Some religious and moral teachings of Al-Ghazzali : $b Being brief extracts from his Ihya-u-Ulum-id-din — John Shaqi
Some religious and moral teachings of Al-Ghazzali : $b Being brief extracts from his Ihya-u-Ulum-id-dinGhazzali
Islamic
Some religious and moral teachings of Al-Ghazzali : $b Being brief extracts from his Ihya-u-Ulum-id-din
Ghazzali
Islamic ethics -- Early works to 1800
Abu Sulaiman Darani,[68] the renowned Sufi, says: “There are servants of
God whom neither fear of hell nor the hope of heaven can deviate from the
divine love, how can the world with its temptations come in their way?”.
Abu Mahfuz Karkhi was once asked by his disciples: “Tell us what led you
to devotion” but he kept quiet. “Is it the apprehension of death.” said
one of them. “It matters little” replied the saint “Is it due to hell
or to paradise”, inquired another. “What of them” said the saint “both
belong to a supreme Being, if you love him you will not be troubled by
them”. Saint Rabia[69] was once asked about her faith: “God forbid”,
answered Rabia: “If I serve him like a bad labourer thinking of his wages
only”. And then she sang: “Love draws me nigh, I know not why”. Thus we
see that the hearts of those who ate and drank and breathed like us felt
delights of divine love which was their highest happiness.
If we think over man’s gradual development we find that every stage of
his life is followed by a new sort of delight. Children love playing and
have no idea of the pleasures of courtship and marriage experienced by
young men, who in their turn would not care to exchange their enjoyments
for wealth and greatness which are the delights of the middle aged men
who consider all previous delights as insignificant and low. These last
mentioned delights are also looked upon as unsubstantial and transitory
by pure and noble souls fully developed.
The Quran says: “Know that this world’s life is only sport and play and
boasting among yourselves, and vying in the multiplication of wealth
and children”. “Say, shall I tell you what is better than these? For
the righteous are gardens with their Lord, beneath which rivers flow,
to abide in them and pure mates and Allah’s pleasure and Allah sees the
servants”. “Those who say: Our Lord, surely we believe, so forgive us our
faults, and keep us from the chastisement of fire; the patient and the
truthful and the obedient and those who spend (benevolently) and those
who ask forgiveness in morning times”.[70]
Let us now point out some drawbacks which hinder the path of the divine
love.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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