Some religious and moral teachings of Al-Ghazzali Being brief extracts from his
- Language:
- English
- Status:
- Selection or partial work
- Authorship:
- Written by the author
- Condition of the text:
- No scanning noise detected (automatic measure over the whole text, not checked by hand)
- Extent:
- ~28,600 words · 136 passages
Cite this work
- APAAl-Ghazali. (n.d.). Some religious and moral teachings of Al-Ghazzali Being brief extracts from his. Digital reproduction: SigPhi. https://sigphiai.com/en/works/al-ghazali/some-religious-and-moral-teachings-of-al-ghazzali-being-brief-extracts-from-his
- MLAAl-Ghazali. Some religious and moral teachings of Al-Ghazzali Being brief extracts from his. Digital reproduction, SigPhi, https://sigphiai.com/en/works/al-ghazali/some-religious-and-moral-teachings-of-al-ghazzali-being-brief-extracts-from-his.
- ChicagoAl-Ghazali. Some religious and moral teachings of Al-Ghazzali Being brief extracts from his. Digital reproduction, SigPhi. https://sigphiai.com/en/works/al-ghazali/some-religious-and-moral-teachings-of-al-ghazzali-being-brief-extracts-from-his.
Reference to the edition that SigPhi reproduces: SigPhi is its digital reproduction, not its publisher. The edition's year is not in the metadata (hence "n.d."), and the translator appears only when recorded.
What it is about
⚠️ An ANTHOLOGY of extracts, not a complete work: the title itself says 'brief extracts from his works'.
Context and history
It serves as a taster and an introduction, but anyone wanting to read al-Ghazali properly should go to the books: The Alchemy of Happiness (his own abridged Persian version of the Ihya) and The Confessions of al-Ghazzali (the intellectual autobiography), both in the catalogue. A citation taken from here cannot be checked against any original edition, because what is here is an editor's selection.
Editorial context, not a citable source: unlike the passages of the work itself, these statements cannot be checked against the corpus.
which is the divine attribute. Divine reason, if properly attended to, would repel the evil by exposing its character. It would properly control appetite and the passions. But when a man fails to obey the dictates of reason, these three other attributes prevail over him and cause his ruin. Such types of men are many. What a pity it is that these who would find fault with those who worship stones do not see that on their part they worship the pig and the dog in themselves: Let them be ashamed of their deplorable condition and leave no stone unturned for the suppression of these evil attributes. The pig of appetite begets shamelessness, lust, slander, and such like; the dog of passion begets pride, vanity, ridicule, wrath and tyranny. These two, controlled by the satanic power produce deceit, treachery, perfidy, meanness etc. but if divinity in man is uppermost the qualities of knowledge, wisdom, faith, and truth, etc. will be acquired. Know then that mind is like a mirror which reflects images. But just as the mirror, the image, and the mode of reflection are three different things so mind, objects, and the way of knowing are also distinct. There are five reasons which may prevent the object from being reflected in the mirror. 1. There may be something wrong with the mirror. 2. Something other than the mirror may prevent the reflection. 3. The object may not be in front of it. 4. Something may come between the object and the mirror. 5. The position of the object may not be known, so that the mirror may be properly placed. Similarly, for five reasons, the mind fails to receive knowledge. 1. The mind may be imperfect, like the child’s. 2. Sin and guilt may bedim the mind and throw a veil over it. 3. The mind may be diverted from the real object. For example, a man may be obedient and good, but instead of rising higher to the acquisition of truth and contemplation of God is contented with bodily devotions and acquirement of means of living.…
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