Communication in Sufism: Situation, Problem, Solution (Based on the Teachings of Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali)

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.63931/ijchr.v7iSI1.367

Keywords:

dialogue ethics, moral philosophy, mystical linguistics, sacred speech, spiritual discipline

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the ethical dimensions of communication in Sufism based on the teachings of Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali, with a focus on the moral regulation of speech and silence as tools for spiritual and social conduct. The research was conducted through an analysis of primary Al-Ghazali texts and a comparative review of ethical frameworks in Islamic discourse to identify the key principles governing communicative behavior. The findings established that speech in Sufism was not merely a means of transmitting information but a morally guided act, regulated by sincerity, truthfulness, and restraint, while silence served as a mechanism for self-purification and ethical discipline. The study demonstrated that Al-Ghazali’s framework differentiated between various types of speech, emphasizing that ethical communication must align with spiritual development and social harmony. Furthermore, the research highlighted the practical implications of these principles for contemporary discourse, particularly in media ethics, conflict resolution, and responsible communication in digital spaces. It was concluded that Al-Ghazali’s communicative ethics provide a structured model applicable beyond the Sufi tradition, offering insights into ethical speech practices that can be adapted to modern professional and social contexts. The study suggested that future research should explore how these principles can be integrated into practical applications, such as the development of ethical guidelines for journalists, revisions of professional codes of conduct, and the formulation of communication standards aligned with contemporary ethical frameworks.

References

[1] Aftab, M. A., Laghari, M., Sattar, A., & Ahmed, B. (2024). Effects of anger on morality and mental health: A case study of Imam Ghazali’s teaching. Al-Aijaz Research Journal of Islamic Studies & Humanities, 8(1), 50–76. https://doi.org/10.47205/arjish.2024(8-1)05

[2] Ahmad, A., & Hayat, S. (2024). Sacred dialogues: Intertextual and semiotic explorations of mystical imagery in Persian Sufi poetry. Rooh-e-Tahqeeq, 2(4), 25–42.

[3] Al-Ghazali, I. A. H. (2011a). Al-Ghazali revival of religion's sciences: Ihya' ulum ad-din (Vol. 3). Dar Al-Kotob Al-Ilmiyah.

[4] Al-Ghazali, I. A. H. (2011b). Al-Ghazali revival of religion's sciences: Ihya' ulum ad-din (Vol. 4). Dar Al-Kotob Al-Ilmiyah.

[5] Al-Ghazali. (1924). Mishkât al-anwar (“The niche for lights”). Royal Asiatic Society.

[6] Ali, M. H. (2021). Philosophical Sufism: An introduction to the school of Ibn al-'Arabi. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003181040 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003181040

[7] Ali, M. H. (2024). Truth and reality (ḥaqq and ḥaqīqa). In St Andrews encyclopaedia of theology. St Andrews.

[8] Alua, M., Rinat, K., Dulatovich, K. M., Sovetovna, S. I., Talgatovna, S. Z., & Beaver, K. M. (2025). The Neuropsychological Consequences of being Arrested and Incarcerated. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 50(4), 686–704. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-025-09808-9 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-025-09808-9

[9] Baimatova, N. (2024). Philosophical concepts related to folk pedagogy in “Manas” epic. Bulletin of the Jusup Balasagyn Kyrgyz National University, 2024(3), 285–288. https://doi.org/10.58649/1694-8033-2024-3(119)-285-288

[10] Batool, Q., & Mohabbat, M. D. (2021). Ecstasy and sobriety: Expression of two schools of Sufism in one Suhrawardi Bukhari lineage. Pakistan Languages and Humanities Review, 5(2), 360–376. https://doi.org/10.47205/plhr.2021(5-II)2.29 DOI: https://doi.org/10.47205/plhr.2021(5-II)2.29

[11] Donelli, D., Lazzeroni, D., Rizzato, M., & Antonelli, M. (2023). Silence and its effects on the autonomic nervous system: A systematic review. Progress in Brain Research, 280, 103–144. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.pbr.2023.08.001 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.pbr.2023.08.001

[12] Efremov, A. (2025a). The Fear Primacy Hypothesis in the Structure of Emotional States: A Systematic Literature Review. Psychological Reports. https://doi.org/10.1177/00332941241313106 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00332941241313106

