What can be said about the following hadith, which Imam Bukhari reports as authentic from Tufeyl and Hz. Ali: ‘Speak in a way that people can understand. Do you want to force people to disbelieve in Allah and His Messenger by speaking above their level of understanding?’ There are many issues that scholars have prohibited because the people cannot understand them. Often, some scientific issues are passed over in silence so that the listeners do not fall into doubt. It is possible to give countless examples of this. As for Tartushi’s (1059-1126) criticisms, they have no value other than baseless claims. What I cannot understand is how a Muslim scholar like Tartushi could say that a great scholar like Gazali ‘fell into the whispers of Satan’!
Another matter that my mind cannot grasp is Tartushi’s statement that ‘Gazali’s ideas are mixed with the ideas of philosophers and the states of Hallaj.’ I cannot understand how he came to this judgment! I have examined Ihya from beginning to end. There, I did not find any signs of Sufism that the wise people approve of, nor any signs belonging to Hallaj or the philosophers. As for Tartushi’s statement that ‘Gazali did not get close to the knowledge of the Sufis,’ this statement is a cold and meaningless claim. Because every thinking person knows that Gazali is a person of spiritual insight. I wish I knew who knows the Sufism that Gazali did not know! As for Tartushi’s statement that ‘Gazali fell down,’ this statement is nothing more than an attack on scholars without evidence or foundation.
Because there is no evidence proving why Gazali fell down. May Allah protect us and Tartushi from the misfortunes of prejudice. Tartushi’s statement that ‘Gazali’s books are full of fabricated hadiths’ also seems strange to me. I wish I knew whether the owner of these hadiths was Tartushi or the Prophet Muhammad. Because it is not within the rights of everyone to claim that these hadiths are not from the Prophet Muhammad. Therefore, attacking Gazali on this matter is as baseless-
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as it is. No one who is knowledgeable about the subject pays attention to such claims. We can list the names of those who are against Gazali as follows: Ibn Salah, Yusuf ed-Dimashqi, Mazuri, Tartushi, Ibn Taimiyah, Ibn Kayyim Ibn ul-Cewzi, his grandson Abu Muzaffer and Judge Iyaz… Judge Iyaz gave up talking about Gazali after his famous dream. Ibn Taimiyah and Ibn ul-Cewzi, in their works, claimed that Gazali was weak in the science of hadith and subjected him to criticism. Ibn Salah, who was one of the few authorities in fiqh, hadith and other religious sciences, and whose intention was clear, could not speak in Gazali’s field. Mazuri’s high level and knowledge cannot be denied. But these matters are only known by those who have reached that level. If there are some things in Ihya that can be criticized, no one can deny the valuable issues and beauty found in other works. (Ibn Subki, Tabakat ush-Shafiye) Gazali is attacked from two points: 1. Because of his own statements 2. Because of the narrations he confirmed by silence after quoting from others. Many people from various sects and groups have praised Gazali, but there are also many who have strongly opposed him. Among those who criticize Gazali, the Mağribis lead with Ibn Arabi, Mazuri, Tartushi, Judge Iyaz and Ibn Munir.
Among the easterners, Ibn Salah, Yusuf ed-Dimashqi, Zerkesi and Burhan el-Bukai have criticized him. Satisfactory answers have been given to their objections. Because it would take too long, we have cut it short here. May Allah forgive all their faults and elevate Gazali’s position to paradise… Amen!
Ihya-i Ulûm’id-Din I have not seen anyone who has explained Ihya or tried to explain its beautiful meaning. I only saw a small treatise called Elimla an Ihya, written by Gazali himself as a response to the objections raised against Ihya. In the H. years, the hadith scholar Imam Zeyneddin Abu’l-Fadl Abdurrahim b. Husayn el-Iraki compiled and examined the hadiths of Ihya in two books. One of them is a large book spanning several volumes. However, since this book could not reveal the condition of some of the hadiths in Ihya, he searched for and examined many hadiths that were previously unknown in the H. year. As a result, he shortened the mentioned book and wrote it in one volume.
He named his book El-Muğnî an Haml’il-Esfar. In this book, Iraki drew attention to the following issues: 1. The path of the hadith 2. The companion and narrator who transmitted the hadith 3. The soundness of the narration 4. The weakness of the narration 5. He only mentions a hadith once even if it is repeated several times. If it is repeated, it is repeated for an absolute reason. After Iraki, his famous student, the muhaddis Shihabeddin Ibn Hajar el-Askalani, collected the hadiths that had escaped the eyes of his teacher in one volume. From the Hanefi scholars, Kasım b. Kutlubağa also wrote an essay called Tuhfet-ul-Ehyâ fima Fâte min Tahrîci Ehâdîsi Ihya, showing the sources of the hadiths in Ihya. At the end of Ibn Subki’s Tabahâtin, there is a discussion about the examination of the hadiths in Ihya that are under dispute.
