Ghazali, al-

Ghazali, al- (ăl-găzä`lē), 1058–1111, Islamic theologian, philosopher, and mystic. He was born at Tus in Khorasan, of Persian origin. He is considered the greatest theologian in Islam. Al-Ghazali was appointed professor at Baghdad in 1091, but following a spiritual crisis in 1095 he abandoned his career to become a mystic (see Sufism). After ten years of wandering he settled down to teach in accordance with his new mystical insights, which he formulated very closely to orthodox Islam. Al-Ghazali was the author of several important works; his Destruction of the Philosophers, written just prior to his spiritual crisis, opposes the philosophical method of approaching metaphysics when it contradicts orthodox theology. That position had a great influence on the future of speculative thought in Islam. Al-Ghazali's chief work, The Revival of the Religious Sciences, outlines a complete and orthodox system of the mystical attainment of unity with God. Al-Ghazali is most important for his attempt to reconcile mysticism with orthodox Islam. He was well known in medieval Europe by his Latin name, Algazel.

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Ghazali, al-

 or al-Ghazzali in full Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Tusi al-Ghazali

(born 1058, Tus, Iran—died Dec. 18, 1111, Tus) Muslim theologian and mystic. He studied philosophy and religion and became chief professor of the Nizamiyyah college in Baghdad in 1091. A spiritual crisis prompted him to abandon his career in 1095 and adopt the life of a poor Sufi. He did not return to teaching until 1106, persuaded by those who believed he was a centennial renewer of Islam. His great work, Ihya' 'ulum al-din (“Revival of the Religious Sciences”), explained Islamic doctrines and practices and traced their connection with Sufi mysticism.