SUFI STORIES #14. THE WISDOM OF IMAM AL GHAZALI

For a very brief introduction to the life and works of Imam Al Ghazali (May Allah sanctify his soul), please read Sufi Stories #13 first. This article assumes you already know that much about him.

I had mentioned that he was the Mujaddid (Reviver of the Faith) of the 5^th Hijri century, and for the Sunnis, he is the Hujjatul Islam (Proof of Islam). Although several others may have also been give the title, only Imam Al Ghazali is universally recognized. In Shia Islam, thousands have been given that title (Hojatoleslam) which is a rank below Ayatollah, of which there are also many.

I also related that The Prophet (PBUH) had endorsed him as the wisest and most brilliant scholar among Muslims (in the dream of Shaykh Hasan Al Shadhili), and The Prophet (PBUH) had also endorsed and commended Imam Al Ghazali’s book Ihya Ulum al-Din (in the dream of his critic Ibn Hirzahm).

Although reports of dreams about The Prophet (PBUH) are not considered as Hadiths, there is an authentic Hadith in which The Prophet (PBUH) said that if he appears in any dream, then it is true because Satan cannot impersonate him even in dreams. So these endorsements by The Prophet (PBUH) must be accepted as true!

Let us discover Imam Al Ghazali’s wisdom through some of his sayings (with my comments on some of them):

(1) “Knowledge without action is wastefulness and action without knowledge is foolishness.”

(2)  “Be assured that knowledge alone does not strengthen the hand......Though a man reads a hundred thousand scientific questions and understood them or learned them, but did not work with them---They do not benefit him except by working.....Knowledge is the tree, and working is its fruit; and though you studied a hundred years and assembled a thousand books, you would not be prepared for the Mercy of Allah the Exalted except by working.”

COMMENTS:  Not just action, but correct action.

Acquiring knowledge is the first requirement towards meaningful faith and practice. That is why the first verse revealed to The Prophet (PBUH) was “Read in the name of Your Lord Who created” (Qur’an 96:1). From knowledge (and guidance) we get correct understanding. From correct understanding we get wisdom and correct action/work/practice.

The teacher/guide is crucial in translating knowledge to correct understanding and wisdom. That is why even though we may have the best text books, we need teachers, tutors, instructors and professors to teach us the correct understanding of whatever subject being studied, until we have become experts and teachers ourselves – and likewise, in matters of religion and spirituality.

Those who do not acquire religious knowledge, or acquire the knowledge without understanding correctly what they have learned are wont to practise the religious tenets without these having any positive impact on their lives. I suspect this is the reason why we see the Muslim society, in general, is backward in many spheres of life in Malaysia and in many other countries (although the mosques may be overflowing on Fridays).

They can also end up doing many wrong things in the name of religion. This is not only foolishness, but can be outright dangerous (examples – saying that a corrupt Muslim leader is better than a just non-Muslim leader; the extremist jihadists who kill fellow Muslims who disagree with them, and blowing up schools because they believe Muslim girls should not be educated).

Unfortunately, many people are in the habit of attending many religious programs and classes to acquire knowledge and understanding (which is good), but they do not practise what they learned from these classes. They just keep on attending more and more. The same applies to reading religious books and not applying the lessons therein.

Those who acquire knowledge, understand but don’t practise are like the rich man who keeps all his money in the bank, lives like a pauper, and goes on working for more. This is sheer wastefulness of assets that should be used for the good.

But if they acquire wisdom from the correct understanding of that knowledge, they will surely put it into action, and not waste it.

The Qur’an is replete with reminders on the vast difference between those whose faith and worship are with understanding, and those who don’t understand.

I repeat – it is paramount that we acquire sufficient knowledge and be guided (by human teachers or Divine guidance) to the correct understanding so that we acquire wisdom from this knowledge, and put it into practice for the benefit of ourselves and humanity.

(3) “Those who look for seashells will find seashells; those who open them will find pearls.”

