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Al-GhazAl on Reason.
Legal, and Sufism: Toward an Integrative Epistemology of Islamic Law in Modernity Akmal Bashori1.
MuthoAoam2.
Muhammad Landung3 1,2Universitas Sains Al Qur'an.
Indonesia 3National Pingtung University of Science and Technology.
Taiwan 1akmalbashori@unsiq.
id, 2mutho'am@unsiq.
id, 3muhammadlandung9@gmail.
Abstract This article examines the reconstruction of al-GhazAlAos integrative epistemology of Islamic law through qualitative library research, using IuyAAo AoUlm al-Dn as the primary text and employing the analytical framework of bayAn, burhAn, and AoirfAn The study reveals that al-GhazAl consistently integrates Sufi ethics and burhAn logic into the discourse of fiqh, uncovering the inner meanings behind the formal structures of law.
The synergy between bayAn reasoning .
criptural-normativ.
, burhAn reasoning .
ational-philosophica.
, and AoirfAn reasoning .
ystical-intuitiv.
produces an integral epistemological construction of fiqh in which law is inseparable from moral and spiritual dimensions, forming a unified and integrative epistemic system.
This article further proposes a reconstruction of modern Islamic legal epistemology through three major agendas: the transformation of bayAn into maqAid-oriented ethical guidance, the emancipation of burhAn through critical engagement with modernity, and the humanization of AoirfAn as a transformative spiritual ethic.
Such an integrative epistemology enables fiqh to move beyond rigid legalistic dogma and emerge as a liberating and humanistic spirit of Islamic law.
Keywords: Al-GhazAl.
Epistemology Integrative.
Islamic Law in Modernity Introduction Ab Amid al-GhazAl occupies a unique position in the history of Islamic intellectual Through his monumental work.
IuyAAo AoUlm al-Dn, he emerged as a sharp critic of fiqh that had been reduced to merely external legal knowledge preoccupied with conditions, pillars, validity, and invalidity, while neglecting its ethical and spiritual substance.
1 This critique was not merely technical, but reflected a profound philosophical concern that Islamic law should not stop at procedural formalism.
rather, it must cultivate transcendental consciousness and moral ethos.
1 Ab Amid al-GhazAl.
IuyAAo Ulm al-Dn.
I (Dar al-Fikr al-Arabi, t.
2 Jalaluddin Rahmat.
AuIjtihad Sebagai Sumber Ajaran Islam Ketiga,Ay in Ijtihad Dalam Sorotan (Mizan, 1.
Corresponding author:
Akmal Bashori, e-mail: akmalbashori@unsiq.
Article History Received: 08 January 2026 | Revised: 20 May 2.
Accepted: 26 June 2026 | Available online: 31 July 2026 How to Cite this Article Bashori.
MuthoAoam.
Landung.
Al-GhazAl on Reason.
Legal, and Sufism: Toward an Integrative Epistemology of Islamic Law in Modernity.
Tribakti: Jurnal Pemikiran Keislaman, 37.
, 321-340.
https://doi.
org/10.
33367/tribakti.
A 2026.
The author.
Tribakti is licensed under a Creative Commons AttributionNonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.
0 International License (CC BY-NC-SA 4.
Al-GhazAl on Reason.
Legal, and Sufism: Toward an Integrative Epistemology of Islamic Law in Modernity Akmal Bashori.
MuthoAoam.
Muhammad Landung In this regard.
Ebrahim Moosa argues that al-GhazAl offers an integrative epistemology in the IuyAAo.
3 Consequently, reading al-GhazAl through the framework of Mohammed AoAbid al-JAbirAos critique of Arab reason4 reveals the complex and progressive dimensions of his epistemological According to al-JAbir, the Islamic intellectual tradition is structured around three epistemological modes: bayAn .
extual-linguistic reasonin.
, burhAn .
ational-philosophical reasoning characteristic of the Peripatetic traditio.
, and AoirfAn .
ntuitive-esoteric reasoning associated with Sufism and Illuminationist philosoph.
5 Based on this typology, al-GhazAl boldly criticized the sui generis6 character of traditional fiqh, arguing that many jurists had become trapped in legal formalism.
7 At the same time, he rejected the burhAn claims of the philosophers who confined truth solely to rational logic.
8 Instead, al-GhazAl formulated a paradigm of Islamic law that was not only normatively valid but also rooted in spirituality and moral ethics.
9 He constructed an epistemological synthesis by integrating sharAo reasoning .
, philosophical-rational reasoning .
, and Sufi-spiritual reasoning (AoirfA.
into a unified framework of al-fiqh al-bAin, or Sufi jurisprudence.
However, according to Mohammed Abed al-Jabri, this project remains ambiguous because it simultaneously strengthens the AoirfAn dimension within Islamic law while restricting forms of mysticism considered to transcend the boundaries of the sharAoa.
11 In this context.
Ahmed Ali notes that modern thinkers such as Ruhollah Khomeini.
Abul AAola Maududi, and Sayyid Qutb tended to reject the connection between moral epistemology and legal theory in order to preserve the absolutism of revelation.
By contrast, figures such as Muhammad Abduh.
Muhammad Iqbal, and Abdolkarim Soroush developed forms of moral rationalism that were considered insufficiently robust to confront legalism.
Al-GhazAl sought to demonstrate the continuing relevance of his project in contexts where law had become excessively formalistic.
13 His thought also appears to reflect the epistemology of Abd al-Jabbar, particularly the idea that a robust moral rationalism enables critical revision within Islamic law and thus becomes an epistemic prerequisite for the emergence of genuinely alternative legal theories.
14 In this respect, al-GhazAlAos thought remains both relevant and problematic.
It is relevant because it opens new possibilities for Islamic law to preserve its spiritual dimension in the 3 Ebrahim Moosa.
GhazAl and the Poetics of Imagination (The University of North Carolina Press, 2.
4 Muuammad AoAbid al-JAbir.
Naqd Al-AoAql al-AoArab (Markaz DirAsAt al-Waudah al-AoArabiyyah, 1.
5 Muhammad Abid al-JAbir.
Bunyah Al-Aql AoArAb, (Markaz DirAsat al-Wahdah al-Arabiyyah, tt.
6 H.
Berg.
AuStudies in Early Muslim Jurisprudence.
By Norman Calder.
Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993.
,Ay Journal of Church and State 37, no.
: 180Ae81, https://doi.
org/10.
1093/jcs/37.
Norman Calder and Robert Gleave.
Islamic Jurisprudence in the Classical Era, 1st ed.
, ed.
Colin Imber (Cambridge University Press, 2.
, https://doi.
org/10.
1017/CBO9780511676574.
7 GhazAl.
IuyAAo Ulm al-Dn.
8 Ab Amid al-GhazAl.
Al-MustafA Min AoIlm Ul.
I (Pustaka al-Kautsar, 2.
9 Samer Dajani.
Sufish and ShariAoa: The Forgotten School of Mercy (Edinburg University Press, 2.
10 Alwi Shihab.
Islam Sufistik (Mizan, 2.
11 Moh Fauzi and Aqeel Khan.
AuThe Quasi Reform of Islamic Law: A Study on Legal Methodology of Mahmud Shaltut,Ay Advanced Science Letters 24, no.
: 413Ae16, https://doi.
org/10.
1166/asl.
12 Ahmed Ali Siddiqi.
AuMoral Epistemology and the Revision of Divine Law in Islam,Ay Oxford Journal of Law and Religion 10, no.
: 43Ae70, https://doi.
org/10.
1093/ojlr/rwab006.
13 Akmal Bashori.
AuKonstruksi Keilmuan Fikih Nusantara: Perspektif Filsafat Sains,Ay DIKTUM: Jurnal Syariah Dan Hukum 20, no.
: 184Ae203, https://ejurnal.
id/index.
php/diktum/index.
14 Ahmad Kazemi Moussavi and Hamid Mavani.
Islamic Legal Methodology : A New Perspective on Ul al-Fiqh (The International Institute of Islamic Thought, 2.
Tribakti: Jurnal Pemikiran Keislaman Volume 37.
Issue 2.
July 2026 Al-GhazAl on Reason.
Legal, and Sufism: Toward an Integrative Epistemology of Islamic Law in Modernity Akmal Bashori.
MuthoAoam.
Muhammad Landung face of modernity.
Yet it is also problematic because the integration of AoirfAn reasoning into fiqh risks distancing Islamic law from the burhAn rationality often regarded as essential to the modern Consequently, al-GhazAlAos integrative epistemology of fiqh continues to generate significant epistemological debates within contemporary Islamic legal studies.
Research by Hasbi Kholili demonstrates that al-GhazAl did not rely solely on a textual paradigm, but also incorporated rational reasoning into the educational process.
