alghazalisihya-book of knowledge

8/13/2019 AlGhazalisIhya-Book of Knowledge

1/50

SELECTIONS FROM THEREVITALISATION OF THE SCIENCES OF RELIGION

Al-Ghazalis Ihya Ulum al-Din

Int !"u#ti!n t! Ihya Ulum al-Din$

Th% &!!' !( )n!*l%"+% ,)ita al-Ilm.

/ 0123 ***4Allah4#!mTh% M!s5u% !( th% Int% n%t

IN THE NAME OF ALLAH6 THE MERCIFUL6 THE MOST MERCIFUL

All praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and prayers and peace be uponMuhammad, His worshipper and Messenger.

INTRODUCTION

Imam Ghazali opened his boo with the instruction of the !reator to Hisworshipers in the following "erse#$Whate"er the Messenger %&rophet Muhammad' gi"es you,accept it, and whate"er he forbids you, abstain.( %)oran !h. *+ "erse '

Ghazali then drew attention to the fact that e"en the most de"out person, try ashard and continuously as he-she may, can ne"er do ustice to the Glory of the!reator Allah and praise Him as He should be praised. Ghazali continued byas ing Allah to bless, praise and "enerate &rophet Muhammad and all theprophets and messengers, and sought the help of Allah in writing this boo .

Imam Ghazali sought and achie"ed a balance between the spiritual and materialaspect of life. His search began for his own personal sal"ation but later onbecame the sound ad"ice for all societies. /o achie"e this balance the imamde"ised a methodology that ept the spiritual and material domains intact in theirrichness by remo"ing contamination, manipulation and ignorance bydemonstrating both e0ample and reason, which was inherited from the prophetsand the Words of the !reator.
http://www.allah.com/http://www.allah.com/


2/50

Imam Ghazali was, and has remained to this day, one of the world1s greatesttheologians that e"er li"ed and attracted a tremendous number of followers fromeach sector of society who sought to learn the success of his balancing throughtheir multiple 2uestions. /he nature of these 2uestions reached the point wherethe imam became greatly disturbed and as he detected the hand of satan

deluding people into thin ing that what they were doing was good with religioussupport and for which they might e0pect a reward from the !reator. It was for thisreason that Ghazali recognized there was an obligation upon him to write thisboo , $/he 3e"i"al of 3eligious 4cience(.

/his boo diagnoses the sic ness of society and pro"ides it with the muchneeded cure through which he pro"ides the remedy for the ailing society. /hisdiagnose ma es this worldly life successful and leads to the e"en greatersuccess in the life of the Hereafter. It was through these 2uestions the imam tries to stri e the balance between the

spiritual and material aspects of his life and that of society. 5n this account hede"oted his life to the best methodology while eeping both the spiritual andmaterial inta e of their richness thereby rendering them uncontaminated, spoiledor manipulated so that people might start to attach themsel"es to him and ashim many 2uestions since this is the cure for e"eryone.

With this in mind he made the decision to write this boo and no longer remainsilent, because of the responsibility to spea , as well as warn, had been imposedupon him through the persistent straying from the clear truth, and by theinsistence of people fostering e"il, flattering ignorance, and stirring up oppositionto the truth.

6y writing this boo , Al Ghazali fulfills the prescription of Allah that not onlyguides one to the purification of the self, but reforms the heart that has becomedissipated in despair of pre"ention and remedy, thereby distancing one1s selffrom the company of the Law7gi"er %Muhammad, may Allah praise and "eneratehim' who said#$/he most se"erely punished of all men on the 8ay of 3esurrection will be alearned man whom Allah has not blessed with His nowledge.(

He said, $6y my life, there is no reason for your continuing arrogance e0cept thesic ness which has become an epidemic among the masses. /hat sic nessconsists of not discerning the importance of this matter, the gra"ity of theproblem, and the seriousness of the crisis in not seeing that life is waning andthat what is to come is close at hand, that death is imminent but that the ourneyis still long, that pro"isions are scanty, dangers great, and the road bloc ed. /hepercepti"e now that only nowledge and wor s de"oted to Allah a"ail.

/o tread the crowded and dangerous path of the Hereafter with neither guide nora companion is difficult, tiring, and strenuous. /he guides for the road are the


3/50

learned men who are the heirs of the &rophet 7 may Allah praise and "eneratehim 7 but the times are now "oid of them and only the superficial are left, most ofwhom ha"e been lured by ini2uity and o"ercome by satan. 9"eryone of them wasso wrapped up in his immediate fortune that he came to see good as e"il and e"ilas good, so that the science of the religion disappeared and the torch of the true

faith was e0tinguished all o"er the world. /hey duped the people into belie"ingthat there was no nowledge e0cept such ordinances of go"ernment as the udges sue to settle disputes when the mob riots. 5r, the type of argument, whichthe proud display in order to confuse and refute: or the elaborate and flowerylanguage with which the preacher see s to lure the common people. /hey didthis because, apart from these three, they could find no other way to snare illegalprofit and the riches of the world. 5n the other hand, the science of the path ofthe Hereafter, which our fore7fathers trod and which includes what Allah called inHis 6oo , law, wisdom, nowledge, enlightenment, light, guidance andrighteousness, has "anished from among man ind and been completelyforgotten. 4ince this is a calamity afflicting religion and a gra"e crisis

o"ershadowing it, I ha"e therefore deemed it important to engage in the writing ofthis boo : to re"i"e the science of religion, to bring to light the e0emplary li"es ofthe departed Imans, and to show what branches of nowledge the prophets and"irtuous fathers regarded as useful.

I ha"e di"ided the wor into four parts or 2uarters. /hese are# the ;Acts ofWorship1, ;!ustoms of Life1, ;8estructi"e Matters in Life1, and the ;4a"ing Mattersin Life.1 I begin this wor with the ;6oo of )nowledge1 because it is of the utmostimportance first of all to determine the nowledge, which Allah has, through HisMessenger, ordered the elite to see . /his is demonstrated by the words of theMessenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, when he said# $4ee ing

nowledge is an ordinance obligatory upon e"ery Muslim.(


4/50

In the 2uarter on the D%st u#ti9% Matt% !( Li(% I shall enumerate e"eryabhorred trait whose e0posure the )oran has ordered, as well as dealing with thepurification of the soul and cleansing of the heart from them. =nder e"ery one ofthese straits I shall gi"e its definition, the truth about it, its origin, its e"ilconse2uences, its symptoms, and finally its treatment. /o all this will be added

illustrations from the )oran, tradition, and anti2uity.

In the 2uarter on the Sa9in+ Matt% s !( Li(%6 I shall enumerate e"erypraiseworthy trait and e"ery one of the desirable 2ualities of the fa"orites of Allah%al7mu2arrabun' and the awlia %those close to Allah', by means of, which theworshipper see s to draw near to the Lord of the =ni"erse. 4imilarly, under e"ery2uality I shall gi"e its definition, the truth about it, its origin, its fruit, the sign by,which it is nown, its e0cellence, which renders it desirable, together withe0amples to illustrate it from the fields of law and reason.

It is true that men ha"e written se"eral wor s on some of these aspects, but this

one differs from them in fi"e ways#


5/50

the science of practical religion I mean nowledge as well as action inaccordance with that nowledge. /his wor will deal only with the science ofpractical religion, and not with 3e"elation, which one is not permitted to record inwriting, although it is the ultimate aim of the awlia %those close to Allah' and thedesire of the eyes of the sincere. /he science of practical religion is merely a

path, which leads to 3e"elation and only through that path did the &rophets of Allah communicate with the people and lead them to Him. !oncerning 3e"elationitself, the &rophets spo e only figurati"ely and briefly through signs and symbols,because they realized the inability of man1s mind to comprehend. /herefore sincethe learned men are heirs of the &rophets, they cannot but follow in theirfootsteps and emulate their way.


6/50

Th% &!!' !( )n!*l%"+% ,)ita al-Ilm.

Chapter One

The Value of Knowledge, Instruction, and Learning together with itsevidence in tradition and from reason

The Excellence of Knowledge/he e"idence of the e0cellence of nowledge in the )oran is re"ealed to us by

Allah, the Almighty#

Allah bears witness that there is no god e0cept He, and so do the angels and thenowledgeable. He upholds ustice there is no god e0cept He, the Mighty, the

Wise. %)oran !h.? "erse @ '

We see how Allah, the Almighty begins by bearing witness for Himself, secondlyfor the angels and thirdly for those who possess nowledge. In this it is clear thatthe nowledgeable people are emphasized as holding high ran in the sight of

Allah. As Allah, the Almighty said# Allah will raise up in ran those who belie"ed among you and who ha"e beengi"en nowledgeB%)oran !h, * "erse @@'

Allah, the Exalted said4ay# CAre they e2ual, those who now and those who do not nowDC%)oran !h. ?+ "erse +'

Allah, the Exalted also said6ut it is only those amongst His worshippers that fear Allah who ha"e nowledge.%)oran !h. ?* "erse E '

And Allah, the Exalted said4ay, CAllah is a 4ufficient witness between me and you, and whosoe"er possess

nowledge of the 6oo .C%)oran !h. @? Ferse ?'

