AL-GHAZALI AND THE PURIFICATION OF THE SOUL EDC2355 MORAL PHILOSOPHY FROM AN ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE LECTURER : DR AFAREEZ AL HAFIZ

ABD RAZAK

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2 A similar influence of philosophy is also apparent in al-Ghazalis view of human beings. Human beings consist of soul and body, but their essence is the soul. The human soul is a spiritual substance totally different from the body. It is something divine (amr ilahi), which makes possible human knowledge of God. If the soul according to al-Ghazali is an incorporeal substance occupying no space (as Ibn Sina implies, though he carefully avoids making a direct statement to that effect), then al-Ghazalis concept of the soul is quite different from the soul as 'a subtle body' as conceived by theologians at large. According to al-Ghazali, the body is a vehicle or an instrument of the soul on the way to the hereafter and has various faculties to maintain the bodily activities. When the main faculties of appetite, anger and intellect are moderate, harmonious and well-balanced, then we find the virtues of temperance, courage, wisdom and justice. In reality, however, there is excess or deficiency in each faculty, and so we find various vicious characteristics. The fundamental cause for all this is love of the world (see SOUL IN ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY).

The most amazing organ in the human body is the heart. It not only functions physically but also spiritually and morally in human life. The importance of the heart is stated in the Quran by using the words al-qalb and fou'ad. Qalb occurs in the Quran 132 times in both its physical and spiritual senses, while fou'ad occurs 16 times in the spiritual sense. Both terms, however allude to the same thing the heart. The heart is the seat of awareness, consciousness, feelings, and thoughts. It could be good or bad, healthy or unhealthy. In the Hadith it is mentioned that Surely in the breasts of man is a lump of flesh, if sound then the whole body is sound, and if corrupt then thewhole body is corrupt. Is it not the heart?

There are diverse meanings of heart which include fluctuation, turning around and reversing. As Allah said in His Revelation: Our Lord, let not our hearts deviate (from the truth) after You have guided us, and grant us mercy from You. Truly, You are the Bestower (Ali `Imran 3:8). Abu Hamed Mohammad ibn Mohammad al-Ghazali, the author of Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din (The Revival of Religious Sciences) pointed out that the heart denotes two things, the physical heart and the divine entity. He mentions that the spiritual heart is the essence of man. It is incumbent that this divine entity or the potential seat of Gods illuminations and serenity is kept sound and healthy for the physical body to operate optimally.

In his exposition of the heart, Al-Ghazali emphasized its purification. The term purification in Arabic is tazkiyyah and is described as a disciplined process that gives birth to the seed of awareness in the heart. This enlightenment, a moment of unique divine intervention or the first ray of divine light that expands the heart is the beginning of a personal transformation. The purification of the heart is related closely to the function of the heart itself, which is to know the Creator, to love Him, and to seek closeness to Him. If the heart fails in this function, then it is considered sick.

Al-Ghazalis tazkiyat al-nafs is closely related to morality. Morality according to him was conscientious action in accordance with the moral law (akhlaq). But conscientious action is not possible without the possession of purity of motive by the moral agent, which in turn, necessitates a continuous psychological effort, named in tasawuf terminology as tazkiyyah. On this, Al-Ghazali refers to the Quranic verse: By the Soul, and the proportion and order given to it; And its enlightenment as to its wrong and its right; Truly he succeeds that purifies it, And he fails that corrupts it (al-Quran, 91: 7-10).

Al-Ghazali who was known as Hujjatul Islam classified the heart into three categories, as did two other Islamic scholars, Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali and Ibn Al-Qayyim al-Jawziyya . To them, the heart can be spoken of in terms of its condition, namely, healthy, dead or sick. This classification is important so that the appropriate remedy can be prescribed. Allah, in the Quran, said that only those that come to Him with a healthy heart will be saved on the Day of Resurrection: The day on which neither wealth nor sons will be of any use, except for whoever brings to Allah a sound heart (26: 88-89).

