AL-GHAZALI'S MYSTICISM

Related Question:

Ø Critically examine Al-ghazali’s mysticism.

INTRODUCTION

                Al-ghazali can generally be described as a highly respected member of the society in his own time, who at a point in his lifetime, became fed up of the material gains of life. He thus abandoned all the wealth and pleasure to become a devout Sufi mystic and ascetic. Basically, Al-ghazali was an Islamic theologian, philosopher and mystic. Accordingly, this write-up seeks to give a critical evaluation of some of his mystical doctrines, which he came up with, during his ascetic days.

WHO IS 'AL-GHAZALI'

                Abu-Hamid Muhammad Al-ghazali was born in 1805 at Tus in Persia into a family of scholars and Mystics. Al-ghazali was orphaned at an early age and influenced by Sufi friends and relations. In 1077, Al-ghazali went to Nishapur and studied theology, philosophy and science at the 'Nizamiyah College'. Al-ghazali also practiced Sufi exercises. He taught philosophy and jurisprudence at the Nizamiyah College in 1091. He wrote the influential 'Intentions of the philosophers' and in the 'Incoherence of the philosophers', he criticized Materialists who rejected God, Naturalists who acknowledged God, but doubted the immortality of the soul, and even theists like Aristotle for accepting the eternity of the world, thus making it equal to God. In 1095, Al-ghazali faced a spiritual crisis in which he questioned his teaching work as motivated by the desire for an influential position and public recognition. At this point, Al-ghazali felt he was caught in a thicket of attachments and was dealing with unimportant things, instead of attaining eternal life. So, Al-ghazali left all and went to Damascus for two years, living in solitude and practicing spiritual exercises to cleanse his heart and improve his character, by constantly focusing on God. In 1106, Al-ghazali was persuaded by Nizam al-mulk's son to return to teaching at Nishapur. Al-ghazali believed that he was now calling people to a knowledge that gives up worldly influence for real worth. He wrote his spiritual books 'The Revival of the Religious Learnings', 'The Forty Principles of Religion' and 'The Alchemy of Happiness'. Shortly before he died in 1111, Al-ghazali returned to his native 'Tus', where he taught Sufism in a monastery. As one of Islam's greatest theologians and philosophers, Al-ghazali made Sufism more acceptable to many.

AL-GHAZALI'S MYSTICAL DOCTRINES

                Amongst the wide array of Al-ghazali's teachings, he has postulated doctrines on 'the relationship between God and the human soul' as well as 'the personality of God'. These particular ideas would be considered thus;

·                     ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GOD AND THE HUMAN SOUL

                Regarding Al-ghazali's teaching on the human soul and its relation to God, he maintains the following:-

I.      ON THE HUMAN SOUL

                The soul was pre-existent, before its attachment to a material body. The soul has something divine within it, and it is immortal. The philosophers called it 'the rational soul'. In the Quran, it is called 'the tranquillized soul' (al-nafs al-mutnata'inna) and 'the spirit which is of the air of God' (al-rich min ram rabbi). Sufis call it, the 'spirit' and the 'heart'; but all mean the same thing, which is, 'the real essence of man; that which differentiates him from the lower creation'. The soul is the glory of man and his excellence, whereby he surpasses all other creatures in being receptive of the knowledge of God Most Glorious. Which in this world is man's adornment, perfection and excellence; and in the world to come, is his equipment and treasure, for by it alone, can he receive knowledge. For the soul is that which knows God, which approaches unto God, which works for God and strives for Him. The soul is that to which revelation is made of the things of God.

II.    THE FIVE SPIRITUAL FACULTIES OF THE SOUL

                The human soul is possessed of five faculties, which are;

Ø The 'sensory faculty', which receives information conveyed by the senses.

Ø The 'imagination', which records this information.

Ø The 'intelligence', which apprehends what, is beyond the capacity of the senses and the imagination.

Ø The 'reasoning power', which deduces fresh knowledge from the data of pure reason.

Ø The 'divine prophetic spirit', which belongs to the prophets and the saints, by means of which, the soul receives the revelation of the invisible and attains to knowledge of God himself.

