چكيده لاتين
The question of human value has long been a central concern for thinkers, philosophers, and theologians. The inquiry into "who is the valuable human being and what are its criteria?" has always held a special place at the heart of ethical and epistemological discourse. Each thinker, based on their intellectual and anthropological foundations, has offered standards for human worth and pathways to achieve it. In general, a common element across most views is the fundamental role of ethics in realizing this value. Within the Islamic tradition, human value is linked to worldly and otherworldly happiness, and ultimately, to achieving proximity to God.
Accordingly, this study analyzes the ideas of Abu Hamid Muhammad al-Ghazali, a prominent Ashʹarite theologian and philosopher, on the topic of human value. From his perspective, the ultimate value is manifested in divine proximity (qurb ilahi). Key criteria for this include religiosity, worship performed with proper intention and knowledge, moral virtues, moderation of the soulʹs faculties, and the purification of the self and inner being. Al-Ghazali believed that internal purification and the eradication of vices are prerequisites for acquiring any virtue; without this inner cleansing, progress toward human perfection is not possible. He also differentiated between acquired and non-acquired factors of human value; some, like moral virtues, are gained through effort and education, while others, such as innate disposition (fitra) or inherited traits, are non-acquired. While al-Ghazaliʹs intellectual evolution resulted in some differences across his works, this thesis exclusively examines the views related to human value and its contributing and impeding factors.
