Chapter V: Part 5

In his “Alchemy of Happiness” there is a beautiful chapter on “Know Thyself.” The parable there used regarding man’s soul and the enemies that lay siege against it reminds one very much of Bunyan’s “Holy War.” The shortest of his works, as far as I am aware, is called _Al-Qawaʿid Al-ʾAshara_ (The Ten Articles); this has been frequently reprinted. It consists of ten principles of faith and conduct, and is scarcely longer than an ordinary letter. Of a similar character is _Risalat-ut-Tair_ the parable of the birds. His most celebrated treatise on ethics and conduct is entitled _Mizan ul ʿAmal_. It might be compared to the book of Ecclesiastes or the first chapters of the book of Proverbs. In the introduction Al-Ghazali shows the folly of those who neglect to secure the happiness of their immortal souls as well as the peril of those who despise faith in the world to come. The true way of happiness consists in knowing the right and doing it. The soul is a unit and its various powers are knit together and are interdependent. The path of the mystic unites true faith with true practice. He also speaks of the possibility of change of character through religious devotion and mentions the virtues that are to be cultivated and the vices to be shunned on this pathway to God and to true happiness.

To emphasize the importance of life with its brevity and the supreme importance of eternity Al-Ghazali says: “Suppose we imagine that the whole world is filled with dust and that a little bird should come and snatch up one atom of dust every thousand years. We know that there would be an end of its task, but nothing would have been taken away from the everlasting character of that eternity which has no end.” Although the moral teaching of this book is very noble, it is after all based entirely on the principle of salvation by works. There is no hint of the possibility of the transformation of character through regeneration of the heart, nor is the way pointed to the victorious life by overcoming temptation through a power that is not our own.

Of all his writings none is celebrated more justly than his greatest work “The Revival of Religious Sciences” (_Ihya ʿulum id Din_). It is a veritable encyclopædia of Moslem teaching and ethics and covers the whole range of Moslem thought. Many editions of this work have been printed and commentaries written on it, the most celebrated of which is by Mohammed-uz-Zubeidi Al-Murtadha, in ten large volumes. The work itself consists of four volumes of ten books each and has a total of over one thousand closely printed pages. Although widely read in its original form, popular demand has called forth several abbreviated compendia of the work. One of them entitled “A Homily for Believers,” by Mohammed Jamal-ud-Din of Damascus, is used as a text-book on Islam in the Theological Seminary of the American Mission in Cairo.

The first part of the original work is entitled “Things that pertain to worship”; the second part, “Things that pertain to practice”; the third part, “Things that destroy the soul,” _i. e._, the vices; the fourth part, “Things that deliver the soul,” _i. e._, the virtues. The contents are as follows:

“THINGS THAT PERTAIN TO WORSHIP”

I. _The Book of Knowledge_, which has seven divisions:

1. The Benefits of Learning.

2. What Kind of Knowledge is Forbidden and Permitted.

3. Theological Learning and Nomenclature.

4. Conditions of Debate and Controversy.

5. The Relation of Teacher and Pupil.

6. The Dangers of Learning.

7. The Mind and its Uses.

II. _The Book of Dogma_, which has four divisions:

1. The Moslem Creed.

2. Degrees of Faith.

3. God, His Being, Attributes, Work.

4. Faith and Islam.

III. _The Book of the Mysteries of Purity_, which has three
divisions:

1. Purification from Unclean Objects.

2. Purification from Unclean States.

3. Purification from Unclean Matters that cling to
the Body (finger-nails, ears, etc.).

IV. _The Book of the Mysteries of Prayer_, which has seven
divisions:

1. The Benefits of Prayer.

2. Outward Observance of Prayer.

3. Conditions of Prayer.

4. The Imam.

5. Friday Prayers.

6. Miscellaneous Matters.

7. Special Prayers.

V. _The Book of the Mysteries of Almsgiving_, which has four
divisions:

1. Kinds of Alms.

2. Conditions of Giving.

3. To Whom.

4. How they are Observed.

VI. _The Book of the Mysteries of Fasting_, which has three
divisions:

1. Its Necessity.

2. Its Mysteries.

3. Obedience through Fasting.

VII. _The Book of the Mysteries of the Pilgrimage_, which has
three divisions:

1. Its Benefits and Character.

2. The Order of Procedure.

3. Its Inward Significance.

VIII. _The Book of the Perusal of the Koran._

IX. _The Book of Zikr and Prayer._

X. _The Book of the Night Meditation._

“THINGS THAT PERTAIN TO PRACTICE”

I. The Ethics of Eating and Drinking.

II. The Ethics of Marriage.

III. The Ethics of Trade.

IV. Things that are Allowed and Forbidden.

V. Ethics of Friendship and Conversation.

VI. The Life of Seclusion.

VII. The Ethics of Journeying.

VIII. The Ethics of Music and Poetry.

IX. On Favours and Offenses.

X. The Ethics of True Living and the Virtues of the Prophet.

“THINGS THAT DESTROY THE SOUL”

I. The Wonders of the Heart.

II. The Exercise of the Soul.

III. The Dangers of the Two Desires, namely, of the Appetite
and of Lust.

IV. The Evils of the Tongue.

V. The Evils of Anger and Envy.

VI. On Despising the World.

VII. On Despising Property and Greed.

VIII. On Despising the Love of Honour and Hypocrisy.

IX. On Despising Vanities.

“THINGS THAT DELIVER THE SOUL”

I. The Book of Repentance.

II. The Book of Patience and Thankfulness.

III. The Book of Fear.

IV. The Book of Poverty and Asceticism.

V. The Book of the Unity of God.

VI. The Book of Love.

VII. The Book of Good Intent and Sincerity.

VIII. The Book of Self-examination.

IX. The Book of Meditation.

X. The Book of the Remembrance of Death.

Especially the third and fourth parts of his great work show us Al-Ghazali as a mystic and a preacher of righteousness. His ten books on “Things that deliver the soul” furnish material from which it would not be difficult to collect a beautiful anthology or a daily calendar of spiritual thoughts. Such a rosary of pearls from Al-Ghazali’s works might well be used for devotion by Christians as well as by Moslems.

