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JOUlm,a~1
Ti'tla':Iran;
Journal
of~hel
British
Ilns'titute
ofPlers'ian
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XX,V~:
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s!lam'le
orthodoxyor
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al..
Ghazedii'l,s
views
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[19fl3..
 
ISLAMICORTHODOXYORREALPOLITIK?AL-GHAZALI'SVIEWSONGOVERNMENT
By
CaroleHillenbrand
UniversityojEdinburgh.
IINTRODUCTION
It
maybearguedthatthesubjectofal-Ghazalf'spoliticaltheoryhasbeenairedsufficientlyandthatthereislittlepointinreworkingsuchfamiliarmaterial.Theaimsofthisarticlewillbetoexaminecertainfacetsofthistopicwhichhaveperhapsnotyetbeenstudiedwithsufficientattentionandtostimulatefurtherdebateonthisareaofal-Ghazali'swork.Inparticular,anattemptwillbemade,throughtranslationandanalysisofcrucialpassagesofal-Ghazali'smajorworksonIslamicgovernment,toconsiderthethornyques-tionoftheconsistencyofhisviewsandtheextenttowhichtheyweremodifiedduringhislifetimebypar-ticularhistoricalcircumstances.Oddlyenough,thishasnotyetbeendoneintherequisitedetail,largelybecausethescholarswhohavedevotedthemselvestothestudyofal-Ghazalihavehadtheirpointofdepartureintheologyandphilosophyratherthaninpoliticalhistory.Afewwordsofbackgroundwillservetolocatethediscussionwhichfollowsinitsappropriateintellectualcontext.AccordingtotheclassicaltheoryofIslamiclaw,theonlylegitimatepoliticalauthorityinIslamisthatofthecaliphate.Inreality,however,thesituationoftheSunni"AbbasidcaliphatebythetimeofBiryidhegemonyinthefourth/tenthcenturyhadsunktooneoftotaldependenceonthemilitarypowerwieldedbytheBiryidmilitary
amfrs.
Itwaswiththesemen,therefore,thatalltemporalpowerlay.Eventheroleofthe'Abbiisidcaliphasthereligiousandlegalfigure-headoftheMuslimcommunityhadnotgoneunchal-lengedbythistime.Theestablishmentinthefourth/tenthcenturyofthe"heretical"Isma'IlicaliphateoftheFatimidsinCairothreatenedtoremoveevennotionalauthorityfromtheSunnicaliphateinBaghdad.Thatcounter-caliphate,moreover,wasvigorouslyexpandingitsinfluenceatatimewhentheprestige,tosaynothingoftheactualpower,ofthe"AbbasidcaliphinBaghdadhadsunkdangerouslylow.WhenthenomadicSaljuqTurks,recentlyconvertedtoIslam,tookBaghdadin447/I055,theymadegreatplayofelevatingthestatusofthe'AbbasidcaliphandofbeingthechampionsofSunniIslam.Toadisin-terestedobserver,thisposemaywellsmackofself-justification,allthemoresosince,inreality,theheydayoftheSaljuqempire(447-85/1055-92)sawthepoliticalsituationremainingmuchthesameasithadbeenundertheBiiyids.Al-GhazalfcametoprominenceduringthereignofthethirdSaljuqsultanMalikshah(465-85/1072-92),aperiodwhichsawthepowerofthegreatvizierNizarnal-Mulkreachitsapogee.ThelattersetabouttherevitalizationofSunniIslamthroughanetworkof
madrasas,
theNizamiyyas-e-institutionsofShafi'ilawwhichweretoproduceaclassof
cul
ama'
abletoconfronttheinternalandexternalthreatposedbyIsmii'ilimissionaryactivities.Asiswellknown,al-GhaziiliwasappointedtoaprestigiousteachingpostatthepremierNizjimiyya,thatofBaghdad,in484/1091,whereheremaineduntilheexperiencedapro-foundspiritualcrisisin488/I095.Thisresultedinhisresignationfromhisposttobecomeawandering
~ufi.
