Al-Ghazali 9781463225018

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Al-Ghazali

Turath: The Arabic and Islamic Literary Tradition 2

Turath (Arabic for "heritage") is a textual series of the Arabic and Islamic tradition. The books reproduced here are chosen from the best original editions possible. The series covers a wide range of subject including, but not limited to, literature, theology, law, and history.

Al-Ghazali

W. R. W. Gardner

gorgia* press 2010

Gorgias Press LLC, 954 River Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA www.gorgiaspress.com Copyright © 2010 by Gorgias Press LLC Originally published in 1919 All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise without the prior written permission of Gorgias Press LLC. 2010

1

ISBN 978-1-61719-002-5 Reprinted from the 1919 Madras, etc. edition.

Printed in the United States of America

CONTENTS

«HAP.

I. II. III.

PAGE

BIOGRAPHY HIS

...

RELIGIOUS

AL-GHAZ\LI'S

IV.

AL-GHAZALI

V.

AL-GHAZALI POSITOR APPENDIX

...

EXPERIENCES

THEOLOGICAL

AS S U F I AS

1

...

30

POSITION.

...

THINKER

...

... AND

47 64

EX-

...

...

...

86

...

...

...

105

CHAPTER I BIOGRAPHY bin M u h a m m a d bin M u h a m m a d bin A h m a d E t - T ú s í , better known to later generations as Abú H á m i d Al-Ghazálí was borti in the year A.H. 450 (A.i>. 1058) in one of the townships of the district of T ú s in the province of Khurásán in Persia. 1 MUHAMMAD

i T h e province of Khurásán contained s e . e r a l districts ; the principal of these were Juwayn, Quhastán, Baghshúr, M a r « , Tús, B a y h a q , B a h a r z . Navísabúr (Nishapúr) was the capital of t h e province. ( S u b h al-A'sha, vol. iv, p- 389 f „ Government Press, Cairo, 1914.) T h a t T ú s was a district is clear not only f r o m the above, but f r o m t h e use of the word kuwar (districts) used by the author of the Q á n v n , quoted by Al-Qalqashandi (id. p. 390, last line of the page) as well as f r o m the statement of Yaqút, who calls it a province (wiláya). (Yaqút, vol xiii, p. 327). T h a t there was also a town of the name of T ú s is, of course, true. In a n o t h e r passage, V--;'"t ^uot-a AMSÜáJhurí (d. A.H. 279) as saying, Khurásán is four quarters. T h e first is Irán S h a h r , which includes Naysabúr, and Quhastán, and At-Tabasán, a n d ' H e r á t , and B u s h a n j , and Badhghis, and T ú s (and its n a m e is T á b a r á n ) . (Yaqút, vol. iv, p. 408.) T h e district '•f T ú s contained four towns, Radkán, T á b a r á n , Bazdghur, and N a w q á n , (Yaqút gives the spelling as Núqán) and m o r é than 1,000 villages. (See Yaqút, quoting Mis'ár bin Mukhalhil, vol. vi, p. 7. Ibn Khallikán, vol- i, p. 29- Jackson, From Constantinople to the Home of Omar Khayyam, p. 267, 284 f f . ) Of these four towns, T á b a r á n w&s t h e capital, while Navvqnn was t h e most populous- It ivas outside of

AL-GHAZALI According to a s t a t e m e n t a t t r i b u t e d to a g r a n d s o n of Abu H a m i d , Al-Ghazali was not born in the t o w n of T u s ( T a b a r a n ) itself, but in one of t h e villages of this district, called Ghazala. 1 It is c o m m o n l y believed, however, t h a t he was born at T u s ( T a b a r a n ) . As far as we know, t h e elder Al-Ghazali h a d only t w o sons, M u h a m m a d , of w h o m we write, a n d A h m a d , w h o w a s M u h a m m a d ' s junior. H e also h a d d a u g h t e r s ; b u t we know neither their n a m e s nor their n u m b e r . 9 Of Al-Ghazali's m o t h e r we know n o t h i n g beyond t h e fact t h a t she survived her h u s b a n d a n d lived to see both of h e r sons f a m o u s at B a g h d a d , w h i t h e r a p p a r e n t l y she 'accompanied or followed t h e m . An interesting story is