Another most interesting book is that on the names of God, entitled _Al-Maksad ul-Asna Sharh-Asmaʾ-Allah ul Husna_, “The Highest Aim: the Explanation of the Beautiful Names of God.” The book is divided into three parts of which the first deals philosophically with the meaning of the word “name” and its distinction from the naming of the thing and the thing named itself: also how it is possible for God to have many names and yet to be one essence. The second part of the book is the longest and treats of the ninety-nine names of God in order showing how they are comprehended in the seven attributes and the one essence. The third part is brief and shows that there are really more than ninety-nine names, but that this was the number fixed upon for good reasons. And finally there is a section telling how God may and may not be described.

Al-Ghazali teaches in this book _that the imitation of God’s attributes is the highest happiness for the believer_. There are three degrees in the knowledge of God, and in this respect he says: “The virtues of the righteous are the faults of the Saints”; by which he means that the nearer we approach to God the more perfect is our standard of character. The three degrees of knowledge are (1) intellectual, (2) that of admiration and attempted imitation, (3) that of actual acquirements of God’s attributes such as the angels. Nearness to God is by rank and degree, not in regard to position or place. He quotes with approval the famous saying of Junaid: “No one knows God save God Himself Most High, and therefore even to the best of His creatures He has only revealed His names, in which He hides Himself.” He says that two statements are true in regard to God and the believer. The true believer must say, “I know nothing but God,” and “I know nothing of God.”

The last book Al-Ghazali wrote was the _Minhaj al-ʾAbidin_ or “Guide of True Worshippers.” It is said to have been written for those who could not understand the _Ihya_ and deals with the creed and ritual of Islam from the standpoint of the mystic. Our illustration shows in facsimile the first page of this celebrated work from a recent Cairo edition. On the margin of the text we have the Beginner’s Guide, already spoken of. These two works of Al-Ghazali are very popular and have recently had an increasing circulation.

The _Minhaj_ shows that Al-Ghazali at the close of his life had adopted the vocabulary of the mystics even for popular teaching. The various chapters are called “stages” in the progress of the soul towards salvation and peace. The first stage is that of knowledge, then follows repentance, a list of the hindrances on the road to God, things that delay the soul in its onward progress, such as the world and its allurements, the flesh, the devil, the senses. Other hindrances are the cares of gaining a living, the perplexities and troubles of life, while the last stages in the road of the mystic are those of praise to God under all circumstances, and earnest endeavour to attain to the reality of the experience of His presence.

So difficult is the road which Al-Ghazali describes that he says: “Some seekers can only finish these stages in seventy years, some in twenty, some in ten. Others there are, however, whose souls are so enlightened, so free from the care and perplexity of the world, that they finish the journey and arrive at the goal in a year, a month, what do I say, in an hour; so that they awaken like the Companions of the Cave, and the change they see in themselves and those about them is to them as a dream.”

His teaching on prayer as given in the _Ihya_ certainly rises very high above that of the ritualist who puts all his attention on the punctiliousness of outward observance. “Prayers are of three degrees, of which the first are those that are simply spoken with the lips. Prayers are of the second kind when with difficulty, and only by a most resolute effort, the soul is able to fix its thoughts on divine things without being disturbed by evil imaginations; they are of the third kind when one finds it difficult to turn away the mind from dwelling on divine things. But it is the very marrow of prayer when He who is invoked takes possession of the soul of the suppliant, and the soul of him who prays is absorbed into God, to whom he prays, and, his prayer ceasing, all consciousness of self has departed, and to such a degree that all thought whatsoever of the praying is felt as a veil between the soul and God. This state is called by the Sufis ‘absorption,’ for the reason that the man is so absorbed that he takes no thought of his body, or of anything that happens externally, or even of the movements of his own soul, but is first engaged in going towards his Lord, and finally is wholly in his Lord. If even the thought occurs that he is absorbed in the Absolute it is a blemish, for that absorption only is worthy of the name, though they will be called, as I well know, but foolish babbling by raw theologians, are yet by no means without significance. For consider: The condition of which I speak resembles that of a person who loves any other object, such as wealth, honour, or pleasure. We see such persons so carried away with their love, and others with their anger, that they do not hear one who speaks to them, nor see those passing before their eyes. Nay, so absorbed are they in their passion that they do not perceive their absorption; you necessarily turn it away from that which is the object of it.”

Elsewhere Al-Ghazali says: “The commencement of this life is the going to God; then follows the finding Him, when the absorption takes place. This at first is momentary, as the lightning swiftly glancing upon the eye, but afterwards, confirmed by use, it introduces the soul into a higher world, where, the most pure essential essence meeting it, fills the soul with the images of the spiritual world, while the majesty of Deity discovers itself.”

