Al-Ghazali’s Reflections on the Metaphysics of Metaphor in the Mishkāt al-Anwar

Mythological language is sometimes understood as a way of representing, by concrete imagery, more abstract notions. In this paper, we will pose some metaphysical questions about the possibility of such a representation. These questions will serve to motivate a brief tour of Mishkāt al-Anwār (Niche o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sophia
Main Author: Moad, Edward Omar (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Springer Netherlands 2007
In: Sophia
Year: 2007, Volume: 46, Issue: 2, Pages: 163-175
Further subjects:B Mishkāt al-Anwar
B Al-Ghazali
B Metaphysics
B Metaphor
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:Mythological language is sometimes understood as a way of representing, by concrete imagery, more abstract notions. In this paper, we will pose some metaphysical questions about the possibility of such a representation. These questions will serve to motivate a brief tour of Mishkāt al-Anwār (Niche of Lights)—Abu Hamid al-Ghazali’s commentary on the famous ayat al-nur (“verse of light”) of the Qur’an—wherein is discussed, among other things, how symbolic imagery is possible, and “the respect in which the spirits of the meanings are specified within the frames of the similitudes.”
ISSN:1873-930X
Contains:Enthalten in: Sophia
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1007/s11841-007-0020-9