N a w q a n that 'Ali bin Musa ar-Rida and Haroun Ar-Rashid were buried. Thus, the present Meshed represents the old Nawqan, and must cover some at least of the site of that city ; while the ruins nowknown as Tiis represent the old city of Tabaran, which, having been the capital of the district, was c o m m o n l y called by the name of the district. It was outside Tabaran that Al-Ghazali and Firdausi were buried. It is a mistake to regard Tiis as having been a metropolis containing four boroughs- That there ever existed a city of .Tiis stretching thirty-five miles, from M e s h e d to Radkan, is incredible. As-Sam'ani, in the Kitabu'l-Ansdb, says that T u s contained two towns and over one thousand villages- W h e n he speaks of visiting the place he u s e s ' t h e expression 'Nuqan Tiis' (there was another Nuqan near Naysabiir ; see Yaqiit, under title Nuqan)- T h e interesting point is that apparently he did. not know of a city of Tusi Sayyid Murtada, p- IS* Ahmad, the younger brother, also became famous, and, when his brother left Baghdad in A H- 488, succeeded him in the Nazamiya school ; but he inclined rather to preaching, in which he excelled. He travelled much, and like his elder brother, served Sufiism, and finally died at Qazwin in A.H. 520.

BIOC.K

WHY

told of . how when Abu H a m id VAI» at t h e h e i g h t ol

hi»

f a m e a t B a g h d a d , his .brother A h m a d not merely failed to show him proper respect, but a c t e d in such a m a n n e r as to discredit account

him in t h e eves oi

is worth

quoting.

the

He

Ahmad, surnamed J a m a l ed-D.n, t h e high

people.

had a

The

brother

who, n o t w i t h s t a n d i n g

rank which his brother held, . w o u l d

part with him in t h e prayers

in']

called

i.e. would not

not- takerecognize

him as a m a n fitted t o lead in t h e public prayers) while t h o u s a n d s of ranged t h e m s e l v e s

the comrronality in ranks

behind

plained to his m o t h e r of what hands

of

his brother

and t h e him,

S o he

he e x p e r i e n c e d

(saying/, that

even

nobility

it a l m o s t

cornat

the

led

the

people to doubt him, seeing that his b r o t h e r was celebrated for his good c o n d u c t and p i e t y ; and he asked mother

to

order

people did. pressed his

him

(Ahmad;

to treat him as

H e c o m p l a i n e d about t h i s demand..

His

mother

repeatedly

urged

him

his

other and

(Ahmad)

t i m e and again to agree to this, and he agreed on condition

t h a t he s t a n d apart

from

t h e ranks

The

Imam

a c c e p t e d t h i s : condition ; and w hen one of. t h e a p p o i n t e d t i m e s of prayer arrived, and began

the

people

the I m a m went; t o t h e m o s q u e

followed

him,, till,

when

t h e priiyer, and t h e people began

the

it after

Imam him.

J a m a l ,ed-Din followed him in t h e prayer at a d i s t a n c e . And w h i l e they were praying, interrupted him;

Jamal

And when he was asked the reason

1

ed-Din

suddenly

S o this trial was worse than the first. o f 'his c o n d u c t ) he-

Or as others say Zayn e d - 1 ' : ' a b i t < i « i , vol. iV, p. 55.