15 Regarding the rational dimension of al-GhazAlAos thought.
Sultan Mujahidin argues that by prioritizing revelation over Greek rationalism, al-GhazAl weakened critical reasoning and skepticism toward foreign ideas, thereby shaping the trajectory of post-TahAfut Islamic theology and philosophy as a lasting intellectual legacy.
16 In Ethical Teachings of Ab Amid al-GhazAl.
Sami al-Daghistani examines the relationship between ethics and economic philosophy.
17 Meanwhile.
Aprianto argues that alGhazAlAos epistemology of ul al-fiqh is grounded in deductive rationality and rejects non-rational, especially metaphysical, arguments.
18 In contrast.
Amani ElshimiAos thesis maintains that al-GhazAl sought to formulate an integrative epistemology rooted in the QurAoan.
19 This view is reinforced by Ahmad RenaldiAos research, which contends that al-GhazAlAos epistemology serves as a critique of dominant Western rationalist-positivist paradigms and offers an alternative framework integrating rational and spiritual dimensions in a holistic manner.
Unlike previous studies, this research offers a significant novelty by positioning IuyAAo AoUlm al-Dn not merely as a spiritual or ethical text, but as a project of integrative legal epistemology that can be read as a methodological agenda for engaging global realities.
This study further reconstructs al-GhazAlAos epistemology through three major dimensions: the emancipation of burhAn reasoning, which places critical rationality and empirical science as partners of ijtihAd.
the humanization of AoirfAn reasoning, which transforms spirituality into an ethical force for social justice and ecological and the transformation of bayAn reasoning through maqAid-oriented and contextual interpretation of texts.
Through this synthesis.
Islamic law moves beyond rigid legal formalism toward a humanistic and transformative legal ethic.
Islamic law thus becomes not merely an internal normative system, but also an alternative legal epistemology integrating text, reason, and spirituality in responding to the complexities of global modernity.
In addition, the selection of Ab Amid al-GhazAl as the central figure of this study is based on several considerations.
First, he was a Muslim thinker who successfully reconciled Sufism and fiqh, two traditions previously marked by intense intellectual tension.
Second, his ideas diverged 15 Kholili Hasib and Neneng Uswatun Khasanah.
AuThe Integration of Rationality and Spirituality: Imam AlGhazaliAos Experience through TaAolim Rabbani Approach in Acquiring Knowledge,Ay Afkaruna: Indonesian Interdisciplinary Journal of Islamic Studies 21, no.
: 65Ae83, https://doi.
org/10.
18196/afkaruna.
16 Sultan Mujahidin.
AuThe Supremacy of Revelation over Reason: Al-GhazaliAos Critique of Rationalist Philosophy in Tahafut Al-Falasifah,Ay Islamic Thought Review 2, no.
: 151Ae62, https://doi.
org/10.
30983/itr.
17 Sami Al-Daghistani.
Ethical Teachings of Ab Amid Al-GhazAl: Economics of Happiness (Anthem Press, 2.
, https://doi.
org/10.
2307/j.
18 Muhamad Subhi Apriantoro and Muthoifin Muthoifin.
AuThe Epistemology Of Ushul Fiqh Al-Ghazali In His Book Al-Mustashfa Min Ushuf Fiqh AIO EIA EAOEO I EEO II EE EN EIAAO II EI EAOEA,Ay Profetika: Jurnal Studi Islam 22, no.
: 229Ae36, https://doi.
org/10.
23917/profetika.
19 Amani Elshimi.
AuAl-GhazaliAos Integral Epistemology: A Critical Analysis of The Jewels of the QuranAy (Thesis.
The American University Cairo, https://fount.
edu/cgi/viewcontent.
cgi?article=2370&context=etds.
20 Ahmad Renaldi.
AuAl-GhazaliAos Intuitive Epistemology: A Critique of Western Epistemology,Ay Indonesian Journal Interdisciplinary Research Science Technology .
675Ae94, https://doi.
org/10.
55927/marcopolo.
Tribakti: Jurnal Pemikiran Keislaman Volume 37.
Issue 2.
July 2026 Al-GhazAl on Reason.
Legal, and Sufism: Toward an Integrative Epistemology of Islamic Law in Modernity Akmal Bashori.
MuthoAoam.
Muhammad Landung from the established mainstream of ul al-fiqh, which generally formulated law through bayAn and/or burhAn approaches alone, without incorporating the inward-spiritual dimension (AoirfA.
Al-GhazAl, however, integrated this spiritual dimension into the very construction of fiqh itself.
Accordingly, this study seeks to address two main questions: first, how al-GhazAlAos integrative epistemology of fiqh can be understood within the framework of Mohammed Abed al- JAbirAos theory of Arab reason.
and second, how al-GhazAlAos integrative reasoning may be reconstructed toward a new synthesis of modern legal epistemology.
These two issues reflect both the continuing relevance of al-GhazAlAos integrative epistemology and its contribution to the reconstruction of Islamic legal thought in contemporary discourse.
Method This study is a conceptual research employing a qualitative approach based on library The focus of the study is directed toward analyzing the thought of Abu Hamid al-GhazAl in his major works, particularly IuyAAo AoUlm al-Dn and al-MustafA min AoIlm al-Ul.
The IuyAAo is selected as the primary source because it embodies an integrative paradigm that combines fiqh.
Sufism, and philosophical reasoning, with particular emphasis on the reconstruction of Islamic legal epistemology.
Secondary sources include works such as by Ebrahim Moosa.
Ghazali and the Poetics of Imagination Wael B.
Hallaq.
A History of Islamic Legal Theories.
Sherman Jackson.
Islamic Law and the State and Felicitas Opwis.
Malaua and the Purpose of the Law.
Data were collected through textual study followed by in-depth reading to uncover the argumentative structure and epistemological foundations underlying al-GhazAlAos integration of normative, rational, and spiritual The data analysis employs both intellectual history and descriptive-analytical approaches conducted through several stages: first, systematically describing key concepts and argumentative patterns within the texts.
second, identifying the epistemological character of each argument.
analyzing the relationships among epistemological elements.
and fourth, formulating a conceptual abstraction of the legal epistemology constructed by al-GhazAl.
To examine this epistemological framework, the study adopts the theory of the critique of Arab reason developed by Mohammed Abed al-JAbir, which classifies the Islamic intellectual tradition into three epistemological categories: bayAn, burhAn, and AoirfAn .
ntuitive-spiritua.
This framework is used operationally as an analytical tool to: .
identify dominant tendencies within al-GhazAlAos argumentative structure.
assess the relational patterns among the epistemologies.
determine whether the synthesis he constructs is subordinative, hierarchical, or integrative.
Result and Discussion The Integration of Knowledge in the Discourse of Islamic Science Contemporary fiqh increasingly exhibits what may be described as Aulaw without a soul.
Ay It is preoccupied with reiterating the classical formula majmAoat al-aukAm al-sharAoiyyah al-Aoamaliyyah almustafAdah min adillatihA al-tafsliyyah,21 a definition long regarded by fuqahAAo as definitive, yet epistemologically restrictive insofar as it confines the legal horizon to detailed textual proofs 22 As a consequence, fiqh tends toward positivism, resembling modern Western law as deconstructed by Hans Kelsen in his Pure Theory of Law: value-neutral, ethically sterilized, and 21 Abd.
WahAb KhallAf.
Ilmu Ul Al-Fiqh (Dar Khutub al-Ilmiyah, 2.
22Noel J.
Coulson.
A History of Islamic Law (Edinburg University Press, 1.
Tribakti: Jurnal Pemikiran Keislaman Volume 37.
Issue 2.
July 2026 Al-GhazAl on Reason.
Legal, and Sufism: Toward an Integrative Epistemology of Islamic Law in Modernity Akmal Bashori.
MuthoAoam.
Muhammad Landung detached from spiritual meaning.
23 Ironically.
Islamic lawAioriginally conceived as a living lawAi has been transformed into what may be termed a Ausacralized fossilized jurisprudenceAy.
Conversely, taawwuf, which initially emerged as an epistemological protest against the aridity of textualism, has undergone a process of domestication.
It has been narrowed into a form of privatized spirituality and, at times, has drifted into apolitical mysticism.
This condition represents an epistemic amputation that has been critically exposed by contemporary thinkers.
Mohammed Arkoun characterizes it as the dogmatization of Islamic reason .
aqds al-afkAr al-dniyya.
,25 Khaled Abou El Fadl describes it as Auauthoritarianism,Ay26 while Talal Asad conceptualizes it as a discursive tradition maintained by religious authority to ensure social stability.
27 The increasing specialization and separation of these two disciplines stem from their divergent epistemic orientations: Aufiqh tends to rely on ratio and common-sense logic in engaging the QurAoan and uadth to derive legal rulings, whereas mysticism prioritizes experiential knowledge .
in the lived practice of the QurAoan and uadthAy.
