RLG204H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Al-Ghazali, Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, Wilayah
Document Summary
Sufism: mystic path of love and knowledge of god. Sufi path is the way to tasawwuf (purification) When sufi"s became missionaries, sufism swept across the islamic. They emphasized detachment from the material world b/c they believed it distracted them from god"s path. Dedicated their life to prayer, fasting, meditated on quranic verses. Motivated by the fear of god and the day of judgment. Many sufi"s were opponents of the umayyad"s and early ulamas world (scholars) Rabia-al-adwaiyya influenced nature and future development of sufism. He attracted a circle of followers which lead to a huge movement throughout the 9th and 10th century. Gap widened btw/ sufi"s and the ulamas b/c they felt like sufism challenged their authority. Abu hamid al ghazali was a reconciler and revivalist. 11th and 12th century was a hectic time in muslim history. Abu hamid helped solve all the issues happening during this time. He was trained by the most prominent theologian at that time; al-