AL-GHAZALI replied t h a t it was impossible for him to take as his p a t t e r n an I m a m whose heart was full of blood, indicating by this expression the vileness of one w h o took a share in the work of worldlv men of learning. 1 I think we may infer from this story t h a t Abu H:\mid was his m o t h e r ' s favourite T h e t w o brothers, while still .young, lost their father, ^ h e latter was a poor l>ut devout m a n , who s u p p o r t e d his family by the spinning of wool. H e had never been able to learn to write, and we may conclude that neither could he read. Nevertheless he associated with theologians and a t t e n d e d their meetings for discourse a n d discussion. W h e n nearing his end, he confided his two young boys to the care of a friend, a devout Sufi, whose name, u n f o r t u n a t e l y , has not come down to us, e n j o i n i n g on him to spend the little f o r t u n e he left in e d u c a t i n g t h e m t h a t they might be able to attain a position such a s he himself had desired but had failed to reach. T h i s friend faithfully carried out t h e f a t h e r ' s wishes, and started t h e boys in that course of study which led t h e m both in after years to honour, a n d which, in t h e case of Abu H a m i d , m a d e him one of t h e leading figures in t h e whole history of m u s l i m theology. H o w old Al-Ghazali was when his f a t h e r died, we d » not know ; but from t h e t e r m s which t h e biographers employ, w e f n a y fairly deduce that he was still q u i t e young ; for it was from their Sufi guardian himself t h a t the two boys learned to write l Mishkiit

Matba as-Sidq, Cairo 1322, p. 6!

BTOCi K \ P H Y

3

T h e guardian, however was a poor mail, and the time c a m e when the small inheritance left by their lather was spent. T h e interval between their father's death and the exhaustion of their inheritance was apparently sufficiently long to have made it possible for the boys to progress considerably in their studies. Having, then, no means of support, on the advice of their guardian they sought and found admittance to one of the Madrasas in Tiis. T h e incident is thus, told ly„- As-Subki.* ' And when he (the father) died, the Sufi began to teach them till the small means which he had left them was exhausted, and the Sufi was unable to continue to support them. S o he said to them, " Know that I have spent upon you what was (left) to you, and I am myself a man who has kept himself from the affairs of this world, so that I have no fortune of which I can give you a share. And, as far as I can see, the best thing yon can do is to find shelter in some school ; for you are seekers of knowledge (theological students), and you will get food on which you can depend during your lives. S o ihev did t h i s / T h e two lads, then, having enrolled in one of the schools of T u s , studied under SheiWi 'All Ahmad bin Muhammad Ar-Radhakani.- 3 Under this Sheikh, Aha H a m i d continued his studies for some time. W h i l e v.e 1

F r o m A s - S u b k i we learn that

Nizam al-M-ulk-

M a d r a s a s existed before

t h a t t h e latter was t h e first to establish a p p o i n t m e n t s the stud.ents,

Jlqbaqat,

-? Tjzbaqdt,,\(o\. s

the days cf

H e adds, however, that he is strongly of t h e voJ : in, p. J 3 7 .

iii, p. 102-

A s - S u b k i thus spells the n a m e

Tabaqat,

opinio;»

for the sqpport of.

vol.. ni, p. 136

e

AL-GHAZALI

have no means- of reckoning exactly the time thus spent, we kno\v that some vears must have'passed, and apparently his'love of knowledge began to manifest itself even at this early period of his life. W e next find bin1 at J u r j a n 1 whither he went to continue his course of study under Abu Nasr Al-Isma'ili. I t must have been no light undertaking for the youthful scholar to travel from Tus to j u r j a n , a journey of ten or eleven days through unsettled country ; and it throws light on the independence of his character and on his ambition that he made the venture. Yet, he was but following the example of manv of his contemporaries; for Tus, in these early days, w as noted as the birthplace of many who wandered far in search of learning, and rose to honour' and fame. W h y Al-Ghazali went so far from home, when' Naysabur was only two or three days'' journey distant, we can only conjecture. It may be that he already was feeling the irksomeness of' the fetters of taqlid, and desired to get away from Khurasan to see whether such methods of teaching were general. Of the lectures'of Abu Nasr he took copious notes, but failed to assimilate'what he heard, and make it his own. With these precious notes he set out on his homeward journey to his native town of T u s ; and on the way he 1 Jurjan was the chief towr o; Mazadaran, a district lying north-«est of Khurasan, and between Tabarastan and Khuwarazm: Subh al-A'sha, vol- iv; p- 3872 By taqlid is meant the acceptance of dogma, method of argument, or practice, on the mere ground of human authority without any proof of its truth or'reasonablehes';