The evident sincerity and the moral earnestness of Al-Ghazali shown in his works and in the extracts which we have quoted, surely explains in a large degree why his influence has been so deep and permanent, far greater than that of the merely intellectual philosophers, such as Averroes. While he discouraged scholastic philosophy, he encouraged moral philosophy. The reader will remember how he carried a book of ethics with him on his journeys. After his death several famous ethical treatises were composed which derived much from him. Claud Field says “the most important of these is the ‘Akhlaq-i-Jalali,’ by Jalaluddin Asaʾad Aldawani, which has been ably translated into English by Mr. W. F. Thompson. The ‘Akhlaq-i-Jalali’ itself is largely a translation into Persian from the Arabic, the original of which appeared in the tenth century under the name of ‘Kitab-ut-Taharat.’ Two centuries after it was translated into Persian by Abu Nasr, and named ‘Akhlaq Nasiri,’ enriched with some important additions from Avicenna. In the fifteenth century it assumed a still further improved form under its present name, the ‘Akhlaq-i-Jalali.’”[60]

That Al-Ghazali was a careful student of nature is evident in all his writings. Those portions of the Koran which deal with natural theology and the proof of God’s existence from the starry heavens, from the fertile ground, the animal creation, and the sea with its terrors, especially seem to appeal to him. One of his books is entitled _Al Hikmat fi Makhlukat Allah_ (The Wisdom of God Shown in the Marvels of Creation). It is one of his shorter writings but full of beautiful passages on the glory of the starry heavens, the earth and the sea, and the four primal elements. One long chapter is devoted to embryology and the physical wonders of the human frame. Another is on birds, another on quadrupeds and on fishes. The conclusion of the whole treatise is the argument from design, for the goodness and greatness of the Creator as shown in His works. What he says in regard to the benefits to be obtained from gazing into the starry vault may be compared with David’s words in the eighth and the nineteenth Psalms. Says Al-Ghazali: “To look up into the vault of heaven drives away anxiety, removes the whisperings of Satan, takes away idle fear, reminds us of God, brings the heart to magnify Him, banishes evil thoughts, cures pessimism, comforts the passionate, delights the lover, and it is the best _Kibla_ for those who call to God in prayer.”

Al-Ghazali was also a dogmatic theologian and controversialist. He wrote a commentary on the Koran in forty volumes, never printed; and a dozen books against various heretics, including one entitled: “The Best Reply to Those Who Have Tampered with the Gospel.” Al-Ghazali, who was himself cursed for alleged heresy, is memorable among the theologians of Islam in that by his breadth of sympathy he forbade the cursing of Yazid, the notorious slayer of Hussein, Mohammed’s grandson, and gave his opinion in these words: “It is forbidden to curse a Moslem: Yazid was a Moslem. It is not certain that he slew Al-Husain, and it is forbidden to think ill of a Moslem. We cannot be certain that he ordered his death; really we cannot be certain of the cause of the death of any great man, especially at such a distance of time. We have also to remember the party spirit and false statements in this particular case. Again, if he did kill him, he is not an unbeliever because of that; he is only disobedient to God. Again, he may have repented before he died. Further, to abstain from cursing is no crime. No one will be asked if he ever cursed Satan; if he has cursed him he may be asked, Why? The only accursed ones of whom we know are those who die infidels.”[61]

Among his books against the philosophers we must mention three which are closely related to one another. They are the _Maqasid-ul-Falasifa_, a statement of the true teachings of the philosophers and a presentation of their views of the world; the _Tahafut ul Falasifa_ which overthrows their views and shows that they are untenable to those who would follow Islam with heart and mind; the _Qawaʾid_, which shows the truths that must be built up to take the place of the errors of the philosophers. In the first-named book, according to Macdonald, he “smites the philosophers hip and thigh, turns their own weapons against them and goes to the extreme of intellectual scepticism; seven hundred years before Hume he cuts the bond of causality with the edge of his dialectic and proclaims that we can know nothing of cause or effect, but simply that one thing follows another.”

Al-Ghazali’s great work “The Revival of Religious Sciences,” caused great scandal in Andalusia. There the intolerance of the learned passed all bounds because of the narrowness of their views. Their theology was limited to minute knowledge of Canon Law. They had no place for the religion which Ghazali preached, which was personal and passionate, a religion of the heart. When he attacked contemporary theologians busy with questions of legality and the externals of religion, he touched these pharisees of the law at the quick and they not only squirmed but screamed loudly. According to Dozy, “the Kady of Cordova, Ibn Hamdin, declared that any man who read Al-Ghazali’s book was an infidel ripe for damnation, and he drew up a _fatwa_ condemning all copies of the book to the flames. This _fatwa_, signed by the _Fakihs_ of Cordova, was formally approved by ʾAli. Al-Ghazali’s book was accordingly burnt in Cordova and all the other cities of the Empire, and possession of a copy was interdicted on pain of death and confiscation of property.”

But this opinion was not shared by Moslems elsewhere. In his lifetime and especially after his death his works against philosophy and his great exposition of Islam found ever larger circles of readers and commentators.

He has been accused, and not without good reason, both by Moslem writers and European critics, of carelessness and inaccuracy in his quotations and references to other books.[62] One of the charges brought against him by his assailants is that he falsified Tradition. Macdonald’s judgment is very charitable when he says that “he quoted from memory too freely, because he was a man of too large a calibre to watch his quotations and they were loose to the end of his life.”

