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LECTURE :9
Al-Ghazali (1056–1111)
Introduction:
Al-Ghazali’s full name is Muhammad Ibn Muhammad Ibn Muhammad Ibn Ahmad
al-Tusi. He was born in 450/1058 in Tus, Khurasan near Meshhad in present-day
Iran. He bore the title of respect Hujjat al-Islam (Proof of Islam) for the role he
played in defending Islam against the trends of thought that existed at the
time. Although he was born in Tus, a Persian, non-Arabic land, Al-Ghazali wrote
the overwhelming majority of his works in Arabic, the lingua franca of his world.
His critique of philosophy followed, in a book he called Tahafut Al-Falasifah (The
Incoherence of the Philosophers). Almost all scholars tend to generalize and say
that al-Ghazali gave a coup de grace to philosophy in this book. Indeed, few
notice that he was critical of Greek metaphysics and its spread in an “Islamic”
dress at the hands of reputed Muslim philosophers such as Ibn Sina and Al-
Farabi. Before delving into al-Ghazali’s ideas, it is important to remember that he
lived in what might be described as a post-golden age context. The production of
the exact sciences faded away, the Islamic state had grown into a massive
caliphate that faced disintegration as the provincial governors gained power. Just
before al-Ghazali was born, the institution of the Sultan was introduced or rather
forced on Baghdad. The year 450 AH marked the first time a split in power took
place between the Sultan, who was the actual ruler, and the Caliph whose role
was reduced to dignitary functions.
His Times:
No account of al-Ghazali’s political theory would be complete without keeping in
view the conditions of the Muslim World in his times. Several factors were at
work in the Islamic World. Firstly, the Abbasid Caliphate was in a State of utter
decrepitude. A century earlier, in the days of al-Mawardi, it was still a force. But it
had lost all political influence in al- Ghazali’s time
Nevertheless, the Caliphate was now only a religio-spiritual office, without any
political influence. Secondly, the Seljuk Sultans were the real rulers of the
eastern regions of the Islamic World. Recognising their supremacy, al-Ghazali
declared sultanate or the sovereign power of the sultan or king as the protector
and defender of the Caliphate, an institution which he considered essential for
the unity of the Islamic World. Thirdly, the challenge of the Shia rulers of Egypt,
the Fatimids, was still a threat to the Abbasid Caliphate. Lastly, a new danger
had appeared in the very heartland of Islam i.e., in Palestine and Syria. It was the
incursion of the West European Crusaders or the Christian warriors of the Cross.
They had established the kingdom of Jerusalem and threatened to advance on to
other Muslim lands. It was in such perilous conditions that al-Ghazali expounded
his theory of caliphate as the defender and champion of the unity of that Islamic
World.
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Works:
Ehya-ul-Uloom (Revival of Religious Sciences)
Tibrul Masbuk (Molten Gold) a politico-ethical handbook.
Naseehat al-Muluk or Counsel for the Kings.
Theory of Khilafat:
Divine State:
According to al-Ghazali, the Khilafat is a divine State which “is required not by
reason but by the Shariah or divine law.” He thus denied the philosophers the
right to ex’amine the nature of the Caliphate. He further says that politics exists
for “man’s welfare in this world and bliss in the next.
Sultan or amir:
While the practical affairs of the State are to be left to the sultan or amir or the
ruler, the imam or Khalifa should devote himself to religious and spiritual
functions, for he is the “shadow of Allah” on earth He should, therefore, be
modest, simple and just, for he is a fountain of justice.
Khalifatulllah:
Khilafah/caliphate is a divine state and Allah (SWT) is the Supreme Authority.
Thus His divine laws should rule. He thought khilafah is necessary to protect
Muslim’s religious, social and political rights and from internal conspiracies and
external invasion. His definition of khalifah as khalifatulllah was an innovation in a
sense that the four earliest caliphs, Khulaf-e-Rashideen, never claimed to be
Khalifatullah but Khalifatur-Rasool (the successor of the Prophet).The Caliphate
comprehends the necessary power to accomplish the maintenance of order . It
represent or symbolizes the collective unity of the Muslim community and its
historical continuity.Deriving its functional and institutional authority from the
Shariah , It is the only legitimate form of government in Islam.