Allah, the Exalted also said6ut he who had nowledge of the 6oo said# ;I will bring it to you before your

glance comes bac to you.( %)oran !h. E Ferse '.Indicating that he was enabled by the power of nowledge.

As for the e"idence of the "alue of nowledge in tradition %al7a hbar' the &rophet7 may Allah praise and "enerate him 7 said# $If Allah wants good for a person Hema es him understand the 3eligion, and nowledge is attained by learning.(

)n!*l%"+% #


7/50

/he &rophet, praise and peace be upon him, also said, $/he learned persons arethe heirs of the prophets.( It is well nown that there is no ran higher than that ofprophecy, nor is there any honor higher than its inheritance.

And the &rophet 7 may Allah praise and "enerate him 7 said# $Whate"er is in the

hea"ens and the earth intercedes for the learned person.( Who could be in amore ele"ated position than the one for whom the angels of the hea"ens andearth see forgi"enessD

/he &rophet 7 may Allah praise and "enerate him 7 said# $/he best of all people isthe learned belie"er who, if he is needed, will be useful: and if dispensed with willbe self7sufficient.(

He also said# $&eople are li e mines of gold and sil"er, the best of them in thetimes of ignorance % ahiliyah' before Islam, are the best in the times Islam,pro"ided they see the light.(

And he also said# $/he superior ran the learned person holds o"er the worshiperis similar to the superiority of the moon when it is full o"er the other stars.(

As the e"idence of the "alue of nowledge in the saying of the !ompanions %al7 Athar', Ali, the son of Abi /alib, may Allah be pleased with him, said to )umail $5)umail nowledge is better than wealth, you safeguard wealth but nowledgesafeguards you. )nowledge is so"ereign but wealth is ser"ile, wealth isdiminished by e0pending while nowledge is increased in its e0pending.(

Abu Al Aswad said# $Jothing is more precious than nowledge, while ings are

so"ereign o"er the people, they are ruled by the learned.(Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, said# $4olomon, son of 8a"id, peacebe upon them, was offered to choose between nowledge, wealth or power, andhe chose nowledge, then he was blessed with wealth and power as well.(

Ibn Al Mubara was as ed# $Who constitutes humanityD( He answered# $/helearned.( It was then said to him# $And who are the ingsD( He answered# $/heascetics.( He was as ed# $Who are the ignoble people thenD( He answered#$/hose who in the name of religion, grow fat in the world.( Ibn Al Mubara onlyregarded the learned as belonging to man ind, because it is nowledge, whichdistinguishes man from the animals.


8/50

4alem, Abi Al a1d1s son said# $My master bought me for ? 8irhams and laterset me free. /hen I said what shall I do to support myselfD 4o finally I too uplearning and no sooner than a year had passed the Amir of Madinah called uponme, but I would not recei"e him.(

Al Kuhari 7 may Allah ha"e mercy upon him 7 said# $)nowledge is glorious and isnot treasured e0cept by the glorious.(

The Excellence of Learning

/he e0cellence of learning is attested to in the )oran by Allah, the Almighty#

Allah, the Exalted said$B rather, a party from each of section should go forth to become well "ersed inthe religion B %)oran !h. + "erse @EE'

As for the e"idence of the e0cellence of learning the &rophet 7 may Allah praiseand "enerate him 7 said# $Whoe"er follows a path in search of nowledge, Allahwill guide him into a path leading into &aradise.(

&rophet Muhammad 7 may Allah praise and "enerate him 7 said# $/ruly theangels will bow low to the one who see s nowledge in appro"al of what hedoes.(

As for the e"idence of the e0cellence of learning the son of Abbas, a companionof the &rophet > may Allah praise and "enerate him > said# $I was humbled when

I sought nowledge, then I was ele"ated when the people sought nowledgefrom me.( He also said# $I would rather spend a part of the night in learneddiscussion than in continual prayer.(

Abu 9l 8arda1a said# $/o learn something is more fa"orable to me than to standall night in prayer.( And he also said# $6e among the learned or one who learns,or one who listens, and do not be the e0ception or you will be lost.( He said#$Whoe"er sees that stri"ing for nowledge is not a ihad, his mind and opinionare lac ing.(

The Excellence of Teaching

/he e0cellence of teaching is witnessed in the )oran, Allah, the Almighty said#$Band when they return to their people warn them in order that they maybeware.( %)oran !h. + "erse @EE'

The o!"ect is teaching and advice,


9/50

Allah, the Almighty said# $When Allah too a co"enant with those to whom the6oo was gi"en, %saying'# ; ou shall ma e it clear to the people, and not concealit. B( %)oran !h. ? "erse @ '

It is an o!ligation to teach

Allah, the High 90alted said# $!all to the &ath of your Lord with wisdom and fineadmonition. 8ispute with them in the best mannerB.( %)oran !h.@ "erse @E*'

As for the e"idence of the e0cellence of teaching &rophet Muhammad > may Allah praise and "enerate him > said to Mo1az before he sent him to emen# $If Allah guides one person through you, it is better for you than the world and allthat is in it.(

The #rophet $ ma% Allah praise and venerate him $ said

$Allah does not ta e away nowledge, by ta ing it away from the people, but Heta es it away by the death of the religious learned men until none of themremain. /hen people will ta e as their leaders ignorant persons who, whenconsulted, will gi"e their "erdict without nowledge. 4o they will go astray and willlead the people astray.(

/he &rophet 7 may Allah praise and "enerate him 7 said# $!oncerning theguidance and nowledge with which I ha"e been endowed, it can be compared torain, which falls upon the land. &art of the land is good and fertile: the dry grassturns green and an abundance of fresh new grass is produced. Another part isdry but stores water and with it Allah benefits people, they drin from it and use it

for culti"ation. Another part is a barren plain that neither retains water, nor yetproduces fresh grass. 4uch are the cases of those who understand the religionsent down by Allah and benefit from that with which Allah has sent to me,studying and teaching it. /hen, there are those who do not raise their heads togain religious nowledge nor do they accept the guidance with which I ha"e beensent.(

As for the e"idence of the e0cellence of teaching in the sayings of the!ompanions %al7athar'#

=mar 7 may Allah be pleased with him 7 said#$Whoe"er relates a saying of &rophet Muhammad and thereby induces someoneto act according to it, will be rewarded and also rewarded with a rewarde2ui"alent to those who acted according to that saying.(

Ibn Abbas 7 may Allah be pleased with him 7 said#$All the creation see s forgi"eness for the one who teaches people good, e"enthe whales in the sea.(


10/50

Ata1a 7 may Allah be pleased with him 7 said#$I came upon 4aeed, 9l7Musayyab1s son and found him crying, I as ed him whyhe was crying.( He answered# 6ecause no one see s any nowledge from me.(

It has also been said that the learned are the shining luminaries of all time. 9ach

is the luminary of his time, which illuminates his generation.

Cha8t% T*!

On #raiseworth% and &lameworth% &ranches of Knowledge, theirclassifications, and the rules, which govern them

@. /he e0planation of $those branches of nowledge whose ac2uisition isdeemed an indi"idual duty( % may Allah praise and "enerate him 7 said# $4ee ingnowledge is an ordinance obligatory on e"ery Muslim,( and also, $4eenowledge e"en if it is from !hina.(

&eople, howe"er, disagree as to what branch of nowledge man is obliged toac2uire, and as a result ha"e split into appro0imately twenty groups. We shall notgo into details but simply summarize the matter by saying that each groupinsisted on the necessity of ac2uiring that branch of nowledge, which happenedto be its own specialty.

/he scholastic theologians insisted on scholastic theology because the 5nenessof Allah, as well as His 9ssence and Attributes is nown through it. /he uristsheld out for urisprudence because the acts of worship, the lawful and theunlawful as well as the forbidden and the permissible in daily conduct, aredetermined through it.


11/50

accordingly they dismissed the accepted meaning of the word in fa"or of itsesoteric connotation.

According to Abu /alib al7Ma i, the meaning of the pre"iously mentioned&rophetic sayings is nowledge of the contents of tradition, which embodies the

foundations of Islam, referred to in the following words of the &rophet 7 may Allahpraise and "enerate him 7 $Islam is built upon fi"e pillars.( 4ince these fi"e pillarsare ordinances imposed by Allah, it is necessary to now how to fulfill them. /hestudent therefore, should be absolutely certain that nowledge, as we ha"ealready shown in the introduction to this boo , is di"ided into the science ofpractical religion and the science of re"elations. /he scope of this discussion isconfined to the science of practical religion.

/he principals of practical religion, which a sane adult is obliged to obser"e dealswith three things# beliefs, wor s and prohibitions.


12/50

is deri"ed from the obligation to perform wor s, in, which case it might not e"enbe obligatory before sunset. /his is also true of the other prayers.

as, for e0ample, the case where a man who, at the time of embracingIslam, was in the habit of wearing sil garments, or possessed somethingillegally, or loo ed at a woman whom he could not legally marry. In such a case,he should be warned. 5n the other hand, whate"er does not resemble thesethings and is, therefore, not confusing but to which one may be e0posed throughcontact > such as food and drin > instruction concerning it is obligatory. Hence ifan indi"idual happens to be in a town where it is customary to drin wine and eatpor , it is imperati"e that he be instructed of their prohibition and warned againstusing them. Moreo"er, of all things in which instruction is obligatory, ac2uiring a

nowledge of them is also obligatory.


