Revival of the Religious Sciences (Ihya-i Ulum id-Din) is a selected collection of words by Gazali. The world is described as a garden of this life and a station of guidance. It is named ‘world’ in accordance with its nature. Some people, feeling a closeness in their hearts, believe that they are close to Allah in their worship and gatherings. Thus, they fall into the belief that everyone present in their gatherings will be forgiven. If Allah Almighty were to treat such a person with the due measure of punishment because of their negligence in etiquette, they would be immediately destroyed. Every seeker can speak about the stations they have reached and the ranks they have passed through. However, they cannot speak about the stations they have not reached or the ranks they have not attained; they can only believe in them secretly.
Allah Almighty has not withheld the light of knowledge from mankind; Allah Almighty is free from stinginess. The reason why the light of knowledge does not flow into hearts is the darkness and evils that fill those hearts. For hearts are like vessels; if a vessel is full of water, there is no room for air to enter. When a heart is full of worldly desires, the grandeur of Allah’s knowledge cannot enter it. Among all the sciences, the most honorable is the science that reveals the attributes and actions of Allah. Through this science, a person reaches perfection and experiences the happiness of completeness. When mankind approaches the neighborhood of the grandeur and perfection of Allah, it is certain that this neighborhood brings great happiness to them. The veil between the heart and the soul is the remembrance (zikr).
Only the pious servants of Allah can perform remembrance. Thus, piety is the gate to remembrance, and remembrance is the gate to discovery, and discovery itself is the very door to great victory. When the veils between the heart and the soul are lifted, the manifestation of dominion and sovereignty becomes visible to that person. Such a person witnesses the paradise that encompasses the earth and the heavens. The essence of worship is the purification of the heart, and the purification of the heart is only possible with the birth of the light of knowledge.
Preface
9. Faith has three levels: a) The faith of the common people, which is the faith of the followers of the imitators, b) The faith of the theologians, who base their faith on certain rational arguments, c) The faith of the mystics, who believe through the light of certainty. The belief that rational sciences are opposed to religious sciences and that these sciences cannot coexist, and that it is impossible for them to be together, is due to the ignorance and blindness of the person who holds this belief. We seek refuge in Allah from ignorance. Rational sciences are divided into two categories: a) Worldly, b) Otherworldly. The worldly sciences are medicine, mathematics, cosmography, art, and natural sciences. The otherworldly sciences are those that reveal the states of the heart, the calamities of actions, and the attributes and actions of Allah. Indeed, these two groups of rational sciences are opposed to each other.
A person who devotes all their effort to one of these two categories and becomes deeply involved in that field usually lacks in the other. When you hear something about religious and otherworldly matters that are denied by the rationalists, do not let their denial confuse you; for it is impossible for a person in the East to know the truth of the West. Divine winds are blowing around; they open the veils that cover the eyes of the heart. These eyes see certain truths written on the Preserved Tablet. The people of mysticism incline more toward the sciences learned through inspiration rather than those acquired through study. Therefore, they have not paid much attention to the sciences written by the authors, nor have they investigated the statements and proofs in those writings. Piety is not about leaving marks on the forehead from excessive prostration, nor about becoming pale from fasting, nor about bending the back during prostration and bowing.
Piety is not sought in the length of the body or the drooping of the hem of the garment. Piety is the state of sincerity in the heart. If a person greets you with a smiling face, but greets you back with a stern face and burdens you with their knowledge, may Allah not increase the number of such people! The heart of a believer never dies, and the knowledge of a believer is not erased at the time of death. The clarity in the heart never fades. Hasan Basri has pointed to this meaning as follows: ‘The soil cannot devour the center of faith.’
