Basic Principles of al-Ghazālī’s Method of Exegesis

Abstract

The allusive (ishārī) method of exegesis is the name given to the process of interpreting the Qurʾān depending on the particular type of knowledge called maʿrifah, which is accepted to be based on spiritual experience. In the ishārī exegesis, the meanings of the verses of the Qurʾān are revealed to the Sufi’s mind, and then, the Sufi expresses those senses through symbols and signs by employing an implicit style. Comprehensive and advanced works have been written over time in the field of ishārī exegesis, whose first examples were encountered in the early eras of Sufism. Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad al-Ghazālī (d. 505/1111) wrote works in various fields such as fiqh (Islamic law), theology, philosophy, and Sufism. Although he did not have any complete book in the field of ishārī exegesis, his vast corpus is overflowing with his ishārī interpretations of verses of the Qurʾān. For this reason, he is recognized as one of the most influential figures in the field of ishārī exegesis. This article aims to determine the basic principles on which al-Ghazālī’s ishārī interpretations of the Qurʾān in his various works are built in the context of the basic principles of his understanding of the Qurʾān. The first part of the article emphasizes al-Ghazālī’s approach to the Qurʾān and his view of the Qurʾān and then attempts to determine the basic principles of the method of his ishārī exegesis. The third and last part of the study analyzed some ishārī interpretations of al-Ghazālī in his various works to better understand these principles.