An Introduction to AL-IQTIṢĀD FĪ AL-IʿTIQAD

Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad al-Ghazālī (d. 1111 C.E.) ranks as one of the most prominent figures in the history of Islamic thought. His works have been published, studied, and commented upon widely by Muslims and non-Muslims alike. In the Western tradition of orientalist scholarship, Ghazālī has received no small amount of attention, and, as is often the case when a variety of perspectives and talents are brought to bear upon a particular subject, the amount of controversy has tended to increase while what can be affirmed with certainty or without opposition has commensurately diminished.


The raft of questions and debates about Ghazālīís basic beliefs and attitudes, their origins, and their impact on subsequent thinkers is, by now, robust. At the same time, there are large portions of Ghazālīís oeuvre that remain inaccessible to those who might be interested in these questions but who lack the necessary familiarity with classical Arabic to read them. In this dissertation I will provide an English translation of a significant portion of Ghazālīís lengthiest and most systematic work of kalam, Al-Iqtiṣād fī al-iʿtiqād. It is hoped that the translation, together with the notes and commentary that accompany it, will be a further contribution to the ongoing conversation about al-Ghazālī and his thought.