Revival of the Religious Sciences 16. The science of the inner self is one of the secrets of Allah. Allah Almighty reveals this secret to the heart of the person He wills. The Quran clearly states that piety is the key to guidance and discovery. Piety is the science acquired without a teacher. When something reaches the heart, the previous truths flee and make way for the latest one. The highest peak of the science of dealing with others is to be aware of the tricks of the soul and the whispers of Satan. It is a duty for every human to be knowledgeable about this. However, it is a pity that the people have neglected this duty and have instead occupied themselves with some frivolous sciences that cause whispers. Thus, Satan leads them astray through these sciences.
When you see scholars attacking each other, being jealous of each other, and not understanding each other, decree that they have sold their afterlives for their worldly lives! Is there anyone more of a seller than these people? If a person claims to be following the school of a certain imam, but does not follow the path of that imam, then the greatest betrayal is that they claim to be following that imam himself. That imam says before Allah: ‘My school is to act upon the decrees I have derived. It is not to say with the tongue, ‘I am following this school.’ The tongue is for speaking, not for lying. Therefore, if you claim to be following my school, then why do you oppose me in actions and morals?
In fact, the essence of the school you follow, which you thought would bring you closer to Allah, is action and morality. You also boldly claim to be following my school. Such a claim is one of the doors that help Satan enter the heart. Many scholars have been destroyed because of the opening of this door.’ The most foolish person is the one who believes most in the virtues of the soul. The most intelligent people are those who accuse the soul the most. If a person from the common people commits adultery or theft, it is lighter than speaking about it with knowledge. Because a person who does not know the subtleties of the religion of Allah will eventually be led to disbelief through such speech. Just like a person who does not know how to swim and throws themselves into the sea, such a person will drown in the sea of sin.
The most pious and most knowledgeable of people is the one who does not look at people with the same eyes. Because some people need to be looked at with kindness and others with anger. If you look at someone who should be looked at with anger with kindness, you will not see their faults; for kindness weakens the sensitivity of the eyes. When you see a person who investigates the sins of others and the faults of people, know that such a person’s heart is sick. The pious person is the one whose heart is healthy in the eyes of all people.
Until the heart is adorned with piety and good deeds and purified from bad qualities, the truth of remembrance cannot be found in that heart. Otherwise, the remembrance is the speech of the soul, and in this speech, the heart has no depth. In such a case, it is impossible for Satan to be expelled from the heart. The soul is a divine command. To say ‘habbemi’ means that it is one of the secrets of the knowledge of the soul. This secret has not been given the right to be revealed to anyone. Because even the beloved servant of Allah, the Prophet of Allah, has not explained this secret.
When lust takes control of the heart, even if it penetrates the deepest cells of the heart, Satan finds stability there. In hearts that are far from bad qualities, when they are not occupied with lust, but when they neglect remembrance, Satan knocks on the door of those hearts. However, as those hearts become more attached to remembrance, Satan retreats. Just as the conditions of prayer are not met, if the conditions of remembrance are not met, such a remembrance does not prevent Satan. Satan is an army that gathers together. Every kind of sin has its own Satan, and on the day of the sin, it is committed at the invitation of its own Satan. In the world of kingship, the forms are subject to the attributes. Therefore, bad meaning appears in bad forms. Thus, Satan appears in the form of a dog, frog, and pig. These forms are the labels of the meanings and indicate the truth of the meanings. Based on this secret, seeing a monkey and a pig in a dream, as it indicates a bad person, a sheep indicates an expansive inner self. Every dream is interpreted according to this measure. Sleep kills and dries up the heart, except for the necessary amount. Sleeping enough is a means to discover the secrets of the unseen. What is needed for the traveler on the path of Allah is to control their desires. This control is achieved by retreating to a dark place and thinking, by lowering the head, and by covering oneself with a cloth. These positions are taken to listen to the voice of truth and to indicate the greatness of the Lord’s presence. Do you not see that when the Prophet of Allah was in this position, a call came to him, saying, ‘O one who is covered, arise and warn!’?
