TOWARDS A BALANCED AND HOLISTIC APPROACH TO THINKING: A CONTEMPORARY APPLICATION OF THE GHAZZĀLIAN FRAMEWORK

Abstract

The article highlights, within the context of the currently prevalent tendency among contemporary Muslims, two important lessons pertaining to a balanced and holistic approach to thinking which can be derived from the major works of Abū Hāmid MuĄammad al-Ghazzālī (d. 1111/505): one of them concerns the relation between memorisation and thinking while the other pertains to the relation between creative thinking and critical thinking. It demonstrates that just as memorising is a necessary condition in thinking, so is logic related to creativity as modes (or aspects) of thinking. It also shows that in both memorisation and thinking (whether critical or creative), imagination plays a great role.