ISLAMIC MORALITY - AL-GHAZZĀL ī ’S EXPOSITION

1. ISLAMIC MORALITY - AL-GHAZZĀLī’S EXPOSITION • Who is al-Ghazzālī? • Idea on morality. • Definition of man’s soul. • Functions of man’s soul.

2. 1. AL-GHAZZĀLī • In studying Islamic Ethics, the name of Abu Hamid Muhammad al-Ghazzali (d.18th December, 1111) and his contributions to this field of study are profound. There are many books of him, which became the important source of references for the later generations. Among them are Ihya’ `Ulumal-Din (Revival of the Knowledge of the Religion), Kimiya al-Sa`adah (The Chemistry of Happiness), Tahafut al-Falasifah (Incoherence of the Philosophers) and others.

3. Due to this contribution al-GhazzālÊ is known as Hujjah al-Islam (The proof of Islam) and Zayn al-Din (The Ornament of Religion). • There are numerous statements of al-GhazzālÊ that are relevant to our discussion of Islamic Ethics. The famous one is quoted from his Kimiya al-Sa‘Édah: “…now I am calling man to the knowledge whereby worldly influence (jah) is given-up and its low position in the scale of real worth is recognized.”

4. This main concern of al-GhazzÉlÊ’s life as extracted from the above statement is the well being in the hereafter. • As such ethics according to al-al-GhazzÉlÊ, is a science that is closely related to the path of hereafter. It also studies the religious beliefs (‘ilm al-mu‘Émalat) not for the sake of mere knowledge but practical knowledge towards:- - God, - one’s families, - fellow man and - society.

5. In ensuring that this relationship remains strong and pure, purification of soul from vices and its beautification with virtues are essential. • To explain further al-Ghazzalee says that soul is a divine entity of great subtlety and is of the same origin of the angels. Since its origin is divine, it has a longing for the spiritual enlightenment and it feels this world is alien and evil. In order to maintain this pure nature, man is to purify his self from evil deeds by studying the nature of man’s psyche which comprises of `aql, ruh, qalb and nafs.

6. HUMAN PSYCHE There are various dimensions or levels of man’s inner self like ruh, qalb, nafs and `aql. To understand human psyche we need to discern and understand these terms and their relationship to each other. Al-Ruh (spirit) In al-Qur’an there are three verses mentioned about al-ruh, which is connected to the creation of human being. “Behold! Your Lord said to the angels: I am about to create man, from sounding clay from mud molded into shape.

7. “When I have fashioned him (in due proportion) and breathed into him of My spirit, fall you down, prostrating yourself before him” (refer to Surah al-Hijr, 15:28-29 and Surah al-Sad, 38:72) and in other verse; “He then fashioned his progeny of an extraction of mean water, then He proportioned him, and He blew into him of His spirit” (Surah al-Sajadah, 32:7-9). The above verses explain that al-ruh or spirit proceeds from the divine order, “the breath” infused in man.

8. The term “My spirit” (ruhi) is not to be confused with God as a “Spiritual being” as Christians scholars often maintain, rather it means God as the Creator of all spirits. God created two basic worlds, the spiritual and the corporeal, or unseen and the visible. Spirits, intellects, and the angels inhabit the spiritual domain. Although the spirit is created, the reality of spirit is difficult for human being to grasp, as shown in the following verse: ”They ask you concerning the spirit, say: the spirit (proceeds) by command of my Lord, and of knowledge you are given but little.” (Refer to Surah al-Isra’, 17:85).

9. Al-Nafs (soul) The term nafs may be translated as soul or self. Many scholars do not distinguish between nafs and ruh and designate both of them as soul, at best dividing soul into vegetative, animal, sensory and rational. Al-Ghazzālī however, has pointed out that nafs or soul has two dimensions, the upward and the downward. The upward dimension is the uppermost limit of man’s psyche, which connects it to the body.

10. The downward dimension (i.e. the one inclined towards matter) is represented by the sensory faculties, which connect it to the body. Al-Ghazzālī further defines the different meanings of nafs as follows: 1. Al-nafs al-kulliyyah – the universal soul, which includes all individual souls 2 Al-nafs – the soul, the psyche or the divine entity of great subtlety (latifah rabbaniyyah ruhaniyyah) or the upward dimension.