[13] Efremov, A. (2025b). The Psychology of Faith and Religious Identity: How Theology Shapes Worldview and Self-Perception. Pharos Journal of Theology, 106(3), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.46222/pharosjot.106.3020 DOI: https://doi.org/10.46222/pharosjot.106.3020

[14] Efremov, A. (2025c). Psychiatry in the context of changing cultural norms: Mental disorders among migrants and refugees. Journal of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy, 35(4), 100544. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbct.2025.100544 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbct.2025.100544

[15] El-Jaichi, S., & Sheikh, M.K. (2020). Review essay: Explaining the rise of global jihad. Journal of Religion and Violence, 8(2), 196–208. https://doi.org/10.5840/jrv20208276 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5840/jrv20208276

[16] El-Sawy, A. (2022). The futility of competing corruption: The poetics of resistance and counter-hegemony in Al-Hallaj’s Al-Tawasin. Journal of Narrative and Language Studies, 10(19), 38–49.

[17] Elsayed, Y. A. M. (2021). The effect of theme on conceptual metaphor use in Al-Ghazali’s Iḥyā’‘ulūm al-dīn and Al-iqtiṣād fī al-i‘tiqād: A discourse analysis study (Publication No. 660248) [Doctoral dissertation, The University of Arizona]. The University of Arizona Repository.

[18] Fadhil, M. Y., & Sebgag, S. (2021). Sufi approaches to education: The epistemology of Imam Al-Ghazali. Nazhruna: Jurnal Pendidikan Islam, 4(1), 91–107. https://doi.org/10.31538/nzh.v4i1.834 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31538/nzh.v4i1.834

[19] Galang-Pereña, F. (2023). Dictatorship, Deception, Dementia and Decay: History and Memory in the Fiction of Eric Gamalinda. International Journal on Culture, History, and Religion, 5(1), 45–51. https://doi.org/10.63931/ijchr.v5i1.19 DOI: https://doi.org/10.63931/ijchr.v5i1.19

[20] Gansinger, M. A. M. (2022). Intuitive instructional speech in Sufism: A study of the sohbet in the Naqshbandi order. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

[21] Gonçalves, J. C. (2024). What Is (Not) Aesthetic Education? Bakhtiniana, 19(2), e63561e. https://doi.org/10.1590/2176-4573e63561 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/2176-4573p63561

[22] Habib, H., & Habib, M. (2022). Semiotic-Sufistic interpretation of Imam Al-Ghazali: Case study of “Verses of Light” in the Holy Qur’an. Indonesian Journal of Islamic Literature and Muslim Society, 7(2), 41–66. https://doi.org/10.22515/islimus.v7i2.7529 DOI: https://doi.org/10.22515/islimus.v7i2.7529

[23] Habib, H., & Shabir, M. (2021). Al-Ghazali’s Qur’anic Sufi hermeneutics: Study on the story of Abraham in search of God. Kalam, 15(2), 121–144. https://doi.org/10.24042/klm.v15i2.9523 DOI: https://doi.org/10.24042/klm.v15i2.9523

[24] Hnatyuk, M., Ohar, A., Bychkova, T., Artemenko, H., & Gerashchenko, O. (2025). The Cultural Evolution of Languages: Historical and Comparative Linguistics. International Journal on Culture, History, and Religion, 7(SI1), 256–272. https://doi.org/10.63931/ijchr.v7iSI1.199 DOI: https://doi.org/10.63931/ijchr.v7iSI1.199

[25] Horne, C. F. (1917). Al Ghazali’s “Rescuer from error”. In C. F. Horne (Ed.), The sacred books and early literature of the East: With historical surveys of the chief writings of each nation (Vol. 6, pp. 102–133). Parke, Austin, & Lipscomb, Inc.

[26] Isa, N. S. M., Kamarudin, M. F., Kamaruddin, N., & Hussin, M. S. M. (2022). Conceptual framework of Al-Ghazali epistemology knowledge in media education. Environment-Behaviour Proceedings Journal, 7(SI7), 53–58. https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v7iSI7.3767 DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v7iSI7.3767

[27] Itani, T. (2015). Quran: Arabic and English in parallel. ClearQuran.

