The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 67

According to them, as the latter perishes and is destroyed, so is the thinking faculty which is bound up with it; and as they assert that the restoration of a thing once destroyed to existence is unthinkable, they deny the immortality of the soul. Consequently they deny heaven, hell, resurrection, and judgment. Acknowledging neither a recompense for good deeds nor a punishment for evil ones, they fling off all authority and plunge into sensual pleasures with the avidity of brutes.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 89

But all physical science rests, as we believe, on the following principle: Nature is entirely subject to God; incapable of acting by itself, it is an instrument in the hand of the Creator; sun, moon, stars, and elements are subject to God and can produce nothing of themselves. In a word, nothing in nature can act spontaneously and apart from God.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 134

I gave out publicly that I intended to make the pilgrimage to Mecca, while I secretly resolved to go to Syria, not wishing that the Caliph (may God magnify him) or my friends should know my intention of settling in that country. I made all kinds of clever excuses for leaving Bagdad with the fixed intention of not returning thither. The Imāms of Irak criticised me with one accord.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 29

Suppose, for instance, a man should come and say to me, who am firmly convinced that ten is more than three, “No; on the contrary, three is more than ten, and, to prove it, I change this rod into a serpent,” and supposing that he actually did so, I should remain none the less convinced of the falsity of his assertion, and although his miracle might arouse my astonishment, it would not instil any doubt into my belief.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 77

In order to ascertain this one must proceed to a thorough examination of the matter.” Supposing, I say, one makes the above objection to these “apes of unbelief,” they find it distasteful. Falling a prey to their passions, to a besotted vanity, and the wish to pass for learned men, they persist in maintaining the pre-eminence of mathematicians in all branches of knowledge.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 212

They are confident that a deeper knowledge of the great ideals and lofty philosophy of Oriental thought may help to a revival of that true spirit of Charity which neither despises nor fears the nations of another creed and colour. Finally, in thanking press and public for the very cordial reception given to the “Wisdom of the East” Series, they wish to state that no pains have been spared to secure the best specialists for the treatment of the various subjects at hand.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 149

But behind those who believe comes a crowd of ignorant people who deny the reality of Sufism, hear discourses on it with incredulous irony, and treat as charlatans those who profess it. To this ignorant crowd the verse applies: “There are those among them who come to listen to thee, and when they leave thee, ask of those who have received knowledge, ‘What has he just said?’ These are they whose hearts God has sealed up with blindness and who only follow their passions.”

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 68

These also ought to be called atheists, for the true faith depends not only on the acknowledgment of God, but of His Apostle and of the Day of Judgment. And although they acknowledge God and His attributes, they deny a judgment to come.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 16

The great service which Al Ghazzali rendered to the Sufis was, as Mr. Whinfield has pointed out, in the preface to his translation of the Masnavi, to provide them with a metaphysical terminology which he had derived from the writings of Plotinus the Neo-Platonist. He also gave them a secure position in the Church of Islam.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 116

A snake-charmer himself will abstain from touching snakes in the presence of his young child, because he knows that the child, believing himself as clever as his father, will not fail to imitate him; and in order to lend more weight to his prohibition the charmer will not touch a serpent under the eyes of his son.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 108

Some of the maxims found in my works regarding the mysteries of religion have met with objectors of an inferior rank in science, whose intellectual penetration is insufficient to fathom such depths. They assert that these maxims are borrowed from the ancient philosophers, whereas the truth is that they are the fruit of my own meditations, but as the proverb says, “Sandal follows the impress of sandal.”[1] Some of them are found in our books of religious law, but the greater part are derived from the writings of the Sufis.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 36

Well, perhaps, there is above reason another judge who, if he appeared, would convict reason of falsehood, just as reason has confuted us. And if such a third arbiter is not yet apparent, it does not follow that he does not exist.”

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 49

Commencing with theological science, I carefully studied and meditated upon it. I read the writings of the authorities in this department and myself composed several treatises. I recognised that this science, while sufficing its own requirements, could not assist me in arriving at the desired goal. In short, its object is to preserve the purity of orthodox beliefs from all heretical innovation.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 182

(3) Or one may answer, and this reason is the true one: “The truly learned man only sins through carelessness, and does not remain in a state of impenitence. For real knowledge shows sin to be a deadly poison, and the other world to be superior to this. Convinced of this truth, man ought not to exchange the precious for the vile. But the knowledge of which we speak is not derived from sources accessible to human diligence, and that is why progress in mere worldly knowledge renders the sinner more hardened in his revolt against God.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 127

I perceived that I was on the edge of an abyss, and that without an immediate conversion I should be doomed to eternal fire. In these reflections I spent a long time. Still a prey to uncertainty, one day I decided to leave Bagdad and to give up everything; the next day I gave up my resolution. I advanced one step and immediately relapsed.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 194

Translated with Introduction by Dr. S. A. KAPADIA, Lecturer, University College, London. 2/- net.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 11

I. The scholastic theologians, who profess to follow reason and speculation.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 139

From thence I proceeded to Jerusalem, and every day secluded myself in the Sanctuary of the Rock.[2] After that I felt a desire to accomplish the Pilgrimage, and to receive a full effusion of grace by visiting Mecca, Medina, and the Tomb of the Prophet. After visiting the shrine of the Friend of God (Abraham), I went to the Hedjāz. Finally, the longings of my heart and the prayers of my children brought me back to my country, although I was so firmly resolved at first never to revisit it.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 175

As to those who, professing a lip-faith in the Prophet, adulterate religion with philosophy, they really deny inspiration, since in their view the Prophet is only a sage whom a superior destiny has appointed as guide to men, and this view belies the true nature of inspiration.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 214

=Pall Mall Gazette.=—“No translation of this important work has been made since the beginning of the eighteenth century.”

