The Intellectual Blueprint of Legal Methodology | al-Ghazālī's Al-Mustasfā

Al-Mustasfā min Ilm al-Usūl, Imam al-Ghazālī’s foundational masterpiece on usūl, occupies a privileged position in the study of Islamic jurisprudence. As Ibn Khaldūn observes, the Mustasfā became one of the four major texts that all subsequent usūl al-fiqh works would revolve around. Since its publication more than nine hundred years ago, it has been the subject of scholarly commentaries, footnotes, summaries, and brief summaries. This lecture will explore the significance and impact of al-Ghazali’s Mustasfā with a special emphasis on its underlying methodology and on what makes it unique and relevant to our time.