Ethical Teachings of Abu ?amid al-Ghazali: Economics of Happiness

by Sami Al-Daghistani

Overview

This book studies the interplay of economic philosophy and moral conduct as reflected in the writings of one of the most renowned scholars in Islamic history, Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ghazālī (d. 1111). As is well known, Imām al-Ghazālī, nicknamed “the proof of Islam”, contributed immensely to Islamic theology, philosophy, and Sufism or Islamic mysticism (taṣawwuf). Strikingly enough, al-Ghazālī also made seminal contributions to the field of economic thought, but this contribution has been largely neglected, although al-Ghazālī dedicated many chapters to what he considered just and Sharī‘a-based economic conduct in (Muslim) society. This book aims to analyse and revive al-Ghazālī’s understudied contribution to economic thought by emphasizing his economic philosophy and its correlation between Sharī‘a’s moral law and the tradition of taṣawwuf, as well as to situate his thought within the context of modern economic theories.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781839988523
Publisher:	Anthem Press
Publication date:	02/14/2023
Series:	Anthem Religion and Society Series
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Sami Al-Daghistani is a postdoctoral fellow at the Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society in Oslo and an associate faculty member at the Brooklyn Institute for Social Research in New York. He is also a research scholar in the Middle East Institute at Columbia University.

Table of Contents

Introduction; 1. Abū Ḥamid al-Ghazālī – between Politics, Philosophy, and Sufism; 2. History of Islamic Economic Thought; 3. Al-Ghazālī’s Economic Teachings and the Science of the Hereafter ('ilm al-ākhira); 4. Classical Economics and its Worldviews; 5. Contemporary Debates – al-Ghazālī and Modern Economics; Conclusion: Conundrum of Ethics in Economics – a Feasible Possibility or Vain Attempt?; Appendix 1: Historical Development of Some of the Most Prominent Classical Islamic Scholars on Economic Thought; Appendix 2: Selected quotations of al-Ghazali’s Economic Teachings in the English Language; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

Al-Daghistani makes a remarkable contribution to the study of economic thought in classical Islam. A rewarding read.” —Wael B. Hallaq, Avalon Foundation Professor in the Humanities, Columbia University

“The new perspective opened by Al-Daghistani's book on  Abu Hamid al-Ghazali's economics of happiness is a remarkable addition to the developing literature on the economic thought of one of the most influential thinkers in Islamic intellectual history”. — Souleymane Bachir Diagne, Professor, Columbia University

From the Publisher