SUFI STORIES #13 IMAM AL GHAZALI – SAINT, MUJADDID & HUJJATUL ISLAM (REVIVER & PROOF OF ISLAM)

In this series of articles, I relate my personal experiences, introduce some of the Shaykhs and Saints that I have encountered and take the opportunity to give some explanations about Sufism, its teachings and its practices.

Unfortunately, throughout history, Sufism came under heavy criticism and we hardly hear about it here, and certainly most local Muslims have not been exposed to any Sufi group.

Because many Sufi tariqas have been declared deviant and were banned, the ones that survived the official onslaught tended to play safe and remained low-key.

So it is a challenge to interest Muslims about Sufism here. Since I am not an Islamic scholar, my views and arguments do not have much impact on the Muslim society. Because Sufism has been widely criticized by some non-Sufis, I need to present the arguments of Sufi scholars who are highly respected, even by the non-Sufis. I find that the best among them is Imam Al Ghazali (May Allah’s mercy be upon him). Therefore I rely much on his writings and stature as one of the most respected Muslim scholars of all time (among Sunnis) in my attempt to explain about Sufism and counter the misconceptions many Muslims have about it.

If I quote Imam Al Ghazali and other great scholars who are universally accepted by Sunni Muslims (Sufis and non-Sufis), then the skeptics will be less ready to criticize since they are nothing in comparison to these great masters.

In fact I have mentioned Imam Al Ghazali in the first 4 Sufi Stories, and will be mentioning him again in future articles too.

The scholars of external knowledge cannot match the knowledge, understanding and experience acquired and given to the spiritual masters in the pursuit of the Truth, the Reality and the understanding of God. That was why Imam Al Ghazali wrote this after investigating the Sufis for ten years:

“I knew with certainty that the Sufis are those who uniquely follow the way to God Most High, their mode of life is the best of all, their way the most direct of ways, and their ethic the purest. Indeed, were one to combine the insight of the intellectuals, the wisdom of the wise, and the lore of scholars versed in the mysteries of revelation in order to change a single item of Sufi conduct and ethic and to replace it with something better, no way to do so would be found! For all their motions and quiescences, exterior and interior, are learned from the light of the niche of prophecy. And beyond the light of prophecy there is no light on earth from which illumination can be obtained.” [Excerpt from Deliverance from Error, translated by JS McCarthy].

I am therefore most thankful to Imam Al Ghazali (May Allah sanctify his soul) for making my task much easier. In his time, he was the most respected scholar in the entire Muslim world. He was a master of both the external knowledge, and later in his life when he joined the Sufis, of internal/esoteric knowledge too. He wrote about 70 books. His magnum orpus, Ihya Ulum ad-Din (Revival of The Religious Sciences) is regarded as possibly the greatest book ever written on Islam, its understanding and its practice. The much respected Imam Nawawi (1233-1277) said that: "Were the books of Islam all to be lost, excepting only the Ihya, it would suffice to replace them all."

All these he accomplished in a short lifespan of only 53 years (1058-1111).

Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad Al Ghazali was born in Tus, Persia (now Iran) in 1058. He started mastering various Islamic subjects from early in life, and later studied under the most distinguished Muslim scholars of the time. His brilliance made him the most respected Muslim scholar, and at the age of 33 he was appointed as head of the most prestigious institution of the Muslim world then – the Nizamiyya madrasa in Baghdad.

At age 40, at the height of his fame, he underwent a spiritual crisis when he realized that all the knowledge he had was inferior to the Divinely-given knowledge that his younger brother (Ahmad Al Ghazali), a Sufi, had. Thus he left everything, immersed himself among the Sufis, experienced for himself the miracles, the visions and the meetings with the departed Prophets and Saints, and after 10 years, emerged fully empowered with real knowledge and understanding.

This fascinating part of his life, about his transformation from being a famous scholar to a humble Knower, is told in his Al Munqidh min Al Dalal (Deliverance from Error). It was also during this time that he wrote the best of his books, including the 4-volume Ihya Ulum ad-Din.

He rose to become among the most prominent and influential Muslim philosophers, theologians, jurists, and finally, Sufis of all time. He continued teaching for another 3 years and died in 1111. He is recognized as the Mujaddid (Reviver of the Islamic Faith) of the fifth Hijri century (Muslim calendar).

Shaykh Hasan Al Shadhili (1196-1258), the founder of Shadhiliyya Sufi Order once had a dream in which Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) asked Prophets Musa (Moses) and Isa (Jesus), Peace be upon them, if there was any scholar as wise and brilliant as Imam Al Ghazali among their followers. Both of them said no.

Although there were scholars (even to this day) who criticized his works after his death, he could not rebut because he is not alive anymore. A generation (around 1150CE) after Imam Al Ghazali’s death, the criticism against Ihya got really bad in Andalus (Islamic Spain) that it was ordered burnt by the authorities.

One such critic who supported the burning of the book was Ibn Hirzahm, a Moroccan scholar. Soon Ibn Hirzahm saw the Prophet (PBUH) in his dream commending the book in front of Imam Al-Ghazali and ordering that Ibn Hirzahm be lashed for slander. After five lashes he was pardoned and woke up in pain, bearing the traces of the lashing! After this he began praising the book from cover to cover. This story was related by Shaykh Hasan Al Shadhili.

In the previous articles, I shared that the Prophets and the departed Saints had visited and communicated with me. There were occasions when they visited me in Atta’s (my Qadiri Shaykh, see Sufi Stories #12) presence, or they communicated with me through him.

One day Atta told me that Imam Al Ghazali asked him to tell me that at that time, my knowledge and understanding of Reality was not even 10% of what he (Imam Al Ghazali) knew. I think it was not even 1%! That was a directive for me to learn more.

Over the years, I had bought many books on Islam and on Sufism, but I did not have the time to read most of them. I was hoping that when I retire from being a busy Obstetrician, I could catch up on the reading.

I lamented my lack of time to Atta - that even if I did nothing else but read all those books, it would probably take several years to complete, and there will be more new stuff to read too. He replied: “Boss said you don’t have to read all those books. He will teach you directly!”. Indeed I realized that those who knew my Sufi background and sought my opinions and advice have found them useful, and God often guided me in dispensing these advice. I am deeply thankful to God Most Wise for His continued guidance.

In receiving Divine guidance, Sufi mureeds always have to acknowledge that the channel for the transference of this knowledge or guidance is through his appointed Shaykh. The closer the mureed is to the Shaykh, and the more often he remembers his Shaykh (of course the Shaykh comes only after Allah and His Prophet PBUH), then the more often is the transference of Divine knowledge, secrets and guidance.

In the next article I will share about the wisdom and miracles of Imam Al Ghazali.

Salam/Peace. See you at my next SUFI STORIES!