Muslim theologian and philosopher Abu Hamid al-Ghazali of Persia worked to systematize Sufism, Islamic mysticism, and in The Incoherence of the Philosophers (1095) argued the incompatibility of thought of Plato and Aristotle with Islam.
Born in 1058, Ab奴 岣つ乵id Mu岣mmad ibn Mu岣mmad al-Ghaz膩l墨 ranked of the most prominent and influential Sunni jurists of his origin.
Islamic tradition considers him to be a Mujaddid, a renewer of the faith who, according to the prophetic hadith, appears once every century to restore the faith of the ummah ("the Islamic Community"). His works were so highly acclaimed by his contemporaries that al-Ghazali was awarded the honorific title "Proof of Islam" (Hujjat al-Islam).
Al-Ghazali believed that the Islamic spiritual tradition had become moribund and that the spiritual sciences taught by the first generation of Muslims had been forgotten.[24] That resulted in his writing his magnum opus entitled Ihya 'ulum al-din ("The Revival of the Religious Sciences"). Among his other works, the Tah膩fut al-Fal膩sifa ("Incoherence of the Philosophers") is a significant landmark in the history of philosophy, as it advances the critique of Aristotelian science developed later in 14th-century Europe.
Please Note: This five-star rating is for what can be derived from this text of benefit as opposed to the translation which is lacking and at times disjointed to read, considering which I would give this a four-star rating.
"It is related from Ja鈥檉ar ibn Mu岣mmad (may the peace and blessings of God be upon them both!) that he said:
鈥淭he Book of God has four things: literal expression (鈥榠b膩ra), allusion (ish膩ra), subtleties (la峁佲€檌f), and deepest realities (岣q膩鈥檌q).
The literal expression is for the common folk (鈥榓w膩mm), the allusion is for the elite (khaw膩峁a梗), the subtleties are for the friends of God (awliy膩鈥�), and the deepest realities are for the prophets (anbiy膩鈥�)."
From听Spiritual Gems: The Mystical Qur鈥檃n Commentary ascribed to Ja鈥檉ar al-Sadiq as contained in Sulami鈥檚 Haqa鈥檌q al-Tafsir听((Louisville: Fons Vitae, 2011), trans. Farhana Mayer, p. 1( via Ballandalus) .
"The Quran is purely divine but its understanding is completely human."
Do they not ponder over the Qur'an in order to understand its deep meaning , or is it that their minds are locked up from within? ( Qur'an, 47:24)
"The shell of the jewels of the Qur'an, its garment, is the Arabic language."
"Observe how God has likened knowledge with water, souls with valleys and springs. And error with foam Then he has made you aware of the end of the verse, saying " Thus God sets forth similitudes. " This depth of discussion on this subject will suffice you. You are unable to understand more than this."
"Know with certainty that the secrets of the visible world are veiled from the souls which are defiled by love of the world and most of whose energies are fully absorbed in the pursuit of the present world."
"The purpose of the string of jewels is only to gather the light of knowledge [ of God, His attributes and His works] And the purpose of the pearls is steadfastness on the straight path by action. Thus the first is cognitive and the second is practical, and the basis of faith (iman) lies in both cognition and action."
The jewels of the Qur'an are 763 verses.
The pearls of the Qur'an are 741 verses.
"Knowledge of the details of this however, is not a stipulation for traversing the path of Him. Yet, this knowledge adds to the perfection of yearning [ for happiness] and warning [ against misery]."
This book gives the Quranic studies a form and provides an independent student some guidance on how to interpret Quranic verses. Ghazali urges us to reflect and discover meaning on our own. It stimulates independent spiritual growth, enlightenment and joy. Ghazali lists the verses of the Quran which he categorizes as jewels and pearls. But before that, he explains what is meant by the jewels and pearls and their aims. He explains that the purpose of the jewels is to gather the light of knowledge of God, his attributes and work and the purpose of pearls is steadfastness on the straight path by action. Thus the first is cognitive and the second is practical and the basis of faith lies in both cognition and action. He explains the significance of Surah Fatiha, Verse of the Throne, Surah Al Ikhlaas (Sura of Sincerity) and Surah Yasin. We have often heard that the value of the sura of sincerity is equal to that of a third part of the Quran. The reason has to with the three divisions of the Quran, which are knowledge of God, knowledge of the Hereafter and knowledge of the straight path. Since this sura comprises of the knowledge of God entirely, therefore it is equal to a third part of the basic concerns of the Quran. In the end Ghazali encourages us to continue reflecting upon the jewels and pearls of the Quran to attain happiness and be delighted in the paradise of different kinds of gnosis.
