative sources, including reports of his students, his contemporaries, and his own letters, this book reconstructs every stage in al-Ghazali’s turbulent career. The al-Ghazali that emerges still offers many surprises, particularly on his motives for leaving Baghdad and the nature of his “seclusion” afterwards. In its close study of al-Ghazali’s cosmology—meaning, how God creates things and events in the world, how human acts relate to God’s power, and how the universe is structured—the book reveals the significant philosophical influence on al-Ghazali. His cosmology has always been one of the most challenging aspects of his work. This book shows how al-Ghazali created a new discourse on cosmology that moved away from concerns held earlier among Muslim theologians and Arab philosophers. This new cosmology was structured to provide a framework for the pursuit of the natural sciences and a basis for science and philosophy in Islam to continue to flourish beyond the 12th century.
Jon McGinnis
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195331479
- eISBN:
- 9780199868032
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195331479.003.0010
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
Prior to Avicenna, philosophy in Arabic-speaking lands was identified with a Neoplatonized Aristotelianism; however, after him it was Avicenna’s philosophical vision that came to dominate, which ...
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Prior to Avicenna, philosophy in Arabic-speaking lands was identified with a Neoplatonized Aristotelianism; however, after him it was Avicenna’s philosophical vision that came to dominate, which itself incorporated the best of ancient Greek science and philosophy with the Islamic religion, law, and theology. Even among later Jewish and Christian philosophers, Avicenna was to have a significant influence. This chapter, thus, considers some of the more notable instances of Avicenna’s influence both on Judeo-Islamic philosophical theology and Christian scholasticism. The chapter gestures at Avicenna’s influence on such luminaries within the intellectual circles of Muslims and Jews as the great Islamic theologian al-Ghazālī, as-Suhrawardī, the founder of the Illuminationist school, and the renowned Jewish philosopher Moses Maimonides, while Christian philosophers in the Latin West inspired by Avicenna include Albert the Great, Thomas Aquinas, and Duns Scotus.Less
Prior to Avicenna, philosophy in Arabic-speaking lands was identified with a Neoplatonized Aristotelianism; however, after him it was Avicenna’s philosophical vision that came to dominate, which itself incorporated the best of ancient Greek science and philosophy with the Islamic religion, law, and theology. Even among later Jewish and Christian philosophers, Avicenna was to have a significant influence. This chapter, thus, considers some of the more notable instances of Avicenna’s influence both on Judeo-Islamic philosophical theology and Christian scholasticism. The chapter gestures at Avicenna’s influence on such luminaries within the intellectual circles of Muslims and Jews as the great Islamic theologian al-Ghazālī, as-Suhrawardī, the founder of the Illuminationist school, and the renowned Jewish philosopher Moses Maimonides, while Christian philosophers in the Latin West inspired by Avicenna include Albert the Great, Thomas Aquinas, and Duns Scotus.
Anver M. Emon
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199579006
- eISBN:
- 9780191722639
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199579006.003.0004
- Subject:
- Law, Philosophy of Law, Legal History
This chapter explores how Voluntarist jurists, who rejected Hard Natural Law, nonetheless developed their own natural law theory by fusing fact and value, but nonetheless upheld their voluntarist ...
