MS London, British Library Or. 3126: An Unknown Work by al-Ghazālī on Metaphysics and Philosophical Theology

摘要

MS London, British Library Or. 3126 is a sizeable book of 284 folios. Its title page identifies it as a copy of Maqāsid al-falāsifa, and it has subsequently been catalogued as such. Yet the full description of the manuscript in the British Library catalogue mentions that it cannot be identified with Maqāsid al-falāsifa or any other work by al-Ghazālī (d. 505/1111). A close look at the MS confirms its unique character. It is a compilation and adaptation of extracts from various works by philosophical authors including Ibn Sīnā, al-Fārābī, and Miskawayh. According to its author, the book's subject matter is the report of the Muslim philosophers' (falāsifa) teachings on metaphysics (mā baʿda l-tabīʿa) and philosophical theology (ilāhiyyat).