113 Al-Ghazālī and Kalām Chapter 5 Al-Ghazālī and Kalām The Conundrum of His Body-Soul Dualism Ayman Shihadeh My aim in this article is twofold. First, I shall interpret two discussions in al-Ghazālī’s main kalām compendium, al-Iqtiṣād fī l-iʿtiqād (The Balanced Book on What-To-Believe), which appear discrepant with the substance dualism espoused in some of his other works, and instead seem to coincide with the materialist ontology and anthropology of classical Ashʿarism.1 Although both discussions have already received a fair amount of attention, the discrepancies have hitherto remained either unresolved or unexplained. The present study shall attempt to resolve an ostensible discrepancy in one discussion and to identify and explain a real and serious discrepancy in the other. By doing so, it will shed light on the main dilemmas and sensitivities that al-Ghazālī’s sub- scription to substance dualism presented him in a kalām setting. Second, I will advocate a more general point, namely that interpreting al-Ghazālī’s kalām works—including al-Iqtiṣād and, to an extent, the more advanced Tahāfut—must take account of his views on the objectives and workings of kalām in general.2 It will be argued that his low view of the disci- pline of kalām (low, that is, in comparison both to the earlier Ashʿarī high view thereof and to his view of his own higher theology), affects his choice of doc- trines defended and arguments deployed in al-Iqtiṣād, as well as aspects of his style of presentation. These in turn will explain the incongruence between his views in this work and positions championed in some of his other works. 1 See Shihadeh, “Classical Ashʿarī Anthropology.” On al-Ghazālī’s body-soul dualism, see Kukkonen, “Receptive to Reality,” Treiger, Inspired Knowledge in Islamic Thought, Gianotti, Al-Ghazālī’s Unspeakable Doctrine of the Soul, Frank, Al-Ghazālī and the Ashʿarite School, 48– 67, Griffel, “Al-Ġazālī’s Concept of Prophecy,” idem, “Review,” Hennig, “Ghazali on Immaterial Substances,” Sīdbī, Naẓariyyat al-nafs bayna Ibn Sīnā wa-l-Ghazālī, Abū Saʿda, al-Āthār al- sīnawiyya fī madhhab al-Ghazālī fī l-nafs al-insāniyya. 2 This point follows on from my earlier article, “From al-Ghazālī to al-Rāzī.” Both the present study and this earlier article concentrate on al-Ghazālī’s kalām output, rather than his theol- ogy in general. © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2016 | doi 10.1163/9789004307490_006 For use by the Author only | © 2016 Koninklijke Brill NV