COMMENTS: Those who are dutiful to God’s commands come in two groups. The first group obeys because God commanded so (which is good, but not good enough). For example, they pray five times a day as an obligation. And often, they grudgingly force themselves to pray to fulfil that obligation.

The second group prays not just out of obedience, but more so out of their love for God. And they seek to understand why God imposed this on them, and when they find the reasons and wisdom behind this, it becomes a joy to pray, and they look forward to the prayers! In return, they get to taste the sweetness of their prayers and devotions. Just imagine during your prostration (sujuud) as if God gently strokes your head and whispers in your ears “I love you, My servant!”

(4) “Dear friend, your heart is a polished mirror. You must wipe it clean of the veil of dust that has gathered upon it, because it is destined to reflect the light of Divine secrets.”

(5) “Desires make slaves out of kings and patience makes kings out of slaves.”

(6) “A man of bad character punishes his own soul.”

(7) “Declare your jihad on (thirteen) enemies you cannot see - egotism, arrogance, conceit, selfishness, greed, lust, intolerance, anger, lying, cheating, gossiping and slandering. If you can master and destroy them, then you will be ready to fight the enemy you can see.”

COMMENTS: These are the major negative traits (the “veil of dust”) that we need to cleanse from our spiritual heart so that it becomes pure enough to be a vessel for Divine guidance.

In a Hadith Qudsi (Sacred Hadith) God says: “The entire Universe is too small for Me, but the heart of the believer can contain Me”.

And the Qur’an says:  “Lo! Allah does not change the condition of a people until they (first) change that which is in their hearts” (Qur’an 13:11).

All of us have the potential of being close to God, and of receiving direct Divine guidance. But that will not happen if the spiritual heart is corrupted by those bad attributes. It is not easy to get rid of them completely, but we have to continually remind and improve ourselves, little by little, and remain HUMBLE enough to acknowledge our weaknesses, seek God’s help to fight these, and seek a teacher’s help too (who had successfully gone through the same process before becoming a teacher!). For a Sufi, that teacher is his Shaykh.

This is Tasawwuf 101. This is the essence of Sufism.

(Note – in the quotation I have put “thirteen” in brackets because only twelve are mentioned. I have checked many sources, but could not find the thirteenth. If anyone stumbles upon it, please do let me know. Thank you).

(8) “Whoever says that all music is prohibited, let him also claim that the songs of birds are prohibited.”

(9) "Men whose hearts are changed by money are not learned."

COMMENTS: I hope the turbaned ulama of a certain local “Islamic” political party read this.

(10) “Be not like the deceived fools who are joyous because each day their wealth increases while their life grows ever shorter.”

(11) “The way to paradise is an uphill climb whereas hell is downhill. Hence, there is a struggle to get to paradise and not to hell.”

(12) “People count with self-satisfaction the number of times they have recited the name of God on their prayer beads, but they keep no beads for reckoning the number of idle words they speak.”

(13) “Do not allow your heart to take pleasure with the praises of people, nor be saddened by their condemnation.”

And finally, on Sufism/Tasawwuf:

(14) Know that tasawwuf is two things: Truthfulness with Allah Almighty and good conduct with people. Anyone who practices these two things is a (potential) Sufi. Truthfulness with Allah is that the servant puts an end to his ego's shares in the Divine command. Good conduct with people is to not prefer one's demands over theirs as long as their demands are within the parameters of the Law. Whoever approves of the contravention of the Law or contravenes it can never be a Sufi, and if he claims he is, he is lying.

(15) The Sufi path consists in cleansing the heart from whatever is other than Allah... I concluded that the Sufis are the seekers in Allah's Way, and their conduct is the best conduct, and their way is the best way, and their manners are the most sanctified. They have cleaned their hearts from other than Allah and they have made them as pathways for rivers to run, carrying the knowledge of Allah.

For more wise quotes from Imam Al Ghazali, please visit https://www.azquotes.com/author/21932-Al_Ghazali

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

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