Imam Abu Hamid Ghazali : An Exponent of Islam in Its Totality

by Hamid Algar

If a list of the half dozen most important figures in the historical elaboration of Islam were to be drawn up, there can be no doubt that Abu Hamid Ghazali would figure on that list. As a versatile and gifted scholar and, more importantly, a believer of great spiritual insight, he confronted all the intellectual and spiritual currents of his day and elaborated what might be called a defining synthesis of Sunni Islam. He achieved this result through both lengthy personal experience and erudition, and this lecture deals, therefore, both with his life and his works, as well as attempting to assess his impact on the religious history of Islam.

Genres: Islam

56 pages, Paperback

First published July 15, 2000

About the author

Hamid Algar began his studies of Arabic, Persian and Islamic Civilzation at Cambridge in 1959. After graduating, he spent a lengthy and fruitful period of travel in Iran, Turkey and Afghanistan before returning to Cambridge in 1963 and completing his doctorate there two years later. He has been teaching in the Department of Near Eastern Studies since 1965, providing a wide range of instruction in the fields of Arabic, Persian and Ottoman Turkish literature and offering lecture courses on various aspects of Islamic religion and culture. His research interests center on Shi’ism in Iran and Sufism in the Persian and Persian-influenced world, with particular emphasis on the Naqshbandi order. His copious writings have been published in an array of languages additional to English: French, German, Russian, Italian, Bosnian, Turkish, Arabic, Persian, and Malay/Indonesian. He was recently awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Tehran.

Reviews

[Hamza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brief but over all adequate introduction to Al-Ghazali's life, works and thought.

[Muhammad Ma'mun · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Buku" Profesor Algar ini terlalu pendek. Benar-benar naskah "ceramah." Bagian intinya hanya 42 halaman, ditambah 7 halaman kutipan pendek dari karya-karya al-Ghazali. Narasinya tentang hayat al-Ghazali juga biasa. Namun, buku ini tetap berharga dalam kajian tentang ulama yang bergelar Hujjat al-Islam ini. Beberapa penilaian Algar menarik untuk dieksplorasi lebih jauh.

Algar menganggap al-Ghazali pada intinya adalah seorang Sufi dan menafsirkan kehidupan ulama Persia ini sebagai perjalanan menuju tasawuf. Ia misalnya, membandingkan "krisis spiritual al-Ghazali dengan pengalaman Rumi berjumpa dengan Syams (hlm. 17). Ia juga berspekulasi bahwa al-Ghazali adalah seorang Sufi Uwaysi (hlm. 20-21).

Ia juga memberikan komentar tentang perjumpaan al-Ghazali dengan filsafat. Berlawanan dengan "konsepsi umum" bahwa al-Ghazali menghancurkan filsafat di Dunia Islam dan ikut bertanggung jawab menimbulkan kemandekan pemikiran, ia menghadirkan beberapa pertimbangan yang perlu diingat sebelum orang memberikan penilaian yang tergesa-gesa tentang peran dan warisan al-Ghazali dalam filsafat Islam. Pertama, tradisi ilmiah (apapun) tidak akan mungkin stagnan dalam jangka waktu ratusan tahun. Bila memang al-Ghazali menghancurkan filsafat seperti yang disangka orang, peradaban Islam mestinya sudah mati dalam abad ke-11 atau ke-12. Kedua, aktivitas intelektual tidak bisa direduksi hanya pada filsafat. Ketiga, perjalanan sebuah peradaban (apalagi sebesar Islam) tidak mungkin hanya dipengaruhi oleh pemikiran seorang intelektual, sebesar apapun perannya.

Buku ini penting sebagai sebuah "kerangka interpretasi" atas hayat dan pemikiran al-Ghazali. Rincian lebih jauh, sebaiknya diserahkan kepada para pembaca.

[Saad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hamid Algar: my favorite teacher; Berkeley is lucky to have him.

[Mier Rashid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspired me to start reading his other works :)