Al-Ghazali Moderation in Belief: A Translation and Commentary

FAIN: FT-56634-09

Aladdin Mahmud Yaqub
Lehigh University (Bethlehem, PA 18015-3027)

This is the first complete annotated English translation of al-Ghazali's masterpiece Moderation in Belief. In the Moderation Al-Ghazali addresses theological and philosophical problems from within the Islamic tradition as well as problems of a general nature. Hence, a translation of this work would make a significant contribution to scholarship in Islamic studies and to philosophical and theological scholarship. There is a large body of literature on Al-Ghazali's philosophical theology with numerous references to the Arabic text of this work. However, the text is inaccessible to Western scholars who have limited or no knowledge of Classical Arabic. The translator must be versed in Classical Arabic and English as well as in Islamic philosophy. Since many of the problems discussed in the work are relevant to problems in Western philosophy, it takes a commentator who is also versed in Western philosophy to elucidate the relation of Al-Ghazali's work to Western philosophical thoughts.

Associated Products

Al-Ghazal's Moderation in Belief: Annotated Traslation (Book)
Title: Al-Ghazal's Moderation in Belief: Annotated Traslation
Abstract: The Moderation is al-Ghazali's most important work on philosophical theology. It addresses a wide areas of the subject, including the existence of God, his oneness, his, characteristics, attributes, and acts. The translation is supplemented with extensive commentary the brings out and reconstructs the argument and supplied the intellectual and historical background of the work.
Year: 2012
Publisher: It is subbmmitted for consideration The University of Chicago Press
Type: Translation
Translator: Aladdin M. Yaqub
Copy sent to NEH?: Yes

Al-Ghazali's Moderation in Belief, Translation with Interpretive Essay and Notes (Book)
Title: Al-Ghazali's Moderation in Belief, Translation with Interpretive Essay and Notes
Author: Abu Hamid Muhammad al-Ghazali
Abstract: In the Moderation of Belief al-Ghazali presents the best defense and exposition of Orthodox Sunni Theology, which is a large part of the Islamic tradition. The book covers issues related to the existence of God, His attributes, and His acts. He also discusses with elaborations the implications of those issues—implications concerning human freedom and power, and the causal structure of the world. He ends the book with a discussion of prophecy, miracles, and ethics.
Year: 2013
Primary URL: http://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/A/bo16220536.html
Primary URL Description: The University of Chicago Press Books: Al-Ghazali's Moderation in Belief
Secondary URL: http://https://www.amazon.com/Al-Ghazalis-Moderation-Belief-Al-Ghazali/dp/022606087X
Secondary URL Description: Amazon.com: Al-Ghazali's Moderation in Belief
Access Model: It is a book available in print and as e-book
Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
Type: Translation
ISBN: 978-0-226-0608
Translator: Aladdin M. Yaqub
Copy sent to NEH?: Yes

Al-Ghazali's View on Causality (Article)
Title: Al-Ghazali's View on Causality
Author: Aladdin M. Yaqub
Abstract: This article will be published as part of an anthology that deals with a type of causal theories that are called "Occasionalism" in the Islamic tradition and in the Western tradition. My article argues that al-Ghazali held an occasionalist view of causality, which is contrary to the received view in Western scholarship of al-Ghazali. Al-Ghazali's occasionalism sees God as the universal and direct cause of all things.
Year: 2016
Access Model: An anthology will be in print. It is expected to appear in 2016/2017
Format: Other
Periodical Title: (Anthology) Occasionalism East and West: New Essays on the Occasionalist Visions of Causality from the Islamic and Western Traditions. edited by Nazif Muhtaroglu
Publisher: Kalam Research and Media

Al-Ghazali's Ethical Egoism and Divine Will (Article)
Title: Al-Ghazali's Ethical Egoism and Divine Will
Author: Aladdin M. Yaqub
Abstract: This is also a chapter published in an anthology about intersections between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The article is a careful exposition of al-Ghazali's ethical theory and its implications.
Year: 2012
Primary URL: http://www.brill.com/monotheism-ethics
Primary URL Description: Brill Monotheism and Ethics
Secondary URL: https://www.amazon.com/Monotheism-Ethics-Contemporary-Intersections-Christianity/dp/9004194290
Secondary URL Description: Amazon.com Monotheism and Ethics
Access Model: An anthology in print.
Format: Other
Periodical Title: (Anthology) Monotheism and Ethics: Historical and Contemporary Intersections among Judaism, Christianity and Islam, edited by Y. Tzvi Langermann
Publisher: Brill

Ibn Sina's Causal Necessity and al-Ghazali's Occasionalism (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Ibn Sina's Causal Necessity and al-Ghazali's Occasionalism
Author: Aladdin M. Yaqub
Abstract: My presentation concerns the causal theories of Ibn Sina and al-Ghazali. It is widely held that Ibn Sina believed in (and argued for) the necessity of natural causality, and that al-Ghazali rejected this causal necessity but allowed for the existence of natural causality. I argued that, contrary to this received view, al-Ghazali accepted Ibn Sina's argument for causal necessity, and accordingly rejected completely natural causality.
Date: 5/15/2012
Conference Name: Annual Congress of the Canadian Philosophical Association, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario

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