A comparative study of al-Ghazali’s and Ibn Taymiyyah’s views on sufism
Sufism has generated from the ancient time a very staunch polemics among Muslim scholars. The controversy over sufism has attracted various comments and remarks over the unique and peculiar tenets of sufis. Among the Muslim scholars who have contributed to the discourse were al-Ghazali and Ibn Ta...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
2020
|
| Online Access: | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/14868/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/14868/1/IJIT-Vol-17-June-2020_2_15-24.pdf |
| _version_ | 1848813663902760960 |
|---|---|
| author | Arikewuyo, Ahmed Nafiu |
| author_facet | Arikewuyo, Ahmed Nafiu |
| author_sort | Arikewuyo, Ahmed Nafiu |
| building | UKM Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Sufism has generated from the ancient time a very staunch polemics among Muslim
scholars. The controversy over sufism has attracted various comments and remarks
over the unique and peculiar tenets of sufis. Among the Muslim scholars who have
contributed to the discourse were al-Ghazali and Ibn Taymiyyah. This research aims
to compare the views of these two scholars. Library research with analytic and
comparative methodology was adopted. Findings show that both scholars are
credited to have reformed some popular and conventional doctrines of the Sufis of
their respective times. In addition, al-Ghazali and Ibn Taymiyyah agreed that some
innovations and perversions have found their way into sufism. A major phenomenon
in the views of the two scholars on sufism is that while al-Ghazali was to a very large
extent influenced by some sufi superstitions, Ibn Taymiyyah strongly subjects sufism
to the literal provisions of the Quran and Sunnah. It is the conclusion of this paper
that while it is accurate to ascribe al-Ghazali to sufism, it is inaccurate to regard Ibn
Taymiyyah as one despite some of his sympathetic views on some sufis. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-15T00:21:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | oai:generic.eprints.org:14868 |
| institution | Universiti Kebangasaan Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-15T00:21:47Z |
| publishDate | 2020 |
| publisher | Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | oai:generic.eprints.org:148682020-07-21T01:02:54Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/14868/ A comparative study of al-Ghazali’s and Ibn Taymiyyah’s views on sufism Arikewuyo, Ahmed Nafiu Sufism has generated from the ancient time a very staunch polemics among Muslim scholars. The controversy over sufism has attracted various comments and remarks over the unique and peculiar tenets of sufis. Among the Muslim scholars who have contributed to the discourse were al-Ghazali and Ibn Taymiyyah. This research aims to compare the views of these two scholars. Library research with analytic and comparative methodology was adopted. Findings show that both scholars are credited to have reformed some popular and conventional doctrines of the Sufis of their respective times. In addition, al-Ghazali and Ibn Taymiyyah agreed that some innovations and perversions have found their way into sufism. A major phenomenon in the views of the two scholars on sufism is that while al-Ghazali was to a very large extent influenced by some sufi superstitions, Ibn Taymiyyah strongly subjects sufism to the literal provisions of the Quran and Sunnah. It is the conclusion of this paper that while it is accurate to ascribe al-Ghazali to sufism, it is inaccurate to regard Ibn Taymiyyah as one despite some of his sympathetic views on some sufis. Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2020-06 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/14868/1/IJIT-Vol-17-June-2020_2_15-24.pdf Arikewuyo, Ahmed Nafiu (2020) A comparative study of al-Ghazali’s and Ibn Taymiyyah’s views on sufism. International Journal of Islamic Thought ( IJIT ), 17 . pp. 15-24. ISSN 2232-1314 http://www.ukm.my/ijit/volume-17-june-2020/ |
| spellingShingle | Arikewuyo, Ahmed Nafiu A comparative study of al-Ghazali’s and Ibn Taymiyyah’s views on sufism |
| title | A comparative study of al-Ghazali’s and Ibn Taymiyyah’s views on sufism |
| title_full | A comparative study of al-Ghazali’s and Ibn Taymiyyah’s views on sufism |
| title_fullStr | A comparative study of al-Ghazali’s and Ibn Taymiyyah’s views on sufism |
| title_full_unstemmed | A comparative study of al-Ghazali’s and Ibn Taymiyyah’s views on sufism |
| title_short | A comparative study of al-Ghazali’s and Ibn Taymiyyah’s views on sufism |
| title_sort | comparative study of al-ghazali’s and ibn taymiyyah’s views on sufism |
| url | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/14868/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/14868/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/14868/1/IJIT-Vol-17-June-2020_2_15-24.pdf |