Al-Ghazālī in the eyes of the West: The perception of Al-Ghazālī by W. Montgomery Watt, Frank Griffel, and Richard Frank

This study aims to present the perception of the prominent Islamic scholar Al- Ghazālī within the Western intellectual world through the perspectives of three major Orientalists. The work consists of a preface, introduction, three main chapters, and a conclusion. In the introduction, the significance, aim, and limitations of the study are discussed. The first chapter examines Montgomery Watt's understanding of Al-Ghazālī. Watt focuses on Al-Ghazālī's biography, the authenticity of some of his works, and the intellectual transformations he claims occurred in Ghazālī's thought, which initially prioritized rational knowledge and later emphasized intuitive knowledge. Furthermore, Watt critiques Al-Ghazālī's portrayal of intuitive knowledge, particularly in the context of mysticism, as the highest form of knowledge. The second chapter focuses on Professor Frank Griffel's interpretation of Al-Ghazālī, who is a scholar of Islamic studies at Yale University and also in the field of Abrahamic Religions at the University of Oxford. Like Watt, Griffel shows an interest in Al-Ghazālī's biography and even proposes a new hypothesis regarding his birthdate. Griffel presents information about Al-Ghazālī's life, primarily drawing from lesser-known Persian letters, thus offering new insights based on previously underexplored sources. Griffel also explores Al-Ghazālī's thought on philosophical theology (kalām) extensively in a separate work, where he discusses the influence of philosophy on Al-Ghazālī's kalām in various studies. Additionally, Griffel examines the Western perception of Al-Ghazālī within the chronological context of his cosmological thought. The final chapter addresses the perception of Al-Ghazālī held by Richard Frank, whose views have significantly influenced Griffel's interpretation of Al- Ghazālī. Unlike the previous two scholars, Frank does not focus on Al-Ghazālī's biography but instead places importance on two issues within the framework of Islamic theology (kalām): Al-Ghazālī's cosmological views and whether he adhered to the teachings of the Ash'arī school. In the conclusion, the interpretations of Al-Ghazālī by each of these Orientalists are evaluated, along with their comments on one another's perspectives. It is particularly noteworthy that all three scholars emphasize Al-Ghazālī's relationship with philosophy. We also conducted an interview with Prof. Griffel, whose perspectives are included in our thesis, consisting of five questions. The interview, which provides a significant contribution to our work, has been included at the end of the thesis.