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Among the pafT works which influenced :him most and had a great bearing upon some of his oijtstanding writings
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Among the pafT works which influenced :him most and had a great bearing upon some of his oijtstanding writings Psychology (London, George Allen and Unwin, Ltd., New York, the Macmillan Co., 1921), VOL II, respectively on (a) the grades of human intelligence, (b) the classes of the powers of the soul, (c) the internal faculties and their locations, and (d)) the light that illuminates men :
Din (with Sayy d Mar apt -Zab s I ti:Ir a S al-Muttaarn) (Cairo, 1311 A.H.), Vol. VII, P. 214-215 - hereafter referred to as SMZ. Cf. Ibn Sing - Brett, Op,cit., p. 55-56.
p. 52f. (21) P. xixf with n. 14 above. :Dori .A.
(after his spiritual crises at Baghdad), such as the Ihyg?, was al-MakkT's Qat al-Qulabl(22) which is believed to have been almost literally copied in the 14yi.(23) Among other 124) sources of influence mention should be made of al-Shilfi both as a Off and as an authority in Muslim jurisprudence.1,44. ,L.L.114
It should be noted, however, that al-Ghazal! did no accept eve±ything Ofism offered him I.12 the light of the Qur7in he analysed it and submitted it to the testAif reason, to which he repaired after he had regained his faith in it.(25) Therefore, while he spoke highly and sympathetical ly of it,he deemed false such Oil terms as God's "inhering"
in a man (hulal), mystical union (Ittihad) with and attain. (26) ment (wusil) of Him, together with the ideas they stand for. But he recommended highly the Oft way as being based on
5Abd al-Rakiman) (ibn al-Uusayn (Mustafifi Babitl-lialabi and Bros., Cairo,.1334 Vol. P. 3 a hereafter referred to as traTtotHence his biography as an important Shafifi in Tabaqat Cf. his works on the ShIfiq law, e.g., gl-Wain, etc.
gives to rational knowledge, e.g., in gaining "faith based on certainty", though experiental knowledge is rated above it. (27) religious knowledge and works (film wa carnal), on piety, and the freeing of the heart from everything but God, leading to the mystioal knowledge (macrifah), the unveiling (kaahf), and the vision__-- (mushahadah) of Him, which, according to him, in turn leads to the meeting (lion') and witnesethg (rOla) of Him in the next World. This, according (28) to al-Ghazilr, forms the climax of the heavenlylaids. Other 4..tatc terms emphasized are "mystical taste" (dhawq) and the "condi- (29) ........t.totr" of the heart (hiil) Al-Ghazali was a practical or realistic mystic, or rather a mystically-minded philosopher and theologian. Another factor which even Muslim thinkers coxisider as (30) having influenced al-Ghazal! was Christianity. But what made him interested in Christianity ? One factor may have been the question of inherited religion «. in this case on the (32) part of Christians - which troubled his mind since his youth. (27) Ibid, p. 122, 132. A very good example for al-Ghazilr's emphasis on carnal as going hand in hand with cilm is Ayyuhi'lWalad,(Cf also MtzOn al-rAmal for emphasis on virtue); cf. p. 175.
To that may be added the hadith that says "Every child is born in accordance with natural disposition (fitrah)) i.e., natural religion, namely Islam • but his parents make him Jewish, (32)
Christian, or Magian", which statement called for verification. The Christians' claim of the divine nature of Christ, and their refusal of Muhammad's claim of prophethood, both of which are contrary to the Qur'an, must have added to his interest. This is evident from the titles of two polemical works of his, namely. Al-Radd al-Jamrl Ii3ilghiyyat qsg al-Inirl (the fair reply about the divinity of Jesus from the explicit Gospel), and Al-Radd al-Jamil EAlg Man Ghayyar 21.-DLILi (the fair reply to those who have altered the Gospell, Parallel in spirit is the illustration he gives iii the Oustas in his argument against the Ta‘lrmrs : z If you were asked to say, "There is no god besides God, (and] Jesus is the apostle of God", you would naturally shrink from it, saying, "This is the saying of Christians; how can I say it ?" You do not have enough) reasoning [power) by which you can tell that this saying in itself is right, and that a Christian. is not hated on account of this or any other statement, except two, first his saying (that) God is the third, one of three, and, second, (that') Muhammmad is not th,,qvostle of God. All other sayings of his are right.k."