The stomach and the fire are doors that open to the fire. Because the origin of these is satisfaction and fullness. Poverty and retreat are doors to paradise. Because the origin of these is compassion. Whoever locks one of the doors of hell is considered to have opened one of the doors of paradise. Because these two are opposites. Approaching one means distancing from the other. A person’s mastery over their own soul is the fullness of happiness; the mastery of lust and the soul over the person is the fullness of misery. Excessive satisfaction prevents worship, and worship, which dims the brightness of the heart and thought, also causes the life connected to these to be ruined. Remaining hungry, on the other hand, turns all these negative states into positive ones.
Because just as eating little preserves the health of the body, eating too much and filling the stomach with mixed foods causes confusion in the veins. The result of what is forbidden in religion, such as killing and disputing, is to object to what one has heard from others by saying it is incorrect. The result of struggle is to silence others, to make them weak, to destroy their speech, and to attribute ignorance to them. For a person who has become accustomed to thinking about the grandeur and majesty of Allah and the sovereignty in the earth and heavens, the pleasure derived from observing the strange and wonderful art of the kingdom is greater than the pleasure derived from looking at the gardens and fruits of paradise with the physical eye. This is the condition of the thinkers in the world.
Preface
What will the situation be like when all the veils are lifted in the afterlife? If you are not addicted to the knowledge of Allah, you are excused! Because a person who does not have the power to commit adultery does not want to marry, and children do not desire the throne and crown. Desire is a state that arises only after pleasure. One who does not experience pleasure cannot understand it. One who does not understand cannot fall in love. One who does not fall in love does not desire. One who does not desire cannot perceive, and one who cannot perceive is among the deprived of the lowest level. In religion, the reward for loving those who have reached the level of the noble is not taken from those who have not reached that level. They love them when they wish, and because of these loves, they attain great rewards.
Jealousy is not a desired injustice. It is a sin between you and Allah. Justice is only required in actions that cause harm to others. The world and the afterlife are two states of the heart. The state that is temporary and before death is called the world, and the part after that is called the afterlife. The afterlife is after death. Everything that is in an urgent desire or a share before death is a world for you. At the time of death, nothing remains in a person except these three qualities: 1. The purification of the heart from the dirt of the world 2. The closeness of the heart to Allah through remembrance 3. The joy of the heart from the love of Allah. The purification of the heart is only possible by avoiding the desires of the world. Being close to remembrance is only possible by performing a lot of remembrance. The love of Allah is only obtained through knowledge. The knowledge of Allah is only known when remembrance is constantly performed.
Death is not, as the people attached to the world believe, non-existence. Death is the liberation from the barrier you must pass to reach the presence of your beloved. Arrogance shows that the servant is safe from the punishment of Allah. Being safe from punishment is the greatest of calamities. Humility
Revival of the Religious Sciences of Allah is the expression of fearing Allah. This fear is the guide and tool of happiness. One of the remedies for arrogance is to sit in front of others and sit below them when they are equal to you. However, there is a cunningness of Satan here. That is, sitting next to someone’s shoes or sitting people whose status is unclear and thus believing oneself to be humble. However, this is the very arrogance itself. Because the heart is filled with whispers like ‘I have given up my rightful place and shown humility.’ This delusion is the very arrogance itself. The duty of a person is to put their peer in front and not sit below them or fall into the shoes.
The basis of happiness is intellect, understanding, and wisdom. The health of the intellect is a great blessing in the world of Allah’s nature. In this regard, if the intellect is destroyed by weakness and calamity, then you must first try to obtain it. You can be safe from the jinn devils. But, be strongly protected from the devils of mankind! Because the devils of mankind have taken the task of misleading and deceiving from the jinn devils and thus have sent the jinn devils to rest. There is no one who is not satisfied with the intellect given by Allah. However, the lowest of the ignorant is the person who boasts of their intellect. The scholars of the afterlife are known by the calmness on their faces and their humility before Allah. The people whose mouths open like a horn and spread to the ears while laughing, and who are fierce in their actions and speech, have these fierceness and anger due to their ignorance.