Al-GhazAl emerged as a disruptive force that challenged the prevailing status quo.
rejected this epistemic amputation by integrating the Sufi dimension into the very structure of fiqh.
Through IuyAAo AoUlm al-Dn, he incorporated Sufi terminology into the legal framework, uncovered the inner meanings underlying outward legal rules, and articulated a decisive principle: sharAoa without uaqqa is invalid, while uaqqa without sharAoa is inconceivable.
29 In other words, al-GhazAl constructed what may be termed Sufi jurisprudenceAia new paradigm in which law is not merely a collection of fatwas, but a pathway toward both the purification of the soul and the maintenance of social order.
When examined through al-JAbirAos theoretical lens, al-GhazAlAos project appears simultaneously problematic and revolutionary.
It is problematic insofar as al-JAbir argues that the dominance of AoirfAn reasoning within Islamic civilization contributed to intellectual stagnation by displacing critical burhAn rationality.
30 Yet it is revolutionary because al-GhazAl did not remain confined to normative bayAn reasoning.
rather, he revitalized Islamic law by infusing it with Sufi spirituality and, at times, employed burhAn reasoning in his philosophical critiques.
31 Here, a clear epistemological tension emerges, for al-JAbir, fiqh should be reoriented toward burhAn rationality, whereas for al-GhazAl, bayAn reasoning must be illuminated by AoirfAn insight.
When addressing alAt, for example, the outward componentsAisuch as conditions and pillars that constitute the formal structure of prayerAifall within the domain of fiqh, while issues of inner presence, humility, concentration .
, and reverence belong to the domain of the Sufis.
Accordingly, whereas al-JAbir advances what may be described as an Auepistemic secularizationAyAithe disentanglement of burhAn rationality from the constraints of bayAn and AoirfAn 23 Hans Kelsen.
Pure Theory of Law, 1st ed (University of California Press, 2.
24 Akmal Bashori.
Filsafat Hukum Islam: Paradigma Filosofis Mengais Kebeningan Hukum Tuhan (Kencana, 2.
25 Mohammed Arkoun.
The Unthought in Contemporary Islamic Thought (Saqi Books .
], 2.
lihat juga Mohammed Arkoun.
TArkhiyyat Al-Fikr alAoArabi al-Islam.
Terj.
Hasyim Saleh (Markazul InmaAo al-Qaumi, 1.
26 Khaled M Aboe el-Fadl.
Speaking in GodAos Name: Islamic Law.
Authority, and Woment (Oneword Publications, 27 Talal Asad.
Genealogies of Religion: Discipline and Reasons of Power in Christianity and Islam (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1.
28 Alwan Khoiri.
AuThe Integration Of SharAoa And Sufism Practices,Ay Teosofia: Indonesian Journal of Islamic Mysticism 1, no.
: 95, https://journal.
id/index.
php/teosofia/article/view/619.
29 GhazAl.
IuyAAo Ulm al-Dn.
30 JAbir.
Bunyah Al-Aql AoArAb,.
31 al-JAbir.
Naqd Al-AoAql al-AoArab.
Tribakti: Jurnal Pemikiran Keislaman Volume 37.
Issue 2.
July 2026 Al-GhazAl on Reason.
Legal, and Sufism: Toward an Integrative Epistemology of Islamic Law in Modernity Akmal Bashori.
MuthoAoam.
Muhammad Landung modesAial-GhazAl instead proposes an Auintegral sacralization,Ay namely the reconciliation of bayAn, burhAn, and AoirfAn epistemologies.
The contrast between these positions is pronounced.
al-JAbir envisions a form of rational modernity inspired by Ibn Rushd, whereas al-GhazAl aspires to an innerAeouter unity of law and spirituality grounded in the QurAoan and the Sunnah.
Within a modern intellectual horizon, al-GhazAlAos synthesis may be read in parallel with Jyrgen HabermasAos concept of communicative rationality, which interrelates norms, reason, and ethics,32 or with Hans-Georg GadamerAos hermeneutics as a fusion of horizons between text and interpreter.
33 In this sense, alGhazAlAos jurisprudential thought represents an articulation of transcendental rationality, a conception of law that does not terminate in technical calculations of licit and illicit, but rather functions as a moral architecture oriented toward human emancipation.
Al-GhazAl maintains that hidAyah .
ivine guidanc.
Aias the ultimate fruit of knowledgeAi possesses both a beginning and an end, encompassing outward aspects .
uch as conditions and pillar.
as well as inward .
Not everyone can attain the final stage without first completing the initial one, and no individual can access the inner dimension without mastering the outward form.
34 Accordingly, the attainment of knowledge of uaqqa necessarily requires the integration of exoteric knowledge (Aoilm al-eAhir, namely fiq.
and esoteric knowledge (Aoilm al-bAin, namely taawwu.
Any sharAoaAiunderstood here as fiqhAithat is not bound to uaqqa is deemed unacceptable, just as any claim to uaqqa that is not grounded in sharAoa is destined to fail.
As the product of a scholar situated within a particular historical contextAidistinct from both earlier and later periodsAiit is reasonable to elaborate upon or even reconstruct established theories inherited from the past.
Islamic legal discourse permits such endeavors, provided they are grounded in recognized methodological principles.
With respect to the acquisition of knowledge, al-GhazAl identifies two primary sources: revelation and intellection or intellectual intuition.
The latter constitutes an immediate and direct form of knowledge that can be perceived and experienced inwardly and spiritually, referred to in the Islamic tradition as al-Aoilm al-uusr.
Kartanegara argues that, in the derivation of Islamic law.
Muslim scholars employ not only demonstrative .
and empirical methodsAieach relying respectively on sensory observation and rational inferenceAibut also an additional epistemic mode known as the intuitive (AoirfA.
As noted by Sham C.
Inati.
Muslim intellectuals recognize two principal modes of acquiring knowledge (Aoil.
: first, a movement from known objects to previously unknown ones.
and second, knowledge obtained solely through direct illumination from the Divine.
The former corresponds to demonstrative or logical reasoning, while the latter operates through the intuitive (AoirfA.
The intuitive approach is presential in nature, insofar as its object is directly present within the knowerAos consciousness.
consequently, this mode of knowledge is termed al-Aoilm al-uusr .
nowledge by presenc.
Amin Abdullah further elaborates that the relationship between subject 32 Jyrgen Habermas et al.
Reason and the Rationalization of Society.
Nachdr.
The Theory of Communicative Action / Jyrgen Habermas.
Transl.
by Thomas MacCarthy.
Vol.
1 (Beacon, 2.
33 Hans-Georg Gadamer et al.
Truth and method, 2.
, rev.
, reprint.
Continuum impacts (Continuum, 2.
34 Ab Amid al-GhazAl.
Minhaj Al-Abidin (Toha Putra, 2.
35 Qusyairi Abul Qasim Abdul Karim Hawazin Al-.
Al-Risalah al-Qusyairiyah, (Pustaka Amani, 2.
36 Nasr amd Ab Zaid.
Mafhm Al-Na.
DirAsat Fi AoUlm al-QurAoAn .
l-Markaz al-Tsaqafi al- AoArabi, 1.
37 Mulyadi Kartanegara.
AuPondasi Metafisik Bangunan Epestomologi Islam Perspektil Ilmu-Ilmu Filosofis,Ay in Menyatukan Kembali Ilmu-Ilmu Agama Dan Umum (Suka Press, 2.
Tribakti: Jurnal Pemikiran Keislaman Volume 37.
Issue 2.
July 2026 Al-GhazAl on Reason.
Legal, and Sufism: Toward an Integrative Epistemology of Islamic Law in Modernity Akmal Bashori.
MuthoAoam.
Muhammad Landung and object within this epistemic framework is neither subjectiveAias is often the case in the bayAn traditionAinor purely objective, as emphasized in the burhAn tradition, but rather intersubjective.
Truth, particularly in matters related to socio-religious life, is therefore intersubjective in From this perspective, there is a pressing need to reconstruct and reassess approaches to Islamic legal reasoning that rely exclusively on bayAn and burhAn modes, and to incorporate AoirfAn reasoning into the epistemology of Islamic fiqh.
Within such an expanded epistemic framework, religions can be interpreted and rearticulated in a more profound, esoteric, and spiritual manner.
jurisprudential understanding that lacks an AoirfAn dimension will face significant difficulties in engaging the realities of religious plurality, both internally and externally.
39 At a more technical and applicative level.
Amin Abdullah has schematically illustrated how these three approaches can be integrated coherently and systematically.
Al-GhazAl: Crisis.
