FOOTNOTES
[1] D. B. Macdonald: Muslim Theology London 1903. p. 215. This book gives the best account of Al Ghazzali’s work yet available in English.
[2] ibid. p. 240.
[3] Quoted in E. G. Browne: Literary History of Persia 1903. Vol. I. p. 294.
[4] ibid. p. 293.
[5] I. Goldzieher: Vorlesungen uber den Islam Leipzig 1910. p. 185. See translation in the Indian Philosophical Review by the present writer: Vol. 1. pp. 260-6.
[6] Op. cit. pp. 238-40.
[7] From Al Munqidh min ad’-Dalal.
[8] Gazali. Paris 1902. pp. 44-45.
[9] See the English translation of the Guide by Friedländer; The Guide to the Perplexed, London, especially pp. 225 ff. Al Ghazzali’s works were so widely studied that it is hardly possible to suppose that Maimonides was not influenced by them. The influence may have been direct, as Maimonides was not only a student in Spain but also physician in the court of Saladin in Alexandria. Indirectly the influence may have come through the Jewish poet Yehuda Halevi.
[10] op. cit. p. 179.
[11] This list is taken from A Chronological List of Muslim Works on Religion and Philosophy which has been for a short time in preparation at the Seminar for the Comparative Study of Religions, Baroda, by Professor J. ur Rehman of Hyderabad, and Professor F. S. Gilani of Surat, Fellows of the Seminar. The list has been compared with that of Shibli in his Urdu life of Ghazali (Cawnpore 1902) whose classification is followed with slight modification.
[12] Ihya III. 1.
[13] This word is used both for Rasul and Nabi, but the Muslim notion of Rasul differs from that of Nabi. Malachi was a prophet (Nabi), but Moses was more than a prophet (Rasul). Thus in St. Matthew XI. 9 we have: “But wherefore went ye out? to see a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet”.
[14] Abuhuraira’s report given in Bokhari and Muslim.
[15] Reported by Abuhuraira in Ahmad’s Masnav. Egypt 1300 A. H.
[16] Quran XXXIII. 72.
[17] Quran XVII. 85.
[18] Ihya IV. 5.
[19] It is interesting to note here the following passage from a modern European author: “If we form a conception of a Perfect or Infinite Mind it is in this sense that we must speak of such a mind as free. To speak of choice between alternatives is to suggest that another than the best might be chosen and this would be inconsistent with the idea of perfection.
A finite mind, limited in knowledge and power and distracted by desires other than the will to goodness, may yet have a partial measure of self-determination which is complete only in the infinite. It is incompletely determined by forces external to itself. And if it stand—as it does stand—between the realm of nature and the realm of goodness, conscious of the good and yet beset by many temptations to fall to a lower level, then the relative independence or partial spontaneity of such a mind may be exhibited in the power to direct its own path toward the goal of goodness or to allow it to lapse into evil. Its freedom will be neither complete independence of external determination nor complete agreement with the ideal of goodness; but it will exclude total subordination to the forces beyond itself, and it will give opportunity for choosing and serving the good. In spite of its restrictions human activity will be recognized as possessing a core of spontaneity”. W. R. Sorley: Moral Values and the Idea of God. Cambridge 1918 pp. 446-7.
[20] Ghazzali here anticipated Hume. “Seven hundred years before Hume, Ghazzali cut the bond of causality with the edge of his dialectic”. Journal of the American Oriental Society vol. XX. 103.
[21] Quran XLIV. 38, 39.
[22] Quran XXXII. 11.
[23] Quran XXXIX. 42.
[24] Quran LVI. 63.
[25] Quran LXXX. 25-7.
[26] Quran IX. 14.
[27] Quran VIII. 17. This passage refers to the battle of Badr, the first battle of the Prophet. The Muslims slew the enemy but it is affirmed that really they did not slay, but it was Allah who slew them; the meaning apparently being that Allah’s hand was working in the battle, which is also clear from the fact that three hundred Muslims mostly raw and equipped with neither horses nor sufficient arms, prevailed against a thousand of the most renowned warriors who had come to crush the growing power of Islam. “And Thou didst not smite when thou didst smite”. Ghazzali points out that negation and affirmation for one and the same action throw new light on the nature of causation. Negation affirms God as the efficient and real cause; affirmation establishes man’s free-will faithfully executing divine order.