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This chapter explores how Voluntarist jurists, who rejected Hard Natural Law, nonetheless developed their own natural law theory by fusing fact and value, but nonetheless upheld their voluntarist commitment to divine omnipotence. Soft Natural Law jurists relied on a theology of God's grace (tafaddul, fadl), and the authority of source-texts to fuse fact and value in nature, but contingently so. By fusing fact and value on the basis of divine grace (fadl), Soft Natural Law jurists allowed for the possibility that God may change His mind. Divine grace in Soft Natural Law permits the fusion of fact and value in nature, while at the same time rendering nature contingent in a way that Hard Natural Law theorists did not allow. The chapter provides an overview of different jurists' Soft Natural Law theories, illustrating both the core concepts of Soft Natural Law, as well as the different approaches to this type of natural law theory.Less
This chapter explores how Voluntarist jurists, who rejected Hard Natural Law, nonetheless developed their own natural law theory by fusing fact and value, but nonetheless upheld their voluntarist commitment to divine omnipotence. Soft Natural Law jurists relied on a theology of God's grace (tafaddul, fadl), and the authority of source-texts to fuse fact and value in nature, but contingently so. By fusing fact and value on the basis of divine grace (fadl), Soft Natural Law jurists allowed for the possibility that God may change His mind. Divine grace in Soft Natural Law permits the fusion of fact and value in nature, while at the same time rendering nature contingent in a way that Hard Natural Law theorists did not allow. The chapter provides an overview of different jurists' Soft Natural Law theories, illustrating both the core concepts of Soft Natural Law, as well as the different approaches to this type of natural law theory.
Frank Griffel
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195331622
- eISBN:
- 9780199867998
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195331622.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology, Islam
Earlier Western researchers have often assumed that the history of Arabic-Islamic philosophy ended with Averroes at the turn to the 13th century and that al-Ghazali’s critique of philosophy in his ...
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Earlier Western researchers have often assumed that the history of Arabic-Islamic philosophy ended with Averroes at the turn to the 13th century and that al-Ghazali’s critique of philosophy in his Incoherence of the Philosophers (Tahafut al-falasifa) was responsible for its rapid decline. In reality, however, al-Ghazali did not destroy the tradition of Aristotelian philosophy in Islam, rather he integrated it into the Muslim theological discourse and was thus an active part of the “naturalization” of the Greek science in Islam.Less
Earlier Western researchers have often assumed that the history of Arabic-Islamic philosophy ended with Averroes at the turn to the 13th century and that al-Ghazali’s critique of philosophy in his Incoherence of the Philosophers (Tahafut al-falasifa) was responsible for its rapid decline. In reality, however, al-Ghazali did not destroy the tradition of Aristotelian philosophy in Islam, rather he integrated it into the Muslim theological discourse and was thus an active part of the “naturalization” of the Greek science in Islam.
Frank Griffel
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195331622
- eISBN:
- 9780199867998
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195331622.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology, Islam
Reviewing the early sources on al-Ghazali’s life and comparing them with information that he himself gives in his Persian letters leads to the conclusion that he was born around 1056, roughly two ...
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Reviewing the early sources on al-Ghazali’s life and comparing them with information that he himself gives in his Persian letters leads to the conclusion that he was born around 1056, roughly two years than usually assumed. His family was more prominent among the scholars of Iran than the Muslim historians like to admit. An early contact with his later mentor Nizam al-Mulk is likely. Al-Ghazali’s so-called “crisis” in 1095, when he left Baghdad, was the result of a log-lasting development and was triggered by his changed attitude towards the Seljuq state authorities. His subsequent “seclusion” was merely a deliberate absence from schools (madrasas) that were supported with state funds. He continued to teach, however, at small private madrasas and at no point did al-Ghazali seclude himself from his students and followers.Less
Reviewing the early sources on al-Ghazali’s life and comparing them with information that he himself gives in his Persian letters leads to the conclusion that he was born around 1056, roughly two years than usually assumed. His family was more prominent among the scholars of Iran than the Muslim historians like to admit. An early contact with his later mentor Nizam al-Mulk is likely. Al-Ghazali’s so-called “crisis” in 1095, when he left Baghdad, was the result of a log-lasting development and was triggered by his changed attitude towards the Seljuq state authorities. His subsequent “seclusion” was merely a deliberate absence from schools (madrasas) that were supported with state funds. He continued to teach, however, at small private madrasas and at no point did al-Ghazali seclude himself from his students and followers.
