Ihya Ulum al'Din
by IMAM GHAZALI
Translated by FAZL-UL-KARIM VOL. I
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface
CHAPTER I - Acquisition of Knowledge
Excellence of Learning
Praiseworthy and blameworthy learnings
Three Imams
Meanings of some words now changed
Manners to be observed by teachers and students
Signs of the learned of the Hereafter
Intellect and its noble nature
CHAPTER II - Foundation of Belief
Proof of belief
Rules of articles of belief
CHAPTER III - Mysteries of cleanliness
The Means of removal of impurities
CHAPTER IV - Prayer
Stories of prayer of God fearing men
Merits of Jumma Prayer
Optional prayers
CHAPTER V - Zakat
Some subtle rules of Zakat
Fitness for receiving Zarat
CHAPTER VI - Fasting
Secrets of Fasting
Optional fasts and its rules
CHAPTER VII - Secrets of Pilgrimage
Ten secret things of Haj
CHAPTER VIII - Recitation of the Quran
Excellence of the Quran
External rules of reciting
Internal rules of reciting
Individual Interpretation
CHAPTER IX - Zikr and Invocations
Ten Rules of invocations
Sayings of sages
CHAPTER X - Division of times for actions
Five divisions of night
PREFACE
Take whatever the Apostle gave you and keep away from whatever he forbade you (59:7). Firstly, I begin with the praise of God though our praise is guide insufficient and meager in relation to His real glory. Secondly, I invoke His blessings on all the prophets and specially on His last and greatest Prophet Muhammad (peace be on them all). Thirdly, I pray for His help and grace that there should remain in me firm will and incentive for writing the book Ihayo Ulumiddin or the Revival of religious sciences. Fourthly, 0 defamer, 0 heedles, 0 one denying truth, God has removed from my tongue the tie of silence and put on my neck the necklace of arguments and reasons.
It is my duty to reply to what you argue. In other words, you have closed your eyes from open truths and taken help from whatever is void and untrue and praise ignorance. If a man wants to remove something from the evil practice and habits of men or expresses his wish to translate his learning into action in order that the Almighty may prefer to purify his soul, let him keep himself engaged in divine services and seek to atone for the sins that he committed in his past life and for which he has become despaired. Let him keep aloof from the society of those persons about whom the Holy Prophet said: The greatest punishment on the Resurrection Day will be meted out to that learned man whom God has not given any benefit to his learning.
It is my firm conviction that there is no reason for your refusal to accept the truth except what has been stated below. In other words, the disease which entered into the minds of the majority of people has also entered your mind. The meaning is that they have given up the rules and regulations for acquiring ranks in the hereafter. They do not know that this affair is very serious and grave, that the hereafter is coming forward and this world is receding backward, that death is near and the journey is long, that provision is scanty, dangers are great but the paths are blocked. The learnings and actions which have got no connection with God are fit to be entirely rejected by the wise and those who seek wisdom. It is very difficult for a traveler to the next world to tread the paths, because there are injurious and destructive elements on the way but there are no passport and means to cross them.
The learned are the guides to these paths. They are the heirs of the prophets. Time has slipped out of their hands. Those who are slaves to evil habits are alive. The devil is powerful over the majority among them and various kinds of sins misguide them. Almost every one among them is engrossed in the luxuries of this world and its comforts and enjoyments. For this reason, the majority of them consider good as bad and bad as good. Even the religious learnings and sciences have become obsolete. The lights of guidance have almost disappeared from this world. They duped the people to believe that there is no other science than that of Flah (Jurisprudence). These are the laws of administration which help the judges in the administration of justice and the rulers in the administration of their countries.
They say that there is no learning except that of Munazara or debates. The present learned man cherishes hope of victory over his adversary and seeks means to make him silent. Or they informed the people that there is no learning except the science of scholastic theology by help of which a speaker seeks to influence the minds of the public. They see no other science except these three sciences. The sciences of the next world and the learnings of the sages of early times have disappeared from the people and the learning which was described by-God in His Holy Book as theology, wisdom, light and guidance has been immerged in the deepest recess of forgetfulness. When such is the condition of the religion, such downfall and catastrophe, I have thought it prudent to write this book entitled, Ihya Ulumiddin (Revival of religions Sciences). By this book, the path of early Muslim sages has been opened and the impediments that lay in the path of acquiring learnings beneficial to the prophets and sages have been removed. I have divided this Ihya into four books:
(1) the Book of worship
(2) the Book of worldly usages
(3) the Book of destructive evils
(4) the Book of constructive virtues.
I have discussed the chapter of knowledge at the very beginning as it is of extreme importance. It is necessary to discuss such learning at the outset which is a great help towards divine service according to a saying of the Holy Prophet. He said: To seek learning is compulsory on every Muslim. I began with the chapter on knowledge in order to separate the useful knowledge from the harmful knowledge as the Prophet said: We Seek refuge to God from the knowledge which is not useful.
The Book of worship comprises ten chapters - (1) Knowledge, (2) Articles of Faith, (3) Secrets of Purity, (4) Secrets of Prayer, (5) Secrets of Alms-giving, (6) Secrets of Fasting, (7) Secrets of Pilgrimage, (8) Rules of Quran-reading, (9) Rules of invocations and supplications and (10) observance of daily duties according to fixed times.
The Book of worldly usages consists of ten chapters - (1) rules of eating and drinking, (2) rules of marriage, (3) rules of earning livelihood, (4) lawful and unlawful things, (5) rules of companionship and brotherhood (6) rules of habitation in solitude, (7) rules of journey, (8) music and ecstasy, (9) rules of enjoining good and forbidding evil, (10) rules of living as exemplified by the character and conduct of the Prophet.
