Al-Ghazālī and the Ideal of Godlikeness

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Sophia Vasalou (Associate Professor of Philosophical Theology, Associate Professor of Philosophical Theology, University of Birmingham)

Al-Ghazālī and the Ideal of Godlikeness

Sophia Vasalou (Associate Professor of Philosophical Theology, Associate Professor of Philosophical Theology, University of Birmingham)

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English

Oxford University Press
20 March 2025

Islamic & Arabic philosophy; Ethics & moral philosophy; Islam; Islamic theology

The idea that improving our character requires modelling ourselves on another will seem natural to many. But what might it mean to take God as a model for virtue? This book investigates how Muslim thinkers developed this idea against a rich backdrop of historical reflection on the topic and how one particular intellectual, Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī, shaped the conversation. The idea that becoming virtuous means becoming like God has a long history. It was a calling card of Plato's philosophy and popular among many of the ancient philosophical schools. In the Islamic world, it assumed a vivid form at the hands of Sufi thinkers who took the beautiful names of God as the headline of a project of self-transformation. God's beautiful names aren't just objects for abstract understanding; they represent moral and spiritual ideals. Moved by both philosophical and Sufi inspirations, al-Ghazālī casts the idea in a distinctive form which lets us into the sources of its fascination--and to the welter of questions it provokes. What, for example, does it even mean to ascribe virtues to God, given how closely the virtues seem to be tied to human limitations? Does the imitation of God set an achievable standard-and given the risks of aiming for it, should we even try? Drawing on a range of broader perspectives on virtue, character education, and the role of exemplars, this book works through such questions and places al-Ghazālī at the heart of an unfolding conversation.

By: Sophia Vasalou (Associate Professor of Philosophical Theology Associate Professor of Philosophical Theology University of Birmingham)
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 240mm, Width: 160mm, Spine: 20mm
Weight: 488g
ISBN: 9780198912446
ISBN 10: 0198912447
Pages: 224
Publication Date: 20 March 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

1: An Unlikely Model? 2: The Spices of Different Cuisines: The Imitation of God between Philosophy and Sufism 3: Big Stories and Local Weaves: Al-Ghaz=al=i's Ethics and Psychology of Godlikeness 4: Skin in the Game: Theological Risks and Semantic Strategies 5: Praise as Good as an Insult: Can God Have the Virtues? 6: Feelings, For and Against: Patience, Compassion, and God's Emotionless Virtues 7: Licence to Feel: Admiration, Emulation, and Human Nature 8: The Paradox of Majesty: Divine Virtues, Human Vices? 9: Lighting Matches: On How to Have a Virtuous Sense of Superiority 10: Socrates' Question, Special Edition: Does God's Character Create Value? 11: Nice Theory, Shame about the Practice: Moral Ideals, Psychological Realism, and the Unusual Case of God's Character 12: Where Morality Stops: Cognitive Education, Moral Plenitude, and the Importance of Lists 13: The Future of God's Beautiful Names: On Awe, the Sacramental Power of Words, and Why Great Exemplars Attract Us 14: Conclusion: On Finding Ideas Interesting

Sophia Vasalou studied Arabic and Islamic Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and obtained her doctorate from the University of Cambridge. She is currently Associate Professor of Philosophical Theology at the University of Birmingham. Her published works include Moral Agents and Their Deserts: The Character of Mu'tazilite Ethics (2008, winner of the Albert Hourani Book Award for Middle Eastern Studies in 2009), Schopenhauer and the Aesthetic Standpoint: Philosophy as a Practice of the Sublime (2013), Wonder: A Grammar (2015), Ibn Taymiyya's Theological Ethics (2016), and Virtues of Greatness in the Arabic Tradition (2019).

Reviews for Al-Ghazālī and the Ideal of Godlikeness

In the style of kulli hal, this book by Vasalou really explores in depth three works of Al Ghazali that are actually familiar to Muslims who have studied them for centuries. The difference is that Vasalou succeeded in revealing how the ethical foundation in Al Ghazali's work can actually be a reference for humanity in practicing virtue for the common good. * Rosdiansyah, RMOL *