Quest, and Intellectual Integration To discuss Ab Amid al-GhazAl within the framework of Islamic legal epistemology is to position him not merely as a historical figure, but as a conceptual architect who constructed an integrative foundation for Islamic intellectual reasoning.
Born in s.
KhurAsAn, in 450 AH/1058 CE and passing away in 505 AH/1111 CE, he lived during a period of profound intellectual turbulence marked by tensions among kalAm, philosophy, jurisprudence, and Sufism.
His significance lies in his epistemological response to this fragmentation.
Through major works such as al-Munqidh min al-UalAl, al-MustafA min AoIlm al-Ul.
IuyAAo AoUlm al-Dn, and TahAfut al-FalAsifah,41 he emerged as one of the most influential figures in the Islamic intellectual tradition.
42 Rather than aligning himself exclusively with a single discipline, he reconstructed the relationships among them within a coherent methodological structure.
The epistemological reconstruction he developed was rooted in his personal crisis of doubt.
His scepticism toward sense perception and rational certainty did not culminate in nihilism, but instead led to a reordering of the hierarchy of knowledge.
43 For nearly two months, he was engulfed in profound uncertainty, approaching what he described as a loss of epistemic grounding.
characterized this phase as a Auspiritual illness,Ay resolvable not solely through human logic but through divine illumination penetrating the heart.
44 From this experience emerged an epistemological framework that integrates reason, revelation, and mystical experience.
45 For alGhazAl, truth cannot be reduced either to textual authority .
or to logical demonstration .
it must be complemented by spiritual intuition (AoirfA.
In this construction, bayAn provides the normative foundation of the SharAoa.
burhAn secures logical coherence and argumentative validity.
and AoirfAn animates the ethical and transcendental orientation of law.
38 M.
Amin Abdullah.
Islamic Studies Di Perguruan Tinggi: Pendekatan Integratif-Interkonektif (Pustaka Pelajar, 2.
39 Abdullah.
Islamic Studies Di Perguruan Tinggi: Pendekatan Integratif-Interkonektif.
40 Abdullah.
Islamic Studies Di Perguruan Tinggi: Pendekatan Integratif-Interkonektif.
200-seterusnya.
41 George F.
Hourani.
AuA Revised Chronology of GhazAlAos Writings,Ay Journal of the American Oriental Society 104, 2 .
: 289Ae302.
JSTOR, http://w.
org/stable/602173.
42 Ameer Ali.
The Spirit of Islam (Navila, 2.
43 Sulaiman DunyA.
Al-GhazAl.
Biografi Dan Pemikirannya, 2nd ed.
(Marja, 2.
44 Ab Amid al-GhazAl.
Al-Munqiz Min al-UalAl (Pustaka Progresif, 2.
45 Hasib and Khasanah.
AuThe Integration of Rationality and Spirituality.
Ay Tribakti: Jurnal Pemikiran Keislaman Volume 37.
Issue 2.
July 2026 Al-GhazAl on Reason.
Legal, and Sufism: Toward an Integrative Epistemology of Islamic Law in Modernity Akmal Bashori.
MuthoAoam.
Muhammad Landung Together, these three epistemic instruments form an integrative and mutually reinforcing structure within Islamic legal thought.
His most significant contribution to Islamic legal epistemology is evident in his effort to integrate logic into ul al-fiqh.
Through works such as al-MustafA and MiAoyAr al-AoIlm, al-GhazAl demonstrated that rational instruments are not a threat to revelation but rather tools for clarifying and systematizing it.
At the same time, through IuyAAo AoUlm al-Dn, he criticized the tendency of jurisprudence to become trapped in legal formalism devoid of moral depth.
47 In doing so, he repositioned fiqh as a discipline that regulates not only outward actions but also cultivates inner ethical consciousness.
Conceptually, this synthesis produced a non-reductionist model of Islamic legal Legal truth is not reduced either to textual literalism or to the autonomy of reason 48 Rather, law is understood as the product of a dialectical interaction between the normativity of revelation, methodological rationality, and ethical consciousness.
49 This model opens the possibility for contemporary reconstruction: the bayAn paradigm can be transformed through a maqAid-oriented approach.
burhAn reasoning can be emancipated through engagement with modern science and social theory.
and the AoirfAn dimension can be humanized as a foundation for public ethics.
In IuyAAo AoUlm al-Dn, al-GhazAl sought to restore the integrity of fiqh by recovering its moral and spiritual essence.
Jurisprudence, in his view, must not remain confined to formal legality but should be oriented toward the purification of the soul and the realization of human welfare .
50 In al-MustafA, he demonstrated remarkable methodological depth in ul al-fiqh by employing logical instruments systematically and rigorously.
51 This synthesis establishes him not merely as a critic of philosophy or a defender of Sufism, but as an architect of Islamic legal epistemology capable of bridging SharAoa, reason, and spirituality.
In this regard.
Amin Abdullah observes that al-GhazAl was critical of nearly all intellectual traditions of his time, yet ultimately arrived at a more comprehensive and integrative synthesis.
52 He demonstrated that epistemic crisis can generate intellectual creativity, and that the integration of jurisprudence, philosophy, and Sufism constitutes a pathway toward a living, rational, and spiritually grounded Islamic law.
53 It is this legacy that has positioned al-GhazAl as a central figure in the development of Islamic legal epistemology up to the modern era.
Al-GhazAl and the Reformulation of an Integrative Epistemology of Fiqh 46 Mila Maulida Barrotuzzahro and Agus Khunaifi.
AuIntegration of Kalam.
Jurisprudence, and Sufism in Al- GhazaliAos Thought: Building a Rational and Spiritual Islam,Ay Cendekiawan : Jurnal Pendidikan Dan Studi Keislaman 4, no.
: 695Ae98, https://zia-research.
com/index.
php/cendekiawan/article/view/344.
47 GhazAl.
IuyAAo Ulm al-Dn.
48 Ahmad Agus Ramdlany.
AuLaw Changes in Islamic Law (Review of Concepts.
Principles and Methodolog.
,Ay Technium Social Sciences Journal 50 (November 2.
: 157Ae66, https://doi.
org/10.
47577/tssj.
49 Mohd Zuhdi Marsuki.
Al-GhazaliAos View on The Role of Ethics in Islamic Jurisprudence (MAZ Publications, 2.
50 GhazAl.
IuyAAo Ulm al-Dn.
51 Ebrahim EI Moosa.
AuThe Legal Philosophy of Al-Ghazali: Law.
Language and Theology in al-MustasfaAy (Disertasi.
University of Cape Town, 1.
, https://open.
za/server/api/core/bitstreams/a2f0e892-dafe-4988826d-46d48863164e/content.
52 Amin Abdullah.
Studi Agama: Normativitas Atau Historisitas? (Pustaka Pelajar, 1.
53 Hava Lazarus Yafeh.
AuPhilosophical Terms as a Criterion of Authenticity in the Writings of Al-Ghazzali,Ay Studia Islamica, no.
: 111, https://doi.
org/10.
2307/1595165.
Tribakti: Jurnal Pemikiran Keislaman Volume 37.
Issue 2.
July 2026 Al-GhazAl on Reason.
Legal, and Sufism: Toward an Integrative Epistemology of Islamic Law in Modernity Akmal Bashori.
MuthoAoam.
Muhammad Landung Al-GhazAlAos integrative reasoning did not seek to escape the established framework of imitative reasoning.
rather, he exercised independent ijtihAd in formulating religious legal This intellectual project is profoundly explored in IuyAAo AoUlm al-Dn (The Revival of the Religious Science.
, a work that represents al-GhazAlAos epistemic endeavor to reconstruct the foundations of Islamic legal knowledge.
According to al-GhazAl, knowledge had become fragmented, fiqh had stagnated in literal normative formalism, as noted by Robert Gleave.
philosophy had become trapped in speculative rationality detached from the sharAoa.
while Sufism had drifted toward a potentially antinomian mysticism.
55 In this context, the IuyAAo emerged as a Aumetaphysics of enlightenment,Ay reuniting fragmented modes of thought through the integration of law, logic, and intuition.
Analytically.
Sujiat Zubaidi argues that the IuyAAo not only contains an ethical elaboration of fiqh, but is also intertwined with an epistemic-logical construction further developed in al-MustafA min AoIlm al-Ul.
Within his epistemological framework, al-GhazAl places reason .
at the center of Reason is understood as the essential quality of human beings that distinguishes them from other creatures.
57 According to him, reason is fundamentally capable of grasping reality error does not originate from reason itself, but from the dominance of khayAl .
and wahm .
58 Therefore, al-GhazAlAos critique of rationality is not absolute.
Rather, he rejects three forms of rational deviation: .
the corrupted rationality of the Sophists and the BAiniyyah,59 .
the reduction of reason to mere apologetic theological polemics,60 and .
methodological errors in syllogistic reasoning.
