The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 185

_Printed by Hazell, Watson & Viney, Ld., London and Aylesbury._

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 188

Dr. G. A. GRIERSON, C.I.E. Sir HENRY HOWORTH, K.C.I.E. Dr. S. A. KAPADIA (London University College). Sir ALFRED LYALL, G.C.I.E. Sir CHARLES LYALL, K.C.S.I. Prof. D. S. MARGOLIOUTH (Oxford University). Mrs. D. S. MARGOLIOUTH. Prof. A. A. MACDONELL (Oxford University). THEODOR MORISON, Esq., M.A. J. MORRIS, Esq. (Japan). A. H. HALLAM MURRAY, Esq. Prof. REGINALD A. NICHOLSON (Cambridge University). Prof. RAPSON (Cambridge University). Miss RIDDING. SYED AMEER ALI, C.I.E. F. W. THOMAS, Esq., M.A.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 5

The object of the Editors of this series is a very definite one. They desire above all things that, in their humble way, these books shall be the ambassadors of good-will and understanding between East and West—the old world of Thought and the new of Action. In this endeavour, and in their own sphere, they are but followers of the highest example in the land.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 174

As to the vain theories of the Ibahat, I have grouped them in seven classes, and explained them in the work entitled _Alchemy of Happiness_. For those whose faith has been undermined by philosophy, so far that they deny the reality of inspiration, we have proved the truth and necessity of it, seeking our proofs in the hidden properties of medicines and of the heavenly bodies. It is for them that we have written this treatise, and the reason for our seeking for proofs in the sciences of medicine and of astronomy is because these sciences belong to the domain of philosophy. All those branches of knowledge which our opponents boast of—astronomy, medicine, physics, and divination—provide us with arguments in favour of the Prophet.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 166

After that we should fortify our conviction by verifying the truth of his preaching and the salutary effect which it has upon the soul.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 183

True knowledge, on the contrary, inspires in him who is initiate in it more fear and more reverence, and raises a barrier of defence between him and sin. He may slip and stumble, it is true, as is inevitable with one encompassed by human infirmity, but these slips and stumbles will not weaken his faith. The true Moslem succumbs occasionally to temptation, but he repents and will not persevere obstinately in the path of error.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 204

The Oldest Books in the World. Translated from the Egyptian with Introduction and Appendix by BATTISCOMBE G. GUNN. 1/- net.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 163

We may say the same of inspiration, which is one of the branches of intuitional knowledge. Further, the perception of things which are beyond the attainment of reason is only one of the features peculiar to inspiration, which possesses a great number of others. The characteristic which we have mentioned is only, as it were, a drop of water in the ocean, and we have mentioned it because people experience what is analogous to it in dreams and in the sciences of medicine and astronomy. These branches of knowledge belong to the domain of prophetic miracles, and reason cannot attain to them.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 79

The second evil comes from the sincere but ignorant Mussulman who thinks the best way to defend religion is by rejecting all the exact sciences. Accusing their professors of being astray, he rejects their theories of the eclipses of the sun and moon, and condemns them in the name of religion. These accusations are carried far and wide, they reach the ears of the philosopher who knows that these theories rest on infallible proofs; far from losing confidence in them, he believes, on the contrary, that Islam has ignorance and the denial of scientific proofs for its basis, and his devotion to philosophy increases with his hatred to religion.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 145

What I experience I shall not try to say; Call me happy, but ask me no more.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 103

In a word, truth does not cease to be true because it is found among them. Such, however, is the tendency of weak minds: they judge the truth according to its professors instead of judging its professors by the standard of the truth.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 178

Again, if it were to be said to one of them, “Is it possible that there is in the world a thing as small as a grain, which being carried into a city can destroy it and afterwards destroy itself so that nothing remains either of the city or of itself?” “Certainly,” he would exclaim, “it is impossible and ridiculous.” Such, however, is the effect of fire, which would certainly be disputed by one who had not witnessed it with his own eyes. Now, the refusal to believe in the mysteries of the other life is of the same kind.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 205

Selected and Rendered from the Persian with Introduction by L. CRANMER-BYNG. 1/- net.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 213

=The Athenæum.=—“We wish that there were more of them; they are dreamy, lifelike, and fascinating.”

