An Examination on the Nature of al-Ghazali Sufism. Kamarudin Haji Salleh. 1996. Islamiyat 17ABSTRACT
This article aims at presenting al-Ghazali's nature of Sufism which remain somewhat controversial amongst the scholars nowaday. This problem arises because of the richness of al-Ghazali's thought; namely the number and complexity of the subjects with which his work deal and the different level of readers for whom they were written. Through the study of certain aspects of al-Ghazali's mystical thought, they are at least thtee different attitudes and perceptions arise on the nature of al-Ghazali's Sufism. Firstly, some commentators query whether al-Ghazali was a Sufi in the strict sense of the term. Secondly, both Islamic mystics and western writers generally recognise al-Ghazali as an orthodox (sober) Sufi. Lastly, an examination of al-Ghazali's concept of the soul, its relation to God, and his interpretations of the Qur'anic light-verses and veils-tradition, have led to the conclusion that he was an unorthodox (drunken) Sufi.