A Moslem seeker after God : $b showing Islam at its best in the life and teaching of al-Ghazali, mystic and theologian of the eleventh century — Al-Ghazali — John Shaqi
A Moslem seeker after God : $b showing Islam at its best in the life and teaching of al-Ghazali, mystic and theologian of the eleventh century
Al-Ghazali · en
Al-Ghazali gives Jesus the usual titles given Him in the Koran, namely,
Son of Mary, Spirit of God, Word of God, Prophet and Apostle. But these
latter titles mean little because he endorses the strange Moslem theory
that there have been no less than 124,000 prophets since the world began.
In his book “_Al-Iqtasad_” he devotes a long argument to prove to the
Jews that Jesus was indeed a prophet, basing it upon his teaching and
miracles (pp. 83-86). In his _Jawahir ul-Koran_ he even classes Mary the
Virgin with the prophets and gives the list of these worthies in the
following curious order: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Aaron, Zachariah,
John, Jesus, Mary, David, Solomon, Joshua, Lot, Idris, Khudra, Shuʾaib,
Elijah, and Mohammed!
Regarding the fasting of our Lord, Al-Ghazali says: “It is related that
Jesus (on him be peace) remained for sixty days without eating, engaged
in prayer; then he began to think of bread and behold a loaf of bread
appeared between his hands; then he sat weeping because he had forgotten
his prayers. And behold an old man came to him and Jesus said: ‘God bless
you, O servant of God. Call upon God Most High, for I too was in a sad
condition and I thought of bread until my prayer departed.’ Then the
old man prayed: ‘O God, if thou knowest any occasion when the thought
of bread entered my head when I was praying do not forgive me!’ Then he
said to Jesus: ‘When anything is brought to me to eat I eat it without
even thinking what it is.’” (Vol. III, p. 61.) The following story seems
to be based on the injunction of the Gospel “to pluck out the eye” that
offends: “It is related of Jesus (on him be peace) that he once went out
to pray for rain and when the people gathered together Jesus said to
them, ‘Whosoever of you hath committed a sin let him turn back,’ so they
all turned away and there was no one left in the cave with him save one.
And Jesus said unto him, ‘Have you any sin?’ He replied: ‘By God, I do
not know of any except that one day when I was praying a woman passed by
me and I looked upon her with this eye and when she had passed I put my
finger in my eye and plucked it out and followed her to ask her pardon.’
Then Jesus said to him, ‘Call upon God that I may believe in your
sincerity.’ Then the man prayed and the heavens were covered with clouds
and the rain poured down.” (Vol. II, p. 217.)