Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali

Abu Hamid al-Ghazali was born in 1058 ^[2] . His family lived in Tus and was of Persian descent. Abu Hamid's father was a spinner of wool. He died early and one of his father's friends took up the education of Abu Hamid and his brother Abul-Futuh Ahmad . Soon, the inheritance left by his father ran out, and since his father’s friend was very poor, he suggested that the brothers enroll in madrassas as students to feed themselves.

In 1070, al-Ghazali and his brother moved to Jurjan ( Gorgan ) to continue their studies with Imam Ahmad ar-Razikani and Abul-Qasim Dzhurdzhiani. In 1080, al-Ghazali traveled to Nishapur in order to become a student of the famous Muslim scholar Abul-Maali al-Juwaini (d. 1085), known as Imam al-Haramayn ^[3] . He studied fiqh , usul al-fiqh , asharite kalam and other disciplines with Imam al-Juwaini Abu Hamid. Among the al-Ghazali teachers who taught him the intricacies of Sufism were Fazl ibn Muhammad al-Faramizi (a student of Abul-Qasim al-Qushayri ) and Yusuf al-Nasaj .

Soon a young and talented theologian is noticed by the Seljuk vizier Nizam al-Mulk . He invites al-Ghazali to Baghdad and instructs him to head the Nizamiya Madrasah . From 1091 to 1095 he taught Islamic law in the institution he created. About 300 students studied at the madrasah, among which were: Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi ^[4] , Abu Jild ibn ar-Razar, Abu Gais al-Jaili, al-Barbabazi, Abul-Bayih al-Bakraji, Abul-Abbas al- Aklishi, Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani , Muhammad ibn Yahya al-Shafi and other famous Islamic theologians.

In 1092, Nizam al-Mulk died at the hands of the Ismailis and in 1095 al-Ghazali, on the pretext of performing a hajj , left Baghdad with his family ^[2] . Al-Ghazali himself explains his action as follows:

“Then, observing myself from the outside, I found my position dangerous for me, and that I was very attached to everything that I had gained from the blessings of earthly life, and everything that surrounded me. Then, following my own affairs, I noticed that the best I can be busy with is teaching and learning. But these were sciences that did not bring benefits in the afterlife and were not so important for earthly perishable life. I remembered my intention to teach, and it turned out that I was doing this not purely for the sake of Allah, but for the sake of glory and honor. Then I became convinced that I was on the edge of the abyss and, as a result, I could go to Hell if I did not undertake the correction of my situation. And so I decided to leave Baghdad, because thoughts about my situation did not give me rest, but my soul (nafs) did not like it at all, and she began to resist me. And so, I began to hesitate between my unbridled passion and selfishness and the appeals of that world until the matter passed from choice to necessity ... ”

- Biography of Imam Al-Ghazali al-Tusi ^[5]

For 11 years until 1106, al-Ghazali spent the life of a hermit . First he arrived in Sham . In Damascus, he joined the Sufi practice of seclusion ( halvat ), performing internal exercises ( riyazat ) and spiritual endeavors (mujahadat). For some time he remained in the ministry ( itikaf ) in the Umayyad mosque . Then he went to Jerusalem (Bayt-ul-Mukaddas). There he spent most of his time in the Dome of the Rock mosque, located next to the Al-Aqsa Mosque . In Jerusalem, the most famous book by Imam al-Ghazali, “The Resurrection of the Sciences of the Faith,” which he completed in Damascus, was launched. After returning a Damascus al-Ghazali made a pilgrimage to Mecca and visited the grave of the Prophet Muhammad in Medina. During these years he wrote his most significant works.

In 1106, the son of Nizam al-Mulk, Fahr al-Mulk invited al-Ghazali to return to teaching, al-Ghazali began to give lectures again at the Nizamiyah madrasah in Nishapur ^[2] . In Nishapur, al-Ghazali met Sheikh Abu Ali al-Farmadi , who is the seventh in the chain (Silsil) of the sheikhs of the Naqshbandi tariqah . Under the guidance and guidance of al-Farmadi, he went through all the stages (makam) of Sufism.

Shortly before his death, al-Ghazali quit teaching again and returned to Tus . He lives in a cell and teaches young followers the Sufi way of life. Al-Ghazali died in December 1111 at the age of 53 years ^[6] . According to Abdul-Gafur Farisi, al-Ghazali had several daughters and not a single son ^[7] .

Abu Hamid al-Ghazali was a follower of the Shafiite law school ( madhhab ) and the Asharite aqida . His works contributed to the development of a systematic representation of Sufism and its integration into orthodox Sunni Islam. Al-Ghazali critically examined the situation of all the main directions of Islamic thought from Islamic theology, Sufism, Ismailism to philosophy ^[8] .

Kalam

The thoughts of al-Ghazali had an important influence not only on Muslim, but also on Christian medieval philosophers ^[1] . Al-Ghazali is also considered the most prominent representative of Asharite Kalam (in fact, the last great philosopher of Kalam who completed the creation of Asharite metaphysics) and the fundamental theologian of Sufism. His personality is a self-profound thinker and mystic, who does not refuse to transfer his knowledge to others, but avoids worldly honors and power, is very popular as an example of a “real” Muslim - mumin .

