MOVING IN MYSTICAL WAYS: THE DIALECTIC OF
AL-GHAZALI AND IBN RUSHD IN ISLAMIC
EPISTEMOLOGY
AMY SKY

Epistemology, or the study of how knowledge is formed, played a foundational role
in early Islamic intellectual life. Medieval Muslim scholars and theologians often
took opposing stances in heated debates around epistemic questions concerning the
nature of knowledge, rationality, and faith. Some of these scholars were inspired
by classical Greek philosophers, while others wished to denounce the actions of all
philosophers as unsuitable and impious. By holding contradictory positions, two
Muslim scholars – namely al-*KD]ƗOƯ and Ibn Rushd – established a dialectic
structure that can be seen as a productive framework for philosophical
advancement in the Islamic world and one which became influential on many
philosophers to come.

Epistemology is generally described as the theory of knowledge and, as such, can
be understood as the study of how knowledge is formed, namely, what it is possible
to have knowledge of and, to some extent, what knowledge is “real” or valid. In
early Islamic intellectual life, epistemic exploration was equally foundational to
theology and philosophy because of questions central to both: what can we know
of God, where does knowledge come from, and how does a Muslim determine, with
certainty, what they know. In addition, what kind of knowledge is paramount.
Clearly the Quranic revelation is of singular importance, but are recorded traditions
(hadith) or the chain of transmitters (LVQƗG) to be trusted? 1 Or can rational
knowledge, acquired through one’s intellectual ability, be considered a true and
moral source? 2 These epistemic questions presented a particular thorn in the side
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1

Andrew Rippin and Teresa Bernheimer, Muslims: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices, 5th ed.
(London, New York: Routledge, 2019), 47-48.
2
One D\ƗK that refers to the gift of knowledge specifically is 58:11, from the surah al-mujadila
(which imparts many social protocols): “…Allah will raise up those of you who believe and who

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of medieval Muslim thinkers and scholars, as some were inspired by classical Greek
philosophers and others wished to denounce the actions of philosophers as
unsuitable and impious. By holding contradictory positions, two medieval Muslim
scholars – namely al-*KD]ƗOƯ and Ibn Rushd – established a dialectic structure that
can be seen as a productive framework for philosophical advancement in the
Islamic world and became influential on many philosophers to come.
While classical philosophy in the Islamic world largely grew out of scholarly study
and response to Aristotelian texts, named falsafa in Arabic, its roots are also found
in original Arabic texts, such as theological works and the mystical explorations of
Sufism. 3 Certainly, much of the falsafa tradition can be traced to the cultural
enrichment that took place within the empire-building expansion of Islamic
conquest. As the Arab conquests expanded the Islamic world throughout the 7th to
9th centuries, settling Muslim populations in Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Persia and beyond,
Muslim scholars’ interaction with other cultures and ideas increasingly influenced
the direction of their intellectual projects and philosophical inquiry. 4 An extensive
translation movement was established in Baghdad,5 supported by the patronage of
the Abbasid caliph al-0D¶PnjQ (r. 813-833). 6 Rendering foreign texts into Arabic
made accessible a library of ancient literature on diverse subjects such as
mathematics, medicine, and philosophy. 7 Muslim theology and falsafa was
irrevocably changed by exposure to newly available works of Greek logic and
philosophy, as Islamic scholars utilized the back-and-forth method of rational
dialectic, termed NDOƗP, to discuss theological puzzles, develop ideas, and pose
questions that had gone unvoiced before now. 8 A group of theologians named the
Mu’tazila became well known for using this style of argumentation and relying on
the Greek philosophical assumption that human reason is a reliable source of
knowledge; this could be seen roughly as a beginning for Islamic epistemology. 9
Certain Mu’tazilite doctrines were especially controversial and divisive, such as
“the createdness” of the 4XU¶ƗQ God’s “unity”, as well as the primacy of human
reasoning, free will, and responsibility. 10 The Mu’tazilites believed that since the
human faculty of reason can make moral judgements, and it would be unjust of God
have been granted (mystic) Knowledge.” There are similarly numerous hadiths which credit the
Prophet with extolling the benefits of seeking knowledge to Believers.
3
Peter Adamson, Philosophy in the Islamic World: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2015), 3, no. 445.
4
Vernon Egger, A History of the Muslim World to 1405: The Making of a Civilization (Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004), 127-128.
5
Specifically, the translation movement was initiated by Caliph al-ManৢnjU U -775) as he
founded Baghdad and was continued by his son al-0DKGƯ(r. 775-785).
6
1DMLE * $ZDG ³&UHDWLR ([ 3KLORVRSKLD .DOƗP DV &XOWXUDO (YROXWLRQ DQG ,GHQWLW\ဨFormation
Means in the Early Abbasid Era,” Muslim World 109, no. 4 (October 2019): 510.
7
Egger, 89, 128-129.
8
Rippin and Bernheimer, 75.
9
Egger, 134.
10
Egger, 117; Adamson, 6-7.

