On Creation, Nature, and the Ethical Self: a Comparative Analysis of Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ, al-Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī, and Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī : عن الخَلق والطبيعة والذات الأخلاقية: تحليلٌ مقارنٌ لأفكار إخوانِ الصفاء والراغبِ الأصفهانيّ وأبي حامد الغزالي
Al Daghistani, Sami LU
(2025)
In Journal of Islamic Ethics
p.1-23
- Abstract
- In this paper, I examine ideas on creation, nature, and the ethical self as conceptual-
ized by the Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ (Brethren of Purity, fl. ca. 350–369/961–980) and al-Rāghib
al-Iṣfahānī (d. before 409/1018), with a particular focus on Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī
(d. 505/1111). Drawing from the classical scholarship on kalā m, taṣawwuf, and falsafa,
I analyze texts by these ethicists who wrote on nature and the role of the human as
part of their ethical understanding of the universe as a means to achieve salvation in
the Hereafter. By cross-referencing the abovementioned classical scholars and their
ideas, I ask how nature is conceptualized in the classical Islamic tradition as part of
the divine creation and how... (More) - In this paper, I examine ideas on creation, nature, and the ethical self as conceptual-
ized by the Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ (Brethren of Purity, fl. ca. 350–369/961–980) and al-Rāghib
al-Iṣfahānī (d. before 409/1018), with a particular focus on Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī
(d. 505/1111). Drawing from the classical scholarship on kalā m, taṣawwuf, and falsafa,
I analyze texts by these ethicists who wrote on nature and the role of the human as
part of their ethical understanding of the universe as a means to achieve salvation in
the Hereafter. By cross-referencing the abovementioned classical scholars and their
ideas, I ask how nature is conceptualized in the classical Islamic tradition as part of
the divine creation and how closely it was conceived in relation to obtaining a virtu-
ous character. Looking at these three figures who show a degree of cross-influence,
indicates that these scholars wrote on creation and nature from an integrative per-
spective, encompassing theological, philosophical, and cosmological questions as
ethical concerns. Reading these scholars presupposes that nature was not separated
from other domains but rather amalgamated in a web of approaches and movements
that addressed, for instance, the creation of the cosmos and its conservation based on
a utilitarian perspective that was nonetheless ingrained in a metaphysical understand-
ing of the universe. In a similar vein, this paper invites us to rethink the contempo-
rary designations of nature/environment as a monovalent concept, encapsulated in a
particular division of sciences as it appeared in modern Europe, and hence welcomes
a critical take on the current debates on environmental sustainability as a common
ethical concern.
عن الخَلق والطبيعة والذات الأخلاقية: تحليلٌ مقارنٌ لأفكار إخوانِ الصفاء والراغبِ الأصفهانيّ وأبي حامد الغزالي (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/33d1689f-0317-4a26-8796-05611a648d28
- author
- Al Daghistani, Sami
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2025-02-26
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- epub
- subject
- in
- Journal of Islamic Ethics
- pages
- 23 pages
- publisher
- Brill
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:105002318810
- ISSN
- 2468-5534
- DOI
- 10.1163/24685542-20250001
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 33d1689f-0317-4a26-8796-05611a648d28
- date added to LUP
- 2025-02-28 20:22:21
- date last changed
- 2025-05-30 04:01:43
@article{33d1689f-0317-4a26-8796-05611a648d28,
abstract = {{In this paper, I examine ideas on creation, nature, and the ethical self as conceptual-<br/>ized by the Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ (Brethren of Purity, fl. ca. 350–369/961–980) and al-Rāghib<br/>al-Iṣfahānī (d. before 409/1018), with a particular focus on Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī<br/>(d. 505/1111). Drawing from the classical scholarship on kalā m, taṣawwuf, and falsafa,<br/>I analyze texts by these ethicists who wrote on nature and the role of the human as<br/>part of their ethical understanding of the universe as a means to achieve salvation in<br/>the Hereafter. By cross-referencing the abovementioned classical scholars and their<br/>ideas, I ask how nature is conceptualized in the classical Islamic tradition as part of<br/>the divine creation and how closely it was conceived in relation to obtaining a virtu-<br/>ous character. Looking at these three figures who show a degree of cross-influence,<br/>indicates that these scholars wrote on creation and nature from an integrative per-<br/>spective, encompassing theological, philosophical, and cosmological questions as<br/>ethical concerns. Reading these scholars presupposes that nature was not separated<br/>from other domains but rather amalgamated in a web of approaches and movements<br/>that addressed, for instance, the creation of the cosmos and its conservation based on<br/>a utilitarian perspective that was nonetheless ingrained in a metaphysical understand-<br/>ing of the universe. In a similar vein, this paper invites us to rethink the contempo-<br/>rary designations of nature/environment as a monovalent concept, encapsulated in a<br/>particular division of sciences as it appeared in modern Europe, and hence welcomes<br/>a critical take on the current debates on environmental sustainability as a common<br/>ethical concern.<br/><br/><br/><br/> عن الخَلق والطبيعة والذات الأخلاقية: تحليلٌ مقارنٌ لأفكار إخوانِ الصفاء والراغبِ الأصفهانيّ وأبي حامد الغزالي}},
author = {{Al Daghistani, Sami}},
issn = {{2468-5534}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{02}},
pages = {{1--23}},
publisher = {{Brill}},
series = {{Journal of Islamic Ethics}},
title = {{On Creation, Nature, and the Ethical Self: a Comparative Analysis of Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ, al-Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī, and Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī : عن الخَلق والطبيعة والذات الأخلاقية: تحليلٌ مقارنٌ لأفكار إخوانِ الصفاء والراغبِ الأصفهانيّ وأبي حامد الغزالي}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/24685542-20250001}},
doi = {{10.1163/24685542-20250001}},
year = {{2025}},
}