Al-Ghazali introduced a new interpretation of the concept of jihad in the Qur'an . According to al-Ghazali, in the 95th verse of Surah An-Nis (“Women”), this is not about fighting on the battlefield, but about overcoming your lower “I” ( nafs ) ^[9] . The theme of jihad was touched upon in the book Al-Wasit Fil-Madhhab (Volume 6) ^[10] .

According to the level of cognitive abilities of people, al-Ghazali divided them into two categories: “general public”, “mass” (al-amma, al-'avamm), and “chosen ones” (al-hasa). In the first category, he included ordinary believers who blindly follow religious traditions. Before such people it is impossible to give a symbolic-allegorical interpretation of the sacred texts. He also included the Mutakallim in the first category, whose function should be limited to protecting the dogmas of Islam from innovations ( bid ). He ranked in the second category, primarily philosophers (falasif) and Sufis, who come to a monistic view of being with the help of intuition ( ilham ) ^[2] .

Of the philosophers, the main subjects of his criticism were Aristotle , al-Farabi and Ibn Sina . Proving the failure of the philosophical path of knowledge, al-Ghazali constantly used philosophical methods of refutation, widely resorting to the techniques of Aristotelian logic. The driving forces of his search for truth were doubt, skepticism ^[8] .

Sufism

Al-Ghazali played a very important role in combining the concepts of Sufism and Sharia law. He was the one who in his works gave a formal description of Sufism ^[1] . When (especially in the years of solitude), he began to carefully study science (Kalam, philosophy, Ismailism , Sunni dogma ), he came to the conclusion that a rationally constructed faith is not vital, and seriously turned to Sufism. He understood that moral principles should be based on direct communication with Allah, as well as on personal experience experiences. At the same time, gaining enlightenment or divine grace is important, for which you need to free yourself from all that is artificial.

Al-Ghazali identified three levels of being.

1. The highest level was occupied by Allah , who is self-sufficient.
2. The lowest level is the material world defined by Allah.
3. Between them is a world of people whose souls have free will. From Allah they are given ideas and inclinations, but deeds are determined only by the will of the people.

Al-Ghazali saw the practical benefit of Sufism in the direction of his teachings towards the moral improvement of man. He rejected the claims of the Sufis on ontological unity with God and recognized the "unity" only as a symbol of comprehension of the deity by the highest cognitive power ^[2] .

Al-Ghazali's writings are highly regarded in the Islamic world . He received many titles, among them Sharaful-A'imma ( Arabic. شرف الائمة ), Zaynud-din ( Arabic. زین الدین - the beauty of religion ), Khujatul-Islam ( Arabic. حجة الاسلام - Islamic argument ) and others ^{[ 1]} . Such Islamic theologians as al-Zahabi , al-Suyuti , al-Navawi , Ibn Asakir considered him a “ renewer ” of the 5th century hijra . The multifaceted nature of al-Ghazali’s teachings has caused Muslim dogmatists to criticize and praise him as an “argument of Islam.” In the modern world, al-Ghazali is considered one of the most respected Islamic theologians ^[2] . Sheikh writes about him as a person who “literally saved Islam” ^[11] .

After al-Ghazali, while still a young man, wrote the book al-Manhul fi usul al-fiqh (Fundamentals of Islamic Law, 1109), his teacher Abdul-Malik al-Juwaini said: “You buried me, while the time when I was still alive, really, you could not tolerate while I die. Your book covers my book ” ^[12] .

Hafiz al-Zahabi (d. 1348) in his biography of al-Ghazali wrote: “Al-Ghazali, sheikh, imam, the ocean of knowledge, the argument of Islam, the phenomenon of his time, the beauty of religion, Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Tusi al-Shafi'i al-Ghazali. The owner of many works, very witty. He studied Islamic law at the beginning in his city, then moved to Naisabur and was in a circle of students, studied with Imam al-Haramayn, and absorbed Islamic law in a short time, and became eloquent and adept in discussion and was the main one of the debaters ” ^{[ 13]} .

Al-Ghazali immediately began to be translated into many languages, gained fame in Christian Europe and in Jewish communities . ^{[14] [15]}

Influence on Christianity

Thomas Aquinas , who greatly appreciated him, was familiar with his writings. ^[16]

At the end of the XII century, the work "Intentions of Philosophers" was translated into Latin and widely distributed. “Logica et philosophia Algazelis” was translated by Dominic Gundissalin together with the Jewish scholar Avendaut. This translation has become the main source in Europe for the study of Arabic philosophy. However, he was mistakenly considered a follower of Avicenna.