Thelastyearsofhislife(493-505/
II
0-11)hespentinhishomelandofKhurasfin,engagedaboveallinwritinghismajorworks.Thepresentdiscussionwillbebasedonarangeofworksgenerallyattributedtoal-Ghazali,writteninArabicandPersian,bothbeforeandafterhiscrisisin488fl095.IIAL-GHAZALT'SPOLITICALIDEASINTHE
KITifB
AL-MUSTA?_HIRT
(a)Introductory
comments
Thefulltitleofthisworkofal-Ghazaliisthe
Kitab
}i'a(la'i(.al-Ba}iniyyawa-fa(lii'ilai-Mustarhiriyya,'
Ithaslongbeenacceptedasanauthenticworkofal-Ghazalf,?anditscontentswereoutlinedanddiscussedbyGoldziherasearlyas1916.
3
Thetreatise,itstitleusuallyabbreviatedto
Kitiibal-Musta;:,lzirf,4
waswritteninresponsetoarequestfromtheyoung'Abbasidcaliphal-Mustazhir,whohadaskedal-GhazalitocomposeaworkbymeansofwhichtheerrorsoftheIsmji'Iliswouldbeexposed.Accordingtohisownaccountinhisautobiography,
al-Munqidhminal-daliil,
al-GhazalistudiedthewritingsoftheIsmji'Ills(the
Ta'lfmiyya)
inordertobeabletorefutetheirclaimsinpolemicalfashion:Theheresyofthe
Ta'lrmiyya
hadalreadyappeared,andeveryonewasspeakingabouttheirtalkofgainingknowledgeofthemeaningofthingsfromaninfallibleImamwhohas81
 
82
JOURNALOFPERSIANSTUDIES
chargeofthetruth.Ithadalreadyoccurredtometostudy
theirviewsandbecomeacquaintedwithwhatisintheirbooks,when
it
happenedthatIreceivedadefinitecommandfromHisMajestytheCaliphtowriteabookshowingwhattheirreligioussystemreallyis...Ibegantosearchfortheirbooksandcollecttheirdoctrines."
The
Mustazhiri
canbedatedtotheshortperiodbetweentheaccessionofal-Mustazhir(18Muharram487/7February1094)andal-Ghazali'sfamousdeparturefromBaghdadatthetimeofhisspiritualcrisis(Dhu'l-Qf{da488/November1095).6Thereisdisagreementastowhetheral-GhazaliwrotetheworkbeforeorafterthedeathoftheFa~imidcaliphal-Mustansir(18Dhu"l-Hijja487/29December1094).7Inanycase,itissignificantthatthe
Musta;.hirf
prob-ablyappearedduringtheyear488(11January-30December1095).AsGoldziherpointsout,therewereanumberofearlierSunniwriterswhohadcomposedpolemicalworksagainsttheIsmii'ili"s.8Noristhe
Mustazhiri
theonlyattemptmadebyal-Ghazalitorefutethedoc-trinesoftheIsma'Ilis.Inhisautobiographyhemen-tionsfivesuchworks,"includingthe
Mustarhiri.
Onlyoneotherofthese,the
Qjs_tlfsal-mustaqim,
isextant.
to
AI-GhazalialsoattackstheIsma'Tlisinthe
Mi'yaral-'ilm,
atreatiseonlogicalsoapparentlywrittenin488/1095,whichBouygesbelievestopre-datethe
Musta;.hirf,t
I
andalsointhe
Mustaifii.
12
The
Musta;:.hirf
is,however,thefirstworkbyal-GhaziiliwhichhasasitscentralaimarefutationofIsma'Ilibeliefs.Asiswellknown,thetimingofitsappearancemaybeseenastheresultofanincreasingpreoccupation,bothinSaljuqandcaliphalcircles,withthepoliticalthreatposedbythe
Isma'Ilis,
AI-Ghaziili'smentor,thegreatSaljuqvizierNizarnal-Mulk,whoseownwork-the
Sryasat-niima-reveals
anobsessivezealagainsttheIsmii'i:lis,13andinwhoseentourageal-Ghazalihadspentsome
time,"
hadbeenassassinatedallegedlybytheIsma'Illsin485/1092.WithinSaljuqterritory,moreover,Isma'IlisundertheleadershipofHasan-iSabbahhadseizedthefortressofAlamiitinnorth-westIranandnowthreatenedthecentreofSaljuqpowerfromwithin.Itisnotsurprising,therefore,thatoneofthefirstactionsofal-Mustazhirafterbecomingcaliphwastocommissionfromal-Ghazali,asoneoftheleadingtheologiansoftheage,aworkofpolemicagainsttheseIsma'Iliswhosesophisti-catedpropagandawasexertinggrowingappealamongsttheintelligentsiaandcommonpeoplealike.(b)
Thesubject-matter
if
the
Kitabal-MustazhiriOneofthetwoprincipalaimsofal-GhazaliinthisworkisarefutationoftheIsma'Ilis(the
Ba.tinryya
or
TaClfmryya).