As-Subqi in his Tabakat-ash-Shafaʾiya al Kubra devotes a special section to what is entitled “A List of all the Traditions given by Al-Ghazali in his _Ihya_ which have no _isnad_, or pedigree, _i. e._, Traditions _quoted by him as authoritative and yet which from the standpoint of Moslem criticism are on this account absolutely worthless_.” This section of the book referred to covers many pages and by actual count I found over six hundred Traditions each catalogued by reference to the chapter in which they occur. Now we have no reason to doubt that As-Subqi (d. 771 A. H.) was an admirer of Al-Ghazali and esteemed his teaching, yet what shall we say when in this collection of the lives of the saints so strong an indictment is made of Al-Ghazali’s inaccuracy by one of his own disciples?

When reading this collection of “true sayings” of the Prophet (which are after all often ascribed to him without any authority or foundation) one is shocked both at the credulity and the lack of love for veracity in this greatest of all Moslem apologists. If even Al-Ghazali handled Tradition so carelessly as to ascribe to Mohammed so much that is altogether puerile, fabulous and often immoral, what confidence can we put in other and later tradition-mongers and how can we clear Al-Ghazali from the charge of using pious falsehood?

We add another fact of great interest in regard to his writings. Al-Ghazali exercised a commanding influence on Jewish thought in the Middle Ages. In the appendix is a list of some of the translations of his books made in Hebrew. Jewish students of philosophy, including Maimonides, drew many of their theories from the _Maqasid_ and his other works. Al-Ghazali’s attacks on philosophy were imitated by Judah ha-Levy in his _Cuzari_; but it was chiefly his ethical teaching rather than through his philosophy that Al-Ghazali attracted the Jewish thinkers. Broyde says, “He approached the ethical ideal of Judaism to such an extent that some supposed him to be actually drifting in that direction, and his works were eagerly studied and used by Jewish writers. Abraham ibn Ezra borrowed from Al-Ghazali’s _Mizan al ʿAmal_ his comparison between the limbs of the human body and the functionaries of a king, and used it for the subject of his beautiful admonition _Yeshene Leb_; Abraham ibn Dawud borrowed from the same work the parable used by Al-Ghazali to prove the difference in value between various branches of science; and Simon Duran cites in his _Keshet_ a passage from the _Mozene ha-ʾIyyunim_, which he calls _Mozene ha-Hokmah_.”[63]

The translations of his works into Hebrew were made as early as the thirteenth century. Not less than _eleven_ Hebrew commentaries are known on the _Maqasid_. “Johanan Alemanno recommends Ghazali’s hermeneutic methods, and compares the order and graduation of lights in Ghazali’s theory with those of the theory of the cabalists.”

In regard to science, Al-Ghazali’s views were naturally those of his contemporaries. His world was built on the Ptolemaic system. There are four elements only. Existence has three modes: the world of sense, the world of God’s eternal decree, and the world of ideals or of God’s power. In dreams and visions we are in contact with the two other worlds. Al-Ghazali avoids the difficulties of concrete Moslem teaching by this method. There may be things which are real and actual and yet do not belong to the world of sense.[64]

Doctor Macdonald admirably summarizes his influence on Islam as four-fold. “First of all he led men back from mere scholastic dogma to a living contact with the Koran and the Traditions as the true source of Islam. He might be called a Biblical theologian in our modern use of the word, understanding by ‘Bible’ always the Moslem bible, namely the Koran. Nearly every paragraph of his _Ihya_ begins with a Koran quotation, and his interpretation of the book is not a slavish following of the earlier commentators but a spiritual interpretation of the text.”

“In the second place he reintroduced into Islam the element of fear. In the earliest days, as for example in the Koran itself, the terrors of the day of judgment and the horrors of hell operated in order to lead men to repentance. Al-Ghazali emphasized this part of the Moslem teaching to the utmost, witness his little book _Al-Durra al-Fakhira_, which has to this day great acceptance among pious Moslems.”

In the third place mysticism, already existing in Islam, but looked upon in many quarters as heretical, received its birthright through Al-Ghazali’s life and teachings, and from his day on held an assured position in orthodox Islam.

Lastly, he brought philosophy within the range of the ordinary mind, warning the people against its dangers as well as showing them its fundamental principles and above all illustrating through his writings how true philosophy and true Islam are not contradictory. In this respect he resembles Raymond Lull who also desired to use philosophy as the handmaid of Christianity.[65]

Macdonald thinks that of these four phases of his work and influence the first and the third were undoubtedly the most important. These alone made him a reformer of the first rank in the history of Islam.

VII

His Ethics

“The religion of Christ contains whole fields of morality and
whole realms of thought which are all but outside the religion
of Mohammed. It opens humility, purity of heart, forgiveness
of injuries, sacrifice of self to man’s moral nature; it
gives scope for toleration, development, boundless progress
to his mind; its motive power is stronger, even as a friend
is better than a king and love higher than obedience. Its
realized ideals in the various paths of human greatness have
been more commanding, more many-sided, more holy, as Averroes
is below Newton, Haroun below Alfred, and ʾAli below St. Paul.
Finally, the ideal life of all is far more elevating, far more
majestic, far more inspiring even as the life of the founder of
Mohammedanism is below the life of the Founder of Christianity.”