The healthy heart can be defined as a heart cleansed from any passion that challenges what Allah

4 commands, or disputes what He forbids. It is free from any impulses which contradict His good. This kind of heart is exclusively reserved for Allah, willingly and lovingly, with total reliance, relating all matters to Him, in fear, hope and sincere dedication.

The sign of the healthy heart can be seen in its single dedication to Allahs orders and avoid His prohibitions. It loves Allah more than others and will go to great lengths to please Him. For instance, if this heart misses any acts of worship, then its owner suffers more distress than a cautious man who suffers because of the loss of money or a missed opportunity to make it. Yahya ibn Mu'adh said: "Whoever is pleased with serving Allah, everything will be pleased to serve him; and whoever finds pleasure in contemplating Allah, all the people will find pleasure in contemplating him."

The antonym of the healthy heart is the dead heart. This kind of heart will not be saved on the Day of Resurrection as the healthy heart. It is called to Allah from a distance but does not respond to advice, and instead follows the wrong path with the enemy of God. In a simple explanation, the dead heart does not know its Lord and does not worship Him as He commands but worships things other than Him. It leads to the displeasure and wrath of Allah when this heart follows too much its lusts and desires, makes ignorance as its leader, and concerns with worldly objectives. It is advised not to associate and keep company with the owner of such a heart because living with him is like taking poison, and befriending him means utter destruction.

Another type of heart is the sick heart which is midway between the healthy heart and the dead heart. This kind of heart worships Allah, has faith in Him, and relies on Him, and these are what give it life. It also has a craving for lust and pleasure, and prefers them and strives to experience them. It is full of self-admiration, which can lead to its own destruction. The danger to this type

5 of heart is when it listens to two callers: one calling it to Allah, His Prophet and the Hereafter; and the other calling it to the pleasures of this world. It responds to whichever one of the two that happens to have the most influence over it at the time.

The symptoms of the death and the sickness of the heart are shown when the owner is not aware of the harm that results from the damage caused by wrong actions, and is unperturbed by his ignorance of the truth or by his false beliefs. The heart's sickness become worst if the owner of such a heart turns away from good actions to bad ones, from healthy foods to harmful ones, from good remedies to shameful sickness and he cannot realize anymore what brings him to the dead heart. The healthy heart prefers what is beneficial and healing to what is harmful and damaging; the sick heart prefers the opposite. The most beneficial sustenance for the heart is faith and the best medicine is the Qur'an.

The types of heart discussed above are related to their awareness and consciousness. In this respect, the Prophet is reported to have said, "There are four types of hearts: a pure heart that shines like a lamp, the covered up and closed heart, the upside down heart and the mixed up heart. The pure heart is that of the believer. The covered up heart is that of the non-believer. The upside down heart is that of the hypocrite who knows and then denies. The mixed up heart is that in which there is both faith and hypocrisy. The example of faith in it is like a small plant that grows with good water and the example of hypocrisy in it is like a wound that grows with pus and blood. So whichever grows bigger takes over the heart." (Riwayat Ahmad)

Al-Ghazali also discussed the four poisons of the heart. All acts of disobedience are considered as poison to the heart and cause its sickness and ruin. Ibn al-Mubarak said: ''I have seen wrong actions killing hearts, And their degradation may lead to their becoming addicted to them. Turning away from wrong actions gives life to the hearts, and opposing yourself is best for it.'' The poison itself is something bad that can affect health and life not only physically but spiritually when it applies to the heart. The four poisons of the heart are unnecessary talking, unrestrained glances, too much food, and keeping bad company.

Each of these poisons should be avoided in order to purify the heart. Talking can either be good or bad, in which case it is considered haram. It is reported on the authority of Anas that the Rasulullah (saw) said: "The faith of a servant is not put right until his heart is put right, and his heart is not put right until his tongue is put right." This shows that the Prophet Muhammad has made the purification of faith conditional on the purification of the heart, and the purification of the heart conditional on the purification of the tongue.

