Review: [untitled]

Author(s): Hava Lazarus-Yafeh

Reviewed work(s):
Ghazali's Theory of Virtue by Mohamed Ahmed Sherif
Source: Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 97, No. 2 (Apr. - Jun., 1977), pp. 201-
202
Published by: American Oriental Society
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/599017
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 Reviews of Books
with the three aspects of medieval Arabic literature
that appear most alien to modern Western taste: the
limitation of themes, the sedimentation with conven-
tions, and the use of reticent patterns of composition.
There are three parts and three approaches. The
first part (Chapters I-III) is historical: it takes for its
theme the transformations in poetic genres and poetic
attitudes (towards time and society) in the period
beginning with the sixth century A.D. and ending with
the tenth. The second part (IV-V) concentrates on
some problems of poetic technique: how poems were
made to hang together, how conventions were handled.
The third part (VI-VII) deals with methods of com-
position in prose, examining the orders and disorders
in two tales from the Arabian Nights.
Because the material tapped is limited, the historical
section is-if not less lively or stimulating than the
others-more open to question. In comparing the broad
features and the "driving spirit" of Arabic poetry before
and after Islam, the effect of forgeries may well be dis-
counted (p. 6), but what of the possibly extensive sup-
pression of pagan material? And when a few pages later
the author encounters a conflict of evidence on the prev-
alence of the atlal motif, it is both inconsistent and a
great deal too facile to resolve it by blandly surmising
that "there is just a chance that the mu'allaqat are ...
brilliant forgeries" (p. 17). A few of the inferences, too
are drawn from dubious translations. For example, there
are social overtones to Abu Nuwas's "adhaqani s-sadda
su'u tadbiri" only if sadd is taken to mean "an outcast's
life" (p. 41); and the whole tenor of the same poet's
line:
fa-raddahu sh-shaykhu 'an su'iibatihi
wa-isra qawwadana wa-lam yazali
and consequently the function ascribed to the devil hinge
on whether it is correct to translate qawwad as "guide"
(p. 53) rather than "pimp." Precisely because Professor
Hamori has new insights to give, he ought to guard
against being less rigorous in his scholarship than his
more pedestrian predecessors.
This last sentence should also make it clear that the
reservations expressed in this review are but the counter-
part of the high hopes raised by this bright and original
work. There is hardly a page in it that does not contain
some luminous observation, sharply focused and felicitous-
ly formulated. It is in no sense a stricture to add that
the judgments are personal and suggestive rather than
authoritative. The reader may enthusiastically agree with
the interpretation of a poem by Mutanabbi (pp. 134-41);
on the other hand he may well wonder whether the com-
mentary on Sanawbari's poem (pp. 83-6) is not subtler
than the text, or he may take the enumeration of cor-
respondences between lady and camel in various parts
201
of an ode (p. 19) to be a shade too neat and clever, but
intriguing nevertheless; or he may end up feeling that
the fascination of the story of "the Porter and the Three
Ladies" (pp. 164-80) derives not so much from the irony
of a cosmic music as from the contemplation of the kalei-
doscopic changes that may be effected by a slight rotation
of the repetitive patterns of an arabesque. What matters
is that the reader's perceptions have been challenged, re-
directed, sharpened, deepened. For here at last Arabic
literature is being examined as literature, and not as a
philological quarry or an embellished social treatise.
Let us have more of this.
PIERRE CACHIA
COLUMBIAUNIVERSITY
Ghazali's Theory of Virtue. By MOHAMED AHMEDSHERIF.
Pp. 205, including two appendices, bibliography and
index. Albany: STATE UNIVERSITYOF NEW YORK
PRESS. 1975.
The voluminous literature about Al-Ghazzali (1058-1111)
is still growing steadily. There seems to pass no year with-
out at least one new book about Al-Ghazzali appearing
somewhere in the academic world, let alone articles,
translations, editions of his books, etc. The uniqueness of
this great thinker still fascinates philosophers and scholars
all over the world and there seems to be no limit to their
efforts to penetrate Al-Ghazzali's thought more deeply
in order to find better solutions to the endless problems
and contradictions that his manifold books pose to his
readers. M. A. Sherif's book is not only one more attempt
of this kind but an extremely helpful one at that. He
tackles Al-Ghazzali from a new point of view and in a
different way from his precursors and the result of his
effort is a fine and valuable study of Al-Ghazzali's
ethics-even for those who may not agree with Sherif on
all details.
Sherif proves-successfully, I believe-that "Al-Ghaz-
zali's ethics include philosophic, religious and mystical
elements and that he purposely brings all of them to-
gether and blends them in such a way that they com-
plement each other and form a whole which is not merely
the sum of the parts but has its own characteristics as an
ethical theory" (pp. 21-22). First (ch. II) Sherif shows
that although Al-Ghazzali's ethical theory was deeply
influenced by philosophic sources, he modified and
changed several philosophic concepts in order to adapt
them to the Muslim tradition and to his own Sufi ideals.