[28] Jumaev, M. (2024). The work of Zhusup Balasagyn in the context of the Muslim renaissance. Bulletin of the Jusup Balasagyn Kyrgyz National University, 16(5), 50–53.

[29] Juraev, Z., & Rajavaliev, B. (2023). Glorifying human qualities and condemning vices in Sufi Ahmad Yasawi’s poems. Cogent Arts & Humanities, 10(1), Article 2257019. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2023.2257019 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2023.2257019

[30] Karabalaeva, G., Osmonova, D., Baitokova, A., Golov, A., & Kaskarbayeva, Z. (2025). Contemporary Trends in the Development of the Religious Consciousness of the Peoples of Central Asia. Pharos Journal of Theology, 106(3), 01–14. https://doi.org/10.46222/pharosjot.106.3019 DOI: https://doi.org/10.46222/pharosjot.106.3019

[31] Karimullah, S. S. (2023). Character education in Islamic Sufism perspective. Ta’dib: Jurnal Pendidikan Islam dan Isu-Isu Sosial, 21(2), 72–94. https://doi.org/10.37216/tadib.v21i2.1301 DOI: https://doi.org/10.37216/tadib.v21i2.1301

[32] Kemiac, L. (2024). On Human Sciences: Dialogues Between Ernst Cassirer and Mikhail Bakhtin. Bakhtiniana, 19(4), e65025e. https://doi.org/10.1590/2176-4573e65025 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/2176-4573e65025

[33] Kieliszek, Z. (2024). The Concept of Fatherhood in Kant’S Philosophy and Its Current Potential. Logos (Lithuania), 121, 6–27. https://doi.org/10.24101/logos.2024.63 DOI: https://doi.org/10.24101/logos.2024.63

[34] Kieliszek, Z. (2025). Religious experience and the philosophy of subjectivity: How faith shapes perception of reality. Pharos Journal of Theology, 106(3), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.46222/pharosjot.106.3021 DOI: https://doi.org/10.46222/pharosjot.106.3021

[35] Kushenova, G. I., Auanasova, A. M., & Drozd, R. (2025). Islamist movement in the Kazakh steppe: a historical analysis in global context. European Journal of Science and Theology, 21(2), 63–78.

[36] Meliniar, Y. F., Alkaf, I., & Sakni, A. S. (2024). Riyadhah hifdzul lisan perspektif Imam Al Ghazali dalam kitab Ihya Ulumuddin. Jurnal Kajian Islam dan Sosial Keagamaan, 1(3), 145–149. DOI: https://doi.org/10.54298/jk.v7i1.251

[37] Mian, A. A. (2022). Agents of grace: Ethical agency between Ghazālī and the anthropology of Islam. American Journal of Islam and Society, 39(1–2), 6–40. https://doi.org/10.35632/ajis.v39i1-2.2951 DOI: https://doi.org/10.35632/ajis.v39i1-2.2951

[38] Munsoor, M. S. (2021). Spiritual leadership and self-development model. In Wellbeing and the worshipper: Insights into an Islamic spiritual order (pp. 241–321). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66131-1_6 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66131-1_6

[39] Mustafa, F., Abdussaboor, M., & Ali, T. (2023). The Sufi Islam and mysticism in Islamic philosophy. Al-Kashaf, 3(3), 9–15.

[40] Nugroho, W. (2021). Sufism and interreligious dialogue: The Naqshbandi Haqqani Sufi order in Indonesia. Teosofia: Indonesian Journal of Islamic Mysticism, 10(1), 111–126. https://doi.org/10.21580/tos.v10i1.8459 DOI: https://doi.org/10.21580/tos.v10i1.8459

[41] Omelchenko, L. (2024). Effective communication: Signs, factors, procedural characteristics. Humanities Studios: Pedagogy, Psychology, Philosophy, 12(3), 78–89. https://doi.org/10.31548/hspedagog/3.2024.78 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31548/hspedagog/3.2024.78

[42] Parman, M., & Marni, N. (2021). Sufi symbols in poems of Ibn Arabi and Hamzah Fansuri. UMRAN – Journal of Islamic and Civilizational Studies, 8(2), 21–38. https://doi.org/10.11113/umran2021.8n2.498 DOI: https://doi.org/10.11113/umran2021.8n2.498

[43] Rafie, M. (2023). Ethical foundations: Exploring the impact of Islamic ethics on auditing quality. Religion, Management, & Governance, 1(2), 21–47.

