Imam Al-Ghazali committed himself seriously to Sufism in his later life, during which time he produced a series of unique works on Sufism and ethics including
(1) Mizan al-‘amal (The Balance of Action), composed just before retirement,
(2) Ihya’ ‘ulum al-din, his magnum opus written after retirement,
(3) Kitab al-arba‘in fi usul al-din (The Forty Chapters on the Principles of Religion), (4) Kimiya’-yi sa‘adat (The Alchemy of Happiness),
(5) Mishkat al-anwar (The Niche of the Lights) and
others.
The ultimate goal of humankind according to Islam is salvation in paradise, which is depicted in the Glorious Qur’an and Traditions (Hadiths) as various sensuous pleasures and joy at the vision of God. The greatest joy for al-Ghazali, however, is the seeing of Allah SWT in the intellectual or spiritual sense of the beatific vision. In comparison with this, sensuous pleasures are nothing. However, they remain necessary for the masses who cannot reach such a vision.
Attributes of the Prophet Muhammad SAW Praise be to Allah, the Lord of Creations, and Peace and blessings be upon our prophet Muhammad, the faithful and the honest. Oh, Allah, we know nothing but what You teach us. You are the All- Knower, the Wise. Oh Allah, teach us what is good for us, and benefit us from what You taught us, and increase our knowledge. Show us the righteous things as righteous and help us to do them, and show us the bad things as bad and help us to keep away from them. O Allah our Lord, lead us out from the depths of darkness and illusion, unto the lights of erudition and knowledge, and from the muddy shallows of lusts unto the heavens of Your Vicinity. Dear brothers, this is the first part of the introduction to our new series: “Ways of access and signs of acceptance”, inspired by Allah’s Words: "I am only a man like you. It has been inspired to me." [Al Kahf, 110] It is as if in this ayah Allah the ...
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