BIOGRAPHY

7

hid an adventure from which he was to ,lea,rn a lesson of as great value to him as all his previous studies. Somewhere on the journey he was set upon by robbers who took everything he had. Let us hear his own account of the incident. It is given on the authority of Imam As'ad Al-Mayhani and of Nizam Al-Mulk. W e were set upon on the way, and the robbers ,took. everything I had and went off. But I followed them, and the chief turned to me and said, " Turn back, or you will perish." But I said, " I beg you by Him from whom you hope for salvation, that you give me back only my. notes, for they will do you no good." He said, " What are your notes?" I replied, " The books in that bag. I left my country to hear them, and write them, and learn their knowledge." Thereupon, he laughed and said, " How can you pretend to have learned their knowledge, when I have taken them and stripped you of your learning so that you have no knowledge ? " Then he gave orders to one of his companions, and he handed over the bag to me." 1 The robber chief was evidently as ready with his tongue as with his sword. The lesson which Al-Ghazali learned through this experience Was one he never forgot. In the Munqidh, we have his own statement that when he studied, later, the theories of the philosophers, the methods of the Mutakallimin, or the ways of the Sufis, he pondered os er them, and was not satisfied till he had gained a thorough grasp of them all 1

Tabaqdt, vol- iv, p. 103-

AL-GHAZALI

8

On returning to T u s , he c o m m e n c e d at once commit ting to memory the notes which he had written at J u r j a n , realising that till he had assimilated the teaching and made it his very own, he could not be said to know it. T h i s occupied him, as he tells us, three years. W h e t h e r he spent more than these three years at Tus, at this time, we do not know ; but it was probably during this stay in his native town that he studied Sufiism under the guidance of Yiisuf A n - N a s s a j . W e see him next at Naysabur, attending the lectures of the famous I m a m A l - H a r a m a y n 1 as well as those of the celebrated Sufi teacher A l - F a r a m d h i . 2 He was soon recognized as a brilliant scholar, and along with Al-Kiya' and Ahmad Al-Khawafi was a favourite pupil of the I m a m . It is related that the latter in describing and comparing the thr£e said, ' Al-Ghazali is a sea to drown in, 3 Al-Kiya' is a tearing lion, and Al-Khawafi is a burning fire." 4 Another reported saying of t h e Imam 1

For a long account oi A;-Haramayn, see Tabaqiit,

vol. iii, pp.

249-

2802 As-Subk; says, on the acthority of As-Sam'ani, that the name was spelled thus, though he also mentions the other form Al-Faramadhi. Tabaqat, vol. iv, pp. 9, 10. 3 As-Subki reads MughtUq, inexhaustible, instead of MugkriqTabaqat, vol. iv, p. 103- See also vol- iv, p. 106, and the expression bphr la yunzaf in vol, iv, p- 1044 Ibn Khallikan iays^ oi Al-Kiya', that he was loud voiced, an eloquent speaker^ that in his discourses he was great on tradition, and is reported to ha\e said, ' ii ibe horsemen of tradition enter the battlefields, the heads ol analogy fly in the wind.' Of Al-Khawafi, he says that he was a famous disputant, noted for his power of silencing his opponent.

BIOGRAPHY

9

Al-Haramayn about these three is, ' When they contend together, the examination and proof (at-tahqiq) belongs to Al-Khawafi, the hypotheses and conjectures ;alhadsiyyat) 1 belongs to Al-Ghazali, and the clear exposition (al-bayan) belongs to Al-KiyaV 2 Yet while the Imam had a very high opinion of the, abilities of Al-Gbazali and outwardly spoke of him with praise, it is said that at heart he was somewhat jealous of him. There is no need to think that it was Al-Ghazali's wide and extensive learning which caused the I m a m to feel this touch of jealousy towards his brilliant pupil ; rather, I think, must we look for the explanation of the I m a m ' s feelings to Al-Ghazali's independence of thought and his contempt for all ' authorities together with his absolute self-reliance, and the disdain which he was wont to show for those who could not at times see the force of his arguments. 3 As we have already seen, we have no clear data from which we can determine the exact year in which AlGhazali went to N a y s a b u r ; so we do not know how many years he spent there. W h a t we do know is that while he resided at Naysabur, he studied, he taught, he wrote, and he disputed, making for himself a place among the learned men of his day. In the year A.H. 478, I m a m Al-Haramayn died. After his death, Al-Ghazali quitted Naysabur, and 1 T h i s is t h e r e a d i n g of h a r b i y y a t , warlike attacks. 2 3