Frank Griffel
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195331622
- eISBN:
- 9780199867998
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195331622.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology, Islam
Al-Ghazali was the most influential writer about religious and philosophical subject during the 12th century in Islam. Every author of this period had to address his work, and in the most cases that ...
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Al-Ghazali was the most influential writer about religious and philosophical subject during the 12th century in Islam. Every author of this period had to address his work, and in the most cases that happened quite prominently. This chapter explains the close connections of six important thinkers of the early 12th century to al-Ghazali. Abu Bakr ibn al-‘Arabi was his most important student who left us valuable descriptions about his teaching activity. Others, like Ibn Tumart and ‘Ayn al-Qudat al-Hamadhani never met al-Ghazali, but were heavily influenced by his teachings and made these popular in the Muslim west or among the Sufis of Iran. Finally, this chapters studies the lasting influence of al-Ghazali teachings in the substantive rulings of Islamic law (furu’) where the active teachings tradition in Nishapur moved to Damascus during the 13th century.Less
Al-Ghazali was the most influential writer about religious and philosophical subject during the 12th century in Islam. Every author of this period had to address his work, and in the most cases that happened quite prominently. This chapter explains the close connections of six important thinkers of the early 12th century to al-Ghazali. Abu Bakr ibn al-‘Arabi was his most important student who left us valuable descriptions about his teaching activity. Others, like Ibn Tumart and ‘Ayn al-Qudat al-Hamadhani never met al-Ghazali, but were heavily influenced by his teachings and made these popular in the Muslim west or among the Sufis of Iran. Finally, this chapters studies the lasting influence of al-Ghazali teachings in the substantive rulings of Islamic law (furu’) where the active teachings tradition in Nishapur moved to Damascus during the 13th century.
Steven Nadler
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198250081
- eISBN:
- 9780191712586
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198250081.003.0011
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology
A number of philosophers, from the medieval period on (some of whom were occasionalists), have argued that a central feature of causal relations is a necessary connection between cause and effect. ...
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A number of philosophers, from the medieval period on (some of whom were occasionalists), have argued that a central feature of causal relations is a necessary connection between cause and effect. But they have also concluded that no such necessary connections are ever to be found among things or events in nature. This chapter examines this argument in its epistemological and ontological versions in al-Ghazali, Nicolas of Autrecourt, Malebranche, and Hume.Less
A number of philosophers, from the medieval period on (some of whom were occasionalists), have argued that a central feature of causal relations is a necessary connection between cause and effect. But they have also concluded that no such necessary connections are ever to be found among things or events in nature. This chapter examines this argument in its epistemological and ontological versions in al-Ghazali, Nicolas of Autrecourt, Malebranche, and Hume.
Mona Siddiqui
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780300211863
- eISBN:
- 9780300216028
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300211863.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
This chapter examines the views of Abū Hāmid al-Ghazālī, a Sunnī Muslim scholar, mystic, jurist and theologian of the medieval world, about eating and hospitality. It begins with an overview of the ...
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This chapter examines the views of Abū Hāmid al-Ghazālī, a Sunnī Muslim scholar, mystic, jurist and theologian of the medieval world, about eating and hospitality. It begins with an overview of the concepts of disciplining the soul according to Ghazālī before offering a close reading of Ghazālī's text, Manners relating to Eating (Kitāb ādāb al-akl). It then analyzes Ghazālī's reflections on the virtues of hunger and fasting as well as frugality, humility, and patience. It also considers fasting, prayer, and almsgiving as virtues of abstention and generosity in both Christianity and Islam.Less
This chapter examines the views of Abū Hāmid al-Ghazālī, a Sunnī Muslim scholar, mystic, jurist and theologian of the medieval world, about eating and hospitality. It begins with an overview of the concepts of disciplining the soul according to Ghazālī before offering a close reading of Ghazālī's text, Manners relating to Eating (Kitāb ādāb al-akl). It then analyzes Ghazālī's reflections on the virtues of hunger and fasting as well as frugality, humility, and patience. It also considers fasting, prayer, and almsgiving as virtues of abstention and generosity in both Christianity and Islam.
