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
We are indebted to the Rev. Dwight M. Donaldson of Mashad, Persia, for
the interesting photographs of the ruins of Tus and of the supposed tomb
of Al-Ghazali. The mosque is very old and probably dates from the time
of Al-Ghazali. The grave shown in the picture, however, _may_ not be the
grave of Al-Ghazali the mystic but of another celebrated Ghazali. For we
read in As-Subqi (Vol. III, p. 36) that there was one called Ahmed ibn
Mohammed Abu Hamed Al-Ghazali, the older and earlier one. He says that
people have thrown doubt upon his very existence, but that after careful
inquiry he has found mention of this man in several books, including the
_Kitab Al Ansab_ of Ibn As-Samʾani. He mentions the fact that this man
also lived in Khorasan, was celebrated for his learning, wrote books on
theological questions, and was buried at Tus, where his grave was well
known; and because of this people called him the Old Ghazali, and used to
come to his grave in order to obtain answers to their prayers. He thinks
that this Ghazali was either the uncle or the grand-uncle of Al-Ghazali,
whose biography we have written. Incidentally we may conclude from this
statement of As-Subqi that the name of Al-Ghazali was not given to him
because his _father_ was a spinner of wool! It must have been an old
family name.
Mr. Donaldson gives this interesting information: “The walls of the old
city of Tus still stand. It is one _farsakh_ around them, three and a
third miles. There are many fragments of towers and in nine places there
are remains of gates. The wall was originally five yards wide. In the
largest cemetery the tombstone of Ahmad Ghazali may still be seen. This
cemetery lies southwest from the city and while the bulk of it is now
under cultivation, the more distant part that lies on the higher ground
beyond the waterway has been kept a cemetery.
“The picture I have enclosed of Ghazali’s tomb is not as satisfactory
as I would have liked. It shows that a large chip has been taken from
one corner of the grave. The stone is about two yards long, one-third
yard wide, and one-third yard high. There are positive indications of an
effort having been made to cut off the portion on which the name of Ahmed
Al-Ghazali appears. It is the part that is chipped in the picture. About
at the point where the chipping appears to begin there is a straight line
cut about one inch deep across the top of the stone.
“On the road that runs through the city from the southwest gate the old
mosque is imposing even in its ruined condition. It stands eighteen yards
high and the inner measurements show it to consist of a square base,
five yards high, then an octagonal structure eight yards high. (See
illustration.)
“Outside the southwest gate an ancient bridge is still in use, as
caravans from Mashad come through the old city of Tus. This bridge has
eight arches, each four and one-half yards wide. The name of the stream
is the _Kashf Rud_.