11. The soul also appears as the downward dimension because it is made up of the sum of individual or egocentric tendencies, shown in the following distinction: 1. Al-nafs al-haywaniyyah The animal soul, the soul as passively obedient to natural impulses. 2. Al-nafs al-ammarah bi al-su’ The soul which commands man to evil, the passionate, egoistic soul. (Yusuf, 12:53). 3. Al-nafs al-lawwamah The soul that blames, the soul aware of its own imperfections. (Al-Qiyamah, 75:2). 4. Al-nafs al-mutma’innah The soul at peace, the soul reintegrated in al-ruh and at rest in certainty. (Al-Fajr, 89:27).

12. Al-`Aql (reason) Al-`aql has a wide range of meaning. It includes reason, intelligence and light. It also refers to the conscious projection of the intellect, whose light it distributes to the other faculties, knitting them. Some scholars used the expression `aql al-juz’I for reason and `aql al-kulli for intellect.`Aql al-juz’I is the faculty of discursive and analytical thought, whereas `aql al-kulli is the faculty of intuition or deliberation.

13. Al-Qalb (heart) The organ in the body, which is associated with the intellect, is the heart. In al-Qur’an, there is a verse, which explains that it is not the eyes that are blind, but the hearts (refer to Surah al-Hajj, 22:46). In the above verse Allah informs us that those who reject His Message may have their physical eyes and ears, but their hearts are blind and deaf.

14. The word heart here refers to the intelligent faculties, understanding as well as the seat of affections and emotions. The word heart here refers to the intelligent faculties, understanding as well as the seat of affections and emotions. Knowing the definition of the elements that make up human psyche, it is also necessary for us to know as to how these elements function, shown in the following discussion.

15. Functions of human spirit, soul, reason and heart. The functions are as follows: Al-Ruh Though many Qur’anic commentators read the verse of al-Qur’an that al-ruh is unknown to man or to imply that the spirit cannot be understood, they do not mean to say that no knowledge of it can be acquired.

16. What is being said is that the spirit cannot be defined as it is in itself, in contrast to the body, which can be known, described, measured, dissected and others. However, if discursive knowledge of the spirit in itself is unable, a great deal of discursive knowledge about the attributes of the spirit is provided by human experience. For example, the spirit is said to govern or tadbir the body, if the body is without the spirit, the body is dead.

17. For further explanation on al-ruh, al-Nasafi, the author of TheCreed of al-Nasafi says that the human being has a spiritual and corporeal dimension. The spirit or al-ruh is truly simple and cannot be divided into parts. It belongs to the spiritual world. The physical body is compound and can be divided into parts.

18. It belongs to the world of corporeal. Al-Nasafi further explains, when a thing has many parts, each of its attributes and acts is singled out for one of its parts and organs. For example, if a thing sees, hears, takes, and speaks, it hears through one part, (ears), speaks through another part (mouth), sees through another part (eyes, mind), and takes through another part (hands).

19. When a thing is simple, i.e. al-ruh, it has no parts. None of its attributes and acts is singled out for a part or an organ. It has no front and back, no head and foot, no right and left. Hence its attributes subsist through its own self. If such a thing should see, hear, speak, and have knowledge, it does each through the same thing which it does the rest

20. To simplify it, if the human spirit is alive, we have to say that it is all life. If it knows, we have to say that it is all knowledge. If it hears, we have to say that it is all hearing. If it sees, we have to that it is all sight. If it hears, we have to say that it is all hearing. If it speaks, we have to say that it is all speech. For its attributes and acts have no instruments and organs. This is the meaning of the saying, “God created Adam in His own form.”

21. To explain the function of the spirit to human body, al-Nasafi says that the business of the spirit is governing the body. The spirit is heaven and the body is earth, the spirit lord and the body servant and the spirit high and the body low. (For further exposition on al-ruh, see Static Hierarchy by Suchiko Murata, pp 232-236, hereafter cited as Suchiko).

22. Al-Nafs (soul) Nafs is another word applied by al-Qur’an to denote human psyche. At the lower dimension it refers to the principle of life consciousness. It is the person or self. The main effect of al-nafs al-ammarah bi al-su’ (the nafs impelling towards evil) is to paralyze the cognitive process in man. This situation has been alluded to at several places in al-Qur’an: “They have hearts wherewith they understand not; eyes wherewith they see not; and ears wherewith they hear not. They are like cattle, no more misguided and they are heedless of warning).” (Refer to Surah al-Isra’, 7:179).

23. To be heedless of warning, negligent and misled is only one of the characteristics of such people. There are yet another character of them, namely thoughtlessness and sordidness. On the other hand al-nafs al-lawwamah is a state of constant awareness. It indicates nafs in a state of change and flux, always conscious and vigilant, constantly examining and scrutinizing its actions, fighting against baser desires, never heedless and sordid.