The Book of Destructive evils comprises ten chapters - (1) wonders of soul, (2) discipline of soul, (3) harms of stomach and sexual passion, (4) harms of tongue, harms of anger, hatred and envy, (6) evils of the world, (7) evils of wealth and miserliness, (8) evils of show and pomp, (9) evils of self(conceit and pride and (10) evils of vanity.
The Book of constructive virtues comprises ten chapters - (1) repentance, (2) patience and gratefulness, (3) fear and hope, (4) poverty and asceticism, (5) Tauhid (unity of god) and Godreliance, (6) love and contentment, (7) intention, truthfulness and sincerity, (8) self-examination and self-accounting, (9) meditation, (10) death and ponder over death.
Some people wrote some books on these subjects, but this book has got five special characteristics which are not found in those books. Firstly, I have opened by the grace of God what they closed up and I have written in detail what they kept secret. Secondly, I have arranged what they kept scattered and I have brought together what they kept separate. Thirdly, I have made short what they made long and corrected what they approved. Fourthly, I have deleted what they repeated. Fifthly, I have made this book easy to understand after disclosing the subtle matters. These are the five specialities of this book. I have placed the foundation of this work on four books for two reasons.
The first basic reason is that I have incorporated in this book well-arranged rules and their real nature, so that they may be easily understood, as the knowledge by which the next world is known is of two kinds (knowledge of outward behaviours and usages and the knowledge of revelation, inspiration, secret and subtle matters. What I mean by this knowledge is the knowledge for attaining the submum bonum or the ultimate object of life. What I understand by the science of outward behaviours and usages is the knowledge of practical religion attended with actions in accordance with that knowledge. The object of this work is only to narrate the science of practical religion and usages and not to narrate the science of revelation and inspiration, as there is no permission to put the latter into black and white though the science of revelation is the ultimate object of those who search after truth and the most coveted matter in the eye of the extremely truthful, and the best way of acquiring knowledge of worldly uses.
The Holy Prophet did not speak anything about the science of revelation except through signs and symbols, because he knew that the wisdom of men to understand it is very little. There is no means of the learned other than the path of the prophets, as the learned are the heirs of the prophets. The science of practical religion are of two kinds-open science of the actions of the physical senses and the secret science of the functions of the heart. The actions which keep connection with the physical senses are the actions of habits or usages of life. The heart which comes from the unseen world and is removed ultimately from the senses is influenced by either the praiseworthy virtues or the blame-worthy vices. In short, the science of practical religion is divided into open and secret sciences. The open science and usages of life. The secret science keeps connection with the condition of heart and its qualities and is sub-divided into praise-worthy virtues and blame-worthy vices.
The second basic reason is this. I see a great enthusiasm of students for study of jurisprudence or Fiqh. To those who do not fear God, jurisprudence has turned into an object of pride and a means for acquiring name and fame. Jurisprudence is of four kins. As the objects which adorn the dear things are also dear, I think it better that this book should be modeled into the form of Fiqh or jurisprudence, so that the minds may be inclined to it. For this reason, one who wants to attract the attention of the minds of some men to the science of medicine remodels it after astronomical tests and writes a book after naming 'Tablets of Health'. So also I have adopted some measures in this work, so that the minds of the people are attracted towards such learning which is beneficial to human life. As the minds of the people are attracted to the science of medicine for preservation of the health of body, so also it is necessary that the minds of the people are attracted to the treatment of the diseases of soul and mind in expectation of a happy and prosperous life in the next world which will last forever and forever. Physical happiness is short and transient as compared to spiritual happiness in the hereafter. Physique is mortal while soul is immortal.
So I pray to the Almighty for his help and succour for writing and completing this book Ihya Ulum al'Din as He is the most Compassionate, the most Merciful.
CHAPTER I - ACQUISITION OF KNOWLEDGE
EXCELLENCE OF LEARNING
God says: God, angels and those learned men who stand on justice bear testimony that there is no deity but He (3:18). Now look, 0 dear readers, how God began attestation first by Himself, then by His angels and then by the learned. It is understood from this verse that the rank of the learned and their honor are much high. God says: Those who are believers among you and the learned, God will increase their rank (58:12). Hazrat Ibn Abbas said about them: The rank of the learned is seven hundred times more than that of the believers, and the ofference between the two ranks is the distance of the path of five hundred years.
God says: Are those who are learned equal to the illiterate? (39:9). God says: The learned among His servants fear God most (35:28). God says: Say, God is sufficient as a witness between me and you and those who have got knowledge of the Quran (13:43). God says: But those who had been granted knowledge said: Alas for you, the reward of God is best for those who believe and do good (28:80. God says: These parables We set forth for men and none understands them except the learned (29:42). God says: If they had only referred it to the Apostle and to those charged with authority among them, those of them who would investigate it would have know it (4:93).
God thus made knowledge dependent upon their efforts. In the practical religion, God's commands have been placed upon the investigation of the learned and their rank with the prophets for propagation of God's commands. God says: 0 the children of Adam! I have sent down to you raiment to cover your shame and adornment to you, but the raiment of piety is best (7:25). God says: I have sent to them a book and with knowledge I explained it in detail, a guide and a mercy to all who believe (7:52). God says: I shall recount their story with knowledge (7:6). God says: It is a clear sign in the hearts of those to whom knowledge has reached (29:48). God says: He created man and taught him to speak (55:2). HADIS: The Holy Prophet said: God gives knowledge of religion and guidance to truth to one whose good He intends. He said: The learned are the heirs of the prophets.