The Nature of Language in Ahmad Ghazali’s View
Mostafa Mirdar Rezaei*
Farzad Baloo**
In the Sufi tradition, Ahmad Ghazali is a prominent mystic who profoundly influenced mystics, writers, and poets after him from various perspectives. One of the significant aspects of his personality is theorizing in different fields. Therefore, examining Ahmad Ghazali’s opinions and views from various aspects is necessary and important. One of the essential and investigable aspects in Ghazali’s works is the examination of his perspectives on the element of “language” and its nature. The present research, written in a descriptive-analytical manner with a phenomenological approach to Ahmad Ghazali’s works, examines his views on the nature of language. The results of this study show that in dealing with the category of language, he has a more ontological view than an instrumental and Linguistic one. Apart from his general approach to language, which is linked to the element of the “heart,” by contemplating Ghazali’s works, his perception of the concept of language can be categorized into two areas: 1- Examining the nature of language in the general sense, and based on the theory of language games. 2- Examining language in its specific mystical sense in the form of speech, silence, and beyond-silence (meta-silence).
Keywords: Ahmad Ghazali, Language, Language Games, and Linguistic possibilities.
Introduction
Ghazali is a multi-dimensional mystic with expertise in various fields. One of the important aspects of his personality is theorizing in different fields. For this reason, Shafiei Kadkani considers him more inclined to “intervene” compared to his brother Muhammad because what he says is “the result of his own reflections and spiritual achievements” (Shafiei Kadkani, 2013: 521). Therefore, examining Ahmad Ghazali’s opinions and views from various aspects is necessary and important. One of the essential and investigable aspects in Ghazali’s works is the examination of his perspectives on the element of “language.” It is important to note that the category of language in this study refers to understanding the nature of language itself and the mystic’s perception of its essence (first-degree knowledge), rather than focusing on its instrumental aspect, which is considered second-degree knowledge. More precisely, it is about the nature of language itself, not the aspect of language that “determines how we think” (Culler, 2003: 80). To enter the spiritual world of mystics, we are compelled to recognize and think about the behavior and speech (words and phrases) of Sufis (Shafiei Kadkani, 2013: 26). Therefore, this research does not deal with the type of Ghazali’s prose and poetry and the language he uses to express his thoughts (the stage of proving and realizing language), but rather seeks to address Ghazali’s understanding of the concept of language (perception and establishment of language).
The present research, written in a descriptive-analytical manner with a phenomenological approach to Ahmad Ghazali’s works, examines his views on the nature of language and seeks to answer these two questions:
What is the nature of language from Ahmad Ghazali’s point of view?
What is the nature of Ghazali’s encounter with the category of language, especially in the path of spiritual journey?
Research Background
A review of the research that has examined Ahmad Ghazali’s opinions and thoughts shows that most of these studies have focused on the subject of “love.” Ghazali’s prominence in this field, especially his views on mystical love, has been influential in this regard. Even a superficial review and consideration of the titles of the articles can confirm this. However, regarding the subject of the present study, i.e., examining the nature of language in Ghazali’s works, no independent study has been conducted so far, or if it has been done (such as the book “The Language of Poetry in Sufi Prose”), it relates to its instrumental aspect (second-degree knowledge), which was explained earlier.
Discussion
Unlike Muhammad Ghazali, who “has a Linguistic approach in presenting and explaining Linguistic concepts and vocabulary” (Mirdar Rezaei and Baloo, 2022: 323), his brother Ahmad, in dealing with the category of language, has a more ontological view than an instrumental and Linguistic one. Among the various views that he has put forward regarding language and its related vocabulary, a relatively systematic plan of his Linguistic reflections can be formulated. In the first step, there is Ahmad Ghazali’s general approach to the concept of language and the relationship between signifier and signifieds, and in the specific approach, there is the special attention he pays to language in the realm of mystical experiences.
Ghazali believes in a general approach to language. Every human being pours and expresses what they have of meaning and concept (signified) in their heart into a Linguistic vessel and mold, which is their language:
“Everyone can express the meaning that is in their heart with that phrase that is their language. If they are Arabic, how can they express it in Turkish? And if they are non-Arabic, how can they express it in Arabic?” (Ghazali, 1997: 240)
In this definition, language is a tool for expressing the meanings present in the heart. To explain that in our mystical tradition, “the heart is not the pine-shaped organ that is located in the chest and its job is to supply blood to all parts of the body; rather, the heart is an organ of human existence that is the center and gathering place of human awareness and consciousness of all existence and its creation” (Fallah et al., 2009: 50). By contemplating Ghazali’s works, his perception of the concept of language can be divided into two areas: 1- What is language in its general sense: Analyzing different types of language in human society based on language games falls into this area. 2- Examining language in its specific sense: That is, explaining the possibilities of the manifestation of mystical language in the form of speech, silence, and beyond-silence.
While Wittgenstein, in the picture theory of language, believes that every name is assigned to a specific thing, in the theory of language games, he considers meaning to be the same as usage, and understanding a word depends on knowing how to use it or the ability to use it. However, Ghazali does not limit himself to this general definition of the relationship between signifier and signifieds at the level of the specific languages of each region and territory, and points to a very important point under each specific language system. From his point of view, in the relations governing the mind and language of people in social life, each class and profession has its own world and language, and each language has its own function. Each of these language games is actually a manifestation of human life, and to understand each language game, we must participate in that form of life (Ghazali, 1997: 241). Ghazali tries to explain the specific language system of each land with various examples and then deals with the language games existing in each language. And then he points to one of the language games existing in that era, which, for example, in the world of mysticism, when an event happens to a disciple, the signifieds intended by the disciple in the mystical context will only be decoded by the master. Other examples of language games in Ghazali’s works that form the basis of his intellectual divisions: One of Ghazali’s language games is the separation of the realm of knowledge and the realm of science. In one, words grow without letters, and in the other, words, speech, and sound are its essence. Another language game is the distinction that Ghazali makes between the speech of lovers and the speech of poets. Another language game of Ghazali is “the indication of expression” and “the expression of indication.” Demand and passion are two mystical terms that Ghazali creates his other language game by giving the word “language” to them.
Conclusion
What emerges from the examination of Ghazali’s views on the nature and essence of language indicates that the foundation of his Linguistic reflections is philosophical and existential, not a Linguistic one. As has been shown, the arrangement of Ghazali’s classifications in terms of theory is based on language games. In examining the nature of language in its general sense, he has considered the different classes and professions of human society to have a language distinct from other social layers and has defined signifier and signifieds based on that. The realm of knowledge/the realm of science, the speech of poets/the speech of lovers, the indication of expression/the expression of indication, the language of demand/the language of passion, etc., are among them.
But given that Ghazali himself is a mystic, he ultimately focuses specifically on mystical language and the possibilities inherent in it. It is as if in each rank and realm, one of the Linguistic possibilities can be realized. In one realm, speech becomes necessary, and in another realm, silence. Beyond silence and finding manifestation and intuition is the last station that Ghazali, as a mystic, walks in the hope of reaching union.
The novelty of this research, in the first look, is presenting a systematic view of Ghazali’s Linguistic views; a task that has not been done so far, and secondly, in particular, presenting Ghazali’s attention to different types of language - which allows it to be examined based on Wittgenstein’s Linguistic theories - an issue that deserves more reflection and consideration.
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* Corresponding Author: Assistant Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran.
mostafamirdar@guilan.ac.ir
** Associate Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature, University of Mazandaran, Iran.
f.baloo@umz.ac.ir