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 147

This state, then, can be revealed to the initiated in ecstasy, and to him who is incapable of ecstasy, by obedience and attention, on condition that he frequents the society of Sufis till he arrives, so to speak, at an imitative initiation. Such is the faith which one can obtain by remaining among them, and intercourse with them is never painful.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 202

By SHAIKH SA’DI. With Introduction by SIR ARTHUR N. WOLLASTON, K.C.I.E. 1/- net.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 157

It is a proof of their profound ignorance; for, instead of argument, they merely deny inspiration as a sphere unknown and possessing no real existence. In the same way, a man blind from birth, who knows neither by experience nor by information what colours and forms are, neither knows nor understands them when some one speaks of them to him for the first time.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 141

Ten years passed in this manner. During my successive periods of meditation there were revealed to me things impossible to recount. All that I shall say for the edification of the reader is this: 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.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 90

(4) _Metaphysics._ This is the fruitful breeding-ground of the errors of philosophers. Here they can no longer satisfy the laws of rigorous argumentation such as logic demands, and this is what explains the disputes which arise between them in the study of metaphysics. The system most closely akin to the system of the Muhammedan doctors is that of Aristotle as expounded to us by Farabi and Avicenna. The sum total of their errors can be reduced to twenty propositions: three of them are irreligious, and the other seventeen heretical. It was in order to combat their system that we wrote the work _Destruction of the Philosophers_. The three propositions in which they are opposed to all the doctrines of Islam are the following:

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 219

=Southport Guardian.=—“This Series will find considerable favour with all Students of Eastern Literature and Eastern Philosophy.”

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 55

I do not, however, deny that it has had a more satisfactory result for others; on the contrary, I admit that it has; but it is by introducing the principle of authority in matters which are not self-evident. Moreover, my object is to explain my own mental attitude and not to dispute with those who have found healing for themselves. Remedies vary according to the nature of the disease; those which benefit some may injure others.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 4

The Reality of Inspiration: its Importance for the Human Race 50

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 222

=Field.=—“Such books are valuable aids to the understanding of a far-off age and people, and have a great interest for the student of literature.”

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 161

The falsity of such an argument is shown by evidence and experience. For in the same way as reason constitutes a particular phase of existence in which intellectual concepts are perceived which are hidden from the senses, similarly, inspiration is a special state in which the inner eye discovers, revealed by a celestial light, mysteries out of the reach of reason. The doubts which are raised regarding inspiration relate (1) to its possibility, (2) to its real and actual existence, (3) to its manifestation in this or that person.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 192

A Translation of one of the four Confucian Books, hitherto known as the Doctrine of the Mean. By KU HUNG MING, M.A. (Edin.). 1/- net.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 20

You desire to learn what I have borrowed, first of all from scholastic theology; and secondly from the method of the Ta’limites, who, in seeking truth, rest upon the authority of a leader; and why, thirdly, I have been led to reject philosophic systems; and finally, what I have accepted of the doctrine of the Sufis, and the sum total of truth which I have gathered in studying every variety of opinion.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 121

When I had finished my examination of these doctrines I applied myself to the study of Sufism. I saw that in order to understand it 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 God and for the invocation of His holy name.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 143

To purge the heart of all that does not belong to God is the first step in their cathartic method. The drawing up of the heart by prayer is the keystone of it, as the cry “Allahu Akbar” (God is great) is the keystone of prayer, and the last stage is the being lost in God. I say the last stage, with reference to what may be reached by an effort of will; but, to tell the truth, it is only the first stage in the life of contemplation, the vestibule by which the initiated enter.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 215

=Manchester Courier.=—“Worthy of close study by all who would penetrate to the depth of Eastern thought and feeling.”

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 43

My object in this account is to make others understand with what earnestness we should search for truth, since it leads to results we never dreamt of. Primary assumptions have not got to be sought for, since they are always present to our minds; if we engage in such a search, we only find them persistently elude our grasp. But those who push their investigation beyond ordinary limits are safe from the suspicion of negligence in pursuing what is within their reach.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 54

It is true that in its later development theology was not content merely to defend dogma; it betook itself to the study of first principles, of substances, accidents and the laws which govern them; but through want of a thoroughly scientific basis, it could not advance far in its researches, nor succeed in dispelling entirely the overhanging obscurity which springs from diversities of belief.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 24

I have never met one who maintained the hidden meaning of the Koran without investigating the nature of his belief, nor a partisan of its exterior sense without inquiring into the results of his doctrine. There is no philosopher whose system I have not fathomed, nor theologian the intricacies of whose doctrine I have not followed out.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 152

The substance of man at the moment of its creation is a simple monad, devoid of knowledge of the worlds subject to the Creator, worlds whose infinite number is only known to Him, as the Koran says: “Only thy Lord knoweth the number of His armies.”