David Cook
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199751198
- eISBN:
- 9780199918782
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199751198.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter begins by noting that teaching “Islamic Mysticism” is problematic on several fronts. Any pedagogical strategy would do well to begin with identifying how the term mysticism can be ...
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This chapter begins by noting that teaching “Islamic Mysticism” is problematic on several fronts. Any pedagogical strategy would do well to begin with identifying how the term mysticism can be applied to Islam. This being thoroughly vetted, the course focuses primarily on Sufism—which is a vast, broad system that has come to permeate Islam over the past 1000 years, and yet remains distinct from it, often being rejected as being “non-Muslim.” In addressing how to speak of Sufism, one must include not only an overview of its central historical developments, holy figures, and practices (e.g., the creative images and metaphors of al-Ghazali, the immortal poetry of Jalal al-Din Rumi, the mystical visions of Ibn al-`Arabi), but also a discussion of controversial debates (e.g., are the methods used by Sufi holy figures truly Islamic? Do the creative and sometimes risqué interpretations of the holy texts that they preach go beyond the boundaries of strict monotheism?). Additionally, consideration will be given to how Sufism has provided the means for mass conversions to Islam and provided a creative ground for Islamic art and culture. Sample syllabus included.Less
This chapter begins by noting that teaching “Islamic Mysticism” is problematic on several fronts. Any pedagogical strategy would do well to begin with identifying how the term mysticism can be applied to Islam. This being thoroughly vetted, the course focuses primarily on Sufism—which is a vast, broad system that has come to permeate Islam over the past 1000 years, and yet remains distinct from it, often being rejected as being “non-Muslim.” In addressing how to speak of Sufism, one must include not only an overview of its central historical developments, holy figures, and practices (e.g., the creative images and metaphors of al-Ghazali, the immortal poetry of Jalal al-Din Rumi, the mystical visions of Ibn al-`Arabi), but also a discussion of controversial debates (e.g., are the methods used by Sufi holy figures truly Islamic? Do the creative and sometimes risqué interpretations of the holy texts that they preach go beyond the boundaries of strict monotheism?). Additionally, consideration will be given to how Sufism has provided the means for mass conversions to Islam and provided a creative ground for Islamic art and culture. Sample syllabus included.
Julian Johansen
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198267577
- eISBN:
- 9780191683305
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198267577.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
The Arabic mawlid denotes the general celebrations at the actual or supposed birthdate of a Saint. It is one of the most immediate and outwardly obvious of the controversial issues which is ...
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The Arabic mawlid denotes the general celebrations at the actual or supposed birthdate of a Saint. It is one of the most immediate and outwardly obvious of the controversial issues which is discussed, and is a good point of introduction to more theological and speculative questions. The questions of celebration, levity, dignity, public order, and reputation are treated in various combinations. The samā' polemic is illustrated. There is no Islamic legal debate over the legitimacy of the more colourful practices about which al-Jabartī is so forthright and to which Sheikh Muṭammad merely alludes. The contribution of al-Ghazālī is reported. It also emphasizes the main ṭaḍra of the Ḥusayniyya at the mawlid of al-Ḥusayn and the private session (majlis) which immediately followed it. The classical perspective of al-Ghazālī on the variables of time, place and participants, and the Muṭammadiyya Shādhiliyya and the Ḥusayniyya Orders are reviewed as well.Less
The Arabic mawlid denotes the general celebrations at the actual or supposed birthdate of a Saint. It is one of the most immediate and outwardly obvious of the controversial issues which is discussed, and is a good point of introduction to more theological and speculative questions. The questions of celebration, levity, dignity, public order, and reputation are treated in various combinations. The samā' polemic is illustrated. There is no Islamic legal debate over the legitimacy of the more colourful practices about which al-Jabartī is so forthright and to which Sheikh Muṭammad merely alludes. The contribution of al-Ghazālī is reported. It also emphasizes the main ṭaḍra of the Ḥusayniyya at the mawlid of al-Ḥusayn and the private session (majlis) which immediately followed it. The classical perspective of al-Ghazālī on the variables of time, place and participants, and the Muṭammadiyya Shādhiliyya and the Ḥusayniyya Orders are reviewed as well.
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231166164
- eISBN:
- 9780231537421
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231166164.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology
Al-Ishārāt wal-Tanbīhāt (Remarks and Admonitions) is one of the most mature and comprehensive philosophical works by Ibn Sina (Avicenna, 980–1037). Grounded in an exploration of logic (which Ibn Sina ...
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Al-Ishārāt wal-Tanbīhāt (Remarks and Admonitions) is one of the most mature and comprehensive philosophical works by Ibn Sina (Avicenna, 980–1037). Grounded in an exploration of logic (which Ibn Sina described as the gate to knowledge) and happiness (the ultimate human goal), the text illuminates the divine, the human being, and the nature of things through a wide-ranging discussion of topics. The sections of Physics and Metaphysics deal with the nature of bodies and souls as well as existence, creation, and knowledge. Especially important are Ibn Sina's views of God's knowledge of particulars, which generated much controversy in medieval Islamic and Christian philosophical and theological circles and provoked a strong rejection by eleventh-century philosopher al-Ghazali. This book provides the first annotated English translation of Physics and Metaphysics and edits the original Arabic text on which the translation is based. It begins with a detailed analysis of the text, followed by a translation of the three classes or groups of ideas in the Physics (On the Substance of Bodies, On the Directions and Their Primary and Secondary Bodies, and On the Terrestrial and Celestial Souls) and the four in the Metaphysics (On Existence and Its Causes, Creation Ex Nihilo and Immediate Creation, On Ends, on Their Principles, and on the Arrangement [of Existence], and On Abstraction. The Metaphysics closes with a significant discussion of the concepts of providence, good, and evil, which Ibn Sina uses to introduce a theodicy.Less
Al-Ishārāt wal-Tanbīhāt (Remarks and Admonitions) is one of the most mature and comprehensive philosophical works by Ibn Sina (Avicenna, 980–1037). Grounded in an exploration of logic (which Ibn Sina described as the gate to knowledge) and happiness (the ultimate human goal), the text illuminates the divine, the human being, and the nature of things through a wide-ranging discussion of topics. The sections of Physics and Metaphysics deal with the nature of bodies and souls as well as existence, creation, and knowledge. Especially important are Ibn Sina's views of God's knowledge of particulars, which generated much controversy in medieval Islamic and Christian philosophical and theological circles and provoked a strong rejection by eleventh-century philosopher al-Ghazali. This book provides the first annotated English translation of Physics and Metaphysics and edits the original Arabic text on which the translation is based. It begins with a detailed analysis of the text, followed by a translation of the three classes or groups of ideas in the Physics (On the Substance of Bodies, On the Directions and Their Primary and Secondary Bodies, and On the Terrestrial and Celestial Souls) and the four in the Metaphysics (On Existence and Its Causes, Creation Ex Nihilo and Immediate Creation, On Ends, on Their Principles, and on the Arrangement [of Existence], and On Abstraction. The Metaphysics closes with a significant discussion of the concepts of providence, good, and evil, which Ibn Sina uses to introduce a theodicy.
Anver M. Emon, Matthew Levering, and David Novak
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- June 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780198706601
- eISBN:
- 9780191778469
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198706601.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology, Judaism
This book critically and constructively explores the resources offered for natural law doctrine by classical thinkers from three traditions: Jewish, Christian, and Islamic. The book is a trialogue ...
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This book critically and constructively explores the resources offered for natural law doctrine by classical thinkers from three traditions: Jewish, Christian, and Islamic. The book is a trialogue which offers three programmatic chapters on natural law doctrine in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions and responses to each chapter. Drawing on the classical sources of each religious tradition, the book reflects upon certain philosophical, theological, and legal issues and problems regarding natural law doctrine. Readers will gain a sense for how natural law (or cognate terms) resonated with classical thinkers such as Maimonides, Origen, Augustine, al-Ghazali and numerous others. Indeed, the book explores how natural law doctrine functions in particular traditions, not only for assessing the coherence of natural law for comparative purposes, but also for reflecting upon how a natural law approach offers new insights on how each tradition imagines its religious “other”. As the book reflects on how each tradition can be mined for constructive reflection on natural law today, a key theme throughout the book is how the particularity of the respective religious tradition is squared with the evident universality of natural law claims.Less
This book critically and constructively explores the resources offered for natural law doctrine by classical thinkers from three traditions: Jewish, Christian, and Islamic. The book is a trialogue which offers three programmatic chapters on natural law doctrine in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions and responses to each chapter. Drawing on the classical sources of each religious tradition, the book reflects upon certain philosophical, theological, and legal issues and problems regarding natural law doctrine. Readers will gain a sense for how natural law (or cognate terms) resonated with classical thinkers such as Maimonides, Origen, Augustine, al-Ghazali and numerous others. Indeed, the book explores how natural law doctrine functions in particular traditions, not only for assessing the coherence of natural law for comparative purposes, but also for reflecting upon how a natural law approach offers new insights on how each tradition imagines its religious “other”. As the book reflects on how each tradition can be mined for constructive reflection on natural law today, a key theme throughout the book is how the particularity of the respective religious tradition is squared with the evident universality of natural law claims.
Massimo Campanini
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748639946
- eISBN:
- 9780748653294
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748639946.003.0012
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Middle Eastern Studies
This chapter attempts to place al-Ghazālī's political thought in the context of the Seljuq sultanate and the late Abbasid caliphate, based on the two premises: that al-Ghazālī's political thought is ...
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This chapter attempts to place al-Ghazālī's political thought in the context of the Seljuq sultanate and the late Abbasid caliphate, based on the two premises: that al-Ghazālī's political thought is as important as his theological thought; and that it is understandable only in the light of the political developments of his time. The chapter begins by formulating an answer to the issue of whether the Seljuqs revitalised Islam. It is argued that the Seljuqs somehow brought a measure of order to the chaotic Muslim world; however, in doing so, they sacrificed the prestige and the role of the caliphate. It has been debated whether the Seljuqs were the defenders or the enemies of the caliphate. In a sense, they defended the caliphate as they have allowed it to endure for a few centuries but from another point of view, they were enemies of the caliphate as they imposed a secular image of power against the religious legitimisation of the caliphal power. In other words, while the Seljuqs protected the caliphate institution from enemies and adversaries, they however made it evident that the management of power in Islam was no longer a question of the Islamic state but rather of an Islamic mode of the state. These contentions are examined closely in this chapter.Less
This chapter attempts to place al-Ghazālī's political thought in the context of the Seljuq sultanate and the late Abbasid caliphate, based on the two premises: that al-Ghazālī's political thought is as important as his theological thought; and that it is understandable only in the light of the political developments of his time. The chapter begins by formulating an answer to the issue of whether the Seljuqs revitalised Islam. It is argued that the Seljuqs somehow brought a measure of order to the chaotic Muslim world; however, in doing so, they sacrificed the prestige and the role of the caliphate. It has been debated whether the Seljuqs were the defenders or the enemies of the caliphate. In a sense, they defended the caliphate as they have allowed it to endure for a few centuries but from another point of view, they were enemies of the caliphate as they imposed a secular image of power against the religious legitimisation of the caliphal power. In other words, while the Seljuqs protected the caliphate institution from enemies and adversaries, they however made it evident that the management of power in Islam was no longer a question of the Islamic state but rather of an Islamic mode of the state. These contentions are examined closely in this chapter.