—_“Life of Mohammed,” R. Bosworth Smith._

VII

HIS ETHICS

Martensen defines Christian ethics as “the science of morals conditioned by Christianity.” But the three fundamental concepts of Christian ethics are all of them challenged by the teaching of Islam. The Mohammedan idea of the Highest Good, of Virtue and of the Moral Law are not in accord with those of Christianity. This is evident both from the character of Mohammed himself and from his recorded sayings. Ideal virtue is to be found through imitation of Mohammed. And the moral law is practically abrogated because of loose views as to its real character, its teaching and finality. “The ethics of Islam bear the character of an outwardly and crudely conceived doctrine of righteousness; conscientiousness in the sphere of the social relations, faithfulness to conviction and to one’s word, and the bringing of an action into relation to God, are its bright points; but there is a lack of heart-depth, of a basing of the moral in love. The highest good is the very outwardly and very sensuously conceived happiness of the individual.”[66]

This statement needs no proof to those who know Islam from its original sources, the Koran and Tradition. Professor Margoliouth uses language which is strong but not unfair when he says in regard to the saints of the Moslem calendar—that is the companions and followers of Mohammed—“Those who recount the history of Islam have to lay aside all ordinary canons of morality, else the picture would have no lights; they could not write at all if they let themselves be shocked by perfidy or bloodthirstiness, by cruelty or lust, yet both the Koran and Tradition forbid the first three, and assign some limits to the fourth.” A stream cannot rise higher than its source; a tower cannot be broader than its foundation. The measure of the moral stature of Mohammed is the source and foundation of all moral ideals in Islam. His conduct is the standard of character. We need not be surprised, therefore, that the ethical standard is so low even in Al-Ghazali, although he ofttimes rises high above the Koran and the Prophet.

In nearly every one of his books on morals the Prophet of Arabia is held up as the highest ideal of character. In his “Precious Pearl,” however, there is a passage quoted from a tradition in which he pays this high tribute to Jesus Christ (page 24, Cairo Edition), “_Go to Jesus, on Him be peace, for He is the truest of those who were sent as apostles, and who knew most of God, and the most ascetic in life of them all, and the most eloquent of all in wisdom, perchance He will intercede for you._” The quotation, however, refers to the day of resurrection when the various nations seek God’s favour and forgiveness.

When we consider the age in which Al-Ghazali lived and his Moslem education in ethics, Macdonald says,[67] “the position of Al-Ghazali is a simple one. All our laws and theories upon the subject, the analysis of the qualities of the mind, good and bad, the tracing of hidden defects to their causes, and the methods of combating these causes,—all these things [Al-Ghazali teaches] we owe to the saints of God to whom God Himself has revealed them. Of these there have been many at all times and in all countries,—God has never left Himself without a witness,—and without them and their labours and the light which God has vouchsafed to them we could never know ourselves. Here as everywhere, comes out clearly Al-Ghazali’s fundamental position that the ultimate source of all knowledge is revelation from God. It may be major revelation, through accredited prophets who come forward as teachers, divinely sent and supported by miracles and by the evident truth of their message appealing to the human heart; or it may be minor revelation—subsidiary and explanatory—through the vast body of saints of different grades to whom God has granted immediate knowledge of Himself. Where the saints leave off, the prophets begin; and, apart from such teaching, man, even in physical science, would be groping in the dark.”

But we must add to this clear statement of Al-Ghazali’s theory of ethics, _lest it be wholly misunderstood_, that the revelation referred to is the Koran and that “the saints” were the Moslem saints of the early Caliphate, and their followers.

Moslem doctors of jurisprudence, including Al-Ghazali, define sin as “a conscious act of a responsible being against known law.” Therefore sins of ignorance and of childhood are not reckoned as real sin. They divide sin into “great” and “little” sins. Some say there are seven great sins: idolatry, murder, false charge of adultery, wasting the substance of orphans, taking interest on money, desertion from _Jihad_ and disobedience to parents. Others say there are seventeen, and include wine-drinking, witchcraft and perjury among them. The lack of all distinction between the ceremonial and the moral law is very evident in the traditional sayings of Mohammed, which are, of course, at the basis of ethics. Take one example: “The Prophet, upon him be prayers and peace, said, One _dirhem_ of usury which a man takes knowing it to be so is more grievous than thirty-six fornications, and whosoever has done so is worthy of hell-fire.”

Orthodox Moslems divide sins into greater and lesser. Al-Ghazali quotes one who said, “There are no greater and lesser sins, but everything which is contrary to God’s will is a great sin,” but gives Koran passages contradicting this and then escapes the moral difficulty by showing that the smaller sins may become great if we continue in them: “like the dropping of water wearing away a stone”; and “when the servant of God reckons his sin great, God reckons it small, and when he reckons it small, then God reckons it great.”

He divides the sins which overcome the heart into four classes: egoistic, satanic, brutal and cruel. Under the first he puts pride, conceit, boasting, selfishness, etc.; envy, hatred, deceit, malice, corruption and unbelief, belong to the second; while greed, gluttony, lust, adultery, sodomy, theft, and the robbing of orphans are classed as brutal sins; and anger, passion, abuse, cursing, murder, robbery, etc., are cruel.

Yet in all of Al-Ghazali’s works on ethics and many of his smaller treatises are on this subject, there is no clear distinction made between the ritual and the moral law. In fact one word used for ethics in Arabic (_ʾadab_) refers to propriety of conduct, etiquette, politeness, and decency in outward behaviour, reverence in the presence of superiors, rather than to the keeping of the ten commandments or of the principles that are fundamental to noble character. This becomes very clear when we study the contents, for example, of one of his shorter books entitled _Al-ʾAdab fi Din_ (Ethics in Religion).

