ABSTRACT
Having discussed some of the ‘activities of this world’ to which al-Ghazālī refers in the passage quoted in the Introduction to the present work, it is now time to turn to what alGhazālī regards as related to the ‘activities of the hereafter’. That is, he is concerned with drawing out meanings from the text which relate to the condition of the heart, or spiritual centre of the individual. How to discern the hidden meanings of the Qur’an is central to his concerns in the texts to be discussed in this chapter. This chapter examines four works which show Sufi influence in their approach to ta’wīl of the Qur’an. These are Book VIII of ‘ulūm al-dīn, entitled Kitāb Ādāb tilāwat al-Qur’ān, followed by Jawāhir alQur’ān, Mishkāt al-anwār and Book II of entitled Kitab Qawā‘id al-‘aqā’id. The first three of these form a sub-group on account of their shared ideas, and will be discussed in chronological order of composition in so far as this can be determined, although the chronology of these texts is not central to the ensuing arguments. Following this, the focus turns to Qawā’id, which exhibits both similarities and differences when placed alongside the first three works. One aim of this chapter is to identify the different ways al-Ghazālī defends his belief in hidden or inner meanings in Qur’anic verses.
