Disclosure and Religious Experience in Ghaz³li’s Point of View

Although “Religious Experience” is a new term, it possesses a vast background in Islamic culture. The Muslim thinkers’ discussions about the conditions of disclosure such as inspiration and revelation can be counted as the best foundation for this topic in Islamic thought. Ghaz³li is one of those whom have experienced experience-like events and had vast discussions in the religious experience field. There has been offered, in this essay, an explanation and analysis of Ghaz³li’s viewpoints about religious experience; the place of “humanity” as the belonging and “being” as the belonged and the “veil” between humanity and being is also clarified. As well as the means and preliminaries that one needs for the Disclosure have been explained. From the viewpoints of Ghaz³li, the religious experiences are sometimes something like inspiration and sometimes prophetic revelation. The experience of the sight of God in the afterlife is also a significant matter that Ghaz³li had explored its possibility by both kal³mi and mystical approaches.