Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (c. 1058 - 1111) was a Persian theologian, jurist, philosopher and Sufi mystic of the Seljuk period, and one of the most influential figures in the history of Sunni Islam. [1] His writings critiqued the claims of Islamic philosophers, defended Ash'ari theology, and gave Sufism a secure place within orthodox religious life. [2] He is traditionally honoured with the title Hujjat al-Islam, the Proof of Islam.
Early life and education
Al-Ghazali was born around 1058 in or near Tus, in the province of Khurasan in north-eastern Persia, part of the Seljuk Empire. [1] Orphaned young, he and his brother were placed in the care of a family friend and then in a madrasa, where his education was supported by the endowment system that sustained scholarship in the period.
He studied jurisprudence at Tus and Jurjan before moving to Nishapur to study under al-Juwayni, the leading Ash'ari theologian of the age. [2] There he mastered Shafi'i law, kalam, and the philosophical tradition transmitted from Greek sources through al-Farabi and Avicenna. His abilities brought him to the attention of Nizam al-Mulk, the powerful vizier of the Seljuk sultan.
Baghdad and crisis
In 1091 Nizam al-Mulk appointed al-Ghazali to a professorship at the Nizamiyya madrasa in Baghdad, the most prestigious teaching post in the Sunni world. [1] He lectured to large audiences, wrote on law and theology, and produced Tahafut al-Falasifa (The Incoherence of the Philosophers), a systematic critique arguing that the philosophers' demonstrations failed on such questions as the eternity of the world, God's knowledge of particulars and bodily resurrection. [3] The work prompted a celebrated reply from Averroes, the Incoherence of the Incoherence.
In 1095 al-Ghazali underwent a severe personal and intellectual crisis, losing confidence in the value of his public position and briefly losing the ability to speak in the lecture hall. [2] He abandoned his post, distributed much of his wealth, and left Baghdad for a decade of travel and ascetic retreat that took him to Damascus, Jerusalem, Mecca and Medina.
The Revival of the Religious Sciences
During and after these years he composed Ihya' Ulum al-Din (The Revival of the Religious Sciences), his masterwork, a forty-book treatment of worship, social conduct, the vices of the soul and the path to salvation. [2] Its achievement was to present outward religious observance and inward spiritual purification as inseparable, demonstrating that Sufi practice could be pursued within, rather than against, the framework of Islamic law.
He also wrote the autobiographical al-Munqidh min al-Dalal (Deliverance from Error), recounting his search for certainty through theology, philosophy, Isma'ili teaching and finally Sufism. [3]
Later years and legacy
Al-Ghazali returned briefly to teaching at Nishapur before retiring to Tus, where he lived in a small community of disciples and died on 19 December 1111. [1]
His influence on Sunni Islam is difficult to overstate: the Ihya' remains among the most widely read religious books in the Muslim world, and his reconciliation of law, theology and mysticism shaped the mainstream of Sunni piety for centuries. [4] His critique of the philosophers is often credited with reorienting Islamic intellectual life, though modern scholarship notes that he himself absorbed and transmitted much philosophical logic. Latin translations of his summaries of Avicennan philosophy circulated in medieval Europe under the name Algazel. [3]