Summaries of Ihya The first person to shorten Ihya was Gazali’s brother Abu Feth Ahmed b. Muhammad el-Gazali. He named the shortened book Lübab’ul-Ihyâ.
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Later, Ahmed b. Musa el-Musulî, who died in the H. year, did the same job. Thirdly, Muhammad b. Said el-Yemenî; after him, Yahya b. Abu’l-Hayr el-Yemenî; after him, Muhammad b. Omar b. Osman el-Belhî shortened Ihya and named his book Ayn’ul İlim. Abdülvahhab b. Ali el-Meraği also shortened Ihya and published it under the name Lubab’ul-Ihyâ. One of those who abbreviated Ihya was also eşŞems Muhammad b. Ali b. Cafer el-Aclunî. This person was famous under the name el-Bilâlî. He was the sheikh of the Saidus-Suâdâ tekke in Egypt. He died in the H. year. Hafiz Sehavî said that the book abbreviated by eş-Şems Muhammad b. Ali is better than all other summaries of Ihya.
Celâleddin es-Suyutî is also among those who abbreviated Ihya. Gazali’s Works Imam Münavî, Nevevî from; he also reports from his teacher Tığlisî: ‘I counted the books that Gazali wrote and divided them by his life. I saw that four volumes fit each day.’ In my opinion, this situation is nothing but a sign of the mercy of Allah the Almighty, who gives his servant time in time. One of the greatest miracles of the scholars is this. This statement is not only for Gazali, but also for Ibn Cerir Taberî, Ibn Şahin, Ibn Nakib, Imam Nevevî, Subkî and Suyûtî. Gazali has written works in almost every field of knowledge.
Even in the sciences of letters, spiritual secrets, the characteristics of customs, the subtleties of divine names, and even in the science of alchemy, he has written various works. The greatest work of Gazali is the book you are now holding, called Ihya-i Ulûm’id-Din. Let us start this task by mentioning Gazali’s works in alphabetical order. Since the first letter of Ihya is ‘alif’ and it speaks about the afterlife sciences, and since it is superior to all his other books to the extent that it can be said ‘Even if all books are burned, only Ihya remains to take the place of all,’ we take the book named Ihya first:
M Ihya-i Ulûm’id Din Ihya consists of four parts: 1. Ibadat 2. Âdât 3. Mühlikât 4. Münciyât Each part contains ten books and Ihya is composed of forty books. In his book El-Münen, Shârânî reports from Abu I İaşen Şâzelî as follows: ‘Ihya gives knowledge, spiritual food and light to people.’ Subkî also says: ‘If there is a book that Muslims can read with care and that can be spread to guide the people, it is Ihya. He continues: ‘Those who study Ihya will inevitably come to a realization. If none of the books written by the scholars of knowledge existed and only Ihya remained, this book alone would be sufficient to meet the needs of the people.
I do not know any book that resembles Ihya, which brings together narration, thought and works in the books of the scholars.’ When Gazali went to the Maghreb region, many Maghreb scholars advised against reading Ihya because it was full of weak hadiths. They strongly opposed it. Ibn Teymiyye and his student Ibn Kayyim also claimed that Gazali was very weak in the science of hadith. Even Ibn ul-Cewzi wrote a book called ‘I’lam ul-Ehyâ bi Eglat i Ihya,’ collecting all the mistakes in Ihya according to his understanding. He also mentioned some of his claims in his book called ‘Tclbis’ullblis.’ Muzaffer, the grandson of Ibn ul-Cewzi, said about Ihya: ‘Gazali wrote the book Ihya according to the principles of the Sufis and completely neglected the principles of fiqh when writing this book.’
Mevlâ b. Hayr says: ‘It should not be attacked on the grounds that there are hadiths in Ihya that are not authentic. Because Gazali mentioned these hadiths for the purpose of encouragement and praise.’ Indeed, the author of Keşf-i Zunûn says: ‘Hadiths that are not authentic can be mentioned for the purpose of encouragement and praise, provided that they are not harmful.’
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Zebidî says: ‘The ruling mentioned in Keşf-i Zunûn is correct. Because some of the hadiths mentioned by Gazali are those that Bukhari and Muslim agree on. Some are hasan and some are sahih. There are also weak, strange, munkar and fabricated hadiths among them. Indeed, those who examine Ihya will clearly observe the condition of these hadiths.’
