ABSTRACT
Following a short historical analysis of the political and religious struggles that troubled the Muslim world during al-Ghazālī’s lifetime, the chapter contextualizes his works in this broad context. Al-Ghazālī believed, in agreement with classical Islamic thought, that political power is a benefit granted by God to humankind; social and political peace, therefore, must be assured and protected at any price. This is the reason why, on the one hand, he was a legitimizer of the both ‘Abbasid caliph, who he recognized as the legitimate successor to the Prophet, and of the Seljuq Sultan, whose duty is the protection (through the use of arms if necessary) of state and religion. On the other hand, al-Ghazālī was not particularly critical of the religious deviants (the so-called zanādiqa), nor of the philosophers too. He wished to appease the fierce sectarian struggles of his time. Surprisingly, this attitude is very similar to that of Ibn Rushd/Averroes and involves the theoretical conviction of the impossibility of communicating true knowledge to unlearned people. Finally, his ‘autobiography’, the Munqidh min al-dalāl (The Deliverer from Error), is still seen as a very relevant text that demonstates its author’s political commitment to religious reform within a framework of the sincere quest for spiritual growth and perfection.
