1. Islamic Psychology
from the Ghazalian
Perspective
Dr. Osman Bakar, Malaysia
ISIP & Al-Ghazali Chair (ISTAC-IIUM) collaboration
2. LECTURE 1
7th May 2022
Topic
UNDERSTANDING AL-GHAZALI’S PSYCHOLOGY
A Synthesis of Perspectives
3. How Best to Introduce al-Ghazali?
A leading jurist of his
time; a law Professor at
Nizamiyah University
Baghdad; Chair of
Shafi’i law
A leading scholar of
kalam (mutakallim)
A leading critic of
Peripatetic philosophy
A leading authority on
Sufi spirituality
4. How Best to Remember al-Ghazali?
He reversed legalism
by philosophising usul
al-fiqh: introduced
maqasid al-shari’ah
He inaugurated a new
kalam: more
philosophical,
systematic and
respectable
He redrew the
boundaries of falsafah
and inspired the birth
of illuminationist
philosophy
He re-spiritualised the
Law; popularised the
Sufi epistemology
centred on self-
purification
He restored the
equilibrium between
the exoteric and
esoteric dimensions of
Islam
He reasserted the
supremacy of spiritual
life within the
framework of the
Shariah
His Ihya’ became the
definite work on
Islamic ethics,
personal and
communal
An illustrious
synthetical mind: a
man of synthesis: the
traditional hakim
5. Was al-Ghazali a psychologist?
• Popular writing: Ihya’ ‘ulum al-din
• Four key terms: heart (qalb), spirit (ruh), soul (nafs), and intellect (‘aql)
• Therapeutic psychology: psychotherapy
• Special treatises: Al-Madnun bihi ‘ala ghayri ahlihi (That which is withheld from
its non-specialists), trans. Abdul Qayyum Hazarvi
• A work on revealed psychology (pneumatology), metaphysical principles of
psychology, theology/metaphysics of the soul;
• Nature of the soul; key terms: taswiyah, nafkh, surat
Al-Ghazali: an author on psychological themes
• He established a Sufi convent (khanqah) for Sufi adepts
• He taught science of the soul (‘ilm al-nafs)
Al-Ghazali: A Sufi Master; theory and practice of Sufi psychology
6. Al-Ghazali’s Psychology: A Synthesis of Perspectives
Revealed
psychology
Jurisprudential
psychology
Kalam
psychology
Peripatetic
psychology
Sufi
psychology
The Ghazalian
Synthesis in
Psychology
