Some Viewpoints about Ghazali's Opposition with Philosophers

It is clear that Ghazali opposed philosophers. Considering the arguments of the intellectuals about the clarity of this opposition, the most popular explanation is the opposition of religion with wisdom, religion with philosophy, or theology with philosophy. Probably the reason for this interpretation is that Ghazali regarded himself as the defendant of Islam, so he excommunicated philosophers. The final inference out of his books reveals that he, as one of the standard-bearers of Islam considered some philosophers’ ideas, particularly Ibn Sina and Faraby as blasphemy, but it does not mean he believed wisdom, thought and philosophy were totally disbelief. His recognition, of course, as a single issue without extension can be true. While Ghazali introduces Ibn Sina and Farabi’s ideas as aspects of disbelief, there are doubts about the accuracy of this view, and the use of excommunication as the only solution to the problem. The discussion here is not for investigating the truth or falsity of these doubts, but preventing confused reasoning. The aim of this study is to clarify the issue that the opposition is mainly between a theological and a philosophical deduction of Islam.