13/50

In respect of belief and actions of the heart, nowledge of them is obligatoryaccording to the state of the mind. Accordingly, if one should feel any passingthought % hatir' as to the meaning of the two phrases of the testimony of faithmean, it would be obligatory to ac2uire the nowledge of whate"er would remo"e

that doubt. If, on the other hand, there was no such passing thought but theperson died before he-she belie"ed that the word of Allah > the )oran > iseternal, "isible and not a substratum for originated properties, as well as otheroften repeated articles of faith, he-she would ha"e died a professing Muslim./hese feelings of doubt, which render the nowledge of the articles of faithobligatory arise in the mind either naturally or as a result of hearing things inone1s own community.


14/50

Among these things about, which %we' should proceed to inform the indi"idual, incase they ha"e not yet been transmitted from one people to another, are belief in&aradise, Hell, the 8ay of 3esurrection, and the 8ay of udgment in order thathe-she may belie"e and accept them, as they are the continuation of the words ofthe confession of faith. /his is re2uired because after the acceptance of

Muhammad1s &rophethood, the Message, which he con"eyed, namely, thatwhoe"er should obey Allah and His Messenger would enter &aradise, andwhoe"er should disobey them would enter Hell fire, should be understood. If,therefore, you would pay attention to this reasoning you would now that this isthe true way of life. ou would also find out that e"ery worshiper suffers, in thecourse of his life, both during the day and the night, from enduring thoughts%wa2ai' of doubt, which befall him in the performance of his acts of worship anddaily transactions. /hese thoughts re2uire new obligations and conse2uently itbecomes necessary for him to in2uire concerning e"ery unusual occurrence,which may happen to him as well as to proceed to learn what may be generallye0pected to occur in the near future.


15/50

obligation to ac2uire their nowledge would cease to be binding upon the rest ofthe community.

Jo one should be astonished when we say that medicine as well as arithmeticare of the sciences, which are a collecti"e duty, because the fundamental

industries are also the same, such as agriculture, wea"ing, politics, e"entailoring. Has He Who sent down the sic ness not also sent down the remedy,gi"en guidance for its use, and prepared the means for administering itD It is not,therefore, permissible to e0pose oneself to destruction by neglecting the remedy.

/o go deep into the details of arithmetic and the nature of medicine as well assuch details, which, while not indispensable, are helpful in reinforcing the efficacyof whate"er is necessary, is howe"er, considered meritorious, not obligatory.

/he blameworthy %madhmum' sciences are magic, talismanic science, uggling,tric ery and the li e.

/he sciences of urisprudence, which are intended in the study are allpraiseworthy. 4ometimes, howe"er, they may be confused with what may beta en for praiseworthy but, in fact, are blameworthy.


16/50

pertains to the acti"ities of this world and is contained in the boo s of law andentrusted to the lawyers, the learned men of this world# the second pertains tothe acti"ities of the Hereafter. It is the science of the conditions of the heart, it1spraiseworthy and blameworthy characteristics, what is acceptable before Allahand what is reprehensible to Him.

All these are treated in the last part of this boo , i.e., the whole boo of /he3e"i"al of the 4ciences of 3eligion. It includes the nowledge of what issuesfrom the heart and affects the senses in their acts of worship and usages of life,all of, which are treated in the first part of this boo .

/hird are the au0iliary %mu2addimat'. /hese act as the instrument for thesciences of urisprudence. /hus linguistic science and synta0 are but instrumentsfor the nowledge of the 6oo of Allah and the usage %sunnah' of His &rophet. Inthemsel"es linguistic science and synta0 are not urisprudence sciences, but ithas become necessary to engage in their study because of the law since this law

has come in the language of Arabs. And whereas e"ery law is re"ealed throughthe medium of a particular language, the learning of that language becomes aninstrument wherewith to learn the law. Among these instruments, also, is thescience of writing. It is howe"er, not a necessary instrument because theMessenger of Allah was himself unlettered %ummi'. And if it were concei"ablethat retention of e"erything that is heard was at all possible, man ind might ha"edispensed with writing. 6ut, because of the impossibility of such a thing, it hasbecome, on the whole, necessary.


17/50

/hese then are the sciences of urisprudence. Jot only are they all praiseworthy,but they also belong to the category of the collecti"e duty. 6ut should one in2uiresaying# $Why ha"e you appended urisprudence to secular sciences and grouped

urists among secular scholarsD( Let me tell you that Allah made Adam fromearth and his offspring from clay and running water. He brought them out from

loins to the womb, then to life, and finally to the gra"e: from the gra"e He raisedthem to udgment and from there to &aradise or to Hell


18/50

special need, underta es the responsibility of gi"ing legal opinions does so forthe sa e of ac2uiring position and wealth.

If you agree to this, the same will hold true in connection with the rules ofin"alidating testimonies, restricti"e ordinances, indemnities and settling feuds:

but it will not hold true in respect to what falls under the Nuarter of the Acts ofWorship such as fasting and prayer, nor in respect to what the !ustoms of Lifeentail of ci"il and legal matters such as determining the lawful and the unlawful.

ou should, therefore, now that what the urist comes nearest discussing underwor s, which pertain to the Hereafter are four# Islam, prayer, charity, %doing' whatis lawful and abstaining %from' what is unlawful. 6ut when you e0amine how farthe urist1s speculation goes into these four you will find that it does not gobeyond the limits of this world into the ne0t. If then you realize this limitation inrespect to these four it becomes to you more e"ident in others besides.

!oncerning Islam the urist discourses on what renders it sound or unsound as

well as on its conditions, but only pays attention to outward confession. /heheart, howe"er, is remo"ed from his domain because the Messenger set apartfrom the urist those who wield the sword and those in whose hand the reins oftemporal power lie. /his the Messenger did when he said to the man who had

illed another because the latter had recited the confession of faith gi"ing for areason his fear of the sword, $Ha"e you e0amined his heartD( /he urist alsodetermines with the aid of the sword the soundness of %one1s' Islam, although he

nows that the sword can neither re"eal to him the intentions %of the indi"idual'nor remo"e from his heart the "eil of ignorance and bewilderment. He is,howe"er, a counselor to him who wields the sword. 4ince the sword can reachthe %indi"idual1s' nec and the hand his possessions, repeating the confession of

faith with the tongue protects his life and possessions as long as he has either inthis world.


19/50

punishment. /o %the sub ect of' submitting and presenting the heart to Allah,howe"er, both of, which are wor s pertaining to the Hereafter and through, whichwor s are rendered efficacious, the urist does not address himself: and in casehe does, he o"ersteps his bounds.

!oncerning charity, the urist e0amines what satisfies the demand of themagistrate so that, in the e"ent that the payment of the alms is withheld and,conse2uently, the magistrate e0acts it by force, the urist then rules that theresponsibility of the magistrate has been fulfilled. It is related that Abu usef, the

udge, was in the habit of gi"ing away all his income to his wife at the end of eachyear and in turn ma ing her gi"e away hers to him in order to a"oid the paymentof alms. 5n being informed of it, Abu Hanifah declared that this was the result of

Abu usef1s %"ersatility in' urisprudence: and Abu Hanifah was right becausesuch a thing is the result of worldly wisdom. Je"ertheless, its harm in theHereafter outweighs e"ery benefit %it may yield in this world'. Moreo"er, such

nowledge is harmful.

!oncerning the lawful and the unlawful, abstinence from the latter is a part ofreligion. &iety, moreo"er, has four grades.

/he first is that piety, which is re2uired for ust testimony and the relin2uishing ofthat, which dis2ualifies man to bear witness before a court, or to be a udge or toact as go"ernor. It consists, in other words, in a"oiding all that is clearly unlawful.

/he second is the piety of honest men, which guards against dubiosities , whichengender ambiguous and misleading interpretations. /hus the &rophet said#$8iscard that, which is dubious for that, which is indubious.( He also said# $4in is

heart alluring.(/he third is the piety of the cautious, which entails desisting from perfectly lawfuldeeds for fear that may lead to deeds, which are unlawful. In this connection the&rophet said# $Jo man will be numbered among the cautious unless he isinclined to a"oid what is harmless for fear of what is harmful.( 5f such is thereluctance to discuss the affairs of people lest one be drawn into bac biting, andthe abstinence from eating and drin ing of things, which when the appetite lestthat should stimulate passion and lust, which lead a man to commit that, which isforbidden.

/he fourth is the piety of the awlia %those close to Allah', which shuns all thingsbut Allah for fear of e0pending one single hour of life in things, which, although itis clear and certain that they lead to nothing unlawful, do not help to bring theindi"idual nearer to Allah.

All these grades %of piety', e0cept the first, namely the piety of witnesses and udges as well as what militates against ustice, are outside the domain of the urist.


20/50

does not preclude sin being punished in the Hereafter. /he &rophet said toWabisah# $!onsult your own heart although you ha"e been gi"en a dispensationonce, twice or thrice.( /he urist does not, and should not, e0press an opinionregarding the things, which allure and perple0 the heart, or how to deal withthem, but confines his opinion to those things, which militate against ustice.