61 Within al-JAbrAos framework, this position may be understood as an attempt to rationalize the epistemology of fiqh, since al-GhazAl rejects knowledge founded upon imagination, doubt, or unmethodological theological disputes.
Nevertheless, reason retains legitimacy as an instrument for verifying knowledge and as a tool of ijtihAd for interpreting social change.
This perspective explains why al-GhazAl regarded logic .
62 as the prerequisite for all branches of knowledge.
63 According to Wael B.
Hallaq, this position reflects the influence of the Aristotelian tradition within the epistemological structure of his thought.
64 In MiAoyAr al-AoIlm and alQisAs al-Mustaqm, for instance, logic is presented, as noted by Yaman Tawpek, as an instrument for verifying knowledge, particularly through syllogism and analogy, so that the process of legal 54 Robert Gleave.
Islam and Literalism: Literal Meaning and Interpretation in Islamic Legal Theory (Edinburgh University Press, 2.
55 GhazAl.
Al-Munqiz Min al-UalAl.
56 Sujiat Zubaidi Saleh et al.
AuOn Imam GhazAlAos Fars AoAin and Fars KifAyah: An Epistemological Approach,Ay Jurnal Ushuluddin 30, no.
: 48, https://doi.
org/10.
24014/jush.
57 GhazAl.
IuyAAo Ulm al-Dn, i.
58 GhazAl.
IuyAAo Ulm al-Dn, i.
59 GhazAl.
IuyAAo Ulm al-Dn.
60 GhazAl.
IuyAAo Ulm al-Dn.
61 Ab Amid al-GhazAl.
MishkAt Al-AnwAr (Dar Qawmiyah, 1.
62 Kuatnya perhatian al-GhazAl dibidang ini dinyatakan oleh al-Jabiri bahwa: sekiranya ada seorang ilmuwan yang tetap mengembalikan citra logika seperti al-Farabi dalam artian mengikutinya untuk kemudian diterapkan dalam pola bayani, orang itu tidak lain adalah hujjat al-Islam al-GhazAl.
JAbir.
Bunyah Al-Aql AoArAb,.
63 GhazAl.
IuyAAo Ulm al-Dn.
GhazAl.
Al-MustafA Min AoIlm Ul.
64 Wael B.
Hallaq.
AuLogic.
Formal Arguments and Formalization of Arguments in Sunn Jurisprudence,Ay Arabica 37, no.
: 315Ae58.
JSTOR, http://w.
org/stable/4057146.
Tribakti: Jurnal Pemikiran Keislaman Volume 37.
Issue 2.
July 2026 Al-GhazAl on Reason.
Legal, and Sufism: Toward an Integrative Epistemology of Islamic Law in Modernity Akmal Bashori.
MuthoAoam.
Muhammad Landung istinbA does not fall into subjectivity or methodological error.
65 Consequently, al-GhazAlAos epistemology of fiqh does not treat reality as static.
rather, it opens space for ijtihAd as a creative process for responding to social change.
66 Within this framework, ul al-fiqh functions as a rational methodology that enables revealed texts to remain relevant and compatible with evolving social realities and the changing needs of legal society.
This epistemological reformulation becomes evident in al-GhazAlAos attempt to shift the dominance of bayAn reasoning toward a dialogue with burhAn reasoning.
He sought to harmonize analogical textualism .
with the rationality of legal preference .
and public welfare .
,68 while complementing them with a spiritual dimension (AoirfA.
that enriches private legal 69 However, when examined through the epistemological framework of al-JAbir, the integration proposed by al-GhazAl appears ambiguous.
According to al-JAbir, the stagnation of Islamic civilization resulted precisely from the dominance of textual-normative .
and mystical-gnostic (AoirfA.
modes of reasoning, which marginalized rational-demonstrative .
Al-GhazAlAos rationality nevertheless did not attain full epistemic autonomy in the manner of burhAn reasoning within the tradition of Ibn Rushd.
71 Although, in legal epistemology.
Ibn Rushd explicitly acknowledged in Aual-Uarr f Ul al-FiqhAy that he followed the formulation of al-MustafA, he discarded formal logic on the grounds that it did not belong to the discipline of ul al-fiqh 72 In the IuyAAo, burhAn epistemology is indeed recognized by al-GhazAl, yet its function remains subordinate to the authority of the text .
and controlled within a religious-sufistic Logic is accepted only insofar as it strengthens the legitimacy of revelation and safeguards the orthodoxy of the sharAoa.
Consequently, reason in al-GhazAlAos epistemology is not an independent source of knowledge, but rather an instrument operating under the hegemony of religious texts.
The AoirfAn dimension in al-GhazAlAos epistemology is clearly reflected in his concept of the heart .
as the medium for receiving divine illumination.
According to Loumia Ferhat, the heart is not merely the center of spirituality, but also the locus for the transformation of knowledge and Through tazkiyat al-nafs and spiritual discipline, human beings attain knowledge that is not only cognitive in nature, but also ethically transformative.
Consequently, al-GhazAlAos epistemology stands at the intersection of Sufism and philosophy, since knowledge is inseparable 65 Yaman Towpek and Kamarudin Salleh.
AuThe Writing Methodology of MiAoyAr al-AoIlm F Fann al-Maniq,Ay Journal of Usuluddin 45, no.
: 150, https://doi.
org/10.
22452/usuluddin.
66 Muhyar Fanani.
Ilmu Ushul Fikih Di Mata Filsafat Ilmu, (Walisongo Press, 2.
67 Abu Yasid.
Metodologi Penafsiran Teks.
Memahami Ilmu Ushul Fikih Sebagai Epistemologi Hukum, (Erlangga, 2.
68 GhazAl.
Al-MustafA Min AoIlm Ul.
69 Saleh et al.
AuOn Imam GhazAlAos Fars AoAin and Fars KifAyah.
Ay 84.
Ahmad Zayyadi et al.
AuTransformation of Al-GhazzaliAos Thinking from Rational to Suphistic Trends,Ay Indonesian Journal of Social Science Research 3, no.
82Ae87, https://doi.
org/10.
11594/ijssr.
70 Muhammad Abid al-JAbir.
Takwn Al-Aql al-Arabi, (Markaz Dirasat al-Wihdat al-Arabiyah, 1.
71 M.
Chazim Munajib and Abdul Basit.
AuEpistemology of Islamic Philosophy: An Analysis and Critique of Ibn RushdAos Epistemology,Ay Green Philosophy: International Journal of Religious Education and Philosophy 3, no.
: 13,
https://doi.
org/10.
70062/greenphilosophy.
72 Aksin Wijaya.
Nalar Kritis Epistemologi Muslim, (IRCiSoD, 2.
73 JAbir.
Takwn Al-Aql al-Arabi,.
Tribakti: Jurnal Pemikiran Keislaman Volume 37.
Issue 2.
July 2026 Al-GhazAl on Reason.
Legal, and Sufism: Toward an Integrative Epistemology of Islamic Law in Modernity Akmal Bashori.
MuthoAoam.
Muhammad Landung from the formation of morality.
74 From the perspective of Mohammed Abed al-JAbir, al-GhazAl indeed refined the relationship among these three epistemologies, yet he did not grant full autonomy to either reason or intuition.
BurhAn epistemology remained positioned as a supporting instrument of bayAn reasoning, while AoirfAn knowledge was carefully regulated so as not to transcend the boundaries of the sharAoa.
This AoirfAn orientation becomes even more pronounced in MishkAt al-AnwAr and JawAhir alQurAoAn.
In the MishkAt, knowledge is understood as divine light radiating into the heart after a process of spiritual purification.
The heart thus becomes the medium of maAorifah that transcends formal-rational knowledge.
Hikmet Yaman explains that the intellect .
l-ru al-Aoaq.
is capable of comprehending meanings beyond the reach of the senses and imagination.
76 This perspective is further reinforced in the JawAhir, where al-GhazAl asserts that the QurAoan contains inner layers of meaning accessible through a maqAid-oriented approach.
He further classifies the maqAid of the QurAoan into two categories: the primary maqAid .
l-ul al-muhimma.
, which include knowledge of Allah, the path toward Him, and the human condition upon reaching Him.
and the complementary maqAid .
l-rawAdif wa al-tawAbiA.
, which include narratives of the righteous, refutations of the opponents of Islam, and the spiritual-moral provisions necessary for the journey toward Allah.
This classification demonstrates that the QurAoan contains not only normative legal prescriptions, but also theological, ethical, and spiritual dimensions oriented toward the maqAid of the QurAoan.
From the perspective of al-JAbir, such a reading reflects a strong tendency toward taAowl AoirfAn, namely the uncovering of the deepest meanings of the text through spiritual symbolism.