Whose branches are ever shaken by the wind,
And whose fruit is showered on the sleeper’s heads.
Fatalism means sleeping amidst highwaymen.
Can a cock who crows too soon expect peace?
If ye cavil at and accept not God’s hints,
Though ye count yourselves men, see, ye are women.
The quantum of reason ye possessed is lost,
And the head whose reason has fled is a till.
Inasmuch as the unthankful are despicable,
They are at last cast into the fiery pit.
If ye really have trust in God, exert yourselves,
And strive in constant reliance on the Almighty.
(Translation by E. Whinfield. Masnavi.
2nd ed. 1898. Bk. I, pp. 19-20.)
[28] Quran XCV. 4-6. Whether man is by nature good or bad is a question which has vexed great thinkers from ancient times. Various answers have been suggested, which are summed up in three distinct theories:
1. Evil is innate. Education simply muzzles the brute in man. Civilisation is mere veneering process. This cynical view of human nature is the religion of despair.
2. Man is neither good nor bad. Mind is a tabula rasa. Good or bad actions leave their impression. Thorns and roses are alike gathered by it.
3. Good and evil are mixed up in man. He has an angelic as well as a satanic nature. The development of this double nature depends on the force of external circumstances and surrounding influences. Good and evil are like two seeds: whichever is sown and taken care of will grow into a tree.
The Quranic expression: “we created man in the best make” emphasises the purity of his nature. He is born with good and for good, but has to preserve and to develop his goodness to his full capacity in the struggle of life. He has but one seed which is good if it grows and bears fruit it is called goodness; if it be crushed or nipped in the bud it is called evil. Evil, therefore has no separate entity in him, it is simply a negative which will lose his soul and reduce him to the lower depths.
[29] It is interesting to note a parallel passage from the Masnavi of Jal al uddin Rumi, who was born in 1207 A.D. ninety-seven years after the death of Al Ghazzali:
When a master places a spade in the hand of a slave,
The slave knows his meaning without being told
Like this spade, our hands are our Master’s hints to us;
Yea, if ye consider, they are his directions to us
When ye have taken to heart His hints,
Ye will shape your life in reliance on their direction;
Wherefore these hints disclose His intent,
Take the burden from you, and appoint your work,
He that hears it make it hearable by you.
He too is able to make it within your ability.
Accept his command and you will be able to execute it
Seek union with Him, and you will find yourselves united.
Exertion is giving thanks for God’s blessings;
Think ye that your fatalism gives such thanks;
Giving thanks for blessings increases blessings
But fatalism snatches those blessings from your hands
Your fatalism is to sleep on the road; sleep not
Till ye behold the gates of the King’s palace.
Ah! sleep not, unreflecting fatalists,
Till ye have reached that fruit-laden Tree of Life.
E. Whinfield, trs, Masnavi.
[30] St. Matthew XIV. 55-31. “And in the fourth watch of the night he came unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled saying, It is an apparition and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying: Be of good cheer, it is I, be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said: Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee upon the water. And Peter went down from the boat and walked upon the waters to come to Jesus. But when he saw the wind he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried, saying,: Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and took hold of him and said unto him: O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?”
[31] Comp. Quran XLII. 11: Nothing is like a likeness of Him. He is the hearing, the seeing.
[32] Comp. Genesis I. 27.
[33] Exodus III. 14.
[34] Quran XX. 12. It is generally supposed that Moses was ordered to take off his “leather shoes” out of respect for the sacred place. But Razi in his Commentary calls it an idiom and says that the Arabs used the word Na’al (shoe) for wife and family. The command to put off the shoes is therefore a metaphorical expression for making the heart vacant from care of family. See Tafsir-i-Razi vol. VI. 19. Stamboul edition.
[35] Quran XXXIX. 97. The full text runs: And they have not honoured Allah with the honour due to him: and the whole earth shall be in his grip on the day of resurrection and the heavens rolled up in his right hand; glory be to him and may he be exalted above what they associate with him.