Hence the entire scope of the urist1s domain is limited to the affairs of this world,which pa"e the road to the Hereafter. 4hould he then tough upon the attributes ofthe heart and the rules of the Hereafter, he does so as an intruder ust as hewould be whene"er anything relati"e to medicine, arithmetic, astronomy andtheology confront him. /he same is true of philosophy in relation to synta0 orpoetry. 4ufyan al7/hawri, an authority in esoteric nowledge, used to say that thestudy of this %science' is not among the pro"isions for the Hereafter. How could itbe when it is agreed that the "alue of nowledge is acting according to itspreceptsD Is it possible, therefore, to hold as pro"isions for the Hereafter the

nowledge of the forms that di"orce might ta e, either zihar or by li1an, ofcontracts in"ol"ing immediate payment of the price and admitting delay in the

deli"ery of the article purchased %salam' of hire, rental, and lease %i arah', and ofmoney changing %sarf'D Anyone who ac2uires the nowledge of these things,hoping to draw nearer to Allah, would certainly be mad. Indeed, nothing butengaging body and soul in the ser"ice of Allah and His worship would drawpeople nearer to Allah: and nobility lies in nowing how to accomplish thesedeeds.

If you should say: $Why ha"e you regarded medicine and urisprudence in thesame way when medicine pertains to the affairs of this world, namely, the welfareof the body, while upon urisprudence in the same way when medicine pertains tothe affairs of this world, namely, the welfare of the body, while upon

urisprudence depends the welfare of religion: and furthermore does not thise2ual regard of the two "iolate the public consensus of opinion among allMuslimsD( /hen now that such a treatment is not necessary and in fact the twosciences differ. urisprudence is superior to medicine on three counts# first,because it is sacred nowledge, and, unli e medicine, which is not sacred

nowledge, urisprudence is deri"ed from prophecy: second, it is superior tomedicine because no one of those who are treading the road to the Hereaftercan do without it, neither the healthy nor the sic : while on the other hand onlythe sic , who are a minority, need medicine: thirdly, because urisprudence isa in to the science of the road of the Hereafter, being a study of the wor s or thesenses. /he origin of these wor s as well as their source lies in the attributes ofthe heart. /hus praiseworthy wor s are the result of praiseworthy characters%endowed with' sa"ing %grace' in the Hereafter: similarly, the blameworthy wor sare the result of blameworthy characters. /he connection between the sensesand the heart is thus clear.

Health and disease, howe"er, result from certain 2ualities in the humuorscharacteristic of the body, not of the heart. Jo matter how often urisprudence iscompared with medicine, the superiority of the former is e"ident. 4imilarly,


21/50

whene"er the science of the road to the Hereafter is compared with urisprudence, the superiority of the former is e"ident.

if you should say# $90plain to me the science of the road to the Hereafter in sucha manner as will bring out its outline if the en2uiry into its details is not possible(,

now, then, that it is di"ided into two parts# the science of re"elation and thescience of practical religion.

/he first part, namely the science of re"elation is the science of esoterics, whichis the goal of all sciences. 5ne of the Gnostics said# $I fear that whoe"er shouldlac a portion of that science would come to an e"il end.( /he least portion of thescience of re"elation is belie"ing in it and placing it in the hands of those worthyof it. Another said# $Whoe"er has these two characteristics, heresy and pride, willne"er be blessed with any of this science.( It was also said# $Whoe"er %lo"es

Allah succeeds, but' whoe"er lo"es this world and persists in his desires will notattain the science of re"elation, though he might attain the other sciences.( /he

least punishment, which the person who denies re"elations will suffer is that hewill not be blessed with any of its gifts.


22/50

place in His pro0imity: the meaning of attaining happiness through communionwith the hea"enly hosts and association with the angels and the prophets./hrough it also the distinction between the ran s of the people in the differenthea"ens is determined until they see one another in the same way as the planetFenus is seen in the midst of the hea"ens. Many other things, which would

re2uire a great deal of time to e0plain because people, once they accept theyaccept them in principle ta e different stands with regard to their significations,are also determined through this light. /hus, some would regard all these asmere e0amples holding that the eye has not seen, nor the ear heard, neither hasit entered into the heart of man that, which Allah has prepared for His righteousworshipers, and that man nows nothing of &aradise e0cept its attributes andnames: others hold that some are mere patterns and some are identical with therealities, which their names signify. Li ewise others hold that the limit to, whichour nowledge of Allah can reach is to admit the inability to now Him.

/here are some also who claim great things on %the sub ect' of nowing Allah

while others say that we cannot go beyond what all the common people ha"ereached, namely, that Allah is, that He is omniscient and omnipotent, that Hesees and hears, and that He spea s. We, therefore, mean by the science ofre"elation %that science whereby' the co"er is remo"ed so that the truth regardingthese things becomes as clear as if it were seen by the eye, lea"ing thereby noroom for any doubt. Man would, by himself, be capable of such a thing had notthe rust and rot resulting from the filth of this world accumulated o"er the surfaceof the mirror of his heart. 6y the science of the road of the Hereafter we mean the

nowledge of how to remo"e from the surface of this mirror that filth, which barsthe nowing of Allah, His attributes, and His wor s. /he mirror is cleansed andpurified by desisting from lust and emulating the prophets in all their states. /hus

to whate"er e0tent the heart is cleansed and made to face the truth, to that samee0tent will reflect His reality. 6ut there is no way to this e0cept through discipline%which will be discussed in its proper places', learning, and instruction.

/hese sciences are not recorded in boo s and are not discussed by him whom Allah has blessed with any of them e0cept among his own circle of intimates whoparta e with him of them through discourses and secret communication. /his lastmethod is nothing but the occult science, which the &rophet had in mind when hesaid# $Indeed of nowledge is a branch that resembles a hidden thing# no onegrasps it e0cept those who now Allah# whene"er they declare it no one fails torecognize it e0cept those who do not now Allah. 8espise not, therefore, alearned man whom Allah has blessed with this nowledge because Allah Himselfdoes not despise that man once He has imparted to him that nowledge.(

/he second part, namely, the science of practical religion, is the science of thestates of the heart, of, which the praiseworthy are fortitude, gratitude, fear, hope,resignation, de"otion, piety, contentment, generosity, recognition of one1sobligation to Allah under all circumstances, charity, good faith, morality,fellowship, truthfulness and sincerity. /o now the truth concerning these states


23/50

as well as their definitions and the means whereby they are attained, togetherwith their fruits and signs, and tending whate"er state has been wea ened until itbecomes strong again and whate"er has disappeared until it reappears, belongsto the science of the Hereafter. 5n the other hand, the blameworthy, such as thefear of po"erty, discontent with one1s lot, bitterness, such, rancour, en"y, deceit,

ambition, the desire to be praised, the passion to li"e long in this life for the sa eof indulgence, pride, hypocrisy, anger, scorn, enmity, hatred, greed,niggardliness, lust, e0tra"agance, fri"olity, insolence, e0alting the rich anddespising the poor, haughtiness, "anity, "aunting, boasting, holding oneselfabo"e truth, meddling in things not of one1s concern, lo2uacity, obstinacy,currying fa"or, adulation, conceit, being occupied with other people1sshortcomings, the "anishing of grief from the heart and the departure of fear of

Allah from it, e0treme self pity whene"er in affliction, lu ewarm support for truth,outwardly professing friendship and secretly fostering enmity, ta ing ad"antageof the patience of Allah and long suffering and persisting in ta ing away %frompeople' what Allah has gi"en them, trusting only in obedience, tric ery,

dishonesty and fraud, %"ain' optimism, cruelty, rudeness, satisfaction in worldlypleasures and de ection at their loss, delight in the company of people andloneliness when they depart, harshness, le"ity, haste, lac of shame and lac ofmercy > these and many similar 2ualities of the heart are the seed beds ofimmoralities and the nursery gardens of turpitudes.

/he opposite of these, namely the praiseworthy traits, are the fountainhead of allgood wor s. /o now the definitions of these traits, the truth concerning each, themeans whereby they are attained as well as their fruits and cures comprises thesciences of the Hereafter whose ac2uisition, according to the legal opinion of thelearned men of that science is fard ayn. Whoe"er should turn away from this

nowledge, would, in the Hereafter, be destroyed by the wrath of the )ing of)ings, ust as he who fail to perform the ci"il duties would, according to the legalopinion of the urists of this world, be cut down by the sword of the temporalrulers of this world. /he udgment of the urists concerning obligatory ordinances%furud ayn' relates to the welfare of the life in this world, while the udgment of thelearned men of the science of the Hereafter relates to the welfare of life in theHereafter. /hus if a urist were as ed concerning the meaning of any of theseterms, as for e0ample# sincerity, or dependence, or precaution against hypocrisy,he would hesitate to e0press an opinion although e"ery one of these is anobligatory ordinance in whose neglect lies his own destruction in the Hereafter.6ut should you in2uire from him concerning the li1an form of di"orce or the ziharform, or concerning wager %saba2' and target shooting he would recite to you"olumes of minute details, which would ne"er be used or needed: and in thee"ent a need might arise for some of them the community would not lac forsomeone who could render this ser"ice and spare the urist the trouble and laborof his studies. He thus persists laboring day and night on these details tying tomemorize and learn them, but the things, which are of real importance in religion,he o"erloo s. 4hould he, then, be 2uestioned about it, he would say that he hadpursued it because it was the science of religion and also a collecti"e duty,


24/50

confusing thereby, himself and others by these e0cuses. /he intelligent personnows that if, in performing the collecti"e duty, the aim of the urist has been to

do the right thing, he should ha"e gi"en precedence to the fard ayn and tose"eral others of the collecti"e duty. How many a town has no physician e0ceptfrom among the followers of protected religions %dhimmah' whose testimony,

according to the laws of urisprudence, especially in contro"ersy and polemics.


