ABSTRACT
The chapter deals first of all with the Qur’anic concepts of spirit (rūh) and command (amr). The analysis is entirely theoretical and aims to demonstrate that God’s command puts into action Its (God’s) spirit into the universe by ordering it (the universe) rationally, but mainly in the believer’s heart. Inside the believer’s heart, a perfect balance between knowledge and practice must be achieved because the spiritual struggle (jihād) – namely action – is conditioned by the possession of genuine science. All al-Ghazālī’s thought is built on this balance which does not just have spiritual outcomes, but also political and social consequences, for worship is one side of a coin while the other is action in society. Therefore, the balance between science and action is studied by al-Ghazālī at many levels: the first is epistemological and involves the discussion of the relationship between truth and reality; the second is ontological and involves the study of God’s essence and attributes through a subtle analysis of the Qur’anic text; the third is ethical and involves a continuous correspondence between interiority and exteriority (we cannot be pure inside if we are unclean on the outside); the fourth is political and involves justice in human interactions and the idea that correct behaviour and happiness are the goals of politics; the fifth is juridical and involves the pursuit of maqāsid al-sharī‘a, ‘the aims of the Law’; and finally the sixth is spiritual and involves the achievement of the soul’s perfection during its journey towards God.