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to punish people for deeds they were constrained to do (and God is presumed ‘just’),
human beings must be free to act either morally or immorally. 11 Like many Muslim
scholars, Mu’tazilite philosophers (falasifahs) al-)ƗUƗDEƯ (d. 950) and Ibn Sina (d.
1037) adapted Neoplatonic arguments and Aristotle’s deductive methods to suit an
Islamic context, promoting human reason and empiricism as a source of objective
knowledge – a major point of contention for critics. 12 One such traditionalist, al*KD]ƗOƯ (1058-1111) was a respected jurist, polymath, and Sufi thinker; he pushed
back against the discipline of falsafa in his masterwork, The Incoherence of the
Philosophers [Tahafat al-Falasifah]. 13
$Enj +ƗPLG Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-*KD]ƗOƯ was born around 1058 CE in
7DEDUƗQ-7njV Iran and studied Ash’arite theology in Nishapur, and became a
celebrated scholar and teacher at the caliphal courts in Isfahan and Baghdad. 14 As
described in his autobiographical work, Deliverance from Error, al-*KD]ƗOƯ left his
esteemed position in Baghdad in 1095 after suffering a crisis of confidence. He
became convinced his life was a “thicket of attachments” and unacceptably
motivated by the desire for acclaim and “public recognition”, which led him to
doubt ‘worldly’ and empirical ways of knowing. 15 This reveals his deep
preoccupation with moral and devotional use of knowledge; as Joseph Lumbard
articulates, for al-GKD]ƗO“ Ưwhat we do with the knowledge [is key], the knowledge
is no good unless we actually use it to better ourselves”. 16 Discarding the trappings
of prestige, he made pilgrimages to Damascus, Jerusalem, and Mecca seeking a
“strong, intellectual faith” through the mystical-experiential knowledge he had
studied in Sufi texts. 17 Al-*KD]ƗOƯ subsequently returned to 7njV a transformed man
and opened a small Sufi lodge/school (zawiya) where he taught until his death in
1111 CE. 18
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Epistemological scepticism, i.e. questioning the means of acquiring knowledge,
was a primary facet of al-*KD]ƗO’Ưs theological investigations. With Tahafat alFalasifah, he set out to refute the Aristotelian falasifahs by showing that there were
natural and ascribed limits to reason. For instance, humans should not conjecture
anything that might govern or curtail God’s actions and abilities, as God is
11

Adamson, 6.
Egger, 135-136.
13
Frank Griffel, “al-*KD]ƗOƯ´LQThe Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, ed. Edward N. Zalta, last
revised September 22, 2014, https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2020/entries/al-ghazali/.
14
Griffel.
15
Abu Hamid Al-*KD]ƗOƯ “Deliverance from Error” in Philosophical Questions: East and West, ed.
Bina Gupta and J. N. Mohanty (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 1999), 130-31; Joseph
Lumbard, “Abu Hamid al-*KD]ƗOƯ and The Art of Knowing,” YouTube video, 34:38, June 16, 2019,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5MS2YsqCO8.
16
Lumbard, 0:40-0:52.
17
Griffel; al-*KD]ƗOƯ“Deliverance from Error,” 135.
18
Griffel.
12

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omnipotent, 19 and, moral knowledge is inherent and divinely inspired, thus the most
important kinds of knowledge are unattainable “by observation”. 20 Ultimately, al*KD]ƗOƯ meant to dismantle the philosophical systems of al-)ƗUƗEƯ and Ibn Sina,
cast doubt on theories which opposed doctrinal religious teachings, and disillusion
those who regarded the philosophers as infallible. 21 Although al-*KD]ƗOƯ expressed
disgust with philosophers and their ‘superior approach’, ironically, he had no
qualms using similar, rational methods to make his arguments against philosophical
knowledge. 22 In essence, al-*KD]ƗOƯ can be read as nonpartisan: he deconstructs
religious orthodoxy, criticizing theologians for their “excessive reliance on
authority and tradition,” 23 while arguing that philosophy’s main fault is an
illegitimate use of logic, such as its application in religious problems, considered
by some theologians to be bila kayf (i.e., conundrums better left “without asking/
knowing how”). 24 Perhaps, as Albertini asserts, this is due to the epistemic tenet
that knowledge is formed in an “individual mind seeking truth,” and not through
quoting authoritative texts ad infinitum – revealing al-*KD]ƗO’Ưs mystical
tendencies concerning what is knowable. 25
58F