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 198

From the Arabic of IBN TUFAIL. Translated with Introduction by PAUL BRÖNNLE, Ph.D. 1/6 net.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 60

I turned them over and over in my mind till they were thoroughly clear of all obscurity. In this manner I acquired a complete knowledge of all their subterfuges and subtleties, of what was truth and what was illusion in them.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 211

The object of the Editors of this Series is a very definite one. They desire above all things that, in their humble way, these books shall be the ambassadors of good-will and understanding between East and West, the old world of Thought and the new of Action. In this endeavour, and in their own sphere, they are but followers of the highest example in the land.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 122

As it was more easy to learn their doctrine than to practise it, I studied first of all those of their books which contain it: _The Nourishment of Hearts_, by Abu Talib of Mecca, the works of Hareth el Muhasibi, and the fragments which still remain of Junaid, Shibli, Abu Yezid Bustami and other leaders (whose souls may God sanctify). I acquired a thorough knowledge of their researches, and I learned all that was possible to learn of their methods by study and oral teaching. It became clear to me that the last stage could not be reached by mere instruction, but only by transport, ecstasy, and the transformation of the moral being.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 86

It happens, accordingly, that a student who is enamoured of the evidential methods of logic, hearing his teachers accused of irreligion, believes that this irreligion reposes on proofs as strong as those of logic, and immediately, without attempting the study of metaphysics, shares their mistake. This is a serious disadvantage arising from the study of logic.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 164

As to the other characteristics of inspiration, they are only revealed to adepts in Sufism and in a state of ecstatic transport. The little that we know of the nature of inspiration we owe to the kind of likeness to it which we find in sleep; without that we should be incapable of comprehending it, and consequently of believing in it, for conviction results from comprehension. The process of initiation into Sufism exhibits this likeness to inspiration from the first. There is in it a kind of ecstasy proportioned to the condition of the person initiated, and a degree of certitude and conviction which cannot be attained by reason. This single fact is sufficient to make us believe in inspiration.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 130

If you obey it, if you give up this fine position, this honourable post exempt from trouble and rivalry, this seat of authority safe from attack, you will regret it later on without being able to recover it.”

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 137

At last I left Bagdad, giving up all my fortune. Only, as lands and property in Irak can afford an endowment for pious purposes, I obtained a legal authorisation to preserve as much as was necessary for my support and that of my children; for there is surely nothing more lawful in the world than that a learned man should provide sufficient to support his family. I then betook myself to Syria, where I remained for two years, which I devoted to retirement, meditation, and devout exercises.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 189

Prof. ANTON TIEN. Don M. DE WICKREMASINGHE (Oxford University).

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 138

I only thought of self-improvement and discipline and of purification of the heart by prayer in going through the forms of devotion which the Sufis had taught me. I used to live a solitary life in the Mosque of Damascus, and was in the habit of spending my days on the minaret after closing the door behind me.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 59

I gave up to this work all the leisure remaining from teaching and from composing works on law. There were then attending my lectures three hundred of the students of Bagdad. With the help of God, these studies, carried on in secret, so to speak, put me in a condition to thoroughly comprehend philosophical systems within a space of two years. I then spent about a year in meditating on these systems after having thoroughly understood them.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 107

As a matter of fact, men have such a good opinion of themselves, of their mental superiority and intellectual depth; they believe themselves so skilled in discerning the true from the false, the path of safety from those of error, that they should be forbidden as much as possible the perusal of philosophic writings, for though they sometimes escape the danger just pointed out, they cannot avoid that which we are about to indicate.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 92

(2) “God takes cognisance of universals, not of specials.” This is manifestly irreligious. The Koran asserts truly, “Not an atom’s weight in heaven or earth can escape His knowledge” (x. 62).

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 34

Then I reflected in myself: “Since I cannot trust to the evidence of my senses, I must rely only on intellectual notions based on fundamental principles, such as the following axioms: ‘Ten is more than three. Affirmation and negation cannot coexist together.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 99

In the times of the philosophers, as at every other period, there existed some of these fervent mystics. God does not deprive this world of them, for they are its sustainers, and they draw down to it the blessings of heaven according to the tradition: “It is by them that you obtain rain, it is by them that you receive your subsistence.” Such were “the Companions of the Cave,” who lived in ancient times, as related by the Koran (xviii.).

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 19

You have asked me, O brother in the faith, to expound the aim and the mysteries of religious sciences, the boundaries and depths of theological doctrines. You wish to know my experiences while disentangling truth lost in the medley of sects and divergencies of thought, and how I have dared to climb from the low levels of traditional belief to the topmost summit of assurance.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 169

It is not a question of finding out whether a rod has been changed into a serpent, or whether the moon has been split in two.[3] If we regard miracles in isolation, without their countless attendant circumstances, we shall be liable to confound them with magic and falsehood, or to regard them as a means of leading men astray, as it is written, “God misleads and directs as He chooses” (_Koran_, xxxv.