Analysis of Al Ghazali's Al-Ghazali's Deliverance from Error - Book Report/Review Example

s Abu Hamid Ibn Muhammad Ibn Muhammad al-tusi al Shafi`I al-Ghazali was born in 450 ADin Khorasan. His father passed away while he was still quite young, however he sought his education from Nishapur and also Baghdad. Soon after, he acquired quite a repute in the field of religion and philosopher. Later, he was appointed as the Professor at Nizamiya University in Baghdad where he extended his wisdom to the aspiring knowledge-seekers. However, he completely gave up not only on his academic pursuits, but also worldly affairs after he turned into a wandering ascetic. Thus, he underwent a series of mystical transformations, and led towards a life of solitude focused at contemplation along with writing and reflections. Thus, he offered immense contributions in the field of religion and philosophy and most importantly in Sufism. He was a strong proponent of the thought that logic is solely guided by reason, which is a very subjective and a relative subject (Ormbsy 11). His works include The incoherence of the Philosophers, The Revival of Religious Sciences, and his autobiography and the subject of discussion in the paper, The Deliverance from Error. He Died in 505 AA at Tus, thought his work is still alive and is an inspiration for many. The book Mukidh min al-Dalal i.e. Deliverance from Error is one the most significant works of al-Ghazali since it is attributed to be an intellectual autobiography. The book explains the journey of Al-Ghazali from a profoundly brilliant professor to a committed Sufi, where he doesn’t just answers questions, rather sheds light on truth seekers, and how Sufis are distinct from the philosophers and theologians. The book begins with the part where Ghazali is undergoing a crisis, and resultantly he gives up on his professorship. Over the period of ten years, he is transformed into a mystic dressed in a wool garment characteristic to that of the Sufis and is completely indulged into spiritual practices. He is now a proponent of the thought that the heart has no room for doubt and the thinking soul eventually rids itself of the irradiations or the impurity. He further talks about the paradox of the intellectual thinkers who exhibit the inability of reason to acquire certitude while implying the maintenance of the certitude of destroying by rigorous dialectics and certitudes of the philosophers (Ghazali & McCarthy 19-21). Furthermore, he stresses on the definition or rather the dimension of certitude, which for his must be doubtless. He is undergoing various contradictions regarding the faith and credibility of the religious beliefs one is following. It doesn’t seem fair to him how the children of Christians turn out to be Christians and the children of Muslims turn out to be Muslims. This is contradictory in the sense that the beliefs are a product of authority and unreasoned convictions, however, for him, certitude is found at the state where there is no doubt, only then can certitude be achieved. Further during the discussion, Ghazali argues that certitude can only be accomplished by complete detachment from the world, because the primary senses of a human are clearly subject to err (Ghazali & McCarthy 41-42). In other words, a human eye may perceive an object to be static, yet there might be a minor movement at some level. Similarly, other senses of human may be deceitful, thus, only when a human detaches himself from the worldly affairs and truly indulge in reasoning could be find certitude. More so, Ghazali sheds light on three different kinds of truth-seekers. In this context, he identifies three kinds of truth seeker, i.e. the first being scholastic theologians, the philosophers and the Sufis. However, he submits his claim of authenticity on the Sufis, as his investigations are deemed as most reliable based on the presumptions set above. Further elaboration of scholastic theologians implies that they follow the orthodox beliefs and they co-exist various forms and sects. Furthermore, he claims that a deeper study of these theologians would implicate various contradictions and questionable clauses which clearly refute the idea of certitude. Furthermore, on the subject of philosophical sects and the infidels, Ghazali points out to the variety of philosophical systems which can further be divided into three categories; The Materialists, The Naturalists and The Theists (Ghazali & McCarthy 66). The materialists simply reject any notion of eternal being by claiming that there is a reason and logic behind the processes in the world. The Naturalists are those who study natural sciences and are struck by the idea of who created the universe, and thus are inclined to believe that there is an eternal being behind the process. The theists, however, completely refute the sciences and reason everything on the existence of God. More so, Ghazali explains various six divisions of philosophical sciences; Mathematics, Logic, Physics, Metaphysics, Politics and Moral Philosophy. He relates the idea of Mathematics and Physics with the proposition that the theists or the ignorant Muslims tend to ignore the existence of sciences and rather believe that God is behind every process apparent in the world. With logic, he comments that it is subject to serious abuse and thus can`t be relied on. Similarly, Metaphysics for him is also the breeding ground for all kinds of errors inherent in philosophy and thus, they accuse of irreligion over every irregularity observed (Ghazali & McCarthy 71-72)). On the other hand, moral philosophy is quite a controversial subject with opposing views and there may be various explanations for different kinds of moral issues. Also, there are complex nitty-gritty’s in the process which complicate the essence of morality further creating issues for the philosophers. Lastly, he examines the study of Sufism and implies that in order to completely understand the subject, theory must be combines with practice. Then he sets that the aim of the Sufis is to free the soul of the worldly tyrannical passions, to rid it of the evil instincts and reach a condition where the heart purifies and there is room only for God. After rigorous reading, he came up with the conclusion that Sufism can only be reached by transporting towards the state of ecstasy and the transformation into a moral being. He also observed that Sufism truly exists in experiences rather than in definitions, but if one lacks ecstasy, the state can`t be reached. Furthermore, the three basic fundamentals of beliefs i.e. God, Inspiration and Last Judgment weren’t just rooted by definition rather understood by circumstances and proofs, after which he achieved salvation. In the conquest for his passion, he renounced and detached himself completely of the world and thus, he turned towards meditation. Thus, by sacrificing honors and riches and by detaching oneself from the worldly life can certitude be achieved. After ten years of meditation and detachment, Ghazali was able to conclude that Sufis are originally the true pioneers on the path of God, and nothing in the world is as beautiful as their lives neither is anything more pure than their lives and sense of morality (Ghazali & McCarthy 91-93). Also, he argues that the Sufis are quite patient in the sense that the ignorant ones denying the reality hear their discourses with a sense of irony, however, Sufis believe that their hearts have been sealed by God. Thus, conclusively, the book Deliverance from Error attributes that an individual can only find the true sense of certitude and morality in Sufism. Sufism in turn is signified by the detachment from the worldly affairs and entering a state of ecstasy. In the autobiography Al Ghazali narrated his personal account on how he gave up on the worldly life and in his quest to find the truth, he found God and the pathway towards certitude, where his heart reached the highest sense of morality and was cleared of all kinds of impurities. Work Cited: Ghazzālī, , and Richard J. McCarthy. Al-ghazālīs Path to Sufism and His Deliverance from Error: An Annotated Translation of Al-Munqidh Min Al-Dal⁻al. Louisville, KY: Fons Vitae, 2006. Print. Ormsby, Eric L. Ghazali: The Revival of Islam. Oxford, England: Oneworld, 2008. Print. Read More