Rekonstruksi Epistemologi Ilmu Maḥmūd dan Madhmūm dalam Iḥyā’ ‘Ulūm al-Dīn: Kritik al-Ghazālī terhadap Reduksi Fikih Formalistik

Abstract

This study examines the reconstruction of the epistemology of maḥmūd (praiseworthy) and madhmūm (blameworthy) knowledge in Abu Hamid al-Ghazālī’s Iḥyā’ ‘Ulūm al-Dīn as a critique of the tendency toward formalistic reductionism in contemporary Islamic legal discourse. In many contexts, fiqh is often narrowly understood as a normative discipline detached from its ethical and spiritual dimensions, thereby creating the potential for exclusivism and intra-Muslim conflicts. This research employs a qualitative approach through library research, utilizing textual analysis of Iḥyā’ ‘Ulūm al-Dīn, particularly al-Bāb al-Thānī fī al-‘Ilm al-Maḥmūd wa al-Madhmūm, and engaging in dialogue with contemporary scholarly studies. The findings reveal that al-Ghazālī constructs a value-based epistemology of knowledge that places eschatological orientation, moral cultivation, and social welfare as its primary parameters. Within this framework, fiqh retains its normative function but is repositioned as an integral component of a broader and more holistic system of knowledge. This perspective provides a conceptual foundation for the development of Islamic law that is more contextual and oriented toward the objectives of the Sharīʿah (maqāṣid al-sharīʿah).