Analysis Of Al-Ghazali's The Deliverance From Error

Great Essays
In his autobiographical writing, The Deliverance From Error, Al-Ghazali tells his audience about the reason for his leaving his prestigious teaching position in Baghdad while also addressing numerous theological, philosophical, and practical problems facing Islam in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. A sizeable chunk of Al-Ghazali’s writing is aimed at tackling the topic of prophethood as a possibility, an actuality, and its specific realization by the prophet Muhammad. Within his discussion and defense of the Muslim conception of prophethood, he is primarily occupied with the philosophical problems that the philosophers of his day had presented him with, and their erroneous views about prophethood that resulted from their misunderstandings. …show more content…
On page 31 of The Deliverance From Error, Al-Ghazali gives what he believes to be a proof of prophethood in the world which will satisfy both those who doubt its possibility and those who doubt its actuality. He states quite hastily that some laws of science, including those in astronomy, cannot be learned through observation. From this, Al-Ghazali concludes that these particular laws of science of which he is writing also cannot be known through the faculties of the ordinary intellect. About these unnamed scientific laws and principles, he says that they are “beyond the kin of intellect” (The Deliverance From Error, page 31). Al-Ghazali never makes clear which laws or principles in particular he has in mind in giving this description, and to a modern audience it is unclear if there actually exist any such laws or principles of …show more content…
Here, though, he also adds an implicit recourse to Sufism in his argumentation. He begins, as before, by setting up the analogue. If a philosopher were sick with some disease, Al-Ghazali claims, and the philosopher’s father were a known, reputable physician, then the philosopher would trust their father to give them an appropriate cure for their disease. Al-Ghazali explains this decision in two parts. The first prerequisite for that decision is that the philosopher must come to believe in the capability of his father as a physician. This belief can be arrived at by the philosopher through trusting the experiences of others whose diseases their father had cured. The second necessary condition for the philosopher to trust his father to cure him of disease is that the philosopher must trust the good will of his father. This trust can be arrived at only by observing the father’s conduct in various situations (The Deliverance From Error, page

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Muhammad and the Believers presents us with a historical narrative of the early life of Islam and its formation. The five chapters inform the reader with the necessary exposition and background as well as subtle and reoccurring criticisms. While Donner makes it clear that not every story, reading, and text in the Quran is believable, they are in fact important as they give us insight and understanding. The book presents itself as a historical reading yet is familiar enough for the average reader to enjoy.…

    • 847 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    During the era of Al-Ghazali, Europe was tormented due to the disputes between the Pope and the Emperor which lead to political unrest that eventually resulted in catastrophe causing terror and destruction. At this time, the East was at the peak of its power and success. Al-Ghazali's wisdom allowed him to realize that the condition in the West could have an influence in the East. At this point, he decided to make a political model for the Islamic States to promote stability and progress. Alongside the East were climbing the stairs of power and success.…

    • 98 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Caliph Dbq Essay

    • 381 Words
    • 2 Pages

    II. Islam’s main religious focus was: ‘’ to bring humankind under the authority of the religion espoused by the Prophet Muhammad.’’ (WTWA 320). Arabian peoples would be the motor behind their own universal faith, which in the process, joined with forerunners in Afro-Eurasia. Especially in Baghdad, religion and religious debates were keen topics of discussion.…

    • 381 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Crusades Through Arab Eyes” by Amin Maalouf The great Crusade started in the second half of the 11th Century after Pope Urban II appealed to followers to reconquer the Holy Land from Muslims. Most Turks had converted to Islam, which was a concern for Alexios who was the Byzantine emperor of the Middle East region. The first war was to retake the Holy Land from Muslims, but it was realized that the Crusaders (or the Franj as referred by Muslims) had other intentions of conquering the territory of the Muslims. The book “Crusades Through Arab Eyes” tries to portray a different vantage point from an Arab-Muslim perspective.…

    • 753 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This podcast talks about Jesus Christ from a historical perspective through the book Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth and its author, Reza Aslan. This book dives into the historical perspective of Jesus of Nazareth and discusses Reza’s own religious journey. Religion is defined by the book to a a social institution involving beliefs and practices based on recognizing the sacred. There are several concepts from the lecture and book can be seen through this podcast. Religion is very complex as shown by Emile Durkheim thought of religion involves things that surpass the limits of our knowledge.…

