Dirasah: Jurnal Pendidikan Islam
Vol. 6 No. 2 (2025)

Reconstructing Al-Ghazali's Educational Thought: A Solution to the Spiritual Crisis in Contemporary Islamic Education

Rasmi (Unknown)
Marlina (Unknown)



Article Info

Publish Date
04 Aug 2025

Abstract

Modern Islamic education faces a serious challenge in the form of a spiritual crisis caused by an overemphasis on cognitive achievement and the neglect of moral and transcendental dimensions. This situation highlights the urgent need for a holistic, value-based educational model. This study aims to reconstruct the educational thought of Imam Al-Ghazali as a conceptual and practical solution to this issue. Using a descriptive qualitative approach through library research, the study analyzes Al-Ghazali’s authentic works alongside contemporary academic literature using interpretative and hermeneutic methods. The findings reveal that Al-Ghazali views education as a process of soul purification (tazkiyat an-nafs) aimed at forming complete individuals through the integration of reason (‘aql), heart (qalb), and action (‘amal). His educational framework rests on three key pillars: character formation, classification of knowledge into fardhu ‘ain (individual obligation) and fardhu kifayah (collective obligation), and a spiritually grounded teacher-student relationship. He also advocates for teaching methods based on moral exemplarity and self-reflection rather than rote memorization. Al-Ghazali’s ideas are highly relevant to contemporary Islamic education, which demands value-oriented, spiritually enriching, and contextually adaptive approaches. In conclusion, Al-Ghazali’s educational philosophy offers a solid foundation for designing an integrative Islamic education system capable of addressing modern spiritual challenges.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

dirasah

Publisher

Subject

Religion Education

Description

Jurnal DIRASAH adalah jurnal ilmiah kajian Kependidikan Islam dibawah pengelolaan Program Studi Pendidikan Agama Islam dan Manajamen Pendidikan Islam Fakultas Tarbiyah dan Ilmu Keguruan IAIN Kendari, kehadirannya ditujukan sebagai wadah aktualisasi karya para akademisi maupun praktisi dengan fokus ...