Martin Whittingham - Al-Ghazali and the Quran: One Book, Many Meanings

Al-Ghazland the Qurn: One book, many meanings is the first work to focus entirely on the Quranic interpretation of Ab mid al-Ghazl (10581111), a towering figure of Sunni Islam. Martin Whittingham explores both al-Ghazls hermeneutical methods and his interpretations of particular Quranic texts, and covers al-Ghazls mystical, legal and theological concerns.

The book is divided into two parts. Part I examines al-Ghazls legal and Sufi theoretical discussions. Part II asks how these theories relate to his practice, analysing the only three of al-Ghazls works which are centrally concerned with interpreting particular Quranic passages: Jawhir al-Qurn (The Jewels of the Quran), Al-Qissal-mustaqim (The Correct Balance) and Mishkt al-anwr (The Niche for Lights).

The book sets out systematically the nature of al-Ghazls dependence in Mishkat alanwr on Ibn Sn (Avicenna). In addition, it illuminates the complex interactions of al- Ghazls mystical, legal and theological concerns. Tables are used to make as clear as possible al-Ghazls schemes of interpretation.

Providing a new point of access to the works of al-Ghazl, this book will be welcomed by scholars and students of Islamic studies, religious studies, hermeneutics and anyone interested in how Muslims understand the Quran.

Martin Whittingham is currently working with Muslim-Christian Links, based in Edinburgh.

Edited by Ian R.Netton

University of Leeds

This series studies the Middle East through the twin foci of its diverse cultures and civilisations. Comprising original monographs as well as scholarly surveys, it covers topics in the fields of Middle Eastern literature, archaeology, law, history, philosophy, science, folklore, art, architecture and language. While there is a plurality of views, the series presents serious scholarship in a lucid and stimulating fashion.

1 Arabic Literature
An overview
Pierre Cachia

2 Modern Arab Historiography
Historical discourse and the nation-state
Youssef Choueiri

3 The Philosophical Poetics of Alfarabi, Avicenna and Averroes
The Aristotelian reception
Salim Kemal

5 The Hanbali School of Law and Ibn Taymiyyah
Conflict or conciliation
Abdul Hakim I.Al-Matroudi

6 Arabic Rhetoric
A pragmatic analysis
Hussein Abdul-Raof

7 Arab Representations of the Occident
East-West encounters in Arabic fiction
Rasheed El-Enany

8 God and Humans in Islamic Thought
Abd al-Jabbr, Ibn Sn and al-Ghazl
Maha Elkaisy-Friemuth

9 Original Islam
Malik and the madhhab of Madina
Yasin Dutton

10 Al-Ghazland the Qurn
One book, many meanings
Martin Whittingham

First published 2007
by Routledge
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Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
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2007 Martin Whittingham

This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2007.

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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Whittingham, Martin.
Al-Ghazl and the Qurn: one book, many meanings/Martin Whittingham.
p. cm.(Culture and civilization in the Middle East)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Ghazl, 10581111. 2. Koran-Hermeneutics. 3. Koran-Criticism, interpretation, etc. 4. Koran-Commentaries.
I. Title.
BP130.2.W55 2007
297.1226092dc22 2006025814

ISBN 0-203-96465-9 Master e-book ISBN

ISBN10: 0-415-37543-6 (hbk)
ISBN10: 0-203-96465-9 (Print Edition) (ebk)
ISBN13: 978-0-415-37543-6 (hbk)
ISBN13: 978-0-203-96465-1 (Print Edition) (ebk)

Since this work began life as a doctoral dissertation, my principal expression of thanks must go to Professor Carole Hillenbrand of the University of Edinburgh. She guided my research with wisdom and good humour throughout, and I am forever in her debt. I am also grateful to many colleagues and friends who have encouraged me at various stages of this project, including Bill Donaldson, Andrew Newman, Peter Riddell, the late Randi Coffey, David Coffey, Ida Glaser, Inke Milligan, Christiane Benz, Richard McArthur, Clive Scowen, David and Helen Jackson, Margaret Hanson, and Pete and Jane Edwards. Phil Day gave crucial computer help at a key stage, saving me a great deal of effort, and I am very thankful for his expertise. Funding for the research on which this book is based came from many sources, including the faculty of Arts of the Universtiy of Edinburgh. The Whitefield Institute, Christ Church, Roxeth, International Community Church, Cobham, and St Mungos, Balerno. While adapting this work for publication I benefited from being located at the Edinburgh Centre for Muslim-Christian Studies, from the support of The Bridge Trust and its trustees and from being a post-doctoral fellow in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Edinburgh. Library staff at the University of Edinburgh were also consistently helpful. While I thank all these people, responsibility for any errors remains entirely mine.

I am very grateful to Professor Ian Netton, who examined my doctoral thesis and first invited me to contribute this work to the Routledge Culture and Civilization in the Middle East Series. Joe Whiting and Nadia Seemungal of Routledge have ably seen this work through the production process.

I owe more than I can say to my family. My parents, Harold and Gwenda, have been ever generous in their support, while my wife Helens constant encouragement has been invaluable. My wider family, Kim, Sylvia and Matthew Kempshall have generously hosted many visits to Oxford and thereby its libraries. Finally my daughters Anna and Saskia have been a daily inspiration.

I am grateful for permission from Garnet Publishing to quote from An Interpretationof the Qurn, bilingual edition, trans. Majid Fakhry (Reading: 2000), and from Brigham Young University Press and David Buchman to quote from Al-Ghazl, The Niche ofLights, parallel text edition, trans. David Buchman (Provo, Utah: 1998).

Where dates are given in two forms, the first is the Hijr date.

Transliteration follows the system of The Encyclopaedia of Islam, second edition, with the following modifications: q is used for k while j is used for dj. However, words or names with common Anglicised forms are spelt using these, including Qurn (except in titles of works, where it is fully transliterated), Muhammad or the modern writer Taha Hussein. References to Muslim traditions are as follows: Hadith refers to the traditions collectively; hadith refers to an individual tradition; hadiths refers to several individual traditions.