Thus, e.g., Al-Ghazzali, unlike Aristo, states that man
may be born virtuous-not only acquire virtue through
habituation alone. This-in order to account for the
Muslim theories of Prophecy and Sainthood (p. 31). In
other cases, as with regard to all virtues subordinated
202 Journal of the American
to temperance, Al-Ghazzali makes Aristo's "mean" to
"incline toward the defect and sometimes to be almost
identified by it" (p. 65). Therefore, he regards modesty,
for example, as a virtue in direct contradiction to Aristo
(p. 67) or confirms liberality as a virtue only for the multi-
tude, but not for the spiritual elite, who after relinquishing
wealth have no more use for it (pp. 70-72).
Ch. III of the book ("The Religious Legal Virtues")
is a much weaker one and deals in a most general way
with what Sherif calls "the virtues of divine assistance,"
based on the theological concepts of determinism and
divine aid, which are so fundamentally different from the
concepts of free human choice and unaided human reason
held by the philosophers. In this context the religious
commandments take precedence over everything else
and "virtue becomes primarily religious virtue" (p. 85).
But it is exactly here that I feel Sherif is missing the most
basic points: he touches upon central themes of Al-
Ghazzali's thought inadvertently as it were, and does
not seem to be fully aware of the principal fact that Al-
Ghazzali totally subdues the philosophic ethical tradition
to his religious ideals. Al-Ghazzili often states very
clearly that only through proper understanding and
through right observance of the religious commandments
man can attain that stage of virtue and moral perfection
which is a necessary condition for the supreme degree
of knowledge and love of God, in which lies man's destiny
and true bliss.1 Here, in my view, is the core of what
Al-Ghazz5li felt to be his own mission: to bring about a
renascence of traditional, though Siifi flavoured, Islam
through absorbing as much as possible from the philo-
sophical tradition. This is why Al-Ghazzali not only re-
jected any heterodox and antinomian doctrine as Sherif
rightly points out (p. 103), but he in fact puts an enormous
effort into explaining the "deeper meanings" of the
religious commandments and the central role they can
play in "extirpating evil from the heart of man and
implanting virtue in it."2 Thus, obviously, alms-giving
may uproot miserliness from man's heart and the pil-
grimage to Mecca, through being considered a symbolical
rehearsal of man's last journey after his death, may help
him to realize more clearly the deeper purpose of his life
and death.3 Al-Ghazzili even expresses repeatedly the
1 Cf. f.e.
Ihy& 'Uliim Al-Din, Cairo 1356 Hg., Part I,
Book 7, pp. 484-485 or Kitab Al-Arba'in, Cairo 1328
Hg., pp. 114-116.
2 See my Studies in Al-Ghazzali, Jerusalem 1975, esp.
chaps. IV and VI. (Ch. VI "The Religious Commandments
in the Philosophy of Al-Ghazzili" was first published in
the Muslim World LI, 1961).
3 Cf. Ihya ibid., Part I, Book 5, p. 388-389, and Book
7, p. 483ff.
Oriental Society 97.2 (1977)
idea that the performance of those commandments which
we do not understand is the best means for our moral-
religious education, whereby we reach the highest degree
of our piety and devotion, because we have no other
reason to perform them-except God's wish and com-
mand.4 This, of course, stands in direct contrast to any
philosophical attitude and puts Al-Ghazzali's theory of
ethics in its proper subordinate place in the framework
of his whole religious doctrine.
The last chapter (IV) of the book deals with the mystical
virtues as Al-Ghazzali explains them in the last quarter
of the "Ihya."5 These are perhaps more known but Sherif
adds here some very appropriate shifts of points of view
(p. 157). Sherif also rightly stresses Al-Ghazzili's general
dependence on his Sufi precursors like Abu Talib Al-
Makki, but he does not go enough into details and thus
creates sometimes the wrong impression that Al-Ghazzali
expresses his own ideas where he is in fact following the
general Sufi path (cf. f.e. p. 44-45: "DjihSd" as an inner
struggle; p. 48: poverty as a virtue, p. 58: on the merits
of hunger; p. 101: on music, etc. The ideas quoted on
p. 50 are actually Siifi Malamati ideals and the basic
elements of Al-Ghazzali's definition of repentance men-
tioned on p. 125 are already to be found with Al-Makki,
Al-Qushairi and others).
One may, of course, add some general remarks of
criticism such as the fact that this study is based only
upon a small number of Al-Ghazzali's books or the lack
of some important bibliographical items.6 But all these
and other remarks should not detract from the great
value of this book, which certainly will be of much help
to every student of Al-Ghazzali.
HAVA LAZARUS-YAFEH
THE HEBREW UNIVERSITY, JERUSALEM
4 Ibid., Book 5,
p. 385.
5
Personally I do not share Sherif's view of the Ihya
(see his book, p. 10ff.) as a book whose subject is "practical
knowledge" only. Inspite of Al-Ghazzali's declarations
that he will refrain from dealing with the mystical
"Science of Revelation" in this compendium-he included
in it many far reaching esoteric portions (See my Studies
in Al-Ghazzali, p. 363ff.).
6 E.g., basic studies like: J. Obermann-Der philoso-
phische und religiose Subjektivismus Ghazalis (Wien 1921)
and A. J. Wensinck-La Pensee de Ghazzali (Paris 1940)
or modern monographs like H. Laoust-La Politique de
Gazali (Paris 1970). Perhaps my own study of Al-Ghaz-
zSli's use of philosophical terms (first published in Studia
Islamica XX V, 1966) would have been useful in corrobo-
rating some of Sherif's theses (see pp. 27, 30, 109-110,
128).