Although al-GhazAl continued to restrict esoteric interpretation so that it would not transcend the boundaries of the sharAoa, al-JAbir argues that this epistemology still grants a dominant space to mystical reasoning in understanding revelation.
Consequently, al-GhazAl placed both reason and intuition under epistemic control, while the text remained the primary authority.
78 Within this framework.
Lasmi Anisa Putri and colleagues argue that IuyAAo produced a holistic yet hierarchical epistemological system,79 in which bayAn occupies the highest position, while burhAn and AoirfAn function mainly to reinforce the authority of the text,80 as reflected in al-GhazAlAos statement: Auinna adillata al-aukAm al-QurAoAn wa al-sunnah wa al-ijmAAo wa dall al-AoaqlAy 81 (Indeed, the sources of legal rulings are the QurAoan, the Sunnah, consensus .
jmAA.
, and rational proo.
In the process of legal istinbA, al-GhazAl employed the QurAoan, hadith, the opinions of the Companions, the TAbiAon, jurists .
uqahAA.
, and scholars of taAowl.
However, in IuyAAo, he primarily emphasized the QurAoan, hadith, ijmAAo, and the traditions of the Companions as the principal 74 Loumia Ferhat.
AuAl-GhazAlAos Heart as a Medium of Light: Illumination and the Soteriological Process,Ay Journal of Islamic Ethics 4, nos.
1Ae2 .
: 201Ae22, https://doi.
org/10.
1163/24685542-12340050.
75 JAbir.
Bunyah Al-Aql AoArAb,.
76 Hikmet Yaman.
AuThe Light Verse between Philosophy and Sufism: A Comparative Analysis of the Interpretations by Ibn SnA and al-GhazAl,Ay Marmara yuniversitesi lahiyat Fakyltesi Dergisi 67, no.
: 241,
https://doi.
org/10.
15370/maruifd.
77 Ab Amid al-GhazAl.
JawAhir Al-QurAoAn.
Muuammad Rashd RisA al-QabbAn .
) (DAr IuyAAo al-AoUlm, 78 GhazAl.
IuyAAo Ulm al-Dn.
II.
79 Lasmi Anisa Putri and Muhammad Zalnur.
AuRekonstruksi Epistemologi Islam: Integrasi Bayani.
Irfani.
Dan Burhani Untuk Resiliensi Pengetahuan Di Era Digital,Ay Journal of Islamic Studies and Humanities (Semaran.
10, no.
80 GhazAl.
Al-MustafA Min AoIlm Ul.
GhazAl.
IuyAAo Ulm al-Dn.
81 GhazAl.
IuyAAo Ulm al-Dn.
II.
Tribakti: Jurnal Pemikiran Keislaman Volume 37.
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July 2026 Al-GhazAl on Reason.
Legal, and Sufism: Toward an Integrative Epistemology of Islamic Law in Modernity Akmal Bashori.
MuthoAoam.
Muhammad Landung normative foundations.
82 Ebrahim Moosa further identifies istilAu as the fifth legal source within al-GhazAlAos system.
83 At the practical level, al-GhazAl developed the concept of malauah through three categories: sarrah, uAjiyah, and tausniyah.
84 This scheme demonstrates that the legal dimension in the IuyAAo does not stop at the literal meaning of the text, but is also directed toward the protection of human welfare.
In his analysis.
Wael B.
Hallaq describes malauah, including alGhazAlAos formulation of it, as a form of Aureligious utilitarianism.
Ay 85 Nevertheless, from al-JAbirAos perspective, burhAn rationality within al-GhazAlAos epistemology never achieves full autonomy, since its function remains to preserve the harmony between sharAoa, logic, and spirituality.
Figure 1:
The Diagram of al-GhazAlAos Integrative Epistemology of Islamic Law
THE INTEGRATIVE EPISTEMOLOGY AL-GHAZAL
Diagnosis of the Fragmentation of Knowledge Fiqh:
Frozen in literalistic BurhAn Reason:
Reason reflects reality and is free from error Error originates not from reason itself, but from khayAl and wahm Critique of reason includes: .
corrupted rationality, .
reduction of reason to theological polemics, .
methodological errors in Sufism:
Sliding into potentially anomic mysticism Philosophy:
Trapped in speculative rationality detached from sharAoa Objective To reconstruct fragmented thought by integrating law, logic, and intuition in order to develop a relevant and holistic epistemology of Islamic law.
Integration of Three Epistemic Domains Normative Control SharAoa remains the ultimate normative foundation BurhAn BurhanAos reason is the core of humanity, logic is the science istihsan BayAn Based on revelation, textual sources .
, language, and rhetoric .
hiAba.
AoIrfAn The heart of the medium of Divine Light, selfpurification, spiritual practice, moral formation Methods of Islamic Legal Reasoning Na QiyAs IstiusAn IstilAu IrfAn BurhAn and AoirfAn do not possess full autonomy.
complement and strengthen bayAn reasoning Prevents uncontrolled speculation and anomic Malauah:
Uarrah.
Ajiyah, dan Tausiniyah Final Objective: The realization of an Islamic law that is just, relevant, and transformative by integrating text, reason, and spirituality for the welfare of humanity in this world and the hereafter.
Source: Extracted and reconstructed from the preceding discussion.
The foregoing discussion demonstrates al-GhazAlAos strong commitment to positioning the QurAoan and the Sunnah as the highest sources of knowledge and Islamic law, without opposing revelation and reason.
According to Ebrahim Moosa, al-GhazAl did not merely follow the methodological framework of Al-ShAfiAo and earlier scholars of ul al-fiqh,86 but rather developed a broader epistemological synthesis.
Mustafa Abu Sway explains that the bayAn orientation appears dominant when al-GhazAl discusses fiqh and ul al-fiqh, particularly in his interpretation of the 82 GhazAl.
IuyAAo Ulm al-Dn.
II.
83 Ebrahim Moosa.
AuLanguages Of Change In Islamic Law: Redefining Death In Modernity,Ay Islamic Studies 38, 3 .
: 305Ae42.
JSTOR, http://w.
org/stable/20837047.
84 GhazAl.
Al-MustafA Min AoIlm Ul.
85 Wael B.
Hallaq.
A History of Islamic Legal Theories: An Introduction to Sunnah Usul al- Fiqh (Cambrigde University Press, 1.
86 Ebrahim EI Moosa.
AuThe Legal Philosophy of Al-Ghazali: Law.
Language and Theology in al-MustasfaAy (Disertasi.
University of Cape Town, 1.
, 25-26.
https://open.
za/server/api/core/bitstreams/a2f0e892-dafe4988-826d-46d48863164e/content.
Tribakti: Jurnal Pemikiran Keislaman Volume 37.
Issue 2.
July 2026 Al-GhazAl on Reason.
Legal, and Sufism: Toward an Integrative Epistemology of Islamic Law in Modernity Akmal Bashori.
MuthoAoam.
Muhammad Landung QurAoan, hadith.
AthAr, akhbAr, and the opinions of scholars.
87 Meanwhile, the burhAn approach is evident in his use of logic and rational argumentation, whereas the AoirfAn approach is most visible in his discussions of Sufism and the inner dimensions of fiqh.
These three approaches form a complementary methodological structure.
BayAn functions as the normative foundation grounded in the authority of scripture and the Islamic scholarly BurhAn positions reason as a rational instrument for understanding empirical reality and the psychological dimensions of human beings, as reflected in al-GhazAlAos discussions of the nafs, ru, intellect, and heart .
in rubAo al-muhlikAt.
Meanwhile, the AoirfAn approach is directed toward the purification of the soul and the moral-spiritual formation of human beings through inner experience in pursuit of closeness to God.
For this reason.
IuyAAo AoUlm al-Dn is not merely a Sufi work, but also a project for the ethical and spiritual revitalization of Islamic law.
This epistemological integration is clearly visible in al-GhazAlAos discussion of ahArah .
He divides purification into four levels: .
external purification from ritual impurity and filth, .
purification of bodily members from sin, .
purification of the heart from blameworthy traits, and .
purification of the inner self from all besides God, which represents the spiritual station of the prophets and the iddqn.
88 The first level reflects the bayAn approach, emphasizing the formal legality of worship, while the remaining three levels demonstrate the AoirfAn dimension oriented toward moral and spiritual cultivation.
89 A similar pattern appears in his classification of fasting into aum al-AoawAm, aum al-khawA, and aum khawA al-khawA.
90 According to Dajani, this is where the uniqueness of al-GhazAlAos fiqh epistemology lies, fiqh is not merely a formal legal system, but also a means of holistic, flexible, and transformative moral-spiritual Consequently, according to al-JAbir, the IuyAAo indirectly reinforced the stagnation of ArabIslamic epistemology.