[36] Ghazzali has dealt with the question fully in his work entitled ‘Iljamal awam’. He says that every object has four stages of existence. To use a figure: “Fire” is (1) written on paper: (2) pronounced as Fire (3) burns; and (4) is perceived by the mind to be inflammable. The first two are purely conventional but have an educational value. Similarly the anthropomorphism of the passages of the Scriptures should be studied in the light of the above stages.
[37] Quran XXIX. 69.
[38] See [Section vi] of this book.
[39] Ihya III. 9.
[40] Quran IV. 172.
[41] Quran XXV. 7, 8; 21.
[42] Quran XLIII. 31. “And they say: why was not this Quran revealed to a man of importance in the two towns.” (Mecca and Taif).
[43] Quran XVIII. 28.
[44] Ibn Abbas.
[45] Trimizi: Abu Huraira’s report.
[46] Comp. Matt VI. 24 “No man can serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon”.
[47] Matt V. 3.
[48] Quran XVIII. 32-46.
[49] Ihya 115; IV. 7.
[50] Quran III. 102.
[51] Tibrani and Abu Daud.
[52] Muslim.
[53] Bokhari and Muslim.
[54] Quran XVIII. 5.
[55] Nasai and Bokhari.
[56] Adu Mansur.
[57] Rumi has beautifully described this story of Nasuh in Masnavi Bk. V.
[58] Ihya IV. 6.
[59] Bukhari and Muslim.
[60] Quran LXXVI. 1-3.
[61] Ghazzali’s remark should not be confounded with either egoistic or universalistic hedonism. See his remark on the affinity of souls ([pages 95 ff]).
[62] Muslim.
[63] From uncanonical sayings of Christ.
[64] Quran XXXVIII. 71, 72.
[65] See Bukhari Haddis Qudsi.
[66] Al Ghazzali condemns all such expressions which are called by Cardinal Newman “eccentricities of the saints.” He is aware of their liability to abuse and points out their error in a manner which six hundred years later took the form of Bishop Butler’s dictum that reason cannot abdicate its right of judging obvious improprieties in religious doctrines and persons. “Ibn Allah”, (Son of God) refers to the orthodox Christian view of Jesus. “Anal Haq” (I am the truth, i.e. God) refers to the expression of Husain bin Mansur al Hallaj, who in 309 A.D. was crucified in Bagdad for his blasphemy. The poet Hafiz says of him: “Jurmash an bud ki asrar huwaida bikard.” (His crime was that he revealed the secrets.)
[67] St Matthew XXII 35-57. “And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him,: Master, which is the great commandment in the law? And he said unto him: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” In the above passage the law referred to is Deuteronomy VI. 5, where instead of mind, the word might is used.
[68] Daran, a village near Damascus, where he died in 215 A.H.
[69] A famous Muslim woman saint of Basrah, considered to be an authority on Sufiism. She died in 801 A. D.
[70] Quran LVII. 20 and III. 14-16.
[71] Compare Descartes’: Cogito ergo sum.
[72] Compare Quran XXIV. 35. “Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth: a likeness of his light is a pillar on which is a lamp, the lamp is in a glass (and) the glass is as it were a brightly shining star lit from a blessed olive tree, neither eastern nor western, the oil whereof almost gives light though fire touches it not (heads daffor.) Allah guides to his light whom he pleases, and Allah sets forth parables for men and Allah is cogniscant of all things.” Al Ghazzali has written a separate treatise called Mishkat ul Anwar dealing exhaustively with the above passage. An excellent summary of his views is given by Razi in his Commentary, vol. VI. 393-408. (Stamboul edition). In the above parable Islam is represented as a likeness of the divine light, a light placed high on a pillar so as to illumine the whole world, a light guarded by being placed in a glass so that no puff of wind can put it out, a light so resplendent that the glass itself in which it is placed is as a brilliant star. Just as a fig tree stands for a symbol of Judaism (see St. Matthew XXI. 19) the olive stands for Islam, which must give light to both the East and the West, and does not specifically belong to either one of them.
The doctrine of Fana is misunderstood by many Western scholars. Tennyson puts it:
“That each, who seems a separate whole,
Should move his rounds and fusing all
The skirts of self again, should fall
Remerging in the general soul,
Is faith as vague as all unsweet.”
