A Moslem seeker after God

by Samuel Marinus Zwemer

Abu Hashim was a time-server, and cared more for bribes than for religion, according to the testimony of Arabian chroniclers. In A. D. 1070 he changed the name of the Fatimide Sultans for that of the Abbassides at Friday prayers, and received much bounty. In 1075 he sold the same privilege to the Fatimides, and in 1076 to the Caliphs of Bagdad. This conduct so enraged the Sultan of Bagdad that in 1091 he sent bands of Turkomans against Mecca.

Chronicles of the holy city during this period show that the pilgrimage was accompanied by grave dangers because of Bedouin robbers as well as disturbances in Mecca itself. Sometimes these uprisings were directed by Abu Hashim himself, as was the case in A. D. 1094.[48]

Just about the time of Al-Ghazali’s visit, the various buildings at Mecca and the Beit Allah itself, had been repaired and beautified. The four maqams or places of prayer for the orthodox sects as they now stand were built in A. H. 1074. The place of the Shafiʿ sect to which Al-Ghazali belonged, is directly over the well of Zem Zem, to which it serves as an upper chamber. The building, erected in 1072, is in use to-day. The great pulpit of white marble was sent to Mecca in A. H. 969 by the Sultan of Egypt. It is still in use. Perchance Al-Ghazali ascended these very stairs and addressed the pilgrims. In A. D. 1030 a violent torrent swept over Mecca, and nearly ruined the Kaʾaba. The repairs were not finished until 1040.[49]

With his religious pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina it seems that Al-Ghazali’s life of strict retirement ended, except for his visit to Alexandria and beyond. Apparently he proposed to make a journey to Spain and the great Sultan of the West, Yusuf bin Tashfin, on whose behalf he had given Fatwas or religious decisions, but the news of the Sultan’s death put an end to his plans, according to some authorities. Others say that at this time he was summoned to teach again at Nishapur.

The details of his life during the mysterious ten years of his wanderings are most conflicting. According to ʿAbd al-Ghafir, a personal friend of Al-Ghazali, he went a second time to Mecca, afterwards to Syria, and then wandered from shrine to shrine for nearly ten years. Next to “The Confessions,” the best authority on his life is undoubtedly this same ʿAbd al-Ghafir. What he tells us of Al-Ghazali’s life must have been gained from personal knowledge, or go back immediately to Al-Ghazali himself. “According to him, Al-Ghazali set out on pilgrimage to Mecca, then went to Syria, and remained there wandering from place to place and shrine to shrine nearly ten years. At this time he composed several of his works, the Ihya and books abbreviated from it, such as the Arbaʾin and the Rasaʾil; besides labouring at his own spiritual advancement and growth through the religious exercises of the Sufis. Then he returned to his home and lived there a retired life for some time, absorbed in meditation, but gradually becoming more and more sought after as a teacher and guide to the spiritual life. At length Fakhr al-Mulk ʾAli b. Nizam Al-Mulk Jamal Ash-Shuhada, who had previously been Wazir to Barqiyaruq, became Wazir to Sinjar the son of Malik Shah at Nishapur, and by him such pressure was put on Al-Ghazali that he finally consented to resume teaching in the Maymuna Nizamiyya Madrasa there.”[50]

We have reference to but no detail of Al-Ghazali’s visit to Cairo, the great centre of Moslem architecture and learning in the West, as Bagdad was in the East. Nor, strange to say, have I found reference in his works to this visit. It is possible that he was not received altogether with favour by the religious leaders of Al-Azhar at the time, but his reputation was already world-wide, and many of his pupils at Bagdad and Nishapur were from Egypt and North Africa.

At the time of Al-Ghazali’s visit, Cairo was still the great centre of Arab civilization, and had all the glory which the Fatimid dynasty had bestowed upon it. The splendid palaces of the Caliphs formed the central portion of the town. The three massive gates which still command admiration at the present day, Bab Al-Futuh, Bab Al-Nasr and Bab Az-Zuwaila, led into the city. In A. D. 1087 the walls were rebuilt, and these massive gateways constructed along with others which are no longer standing. In the vault of the archways of these gates, there used to be two chambers, and these were used by the Egyptian sovereigns and their friends to watch the various spectacles, especially the departure and return of the sacred carpet.

The intellectual and religious life of the city centred in the great mosque of Al-Azhar, which had been completed in A. D. 1012. Cairo was not yet the economic centre for all Egypt which it became later, but it was the seat of a splendid court, with military pageantry, as well as a centre of religious learning. Ibn Tuwair and others have given us vivid pictures of the ceremonial processions and festivals, the magazines, treasuries, stables, and royal household.