As-Subki,

instead

Tabagat, vol- iv, p. 106See Tabagat, vol. iv, p p . 107 a n d 108,

of Sayyid

Murtada's

10

AL-GHAZÁLÍ

betook himself to the c a m p of the Sultán Malik S h á h , where Nizám Al-Mulk, the f a m o u s organiser of educational institutions and patron of learning was to be found. F r o m him he might expect assistance, seeing that the f a m o u s minister was himself a native of T u s , and might therefore be expected to be ready to do what he could for a c o m p a t r i o t of such great abilities. F r o m Ibn Al-Athir, we know that the Sultán Malik Sháh, returning from his conquests, entered B a g h d a d for t h é first time in a . h . 479, and remained there till 480, when he went to I s p a h a n . In \.H. 482, he went to K h u r á s á n , where he gathered an army for t h e conquest of S a m a r q a n d . H e conquered a n d settled the c o u n t r y , and returned to K h u r á s á n ; but in the very same year he was obliged to turn his steps again to S a m a r q a n d , for a revolt had already broken out. After this second expedition, he again returned to K h u r á s á n . In a . h . 483 t h e I m á m Abú Abdallah At-Tabarí arrived at B a g h d a d with an official letter from Nizám Al-Mulk, having been appointed bv the latter a teacher in the Nizámívya Madrasa there : a n d a few m o n t h s later, he was follow ed by Abú M u h a m m a d Abd Al-\Yahháb Ash-Shirází with a similar letter of a p p o i n t m e n t . In R a m a d á n A.H..484, the Sultan Malik S h á h returned to Baghdad, not having visited the citv since 480 ; and it was in the same year (484) that Al-Ghazálí came to the Nizámíyva Madrasa at the invit a t i o n of Nizám Al-Mulk. It is natural to suppose that he accompanied the minister or followed him after a very brief interval.

BIOGRAPHY

11

It would appear, then, that Al-Ghazálí's visit to the camp of N u á m Al-Mulk took place sometime between the beginning of A.H. 4S2 and Ramadán 484, and the year 482 or the vear 483 we may. therefore, safely put down as the time when he left >-.-.' bur and sought the favour of his fellow-countryman It is interesting to note in passing, that Nizám AlMulk himself, in his earlier years, studied law (fiqh) and tradition at Tús, and apparently he never lost his interest in theological discussion and controversy- Even his camp in Khurásán. where he was gathering the army for the conquest of Samarqand, was the rendezvous of theologians and the scene of their disputations. Al-Ghazáli did not long enjoy the patronage of this enlightened administrator ; for in the following year a . h (485) Nizám Al-Mulk had again to go eastwards, accompanying the Sultán to Ispahán. While thev were returning to Baghdad, and were neat Nahawand, the great minister was treacherously assassinated by a Bátiní youth on the tenth of Muharrám of the same year. It is reported that the assassination was committed at t h e instigation of the Sultán himself, us he was jealous of his minister's power and influence, Abú Hámid remained in Baghdad till A.H. 488, lecturing, writing, giving out fetwas (decisions on points of jurisprudence or theology:. His lectures in the Madrasa drew large numbers of students ; he himself tells us that they were attended by 300 students. At the same time he was privately studying philosophy, and reconsidering his ow n position and his manner of life.

