منهج الغزالي في معالجة إشكال الوحدة والكثرة

Abstract

Al-Ghazali’s Method in Dealing with the Problem of One and Many.

Al-Ghazali (450–505 AH) was very interested in the problem of oneness and multiplicity, just

like many other philosophers. He talked about this topic in several of his books, such as Iljam

al-Awam, Mi‘yar al-Ilm, and Al-Iqtisad fi al-I‘tiqad. He believed this issue was very important

because it helps us understand how existence works and how knowledge is possible.

The idea of one and many is important because it helps explain the relationship between things in

the world and how we understand reality. It also connects to how we think, how we know things,

and how we reason logically.

In this research, we try to follow how the idea of one and many developed in the thinking of

different philosophers throughout history. The goal is to explain the idea more clearly, since it isa main topic in this study. Al-Ghazali discusses this problem by criticizing and analyzing theideas of earlier philosophers, especially Al-Farabi and Ibn Sina (Avicenna). Their ideas mainlyfocus on two topics: God’s will and oneness.

The research looks at Al-Ghazali’s way of solving this problem and the methods he used, withoutmaking unnecessary comparisons. We find that he used different critical methods, such as logicalcriticism and criticism related to knowledge and understanding. He also deeply examined theideas of other philosophers when discussing questions about existence.

There are clear differences between Al-Ghazali and earlier philosophers in how they explainedthis problem. In Al-Ghazali’s view, the relationship between the One (God) and the many (theworld) is a relationship between a Creator and what He created. The world exists because Godchose to create it, not because it naturally came out of Him. After creation, God continues tomaintain and control the world.

In other views that focus only on oneness, many things are seen as returning to the One itself.

Al-Ghazali disagreed with this idea. His views added something new to philosophy and openedthe door to many debates that are still discussed today.