Non-Muslims as seen by al- Ghazālī

Emmanuel Pisani

Member of IDEO, PhD student at the University of Lyon III

icon-calendar November 12, 2013

For Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī, the non-Muslim is not outside the boundaries of humanity, as it has sometimes been hastily claimed. They still are inhabited by the divine breath and maintain an incomparable dignity, even if it is only by their ability to become Muslim. However, where Ghazālī shows his originality, is especially with the many duties that a Muslim must undertake with regard to his/her neighbors (i.e. solidarity, service), never distinguishing Muslim neighbors from others.