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Although Abu Hamid Muhammad al-Ghazali lived a relatively short
life (1058-1111), he established himself as one of the most
important thinkers in the history of Islam. "The Incoherence of the
Philosophers," written after more than a decade of travel and
ascetic contemplation, contends that while such Muslim philosophers
as Avicenna boasted of unassailable arguments on matters of
theology and metaphysics, they could not deliver on their claims;
moreover, many of their assertions represented disguised heresy and
unbelief. Despite its attempted refutation by the twelfth-century
philosopher Ibn Rushd, al-Ghazali's work remains widely read and
influential.
Centuries after his death, al-Ghazali remains one of the most influential figures of the Islamic intellectual tradition. Although he is best known for his Incoherence of the Philosophers, Moderation in Belief is his most profound work of philosophical theology. In it, he offers what scholars consider to be the best defense of the Ash'arite school of Islamic theology that gained acceptance within orthodox Sunni theology in the twelfth century, though he also diverges from Ash'arism with his more rationalist approach to the Quran. Together with The Incoherence of the Philosophers, Moderation in Belief informs many subsequent theological debates, and its influence extends beyond the Islamic tradition, informing broader questions within Western philosophical and theological thought. The first complete English-language edition of Moderation in Belief, this new annotated translation by Aladdin M. Yaqub draws on the most esteemed critical editions of the Arabic texts and offers detailed commentary that analyzes and reconstructs the arguments found in the work's four treatises. Explanations of the historical and intellectual background of the texts also enable readers with a limited knowledge of classical Arabic to fully explore al-Ghazali and this foundational text for the first time. With the recent resurgence of interest in Islamic philosophy and the conflict between philosophy and religion, this new translation will be a welcome addition to the scholarship.
Abu Hamid Muhammad al-Ghazali's philosophical explorations covered
nearly the entire spectrum of twelfth-century beliefs. Beginning
his career as a skeptic, he ended it as a scholar of mysticism and
orthodoxy. "The Niche of Lights," written near the end of his
illustrious career, advances the philosophically important idea
that reason can serve as a connection between the devout and God.
Al-Ghazali argues that abstracting God from the world, as he
believed theologians did, was not sufficient for understanding.
Exploring the boundary between philosophy and theology, "The Niche
of Lights" seeks to understand the role of reality in the
perception of the spiritual.
Being the twenty-sixth book of The Revival of the Religious Sciences (Ihya' 'ulum al-din), The Book of the Censure of This World (Kitab Dhamm al-dunya) seeks to persuade its reader of the folly of worldly pleasures and possessions.To do so, al-Ghazali begins with a collection of Islamic primary-source texts that speak to the dangers of this world from a variety of angles. He then adds to this collection fourteen metaphors for this world that illustrate its perfidious nature. In a third subsection, al-Ghazali provides an original rationale for renouncing worldly enjoyments, and he furnishes his reader with a blueprint for determining what constitutes 'this world' in its most dangerous sense. In a fourth and final subsection, al-Ghazali applies a sociological theory to enumerate the essential human vocations and identify the mechanisms through which these lead people away from God.
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