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Reason and Revelation in Islamic Political Theology: the Epistemological Foundations of Al-Ghāzālī’S Theocracy

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Reason and Revelation in Islamic Political Theology: the Epistemological Foundations of Al-Ghāzālī’S Theocracy REASON AND REVELATION IN ISLAMIC POLITICAL THEOLOGY: THE EPISTEMOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF AL-GHĀZĀLĪ’S THEOCRACY Mohamad Ghossein Thesis submitted to the University of Ottawa in partial Fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctorate in Philosophy – Political Science School of Political Studies Faculty of Social Sciences University of Ottawa © Mohamad Ghossein, Ottawa, Canada, 2021 Table of Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................................. iv Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. v Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 1 Approach and methodology ........................................................................................................... 28 Chapter breakdown ....................................................................................................................... 32 Chapter 1 – Biography .......................................................................................................... 36 Chapter 2 – Occasionalism in al-Ghazālī’s Main Theological Corpus ................................... 60 Section I – Elementary principles of al-Ghazālī’s occasionalism .................................................... 64 Occasionalism in al-Ghazālī’s anti-Muʿtazilī critique ....................................................................................... 88 Section II - Al-Ghazālī’s intermittent skepticism ............................................................................ 95 Taṣawwuf ......................................................................................................................................................... 102 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 108 Chapter 3 – Al-Ghazālī’s Theodicy: Between Occasionalism and Human Agency .............. 113 Section I – Divine omnipotence ................................................................................................... 119 Section II – God’s essence and His attributes .............................................................................. 135 Section III – Human agency through “acquisition” (kasb) .......................................................... 146 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 161 Chapter 4 – The Role of Divine Light in al-Ghazālī’s Taṣawwuf ......................................... 164 Section I – The general ideas of al-Ghazālī’s epistemology .......................................................... 172 Section II – Knowledge of the divine as the fundamental human purpose .................................... 180 Section III – Knowledge as “light” (nūr) in Niche of Lights ........................................................ 193 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 209 Chapter 5 – Subjective Piety and Culpability of Belief ......................................................... 211 Section I – What counts as unbelief? ........................................................................................... 215 Section II – The source of unbelief .............................................................................................. 226 Section III – The heart and the extent of culpability .................................................................... 232 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 237 Chapter 6 – The Political Purpose of Theological Writing ................................................... 240 Part I – The limits of reason and al-Ghazālī’s critique of theological writing .............................. 248 Part II – On the relationship between the commoners and scholars ............................................. 256 ii Part III – On the varying roles of religious scholarship and the purposes of jurisprudence and theological disputation ................................................................................................................. 265 Useful and wasteful sciences ............................................................................................................................ 270 Al-Ghazālī’s appeal to common sense in the Iniquities ................................................................................... 276 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 280 Chapter 7 – Al-Ghazālī’s Theocracy and the Politics of Humility ........................................ 285 The literature on al-Ghazālī’s politics ............................................................................................................. 287 Part I – The Purpose of the Muslim polity ................................................................................... 294 The egalitarianism in Enjoining the Good ....................................................................................................... 315 Part II – The Epistemological and Cosmological Foundations of al-Ghazālī’s Theocracy ........... 325 The functions of the righteous ruler ................................................................................................................. 331 Free will and divine intercession ..................................................................................................................... 339 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 344 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 347 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................ 367 iii Abstract In this thesis, I explore the epistemological dimensions in the political thought of Abū Ḥāmid al- Ghazālī (d. 1111), a renowned Muslim theologian and philosopher, famous for the refutation of the peripatetic tradition by means of a thoroughgoing skepticism. His reflections on human understanding and the cognitive faculties led him to the following conclusion: since reason is not self-sufficient, humanity must abide by revealed laws. While al-Ghazālī maintains that strict obedience is necessary for certain commoners, he arrives at such theocratic conclusions by way of investigating human nature as well as metaphysical claims. In brief, al-Ghazālī’s claim that humans must abide by revelation is grounded on two interrelated themes which are prevalent across his texts: (1) his view that God’s power over the universe is unlimited and (2) his claim that humans are entirely feeble before His omnipotence. In this sense, al-Ghazālī’s theology stands out as a negative philosophy; it is his use of philosophy that eventually undercuts independent philosophy, thus demanding that all persons submit to a higher source of truth, God’s revelation. Alternatively, al-Ghazālī proposes a mystical doctrine to address humanity’s perceptive shortcomings, claiming that the ascetic experience is the best means to attaining knowledge of the divine. I argue that, by pursuing a systemic inquiry into the nature of creation, which leads up to this mysticism, al-Ghazālī occasionally elevates reason to the ranks of revelation. This is because he arrives at this conclusion not by way of revelation, but through independent philosophical reflection and inquiry, one that makes use of particular theological notions. His skeptical refutation of certain philosophical doctrines is followed by his mysticism. In the later stages of my thesis, I extrapolate from this study to make larger claims about the nature of theocratic regimes. In the final analysis, I re-examine his theological and philosophical concepts to demonstrate how they are transposed to his political thought. I argue that al-Ghazālī’s key theological notions strongly shape his main political writings, though he tones down the philosophical and mystical jargon. While addressing the rulers, al-Ghazālī hopes that they could adopt the humility of the ideal ascetic man he has in mind. In brief, al-Ghazālī articulates a politics of humility to warn against tyrannical practice by appealing to the importance of the heart. Lastly, though this thesis deals with al- Ghazālī’s theological corpus, I also contribute to the literature on reason and revelation. I demonstrate that the theological may also contain reason at its foundation, especially when appealing to universal questions about humanity’s welfare. iv Acknowledgements First, I would like to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to my supervisors and mentors – Professor Robert Sparling and Professor Gilles Labelle – for their tireless support throughout my doctoral studies. I am beyond grateful for their diligent feedback on the thesis and for encouraging me to work on al-Ghazālī, who is relatively underexplored in our discipline of political thought. I will never forget the first discussion I had with Professor Sparling regarding
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