The book begins by giving the basis of ethical teaching in these words: “Praise be to God who created us and perfected our creation, and taught us morals and beautified our morals, and honoured us by sending His Prophet Mohammed (upon whom may God’s blessing rest), and hath taught us how to honour him. Truly the most perfect element in character and the most elevated, and the best of good works, and the most glorious, is correct behaviour as regards religion, which teaches what a true believer should know of the work of the Lord of the worlds and the Creator of the prophets and apostles; and God hath taught us and clearly enlightened us concerning this in the Koran, and hath given us the example of conduct in his Prophet Mohammed according to his Traditions. He is our example, and likewise are his companions and immediate followers. These have shown us what it is necessary for us to follow in their conduct, which we have here recorded for all those who would follow.”

The paragraphs or sections of this handbook are entitled: Ethics of the believer in the presence of God; of the teacher; of the pupil; of those who hear the Koran read; of the reader; of the school-teacher; of those who seek to understand Tradition; of the scribe; of the preacher; of the ascetic; of the nobleman; ethics of sleeping; of night-watching; of fulfilling a call of nature; of the bath; of washing; of entering the mosque; of the call to prayer; of prayer; of intercession; of the Friday sermon; of the feast-days; of conduct during an eclipse; of conduct during drought; of sickness; of funerals; of almsgiving; of the rich and the poor; of fasting; of pilgrimage; of the merchant; of the money-changer; of eating and drinking; of marriage (this has several subdivisions); of sitting by the wayside; of the child with its parents; of the parent with the child; of brothers; of neighbours; of the master with the servant; of the Sultan with his subjects; of the Judge; of the witness; of the prisoner. The final chapter of this interesting treatise deals with miscellaneous maxims on polite behaviour under all circumstances.

A translation of the section on eating, which is about the same length as the other paragraphs, will give a clear idea of the contents: “One should wash one’s hands before partaking of food and after, and pronounce the name of God before beginning to eat, and eat with the right hand. Take small portions from the dish, chew the food thoroughly, and do not look into the faces of the other guests while you are eating; nor should you recline nor eat to excess beyond the demands of hunger; and you should ask to be excused as soon as you have had enough, so that your guest may not be embarrassed or any one who has greater need. And one should eat from the edge of the platter and not from the middle, and wipe his fingers after the meal, and return praise to God. Nor should one mention death at dinner for fear of bringing bad luck upon those who are present.”

All this is interesting and important, for the Moslem child, as table etiquette. Obedience, humility in outward behaviour, reverence in the mosque, respect “to those above us in age or station,” and many other social virtues are likewise commended. But the omissions of the Book surprise us. There is nothing on truth, heart-purity, moral courage or the nobility of chivalry—_the things that make a man_.

One section of the _Ihya_ (Vol. III, p. 96 ff.) deals with the question as to when lies are justifiable, and clearly shows that according to Al-Ghazali, in the realm of truth at least, the end justifies the means. “Know,” he says, “that a lie is not _haram_ (wrong) in itself, but only because of the evil conclusions to which it leads the hearer, making him believe something that is not really the case. Ignorance sometimes is an advantage, and if a lie causes this kind of ignorance it may be allowed. It is sometimes a duty to lie. Maimun Ibn Muhran said, ‘A lie is sometimes better than truth: for instance, if you see a man seeking for another in order to kill him, what do you reply to the question as to where he is? Of course you will reply thus, for such a lie is lawful. We say that the end justifies the means.’

“If lying and truth both lead to a good result, you must tell the truth, for a lie is forbidden in this case. If a lie is the only way to reach a good result, it is allowable (_hallal_). A lie is lawful when it is the only path to duty. For example, if a Moslem flees from an unjust one and you are asked about him, you are obliged to lie in order to save him. If the outcome of war, reconciliation between two separated friends, or the safety of an oppressed depends on a lie, then a lie is allowed. In all cases we must be careful not to lie when there is no necessity for it, lest it be _haram_ (wrong). If a wicked person asks a man about his wealth he has to deny having any; and so if a sultan asks a man about a crime he has committed, he has to deny it and say, ‘I have not stolen,’ when he did steal; ‘nor done any vice,’ when he has done. The Prophet said, ‘He who has done a shameful deed must conceal it, for revealing one disgrace is another disgrace.’ A person must deny the sins of others as well. Making peace between wives is a duty, even by pretending to each of them that she is loved the most, and by making promises to please her.

“We must lie when truth leads to unpleasant results, but tell the truth when it leads to good results. Lying for one’s pleasure, or for increase of wealth, or for fame is forbidden. One wife must not lie for her husband to tease another wife. Lying is allowed in persuading children to go to school; also false promises and false threats.”

