UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Al-Ghazālī and Rasā’il Ikhwān al-Ṣafā’: Their Influence on His Thought A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Islamic Studies by Abdullah Ozkan 2016 © Copyright by Abdullah Ozkan 2016 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Al-Ghazālī and Rasā’il Ikhwān al-Ṣafā’: Their Influence on His Thought by Abdullah Ozkan Doctor of Philosophy in Islamic Studies University of California, Los Angeles, 2016 Professor Khaled M. Abou El Fadl, Chair In his Munqidh, al-Ghazālī states that there were four classes of seekers of truth at his time: the theologians, the followers of the doctrine of Ta‘līm, the philosophers, and the Sufis. He depicts himself here as a Sufi who denounces the others, especially philosophy. This image of al-Ghazālī became the major perception of him from the beginning. But this perception changed completely in the twentieth century. The most recent scholarship challenges this image and views him as a kind of scholar who was heavily influenced by philosophy and disseminated its teachings in disguise. However, the concentration is given mostly to the philosophy of Ibn Sīnāwhile searching the source of this influence. While not denying the influence of Ibn Sīnā, this study argues that Rasā’il Ikhwān Ṣafā’ must be taken ii seriously as a major source of philosophical influence on al-Ghazālī’s thought despite the negative remarks he makes about them. It tries to prove its argument first by situating al- Ghazālī’s negative remarks in the political and social conditions of his time and second by comparing his works, especially his Mishkāt al-Anwār, with Rasā’il. For its purpose, this study considers al-Ghazālī as a philosopher whose main concern was to direct the attention of his readers to their inner states and the behaviors resulting from them. This concern led him to search for and develop an ethical theology in which the theory of the soul and its purification played a role of utmost importance. The study shows that during his search, al-Ghazālī found the essential ingredients of this theology in the work of Ikhwān al-Ṣafā’, gave it a new form, and put it on the market with a new name, “the Science of the Hereafter” (‘ilm al-akhirah) with its two subdivisions: the science of practice (‘ilm al-mu‘āmalah) and the science of unveiling (‘ilm al-mukashafah). iii The dissertation of Abdullah Ozkan is approved. Calvin Normore Michael Cooperson Asma Sayeed Khaled M. Abou El Fadl, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2016 iv Contents ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION ........................................................................................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................................................... vii VITA/BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .............................................................................................................. ix INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER I .............................................................................................................................................. 19 THE CHANGE OF PERCEPTIONS: AL-GHAZĀLĪ AND ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY ........................................ 19 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 19 1.2 Al-Ghazālī as the Cause of the End of Islamic Philosophy ....................................................... 20 1.3 Encounter with The Niche of Lights and “the Ghazālī Problem” ............................................. 33 1.4 Denying the Text: Debating the Authenticity of the Philosophical Content ........................... 41 1.5 The Objective of The Incoherence of Philosophers .................................................................. 46 1.6 New Analyses of the Seventeenth Discussion ......................................................................... 55 1.7 Al-Ghazālī between the Ash‘arite Theology and the Philosophy of Ibn Sīnā .......................... 70 1.8 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 78 CHAPTER II ............................................................................................................................................. 81 CONCEALED CONNECTION: AL-GHAZĀLĪ’S RELATION WITH RASĀ’IL IKHWĀN AL-ṢAFĀ’ ................. 81 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 81 2.2 The Problem of Hostility towards Philosophy in Islam ............................................................ 82 2.3 al-Ghazālī’s Reliance on the Philosophy of Ibn Sīnā ................................................................ 89 2.4 Ibn Sīnā and Rasā’il Ikhwān al-Ṣafā’ ........................................................................................ 93 2. 5 Ismā‘īlism during the Era ...................................................................................................... 100 2. 6 The Perception of Ismā‘īlism During the Era ........................................................................ 107 2. 7 Rasā’il Ikhwān al-Ṣafā’ and Ismā‘īlism .................................................................................. 115 2.8 The Nishapur Controversy ..................................................................................................... 119 2.9 Deliverer from Error as an Indirect Response to the Allegations of the Controversy ........... 131 2.10 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 138 CHAPTER III .......................................................................................................................................... 141 AL-GHAZĀLĪ’S SCIENCE OF THE HEREAFTER AND ITS IKHWĀNIAN FOUNDATIONS ........................ 141 3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 141 3.2 Politics of Baghdad During al-Ghazālī’s Stay There ............................................................... 144 3.3 Doubts on al-Ghazālī’s Narration of his Departure from Baghdad ....................................... 150 3.4 Al-Ghazālī’s Acquaintance with Rasā’il before His Departure from Baghdad ....................... 154 3. 5 Al-Ghazālī’s Science of the Hereafter ................................................................................... 160 3. 6 The Path to the Hereafter in Rasā’il ..................................................................................... 176 3.7 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 192 v CHAPTER IV .......................................................................................................................................... 195 THE SCIENCE OF UNVEILING IN COMPARISON WITH RASĀ’IL: THE CASE OF MISHKĀT .................. 195 4. 1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 195 4. 2 From the Meanings of Light to God as the Only True Existent ............................................ 198 4. 3 God and His Relation to Creation in Rasā’il .......................................................................... 208 4. 4 Two Worlds and the Five Grades of Human Soul as the Means of Ascension ..................... 216 4. 5 Classifying Men According to Their Distance from the Light of God .................................... 224 4. 6 The Ending of Niche: Those Who are Veiled by Pure Light and Those Who Attain ............. 234 4. 7 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 243 CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................................... 245 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................................................... 254 vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It is a great pleasure to thank those who have helped me during the completion of this project. I am grateful to my UCLA friends Osman Çelik, Subah Dayal, and Syed Atif Ridwan for their constant friendship, encouragement, and support. I am grateful to Kenan Tekin from Colombia University for his insightful conversations with me about the matters discussed in this work. I am also grateful to Hugh Jefferson Turner and Ahmet Özer for their editorial and technical support. I would like to thank my UCLA professors Michael Morony, Carol Bakhos, Ismail K. Poonawala, and Latifeh Hagigi for their contribution to my education at UCLA. I should also thank Magda Yamamoto for her presence in Islamic Studies as a problem solver in official matters of the university throughout my stay in the USA. I am grateful to my committee members Calvin Normore, Michael Cooperson, Asma Sayeed, and Khaled M. Abou El Fadl. Professor Normore always encouraged me towards the completion of this project with his kind and fruitful remarks. Professor Cooperson’s meticulous reading of my chapters caused me