25/50

4hould you say# $Why did you in your classification of the sciences ma e nomention of theology and philosophy and not show whether they are blameworthyor praiseworthyD( /hey now all that theology offers in the way of usefule"idence is contained in the )oran and 4unnah %traditions'. Whate"er e"idenceis not contained therein is either reprehensible argumentation %which, as will be

seen, is an inno"ation', or mere wrangling by dwelling on distinctions oramplification through the array of different opinions, most of, which are dri"el andnonsense, despised by the mind and re ected by the ears, while others arerumbling into things unrelated to 3eligion and not customary during the firstperiod of Islam. /o enter into such discussions at all was then regarded heresy,but things ha"e now changed. Inno"ations, which turn people from the dictates ofthe )oran and the tradition ha"e arisen and a group has emerged who madeimitations of the 6oo and the Hadith and based upon it false speculation, so thatcertain dangerous things ha"e necessarily become permissible: they ha"e e"enbecome as binding as the collecti"e duty. /o such an e0tent would an inno"atorgo whene"er he purposes to preach a heresy.

As to philosophy, it is not in itself a single branch of science but comprises four#

/he first# /his includes geometry and arithmetic, both of, which are, as hasalready been said, permissible and no one is barred from them e0cept the personwho might be held by their study to blameworthy sciences, for most of those whopractice them ha"e stepped o"er to inno"ations. /hus the wea are barred fromthe study of geometry and arithmetic ust as the boy is barred from the ban ofthe ri"er lest he should fall into the water, and as the newly con"erted Muslim is

ept away from company of unbelie"ers for fear he might be influenced by them.In this last case not e"en the strong is called upon to mi0 with the unbelie"ers.

/he second# /his is logic, which is the study of the nature of e"idence and itsconditions as well as the nature of a definition and its conditions. 6oth of theseare included under theology.

/he third# /his is 8i"inity, which is the science of the begin and attributes of Allah. /his is also included under theology.


26/50

researches of physicians, e0cept the physician studies the human body,particularly the cause of its diseases and cure, while the physicists study allsubstances from the standpoint of change and motion.

Medicine howe"er, is superior to physics because the former is needed while the

latter is not needed.

Th% Vi tu%s !( th% S#h!la s !( Islami# :u is8 u"%n#%

/he urists who are the spo esmen of the science of urisprudence and theleaders of men, namely, those whose school claims the greatest following, arefi"e#

Al 4hafi1i, Mali , Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Abu Hanifah and 4ufyan Al /hawri, %may Allah ha"e mercy upon them' each one of them was a worshiper of Allah, anascetic, a learned man "ersed in the science of the Hereafter, a urist well

informed in the affairs of men in this world, and a de"otee to the nowledge ofthe


27/50

4hafi1I 7 may Allah ha"e mercy upon him 7 said# $If you fear the people praisingyour goods deeds, then see the pleasure of Allah and the reward you desire,the punishment you fear and the strength you would be grateful for, and the trialyou would remember, so when you thin about any one of these you would seehow small your deeds really are.(

/hat through urisprudence in particular, and debates centering around the samesub ect in general, Al 4hafi1i had sought nothing but the face of Allah is re"ealedby the following, which it has been reported that he said# $I had hoped that menwould benefit by this science and that none of the benefits would be attributed tome.( It can be seen how he realized what a curse it was to see nowledge inorder to obtain prestige and how he had been completely abo"e suchconsiderations.

As to Al Imam Mali 7 may Allah be pleased with him 7 he was too adorned withthose fi"e characteristics. It is reported that he was once as ed, $5 Mali , what

do you say of see ing nowledgeD( He replied# $It is fair and beautiful, but findwhat you need from the time you open your eyes in the morning to the time youclose them in the e"ening and confine yourself to it.( He was so emphatic ine0alting the science of religion that whene"er he sat down to discourse ontradition, he would first perform his ablutions, sit on his bed, comb his hair,perfume himself, settle down with stateliness and dignity, and then proceed withthe discourse. When as ed about it, he answered# $I li e to e0alt the traditions ofthe Messenger of Allah.(

With regard to his asceticism, it is attested by the report that al Mahdi the princeof the belie"ers, had once as ed Mali saying# $Ha"e you any home of your

ownD( Mali replied# $JoO 6ut listen and I shall relate to you. I heard 3abiah ibnabi Abd al 3ahman say, ;Man1s home is his ancestry1.( At another time al 3ashidas ed him the same 2uestion and on his answering, $Jo.( /he !aliph ga"e himthree thousand 8inars and said# $Go buy with this a home.( Mali too the moneybut did not spend it. When later al 3ashid was preparing to return to 6aghdad hesaid to Mali # $ ou should come along with us because we ha"e decided to ma ethe people follow the Muwatta %Mali 1s tradition' as =thman made the peoplefollow the )oran.( Mali replied# $/here is no way to ma e the people follow theMuwatta because of the death of the Messenger of Allah praise and peace beupon him, his !ompanions were dispersed around the different countries and ineach place they related the traditions, %which they new' and conse2uentlyamong the people of each indi"idual country different Hadiths pre"ail.


28/50

if you wish you may lea"e them. 8oes this mean that you re2uire me to lea"e AlMadinah in return for what you ha"e gi"en meD )now that I prefer nothing to the!ity of the Messenger of Allah, not e"en the whole world.(

/hat through his nowledge he sought the face of Allah and that he despised this

world are attested by the following report. He said# $5nce upon a time as Ientered upon Harun al 3ashid, the !aliph told me, ;5 Abu Abd AllahO ou shouldfre2uent our place so that our sons may learn from you the Muwatta.1 /o, which Ireplied# $May Allah e0alt my lord the princeO ou my lord are the source of this

nowledge. If you honor it, it will be e0alted, and if you dishonor it, it will bedespised.


29/50

Hasan ibn Nahtabah arri"ed with the money and appeared before Abu Hanifah,but the latter would not spea to him. /hen some of those present e0plained to AlHasan that it was Abu Hanifah1s custom to act li e that. /hereupon Al Hasanordered that the bag containing the money be placed in one of the corners of thehouse, and left. Abu Hanifah then willed the contents of his house and told his

son that, upon his death, his son should ta e the bag, which contained themoney to Al Hasan ibn Natabah and tell him to ta e bac his money, which hehad deposited with Abu Hanifah. When his son deli"ered the money to Al Hasan,the latter e0claimed# $May the mercy of Allah be upon your father, indeed he hasbeen zealous o"er his religion.(

It was also related that Abu Hanifah had also been in"ited to fill the position ofchief udge but he declined saying# $I am not 2ualified for this post.( As ed whyhe thought so, he replied, $If I were to be honest %about it I would now and saythat' I am not 2ualified for the ob: if on the other hand I were to lie, I might say Iwas 2ualified: but a liar is not fit for the udgeship.(

Abu Hanifah1s nowledge of the things of the Hereafter and his concern with theweighty matters of religion as well as nowing Allah are attested to by his deepfear of Allah and by his ascetism. In this connection Ibn uray had said# $It wasreported to me that this )ufian friend of yours, Al Juman ibn /habit, fears Allah"ery much.( 4hari al Ja ha had said that Abu Hanifah spent long spells insilence and contemplation and con"ersed little with men. /hese are among theclearest signs of inward nowledge and the concern with the weighty matters ofreligion, because whoe"er has been blessed with silence and ascetism wouldrecei"e all nowledge as well.

/he "irtues of Abu Hanifah are, howe"er, too many to be numbered. Had he notbeen characterized by perse"erance in self mortification, and had he not dippedinto the sea of contemplationD Had he not throughout a period of forty yearsperformed his morning prayer %ha"ing spent all night in continual prayer' on thebasis of the e"ening ablutionsD Had he not, also, performed the pilgrimage fiftyfi"e timesD

/his is but a small part of the li"es of these three Imams. As to Ahmad ibnHanbal and 4ufyan al /hawri, their followers are not as many as those of thethree other Imams, and of the two, the followers of 4ufyan are the lessnumerous. Je"ertheles, of the fi"e, Ahmad and 4ufyan were the best nown forpiety and ascetism. 4ince this boo is, howe"er, full of the account of their worand words, there is no need to ta e up their li"es in detail at this moment.


30/50

following the e0ample of these Imams and find out for yourself whether theirclaim is true or false.

Cha8t% Th %%

On what is popularl% considered to !e a part of the science of religion, !utis *reall% not

Including a discussion of the circumstances under, which some of the scienceswould be blameworthy: and on the e0position of how the names of certainsciences, urisprudence, the science of religion, theology, admonition, andphilosophy, ha"e been changed, as well as on showing how much of sacred

nowledge is praiseworthy and how much is blameworthy.