Influence on Jewish thought

In the XII - XIII centuries, the Jewish population of Arab Spain actively mastered the Arabic language, and Jewish thinkers could directly perceive Arabic literature. In his polemic works against Aristotle, Yehuda Halevi followed the position of al-Ghazali ("Self-refutation of philosophers"), contrasting the vagueness of philosophy with mathematics and logic. Abraham ibn Daud in the work “Emuna Rama” ( Hebrew אמונה רמה - “Exalted Faith”), on the contrary, followed Avicenna and al-Ghazali in the concept of will, intention and ecstasy (based on the work of al-Ghazali “Intent” philosophers "). ^[fifteen]

Subsequently, al-Ghazali's works were repeatedly translated into Hebrew, one of the first translators was Isaac Albalag ( en: Isaac Albalag ). His works had a great resonance, after him two more translations appeared. ^[fifteen]

Al-Ghazali’s Hebrew translations of the Philosopher’s Intent under the title De'ôt ha-Folîsôfîm or Kavvanôt ha-Folîsôfîm have become some of the most common philosophical texts among European Jews.

Excerpts from al-Ghazali included such thinkers as Maimonides , Abraham Hasid, Obadiah Maimonides, Abraham ibn Chasdai and Kabbalist Abraham Gavison from Tlemcen in their writings on Jewish law and lifestyle.

Skepticism

The rationalism of Ghazali, attempts to question causality and break the connection between causes and effects, which may turn out to be nothing more than a simple sequence of events, is commented by many authors as the threshold of modern skepticism ^[17] .

Abu Hamid al-Ghazali is the author of more than 70 books on theological sciences, philosophy and Sufism ^[1] . His main works are polemical in nature.

Resurrection of Religious Sciences

The main work of al-Ghazali is the treatise “The Resurrection of Religious Sciences” ( Arabic. إحياء علوم الدين ), which reveals the issues of cult practice ( ibadat ), socially significant customs ( adat ), “harmful” character traits ( muhlikat ) and traits leading to salvation ( mundzhiyat ) ^[2] . In this treatise, al-Ghazali defines the basic Sufi values ​​and ideals - patience, love, poverty, asceticism. “Resurrection” means the desire to revive the hardened Sunni belief system, defining ways of knowing the truth, combining intelligence, sincerity and love, honesty and the desire for Allah. On the one hand, he appreciates intelligence as necessary for cognition, which includes logic, practice, doubt, and objectivity. On the other hand, he determines the levels of glimpses of intuition and ecstasy as one approaches Allah and speaks of collective Sufi rituals.

Sufism

• Kimiyya-ye sa'dat ( Arabic: كمياء السعادة - Elixir of happiness ) is a book about Sufism written in Farsi. In this book, al-Ghazali criticizes the modern ulama , who turned religious knowledge into a means of achieving worldly goals ^[18]
• Mishkat al-Anwar (“Niche of the World”) - Hadith's explanation of seventy thousand curtains ^[19]

Philosophy

• Makasid al-Falasif ( 1094 ) ( Arabic. مقاصد الفلاسفة - the intentions of philosophers ) is a book in which an objective and systematic presentation of the basic principles of logic, physics and metaphysics of eastern peripatetics is given .
• Tahafut al-falasifa ( Arabic. تهافت الفلاسفة - self - refutation of philosophers ) is an essay that became famous in the West and is considered to be a refutation of the philosophical school known in the Arabic community as “falyasifa” (mainly al-Kindi followers). Understanding the title of this book as an attack on philosophy is generally a typical example of a translator’s false friends . The polemic book of Ibn Rushd with the refutation of al-Ghazali "Tahafut al-tahafut" (Self-refutation of self-refutation), also known in the Jewish tradition , is well known.

Theology

• Al-iktisad fi l-itikad ( 1095 ) ( Arabic. الاقتصاد في الاعتقاد - the middle path of theology )
• Ar-Risal al-Qudsiyya ( 1097 ) (“Letter from Jerusalem”)
• Kitab al-arbain fi usul al-din (“Forty Chapters on the Principles of the Faith”)
• Mizan Al-Hamal ( 1095 ) ( Arabic: ميزان العمل )
• Faisal at-tafrik bain al-Islam wa az-zandak ( Arabic. فيصل التفرقة بين الإسلام والزندقة - Criteria for distinguishing Islam from heretical teachings ) - polemical work against Ismailis ( Batinites )

Logics

In his work on logic, al-Ghazali popularized the logic of eastern peripatetics . He did this by changing its terminology and presenting the rules of logic as if they were derived from the Qur'an and Sunnah .

• Miyar al-ilm ( 1095 )
• Al-Kustas al-Mustakim ( 1096 ) ( Arabic. القسطاس المستقيم - The correct scales )
• Mihakk al-Nazar ( 1095 ) ( Arabic (محك النظر (منطق )

• Abu Hamid al-Ghazali. The Resurrection of the Sciences of Faith ("Ihya ulum ad-Din"). Selected Chapters / Translation by V.V. Naumkin . - M .: Science , 1980.
• Al-Ghazali Abu Hamid. A study of the innermost secrets of the heart. - Ansar, 2006. - ISBN 5-98443-020-7 .
• Al-Ghazali Abu Hamid. “Guidance to the rulers” and other works. - Ansar, 2005. - ISBN 5-98443-011-8 .
• Al-Ghazali Abu Hamid. "Scales of Acts" and other compositions. - Ansar, 2004 .-- ISBN 5-98443-006-1 .

• Al-Ghazali's works on vostlit.info
• The works of imam al-Ghazali on sufizm.ru