Such behavior is the habit of the lovers of the world. The first condition for a person in need to reach their need is not to eat until they obtain it from morning to evening. There are some sins that prepare bad endings. One of them is to claim to be a spiritual master without being one. Everyone has a heart, do not think otherwise!
Preface
Objections to Gazali and His Responses Ibn Asakir says: Some scholars have claimed that there are grammatical errors in Gazali’s expressions. Indeed, when asked about this matter, he admitted without hesitation that he had not delved deeply into the science of grammar and that he might have made mistakes in this regard. He also said that he had only used as much of grammar as was necessary. At the same time, he used to deliver sermons and write commentaries filled with beautiful expressions that could astonish even the most eloquent scholars. He would tell those who found errors in his writings that he was willing to excuse them and allow them to correct his expressions. Because his goal was not the words themselves, but to reveal and expose the meanings.
Gazali’s criticisms in this matter are mainly due to the book he wrote in Persian called Kimya-yi Saadet. This is due to the unattractive words of Persian. In the same book or in other works, he mentions some sciences that do not conform to the rituals of the sharia and the apparent principles of Islam. He also enters into the explanation of certain matters of form. Thus, he has been criticized. The most appropriate thing to say is the truth itself. Therefore, if Gazali had abandoned works like Kimya-yi Saadet and the issues he explained in them, he would have done much better. Because the common people often fall into error when they read such works, as they do not know the fundamentals of faith through evidence.
When they hear such things, they mistakenly believe that these things that harm their faith and belief are the teachings of the righteous predecessors. However, a wise and just person, upon consulting their intellect and conscience in Gazali’s works and directing their intelligence to understand what these books mean, will see that all the main points he wants to express refer to the fundamentals of the science of sharia. However, he has avoided explaining them and keeping them away from the common people. In addition, we can also find similar truths mentioned in the books of the people of truth. Some of them express them implicitly, and some explicitly. Some of them are mentioned in a well-organized and connected manner, and some are mentioned in separate places in a scattered way.
According to the claims of those who criticize Gazali’s words,
Revival of the Religious Sciences (Ihya-i Ulum id-Din) has an unknown meaning, but there are also interpretations and possibilities that are suitable for the sunna and the community. Therefore, it is possible to attribute a statement to the truth, but to attribute it to other meanings is injustice. However, despite all these, it is better to abandon statements that lead to doubt and negative thoughts, and not to explain them, which is more in line with the will of Allah. Allah knows the truth best! The famous scholar Ibn Salih criticizes the opening statement of Gazali’s book el-Mustasfa, saying, ‘This is the head of all sciences. Therefore, the knowledge of those who do not have time for all sciences cannot be trusted.’ In the same way, Ibn Kayyim also strongly criticizes Gazali in his book Miftah al-Dar al-Sa’adah for the above statement.
Takkiyuddin Subki, on the other hand, defended Gazali against these two scholars and gave various responses to them. (See Subki, Tabakat al-Shafiyyah) Regarding the attacks on Gazali’s book Ihya and the responses given to them, we will discuss this matter in detail later and present it to our readers. Mazuri, within the framework of his criticisms of Gazali, said the following: I have not yet read the book of the person mentioned. However, I have seen his students and loyal friends and spoken with them. Each of them told me something about his condition and his path. I believe that I have fully understood his biography and his school of thought based on these stories. I know him as if I have seen him with my own eyes. In this regard, I will briefly mention the situation of his book by taking a few sentences from the beliefs of the unitarians, philosophers, Sufis, and those who have knowledge of signs.
Because Gazali’s book moves among these groups and does not go beyond the claims of all these groups. After briefly mentioning this, I will explain how a person of a certain school attacks other schools, reveal the ways of deception, and show all the aspects of false thoughts so that no Muslim falls into the trap of these false hunters. Mazuri said these things and continued his speech as follows: