Islam and Rationality pdf

The studies included in this volume will discuss important topics of al-Ghazأ¥li’swork, which demonstrate rational aspects of his interpretation of Islamictheology and spirituality, as rooted in the Qur’an. In the Qur’أ¤n, the root’-Q-L — meaning at its core, “reason/reasoning” and “understanding” — occursfifty-nine times; the verbs are not exclusively meant to imply rational activities. n almost all occurrences, these verbs are semantically related to the senses,and in several instances connote a conversion to the proclaimed religion asa result of the perception of natural phenomena.l Rationality as presentedthroughout the Qur’أ¤n is clearly a cognitive activity in which a sensual per-ception is involved that in turn leads man to believe in God. In reverse, to notbelieve in God means that man eliminates his rational faculty. Remarkably,this conception of a ‘towards-faith-oriented-rationality’ corresponds with theQur’anic characterization of Arabia’s pre-lslamic era as a period of ignorance,thejأ¼hi