Nature of khalfa:
1.Necessity to accomplish the maintenance of order.
2.symbol of collective unity.
3.derives its authority from sharia.
Qualification of calipha:
Same as that of Al Mawardi.
1.honourable.
2.courageous.
3.wise.
4.must be able to defend muslim against their enemies .
5.can make judgement according to sharia.
6.must be Abbasid.
Appointment of the calipha:
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1.By designation of the prophet.
2.By ruling calipha.
3.by the holder of actual power.
Duties of Khalifah:
He must be able to wage jihad .
He must have knowledge for the purpose of ijtihad along with consultation of
religious expert .
He must be pious to carrry one his office as a political and religious entity .
He must establish justice and settle cases with fairness.
He must have knowledges of shariah and wisdom to endorse it as the rule of law.
He must be a practical Muslim and must show a reliable Muslim character.
He must be aware of the official matters and the perfomance of his
administrators.
He must keep his morality and must avoid immoral practices .
It is clear that Al-Ghazali agreed that an Islamic State should be a divine state
and it should be ruled under the divine laws .It isn’t something easy In order to be
a caliph ,because a person must fulfill certain requirements.
Daily Routines and Duties of “Amir”:
Al-Ghazali says that the daily routines of an Amir should be following:
1. The Amir, after morning prayers, should go out riding in order to have
investigation in person about wrongs done to his subject.
2. He should then sit in court and permit all and sundry to have a direct access
so that he might have first-hand information about any complaints.
3. The ruler should make a point of taking advice from simple men of knowledge,
intelligence and experience.
4. The ruler must extend interviews to foreign ambassadors and envoys. He
should be well-versed in diplomacy and politics.
5. Al-Ghazali strictly warns the Amir against too much indulgence in drink, chess
or hunting and says that the best mode of simple life be practiced.
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6. The Amir and good kings should used to divide their time in four parts, setting
apart one for prayers, another for state affairs, justice and counsel of the learned
about the affairs of the state, the third for food and rest, and the last for
recreation and hunting.
7. He is very particular that the Amir should not pay head to the advice offered by
his women favorites, and quotes the instance of Umar who actually divorced his
favorite wife when he was elated to his exalted office for fear of being influenced
by her in state affairs.
8. Al-Ghazali warns that the ruler must not show any favoritism, but instead must
appoint people on merits.
Influence:
Al-Ghazali had an important influence on both later Muslim philosophers and
Christian medieval philosophers. Margaret Smith writes in her book Al-Ghazali:
The Mystic "There can be no doubt that al-Ghazali’s works would be among the
first to attract the attention of these European scholars" Then she emphasizes,
"The greatest of these Christian writers who was influenced by al-Ghazali was St.
Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), who made a study of the Arabic writers and
admitted his indebtedness to them, having studied at the University of Naples
where the influence of Arab literature and culture was predominant at the time."
In addition, Aquinas' interest in Islamic studies could be attributed to the
infiltration of ‘Latin Averroism’ in the 13th century, especially at the University of
Paris.
Dimitri Gutas and the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy consider the period
between the 11th and 14th centuries to be the "Golden Age" of Arabic and
Islamic philosophy, initiated by Ghazali's successful integration of logic into the
Islamic seminary Madrasah curriculum.[38] He was the first to apply the
Avicennian system of temporal modal logic to Islamic theology.
Al-Ghazali also played a very major role in integrating Sufism with Shariah. He
was also the first to present a formal description of Sufism in his works. His
works also strengthened the status of Sunni Islam against other schools. The
Batinite (Ismailism) had emerged in Persian territories and were gaining more
and more power during al-Ghazali's period, as Nizam al-Mulk was assassinated
by the members of Ismailis. Al-Ghazali strongly rejected their ideology and wrote
several books on criticism of Baatinyas which significantly weakened their status.
Al-Ghazali succeeded in gaining widespread acceptance for Sufism at the
expense of philosophy.At the same time, in his refutation of philosophers he
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made use of their philosophical categories and thus helped to give them wider
circulation.