Thispartofthework,whichbroadlyspeakingcoversChapters2to8,hasbeenextensivelydescribedby
Goldziher"
and
Laoust.!"
Onlyafewadditionalpoints,therefore,willberaisedhere.AlthoughGoldziherperformedavaluableserviceinfocusingscholarlyinterestonthisparticularwork,hisapproachisheavilybiasedinfavourofal-GhazaliandtheSunnis.Alltoooftenhemakesnodistinctionbetweenhisdescriptionofthehighly-chargedpolemi-caltextofal-Ghaziiliandhisowncommentsonthematerial,whichareemotionalandhostiletothe
Isma'Ilis.!"
CorbinrightlytakesGoldzihertotaskforselectingonlycertainpassagesofthe
Musta;:.hirfand
forpassingunfavourableremarksaboutthe
Isma'Tlis.!"
CorbinalsopointsoutthattheresponseoftheIsma'Ilistoal-Ghazali'sattackwastoexpresssurprisethatascholarofhisstatureshouldcensurethemwithoutreference"toanyauthenticIsrna'Ill'source".19Notforthefirsttime,al-Ghazalistandsaccusedoftoogreataninvolvementinthepoliticsofhisownrime.i"Nevertheless,betweenthem,Goldziherand(toalesserextent)Laoustprovideavaluabledigestoftheargumentsadducedbyal-GhazaliinhisattackonthedoctrinesoftheIsmii'llis.Hecallshisadversariesthe
Ta'lfmryya,
thosewhofollow
ta'lfm-a
wordwhichCorbindefinesas"initiaticknowledge"!andwhichisdispensedbytheinfallibleImam.Accordingtoal-Ghazali,theIsma'IlisbelievethatsalvationliesinacceptingwhatistransmittedtothembytheImamandinimitatinghim.
22
FortheIsma'Ilis,theimpec-cableImamisthedeputy
(khalifa)
oftheProphetandafterhisdeaththeonlypersonqualifiedtointerpretGod'srevelation.EveryagemusthaveanimmaculateImamanditisinconceivablethatthereshouldbetwosuchImamsatanyonetime.23The
Shari:a,
fortheIsma'ilis,isdifferentfromwhatSunnisbelieveittobe.Althoughfollowingthe
Shari:a
isanobligationfortheIsma'Tlis,suchanobligationisbasedonthe
Shart
a
asinterpretedsolelybytheirImamandnotinaccordancewiththeviewsoftheorthodoxSunni
madhhabe."
TheIsma'IllsclaimthatthetrueImamistheonewhooccupiestheimamateinEgyptandthatallmankindoweshim
obedience."
Theotheraimofthe
Musta;:.hirf-which
isinfactinextricablylinkedtotherefutationoftheIsma'Iliimamate-istoprovethelegitimacyofthe'Abbiisidcaliphal-Mustazhir.ThisaimisrealizedinChapters9and10ofthework.26Al-GhazalibeginsinChapter9byclearlystatinghisaim,namelytodemonstratethattheimamateofal-MustazhirisinconformitywithIslamiclaw,thatheisGod'scaliph
(khalfja)
overmankindandthatobediencetohimisareligiousobligation
(far~)
incumbentonallmankind.VAccord-ingtoal-Ghazali,theexistenceofthecaliphattheheadofthecommunityisanobligationbasedonthe
Shari:a.
Thecaliphis,inshort,themainspringofalllegitimacy.Publicfunctionsarevalidonlyiftheyspringfromthewishofthecaliph,whoseexistenceistheveryfoundationofthecontinuityofthe
Shart:a.
Iftherewerenocaliphate,allreligiousinstitutionswould
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