Allgh") nafara ran dhalika tabtuka, wa "Hldhl Bawl al NasErl. fa _ dluhu ?" WA lam akin lalimmitoa-racili a a rife bihi anna hadh. -claw a ft nafsihi 4a9o, wa NagrInT mA muclita lihddhihi'l-kalimahl wa 11 al-kalimdt, bal Iikalimatayni faoat, ittddhumff oawilihu "'Allah thAlithu r.^-1 r,(JA C.4 /Art4-1 A ./ To do the subject justice, al-Ghazal sought firsthand information. But what material was available to him ? He had the information offered by the Qur'an, as well as by some hadIths. He must have been acquainted also with some polemical works of the day connected with controversies between Christians and Muslims hen (34) In addition he must have had access to some Arabic, and/thr perhaps Persian trans lations of portions of the Bible, including the New Testament, and particularly the Godpels. As may be inferred from the titles of his two polemical works mentioned above, and, his statement, "I saw in the Gospel of Jesus, may blessing and peace be upon him...."C35) the probability is that the Gospel (InJ11) he knew was a translation of the Syriac Diatessaron, thalgthah". wa 1-thtni ah 'awluhu "Muhammad la sa birasul A WA s acme wara a d a ago.-4 Otis s al-Musa (first edition by al-Dimashqi,-TaragAT Press, Cairo 1318/1904p. 60. (34) P. xxx,22.,2 above. One such influence is the Christian doctrine of the logos, which al-Ghazal! attributed directly. or through some Muslim medium to Muhammad, whom he makes the , first of creation and the crown of it. From his qoul substance all other creatures were made - Macarij, p. 125 and n. 27 - (35)a2aufrInna.-salitlwail-salguan••• Note it is InJil (singular) AzAjmELJWita (plural) that is used. The continuation of-th-i-FitidtitiEln is an apocryphal one Ayyahall-Walad, p..19. In the titles of al-Ghazall'S two works mentioned on p. xxxiii above reference again is to Injil and not to Anairl. It is interesting, however, to note that many Arabim-speaking Christians, esp. the uneducated, call the whole New Testament INTL. which was and still is used in the Syrian church in Syria, (36) (Iraq and elsewhere. As may be judged from the numerous apocryphal quotations he attributes to Jesus he must have also had aoxas to same apocryphal work containing material (36)
about Jesus. These variant sources from which al-Gha zal! derived his information about Christ rendered his knowledge of him imperfect, as may be seen from the state.. ments he makes about him and the sayings he attributes to him. (37) In spite of the high &pinion he often expressed of Jesus as an apostle of God with a miraculous birth and life, and as an example to be followed, still according to him thill same Jesus does not rank with Muhammad, the seal of prophet s hood, and therefore all claims by Christians in that respect are false and hence condemned. On the basis of the above conclusions al-Ghazali expresses his opinion about Christians and their fate after death. Two contradictory statements by him in that regard
xxxvi are brought out by Zwemer. The first is from his Paysal Ba,~tn al-Islam way to the effect that on the Day of Judgment two out of three classes of Christ' ians will be included in the mercy of God. These are (1) those who have not heard about MUtiammad and his message, and (38) (2) those who have not heard more than his name and title. The second statement is from one of the very last pages of the IhyP, where al-GhazglI quotes with approval a hadith to 7---739) the effect that for every MUslim destined to stay in Hell, (40) at the last day God will substitute a Jew or a Christian. Cpal.r,i4.s6t6.in the IbYP of a1-Ghazgli" (The Moslem World, April,