We get another view of Al-Ghazali’s ethics in his teaching regarding education. There is a special section in the _Ihya_ (Vol. III, p. 53) which deals with the education of boys and the improvement of their morals. It is not surprising that nothing is said as regards the education of girls, for even now many Moslem authorities consider it inadvisable that they should be taught to read and write. The chapter referred to begins as follows:

“It is most important to know how to bring up a boy, for a boy is a trust in the hands of his father, and his pure heart is a precious jewel like a tablet without inscription. It is therefore ready to receive whatever impression is applied. If he learns to do good and is taught it, he grows up accordingly, and is happy in this world and the next and his parents and teachers will have the reward for their action. But if he learns evil and grows up in neglect like the dumb cattle, he will turn away from the truth and perish, and his sin will be on the neck of his guardian. Allah has said, ‘O ye who believe, guard yourselves and your family from the fire; and even as the father would guard his son from the fire of this world, by how much the more should he guard him from the fire of the world to come? He will guard him from it by chastising him and educating him and teaching him the best virtues. To this end he will only give his boy to be nursed by a good, pious woman who eats the proper food, for the milk from forbidden food has no blessing in it.’”

He then goes on to show that the education of a child consists in teaching him table manners, the avoidance of unclean food, gluttony and impoliteness. He advises parents to dress their children simply and not in costly clothing. To quote once more:

“After teaching him these things it is wise to send him to school where he shall learn the Koran and the pious traditions, and the tales of the righteous and their lives, in order that a love of the pious may be imprinted in his heart; and he should be kept from reading erotic poetry and prevented from mixing with those people of education who think that this sort of reading is profitable and elevating, because, on the contrary, it produces in the hearts of children the seeds of corruption. Whenever the boy shows a good character or an act which is praiseworthy, he must be honoured for it and rewarded, so that he will be happy; and this should especially be done in the presence of others. If, on the contrary, he should act otherwise once and again, it is necessary to take no notice of it, nor to lay bare his fault, as though you imagine no one would dare to do such a thing, especially if the boy himself conceals it, and has determined to hide it; for exposing would only make him more bold in the future. If he should repeat the fault, he can be punished in secret.”

Such is the strange ethical teaching—a mingling of good and bad advice—on the part of one who has always been considered as the pillar of orthodoxy and one of the great authorities on Moslem morals.

The ethics of marriage holds a large place in Moslem literature, and also in the works of Al-Ghazali. Marriage is enjoined upon every Moslem, and celibacy is discouraged. “Marriage,” said Mohammed the Prophet, “is my custom, and he who dislikes it does not belong to my people.” And in another tradition: “Marriage is one-half of true religion.” Even the members of the ascetic orders in Islam are generally married. The vow of celibacy was therefore not known among the mystics. Marriage is defined by Moslem jurists as “a contract by which the husband obtains possession of the wife and is allowed to enjoy her, if there be no legal impediment preventing the same.” “Marriage,” says Al-Ghazali himself, “is a kind of slavery, for the wife becomes the slave of her husband and it is her duty to obey him absolutely in everything he requires of her, except in what is contrary to the laws of Islam.”

In the selection of a wife, Al-Ghazali advises his disciples to look for the following qualifications: (1) piety, (2) good character, (3) beauty, (4) a moderate dowry, (5) ability to bear children, (6) that she be a virgin, (7) of a good family, (8) that she be not of near relation. The duties of the husband to the wife and the duties of the wife to her husband are given in detail by Al-Ghazali in his _Ihya_ and in some of his other works. The husband, according to this teaching, ought to maintain _a golden mean_ in dealing with his wife in twelve points, that is, he means that there should be no excess of kindness or excess of harshness in any of these particulars: (1) the marriage feast; (2) behaviour; (3) playfulness or caressing; (4) maintaining his dignity; (5) jealousy; (6) pecuniary allowance; (7) teaching; (8) granting every wife her rights (in the Moslem sense); (9) chastisement; (10) the rules of cohabitation; (11) childbirth; (12) divorce. In one place he says if the wife be disobedient and obstinate, the husband has the right to punish her and force her to obey him, but he must proceed gradually, exhort, admonish, threaten, abstain from intercourse with her for three days, beat her so as to let her feel the pain, but be careful not to wound her in the face, make her blood flow abundantly or break a bone! The teaching of Al-Ghazali on divorce and slavery is so thoroughly Moslem that much of it is untranslatable. Suffice it to say that he agrees with other doctors of Moslem law in excusing onanism and other sins under certain circumstances, and even indicates that it may become a duty if practiced in order to escape from greater sins.[68]

In spite of his Islamic conception of the sexual relation, Al-Ghazali certainly inspires our respect by what he says on the kindly treatment of the wife and the evil of divorce. Only one would like to know whether he himself had more than one wife and whether she was a worthy helpmeet to her husband and he to her. His biographers are silent.

“A man should remain on good terms with his wife. This does not mean that he should never cause her pain, but that he should bear any annoyance she causes him, whether by her unreasonableness or ingratitude, patiently. Woman is created weak, and requiring concealment; she should therefore be borne with patiently, and kept secluded. The Prophet said, ‘He who bears the ill-humour of his wife patiently will earn as much merit as Job did by the patient endurance of his trials.’ On his deathbed also he was heard to say, ‘Continue in prayer and treat your wives well, for they are your prisoners.’

