Al-Ghazali On Divine Predicates And Their Properties

Al-Ghazali on Divine Predicates and Their Properties is a critical and annotated English translation of selected chapters from Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali’s important theological work Al-Iqtisad fi al-I‘tiqad—The Moderation in Belief.

The book explores one of the central questions of Islamic theology: how should the names and attributes of Allah be understood without comparing Him to His creation or compromising His absolute unity? Imam al-Ghazali examines divine attributes such as knowledge, power, will, life, hearing, sight and speech, while discussing their relationship to the Divine Essence.

The translator places al-Ghazali’s arguments within their wider historical and philosophical context, comparing the Ash‘ari theological approach with the positions of the Mu‘tazilah and Muslim philosophers such as al-Farabi and Ibn Sina. Explanatory notes help readers follow the complex questions of language, logic and metaphysics involved in speaking about Allah.

• Author: Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali
• Translator and annotator: ‘Abdu-r-Rahman Abu Zayd
• Original work: Al-Iqtisad fi al-I‘tiqad
• Subjects: Islamic theology, divine attributes, Ash‘ari thought and philosophy
• Language: English