Al-Ghazali's Unspeakable Doctine of the Soul: Unveiling the Esoteric Psychology and Eschatology of the Ihya' (Brill's Studies in Itellectual History) [Hardcover]

Timothy J. Gianotti (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2001 | ISBN-10: 9004120831 | ISBN-13: 978-9004120839 | Edition: First Edition

This text marks a radical rethinking of the soul and the afterlife in the writings of al-Ghazali, particularly within his magnum opus, "Reviving Religious Knowledge" (Ihya''ulum al-din). Attending closely to variations of genre and discourse mode within his works, it attempts to resolve some of the major ambiguities that have vexed al-Ghazali's readers for nearly nine hundred years. Beginning with his theory of multi-level, multi-genre writing and working through his theological, philosophical, and mystical positions on the soul's true nature, the study culminates in an exploration of al-Ghazali's mystical "psycho-cosmology", where some startling conclusions are drawn regarding his most intimate thoughts on the "secrets" of the soul and the Hereafter.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 205 pages
• Publisher: Brill Academic Pub; First Edition edition (December 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9004120831
• ISBN-13: 978-9004120839
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,629,059 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Al-Ghazili's Unspeakable Doctrine of the Soul, November 5, 2009

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This review is from: Al-Ghazali's Unspeakable Doctine of the Soul: Unveiling the Esoteric Psychology and Eschatology of the Ihya' (Brill's Studies in Itellectual History) (Hardcover)

The main contribution of this work lies in the penetration and explication of al-Ghazali's guarded doctrines of life and death, all of which hinge upon the question of the true nature of the heart. Ultimately, however, it must be granted that these speculative or theoretical points were never intended to be ends in themselves; indeed, it becomes evident to the attentive reader that, for al-Ghazali, even the highest and most perfect theoretical knowledge is of no avail without practical application in one's everyday life. The conclusion thus brings us full-circle back to the primacy of practice, to the all important tasks of surrendering the self, following the prophetic precedents, and walking the path of piety and spiritual purification. The flashings of esoteric insight, then, ought to be seen as subtle enticements, the purpose of which is to kindle a desire for the higher realities, rather than as attempts to communicate a philosophical system in coded piecemeal form. While we can show that al-Ghazali privately agreed with much or even most of Ibn Sina's psychology, we can never cast him as real Avicennean, for he remains a creationist through and through, and it is clear that his reader's moral development, rather the accuracy of his theoretical conceptions, was ever the master's real priority.

Strongly recommended.