Ghazali and the Poetics of Imagination (Islamic Civilization and Muslim Networks)

In many ways, this book is a dialogical encounter with perhaps the most influential intellectual in the Muslim tradition: Abu Hamid al-Ghazaly. It is a dialogue with many voices, one that fosters motion, discovery, playfulness, and invention. Abu Hamid Al-ghazali, A Muslim Jurist-theologian And Polymath Who Lived From The Mid-eleventh To The Early Twelfth Century In Present-day Iran, Is A Figure Equivalent In Stature To Maimonides In Judaism And Thomas Aquinas In Christianity. He Is Best Known For His Work In Philosophy, Ethics, Law, And Mysticism. In An Engaged Re-reading Of The Ideas Of This Preeminent Muslim Thinker, Ebrahim Moosa Argues That Ghazali's Work Has Lasting Relevance Today As A Model For A Critical Encounter With The Muslim Intellectual Tradition In A Modern And Postmodern Context. Moosa Employs The Theme Of The Threshold, Or Dihliz, The Space From Which Ghazali Himself Engaged The Different Currents Of Thought In His Day, And Proposes That Contemporary Muslims Who Wish To Place Their Own Traditions In Conversation With Modern Traditions Consider The Same Vantage Point. Moosa Argues That By Incorporating Elements Of Islamic Theology, Neoplatonic Mysticism, And Aristotelian Philosophy, Ghazali's Work Epitomizes The Idea That The Answers To Life's Complex Realities Do Not Reside In A Single Culture Or Intellectual Tradition. Ghazali's Emphasis On Poiesis--creativity, Imagination, And Freedom Of Thought--provides A Sorely Needed Model For A Cosmopolitan Intellectual Renewal Among Muslims, Moosa Argues. Such A Creative And Critical Inheritance, He Concludes, Ought To Be Heeded By Those Who Seek To Cultivate Muslim Intellectual Traditions In Today's Tumultuous World. Moosa (duke Univ.) Offers A Comprehensive Study That Brilliantly Clarifies The Multifaceted And Conflicted Legacy Of The Great Muslim Medieval Religious Philosopher Al-ghazali. Competing Religious, Cultural, And Political Agendas Have Distorted His Real Contributions To Islamic Culture. Spurned By Both Fundamentalists And Rationalists In The Contemporary Muslim World, Ghazali Is Prized By Traditionalists For His Mystical Piety And Ethical Insight. Centering His Inquiry On The Image Of The Dihliz, The Threshold Which Occupies The Border Between The Subjective And The Objective, Moosa Explores Problems Of Knowledge Through A Focus On The Self As It Manifests In Poetics, Self-creation, The Pursuit Of Virtue, Ethical Self-mastery, And Ultimately The Sociopolitical Realm, Where Ethics Meets Law And Jurisprudence. Ghazali's Own Crisis Of Faith Led Him To Reinvigorate His Own Religious Tradition By Situating Traditional Problems In Metaphysics, Theology, Ethics, Law, And Mysticism In The Context Of The Soul's Overcoming Its Exile From God. Thus, Ethics Ceases To Be Only Abstract Theory And Becomes The Art Of Transformation. Especially Impressive Is Moosa's Linking Of Historical Inquiry With The Existential Interests Of Contemporary Muslim Subjectivity. Summing Up: Highly Recommended. Upper-level Undergraduates Through Researchers/faculty. Upper-division Undergraduates; Graduate Students; Researchers/faculty. Reviewed By J. Bussanich. Agonistics Of The Self -- Narrativity Of The Self -- Poetics Of Memory And Writing -- Liminality And Exile -- Grammar Of The Self -- Metaphysics Of Belief -- Dilemmas Of Anathema And Heresy -- Hermeneutics Of The Self And Subjectivity -- Technologies Of The Self And Self-knowledge -- Knowledge Of The Strangers. Ebrahim Moosa. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [315]-335) And Index. Abu Hamid al-Ghaz& 257;l& 299;, a Muslim jurist-theologian and polymath who lived from the mid-eleventh to the early twelfth century in present-day Iran, is a figure equivalent in stature to Maimonides in Judaism and Thomas Aquinas in Christianity. He is best known for his work in philosophy, ethics, law, and mysticism. In an engaged re-reading of the ideas of this preeminent Muslim thinker, Ebrahim Moosa argues that Ghaz& 257;l& 299;'s work has lasting relevance today as a model for a critical encounter with the Muslim intellectual tradition in a modern and postmodern context. Moosa employs the theme of the threshold, or dihliz , the space from which Ghaz& 257;l& 299; himself engaged the different currents of thought in his day, and proposes that contemporary Muslims who wish to place their own traditions in conversation with modern traditions consider the same vantage point. Moosa argues that by incorporating elements of Islamic theology, neoplatonic mysticism, and Aristotelian philosophy, Ghaz& 257;l& 299;'s work epitomizes the idea that the answers to life's complex realities do not reside in a single culture or intellectual tradition. Ghaz& 257;l& 299;'s emphasis on poiesis—creativity, imagination, and freedom of thought—provides a sorely needed model for a cosmopolitan intellectual renewal among Muslims, Moosa argues. Such a creative and critical inheritance, he concludes, ought to be heeded by those who seek to cultivate Muslim intellectual traditions in today's tumultuous world. Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, a Muslim jurist-theologian and polymath who lived from the mid-eleventh to the early twelfth century in present-day Iran, is a figure equivalent in stature to Maimonides in Judaism and Thomas Aquinas in Christianity. He is best known for his work in philosophy, ethics, law, and mysticism. In an engaged re-reading of the ideas of this preeminent Muslim thinker, Ebrahim Moosa argues that Ghazali's work has lasting relevance today as a model for a critical encounter with the Muslim intellectual tradition in a modern and postmodern context.

