al-Ghazālī's unspeakable doctrine of the soul : : unveiling the esoteric psychology and eschatology of the Iḥyāʻ / / by Timothy J. Gianotti.

• Superior document: Brill's studies in intellectual history, volume 104
• VerfasserIn: Gianotti, Timothy J.,
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden ;, Boston : : Brill,, 2001.
• Year of Publication: 2001
• Language: English
• Series: Brill's studies in intellectual history ; v. 104.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (216 pages)

This text marks a radical rethinking of the soul and the afterlife in the writings of al-Ghazālī (d. 505/1111), particularly within his magnum opus, Reviving Religious Knowledge (Ihyā’ulūm al-dīn). 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-Ghazālī’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-Ghazālī’s mystical “psycho-cosmology”, where some startling conclusions are drawn regarding his most intimate thoughts on the “secrets” of the soul and the Hereafter. Meticulously researched and yet engagingly written, this study speaks to both the specialist and the amateur intellectual historian.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material -- Introduction, Methodology and Overview -- Chapter One: All Things to All People? Deciphering al-Ghazālī’s Doctrine of Discourse -- Chapter Two: al-Ghazālī’s Dogmatic/Theological (Kalāmī) Formulation of the Soul -- Chapter Three: Al-Ghazālī’s Condemnation of the Philosophical Psychology and Eschatology in the Incoherence of the Philosophers (Tahāfut al-falāsifa -- Chapter Four: The Heart {Al-Qalb) and Al-Ghazālī’s Mystical Discussions of the Soul -- Chapter Five: Through a Looking Glass: The Heart Reflected in Al-Ghazālī’s Mystical Cosmology -- Chapter Six: The Wayfarer's Final Journey: Al-Ghazālī’s Esoteric Eschatology (Conclusion) -- Appendix: Translation and Commentary: \'The Epistle of Presence\' -- Bibliography -- Index of Topics, Terms, and Proper Names.