“Wise men have said, ‘Consult women, and act the contrary to what they advise.’ In truth there is something perverse in women, and if they are allowed even a little license, they get out of control altogether, and it is difficult to reduce them to order again. In dealing with them one should endeavour to use a mixture of severity and tenderness, with a greater proportion of the latter. The Prophet said, ‘Woman was formed of a crooked rib; if you try to bend her, you will break her; if you leave her alone, she will grow more and more crooked; therefore treat her tenderly.’[69]

“The greatest care should be taken to avoid divorce, for, though divorce is permitted, yet God disapproves of it, because the very utterance of the word ‘divorce’ causes a woman pain, and how can it be right to pain any one? When divorce is absolutely necessary, the formula for it should not be repeated thrice all at once, but on three different occasions. A woman should be divorced kindly, not through anger and contempt, and not without a reason. After divorce a man should give his former wife a present, and not tell others that she has been divorced for such and such a fault. Of a certain man who was instituting divorce proceedings against his wife it is related that people asked him, ‘Why are you divorcing her?’ He answered, ‘I do not reveal my wife’s secrets.’ When he had actually divorced her, he was asked again, and said, ‘She is a stranger to me now; I have nothing to do with her private affairs.’”

All the relations of life, its pleasures and duties pass under review in books on _ʾAdab_. Every detail of outward conduct is regulated by what is said to have been the practice of the Prophet. How to eat a pomegranate correctly, how to take a bath, how to use the _Miswak_, or tooth-brush, how to behave towards Jews and Christians, and what ornaments are allowed—all this comes under the head of Moslem Ethics. We give the reader one striking example.

In his work, “The Alchemy of Happiness,” there is a chapter concerning “Music and Dancing as Aids to the Religious Life.” The question of musical instruments was discussed as earnestly in the days of Al-Ghazali as it has been more recently among Christians who dread the desecration of God’s house by the “cist of whistles.” There was much dispute among theologians as to the lawfulness of music and dancing as religious exercises. The Sufis had already introduced the practice. The following paragraphs show Al-Ghazali’s common sense, keen humour, and at the same time his rather doubtful conclusion; for he even justifies erotic poetry if sung for the glory of God:

“The heart of man has been so constituted by the Almighty that, like a flint, it contains a hidden fire which is evoked by music and harmony, and renders man beside himself with ecstasy. These harmonies are echoes of that higher world of beauty which we call the world of spirits; they remind man of his relationship to that world, and produce in him an emotion so deep and strange that he himself is powerless to explain it. The effect of music and dancing is deeper in proportion as the nature on which they act are simple and prone to emotion; they fan into a flame whatever love is already dormant in the heart, whether it be earthly and sensual, or divine and spiritual....

“Passing over the cases where music and dancing rouse into a flame evil desires already dormant in the heart, we come to those cases where they are quite lawful. Such are those of the pilgrims who celebrate the glories of the House of God at Mecca in song, and thus incite others to go on pilgrimage, and of minstrels whose music and songs stir up martial ardour in the breasts of their auditors and incite them to fight against the infidels. Similarly, mournful music which excites sorrow for sin and failure in the religious life is lawful; of this nature was the music of David. But dirges which increase sorrow for the dead are not lawful, for it is written in the Koran, ‘Despair not over what you have lost.’ On the other hand, joyful music at weddings and feasts and on such occasions as a circumcision or the return from a journey is lawful....

“The states of ecstasy into which the Sufis fall vary according to the emotions which predominate in them—love, fear, desire, repentance, etc. These states, as we have mentioned above, are often the result not only of hearing verses of the Koran, but erotic poetry. Some have objected to the reciting of poetry, as well as of the Koran, on these occasions; but it should be remembered that all the verses of the Koran are not adapted to stir the emotions—such, for instance, as that which commands that a man should leave his mother the sixth part of his property and his sister the half, or that which orders that a widow must wait four months after the death of her husband before becoming espoused to another man. The natures which can be thrown into religious ecstasy by the recital of such verses are peculiarly sensitive and very rare.” They certainly are!

The inconsistencies and contradictions in Al-Ghazali’s theory of conduct surprise us when we peruse his works. Sometimes he leads us to high mountain ranges whose summits are gilded with the light of heaven, the great truths of Theism, the ideals of eternity; and again he plunges us into the sloughs of sensuous and worldly discussion—themes unworthy of his pen.

Let us get back to the mountain tops where the air is healthier. Al-Ghazali, whatever may have been his failure in other respects, had high ideals for the attainment of morals from the Moslem standpoint. In his “The Alchemy of Happiness” he says, “When in the crucible of abstinence the soul is purged from carnal passions it attains to the highest, and in place of being a slave to lust and anger becomes endued with angelic qualities. Attaining that state, man finds his heaven in the contemplation of Eternal Beauty, and no longer in fleshly delights. The spiritual alchemy which operates this change in him, like that which transmutes base metals into gold, is not easily discovered, nor to be found in the house of every old woman.”

And in the attainment of this ideal he is sure that there must be a fight for character. The goal is not to be reached by easy stages. The warfare against passion is real and costs sacrifice. He gives us a picture of this Holy War almost in the language of John Bunyan. “For the carrying on of this spiritual warfare by which the knowledge of oneself and of God is to be obtained, the body may be figured as a kingdom, the soul as its king and the different senses and faculties as constituting an army. Reason may be called the vizier, or prime minister, passion the revenue-collector, and anger the police-officer. Under the guise of collecting revenue, passion is continually prone to plunder on its own account, while resentment is always inclined to harshness and extreme severity. Both of these, the revenue-collector and the police-officer, have to be kept in due subordination to the king, but not killed or expelled, as they have their own proper functions to fulfil. But if passion and resentment master reason, the ruin of the soul infallibly ensues. A soul which allows its lower faculties to dominate the higher is as one who should hand over an angel to the power of a dog or a Mussalman to the tyranny of an unbeliever.”