Status as a Mujaddid:
A mujaddid (Arabic: )مجدد, is an Islamic term for one who brings "renewal" (tajdid)
to the religion.According to the popular Muslim tradition, it refers to a person who
appears at the turn of every century of the Islamic calendar to revive Islam,
cleansing it of extraneous elements and restoring it to its pristine purity.
The concept is based not on the Quran but on a famous hadith (Prophetic
tradition) recorded by Abu Dawood: Abu Hurairah narrated that the Islamic
prophet Muhammad said:
“ Allah will raise for this community at the end of every hundred years the
one who will renovate its religion for it. ”
Chaos in political and intellectual life of Muslim countries:
Imam Ghazali is the mujaddid of fifth century of Islamic calendar. There was a
chaos in political and intellectual life of Muslim countries during his lifetime.
Because of that political chaos and leadership vacuum, the unity of creed among
the Muslims had been devastated and some divisions had occurred in thought
and belief.
Ancient Greek Philosophy had begun to affect most of the Muslim world:
For example at that time, the ancient Greek Philosophy had begun to affect most
of the Muslim world, and every smart and curious young Muslim begun to have a
respect and adoration to Greek philosophy. Most of the books related to ancient
Greek philosophy, especially the books of Aristotle, were translated from Syriac,
Greek and Persian into Arabic.
Ihkwan al Safa (Brethren of Purity):
In addition, a clandestine organization named Ihkwan al Safa (Brethren of Purity),
which made the Greek philosophy its basic, had been formed in Baghdad. That
organization argued the following idea: “The Islamic law has been marred by
ignorance and perversion. There is no way other than to restore it with
philosophy.”
On the other hand, the Muslim scholars such as Ya’qub Kindi (Alkindus), Farabi
(Alpharabius) and Ibn Sina (Avicenna) advocated the Greek philosophy and
canonized Aristotle. Bediuzzaman mentions about these philosophers in the
thirtieth word as follows: “Since some geniuses of Muslim scholars such as Ibn
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Sina and Farabi were captivated by the splendid image of philosophy and
deceived by its attraction and put their enthusiasm into philosophy, they barely
got the rank of just an ordinary believer. A great scholar Imam Ghazali, who is
the Hujjat (evidence) of the Islam, did not see them fit to that rank.
Their un-Islamic thoughts which put them such a lower ranking were as
follows:
They rejected the bodily resurrection; enjoying the pleasures of the paradise
materially; feeling the torture in the hell materially, and the description of the hell
and heaven as in the Qur’an. Besides, they considered the material as pre-
eternal (without beginning) and attached power and creativity to the causes.
They defended that it is possible to reach real truth and the wisdom of Wajib al
Wujud (existence by essence) just by reason and thought. According to them
everything is understood by the principle of pure reason, and everything is dealt
with by pure logic. Anything which is unfit to the principles of pure reason is
unacceptable.
A new sedition had emerged with effect of philosophy. That sedition was Batiniya
(Esotericism), which interprets the verses of the Qur’an in a distorted way, and it
was more dangerous than philosophy.
An authority that is a mujaddid, who knew the religious and empirical sciences
well; and understood the subtlest points of these sciences, was needed to
eliminate the destructive effects of philosophy and Esotericism on Islam.
Allah (SWT) sent Imam Ghazali as a mujaddid because of His compassion to
help Muslims and to disperse the darkness of that time. Imam Ghazali prevented
all invalid dangerous thoughts, philosophy being in the first place, from spreading
all around the Muslim World and blocked all beliefs and thoughts which are
against the Qur’an with thousands of books that he wrote and thousands of
students that he trained.
He inspected four important movements of Islamic World at that time thoroughly;
the Kalam scholars, al Batiniya (the esotericism), the philosophers, and the Sufis.
Concluding that the scholars of Kalam were shallow and insufficient, and al
Batiniya went astray, and the philosophers’ thought was against Islamic law in
many religious issues, he fought against them intellectually during his life. Yet, he
declared that Sufism was true, and he appreciated the followers of Sufism and
pledged allegiance to Abu Ali Farmadi (may Allah be pleased with him), the Qutb
of the chain of greats.
As it is impossible to make the ocean fit into a glass, it is impossible to cover the
life and struggle of Imam Ghazali, who is like a vast ocean.