Al-GhazAlAos project succeeded in saving religion from the secularization of philosophy and from mystical deviation, but at a considerable epistemic cost: the emergence of a deeply religious-spiritual civilization lacking autonomous rationality.
In this sense, the IuyAAo may be read as both a Ausavior of religionAy and a Auseal upon reason.
Ay92 Al-GhazAl did not fully undertake an epistemological reform of religious law.
rather, he sought to revive .
uyAA.
the religious sciences through the reactivation of traditional spirituality.
His project was therefore more restorative than revolutionary, although it nevertheless opened critical space for the reconstruction of Islamic epistemology in the modern era.
Epistemic Reconstruction of al-GhazAlAos Integrative Rationality: Toward a New Synthesis of Modern Legal Epistemology For some modern scholars such as Frank Griffel, the IuyAAo in fact opened a new horizon for the epistemology of Islamic law.
Al-GhazAl positioned morality and spirituality at the center of knowledge, so that Islamic legal epistemology was not merely directed toward logical objectivity, but also toward a teleological orientation, namely the purification of the soul and closeness to 87 MUstafa Abu Sway.
A Studi in Islamic Epistemology Al-Ghazali (Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 1.
88 GhazAl.
IuyAAo Ulm al-Dn.
89 GhazAl.
IuyAAo Ulm al-Dn.
90 GhazAl.
IuyAAo Ulm al-Dn.
91 Dajani.
Sufish and ShariAoa: The Forgotten School of Mercy.
92 al-JAbir.
Naqd Al-AoAql al-AoArab.
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July 2026 Al-GhazAl on Reason.
Legal, and Sufism: Toward an Integrative Epistemology of Islamic Law in Modernity Akmal Bashori.
MuthoAoam.
Muhammad Landung God.
93 Ebrahim Moosa likewise rejects readings that portray al-GhazAl merely as a figure of orthodoxy or the Audestroyer of philosophy.
Ay Instead, he argues that al-GhazAl constructed a creative intellectual tradition through the Aupoetics of imagination,Ay namely the capacity of imagination to mediate revelation, reason, symbol, ethics, and spiritual experience.
In contrast to Moosa.
Muuammad AoAbid al-JAbir emphasizes the crisis caused by the subordination of burhAn reason.
Yet al-GhazAl simultaneously offered an alternative epistemological model in which knowledge is never neutral, but value-laden and transcendentally In this context, the encounter between al-GhazAl and al-JAbir reveals two competing epistemological horizons.
Al-GhazAl limits the autonomy of reason in order to safeguard religion, whereas al-JAbir limits the dominance of textual authority in order to preserve rationality.
This tension is ultimately productive, since it opens the possibility for formulating a contemporary epistemology of Islamic law that is neither trapped within textual hegemony nor dissolved into secular rationalism.
The crucial question, then, is whether a new epistemological IuyAAo can emergeAi one that not only revives religion, but also liberates reason.
This question was later addressed by a number of modern Muslim scholars.
Among them was Ab IsuAq al-ShAb in al-MuwAfaqAt,95 although, according to Anis Masduki, his integration remained largely confined to the relationship between text and social reality.
96 ShAh Wal AllAh alDihlaw attempted to reconcile the exoteric and esoteric dimensions of Islam,97 while Louay Safi proposed an integrated approach between Islamic and Western intellectual traditions.
98 Likewise.
Amin Abdullah, inspired by al-GhazAl, developed the paradigm of scientific integrationinterconnection,99 and Nur Syam advanced a cross-disciplinary approach to Islamic legal studies.
Akmal Bashori further introduced the Auultra-doctrinal-methodAy paradigm, which integrates the epistemology of turAth with modern scientific disciplines.
101 These developments cannot be separated from al-GhazAlAos intellectual legacy in the IuyAAo.
Nevertheless, while al-GhazAlAos project largely remained within the interdisciplinary integration of Islamic sciences, these later scholars moved beyond the boundaries of classical Islamic disciplines by engaging modern social sciences and contemporary critical thought.
93 Frank Griffel.
Al-GhazaliAos Philosophical Theology (Oxford University Press, 2.
94 Moosa.
GhazAl and the Poetics of Imagination.
95 Ab IshAq al-Syaib.
Al-Muwafaqat Fi Ul al-SyariAoah, vol.
3 (DAr al-Fikr al-Arabi, t.
96 Anis Masduki.
Integrasi Ilmu Dalam Al-MuwAfaqAt.
Menuju ARah Baru Paradigma Epistemologi Hukum Islam, (Istana Agency, 2.
97 ShAh Wali AllAh al-Dihlaw, ujah Al-Balighah, vol.
1 (Dar Khutub al-Ilmiyah, 1.
98 Louay Safi.
Ancangan Metodologi Alternatif: Sebuah Refleksi Perbandingan Metode Penelitian Islam Dan Barat.
Terj.
Imam Khoiri (Tiara Wacana, 2.
99 Abdullah.
Islamic Studies Di Perguruan Tinggi: Pendekatan Integratif-Interkonektif.
100 Nur Syam.
Integrasi Imu Mazhab Indonesia: Studi Interdisipliner.
Crossdisipliner.
Multidisiplin.
Dan Transdisipliner, (Kencana Media Group, 2.
101 Akmal Bashori.
AuPembaruan Hukum Ekonomi SyariAoah Di Indonesia: Studi Pemikiran K.
MaAoruf AminAy (Disertasi.
UIN Sunan Kalijaga, 2.
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July 2026 Al-GhazAl on Reason.
Legal, and Sufism: Toward an Integrative Epistemology of Islamic Law in Modernity Akmal Bashori.
MuthoAoam.
Muhammad Landung Figure 2.
Scheme for the Epistemic Reconstruction of the Integrative Reasoning in Fiqh Scholarship MAIN OBJECTIVE:
To construct an Islamic legal system that is transcendent, rational and scientific, ethical and spiritual, contextual, and oriented toward human welfare .
The Three Foundations of al-GhazAlAos Integrative Epistemology BayAn (Textual-Normativ.
Rooted in revelation and the authority of sacred texts.
BurhAn (Rational-Scientifi.
Rooted in reason, logic, and empirical Function: to establish legal authority, textual meaning, and the normative framework of sharAoah.
Function: to understand reality, evaluate arguments, and formulate contextual legal rulings.
AoIrfAn (Spiritual-Ethica.
Rooted in spiritual purification .
azkiyat al-naf.
and maAorifah .
nostic Function: to cultivate the inner dimension, moral values, and the spiritual orientation of Islamic law.
Reconstruction Within The Modern Framework
TRANSFORMATION OF BAYAN
From textualism toward a maqAid-oriented The text functions as a waslah .
, not the ultimate end.
As the vessel of meaning, the text cannot be separated from its context:
- Historical context: asbAb al-nuzl / asbAb al-wurd - Discursive context: maqAid al-sharAoah MaqAid are embedded within the QurAoan.
Sunnah, and ijmAAo.
Malauah serves as a rational foundation for explaining existing rulings and legitimizing new rulings in cases without direct textual analogy.
Fiqh becomes a dynamic moral horizon for public policy, social ethics, and modern regulation.
EMANCIPATION OF
BURHAN
From apologetics toward epistemic Rational-scientific reasoning becomes a primary instrument.
Addressing contemporary challenges: the digital economy, ecological crises, and artificial intelligence (AI).
Opening dialogue with modern science, critical philosophy, and contemporary knowledge.
Contributing epistemic solutions within the global HUMANIZATION OF AoIRFAN From individual spirituality toward sociotransformative spirituality The AoirfAn tradition is repositioned as a socio-transformative ethical Inner consciousness becomes a moral force for social justice, ecological sustainability, and liberation from structures of oppression.
Sufism functions as a public force that strengthens the ethical and spiritual dimensions of Islamic law.
Islamic law emerges as a manifestation of raumah .
, empathy, and universal humanity.
Integrative Epistemology Transformation of BayAn Emancipation of BurhAn Humanization of AoIrfAn FINAL OUTCOME: A contextual, humanistic, and transformative Islamic law oriented toward realizing malauah .
ublic goo.
and human justice across all times and places.
Source: Compiled and analyzed by the author.
The scheme above reflects the opening of new possibilities for reading the epistemology of modern Islamic law in a more radical and productive manner.
Contemporary discourse on the epistemology of Islamic law cannot be separated from efforts to reconstruct the intellectual reasoning of the classical Islamic tradition, which revolves around three principal epistemic modes:
bayAn, burhAn, and AoirfAn.
If al-GhazAl successfully synthesized these elements within a distinctive medieval integrative framework, contemporary challenges demand their AurearticulationAy so that Islamic law can engage critically with global realities.