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 30

I then understood that all forms of knowledge which do not unite these conditions (imperviousness to doubt, etc.) do not deserve any confidence, because they are not beyond the reach of doubt, and what is not impregnable to doubt cannot constitute certitude.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 173

I pass now to the causes of the decay of faith and show the means of bringing back those who have erred and of preserving them from the dangers which threaten them. To those who doubt because they are tinctured with the doctrine of the Ta’limites, my treatise entitled _The Just Balance_ affords a sufficient guide; therefore it is unnecessary to return to the subject here.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 23

From the period of adolescence, that is to say, previous to reaching my twentieth year to the present time when I have passed my fiftieth, I have ventured into this vast ocean; I have fearlessly sounded its depths, and, like a resolute diver, I have penetrated its darkness and dared its dangers and abysses. I have interrogated the beliefs of each sect and scrutinised the mysteries of each doctrine, in order to disentangle truth from error and orthodoxy from heresy.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 162

To prove the possibility of inspiration is to prove that it belongs to a category of branches of knowledge which cannot be attained by reason. It is the same with medical science and astronomy. He who studies them is obliged to recognise that they are derived solely from the revelation and special grace of God. Some astronomical phenomena only occur once in a thousand years; how then can we know them by experience?

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 64

(1) _The Materialists._ They reject an intelligent and omnipotent Creator and Disposer of the Universe. In their view the world exists from all eternity and had no author. The animal comes from semen and semen from the animal; so it has always been and will always be; those who maintain this doctrine are atheists.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 53

Their principal effort was to expose the self-contradictions of their opponents and to confute them by means of the premises which they had professed to accept. Now a method of argumentation like this has little value for one who only admits self-evident truths. Scholastic theology could not consequently satisfy me nor heal the malady from which I suffered.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 114

The second danger threatens those who accept the opinions of the philosophers. When, for instance, we read the treatises of the “Brothers of purity” and other works of the same kind, we find in them sentences spoken by the Prophet and quotations from the Sufis. We approve these works; we give them our confidence; and we finish by accepting the errors which they contain, because of the good opinion of them with which they have inspired us at the outset.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 81

The words of the Prophet, “The sun and the moon are two signs of the power of God; they are not eclipsed for the birth or the death of any one; when you see these signs take refuge in prayer and invoke the name of God”—these words, I say, do not in any way condemn the astronomical calculations which define the orbits of these two bodies, their conjunction and opposition according to particular laws.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 207

Selections and Translations from the Arabic by JOHN WORTABET, M.D. 1/- net.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 37

To this argument I remained some time without reply; a reflection drawn from the phenomena of sleep deepened my doubt. “Do you not see,” I reflected, “that while asleep you assume your dreams to be indisputably real? Once awake, you recognise them for what they are—baseless chimeras. Who can assure you, then, of the reliability of notions which, when awake, you derive from the senses and from reason? In relation to your present state they may be real; but it is possible also that you may enter upon another state of being which will bear the same relation to your present state as this does to your condition when asleep. In that new sphere you will recognise that the conclusions of reason are only chimeras.”

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 102

It is as if some one was to reject the profession of faith made by Christians, “There is only one God and Jesus is His prophet,” simply because it proceeds from Christians and without inquiring whether it is the profession of this creed or the denial of Muhammed’s prophetic mission which makes Christians infidels. Now, if they are only infidels because of their rejection of our prophet, we are not entitled to reject those of their doctrines which do not wear the stamp of infidelity.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 167

We should verify in experience the truth of sentences such as the following: “He who makes his conduct accord with his knowledge receives from God more knowledge”; or this, “God delivers to the oppressor him who favours injustice”; or again, “Whosoever when rising in the morning has only one anxiety (to please God), God will preserve him from all anxiety in this world and the next.”