    • 594 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    If one were to ask a practicing Christian what a prophet is, there is no doubt that most would be able to formulate some type of definition. However, many people’s thoughts on what a prophet is are often incomplete or even incorrect. While there are many places one could look to find an adequate definition of a prophet, Abraham Heschel provides an analysis of prophets unlike any other. Heschel’s analysis goes into great detail about what a prophet is, and what a prophet is not.…

    • 1319 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Structure and language Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s novel, Infidel is an autobiography focusing on her struggles as a Muslim woman. It starts of by a detailed recollection of her childhood and life in Somalia leading to her movement to America. Ayaan’s novel focuses on her inner struggle with Religion and human value, which she later on figures out. Ayaan’s profound awakening happens when she moves to the Netherlands where she later on obtains a degree in political science. The structure and language of Infidel elaborates on the idea of Islam and Islamic culture being the opposite of what it stands for, as peaceful and coequal, through the author’s descriptiveness, blunt honesty, and her choice of point of view.…

    • 1499 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    In order to understand the diverging factions that emerge later during Islamic history, one has to understand the diversity of thought during the Golden Age. As mentioned earlier, increased stability allowed scholars to dive into their thoughts and Islamic philosophers, scholars and Sufi’s started to expand on the ambiguous sections of Islamic Theology. Coupled with the anxiety of a changing world this had a profound effect on Islamic Civilization. Longing for stability brought about traditional patterns of society. For the Muslim world, it meant patriarchal and other familiar Arab and Byzantine…

    • 1564 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Great Divine is a newspaper article that focuses on inequality, the newspaper published an article called, “Stop holding us back” by Robert Balfanz. This article focuses on the fact that “one-third of the nation’s African-American and Latino young men will not graduate”. (Balfanz). The article reveals that back in 2014 the total of high school graduates was more than three million students. In the article Robert Balfanz conducted a study with one of his colleagues at Johns Hopkins University, and they found that “half of the African-American boys who veer of the paths to high school graduation do so in just 660 or more than 12,600 regular schools”.…

    • 1357 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The main focus of this article was on Ali’s career, his determination towards achieving his goals, and his dedication towards Islam. The article spoke about instances where Ali stood up against others to defend his religion, and show his loyalty towards Islam. An example of this could be when Ali refused to be drafted into the Vietnam War, or when he announced he was a Black Muslim and changed his name from Cassius Marcellus Clay to Muhammad Ali. Many people were outraged because of this, but he was not held back by their anger, instead, he was driven by it. It showed that his determination to change the way people viewed his religion was too powerful to let their opinions and thoughts stop him from achieving his goal.…

    • 212 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It’s hard to figure out what drives people to take risks, and to try and accomplish things. People try crazy, and sometimes dangerous things when undertaking a mission. Farah Ahmedi mission, she undertook was to flee Afghanistan. Cap’s mission was to fulfill a dying friend's last wish. Lastly, Spitz wanted to remain in top position.…

    • 649 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Al-Ghazzali’s text, Deliverance from Error, ideas of knowledge and ways to understand knowledge are brought to attention. Questions are asked if what we know is actually knowledge and is it truthful. Are the ways we search and comprehend knowledge the same way other people do, and which way is right? Defining knowledge is up to each person individually, but in this specific text, Al-Ghazzali explains his personal journey into defining knowledge. The ways groups of people seek knowledge are dependent on views of how they judge information.…

    • 540 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Although some principles may be the same, Islam and Christianity share some many different characteristics within the religion. Both originating from the same area, we can examine how great differences can occur with the powerful prophets of old times. Both of these religions share their differences on their views of Jesus, how each of them originated, and their personal practices. Examining these differences makes us better understand why these two religions became their own and why each of them often disagree with one…

    • 729 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    After characters in “The Kite Runner” betray and hold secrets against each other, it can be hard for them to find forgiveness from the one they acted against. In several cases, it takes characters in the story many years and acts of repentance to redeem themselves. Amir stretches the lengths of forgiveness by trying to make his life right again after the person he betrayed, Hassan, has already died. Baba and Rahim Khan also look for and teach about forgiveness because of the secret they kept from Amir and Hassan. Through Amir, Baba, and Rahim Khan, Khaled Hosseini demonstrates that redemption is completed when good deeds are the result of guilt.…

    • 1266 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseini, tells the story of a character named Amir. The story follows Amir from the age of twelve where he commits his ‘sin’ which is standing by while his friend/servant Hassan is sexually assaulted by the book’s antagonist, Assef. Amir’s sin of not saving Hassan gravely affects him from that point on where he searches for a way to be good again.…

    • 918 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays