Kitāb al-Iljām al-ʿawām min ʿilm al-kalām Chapter Two: Establishing the Evidence that the Method of the Salaf is the Right Method \[in Understanding the Divine Attributes\]

Abstract

Translated from the Arabic, this second chapter of al- Ghazālī’s Iljām examines evidence for the correctness of the method of the Salaf in understanding Divine Attributes. Al-Ghazālī provides proofs based on revelation as well as human intellect, supporting his epistemology with syllogistic reasoning and examples from the early Muslim community. Ultimately, rejecting the scholastic theological approach of the mutakallimīn as ‘reprehensible innovation,’ his arguments chart a middle course between outright denial and figurative interpretation, accepting the apparent linguistic meaning of Divine Attributes in the Qurʾān and Ḥadīth without inquiring into their metaphysical modalities.