Many of the major theological/ epistemological debates al-*KD]ƗOƯ grappled with
were picked up by subsequent Islamic philosophers, and centuries later, by Western
philosophers such as Descartes, Locke, and Hume. 26 One vocal opponent was Ibn
Rushd (1126-1198), Latinized as Averroes, who sought to reconcile religious
doctrines with rational, Aristotelian formulations in defense of philosophy in
Islamic society. 27 His dialectic response to al-*KD]ƗO’Ưs Tahafat, named The
Incoherence of the Incoherence, tackled all of the great premises, refuting the
eternal nature of the world, the divine limits of cause and effect, and a literal reading
of ‘Miracle stories’ in the Qur’an. 28 Ibn Rushd took the stance that epistemic
inquiry is advocated by the Qur’an and thus the search for knowledge, i.e.
19

Adamson, 42.
Al-*KD]ƗOƯ³'HOLYHUDQFHIURP(UURU´
21
Abu Hamid Al-*KD]ƗOƯTahafut al-Falasifah [Incoherence of the Philosopher], trans. Sabih A.
Kamali (Lahore: Pakistan Philosophical Congress, 1963), 8, http://ghazali.org/works/taf-eng.pdf;
Avital Wohlman and David B. Burrell, Al-*KD]ƗOƯ$YHUURsVDQGWKH,QWHUSUHWDWLRQRIWKH4XU¶DQ
Common Sense and Philosophy in Islam (London: Taylor & Francis, 2009), 23.
22
Egger, 204.
23
Tamara Albertini, “Crisis and Certainty of Knowledge in Al-*KD]ƗOƯ -1111) and Descartes
(1596-1650),” Philosophy East and West 55, no. 1 (January 2005), 3.
24
Oliver Leaman, Islamic Philosophy: An Introduction (Oxford: Wiley, 2013), 24.
25
Albertini, 3.
26
Edward O. Moad, “Al-*KD]ƗOƯ RQ 3RZHU &DXVDWLRQ DQG µ$FTXLVLWLRQ¶´ Philosophy East and
West 57, no. 1 (January 2007): 8; Edward O. Moad, “Between Divine Simplicity and the Eternity
RI WKH :RUOG *KD]ƗOƯ RQ WKH 1HFHVVLW\ RI WKH 1HFHVVDU\ ([LVWHQW LQ WKH ,QFRKHUHQFH RI WKH
Philosophers,” Philosophy and Theology 27, no. 1 (2015): 55.
27
Egger, 203.
28
Leaman, 31-45; Isra Yazicioglou, “Redefining the Miraculous: Al-*KD]ƗOƯ,EQ5XVKGDQG6DLG
Nursi on Qur’anic Miracle Stories,” Journal of Qur’anic Studies 13, no. 2 (October 2011): 92.
20

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philosophy, should be a Muslim duty; whether a person attained specialized
knowledge would be determined by their God-given abilities. 29
Both, al-*KD]ƗOƯ and Ibn Rushd, wrote in response to predecessors adding unique
perspectives on theological and epistemic questions and provided a fruitful legacy
for dialectical discussion. These remarkable minds were frequently using the same
tools to come to different conclusions, as they worked through fundamental yet
esoteric problems. Ibn Rushd saw the intellect, and thus philosophy, as a divine gift
sanctioned for thoughtful, deductive processes. Al-*KD]ƗOƯ felt that acquiring
(mystical) knowledge happened through mysterious means: God was sole author of
the “light cast into his heart,” curing and dispelling intellectual doubt within him.30
Rather than truly being at cross-purposes, these keen intellects transmuted their
opposition and disagreement into fertile and common ground.
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29

Adamson, 39.
Adamson, 42. In al-*KD]ƗOƯ¶VRZQZRUGV³$WOHQJWK*RGFXUHGPHRIWKHPDODG\P\EHLQJZDV
restored to health and an even balance; the necessary truths of the intellect became once more
accepted, as I regained confidence in their certain and trustworthy character. This did not come
about by systematic demonstration or marshalled argument, but by a light which God most high cast
into my breast.” Al-*KD]ƗOƯ “Deliverance from Error,” 3.
30

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
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