Abstract
The role of philosophy in the thought of Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī has been
a source of much debate among scholars of Islamic intellectual history and
among Muslim intellectuals of varying disciplines.1 If one takes al-Ghazālī at
his word, his use of philosophy was calculated and reasoned. He was not its
implacable adversary as earlier scholarship proposed, based upon passages
from the Incoherence of the philosophers and statements in The deliverer from
error.2 Rather, he approached philosophy just as he advises one to approach all
intellectual output:
Those with weak minds know truth by men, not men by truth. The intel-
ligent person follows the saying of ʿAlī [b. Abī Ṭālib], “Do not know truth
through men. Know truth and then you will know its people.”3 So the
intelligent person knows truth then looks at the claim itself. If it is true
he accepts it.
Evaluating truth in and of itself, rather than by means of those who express
it, means that one “must be zealous to extract the truth from the claims of
those who are misguided, knowing that the gold mine is dust and gravel.”5 Al-
Ghazālī thus advises that one learn to sift truth from falsehood and likens this
process to that of a money changer who does not reject everything a counter-
feiter brings, but instead uses his knowledge of true currency and false currency
to sort the good from the bad and make use of the good
a source of much debate among scholars of Islamic intellectual history and
among Muslim intellectuals of varying disciplines.1 If one takes al-Ghazālī at
his word, his use of philosophy was calculated and reasoned. He was not its
implacable adversary as earlier scholarship proposed, based upon passages
from the Incoherence of the philosophers and statements in The deliverer from
error.2 Rather, he approached philosophy just as he advises one to approach all
intellectual output:
Those with weak minds know truth by men, not men by truth. The intel-
ligent person follows the saying of ʿAlī [b. Abī Ṭālib], “Do not know truth
through men. Know truth and then you will know its people.”3 So the
intelligent person knows truth then looks at the claim itself. If it is true
he accepts it.
Evaluating truth in and of itself, rather than by means of those who express
it, means that one “must be zealous to extract the truth from the claims of
those who are misguided, knowing that the gold mine is dust and gravel.”5 Al-
Ghazālī thus advises that one learn to sift truth from falsehood and likens this
process to that of a money changer who does not reject everything a counter-
feiter brings, but instead uses his knowledge of true currency and false currency
to sort the good from the bad and make use of the good
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Light Upon Light |
| Subtitle of host publication | Essays in Islamic Thought and History in Honor of Gerhard Bowering |
| Publication status | Published - 2019 |
| Externally published | Yes |