Ghazali's Epistemology

Focusing on Abu -amid al-Ghazali (d. 1111) - one of the foremost scholars and authorities in the Muslim world who is central to the Islamic intellectual tradition - this book embarks on a study of doubt (shakk) and certainty (yaqin) in his epistemology. The book looks at Ghazali's attitude to philosophical demonstration and Sufism as a means to certainty. In early scholarship surrounding Ghazali, he has often been blamed as the one who single-handedly offered the death-blow to philosophy in the Muslim world. In much of contemporary scholarship, Ghazali is understood to prefer philosophy as the ultimate means to certainty, granting Sufism a secondary status. Hence, much of previous scholarship has either focused on Ghazali as a Sufi or as a philosopher; this book takes a parallel approach, and acknowledges each discipline in its right place. It analyses Ghazali's approach to acquiring certainty, his methodological scepticism, his foundationalism, his attitude to authoritative instruction (tälim), and the place of philosophical demonstration and Sufism in his epistemology. Offering a systematic and comprehensive approach to Ghazali's epistemology, this book is a valuable resource for scholars of Islamic philosophy and Sufism in particular, and for educated readers of Islamic studies in general.

Nabil Yasien Mohamed is a lecturer in the Department of Religion and Theology at the University of the Western Cape. His research interests include Ghazalian studies, classical Islamic philosophy, Sufism, contemporary Islamic thought, ecology, theology, epistemology, and ethics.

Introduction  1. Ghazali's Scepticism and Quest for the Foundations of Knowledge  2. Certainty at the Nexus between Reason and Religious Authority  3. Scepticism, Certainty and the Philosophical Tradition  4. Certainty within the Sufi Tradition  Epilogue