Le Problème de l’interprétation chez Al-Ghazâlî (1058-1111)/The Problem of Interpretation at Al-Ghazâlî (1058-1111)

Abstract

Our intervention will deal with the problem of interpretation in the thought of Alghazali. Starting from the chronology of his works, we will try to describe the contours and the nuances of his concept of interpretation, but, at the same time, to emphasize the context and the framework of this concept both theoretically and practically. First of all, we mention that it is not possible, concerning the issue of interpretation, to set a clear distinction in the works of Alghazali, between the purely theoretical writings and others with a purely practical character. However, if the ideas of Alghazali are often the home of alternation between the contextual approach focusing more on the practical illustration and the abstract approach regarding the theoretical foundation, it is true that these ideas are, as a whole, governed by unifying and constant principles. For this reason, we prefer not to analyze the conception of Alghazali in the paradigm of the couple theoretical/practical, but to approach him moreover starting from the fundamental principles that create a sort of general framework for the deployment and usage of the interpretation process. There are three such principles. The first concerns the unchangeable aspect of interpretation; the second, the hierarchical aspect; and the third, the undefined aspect.