6e ad"ised then that nowledge is not held to be blameworthy in itself. It is onlyregarded as such in the eyes of men for one of three reasons.


31/50


32/50

the urgent e0pectation of bliss in the Hereafter, and the domination of fear o"erthe heart. /his is indicated by the words of Allah when He said#$Ba party from each section should go forth to become well "ersed in thereligion, and when they return to their people warn them in order that they maybeware.( )oran !h. + "erse@EE.

urisprudence is, therefore, that, which brings about such a warning and suchfear rather than details of ordinary di"orce or di"orcee through li1an, ormanumission %ata2', salam contracts, and hire, rental, and lease %i arah', whichproduce neither warning nor fear. 5n the contrary, to de"ote oneself e0clusi"elyto these things hardens the heart and remo"es from it all fear, which is e0actlywhat we see now in those who ha"e so de"oted themsel"es. Allah thus said#$B/hey ha"e hearts, with which they cannot understand:( )oran !h. "erse@ +. ha"ing had in mind the meaning of belief, not of legal opinions.

/he &rophet, praise and peace be upon him, said# $4hall I tell you who is the

profoundly discerning manD( /hey answered# $ es.( /hereupon he said: $/heprofoundly discerning man is he who has not induced people to despair of theMercy of Allah: nor made them feel safe %rather than urge them to repent' duringthe period of respite, which Allah, out of patience, gi"es to man ind, nor madethem lose hope in the spirit of Allah: nor discarded the )oran in fa"or ofsomething else.(

/he second term to ha"e been altered is the science of religion %al7ilm', whichused to be applied to the nowledge of Allah, His miracles, and His wor s amongHis ser"ants and creatures. When, therefore, the !aliph =mar died, Ibn Musude0claimed# $Indeed nine tenths of the science of religion %al7ilm' has passed

away.( He thus designated this nowledge as the science, using the definitearticles, and then e0plained it as the nowledge of Allah. et people used theterm freely and altered its meaning by restriction until it became more commonlyapplied to those who debate cases of urisprudence and the li e with ad"ersariesand are dubbed learned in the truth, "ersatile in nowledge.

/he third term %to suffer alteration' was theology %tawhid', which has nowbecome e2ui"alent to scholastic theology %sina1at al7 alam', the nowledge of themethods of argumentation, the manner of confounding ad"ersaries, and theability to be diffuse in speech by means of as ing too many 2uestions, raisingdoubts, and formulating re2uisites, to an e0tent that some of those groups ha"egone so far as to call themsel"es ;/he &eople of 92uity and 5neness1 %ahl al7adlw7al7tawhid' while the scholastic theologians were called the learned men ofreligion although nothing of the tenets of men of religion although nothing of thetents of their profession was nown during the early period of Islam. 5n thecontrary %the learned men at the time' condemned "ery strongly anyone whowould ta e to disputation and contention.


33/50

As to the e"ident proofs, which the mind accepts immediately on hearing and,which are contained in the )oran, they ha"e been nown to all. )nowledge of the)oran was all nowledge while theology %tawhid' signified something else, whichwas beyond the comprehension of most scholastic theologians, and, which,when they comprehended it, they were not called after its name. /heology was

then the belief that all things come from Allah, a belief, which ruled out allintermediary causes %al7asbab w7al7wasa1it'. 6oth good and e"il would then beseen as coming from Allah.

/heology %tawhid' is, therefore, li e a precious fruit, which is encased in twosuccessi"e hus s. %5b"iously' the outer hus is farther from the pith than theinner hus . &eople ha"e thus applied the term %theology' e0clusi"ely to thehus s, which encase the pith, as well as the t heir protection, and ha"e entirelyignored the pith itself. /he out hus represents the "erbal profession that there isno god e0cept Allah, which profession is called monotheism in contradistinctionto the /rinitarianism the !hristians profess. 4uch a profession, howe"er, may

come from the lips of a hypocrite whose secret thoughts contradict his opendeclaration. /he inner hus represents the state wherein the heart neitheropposes nor denies the e0press meaning of this statement, but rather theoutward e0pression of the heart represents its belief and acceptance of thatbelief. /his is the monotheism, which the common fol profess.

/he third part is the pith itself. It represents the belief that all things come from Allah, a belief, which rules out any consideration of instrumentalities and impliesworshiping Him and no other thing besides Him.

/he fourth term to be altered was the science of in"ocation %dih r' and

admonition %tadh ir'. Allah said# $6ut remind, the 3eminder will benefit thebelie"ers.( )oran !h. *@ "erse **.

4e"eral traditions commending the assemblies of in"ocation %dih r' ha"e beenpassed down to use, as, for instance, the words of the &rophet, praise and peacebe upon him, when he said: $When you pass by the gardens of &aradise, stopand en oy yoursel"es.( 5n being as ed what the gardens of &aradise were, hereplied, $/he assemblies of in"ocation.( And again in the following tradition#;indeed, other than the guardian angels, Allah has roaming angels %sayyahan'who roam the earth loo ing for the assemblies of in"ocation %dih r'. 5n locatingan assembly they bec on one another saying# ;!ome to your goal.1 /hen theroaming angels gather around these assemblies and hear the words# ;5 youremember Allah and gi"e warning to one another.1 /he practice has been alteredin fa"or of story telling, recital of poems, ecstatic utterances %shath' and heresies%tammat', the things, which contemporary preachers persist in doing.

As to story telling, it is an inno"ation: in fact our fathers ha"e warner againstattending the circles of story tellers saying that it was not the custom either at the


34/50

time of the Messenger of Allah or the times of Abu 6a r and =mar. It was notuntil the appearance of heresy that they made their appearance.

=nfortunately, howe"er, those who are in the habit of embellishing their speechwith lies ha"e ta en these traditions as means of ustification for themsel"es and

ha"e appropriated the name warning %tadh ir' for their fables thus forgetting theright path of praiseworthy in"ocation %dih r' and spending their time in recountingtales, which are sub ect to "ariations, accretions, and deletions, and, whichde"iate from the stories, which occur in the )oran and go beyond them. 4ome ofthe tales are good to hear while others are harmful in spite of the fact that theymay be true. Whoe"er would go after this practice would no longer be able todistinguish truth from lies and what is good from that, which is harmful.

As to poetry, its generous use in sermons is blameworthy. Allah said# $&oets arefollowed by the per"erse. Ha"e you not seen how they wander in e"ery "alleyB ()oran !h. E "erses EE 7EE*.

And Allah 1igh Exalted said$We ha"e not taught him %&rophet Muhammad' poetry, nor does it become him.()oran !h. ? "erse +.


35/50

author who utters them because of the perple0ity in his own mind and theconfusion in his imagination resulting from his ignorance of the e0act meaning ofthe words, which he hears: while the seconds represents words, which may beintelligible to their author who, howe"er, because of his insufficient practice inscience and his lac of instruction in rhetoric, is unable to con"ey them to others

through language, which can e0press his thoughts.

As to heresies %tammat', they comprise, besides what we ha"e alreadymentioned under the ecstatic utterances %shath', another thing characteristic ofthem, namely, the dismissal of the ob"ious and literal meaning of words in fa"orof an esoteric interpretation of worthless "alue such as the 6atinite method ofinterpretation, which is unlawful and of great harm.

An e0ample of the interpretations put forward by those heretics may be seen inthe assertion of one of them that in the "erse where Allah addresses Mosessaying# $Go to &haraoh, he has become e0ceedingly insolent( %)oran + "erse

@ ' the word &haraoh stands for the heart of Moses, the heart being thetrespasser against e"ery man. Again when Allah said to Moses# $!ast down yourstaff.( %)oran E "erse @ ', the word staff is asserted to represent anythingbesides Allah on, which man may depend %and in, which he may place his trust',and should therefore be cast away.

/he fifth term to ha"e been altered is wisdom %hi mah', since we see that it hasnow become customary to apply the word wise %ha im' e2ually to the physician,the poet, the astrologer, and e"en to the one who reads fortunes for the peasantswho s2uat on the street corners. Wisdom, howe"er, is that, which Allahcommended when he said#

$He gi"es wisdom to whom He will, and he who is gi"en wisdom has been gi"ena lot of good.( )oran !h. E "erse E +.

/he &rophet, praise and peace be upon him, also said# $A word of wisdom, whichman learns is better to him that the world and all that is in it.( We see, therefore,what wisdom stood for and to what it has been altered, and e0amine, in the sameway, the other terms. 6eware, then, of being decei"ed by the ambiguities of theteachers of falsehood# their e"il influence upon religion is greater than that ofsatan.

)etermining 1ow 2uch is #raiseworth% *to ac(uire of the #raiseworth%0ciences

5ne should now that, in this respect, science is di"ided into three parts. 5nepart is that whose nowledge is blameworthy whether it be in part or as a whole.

Another is that whose partial as well as total nowledge is praiseworthy: in factthe more one ac2uires of it, the better. /hird is that whose nowledge is


36/50

praiseworthy within a certain limit, that of sufficiency, but beyond that it ceases tothe praiseworthy.