At-Tirmidhi relates in a hadith on the authority of Ibn Umar: "Do not talk excessively without remembering Allah, because such excessive talk without the mention of Allah causes the heart to harden, and the person furthest from Allah is a person with a hard heart." Unnecessary talking not only poisons the heart but it is also one of the major reasons why people are sent to the Hellfire. As narrated by Abu Hurairah, the Prophet said, "What mostly cause people to be sent to the Fire are the two openings: the mouth and the private parts."

The second poison is unrestrained glance which results in the one who looks becoming attracted by what he sees, and in the imprinting of the image of what he sees in his heart. The glance was described by the Prophet Muhammad: "The glance is a poisoned arrow of shaytan. Whoever lowers his gaze for Allah, He will bestow upon him a refreshing sweetness which he will find in his heart on the day when he meets Him." Shaytan, as the enemy of Islam, will resort to any devices to disturb the sons of Adam including by entering through the glance, for he travels with it faster than the wind blowing through an empty place.

There is an immediate connection between the eye and the heart; if the eyes are corrupted by staring bad things, then the heart follows. Staring and gazing without restraint is disobedience to Allah. Allah said in the Quran: Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that is more purifying for them. Surely Allah is aware of what they do. (24:30). The more poison of unrestrained glances is added in the soul of someone, the faster his heart dies. Food is very important in human life but excessive food is another cause of poisoning of the heart.

7 Some people ask whether one lives to eat or eats to live. Al-Ghazali said that the consumption of small amounts of food guarantees tenderness of the heart, strength of the intellect, humility of the self, weakness of desires, and gentleness of temperament, while immoderate eating brings about the opposite of these praiseworthy qualities and inclines towards disobedience to Allah. AlMiqdam ibn Ma'd Yakrib said: "I heard the Messenger of Allah (saw) say: The son of Adam fills no vessel more displeasing to Allah than his stomach. A few morsels should be enough for him to preserve his strength. If he must fill it, then he should allow a third for his food, a third for his drink and leave a third empty for easy breathing."

Bad companionship is the last poison of the heart which causes many kinds of harm. On the authority of Abu Musa al-Ash'ari, the Prophet said: ''A good friend and a bad friend are like a perfume-seller and a blacksmith: The perfume-seller might give you some perfume as a gift, or you might buy some from him, or at least you might smell its fragrance. As for the blacksmith, he might singe your clothes, and at the very least you will breathe in the fumes of the furnace.'' In order to maintain the wellbeing of his body, the servant carefully follows a strict diet. He habitually and constantly eats good food at regular intervals, and is quick to free his stomach of harmful elements if he happens to eat bad food by mistake.

The wellbeing of the servant's heart, however, is far more important than that of his body, for while the wellbeing of his body enables him to lead a life that is free from illnesses in this world, that of the heart ensures him both a fortunate life in this world and eternal bliss in the next. In the same way, while the death of the body cuts the servant off from this world, the death of the heart results in everlasting anguish. A righteous man once said, "How odd, that some people mourn for the one whose body has died, but never mourn for the one whose heart has died-and yet the death of the heart is far more serious!"

8 Thus acts of obedience are indispensable to the wellbeing of the heart. It is worthwhile mentioning the following acts of obedience here, since they are very necessary and essential for the servant's heart: Dhikr of Allah ta'Ala, recitation of the Noble Qur'an, seeking Allah's forgiveness, making du'as, invoking Allah's blessings and peace on the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and praying at night. On the supremacy of Dhikr Allah as the means par excellence of approaching to Allah, the holy Quran says : And remembrance of Allah is the greatest (thing in life). (29:45) and Those who believe, and whose hearts find satisfaction in the remembrance of Allah: for without doubt in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find satisfaction. (13: 28).