The task facing Muslim jurists today is therefore to develop this synthesis within the context of modern civilization, characterized by critical rationality, empirical science, and social complexity.
This reconstruction may be traced through several major directions.
First, the transformation of bayAn reason.
BayAn should no longer be reduced to rigid textual formalism .
, as portrayed in al-JAbirAos formulation of Arab reason, but must instead be understood as a foundation of ethical values and moral orientation.
According to Ab IsuAq alShAb, textual expressions .
function as intermediaries .
for conveying intended Tribakti: Jurnal Pemikiran Keislaman Volume 37.
Issue 2.
July 2026 Al-GhazAl on Reason.
Legal, and Sufism: Toward an Integrative Epistemology of Islamic Law in Modernity Akmal Bashori.
MuthoAoam.
Muhammad Landung 102 Consequently, the text cannot be abandoned, since it remains the vessel through which meaning is communicated.
At the same time, texts are inseparable from their contexts, including the circumstances of revelation .
sbAb al-nuzl and asbAb al-wur.
as well as the broader discursive context of maqAid.
Empirical context is explicit, whereas maqAid represents an implicit discursive horizon embedded within the QurAoan.
Sunnah, and ijmAAo.
Within the modern paradigm.
Jasser Auda argues that revelation must be interpreted through a maqAid-oriented approach so that Islamic law does not become trapped in literalism, but instead functions as a flexible and adaptive moral guide responsive to social change.
104 Similarly.
Felicitas Opwis emphasizes that malauah clarifies the underlying rationale of Islamic legal rulings and, in cases lacking direct textual analogies in the QurAoan or uadth, may justify the formulation of new legal judgments.
105 Through this framework, fiqh is no longer understood merely as positive law, but as a dynamic moral horizon capable of guiding public policy, social ethics, and modern regulatory systems.
Second, the emancipation of burhAn reason.
Rational-scientific reasoning .
must not merely be acknowledged, but should function as a primary instrument for addressing contemporary challenges such as bioethics, the digital economy, ecological crises, and artificial intelligence (AI).
The epistemology of Islamic law is therefore required to engage in serious dialogue with modern science, critical philosophy, and contemporary social theory.
107 At this point.
Islamic law is challenged not merely to adopt an apologetic posture, but also to contribute epistemic and normative solutions within the global intellectual landscape.
Third, the humanization of AoirfAn.
The AoirfAn tradition, long associated with individual spiritual experience, must in the modern context be repositioned as the foundation of a transformative social ethic.
Inner consciousness should no longer be understood merely as an elitist mystical experience, but as a moral force for social justice, ecological sustainability, and the liberation of humanity from structures of oppression.
In this sense.
Sufism does not remain confined to the private sphere, but becomes a public ethical force that strengthens the moral and spiritual dimensions of Islamic law.
Implications for Gender Equality in WomenAos Labor Within the context of global modernity, the issue of women workers reveals a significant gap between contemporary socio-economic dynamics and the development of fiqh discourse.
Classical fiqh al-muAoAmalAt emerged within social structures that did not fully recognize womenAos equal participation in economic life.
consequently, labor relations between men and women were rarely 102 Syaib.
Al-Muwafaqat Fi Ul al-SyariAoah, vol.
103 GhazAl.
Al-MustafA Min AoIlm Ul.
104 Jasser Auda.
Maqasid Al-ShariAoah As Philoshophy of Islamic Law (The International of Islamic Thought, 2.
105 Felicitas Opwis.
AuNew Trends in Islamic Legal Theory: MaqAid al-Shara as a New Source of Law?,Ay Die Welt Des Islams 57, no.
: 7Ae32, http://w.
org/stable/44646040.
106 Abdullah Saeed.
AuTrends in Contemporary Islam: A Preliminary Attempt at a Classification,Ay The Muslim World 97, no.
: 395Ae404, https://doi.
org/10.
1111/j.
107 Bashori.
AuPembaruan Hukum Ekonomi SyariAoah Di Indonesia: Studi Pemikiran K.
MaAoruf Amin.
Ay 244246.
108 al-JAbir.
Naqd Al-AoAql al-AoArab.
Wael B.
Hallaq.
An Introduction to Islamic Law, 1st ed.
(Cambridge University Press, 2.
, https://doi.
org/10.
1017/CBO9780511801044.
109 Nasr Sayyed Hossein.
Knowledge and the Sacred (SUNY Press, 1.
Mohammed Arkoun and Robert D.
Lee.
Rethinking Islam, 0 ed.
(Routledge, 2.
, https://doi.
org/10.
4324/9780429304651.
Tribakti: Jurnal Pemikiran Keislaman Volume 37.
Issue 2.
July 2026 Al-GhazAl on Reason.
Legal, and Sufism: Toward an Integrative Epistemology of Islamic Law in Modernity Akmal Bashori.
MuthoAoam.
Muhammad Landung treated as a central juridical concern.
110 This limitation is not merely historical in nature but continues to affect the slow articulation of fiqh in responding to the complex realities of global labor markets, ranging from migrant workers to digital platform labor.
At the global level, reports issued by the International Labour Office (ILO) consistently indicate persistent wage gaps, gender-based occupational segregation, and the vulnerability of women within informal sectors and global supply chains.
111 This demonstrates that marginalization is not a normative assumption but a documented structural reality.
112 In this context, fiqh cannot remain defensive or apologetic.
rather, it must undertake an epistemological reconstruction that enables meaningful engagement with empirical data, social theory, and international legal regimes.
The reconstruction of al-GhazAlAos integrative legal epistemology may be productively applied to the sphere of protecting labor rights and human dignity.
The emancipation of burhAn reasoning requires data-driven analyses of wage disparities, the exploitation of migrant labor, and the impact of global market policies on women.
The transformation of the bayAn paradigm encourages a maqAid-oriented reading of texts concerning labor, maintenance .
, and justice, so that they are not interpreted in a Aupatriarchal-formalisticAy manner, but rather as principles of protection and substantive equality.
Meanwhile, the humanization of the AoirfAn dimension cultivates an ethical consciousness grounded in karAmah insAniyyah .
uman dignit.
as the foundation for social Through this framework.
Islamic law can contribute to a global normative order that guarantees justice, security, and the empowerment of women workers.
From this integration emerges a progressive, humanistic, and cosmopolitan epistemology of Islamic law, one that is not confined to the static legacy of classical fiqh, but transforms into a legal paradigm responsive to the complexities of modernity.
Through such epistemological exploration, contemporary Islamic law may be projected not merely as a normative system binding upon Muslims, but as an alternative model of legal epistemology for the global community: a system that unites text, reason, and spirituality within a transformative, humanistic, and emancipatory horizon.
Conclusion Through the synthesis of bayAn, burhAn, and AoirfAn.
Al-Ghazali advances an integrative epistemology that rejects the fragmentation of reason.
He employs the bayAn mode when addressing issues closely related to Islamic law .
and ul al-fiqh, particularly in interpreting scriptural texts.
The burhAn mode serves to reinforce logical and philosophical argumentation, while the AoirfAn mode discloses the inward, spiritual dimension of both jurisprudence and Sufism.
These three modes do not constitute a rigid hierarchy.
rather, they form an interconnected epistemic network that mutually sustains one another.
Al-GhazAlAos intellectual legacy, however, does not remain confined to the medieval period.
On the contrary, it challenges the modern worldAimarked by critical rationality, empirical science, and social complexityAito undertake a renewed articulation.
Accordingly, the reconstruction of his legal epistemology may be read as a methodological agenda that opens dialogue with global realities.
The emancipation of burhAn reasoning situates critical rationality and empirical science as partners in ijtihAd.
the humanization of the AoirfAn dimension transforms spirituality into an ethical force for social justice and and the transformation of the bayAn paradigm reinterprets texts through a maqAid110 Bashori.
AuPembaruan Hukum Ekonomi SyariAoah Di Indonesia: Studi Pemikiran K.
MaAoruf Amin.
Ay 101.
111 Lansky et al.
Wanita.
Gender.
Dan Bekerja.
Biro Kerjasama Luarnegeri .
) (Kementerian Pekerjaan RI, 2.
112 Lansky et al.
Wanita.
Gender.
Dan Bekerja.
Tribakti: Jurnal Pemikiran Keislaman Volume 37.
Issue 2.
July 2026 Al-GhazAl on Reason.
Legal, and Sufism: Toward an Integrative Epistemology of Islamic Law in Modernity Akmal Bashori.
MuthoAoam.
Muhammad Landung oriented and contextual approach.
Through this synthesis.
Islamic law moves beyond legal formalism toward a humanistic and transformative legal ethics.
It functions not merely as an internally binding normative system, but also as an alternative legal epistemology that integrates text, reason, and spirituality in responding to the complexities of global modernity.
References