and will say, "Rejoice, 0 Muslim Community? for there is not one among you but I have substituted for him in the fire a fore entering Paradise. Wa in minkum illg wgriduha Kona is simply interpreted, while in the second, p. 42, it Tr— Jew or a Christian". (gala Basil Allah alla Allah gala hi said, "On the agiliWction Day God will appear to us laughing, IbyI• al-Dtn (Od print, Matbeat al-NI1 19171917)0.01. VII, p. 144-58; Zwemer, Maaam fT Cairo, 1928), p. 11-38
(41) Ibid, p. 468. It is interesting to note also that two pages following the above mentioned hadrth in the 1141A2, al-Ghazilr quotes two other heaths. One of them speaks of how after Muslims who had done the least amount of good were transferred from Fire to Paradise, God takes out the remaining Muslims there - those who had not done any good whatever (lam yagmalu khayranqatt) - and throws them into a river in Paradise called the River of Life (Nahr al-Haygt) of which they come out like pearls with divine stamps (khawgtim) on their necks. Then God says to them, "Enter Paradise; and whatever you see there is yours". (41) According to the other hadith Gabriel gives the Prophet the good news that everyone who has not conjoined any thing with God will enter Paradise. The Prophet asks twice, "Even if he has stolen and committed adultery? " Every time Gabriel answers positively. When the Prophet repeats the question the third time, Gabriel answers, "Even if he has stolen, committed adultery and drunk wine".(4) This, no doubt, shows the darkest side of a1-Ghazgli's religious thinking, even though in principle it is not inconsistent with orthodox Muslim beliefs. Yet it is important to note that the ,113yE! was written sometime during his period (42)
of wandering and retirement, a period of transformation and development in his religious attitude and thinking. The 'he itself has been criticized for inconsistency in. thought and principle by Muslim authorities who have great respect i43) for al7Ghazgl . Contrary in spirit to the last hadith quot e ed above from the Thyi°, in his later writings his emphasis is increasingly on the practical and spiritual aspects of religion, to the extent that salvation from fire is made (44) iinpossible without them. That these were written out of real conviction is evident from his concern over the moral degradation among his people, and his earnest desire to b±ing about a reform, for the sake of which he agreed to go back (45) to active life and accept a teaching position at Naysgbilr.
More important than that among the characteristics of Apostleship he included what stands out peculiarlyiirthe aud. teachings of Jesus namely',"forgiveness of those who (46) injure one, doing good to those who do one evil". The Christian influence on al-Ghazili's development of this new religious attitude cannot be overlooked, as has already been noticed and as can oe.judged from his statements about Jesus, the connection in which he makes these statements and the purpose he has in view. That his renunciation of the world and worldly things for the pursuit of perfection in spiritual growth leading up to the attainment of the heavenly bliss was partly due to Christian influence (especially the life and teachings of Jesus in the form they were known to him) has been recognized, as has been already mentioned, even by Muslim , (47) thinkers, such as Mibgrak and Rifiq. .Through al-Ghazgli of later generations, especially by safis. these Christian effects found expression in Muslim writings (48)
xl CHAPTER III AL-GHAZIMY IMPORTANCE It is held that in Islam al-Ghazali occupies the unique position "corresponding to that shared by Augustine and Aqui
nas in the Christian Church". The special title that is given him in Muslim liters- (2)
ture is "the Defender of Islam" (Hfjlat al-Islam) to which is added another title, "The Pride of Religion" (Zayn al-Din). Other honorific statements are not poking. He is "the renew (4) er. of the fifth century CA.H.j". He is included among phi (5) (4) losophers, sages, theologians, and prophets and reformers.
