Imam Ghazzali and his Criticism on Greek philosophy of theology
Abstract
Imam Ghazzali is one of the distinguished intellectual personalities in the history of mankind. He lived in the 5th century of Hijrah where cultural clashes between different ideological groups reached the crucial point. The Muslim younger generation was in a great confusion to choose a right direction. The Greek philosophy attracted the intellectual youngsters and the other ideological groups like Fathimi, Mu’tazilah and Sufism were in conflict among themselves. Imam Ghazzali had acquired a thorough knowledge of all ideologies of his period. He had identified a sort of psychological demoralization imposed by Greek philosophy in the minds of intelligent Muslim youngsters against Islamic faith and values. Therefore, he had taken up the task of socio-cultural reformation on his shoulder.
He authored a number of books in refutation of Greek philosophy and rejection of the ideologies of the Batini and Mutazilah. This paper critically analyses the life history of Imam Gazzali, his intellectual contributions and his task towards refutation of Greek philosophy in order to defend Islam and safeguard the faith.