The list of Gazali’s other works is as follows:
1. el-İmlâ alâ Müşkil’il-Ihyâ
2. ei-Erbaîn
3. Kitab’ul-Esma’il-Hüsnâ
4. el-İktisad fi’l-îtikad
5. İlcamkıl-Avam an İlm’il-Kelâm
6. Esraru Muamelât’id-Din
7. Esraru Envar’il-İlâhiyye
8. Ahlâk’ul-Ebrar
9. Esraru İttiba’is-Sünne
10. Esraru Hurûfil Kelimât
11. Eyyühe’l-Veled (Persian)
12. Bidâyet’ül-Hidâye
13. el-Basît
14. Beyan’ul-Kavleyn li’sh-Şâfiî
15. Fezayih’ u 1 -İbahiye
16. Bedâyi’ul-Usûl
17. Tenbih’ul-Gâfilîn
18. Telbîs’ul-İblis
19. Tehâfüt’ül-Felâsife
20. Tahsîl’ul-Meâhız
21. et-Talîke
22. Tahsîl’ul-Edille
Ihya-i Ulûm’id-Din
23. Tefsîr’ul-Kur’an’il-Azîm
24. Faysal’ut-Tefrika Beyne’l-İslânı ve’z-Zandaka
25. Cevahir’ul-Kur’an
26. Huccet’ul-Hak
27. Hakîkat’ur-Ruh
28. Hakîkat’ul Kavleyn
29. Hulâsat’ul-Resâil ilâ İlm’il-Mesâil
30. Risâlet’ul-Aktab
31. Risalet’ut-Tayr
32. er-Reddu alâ Men Taan
33. er-Risalet’ul-Kudsiyye
34. es-Sırr’ul-Mesun
35. Şerh’ul Daireti Ali b. Ebî Tâlib (Nuhbet’ul-Esmâ)
36. Şifâ’ul-Galil
37. Akîdet’ul-Misbah
38. Acâib’ul-Sun‘ullah
39. Unkud’ul-Muhtasar
40. Gayet’ul-Gavr fî Mesâil’id-Devr
41. Gavr’ud-Devr
42. el-Fetâvâ
43. el-Kanun’ul-Küllî
44. Kanun’ur-Rasûl
45. el-Kurbet ilâllah
46. el-Kıstas’ul-Müstakîm
47. Kimyâ-yı Saâdet (Persian)
48. Küçük Kimyâ-yı Saâdet (Arabic)
49. Keşfu Ulûm’il-Âhire
50. Kenz’ul-Udde
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51. el Münteha fî’l-Cedel
52. el-Mustasfa fî Usûl’il-Fıkh
53. el-Menhül fî’l-Usûl
54. el-Meâhız’ul-Hilâfîyât
55. el-Mebâdi ve’l-Gayât
56. el-Mecâlis’ul-Gazalîye
57. Mekasıd’ul-İlim
58. el-Munkiz min’ed-Dalâl
59. Mi‘yar’un-Nazar
60. Mi‘yar’ul-İlim
61. Mahallu’n-Nazar
62. Mişkât’ul-Envar
63. el-Müstezherâ
64. Mîzân’ul-Amel
65. Mevâhim’ul-Bâtıniyye
66. el-Menhec’ul-A‘lâ
67. Mi‘rac’üs-Sâlikîn
68. el-Meknûn
69. Müslîm’us-Selâtîn
70. Müfesser’ul-Hilâf
71. Minhâc’ul-Abidîn
72. Nasihat’ul-Âbidîn
72. Nasihat’ul-Mülûk (Persian)
73. el-Vecîz
74. Yâkutu Te’vil fî Tefsîr’it-Tenzil (Forty volumes)
Books attributed to Gazali, but which are not actually his works are as follows:
Ihya-i Ulûm’id-Din 1. es-Sırr-ul-Mektûm fi Esrâr’in-Nücûm (This book is also attributed to Fahreddin Râzî) 2. Tahsin’uz-Zünûn 3. Kitab’un-Nefh ve’t-Tasviye 4. Mednûn bih alâ Gayri Ehlihi These books are attributed to Gazali even though he did not write them. When examined, they are seen to be full of disbelief and ideas contrary to the Sharia. Gazali is a person who is far from promoting such ideas. Indeed, Ibn Subkî has proven in detail that these books are not by Gazali. Those who want to can refer to Ibn Subkî’s works. Like Ibn Subkî, Muhyiddin Arabî and the author of Tuhtef ul-İrşâd have also provided detailed information that these books were not written by Gazali.
(This information from the beginning of the preface to here is taken from Zebidî’s book called İlhafus-Saade, which is a commentary on Ihya.) When I finish this introduction about Gazali, if we have made a mistake without knowing, we ask Allah the Almighty to forgive us, and we also ask for forgiveness from Gazali’s spirit. We consider it our duty to present a translation of Ihya-i Ulûm’id-Din, which is Gazali’s greatest work, to our esteemed readers for the service of knowledge. Gazali, who is from the Shafi’i school, has always analyzed fiqh issues according to the Shafi’i school, and sometimes he has made analyses according to his personal ijtihad. We have tried to show as much as possible the conflicting parts through parentheses or footnotes.
