What is it about?
The masterpiece of the great Muslim Scholar Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (d. 1111), The Revival of the Religious Sciences, was burned in al-Andalus ("Muslim Spain") in 1109. This act has been seen, mistakenly, as an aberration in the history of Ghazali's reception, and has never been definitively explained. This article looks at two Andalusis who met Ghazali and later wrote critiques of some of his ideas. Abu Bakr Ibn al-Arabi (d. 1148) was Ghazal's student in Baghdad, and Abu Bakr al-Turtushi (d. 1126), met Ghazali in Jerusalem. The aim is to compare their critiques and see what the consisted of and whether they may have influenced one another.
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Why is it important?
The article shares the perspectives of two contemporaries who knew and studied with al-Ghazali, unique information for scholars of al-Ghazali. It is also a step toward resolving the question of why the Revival was burned in al-Andalus.
Perspectives
Though I am a historian of religion, much of my scholarship deals more with the biographies of thinkers than their thought. Abu Bakr Ibn al-Arabi and al-Turtushi are both fascinating characters, and I think some of their personalities come through in the article in addition to their writings.
Kenneth Garden
Tufts University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Ibn al-ʿArabī and al-Ṭurṭūshī, September 2024, Brill,
DOI: 10.1163/9789004706859_006.
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