Al-Ghazālī on Experiential Knowing and Imaginal Mediation

This article examines al-Ghazālī’s conception of experiential knowledge and imaginal cosmology with special attention to his Kitāb sharḥ ʿajāʾib al-qalb (Marvels of the Heart) and other relevant works. In the process, it demonstrates how, for al-Ghazālī, unseen forces – benevolent and malevolent – i...

Description complète

Enregistré dans:  
Détails bibliographiques
Auteur principal: Richmond, Joel (Auteur)
Type de support: Électronique Article
Langue:Anglais
Vérifier la disponibilité: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
En cours de chargement...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Publié: Taylor & Francis 2022
Dans: Islam and Christian-Muslim relations
Année: 2022, Volume: 33, Numéro: 1, Pages: 1-17
Sujets non-standardisés:B Sufi psychology
B angels and demons
B imaginal world
B Sufi epistemology
B al-Ghazālī
Accès en ligne: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Résumé:This article examines al-Ghazālī’s conception of experiential knowledge and imaginal cosmology with special attention to his Kitāb sharḥ ʿajāʾib al-qalb (Marvels of the Heart) and other relevant works. In the process, it demonstrates how, for al-Ghazālī, unseen forces – benevolent and malevolent – insinuate, inspire and communicate to the human being on a subtle level through incoming suggestions or thoughts (khawāṭir; sing. khāṭir). Key to his understanding of this idea is the heart’s receptivity to influences that emerge from the hierarchical realms that descend from God all the way down to the human soul. According to later theoretical Sufism, the imagination is a faculty of the soul’s psychology, but it is also considered an external and subtle aspect of creation. This article argues that al-Ghazālī explained the teaching in a distinct fashion before the theory of imagination was elaborated by later Muslim writers.
ISSN:1469-9311
Contient:Enthalten in: Islam and Christian-Muslim relations
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/09596410.2022.2025562