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SpiritualRoadmapbyGhazali, page : 46
2. Philosophy.
After I had done away with theology, I started on philosophy. I was convinced
that a man cannot grasp what is defective in any science unless he has such a
complete grasp of that science that he equals its most learned promoter in the
appreciation of its fundamental principles, and then goes beyond to surpass
them, by probing into the tangles and profundities which the very professors of
the science have neglected. Then and only then, is it possible that what he has
16
to say about its defects is true.
So far as I could see none of the scholars of Islam had devoted thought and
attention to philosophy. None of the theologians engaged in discussion with the
philosophers, apart from obscure and scattered utterances so plainly erroneous
and inconsistent that no person of ordinary intelligence would be deceived,
much less one versed in the sciences.
After I had done away with theology, I started on philosophy. I was convinced
that a man cannot grasp what is defective in any science unless he has such a
complete grasp of that science that he equals its most learned promoter in the
appreciation of its fundamental principles, and then goes beyond to surpass
them, by probing into the tangles and profundities which the very professors of
the science have neglected. Then and only then, is it possible that what he has
16
to say about its defects is true.
So far as I could see none of the scholars of Islam had devoted thought and
attention to philosophy. None of the theologians engaged in discussion with the
philosophers, apart from obscure and scattered utterances so plainly erroneous
and inconsistent that no person of ordinary intelligence would be deceived,
much less one versed in the sciences.