Imam Ghazali R.T.A
Imam Al-Ghazzali's Unique Contribution to Sufism
"If all the knowledge of the world were lost,
I could revive it with lhya-ul-Uloom."
---Abu Mohammed Quzrani
No writer on Sufism should forget to pay due tribute and homage to the distinguished role which Imam Al-Ghazzali of Iran played in the history of Islam and Sufism.
In the history of Islam, Imam Abul Hamid Al-Ghazzali of Iran is unanimously recognized as perhaps its greatest scholar, author, and foremost thinker. During the Middle Ages, his authority as interpreter of the Qur'anic verses in the light of his spiritual investigation of the underlying hidden wisdom of Qur'an was almost unsurpassed and unchallenged. His unique contribution to Islamic thought and behavior was the reconciling adjustment of his intuitive insight into the Qur'anic dicta with the Vedantic, Greek, Neo-Platonic and Buddhist metaphysical speculation and philosophies touching on mysticism.
Imam AI-Ghazzali's reputed work Keemie-e-Sa'adat(The Alchemy of Happiness) is a scholarly masterpiece, unparalleled on the esoteric experiences of Sufism. Apart from being a devoted scholar and orthodox theologian, he was a rationalist who dived deep into the mystical sea underlying the spirit of the Holy Qur'an. His most famous workIhya-ul-Uloom-ud-Din(The Revival of the Spiritual Sciences) is a treasury of Sufistic principles, practices and characteristics which are followed by all the great Sufi dervishes of the world.
"If all the knowledge of the world were lost,
I could revive it with lhya-ul-Uloom."
---Abu Mohammed Quzrani
No writer on Sufism should forget to pay due tribute and homage to the distinguished role which Imam Al-Ghazzali of Iran played in the history of Islam and Sufism.
In the history of Islam, Imam Abul Hamid Al-Ghazzali of Iran is unanimously recognized as perhaps its greatest scholar, author, and foremost thinker. During the Middle Ages, his authority as interpreter of the Qur'anic verses in the light of his spiritual investigation of the underlying hidden wisdom of Qur'an was almost unsurpassed and unchallenged. His unique contribution to Islamic thought and behavior was the reconciling adjustment of his intuitive insight into the Qur'anic dicta with the Vedantic, Greek, Neo-Platonic and Buddhist metaphysical speculation and philosophies touching on mysticism.
Imam AI-Ghazzali's reputed work Keemie-e-Sa'adat(The Alchemy of Happiness) is a scholarly masterpiece, unparalleled on the esoteric experiences of Sufism. Apart from being a devoted scholar and orthodox theologian, he was a rationalist who dived deep into the mystical sea underlying the spirit of the Holy Qur'an. His most famous workIhya-ul-Uloom-ud-Din(The Revival of the Spiritual Sciences) is a treasury of Sufistic principles, practices and characteristics which are followed by all the great Sufi dervishes of the world.
Let us now see what the great Imam has to say about the Sufistic path, in his candid and heartfelt Confessions of Al-Ghazzali:
"I saw that in order to understand Sufism thoroughly one must combine theory with practice. The aim which the Sufis set before them is as follows:
"I saw that in order to understand Sufism thoroughly one must combine theory with practice. The aim which the Sufis set before them is as follows:
-To free the soul from the tyrannical yoke of the passions,
-to deliver it from its wrong inclinations and evil instincts,
-in order that in the purified heart there should only remain room for Allah and for the invocation of His holy name.
I learnt from a sure source that the Sufis are the true pioneers on the path of God: that there is nothing more beautiful than their life, nor more praiseworthy than their rule of conduct, nor purer than their morality.
His indomitable will and devoted work earned him the title ofHujjat-ul-Islam(the proof of Islam) and the charges leveled against him that he did not follow the scriptures and canonical laws, that he accepted the rules of philosophy and followed them and thus lowered the dignity of ritual and canonical laws of Islam were all leveled to dust.
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