Admitting our shortcomings in advance, we apologize to our esteemed readers and give them the authority to correct our mistakes in a fair manner. Now I leave you to face Gazali directly and ask for your good prayers for guidance, understanding, and revelation from Allah. Ali Arslan Ramadan 1390/1 November 1970
PREFACE I offer endless praise and blessings to Allah the Almighty, whose greatness is beyond the capacity of the entire universe to praise. I send my prayers and peace to all the prophets, who are the masters of humanity. I ask Allah the Almighty to grant my determination to write a book to revive religious knowledge a positive result. Oh, the one who is excessively criticizing among the deniers! Oh, the most aggressive attacker among the ignorant deniers! I am preparing to fight and struggle to destroy your pride and greatness. Not seeing the clear truth and helping the falsehood, considering ignorance as good, turning away from the people’s rituals, and striving to achieve the honor of servitude to Allah, which He has assigned to the heart’s purification and the soul’s refinement, and those who have abandoned the formality and turned to real action as required by knowledge, and those who want to compensate for some of the harm caused by the wasted life, you have wrongfully attacked them, and you have made me responsible for speaking.
Your hypocrisy has broken my tongue! Despite this, I am worried that I cannot write a sufficiently pure work to forgive my past mistakes. I am writing to stay away from the people who have said the following about the Prophet: ‘The most severe punishment on the Day of Judgment is for that scholar who has not benefited from the knowledge he knows.’ I swear that the stubbornness you show in denial and pride is only capable of thinking about the peak of this matter, and the result is tragic and terrifying 1) Taberani, Mıı’cemus-Sağir; Beyhaki, Şuabul-İman, (From Abu Hurayra)
Ihya-i Ulûm’id-Din being unaware of the formation of Ihya, not realizing the magnitude of the danger, not seeing that the world is constantly passing away and the afterlife is coming, not realizing that death is always near, that the journey is long and terrifying, that the provisions in one’s hand are very little, and that the dangers are numerous and rising, and not seeing that the path is blocked. For the sake of Allah’s pleasure, I know that the real scholars do not like the unwanted knowledge and the actions done with that knowledge, and that the long journey of the afterlife is very exhausting. This disease, which captures the community that does not know the long journey of the afterlife without evidence and companions, is the source of all evils. A person without a guide encounters great difficulties! The guides of this path are the scholars who are the heirs of the prophets and who act according to their knowledge.
These scholars have almost disappeared from the earth! However, many people have covered the earth with the guise of scholars. Most of them have been defeated by Satan, fallen into ignorance, and gone into falsehood. Each of them is busy collecting temporary worldly wealth. For this reason, they see what Allah has said as bad and what He has said as good. The knowledge of religion is almost gone. The signs of guidance have almost disappeared from the earth. In our current era, only the knowledge of the killing that the judges know is being given to the people. The knowledge of cedel used to silence the heads of those who struggle, or the knowledge of kafiye used by the preachers on the pulpit to influence the people, is considered as knowledge only.
Because there is no other way for the people to take the people’s wealth through the wrong way! There is no other knowledge that brings worldly gain. As for the knowledge called rüşd, guidance, light, ziya, knowledge, wisdom, and fiqh, which the predecessors used as a guide on the path of the afterlife, that knowledge has withdrawn from the people and has been erased from the minds as if it will never be remembered again. The forgetting of these sciences that make the journey of the afterlife easier is the greatest wound and abyss in religion. Therefore, I see writing this book as a necessity. I am writing this book in your hands to revive the religious sciences, to show the path of the past imams, and to explain the nature of the sciences that the prophets and those who are attached to them found useful and beneficial.
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I have based this book in your hands on four main (rub’/quarter):
I. Ibadat
II. Âdât
III. Mühlikât
IV. Münciyât
I placed the section on knowledge at the beginning of the book; because knowledge is the most important issue for a person. I placed the section on knowledge at the beginning of the book to explain the knowledge that Allah the Almighty wants from everyone through the tongue of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a).
The Prophet Muhammad (s.a) says:
Learning knowledge is obligatory for every Muslim, whether male or female.
One of the reasons I placed the knowledge section at the beginning of the book is that I want to distinguish between the knowledge that benefits people and the knowledge that harms them; because the Prophet Muhammad (s.a) says:
We seek refuge in Allah from knowledge that does not benefit.
Proving that those living in the revolution have separated from the truth, run after imaginary things, are not occupied with the essence of the truth, but deal with the shells of everything, is also one of the reasons I placed this section at the beginning.
The Ibadat (Worship) section (Volume 1) consists of ten parts:
1. Kitab’ul-İlim
2. Foundations of Belief
3. Secrets of Purity
2) Ibn Mâce, (From Câbir)
3) Ibn Mâce, (From Enes). Imam Ahmed, Beyhakî and some muhaddis have said that this hadith is weak.