Al-Ghazali’s contribution to an Islamic concept of personality

Basically, al-Ghazali emphasizes that man is of dual nature, physical and spiritual besides being
endowed with knowledge and will. In the issue of nature versus nurture, he believes that spiritual
goodness is what makes up man’s substance, his core. Not only that, in the controversial issue of
free will and determinism, al-Ghazali says that man himself has a choice to choose between good
or bad. Man, guided by faith, could choose well for himself. Lastly, al-Ghazali believes that
personality development begins when one is conceived. He also accentuates that children are to
be educated rather than dictated as the latter would just induce fear and anger.