At the limits of Islam: The nature of man in the light of the spirit, rūḥ, Quranic, according to Algazel
Abstract
According to Algazel, the spirit instilled by God in man, as the Quran says, makes it possible for man to truly love God, since it provides him with a nature affine to the divine and the affinity of natures is the deepest and truest cause from which love arises. Algazel shows some of the aspects of human nature affine to the divine, and with this he places himself at the extreme limits of Islam, since affinity can be interpreted in a sense of equality, something that he does not admit. Despite this denial, someone like Ibn al-‘Arabī has flatly denied this affinity. In any case, Algazel remains within the limits of Islam by denying, like orthodoxy, freedom in man, since this is an exclusive attribute of divinity. But since the essence of the spirit is freedom (Hegel), this doctrine of the spirit presented is totally illusory. Finally, the translation of the text of the fifth cause of man's love for God follows: the affinity of natures.
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