Terminological Drift and the Reordering of Knowledge from Al-Ghazali’s Perspective
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22023914 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ahmad Faizuddin Ramli (0000-0003-4387-6160, National University of Malaysia), Zulkiflee Haron (University of Technology Malaysia), Ramli Awang (Film Independent) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 11 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | e100 |
| Publication date | 2026-07-06 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Australian Journal of Islamic Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2207-4414 • E-ISSN: 2207-4414 |
| Publisher | Islamic Sciences and Research Academy (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.55831/ajis.v11i4.1351 |
| OpenAlex | W7167583243 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 13 |
This article examines al-Ghazali’s (d. 505/1111) critique of terminological distortion in the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn (The Revival of the Religious Sciences) as a diagnosis of epistemological disorder within the Islamic sciences. It argues that al-Ghazali understood semantic contraction not merely as a linguistic shift or rhetorical concern, but as a process that reshaped the hierarchy of knowledge, scholarly prestige, and the spiritual telos of learning. Focusing on five interrelated terms – fiqh (jurisprudence), ʿilm (knowledge), tawḥīd (the Oneness of God), dhikr/tadhkīr (remembrance/admonition), and ḥikmah (wisdom), the study traces a recurring pattern in which originally expansive concepts became narrowed through disciplinary capture, performative usage, or reduced doctrinal formulation. Methodologically, the article combines qualitative content analysis with close textual reading of the Kitāb al-ʿIlm (Book of Knowledge) and related passages in the Iḥyāʾ. It maintains interpretive discipline through repeated re-reading of chapters, cross-checking individual passages against the architecture of the Kitāb al-ʿIlm, and limiting claims to meanings explicitly supported by the text. The article concludes that al-Ghazali’s reflections on terminology are best understood as part of a wider sociology of the Islamic sciences, in which the governance of key terms helped order scholarly status, regulate authoritative knowledge, and shape the social life of learning in the Islamic Golden Age
Discipline · Hermeneutics · Islam · Narrative · Performative utterance · Reflexivity · Rhetorical question · Subjectivism · Terminology · Education and Islamic Studies · Islamic Studies and History · Medieval and Classical Philosophy
Law and Legal Theory in Classical and Medieval Islam
Al-Ghazali's Philosophical Theology
On the Origin of Two Key-Terms in Al-Gazzālī's Ihyā' 'Ulūm Al-Din
The Scholastic Method in Medieval Education
Analyzing al‐Ghazali’s Perspective on Christianity
Ghazālī on the Ethics of Action
Ghazālī and the Perils of Interpretation
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |