Why Am I a Muslim? Investigating the Truth of Faith Based on Ghazālī's al-Munqidh Min Al-Ḍalāl

Abstract

It should be acknowledged that the man's beliefs are often based on their prejudices. Probably, some people have not even asked themselves "which religion do I believe in? and why?, let alone attempt to find answers to them. However, there are some who delve into these questions and strive to find convincing answers. Ghazālī was one of the thinkers who asked such questions when he was a teenager, and suffered from the resulting skepticism for a while. In Al-Munqidh Min Al-Ḍalāl, Ghazālī reports how he came across these questions and how he overcame the crisis of the skepticism. He criticizes those saying: "I am Muslim because I was born in a Muslim family", and presents a basis for the true faith, which is based on resorting to mysticism and abandoning the philosophical reasoning. Ghazālī does not view the true faith as the result of the combination of the major and minor premises, rather considers it merely as the Divine Illumination and providence. Using analytical-logical method, the present study examined the basis presented by Ghazālī and concluded that considering the Illumination as the basis of faith, and abandoning the philosophical reasoning may lead to some consequences which cannot be ignored. For example, in explaining the faith, by abandoning the philosophical reasoning, one cannot distinguish between the true faith and the false faith originating from the satanic temptations.