Gazzali'nin bu kitapta Kuran'a yakla艧谋m谋n谋n hedefinde iki 艧ey vard谋r: Allah'谋 tan谋mak ve O'nun yolunun (do臒ru yol) yolcusu olmak. 陌lki bilgi ve inan莽 konusu, ikincisi fiil ve adab (yordam) konusudur. Gazzali'ye g枚re Kuran insanlar谋 Allah yolunda yolculu臒a 莽a臒谋ran bir kitapt谋r ve bunun i莽in gerekli donan谋m ve rehberli臒i insanlara sunmaktad谋r.
Kitab谋n hedefi, Kuran'谋 okumak isteyen insanlara ba艧ta bir Kuran bilinci kazand谋rmak, bu bilin莽 do臒rultusunda Kuran'谋n ana hedeflerini saptamak ve bu hedeflere d枚n眉k ayetleri bulup onlar 眉zerine yo臒unla艧makt谋r.
Kuran'谋n s谋rr谋, en saf 枚z眉 ve en y眉ce amac谋; mutlak g眉莽 sahibi Allah'a 莽a臒谋rmakt谋r.
Y眉ce Allah'谋 tan谋mak 艧u 眉莽 艧eyi bilmeyi kapsamaktad谋r: 1. Y眉ce Allah'谋n zat谋n谋 bilmek. Allah'谋n zat谋na dair bilgi de kapsam a莽谋s谋ndan en dar olmas谋na ra臒men tahsili en zor ve kavranmas谋 en a臒谋r oland谋r. Ayr谋ca dile getirirken kendimizi en 莽aresiz hissetti臒imiz de odur. Bundan dolay谋 Kur'芒n, Allah'谋n zat谋 hakk谋nda a莽谋k anlat谋mlar yerine, birtak谋m g枚ndermeler ve imalarda bulunur. S枚zgelimi "Onun bir benzeri yoktur" ayeti ve 陌hlas s没resi b枚yledir. Ya da kesin bir dille y眉celi臒ini ifade eden s枚zlerdir. S枚zgelimi "Allah, onlar谋n ileri s眉rd眉臒眉 vas谋flardan uzak ve y眉cedir. O g枚klerin ve yerin e艧siz yarat谋c谋s谋d谋r" ayeti b枚yledir.
2. Y眉ce Allah'谋n s谋fat ve niteliklerini bilmek. Allah'谋n s谋fatlar谋n谋 tan谋ma konusundaki alan daha geni艧 ve 眉zerine konu艧mas谋 daha rahatt谋r. Bundan dolay谋 Allah'谋n ilim, kudret, hayat, kel芒m, hikmet, i艧itmek ve g枚rmek gibi s谋fatlar谋na ili艧kin ayetler 莽oktur.
3. Y眉ce Allah'谋n fiillerini bilmek. Allah'谋n fiilleri konusuna gelince, bunlar 莽evresi 莽ok geni艧 olan deniz gibidir ve Allah'谋n fiil ve eserleri saymakla bitmez. Bilakis ger莽ekte var olan sadece Allah'谋n zat谋 ve fiilleridir. O'nun zat谋 d谋艧谋nda her ne varsa hepsi O'nun fiil ve eseridir. G枚klerden, y谋ld谋zlardan, yerlerden, da臒lardan, a臒a莽lardan, hayvanlardan, denizlerden, bitkilerden, g枚kten tatl谋 suyun indirilmesinden ve di臒er bitki 枚rt眉s眉 ile ya艧am kaynaklar谋ndan bahsedilmesi hep bu alana dahildir.
Son olarak Kur鈥檃n ayetlerinin 枚z眉 iki t眉re ay谋r谋r (ve mealleri ile sona erer): Cevherler: Allah鈥櫮眓 zat谋, s谋fatlar谋 ve fiilleriyle ilgili olanlard谋r (763 ayet). 陌nciler: Do臒ru yolda y眉r眉meye te艧vik eden ayetlerdir(741 ayet).