[44] Rosales, R. J. J., Adia, C. M., & Miral, K. C. M. (2021). The well-being and the will of the people amid COVID-19. Journal of Public Health, 44(4), e602–e603. https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdab304 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdab304

[45] Richmond, J. C. (2021). Al-Ghazālī’s moral psychology: From self-control to self-surrender [Doctoral dissertation, University of Toronto]. TSpace.

[46] Salamah-Qudsi, A. (2024). Between words and worlds: Masters’ sayings in early Sufi literature. Religions, 15(8), Article 933. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15080933 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15080933

[47] Sheikh, M. K. (2022). Transnational Jihad as a Bundled Conflict-Constellation. Studies in Conflict and Terrorism. https://doi.org/10.1080/1057610X.2022.2058346 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1057610X.2022.2058346

[48] Soleh, A. K., Rahmawati, E. S., Camila, H. G. S., & Furqona, H. T. (2023). The truth on Al-Ghazali perspective. International Journal of Innovative Research in Multidisciplinary Education, 2(9), 431–439. https://doi.org/10.58806/ijirme.2023.v2i9n10 DOI: https://doi.org/10.58806/ijirme.2023.v2i9n10

[49] Sotillos, S. B. (2021). The reflective heart: Discovering spiritual intelligence in Ibn ‘Arabi’s Meccan illuminations: Book review. Sacred Web: A Journal of Tradition and Modernity, 48, 152–158.

[50] Supriyanto, S. (2022). Al-Ghazali’s metaphysical philosophy of spiritualism in the book of Ihya ‘Ulumuddin. Devotion: Journal of Research and Community Service, 3(5), 422–432. https://doi.org/10.36418/dev.v3i5.138 DOI: https://doi.org/10.36418/dev.v3i5.138

[51] Tanana, S., & Soga, L. (2023). Formation of communicative culture of future service sector specialists: Theoretical analysis and practical perspectives. Scientia et Societus, 2(2), 42–52. https://doi.org/10.69587/ss/2.2023.42 DOI: https://doi.org/10.69587/ss/2.2023.42

[52] Vakulyk, I. (2021). Peculiarities of interpersonal communication and social behavior (on the example of affiliation motivation). Humanities Studios: Pedagogy, Psychology, Philosophy, 9(1), 43–47. https://doi.org/10.31548/hspedagog2021.01.043 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31548/hspedagog2021.01.043

[53] Varyvoda, K. S., & Gordenko, S. (2024). Structure and assessment of emotional leadership in human resource management of higher education institutions. Scientia et Societus, 3(2), 57–69. https://doi.org/10.69587/ss/2.2024.57 DOI: https://doi.org/10.69587/ss/2.2024.57

[54] Yuhanida, Y., Amalia, Z. N., Kerwanto, K., Rahman, R., Muna, M. Y., & Sabour, R. (2024). Epistemology of Sufism in Sufi interpretation (Analysis of the patterns of theoretical (Nazhari) and practical (‘Amali) Sufi exegesis). QiST: Journal of Quran and Tafseer Studies, 3(2), 216–233. https://doi.org/10.23917/qist.v3i2.4199 DOI: https://doi.org/10.23917/qist.v3i2.4199

[55] Zafar, A., & Jabeen, A. (2022). Common linguistic patterns in Punjabi and Persian Sufi literature. Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences, 42(2), 299–306.

Downloads

Published

2025-09-09

How to Cite

Mardonov, R., Kubaeva, S., Makhbuba, E., Muhamadiyev, H., & Sherzod, A. (2025). Communication in Sufism: Situation, Problem, Solution (Based on the Teachings of Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali). International Journal on Culture, History, and Religion, 7(SI1), 1076–1094. https://doi.org/10.63931/ijchr.v7iSI1.367

Similar Articles

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.