Al Ghazali between Philosophy and Sufism

Al-Ghazali’s Compatibility with the Philosophers and the Influence of Sufism

Sufism greatly influenced the ethical beliefs and values of al-Ghazali. Had it not been for that influence, his works would have lacked their special spiritual value. In this paper, I will examine the role that Sufi philosophy played in giving spiritual depth to the ethics of al-Ghazali and how he was ultimately drawn to Sufism. Al-Ghazali moved away from his focus on the law and realized the v...

Ghazali and Ash‘arism Revisited

Much has been written on the relation of Ghazali (al-Ghaz®l¬) to Ash‘arism1 that, among other things, indicate his criticisms of the kal®m.2 Underlying his criticisms is a primary thesis, namely that the main function of kal®m is the protection of traditional Islamic belief (‘aq¬da), rooted in the Qur’®n and guided by the customary practice of the prophet, the sunna, against heretical innovatio...

Words of Ecstasy in Sufism

The position of the Isma’iliyyah in the ideas of Nizam al-Mulk and Ghazali

Iranian political thought was transformed in the Seljuq period. In this transformation, political power and administration of social affairs promoted the monarchy as a non – rival concept to the sphere of politics. In the plurality of causes and multiplication of contributions involved in this process, political writers, who rather than thinking, were also involved in stabilization of this patt...

Reconsidering A. Reza Arasteh: Sufism and Psychotherapy

Four decades ago, A. Reza Arasteh combined Westernized psychology with Sufism to emerge as an important voice in the integration of psychology and religion. Arasteh’s writings have remained largely unnoticed by the psychological community; however, we believe that it is time to reconsider his ideas. This article presents Arasteh’s main ideas about the relationship between human development and ...