Al-Ghazali and Sufism Flashcards
(33 cards)
Spiritual crisis
Trained in the rational sciences and Shafi‘i jurisprudence, Ghazali experienced a spiritual crisis in his mid-life, leading him to abandon his prestigious teaching post in Baghdad and retreat into Sufi seclusion
Magum Opus
Iḥyā’ ‘Ulūm al-Dīn (The Revival of the Religious Sciences), synthesises legal, theological, and mystical knowledge, placing Sufi ethics at the heart of religious practice
Imagination
Ghazali defended the use of imagination in spiritual life, arguing that it enables perception of immaterial realities and complements reason
The Qur’an teaches that God is…
Utterly transcendent
This forms the theological basis for Islam’s aniconic tradition
How does Sufism build on this?
Since God is beyond form, he must be known inwardly, through the heart and imagination rather than external images
Pre-Ghazalian Sufism
Pre-Ghazalian Sufism focused heavily on asceticism (zuhd), direct experiential knowledge (maʿrifah), and spiritual practices rooted in detachment from the world
While early Sufis like al-Hallaj or al-Bistami embraced visionary experiences, Ghazali formalises the imaginative faculty as a key epistemic tool
Q. 42:11
‘There is nothing like Him, for He ‘alone˺ is the All-Hearing, All-Seeing’
Imagination allows…
The heart to visualise immaterial realities, including divine attributes
Contrasts with Avicenna, who also valued imagination but in service of allegory, not devotional perception
Early Sufi resurrection
Earlier Sufi writings often focused on the spiritual resurrection of the heart (rebirth through gnosis)
Ghazali’s resurrection
Ghazali defends a bodily resurrection that includes the imaginative faculty
A deliberate move to align Sufism with Sunni theology
Early Sufi soul (2)
Early Sufism portrayed the self (nafs) as something to be annihilated (fanā’)
The goal was direct union or subsistence in God (baqā’)
Ghazali’s soul (3)
Ghazali, while retaining the idea of spiritual refinement, frames it as a gradual moral and psychological development
Outlines a tripartite model of the soul that incorporates both Sufi concepts and Qur’anic vocabulary (e.g., nafs al-ammārah)
He domesticates Sufism, distancing it from antinomian or ecstatic tendencies – remains in the boundaries of Shari’ah
Early Sufi heart (3)
Early Sufis like al-Tustari used the metaphor of the heart as a lamp or mirror to speak of divine light
Earlier Sufis often emphasised unmediated flashes of insight; Ghazali gives the process a psychological structure and theological legitimacy
Early mystics frequently prioritised gnosis (maʿrifah) over discursive knowledge, sometimes in ways that appeared dismissive of religious law or reason
Ghazali’s heart (5)
Ghazali adopts and expands this image in The Marvels of the Heart, one of the most explicitly Sufi sections of the Iḥyā’
The heart is a mirror reflecting intelligible and revelatory truths
When purified, it becomes the site of divine disclosure (tajallī), but this is explained philosophically rather than mystically
By nature, it reflects the truth (God’s light) clearly
Sins and vices are like dust and rust that cover the mirror
How does Ghazali’s heart work? (5)
The heart (qalb) is the seat of knowledge and intention
Vices are seen as disorders of the soul’s rational and moral faculties
Just as the body has natural functions, the soul has a natural purpose (to know and love God)
Sin and vice are malfunctions that block the soul from reaching its true perfection (kamāl)
Through disciplined practice, education, and reflection, the soul can be retrained to act according to reason and divine order
Self-discipline
Ghazali builds on Sufi insights into self-discipline, but presents them in a clear, methodical framework
Self-discipline metaphor (4)
The ‘army’ metaphor portrays the human being as a city governed by intellect and heart, echoing earlier Sufi concern with internal conflict but now linked to practical moral theology
The heart’s role is the commander, the central figure in the internal world – it is the source of commands and actions, both good and bad
Desire and anger are troops – powerful forces that can impact the individual that must be controlled by the commander
The will, appetites, anger, and senses are all forces to be brought under control
Structure in Sufism
Pre-Ghazalian Sufism often featured charismatic shaykhs but lacked a unified curriculum
Ghazali insists on the need for a spiritual guide (murshid) but within a regulated and ethical framework, the Guide
Elevates Sufism from being an elitist or marginal discipline to a universal path for all Muslims
Orthodoxy and Sufism pre-Ghazali
Before Ghazali, Sufism risked being viewed as heterodox, elitist, or emotionally excessive
Ihya repositions Sufism as…
The heart of Islamic revival
Divided into four parts, each containing ten chapters
Draws directly from early Sufi sources, but subjects them to moral and theological scrutiny
Ghazali attempts to…
Relegitimise Sufism
Four things Sufism should be to Ghazali?
Qur’anically grounded
Theologically orthodox
Psychologically insightful
Universally accessible
What lends to Ihya’s authenticity?
Organised makeup
By presenting Sufi themes in structured form, Ghazali ensures Sufism is no longer an alternative path, but the completion of outward religion
ES - Dhikr (6)
Remembrance of God
Seen as a central mystical practice, often ecstatic and repetitive
Emphasised the rhythm of the Names of God (al-asmā’ al-ḥusnā), sometimes performed in communal gatherings with bodily movements
Often included singing, dancing, etc
Seen as innovations (bid‘ah) by many scholars who prioritised strict adherence to Qur’anic and Prophetic models
Figures like al-Hallāj and al-Bistāmī described dhikr as leading to a direct experience of the Divine or even fanā’ (annihilation of the self in God), which led to accusations of antinomianism or heresy
