Al-Ghazali Quotes

For 'tis a hazardous thing to plunge into the fathomless sea of the Divine mysteries; and hard, hard it is to essay the discovery of the Lights Supernal that are beyond the Veil.

What’s meant for you will reach you even if it’s beneath two mountains, and what’s not meant for you won’t reach you even if it’s between your two lips.

الوعظ زكاة نصابه الاتعاظ ، فمن لا نصاب له كيف يخرج الزكاة؟! وفاقد الثوب كيف يستر غيره؟! ومتى يستقيم الظل والعود أعوج؟!

و سألتني عن التّوكّل و هو أن تستحكم اعتقادك بالله تعالى فيما وعد، يعني تعتقد أنّ ما قدّر لك سيصل إليك لا محالة، و إن اجتهد كلّ من في العالم على صرفه عنك، و مالم يكتب لن يصل إليك و إن ساعدك جميع العالم.

أيّها الولد، العلم بلا عمل جنون، و العمل بغير علم لا يكون

Therefore if a man has in his heart that love to God which the Law enjoins, it is perfectly lawful, nay, laudable in him to take part in exercises which promote it.

"the Pilgrim of the Way rises first of all to a degree corresponding to that of a star. The effulgence of that star's light appears to him., It is disclosed to him that the entire world beneath adores its influence and the effulgence of its light. And so, because of the very beauty and superbness of the thing, he is made aware of something which cries aloud saying, "This is my Lord?"[1] He passes on; and as he be. comes conscious of the light-degree next above. it, namely, that symbolized by the moon, lo! in the aerial canopy he beholds that star set, to wit, in comparison with its superior; and he saith, "Nought that setteth do I adore!" And so he rises till he arrives at last at the degree symbolized by the sun. This, again, he sees is greater and higher than the former, but nevertheless admits of comparison therewith, in,

[1. See for this whole passage S. 6, 75-8.]

{p. 128}

virtue of a relationship between the two. [31] But to bear relationship to what is imperfect carries with it imperfection-the "setting" of our allegory. And by reason thereof he saith: "I have turned my face unto That Who made the heavens and the earth! I am a true believer, and, not of those who associate other gods with Allah!" Now what is meant to be conveyed by this "THAT WHO" is the vaguest kind of indication, destitute of all relation or comparison. For, were anyone to ask, "What is the symbol comparable with or corresponding to this That?' no answer to the question could be conceived. Now He Who transcends all relations is ALLAH, the ONE REALITY.

Worship in Islam is not only observance of the prescribed worship rites –Prayer, Almsgiving, Fasting, Pilgrimage –but living one’s entire life in obedience to God, doing His will and seeking His pleasure, exactly in the way He has laid down.

Counsel: Man should yearn to reach a point where the locks to the divine mysteries are opened by his speech, and where he might facilitate by his knowledge what creatures find difficult in religious and worldly affairs, for him to gain a share in the name of opener.

The reason of the human spirit seeking to return to that upper world is that its origin is from thence, and that it is of angelic nature.

I will rouse you from your sleep, you who have given yourself up to recitation, who have taken the study of the Qur’an as a practice, who have seized upon some of its outward meanings and sentences.

How long will you wander about the shore of the sea with your eyes closed to its wonders?

Was it not for you to sail through its depths in order to see its amazing things, to travel to its islands to pick its delicacies, to dive to its bottom and become rich from obtaining its jewels? Don’t you despise yourself for losing out on its pearls and jewels as you continue to look only to its shores and esoteric aspects? Haven’t you heard that the Qur’an is an ocean from which the knowledge of all ages branches out just as rivers and streams branch out from the shores of the ocean?

Don’t you envy the happiness of people who have plunged into its overflowing waves and seized red sulfur, who have dived into its depths and taken out red rubies, shining pearls and green chrysolite, who have roamed its shores and gathered gray ambergris and fresh blooming aloes wood, who have clung to its islands and found an abundance in their animals of the greatest antidote and pungent musk?

a unity of three separate relationships: (1) our relationship with others, nature and the universe; (2) our relationship with God; (3) our relationship with our “self.“ These relationships are not alien to one another; there are no boundaries between them. They move in the same direction.

والآفة الثانية آفة القبول: فإن من نظر في كتبهم كإخوان الصفا وغيره ، فرأى ما مزجوه بكلامهم من الحكم النبوية ، والكلمات الصوفية ، ربما استحسنها وقبلها ، وحسن اعتقاده فيها ، فيسارع إلى قبول باطلهم الممزوج بـه ، لحسن ظن حصل فيما رآه واستحسنه ، وذلك نوع استدراج إلى الباطل.
ولأجل هذه الآفة يجب الزجر عن مطالعة كتبهم لما فيها من الغدر والخطر. وكما يجب صون من لا يحسن السباحة على مزالق الشطوط ، يجب صون الخلق عن مطالعة تلك الكتب. وكما يجب صون الصبيان عن مس الحيَّات ، يجب صون الأسماع عن مختلط الكلمات وكما يجب على المعزِّم أن لا يمس الحية بين يدي ولده الطفل ، إذا علم أن سيقتدي به ويظن أنه مثله ، بل يجب عليه أن يحذّره منه، بأن يحذر هو في نفسه ولا يمسها بين يديه ، فكذلك يجب على العالم الراسخ مثله. وكما أن المعزِّم الحاذق إذا أخذ الحية وميز بين الترياق والسم ، واستخرج منها الترياق وأبطل السم فليس له أن يشح بالترياق على المحتاج إليه.

Also, it has been mentioned to show one of the secrets of the Quran. Those who are heedless of this secret can not realize the pearls hidden in the Quran (that is, the deep meanings of the Quran). When one has the intention to do so, he should exert much effort and seek the help of those who are well-versed in the religious knowledge. One cannot be successful in this field with the help of his limited reason.

Bersungguhlah kamu dalam menuntut ilmu, jauhilah kemalasan dan kebosanan kerana jika demikian engkau akan berada dalam bahaya kesesatan.