David B. Burrell
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780823243198
- eISBN:
- 9780823243235
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823243198.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
Burrell's life is interwoven with the University of Notre Dame, the Congregation of the Holy Cross and experience of teaching in America, Bangladesh, Israel and Uganda. Under the guidance of ...
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Burrell's life is interwoven with the University of Notre Dame, the Congregation of the Holy Cross and experience of teaching in America, Bangladesh, Israel and Uganda. Under the guidance of Lonergan, a deep relationship to the philosophical-theological approach of Aquinas acted as a preparation for the encounter with Maimonides and al-Ghazali. The importance of Jewish-Christian-Muslim engagement is exemplified by the Centre at Tantur and later by devotion to comparative theology as a vehicle for sharpening Christian theological understanding. This is drawn out by sections devoted to aspects of the theology of Trinity, Christology and Original Sin. The chapter ends with a call for intellectual humility as an essential component of the life of theology, dialogue and witness.Less
Burrell's life is interwoven with the University of Notre Dame, the Congregation of the Holy Cross and experience of teaching in America, Bangladesh, Israel and Uganda. Under the guidance of Lonergan, a deep relationship to the philosophical-theological approach of Aquinas acted as a preparation for the encounter with Maimonides and al-Ghazali. The importance of Jewish-Christian-Muslim engagement is exemplified by the Centre at Tantur and later by devotion to comparative theology as a vehicle for sharpening Christian theological understanding. This is drawn out by sections devoted to aspects of the theology of Trinity, Christology and Original Sin. The chapter ends with a call for intellectual humility as an essential component of the life of theology, dialogue and witness.
Joshua Ralston
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780823274666
- eISBN:
- 9780823274710
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823274666.003.0014
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
Joshua Ralston observes that the Christian tendency to place law in an oppositional relationship to love, grace, and/or the gospel has had unfortunate byproducts. It denigrates Judaism and Islam and ...
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Joshua Ralston observes that the Christian tendency to place law in an oppositional relationship to love, grace, and/or the gospel has had unfortunate byproducts. It denigrates Judaism and Islam and misconstrues their conceptions of the Compassionate One who gives Torah and/or shari‘a for the sake of human flourishing. Thinking beyond such divisions, this essay explores points of convergence and divergence in the thinking of the Protestant reformer John Calvin and the Islamic jurist, mystic, and reformer al-Ghazali. Al-Ghazali’s understanding of shari‘a as a pathway to the common good that is willed by the Compassionate and Merciful One resonates with Calvin’s third use of the law. Together, these revise the adversarial renderings of law in Calvin’s first and second uses. Christian theology might therefore embrace an understanding of gospel and law—or, better, the way or shari’a of God—that focuses on the path to flourishing.Less
Joshua Ralston observes that the Christian tendency to place law in an oppositional relationship to love, grace, and/or the gospel has had unfortunate byproducts. It denigrates Judaism and Islam and misconstrues their conceptions of the Compassionate One who gives Torah and/or shari‘a for the sake of human flourishing. Thinking beyond such divisions, this essay explores points of convergence and divergence in the thinking of the Protestant reformer John Calvin and the Islamic jurist, mystic, and reformer al-Ghazali. Al-Ghazali’s understanding of shari‘a as a pathway to the common good that is willed by the Compassionate and Merciful One resonates with Calvin’s third use of the law. Together, these revise the adversarial renderings of law in Calvin’s first and second uses. Christian theology might therefore embrace an understanding of gospel and law—or, better, the way or shari’a of God—that focuses on the path to flourishing.
Diana Lobel
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231153157
- eISBN:
- 9780231527019
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231153157.003.0010
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
This chapter examines Abū Hāmid al-Ghazālī's dialectic between active life and contemplation and how it relates to Moses Maimonides's vision. At the height of his theological career, al-Ghazālī, a ...