/he part whose partial and total nowledge is blameworthy is that, which has nouse either in the realm of religion or in the domain of life because its harmfulness

e0ceeds its utility, such as the science of magic, talismans and astrology.

/he part whose nowledge, e"en to the limit of thoroughness, is praiseworthy isthe science of nowing Allah, His attributes and wor s as well as His Law, whichgo"erns His creatures and His Wisdom in ordaining the superiority of theHereafter to this life. /he nowledge of this is incumbent upon man ind both foritself and also for attaining thereby the bliss of the Hereafter.

/he sciences whose nowledge is praiseworthy up to a certain limit are those,which we ha"e already mentioned under the sciences the ac2uisition of whose

nowledge is a collecti"e duty. 9"ery one of these sciences has three stages:

first limitation %i2tisar', which stage is the primary, second moderation %i2tisad',which is the intermediary, and third thoroughness %isti2si', which is a se2uel tomoderation and, which goes on and on during the life of the see er. 6e,therefore, on of two, either one who educates himself, or one who concernshimself with the education of others after he has educated himself. Je"er,howe"er, concern yourself with reforming others before you ha"e first reformedyourself.

/he one who would spend himself in pursuing what would reform others %whilehe himself remains unredeemed' is insolent, and how utterly foolish is the manwho, when sna es and scorpions ha"e crept beneath his clothes, is busy loo ing

for a whis with which to dri"e the flies off from other people, a tas , which willneither spare nor sa"e him from the attac s of the sna es and scorpions lur ingbeneath his clothes.

Cha8t% F!u

On the 3easons, which induced men to pursue the 0cience of #olemicsand on 3evealing the Evils of )e!ate and )isputation as well as 0tating theConditions, which 3ender Them #ermissi!le-

After the death of the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, thecaliphate was occupied by the orthodo0 and guided caliphs who were Imams ofrighteousness, learned in the science of Allah, His essence and His attributes,"ersed in His statues, and independent in handing down their legal opinions anddecisions. In this they did not see the aid of urists e0cept in "ery rare cases in,which consultation was indispensable. /hey de"oted themsel"es to the scienceof the Hereafter and used to refer legal 2uestions and all that pertains to human


37/50

affairs in this world to one another and with their eenest effort, as the accountsof their li"es re"eal, they followed after Allah.

When at their death, the caliphate passed to those who occupied it without eithermerit or independence in legal opinion and decisions, the caliphs were compelled

to see the aid of urists and to attach them to themsel"es on all occasions inorder to consult with them on the manner of their udicial decisions. A few learnedfollowers %tabi1un', who continued to emulate the orthodo0 caliphs and persistedin conforming to the dictates of religion, and in following the way of righteous


38/50

We shall now allude to the ma or e"ils, which are en indled by debate. 5f thesewe may enumerate the following.

5ne is en"y. /he &rophet, praise and peace be upon him, said# $As fire

consumes wood so does en"y consume goods deeds.( /he debater persists inen"y because at times he o"ercomes his ad"ersary and at other times he himselfis o"ercome: at times his words are praised and at other times those of hisopponent are applauded: and as long as there remains in all the world one

nown among men for his "ersatile nowledge and regarded by them morelearned than the debater and endowed with eener insight, the debater willine"itably en"y him and wish that the fa"ors and admiration, which that manen oys might accrue to him instead.

9n"y is a consuming fire: its "ictim is sub ect to torment in this world while in theworld to come his tortures will be more intense and painful.


39/50

his dead brotherDB( %)oran !h. + "erse @E'. /he debater persists in $eatingcarrion( and is continually referring to the words of his opponent and traducinghim. 6ecause he endea"ors to be right in what he says about his opponent, heine"itably cites only what shows the wea nesses of his opponent1s argument andthe flaws in his e0cellence. 5f such is traducing and bac biting, while lying is

sheer calumny.

/he debater, moreo"er, cannot eep his tongue from attac ing the honor ofanyone who turns away from him and listens to his opponent. He would e"enascribe to him ignorance, foolishness, lac of understanding and stupidity.

Another is self7 ustification. Allah said# $8o not praise yourself. Allah nows thecautious.( )oran !h. *? "erse ?E

A certain wise man once was as ed# $What truth is reprehensibleD( He replied#$A man1s praising himself %e"en though it is ustified'.( A debater is ne"er free

from praising himself %and boasting' of his power, triumph, and e0cellence o"erhis peers. In the course of a debate he would repeatedly say# $I am fully aware ofall such things,( and $I am "ersatile in sciences, of independent udgment in2uestions of law, and well "ersed in the nowledge of tradition,( and many otherassertions besides with which he would sing his own praise, sometimes out ofsheer arrogance and at other times out of need to render his words con"incing. Itis well nown that arrogance and self pride are by law and reason condemned.

Another is spying and prying into a person1s pri"ate affairs. Allah said# $JeitherspyB( )oran !h. + "erse @E.

/he debater always see s to unco"er the errors of his peers and continually priesinto the pri"ate affairs of his opponents. He would, when informed of the arri"al intown of another debater, see someone who could re"eal the inside story of theman and would by means of a 2uestionnaire attempt to bare his "ices in order toe0pose and disgrace him whene"er the need should arise. He e"en wouldin2uire about the affairs of his early life and the blemishes of his body in the hopeof disco"ering some defect or disfigurement such as scalp pustule and the li e.4hould he fear defeat at the hands of his opponent, he would, in the course ofthe debate, allude to these blemishes, especially if his opponent should remainfirm and stand his ground, and would not refrain from being outspo en if he weregi"en to insolence and scorn.

Another is to re oice at the in ury of others and feel depressed when they areglad. Anyone who does not desire for his brother Muslim what he desires forhimself is far remo"ed from the way of the belie"ers. /hus he who prides himselfby parading his e0cellence is ine"itably pleased at the in ury of his peers ande2uals who "ie with him for glory. /he hatred, which e0ists between them is li ethat, which e0ists between fellow wi"es. ust as the one wife would tremble andturn pale at the sight of her fellow wife so would a debater at the sight of another:


40/50

his color would change and his mind become perple0ed as though he had seen amighty de"il or a hungry lion.

Another is deception, the e"idence of whose blameworthiness %is well nown'and need not be enumerated. 8ebaters are compelled to deception because

when they meet their opponents, friends, or followers, they find it necessary toendear themsel"es to them by saying nice things, which they do not mean, byfeigning to ha"e been an0ious to meet them, and by pretending to be impressedby their station and position, while e"eryone present as well as the spea ers andthose to whom they ha"e spo en now that the whole thing is untrue, false,fraudulent, and wic ed. /hey profess their lo"e with their tongues while theirhearts seethe with hate.


41/50

at the present time. /hey include snobbishness, anger, hatred, greed, the desireto see money and power in order to attain triumph, boasting, gaiety, arrogance,e0alting the wealthy and those in authority as well as fre2uenting their places andparta ing of their unlawful riches, parading with horses, state coaches, andoutlawed garments, showing contempt to people by being "ain and ostentatious,

meddling in the affairs of others, tal ati"eness, the disappearance of awe, fearand mercy from the heart, absentmindedness to an e0tent that the worshiperwould no longer be aware of what he prayed, or read, or who had communedwith him during the prayer.

Cha8t% Fi9%

On the #roprieties of the 0tudent and the Teacher

/he formal proprieties and duties of the student are many but may be classifiedunder ten headings.

/he first duty of the student is to purify his soul from impure traits andblameworthy characteristics because nowledge is the worship of man1s heart aswell as the prayer of his inmost self %sirr' and the oblation of his inward beingbefore Allah. ust as prayer, which is the duty of the physical senses, is notfulfilled unless the physical body has been purified from e0crements andimpurities, so is the worship of the inward being as well as the reformation of theheart# they are not fulfilled through nowledge unless they first be cleansed fromimpurities and uncleanliness.

/he second duty of the student is to reduce %to a minimum' his ties with the

affairs of the world and lea"e his in and country because such ties occupy one1stime and di"ert one1s attention.


42/50

secular sciences or in the sciences of the Hereafter, because they would confuseand perple0 his mind, cool his enthusiasm and cause him to despair of e"ercomprehending or learning anything. 3ather he should first master the one andonly praiseworthy way, which is satisfactory to his teacher and then attend to theother schools of thought and 2uestionable ideas. He should be on the loo out to

see if his teacher is not capable of reaching independent opinions but is in thehabit of repeating the opinions of the different schools and the comments, whichha"e been made concerning them, because the influence of such a teacher ismore misleading that it is helpful. 5ne blind is not fit lead the blind and guidethem.

/he fifth duty is that the see er after nowledge should not allow any branch orind of praiseworthy nowledge to escape him without carefully e0amining it in

order to become familiar with its aims and purposes, and should time permit, heshould ta e it up in detail: otherwise he should address himself to and master themost important, while ac2uainting himself with the rest, because the different

branches of nowledge are both supplementary to one another and closelyinterrelated.