(In Memoriam XLVII.)
Ghazzali’s vivid description is neither vague nor unsweet. To him Fana is “a prayer of rapture”. “In that state man is effaced from self, so that he is conscious neither of his body nor of outward things, nor of inward feelings. He is rapt from all these, journeying first to his Lord and then in his Lord, and if the thought that he is effaced from self occurs to him, that is a defect. The highest state is to be effaced from effacement”. E. Whinfield: Masnavi, Introduction p. xxxvii.
[73] Ihya IV. 5.
[74] Usually Fana is translated as “annihilation,” but Al Ghazzali here means what is implied in the statement: “To live, move, and have our being in Him”.
“And thou shalt one day, if found worthy, so defined
See thy God face to face, as thou dost now.”
Byron Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. CLV.
[76] Quran XXIX. 65-66.
[77] Quran XVIII. 109. Compare Jalal-ud-Din Rumi:—
Air, earth, water, and fire are God’s servants.
To us they seem lifeless, but to God living.
In God’s presence fire ever waits to do its service,
Like a submissive lover with no will of its own.
When you strike steel on flint fire leaps forth;
But ’tis by God’s command it thus steps forth.
Strike not together the flint and steel of wrong,
For the pair will generate more, like man and woman.
The flint and steel are themselves causes, yet
Look higher for the First Cause, O righteous man!
For that Cause precedes this second cause.
How can a cause exist of itself without precedent cause?
That Cause makes this cause operative,
And again helpless and inoperative.
That Cause, which is a guiding light to the prophets,
That, I say, is higher than these second causes,
Man’s minds recognise these second causes,
But only prophets perceive the action of the First Cause.
E. Whinfield: Masnavi, 2nd ed. 1898. p. 16.
[78] Ihya IV. 6.
[79] Quran V. 54.
[80] Quran II. 165.
[81] Bukhari and Muslim.
[82] Quran IX. 24.
[83] Tirmizi.
[84] Abu Naim.
[85] Tirmizi.
[86] Quran II. 222. Repentance is the first step towards God. Comp. St. Matthew III. 2.
[87] Quran III. 30. Keeping God’s commandments revealed through his holy prophets constitutes love of Him. Comp. St. John. XV. 10 “If ye keep my commandments ye shall abide in my love; even as I keep my Father’s commandments and abide in his love”.
[88] A Sufi of great renown: died at Baghdad in 840 A.D.
[89] Quran II. 94-95.
[90] Hadisi Qudsi is that kind of tradition in which God is himself reported to speak.
[91] Comp:
Let knowledge grow from more to more,
But more of reverence in us dwell;
That mind and soul, according well,
May make one music as before,
But vaster. We are fools and slight;
We mock thee when we do not fear;
But help Thy foolish ones to bear,
Help Thy vain worlds to bear, thy light.
Tennyson.
[92] See Bukhari.
[93] Called the “father of Sufiism”. He founded a sect of Sufis in Egypt. He died in 860 A.D.
[94] St. Matthew VI. 1-4; 16-18.
[95] A celebrated Sufi called Syed Uttaifa (chief of the sect). He died at Baghdad in 911 A.D.
[96] A theologian and Sufi of Ray in Persia. He died in 871 A.D.
[97] Comp:
Good shepherd, tell this youth what ’tis to love.
It is to be all made of sighs and tears;
It is to be all made of faith and service;
It is to be all made of fantasy,
All made of passion and all made of wishes;
All adoration, duty, and observance,
All humbleness, all patience and impatience,
All purity, all trial, all observance.
Shakespeare: As you like it. Act V.
[98] Ihya IV. 6.
[99] Quran IX. 72.
[100] Quran XCVIII. 8.
[101] Quran XXXII. 17.
[102] Quran XXXVI. 58.
[103] In Tigris.
[104] He conquered Persia in the time of the Khalifa Omar.
[105] The Arabs address elders in this way.
[106] One of the most renowned of the early Sufis. His grandfather was a Magian who accepted Islam. He was born in 777 A. D. and died at a great age in 878 A. D.
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