The Life of A-Ghazali Essay

Beginning with Muhammad’s age from the start of 7th century Islam, Islamic culture and politics have gone a great many events and occurrences. Throughout all of its years, it has boasted both a rich culture and technological/intellectual advancements. The preservation of the Quran, developments in mathematics, and the continued emphasis on respect and charitable nature are just some examples of Islamic achievement. However, as with any growing civilization, Islam has evolved beyond what it originated as. The cultural and political life of Islamic civilization beginning in the 7th century to the end of the Abbasids of the 13th century underwent many changes such as the deteriorating view of women in society and the shift from elected caliphates to dynastical caliphate. But, one aspect that persisted were the religious beliefs and traditions followed by the Islamic people.

For Schleiermacher, in particular, and, additionally, the Islamic mystic Al-Ghazali, true religion was completely experiential and it should therefore be felt rather than thought. He believed that logic destroys religious experience because religious experience is a matter of intuitive knowledge, not processed knowledge. Intuition is belief, where as logic creates doubts. In many spiritual systems (religious or independent of religion) the human instinct is held in high regard. It was for this reason that Iqbal, the late Islamic philosopher of the modern era, disagreed with Al-Ghazali.

The Sunni Creed of Adud al-Din-Iji and the Zaydi creed of Imam al-Mutawakkil have some major fundamental differences, as you may expect since both come from opposite spectrums of Islam; but, after careful analysis, one may be surprised to find that both creeds hold a fair amount of similarities. In this essay, I plan to compare and contrast the Sunni creed and Zayid creed by showing you evidence of the significant similarities and differences in these two short texts. Even though one branch may have something that the other may not have, one can still see that both creeds of Islam provide the instructions and general beliefs of how a Muslim must act, how God is the most powerful. The biggest

Animals and plants are not shown because Muslims think that only God can create animals and plants in his image.

Qutb’s teachings and commentary of Islamic teachings are seen to hold considerable authority and significance to adherents of Islam. His main and most revered teachings included: the belief in Tawhid (the oneness of God), the concept of Jahiliyya (pagan ignorance), jihad (struggle) and the need to revive Islam.

Chraibi’s book Muhammad: A Novel is a fantastic, powerful read because it is just that: a novel. It is a fictional story, but written by an author who had an unusual, mystical calling himself to write the book. By using original aspects from the traditional biographies of Muhammad and then adding his own personal, esoteric twist on these characteristics, Chraibi creates a work of literature that is truly compelling and shows Muhammad’s journey to becoming a prophet in a mystical light. Two central distinctions, namely Muhammad’s relations with Khadija and Bahira, add the spice in this novel that really help the reader grasp what is mystical about both this literature and most importantly, Muhammad himself.

Alfarabi is probably the least important of these, he is primarily significant because he was a pioneer in the invocation of Aristotle as a philosophical authority (essentially paving the way for the Golden Age of Muslim Aristotelianism). He is said to have believed in the unity of the thought of Plato and Aristotle. Also, his work shows a confluence of their theories. An example of this is his claim that God is simultaneously identical with the 'neo-Platonic One' and with Aristotle's 'Self-Thinking Thought'. When we look at Avicenna however, we find the development of a Muslim philosophy more independent of theological constraints as well as an Aristotelianism less apologetic to supposed Platonic doctrine (philosopheruk). With this being said, Avicenna rejects the conception of a divine creation of the world in time and follows Aristotle in considering the primary aim of philosophy to be the study of being qua being. Algazali demonstrated a critical backlash against the Aristotelianism of Avicenna, within the Islamic tradition. In his work 'The Incoherence of the Philosophers', he attacks the inconsistency of the philosophical positions of Alfarabi and Avicenna with orthodox Koranic interpretation (philosopheruk). This work is significant philosophically because it does not rule out the possibility of philosophy de jure, but rather points to the misuse of philosophy by both of his predecessors. In other words, he was concerned with the philosophical ideas of the eternity of the world and the rejection of bodily resurrection, ideas which he regarded not simply as theologically 'heterodox' but as the result of a misapplication of Aristotelian logical

Mevlana Jalal al- Din Rumi is one of the most influential Islamic mystics of all times. It is no surprise that even seven hundred years after his death; he remains to be the best selling poet in North America. His poetry reflects the teachings of Islam and his opinions on various matters such as faith, prayer, love, free will etc. are assembled in a book called “The signs of the Unseen”. Occasionally, commentators dissociate Rumi poetry’s from Islam but the fact is that Rumi’s entire writings are inspired from the Quran and sayings of Prophet (PBUH) and represent the essence of Islam.

Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab was an 18th Century theologian who founded the Wahhabi movement. He is credited for reviving scholastic interest in Taymiyyah and the Salafi school of though. He however adopted a much stricter interpretation of Salaf principles and rejected many of Taymiyyah’s rules of discursive commentary. He is primary influence for 20th Century

The book that we have chosen to review is titled “Lost History, the Enduring Legacy of Muslim Scientists, Thinkers and Artists”. The author of the book is Michael Hamilton Morgan. The book was published in the year 2007 and also holds the same copyright date. The book is a non-fiction. The main subject matter of the book is the history of the Islamic civilization from the birth of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)

The lives of Muhammad by Kecia Ali is a modern book that describes the way the life of the prophet has been told by past authors. It looks at the manner in which he lived his life and some of the decisions that he made. However, many other authors who have written about the life of Prophet Muhammad but Kecia Ali bring out the unspoken perspective that many people hardly notice. She shies away from describing the truth spoken by anti-Muslims and Muslims alike. On the contrary, she analyses both factions of the narrations and tells the story of Muhammad in a new light.

According to the writings of Espisito (2005) there are four schools of thought in the Islamic faith or four attitudes that can be distinguished: (1) secularist; (2) conservative; (3) neotraditonalist; and (4) reformist. (p.228-32) An examination of the primary

The understanding and explanation of God and who He is, is a task that many philosophical and religious scholars have tried without much success. This is because questions keep arising. Several approaches have been used by scholars and philosopher to explain about God. Even so, most of these attempts to teach about God encompass around his manifestation since none describes his physical appearance. Additionally, in the Biblical texts as well as the Quran where Bible characters have seen God, they have often used personifications to explain their encounter with God. In this discussion, the study looks at understanding God as a manifestation of light. Moreover, the study also looks at how impossible it is to understand God. The entire review will be based on the Al-Ghazali’s statement that, "So glory be to Him who is hidden from creatures through the intensity of His manifestation and veiled from them because of the radiance of His light!" (I.65, p. 24 in our PDF). From this statement, the study proves three things: God is manifestation since he can only be described as such. God is light since He cannot be seen through human understanding (eyes). And God is intensely manifested to the point that He is hidden because His reality cannot be comprehended through human knowledge.

This paper examines the role of the Holy Quran and its role for human beings in leading a successful life. Holy Quran has great importance in the lives of Muslim. This paper examines what are lessons explained in the Holy Quran? How can we say Holy Quran is guidance for leading a successful life? And is there any significant relationship between Science and Holy Quran? This paper is limited to the Muslims.

The world’s fastest growing religion that originated in the Middle East may have a lot more in common with a philosopher from Ancient Greece than many may think. Although Islam came many years after Plato, and originated in a completely different part of the world, they have major key similarities. Some of these similarities include both of their views on the soul, Plato’s philosophy and Sharia (Islamic Law), and their view on the concept of moral absolutism. The astounding similarities will be discussed further in the following paragraphs.