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 170

9); we shall find ourselves involved in all the difficulties which the question of miracles raises. If, for instance, we believe that eloquence of style is a proof of inspiration, it is possible that an eloquent style composed with this object may inspire us with a false belief in the inspiration of him who wields it. The supernatural should be only one of the constituents which go to form our belief, without our placing too much reliance on this or that detail.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 172

Such are the characteristics of scientific certitude. As to the transport which permits men to see the truth and, so to speak, to handle it, it is only known to the Sufis. What I have just said regarding the true nature of inspiration is sufficient for the aim which I have proposed to myself. I may return to the subject later, if necessary.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 100

Now this mixture of moral and philosophic doctrine with the words of the Prophet and those of the Sufis gives rise to two dangers, one for the upholder of those doctrines, the other for their opponent.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 27

Struck with the contradictions which I encountered in endeavouring to disentangle the truth and falsehood of these opinions, I was led to make the following reflection: “The search after truth being the aim which I propose to myself, I ought in the first place to ascertain what are the bases of certitude.” In the next place I recognised that certitude is the clear and complete knowledge of things, such knowledge as leaves no room for doubt nor possibility of error and conjecture, so that there remains no room in the mind for error to find an entrance.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 191

As set forth by the Upanishads and by Śankara. By L. D. BARNETT, M.A., LITT.D., Professor of Sanskrit at University College, London. 2/- net.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 132

The enfeeblement of my physical powers was such that the doctors, despairing of saving me, said, “The mischief is in the heart, and has communicated itself to the whole organism; there is no hope unless the cause of his grievous sadness be arrested.”

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 9

It might not inaptly bear the title “Confessions of an Inquiring Spirit.” In its intellectual subtlety it bears a certain resemblance to Newman’s _Grammar of Assent_, and in its almost Puritanical sense of the terrors of the world to come, it is akin to Bunyan’s _Grace Abounding_. It is also interesting as being one of the very few specimens of genuine Eastern autobiography.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 218

=The Scotsman.=—“This Series should not fail to please readers of the more studious sort.”

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 97

(6) _Moral Philosophy._ The professors of this occupy themselves with defining the attributes and qualities of the soul, grouping them according to genus and species, and pointing out the way to moderate and control them. They have borrowed this system from the Sufis.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 180

(1) One can answer thus: “The learned man whom you accuse of disobeying the divine law knows that he disobeys, as you do when you drink wine or exact usury or allow yourself in evil-speaking, lying, and slander. You know your sin and yield to it, not through ignorance, but because you are mastered by concupiscence. The same is the case with the learned man. How many believe in doctors who do not abstain from fruit and cold water when strictly forbidden them by a doctor! That does not prove that those things are not dangerous, or that their faith in the doctor was not solidly established. Similar errors on the part of learned men are to be imputed solely to their weakness.”

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 210

THE ORIENT LIBRARY, c/o DR. S. A. KAPADIA, ORIENTAL SECRETARY, NORTHBROOK SOCIETY, 185 PICCADILLY, LONDON, W.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 181

(2) Or again, one may say to a simple and ignorant man: “The learned man reckons upon his knowledge as a viaticum for the next life. He believes that his knowledge will save him and plead in his favour, and that his intellectual superiority will entitle him to indulgence; lastly, that if his knowledge increases his responsibility, it may also entitle him to a higher degree of consideration. All that is possible; and even if the learned man has neglected practice, he can at any rate produce proofs of his knowledge. But you, poor, witless one, if, like him, you neglect practice, destitute as you are of knowledge, you will perish without anything to plead in your favour.”

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 123

To define health and satiety, to penetrate their causes and conditions, is quite another thing from being well and satisfied. To define drunkenness, to know that it is caused by vapours which rise from the stomach and cloud the seat of intelligence, is quite a different thing to being drunk. The drunken man has no idea of the nature of drunkenness, just because he is drunk and not in a condition to understand anything, while the doctor, not being under the influence of drunkenness, knows its character and laws. Or if the doctor fall ill, he has a theoretical knowledge of the health of which he is deprived.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 82

But as for the so-called tradition, “When God reveals Himself in anything, He abases Himself thereto,” it is unauthentic, and not found in any trustworthy collection of the traditions.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 39

Such thoughts as these threatened to shake my reason, and I sought to find an escape from them. But how? In order to disentangle the knot of this difficulty, a proof was necessary. Now a proof must be based on primary assumptions, and it was precisely these of which I was in doubt. This unhappy state lasted about two months, during which I was, not, it is true, explicitly or by profession, but morally and essentially a thoroughgoing sceptic.

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 2

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The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 187

Prof. T. W. ARNOLD (London University College). Prof. L. D. BARNETT (London University College). Miss G. BELL. SYED HOSAIN BILGRAMI, C.S.I. Prof. J. F. BLUMHARDT (Cambridge University). Prof. E. G. BROWNE (Cambridge University). L. CRANMER-BYNG, Esq. Dr. J. ESTLIN CARPENTER (Oxford University). A. G. ELLIS, Esq. Prof. GREGORY FOSTER (Provost, London University College). Dr. M. GASTER. Prof. H. A. GILES (Cambridge University). LIONEL GILES, Esq., M.A. Prof. IGNAZ GOLDZIHER (Budapest University).

The Confessions of Al Ghazzali, passage 40

God at last deigned to heal me of this mental malady; my mind recovered sanity and equilibrium, the primary assumptions of reason recovered with me all their stringency and force. I owed my deliverance, not to a concatenation of proofs and arguments, but to the light which God caused to penetrate into my heart—the light which illuminates the threshold of all knowledge. To suppose that certitude can be only based upon formal arguments is to limit the boundless mercy of God.