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Dwlat Shahi M A F. Explaining the Preconceptions of Imam Muhammad al-Ghazali and Their Impact on the Relationship Between Ethics and Politics. SRQPIS 2025; 1 (4) :77-100
URL: http://srqpis.knu.edu.af/article-1-53-en.html

The present study seeks to explain the relationship between ethics and politics in the preconceptions and interests of Imam Muhammad al-Ghazali within the framework of an interpretive and hermeneutic approach. This explanation is carried out through a descriptive-analytical method, using documentary data collection, and al-Ghazali’s works have been examined as texts corresponding to reality. Thus, this paper aims to answer the fundamental question: What role have Imam Muhammad al-Ghazali’s preconceptions—such as his ontology and anthropology—played in shaping the relationship between ethics and politics in his thought?
The research argues that in al-Ghazali’s political jurisprudence, ethics and politics—under the influence of his interests and preconceptions—are correlated and coherently interlinked. However, since al-Ghazali’s political discourse was influenced by Ash'arite teachings, ethics and politics are guided within two different domains. In this article, the relationship between ethics and politics in al-Ghazali’s thought is examined through Gadamer’s model, which emphasizes the interests and pre-understandings of the thinker in interpreting ideas. Based on this model, al-Ghazali’s reflections on the nature of the relationship between ethics and politics are traced back to his preconceptions and the requirements of his time. To fulfill the research objective, the discussions are presented in three sections: The first part introduces hermeneutics as the theoretical framework of the study; the second part explains Imam Muhammad al-Ghazali’s preconceptions and interests; and finally, the concluding propositions derived from the discussions are presented. Given al-Ghazali’s preconceptions, the concluding proposition is that he theorized an ethical theory of politics while considering the theory of political ethics as baseless and indefensible.