KNOWLEDGE IN THE MAIN SOURCES OF THE PHILOSOPHY OF SUFISM IN THE PRE-GHAZZALI PERIOD

Abstract

This article aims to elaborate on the pre-Ghazzali period Sufis' approaches to the concept of knowledge. We know that Ghazzali, as a milestone in the Islamic thought, satisfies in taawwuf after a long quest. He benefits from the Sunni taawwuf already established before him. Therefore, the importance of the sources feeding Ghazzali's Sufi view is manifest. Thus, in this article, I focus on the ideas of the main figures of the Sunni taawwuf regarding the concept of knowledge. Having stated concisely about what taawwuf is, the concepts of knowledge and gnosis were described. And then, the ideas of the Sufis on knowledge and its ways were examined. I concluded at the end of the research that the Sufis restrict human reason (Uql) into the worldly life while giving the intuitional knowledge priority. Also, they separate the reality (kaqtqa) from religious law (sharia). For the former, intuitional knowledge is a necessity, while the human reason is useful and responsible for the latter. Finally, it is hard to say that compared to Ghazzali, Suhrawardi, and Ibn ab`Arabi, those Sufis have a consistent epistemology when they set forth their view.