Al-Ghazali’s Sufism and Ethical Spiritual Leadership in Contemporary Islamic Politics
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15408/refleksi.v25.i1.51037Keywords:
Al-Ghazali, Sufism, Islamic political ethics, ethical–spiritual leadership, Ethical–Spiritual Leadership FrameworkAbstract
The crisis of integrity, political corruption, and moral disorientation in contemporary leadership has generated an urgent need for a leadership paradigm that integrates institutional effectiveness with ethical character formation and spiritual consciousness. This study aims to reconstruct Al-Ghazali’s Sufi teachings in Iḥyā’ ‘Ulūm al-Dīn as a conceptual foundation for developing an Ethical–Spiritual Leadership model within the context of contemporary Islamic politics. Employing a qualitative library-based approach, the study utilizes philosophical-hermeneutic inquiry, conceptual textual analysis, and comparative analysis of Al-Ghazali’s works alongside contemporary leadership theories. The findings reveal that central Ghazalian concepts such as ikhlāṣ (sincerity), ‘adl (justice), zuhd (self-restraint), and amānah (trustworthiness) constitute an integrated leadership framework that combines moral, spiritual, and political dimensions. Unlike contemporary leadership paradigms that primarily emphasize organizational effectiveness and social relations, Al-Ghazali’s model places transcendental accountability and self-purification at the core of public decision-making. This study proposes an Ethical–Spiritual Leadership Framework as a synthesis between Ghazalian spirituality and contemporary leadership discourse, demonstrating its relevance to the development of Islamic political ethics amid the challenges of globalization, leadership crises, and moral decline. The study contributes to the advancement of Islamic political ethics and leadership studies by offering a leadership perspective that integrates public governance, character formation, and spiritual responsibility within a coherent conceptual framework.
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Syafii, R. “Relevansi Konsep Tasawuf Dalam Ihya’ ‘Ulum Al-Din Terhadap Etika Politik Islam Modern.” Jurnal Ushuluddin 21, no. 2 (2023): 101–120. https://jurnal.uisu.ac.id/index.php/tsh/article/download/6360/4671.
Taufikurrahman. “Internalisasi Nilai Tasawuf Al-Ghazali Di Pondok Pesantren. Tesis : UIN Maulana Malik Ibrahim.” Malang, 2018.
Thoha, A. Kepemimpinan Spiritual Dalam Islam: Studi Pemikiran Al-Ghazali. Disertasi, Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, 2020. https://repository.uinjkt.ac.id/dspace/handle/123456789/51079.
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