12

al-ghazAu

I n D h i i ' l - Q a ' d a ' a . h . 488, h e left B a g h d a d a n d t o Syria.'

went

I t is difficult to d e t e r m i n e t h e c h r o n o l o g y of t h e ' retirem e n t ' of A l - G h a / a h d u r i n g t h e next eleven y e a r s of his life. L e t us first h e a r t h e stories on w h i c h we m u s t d e p e n d for our k n o w l e d g e of h o w t h e s e y e a r s w e r e s p e n t , a n d see w h e t h e r it is possible to reconcile t h e m w i t h o n e a n o t h e r a n d f o r m a fairly d e f i n i t e o p i n i o n as t o A l - G h a zali's m o v e m e n t s a n d m a n n e r of life d u r i n g t h i s m o s t i m p o r t a n t period of his career. T h e f o l l o w i n g s u m m a r y of A l - G h a z a l i ' s own s t a t e m e n t in t h e Munqidh, we t a k e f r o m P r o f e s s o r M a c d o n a l d ' s a r t i c l e on A l - G h a z a l i in t h e J o u r n a l of t h e A m e r i c a n O r i e n t a l Society. 3 ' H e b e t o o k himself t o Syria, a n d r e m a i n e d t h e r e a l m o s t t w o years, living in s t r i c t r e t i r e m e n t a n d giving all his t i m e to t h e religious exercises of t h e S u f i s with p r a y e r a n d m e d i t a t i o n . 4 While a t D a m a s c u s h e used to go u p t o t h e m i n a r e t of t h e m o s q u e , s h u t t h e d o o r u p o n h i m s e l f , a n d t h e r e p a s s his days. F r o m D a m a s c u s he w e n t t o J e r u s a l e m a n d s h u t himself u p similarly in t h e D o m e of t h e R o c k . N o w he b e g a n to feel himself d r a w n to m a k e t h e p i l g r i m a g e to Mecca. It h a d been u n d e r p r e t e n c e of a p i l g r i m a g e t h a t

1

As-Sabki says d i . V l - H i j j a . Tabaqat, vol. iv, p. 104. ? For the circumstances v. hich led to this flight, see Chapter viii3 Vol. xx, pp- 92,93. 4 T h e comma after the word years should be omitted- Al-Ghazali. does not mean to say that he spent only about two years in Syria, but that 'he spent about two years in Syria in complete retirement.

BIOGRAPHY

13

lie had stolen a w a y from B a g h d a d a n d tied to D a m a s c u s ;: hut a p p a r e n t l y at t h a t t i m e he could not bring such a step.

himself t o

W h e t h e r he felt h i m s e l f too unclean, or his

religious faith was too uncertain, might be hard to settle ; at a n y rate it was only

now, a f t e r long m e d i t a t i o n

discipline, t h a t he at length

p e r f o r m e d the

act of t h e religious life of a M u s l i m .

and

culminating

From

Jerusalem

he went to H e b r o n to visit the grave of A b r a h a m , Khalil, t h e F r i e n d of G o d , and Mecca

and

Madina.

. .

resolution to retire from The

prayers to

return

and

to

In

spite

of

his

former

the world, he was drawn b a c k .

of his children

broke in upon h i m , again

.

Al-

t h e n c e to the H i j a z and

the

and

his own

aspirations

though he resolved contemplative

again a n d

life,

and

did

a c t u a l l y do so, yet events, family affairs, and t h e a n x i e t i e s T h i s went on,

of life, kept continually disturbing him. he

tells

there

us,

for a l m o s t

were revealed

reckoned

and

the

ten

to him

discussion

years,

and

in

things that of

which

that

time

could

not

be

could

not

be

exhausted.' To

this

must be added what we learn

part of t h e Munqidh.

from a n o t h e r

H e r e 1 he tells us that a f t e r spend-

ing

about ten years in r e t i r e m e n t he began to c o n s i d e r

the

conditions

prevailing

around hini.

The

gives us of Muslim society show s t h a t there to sadden his h e a r t .

he

was enough

He f o u n d t h a t faith was weak a n d

lukewarm ; that t h e practices of religion, as in the Q u r ' a n , were

view

neglected ; and that i Mvaqidh. p 37 «

commanded this

neglect

14

AL-GHAZALI

w a s very general. I V o p k ; pointed to f a m o u s learned men who paid n o a t t e n u o r to t h e p r e c e p t s of t h e religion which they professed, .¡nd they claimed t h a t , if t h e practices of religion wen binding, these men w ould be t h e iirst to fulfil t h e m . • Th