4M See n. 2 above; Also,Jumtah, M.L., 0 .cit., p. 67. This is based on the4adith, according to which God sends at the end of each century a reformer to renew Islam. The four forerunners of al-GhazEll, in the order of time, are (a) 1Umar Ibn CAbd a1Aziz,(b) al-Shifigi, (c) al-Ashgari, or Ibn Surayl, and (d) al-Isfarlyini, or al-BaqIlla- ini. - Rifici, I, p. 135(taken from SMZ); cf.Muntlidh,p.152 (where al-GhazEll himself seems to have been convinced that he was sube.one sent by God. (5) Jumgah, 73, Rifle', I, p. 208 (where al.:. He is considered one of the leaders (a/immah) of the Shifigi (6) madhhablthe greatest scholastic theologian of his day, and one of the three chief authorities (itqtab) in Islam, namely . (1) al-Bistami in the "temporary conditions" of the heart fatolia (ahwal), (g) al-Milani in its"permanently acquired conditions" (7) (8) (Maqamat), while (3) al-Ghazili in religious sciences. More over, the numerous legends woven around his name after his death are clear and genuine expressions of the lofty position he has won in Islam. A glance evyr-his accomplishments and
contributions may explain the reason why he is so highlyilettr. h"-4, 4 B d Yafiti is said to have quoted the saying that "if there were a prophet after the Prophet tM4hammadj it would be al.
GhazalI"). (8) See n. 4 above. With respect to his ability as .111 mutakallim of contradictory views by such men as al-MlIzarl, the MAliki Tabaqat,' IV, p. 123.
In philosophy his skepticism led him to tread the path of empiricism long before David Hume (1711-1776) did. Like Hume also he opposed the theory of causation. But in each case he differed with Hume in the conclusion he reached. In contrast with Hume empiricism led al-Ghazili not only to see the value of rational knowledge but also to enhance the . -
position of the theory of intuitive Knowledge (bade), which he places above reason and which he attributes.to divine in (9) spiration. Again like Hume he realized the significance of the Theory of Causation. But unlike Hume his treatment of this theory on the basis of possibility, rather than necessi(10) ty, helped him form his own theory of Causation, by means of which he took to refute, as an orthodox Muslim, the theory that held matter to be eternal, to establish the orthodox Muslim view of God's being the Eternal, Omniscient, Omnipotent Creator and Sustainer, Who created all things according to (11) His own will, and particularly to give place and credit to prophetic miracles. In fact all his study of philosophy was not simply to learn the views and systems of philosophers, but for the purpose of refuting them in defence of "orthodoxy".
The blow he gave philosophy, including the skepticism of rationalism, as well as the blow he gave innovation in Islam speakshighly for his ability as a scholar and for the service he rendered the Faith. In all his arguments the spirit of fair=. ness he exhibits, allowing his opponent. to present his point of view, makes him worthy of respect. One of the two conditions he puts before a person desiring to enter an argument hi to aim at revealing the truth regardless of whether it is revealed (12) through him or through his opponent. Furthermore, the lano guage and style he used in the exposition he made of those philosophic systems and views (e.g., in his Mactisid) before attacking them brought down philosophy and its treatment of religious matters from its inaccessible throne to the level of the understanding of the average man. This was one of the things that kindled the anger of Ibn Rushd, a century later, against him and made him criticize him bitterly. Yet from fear of jeopardizing the faith of the simple people and leading them astray he later advised against encouraging them to deal with such intellectual matters, which wore above their (13) mental capacity. At the same time lie called for the protection of the faith of these people by the arm of the (14) state against the unbearable theoretical argumentative
xliv religion imposed upon them by the intelllectuals of the day. In spite of that it has to be admitted that al-Ghazili sti.d mulated free enquiry and rational argument. He awakened the consciousness of men to a reexamination of their religious faith and life in the light of the Qurnn and the sunnah. Moreover by reminding them of the fire of Hell he sought to turn their attention from a theorqtical argumentative religion (15) to a spiritual religion expressed in virtuous life. That led to the exaltation of the safi way, which, due to his influence, won a favorable and firm position in Islam. In this case alGhazgli is compared with al-Ashcarf, who gave a permanent place in Islam to scholastic theology. Hence to these two men, al- Ashcarr and al.Ghazglr are attributed the two most important epochs of development(16in the history of Islgm.(17) The doc- 
trines al-Ghazglr laid down have been accepted by unanimous agreement (iimii). Yet tnfortunately in spite of all that, al-G: has been laid on -the reference shelf to add to the host of other similar authorities. The interest at present in the study of his life and works on the part of Muslims or Oriental Christians is comparatively new. With pride Muslim writers quote, or refer to appecia. 4
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