/he si0th duty is that the student should not address himself at the same time toe"ery branch of nowledge, but should rather obser"e some ind of order andbegin with the most important, especially since life is ordinarily too short toenable a person to pursue all branches of nowledge. It is therefore wise toac2uire the best of e"erything, satisfying oneself, so to spea , with the meretasting of it while directing whate"er power one has left, after ha"ing obtained alla"ailable nowledge, towards mastering that noblest of all sciences, the scienceof the Hereafter.

/he se"enth duty is that no one should address himself to one branch ofnowledge before he has already mastered the branch, which precedes it

because science is of necessity so arranged that one branch prepares foranother and one branch leads to another. 5nly the person who would obser"ethis order would succeed.

/he eighth duty is to now how to ascertain the noble nature of this or the otherscience. 6y this is meant two things: the nobility of its fruit and the authenticity ofits principles. /a e for e0ample the science of religion and that of medicine. /hefruit of the one is eternal life and the fruit of the other is the physical life:conse2uently the science of religion is the nobler: or again the science ofarithmetic and astrology: the former is the nobler because of the firmer and moreauthentic foundations of its principles. If on the other hand arithmetic should becompared with medicine the latter would be the nobler with respect to its fruitwhile with respect to its principles arithmetic would be the nobler. /he fruit,howe"er, has the priority.


43/50

/he ninth duty is that the student1s purpose should, at the time, be the adornmentand beautification of his inner self with "irtue, and at the end, nearness to Allahand ascent to the neighborhood of the hea"enly hosts, the angels and thecherubim. His aim should not be the attainment of authority or influence norcontention with foolish men and boasting before his peers. 6ut is his aim was %to

draw near to Allah' he would ine"itably see that, which was closed to it, namely,the science of the Hereafter. Je"ertheless he should not loo with contemptupon the other sciences such as the sciences of urisprudence, the sciences ofsynta0 and grammar, which are connected with the )oran and the 4unnah, andother sciences li e those already mentioned in connection with the au0iliary andsupplementary sciences discussed under those sciences the ac2uisition of,which is a fard ifayah %collecti"e duty'.

5ne should not, howe"er, gather from our enthusiastic praise of the science ofthe Hereafter that we see to disparage the other sciences. 5n the contrarythose who ha"e underta en to study them are li e those who ha"e underta en to

guard the outpost of Islam where they are encamped, or li e the con2uerors whoare warring in the cause of Allah. 5f them some are acti"e fighters, others are onthe reser"e, others are in charge of the water supply, while others loo after themounts: but all will recei"e their reward if their aim is the glory of the word of

Allah rather than the possession of spoils. Allah said#

$BAllah will raise up in ran s those who belie"ed among you and those whoha"e been gi"en nowledgeB( )oran !h. * "erse@@.

And again referring to those who ha"e followed His good pleasure#$/hey are in ran s with AllahB( )oran !h. ? "erse@ ?.

Firtue is relati"e and our scorn for the money7changers when we compare themwith royalty does not mean that they are contemptible when compared with thestreet cleaners. 8o not thin , therefore, that whate"er falls short of the highestran s is worthless. 6ecause the highest ran belongs to the prophets, followedby that of the awlia %those close to Allah', then that of the learned men who arewell "ersed in nowledge, and finally the righteous according to their ran s. Inshort#

$Whosoe"er has done an atom1s weight of good shall see it, and whosoe"er hasdone an atom1s weight of e"il shall see it.( )oran !h. ++ "erses 7 .

Whosoe"er will see Allah through nowledge, no matter what ind, he is sure toprofit and ad"ance.

/he tenth duty of the student is that he should now the relation of the differentsciences to the goal so that he might not attach more importance to close by,inconse2uential matters than to remote but more important things.


44/50

Th% Duti%s !( th% T%a#h%

/he first duty of the teacher is to be sympathetic to students and treat them ashis own children. /he &rophet, praise and peace be upon him, said# $I am to youli e a father who desires to sa"e his child from the fires of Hell, which is more

important than any of the efforts of parents to sa"e their children from the fires ofthe earth.(


45/50

/he si0th duty of the teacher is that he should limit the student to what the latteris able to understand and should not re2uire of him anything, which his mindcannot grasp for fear that he would de"elop a feeling of disli e for the sub ect,and his mind would become confused. In this the teacher should follow thee0ample of the &rophet, praise and peace be upon him, who said# $We prophets

ha"e been commanded to gi"e e"ery man his rightful place and to communicatewith e"eryone according to his own ability to understand.(

/he se"enth duty is that the teacher should gi"e his bac ward students only suchthings as are clear and suitable to their %limited understanding' and should notmention to them anything about the details that are apt to follow but, which hedeems fitting for the present to withhold. 4uch a course would discourage thestudents and ma e their interest e"en in easy sub ects lu ewarm, perple0 themin their minds and ma e them thin that the real reason for the teacher1sreluctance to impart to those details is his illiberality, especially becausee"eryone usually belie"es himself capable of mastering e"ery science no matter

how comple0. /hus there is no one who is not satisfied with Allah for the perfectmind He ga"e him. 9"en the most foolish and feeble minded among men isusually the most pleased with the perfection of his mind.

/he eight duty is that the teacher must practice what he teaches and notallow his wor s to contradict his word. /he relation of the guide to those whosee his guidance is li e the relation of the stamp to the clay and li e that of theshadow of the cane to the cane itself. How then could the clay be stamped with astamp that bears no character and how could the shadow of the cane be straightif the cane itself were croo edD /he following con"eys the same meaning#

If you condemn a sin and then commit the same transgression, shameupon your head.

Cha8t% Si;

On the Evils of Knowledge and on )etermining the )istinguishing +eaturesof the Learned of the 1ereafter and those of the Teachers of +alsehood

It is "ery important to ascertain what distinguishes the learned of this worldfrom the learned of the Hereafter. 6y those learned of this world we mean theteachers of falsehood whose sole purpose in pursuing nowledge is to en oy thelu0uries of this life and to achie"e power and position among its people. /he&rophet said# $/he most se"erely punished of all man ind on the day of3esurrection will be the learned one whom Allah has not blessed with His

nowledge. He also said# $8o not ac2uire nowledge in order to "ie with thelearned, dispute with and silence the insolent, and win fa"or and popularityamong men, for whosoe"er would do this would be doomed to Hell


46/50

said# $How can you lead the night tra"elers along the way when you yoursel"esare perple0edD(

We find in history the same e"idence. =mar said# $/he thing I fear most forthe safety of this nation is the learned hypocrite.( =mar was then as ed how one

could be both learned and hypocritical, to, which he replied# $When his learningdoes not go beyond "erbal nowledge while his heart remains untouched and hiswor s %betray no wisdom'.(

4ufyan Al /hawri said# $)nowledge summons wor s and unless theyrespond, it departs.( Ibn al Mubara said# $As long as a person continues to see

nowledge he remains learned, but the moment he thin s he has mastered allnowledge, he recedes into ignorance.(

Among the learned are those who would guard their nowledge anddisli e the idea of sharing it with others: these will occupy the first depth in Hell.

/here are others who are in the habit of regarding their nowledge as e2ui"alentto power and position: and if they are e"er contradicted or slighted they becomeinfuriated: these will occupy the second depth in Hell. 5thers confine their

nowledge to the circles of nobility and wealth and deem the poor classesunworthy of it: these will occupy the third depth in Hell. 5thers appointthemsel"es udges and hand down faulty opinions: these will occupy the fourthdepth in Hell. 5ther learned men employ in their discourses ewish and !hristianargument in order to ma e their erudition seem great: these will occupy the fifthdepth in Hell. 5thers regard their nowledge as something "irtuous andhonorable and continually dwell on it before men: these will occupy the si0thdepth in Hell. And finally there are the learned who are the "ictims of "anity and

conceit. Whene"er they preach they upbraid, and whene"er they areadmonished they show resentment: these will occupy the se"enth depth in Hell.

It has been related that ahya ibn azid al Jawfali once wrote to Mali ibn Anas saying#

$In the Jame of Allah, the Merciful, the Most Merciful.May His blessing be upon His Messenger Muhammad.


47/50

$In the Jame of Allah, the Merciful, the Most Merciful. May His blessing be uponMuhammad, His Messenger, and on His !ompanions.


48/50

$And We ha"e re"ealed to you %&rophet Muhammad' a spirit %the re"elation ofthe )oran' from 5ur 5rdinanceB..( )oran E "erse *E.

And again# $Is he who was dead whom We re"i"ed and gi"en a light with which

he wal s among people to be compared to him who blunders about in dar nessfrom, which he will ne"er emergeDB( )oran !h. "erse @EE.


49/50


50/50

/his disparity may also be the result of differences in the mastery of thenowledge, which re"eals the e"ils of the other appetites. /hus a physician may

be able to abstain from some of the harmful foods, while another man may failsimply because he lac s medical nowledge, although he may be the physician1s

peer in intellect and of the same belief in the harmful effects of those foods. Again, the more mature the physician1s intellect, the stronger will be his fear.Hence fear is an aid in the ser"ice of intellect, an instrument with which too"ercome and brea appetites. 4imilarly, the learned man is more capable ofrenouncing sin than the ignorant, because his nowledge of the e"ils of sin isgreater. I mean the true learned men and not those of the flowing robes who doteand ra"e and prattle of things they now little about.

alghazalisihya-book of knowledge

Documents