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This chapter examines Abū Hāmid al-Ghazālī's dialectic between active life and contemplation and how it relates to Moses Maimonides's vision. At the height of his theological career, al-Ghazālī, a Muslim religious judge and teacher, was beset by a crisis that caused him to leave his position and retire into contemplation. Ghazālī reveals that it was God who guided him to withdraw into seclusion and then return to teaching. What he discovered, he writes, was the true purpose and end of religious life: direct experience of the Divine. His experience speaks to the power of knowledge gained in contemplation to transform action in the world.Less
This chapter examines Abū Hāmid al-Ghazālī's dialectic between active life and contemplation and how it relates to Moses Maimonides's vision. At the height of his theological career, al-Ghazālī, a Muslim religious judge and teacher, was beset by a crisis that caused him to leave his position and retire into contemplation. Ghazālī reveals that it was God who guided him to withdraw into seclusion and then return to teaching. What he discovered, he writes, was the true purpose and end of religious life: direct experience of the Divine. His experience speaks to the power of knowledge gained in contemplation to transform action in the world.
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.
Francis R. Bradley
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824851613
- eISBN:
- 9780824868093
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824851613.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
Chapter four charts the activities of a small displaced population that settled in Mecca in the late 1780s, by concentrating upon the life and works of the prolific Shaykh Daud bin ‘Abd Allah ...
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Chapter four charts the activities of a small displaced population that settled in Mecca in the late 1780s, by concentrating upon the life and works of the prolific Shaykh Daud bin ‘Abd Allah al-Fatani. His intellectual influences are given considerable attention because they were to color the thought of the Patani communities throughout much of the century that followed. These influences include key figures in Sufism such as Ibn Arabi, al-Ghazali, among many others, as well al-Nawawi and a number of other founding figures of jurisprudence in the Shafi school.Less
Chapter four charts the activities of a small displaced population that settled in Mecca in the late 1780s, by concentrating upon the life and works of the prolific Shaykh Daud bin ‘Abd Allah al-Fatani. His intellectual influences are given considerable attention because they were to color the thought of the Patani communities throughout much of the century that followed. These influences include key figures in Sufism such as Ibn Arabi, al-Ghazali, among many others, as well al-Nawawi and a number of other founding figures of jurisprudence in the Shafi school.
Francis R. Bradley
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824851613
- eISBN:
- 9780824868093
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824851613.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
In chapter five, I analyze two key texts by Shaykh Dā’ūd, Munyat al-Musalli and Al-Manhal al-Safi, influenced by Ibn Arabi and Muhammad al-Burhanpuri, that informed the social practice of Islam for a ...
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In chapter five, I analyze two key texts by Shaykh Dā’ūd, Munyat al-Musalli and Al-Manhal al-Safi, influenced by Ibn Arabi and Muhammad al-Burhanpuri, that informed the social practice of Islam for a community that was increasingly religious and text-focused. The chapter analyzes how al-Fatani intended these newly introduced ideas to have a temporal effect upon the community by reinvigorating it and causing it to morally rebound such that Patani might stand stronger and more resolute against its enemies. Advocating for his followers practice salat and to embark on a personal journey seeking martabat tujuh, al-Fatani set forth a path for the Patani community to follow.Less
In chapter five, I analyze two key texts by Shaykh Dā’ūd, Munyat al-Musalli and Al-Manhal al-Safi, influenced by Ibn Arabi and Muhammad al-Burhanpuri, that informed the social practice of Islam for a community that was increasingly religious and text-focused. The chapter analyzes how al-Fatani intended these newly introduced ideas to have a temporal effect upon the community by reinvigorating it and causing it to morally rebound such that Patani might stand stronger and more resolute against its enemies. Advocating for his followers practice salat and to embark on a personal journey seeking martabat tujuh, al-Fatani set forth a path for the Patani community to follow.
