THE ETHICS OF AL-GHAZALI'S PERSPECTIVE IN KIMIYAUS SA'ADAH AND ITS RELEVANCE TO CONTEMPORARY MORAL CHALLENGES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31102/alulum.12.3.2025.223-240Keywords:
Al-Ghazali Ethics, Revelation and Morality, Contemporary Moral ChallengesAbstract
The moral crisis characterized by value relativism and secularism demands the contribution of religious ethics that is transcendental and adaptive. This study aims to explore the ethical structure of Al-Ghazali in Kimiyaus Sa'adah and assess its relevance in responding to contemporary ethical challenges. This study uses a qualitative approach based on literature studies, with textual and hermeneutical analysis of Al-Ghazali's primary works and relevant secondary literature. The results of the study show that Al-Ghazali's ethics are based on revelation as the main source of morality, but still provide space for rationality within the framework of tafakkur and moral introspection. There is a harmonious integration between tazkiyah al-nafs, morality, and love for God, which is directed at ukhrawi happiness. This ethical system emphasizes not only formal obedience to divine law, but also inner transfiguration through the control of the passions and the actualization of the angelic nature in man. In conclusion, Al-Ghazali's ethics offers a theocentric, spiritual, and rational model of Islamic ethics, which remains relevant to be applied contextually in pluralistic and secular societies. This study opens up opportunities for the development of Islamic public ethics based on revelation that is dialogical and inclusive, as well as encouraging further research in the realms of bioethics, social justice, and ecotheology.
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[3] J. S. Pradja, Pengantar Filsafat Nilai. Bandung: Pustaka Setia, 2013.
[4] K. Bertens, Etika. Yogyakarta: Kanisius, 2013.
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[12] A. Zaini, “Pemikiran Tasawuf Imam Al-Ghazali,” Esoter. J. Akhlak dan Tasawuf, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 146–159, 2016, doi: 10.21043/esoterik.v2i1.1902.
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[14] S. Anwar, Filsafat Ilmu al-Ghazali. Bandung: Pustaka Setia, 2007.
[15] O. Bakar, Hierarki Ilmu. Bandung: Mizan, 1997.
[16] Khudori Soleh, Filsafat Islam dari Klasik hinga Kontemporer. Yogyakarta: Ar-Ruzz Media, 2016.
[17] M. Mazduki, Spiritualitas dan Rasionalitas Al-Ghazali. Yogyakarta: TH Press, 2005.
[18] A. Wijaya, Satu Ilam, Ragam Epistemologi. Yogyakarta: IRCiSoD, 2020.
[19] A. H. Al-Ghazali, Al-Munqidz Min Adh-Dholal. Beirut Libanon: Dar al-Andalas, 2003.
[20] M. Alam, “Al–Ghazali Epistemology: A Philosophical Overview,” Int. Res. J. Educ. Technol., vol. 1, no. 7, pp. 10–15, 2022.
[21] K. Sholeh, Skeptis Al-Ghazali. Malang: UIN-MALIKI PRESS, 2009.
[22] M. Syafril, “Pemikiran sufistik mengenal biografi intelektual Imam al-Ghazali,” J. Syahadah, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 1–26, 2017.
[23] R. R. Prantika, “Konsep Etika Dalam Revolusi Pemikiran Al-Ghazali,” J. KELOLA J. Ilmu Sos., vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 42–47, 2023.
[24] A. H. Al-Ghazali, Kimiya al-sa’adah (Kimia Ruhani Kebahagiaan Abadi). Jakarta: Zaman, 2001.
[25] E. Ismiagi and I. Sukardi, ETIKA EUDAIMONISME PERSPEKTIF AL-GHAZALI DAN SIDDHARTA GAUTAMA (Studi Atas Karya Kimiya As-Sa’adah dan The Buddha’s Way To Peace and Happiness). Karanganyar: Jati Pustaka, 2022.
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[28] J. Rachels, Filsafat Moral. Yogyakarta: Kanisius, 2004.
[29] A. O. Søvik, “A New Explanation of Why the Euthyphro Dilemma Is a False Dilemma,” Religions, vol. 14, no. 8, pp. 1–9, 2023, doi: 10.3390/rel14081038.
[30] A. Sahar, “Pandangan Al-Ghazali Tentang Pendidikan Moral,” AN NUR J. Stud. Islam, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 203–224, 2012.
[31] A. Abdullah, Antara Al-Ghazali dan Kant: Filsafat Etika Islam. Yogyakarta: IRCiSoD, 2020.
[32] A. G. Gadzhikurbanov, “The Idea of Humanity in Kant’s Categorical Imperative,” Ethical Thought, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 5–19, 2023, doi: 10.21146/2074-4870-2023-23-2-5-19.
[33] M. Yudanin, “Can Positive Duties be Derived from Kant’s Categorical Imperative?,” Ethical Theory Moral Pract., vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 595–614, 2015, doi: 10.1007/s10677-014-9546-4.
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[35] P. Olsthoorn, “Intentions and consequences in military ethics,” J. Mil. Ethics, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 81–93, 2011, doi: 10.1080/15027570.2011.593711.
[36] C. Tan, “Rationality and autonomy from the Enlightenment and Islamic perspectives,” J. Beliefs Values, vol. 35, no. 3, pp. 327–339, 2014, doi: 10.1080/13617672.2014.980119.
[37] J. T. Hashmi, Overcoming religious illiteracy: Towards a more inclusive approach to Islamic bioethics, vol. 34, no. 2. 2021.
[38] B. Badarussyamsi, E. Ermawati, and M. Ridwan, “Seyyed Hossein Nashr’s criticism of problems of modernity,” in Religion, Education, Science and Technology towards a More Inclusive and Sustainable Future: Proceedings of the 5th International Colloquium on Interdisciplinary Islamic Studies (ICIIS 2022), Lombok, Indonesia, 19-20 October 2022, Rahiem, Ed. Taylor & Francis Group, 2024, pp. 50–55.
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Published
2025-08-07
How to Cite
[1]
M. A. Irfani, I. Iqbal, and D. Nugraha, “THE ETHICS OF AL-GHAZALI’S PERSPECTIVE IN KIMIYAUS SA’ADAH AND ITS RELEVANCE TO CONTEMPORARY MORAL CHALLENGES”, alulum, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 223–240, Aug. 2025.
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