Pendekatan Imam Al-Ghazali Dalam Menyikapi Disiplin Falsafah: Suatu Analisis Epistemologikal

Imam Al-Ghazali's Approach In Dealing With The Discipline Of Philosophy: An Epistemological Analysis

Abstract

Philosophical thought (al-tafkir al-falsafi) is synonymous with human nature as a wise creature. Based on the characteristics of philosophy like critical, radical, integral, and universal, the branch of philosophy includes ontology and cosmology (the reality of existence), epistemology (theory of knowledge), and axiology (value system), so that philosophy is considered the queen, or mother of all knowledge The paper is studying Imam al-Ghazali’s contributions in philosophy. As a scholar of Islamic thought, al-Ghazali could not avoid responding to the challenge of philosophy during his time. Next, this study tries to coordinate his critical analysis with his epistemological perspective. His main work became the primary reference of this study.   Hence, this study found that al-Ghazali was fair towards philosophy and all its diverse disciplines during that time. By measuring certainty for each branch of the philosophical ‘family,’ he adjusted the reasons for acceptance and rejection according to modifications consistent with the neutrality of knowledge. Thus, al-Ghazali successfully displayed the simplicity of Islam in recognizing the position of revelation, intuition, reason, and the senses in their appropriateness while also supporting the integral and unified basis of Islamic epistemology. He also supported the principle of harmony of revelation and reason in its specific context.