                The Al-ghazalian tradition states that, 'he who knows himself knows his lord'; hence, the soul has a Divine origin, it knows God because it is Godlike.

III.  THE SOUL AND THE DIVINE

                The human soul is enabled to see and perceive Divine reality by means of a spiritual sense called 'intuition', which goes beyond reason. Personality includes the outward form and the inward character, since man is composed of a body which perceives by the vision of the eyes, and of spirit and soul which perceives by insight. Thus, the soul is greater than the body. The spiritually minded (ar-bab al-qulub), see with the inward eye more clearly than the outward eye, for the latter may be at fault, seeing what is far off as near and the large as small. But, the spiritual insight cannot be at fault, for it is divine.

                Each of these eyes, the outward and the inward, has a sun and a light through which its vision is perfected. One of these lights is external and belonging to the material world, while the other, belongs to the spiritual world, and it is the word of God. The veil of man's lusts and his worldly pre-occupations prevent him from seeing anything of the unseen divine world, so long as the veil is not withdrawn from the eye of his heart. But when this veil is withdrawn as in the case of God's elect, then surely man can look upon that divine world and contemplate its wonders.

                Likewise, Al-ghazali maintains, there is an inward hearing. What is heard with the outward hearing is only sound, and man shares that faculty with the rest of the animals. But, by the inward hearing, man can hear and comprehend the spiritual meaning which lies beyond outward speech. To the man whose spiritual hearing is dull, the song of the birds, the noise of the waves and the sighing of the wind, are mere sounds. But to the one whose spiritual hearing is alert, they are all bearing witness to the unicity of God and praising Him with eloquent tongue.

                Finally, the inward perception of 'intuition' finds its satisfaction in what is invisible and inaudible to the outward senses; in the things which are not temporal but eternal. Therefore, the soul has two gates; one opening outwards, which is that of the senses, and one opening inwards, toward the divine world which is within the heart, and that is the gate by which it receives inspiration and revelation.

·                     ON THE PERSONALITY OF GOD

                Regarding Al-ghazali's teaching on, the personality of God, he maintains the following:-

                God is Transcendent and Immanent, the Creator and the Sole cause of all existence; the prime mover of all things and the eternal wisdom. He is also Supreme Beauty, for just as beauty in the works of men, the poet's verse, the painter's picture, the author's writings, the architect's buildings, indicate the inner beauty of their genius and conceptions, for only from beauty can beauty come forth. So also the beauty and the perfection of the works of God, show that He is Perfect Beauty, the most radiant and most glorious existence that can be conceived. The realization of Divine Beauty brings awe to the servant's heart. The contemplation of the Divine Beauty fills his heart with Love, and that servant is always seeking to penetrate the veil of the Invisible, and to look upon the All Beautiful.

                Every creature, Al-ghazali argues, has need of a creator, to bring it into existence and to keep it alive, to maintain its endowments, and to control its actions by its very need of Him. The creature bears witness to its creator. Likewise, this world bears witness to its maker and His power, because there is evidence of judgment and organization in its creation. For, says Al-ghazali, anyone who sees a robe of brocade, beautifully woven and fashioned appropriately to the embroidery and the trimming, and then imagines that it is the work of something inanimate, without skill or capacity, must be devoid of reasoning power, and a fool. If you reflect upon this world, Al-ghazali says, you will find it to be like a house, well-built, within which has been prepared all that is necessary. For roof, the heavens have been raised above it, and the earth has been spread out as a carpet for it. The stars are ranged in their order to serve it as lamps, and material things are laid up within it as provisions. All these, are prepared ready to serve its purpose, and man is like the owner of the house, to whom has been given all that is in it, prepared for his needs, sent for his benefit.

CONCLUSION

                Finally, for Al-ghazali, Sufism is not simply an individual path to reach perfection, but a whole conception of life including ethics and morality, behavior and belief, Cosmology and Metaphysics. In this regard, it is true that, Al-ghazali's Mysticism is not only a lived experience but, also a rational construction by which the learned person can taste the ecstasy of the Divine without missing out on the satisfaction of theoretical inquiry.

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