Moosa employs the theme of the threshold, or dihliz, the space from which Ghazali himself engaged the different currents of thought in his day, and proposes that contemporary Muslims who wish to place their own traditions in conversation with modern traditions consider the same vantage point. Moosa argues that by incorporating elements of Islamic theology, neoplatonic mysticism, and Aristotelian philosophy, Ghazali's work epitomizes the idea that the answers to life's complex realities do not reside in a single culture or intellectual tradition. Ghazali's emphasis on poiesis--creativity, imagination, and freedom of thought--provides a sorely needed model for a cosmopolitan intellectual renewal among Muslims, Moosa argues. Such a creative and critical inheritance, he concludes, ought to be heeded by those who seek to cultivate Muslim intellectual traditions in today's tumultuous world.

Contents 8 Acknowledgments 10 Chronology 14 Introduction 18 1 Agonistics of the Self 50 2 Narrativity of the Self 82 3 Poetics of Memory and Writing 110 4 Liminality and Exile 136 5 Grammar of the Self 156 6 Metaphysics of Belief 182 7 Dilemmas of Anathema and Heresy 208 8 Hermeneutics of the Self and Subjectivity 226 9 Technologies of the Self and Self-Knowledge 254 Conclusion: Knowledge of the Strangers 278 Notes 298 Glossary 326 A 326 B 326 D 326 F 326 G 327 H 327 I 327 J 327 K 327 L 328 M 328 N 328 Q 328 R 329 S 329 T 329 U 329 W 330 Y 330 Z 330 Bibliography 332 Index 354 A 354 B 355 C 355 D 355 E 356 F 357 G 357 H 358 I 358 J 359 K 359 L 360 M 360 N 361 O 362 P 362 Q 363 R 363 S 363 T 365 U 365 V 365 W 365 Y 366 Z 366 Focusing on Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, the preeminent Muslim thinker, this book argues that his work has lasting relevance as a model for a critical encounter with Muslim intellectual tradition in a modern and postmodern context. It proposes that Muslims who place their own traditions in conversation with modern traditions share the same vantage point. Ebrahim Moosa sets out to stimulate a rethinking of traditional Islamic legacies in cosmopolitan contemporary terms, in this case rethinking Ghazali, one of the most important Islamic theologians of all time.