24. This constant contention is the first stage of al-nafs al-mutma’innah. Al-Qur’an uses this term at one place, while describing the return of the soul of the blessed to Allah: (To the righteous soul will be said: “O soul in complete rest and satisfaction! Come back you to your Lord, well pleases you and well pleasing to Him! Enter you then, among my devotees. Yea! Enter you My heaven!” (Surah al-Fajr, 89: 27-30).

25. It appears that the state of al-nafs al-mutma’innah reached at the very end of life when one emerges victorious after a constant struggle against evil. The nafs now is at peace because the constant struggle, which encompassed the whole of an individual’s life, is now behind him, and the period of tussle is over, ending with his triumph. In addition to the above point, if the nafs has committed sin and it is too late for repentance, how would one explain this issue?

26. It has been informed in al-Qur’an that on the day of judgment man will testify against his own nafs (refer to Surah al-Qiyamah, 75:14). This confirms the presence of the elements of desires and passions of al-nafs and which will survive the bodily death but will exist as individual spirit so that it can be questioned about its earthly life. In fact, we do experienced in our daily life the conflict between will and desire.

27. According to al-Ghazzali, will or motive and impulse belong to the realm of al-ruh and since it transcends al-nafs and it can move man to act contrary to his desire, even pleasures. It is because of this faculty of man that he will be held responsible for what he has done.

28. Allah knows very well the tendencies of the human soul, its power and its weakness. Although man is prone to lose sight of his origin and it is in his nature to seek pleasure but he also has the will with which he can control his nafs al-ammarah bi al-su’, and thus maintain a balance in his self. Al-Ghazzali has pointed that the essential element of the soul is the will or power to realize one’s spiritual possibilities. The fact that man can change from the state of the passionate, egoistic soul through a great deal of conscious conflict and deliberate effort, necessarily suggests that he is free in his willto choose for the better or the worst before it is too late.

29. Al-`aql (reason) Al-`aql or reason or intelligent is a quality that is highly praised in al-Qur’an. It does not use the noun but it employs in verbal form for more than fifty times. For example: “Surely in the creation of the heavens and earth and the alternation of night and day…there are signs for a people having intelligence.” (Surah al-Baqarah, 2:164) and “And when you call to prayer, they take it in mockery and sport. That is because they are people who have no intelligence.” (Surah al-Ma’idah, 5:58).

30. The function of `aql as taken from the above Qur’anic verses is to understand or to grasp the significance of the creations of Allah. According to a Prophetic tradition:

31. “…`aql is a fetter (`iqal) against ignorance. The soul is like the worst of beasts. If it does not have intellect, it wanders bewildered…. God created intellect…. Then from intellect branched off deliberation, from deliberation knowledge, from knowledge right guidance, from right guidance abstention, from abstention guarding, from guiding shame, from shame gravity (seriousness), from gravity continuity in the good character, from continuity in the good character aversion from evil, and from aversion to evil obedience to the good counselor….” (See Suchiko, p.239).

32. The hadith informs that `aql is the source of some good qualities in man. Al-Kashani, a Safavid philosopher opines that `aql is a revealed law (shari’ah) within the human being, just as the revealed law is an intellect outside of human being. He further explains that the source of all good qualities and origin of all perfections is intellect. The enemies of intellect are the friends of Satan and misguidance. (For further explanation see Suchiko, pp 239-243).

33. Al-Qalb (heart) The function of qalb is to be the operating agency of human psyche, which transform the spiritual potentiality into actuality. It also represents this capacity of man that enables him: ·to know the nature of things, ·to understand the reality of the things, ·to make evaluative judgments of that things, ·to sift the right from the wrong of that things.

34. Further reading of al-Qur’an indicates that the term qalb is described frequently with the sensory organs capacities of human being,indicating that what the qalb does is an extension and a superior function of what being done at the lower level by the sensory organs like eyes and ears. However, if the functions of the qalb are blocked, the sensory organs lose their utility. People in such a condition have “…eyes with which they do not see, ears with which they do not hear…” (Surah al-Isra’, 7:179).

35. According to the Qur’anic explanation, the perceptual process i.e. seeing and hearing can be reduced to mere sensations. They can become actions or stimulations without meaning, because the qalb is blocked or sealed. This process of sealing has been described at several places in al-Qur’an. (Refer to Surah al-Baqarah, 2: 6-7; Surah al-Isra’, 7: 101; Surah al-Nahl, 16:106-108).

36. The blocking of the cognitive processes takes place under special circumstances: 1.When a person is faced with a situation of conflict and resorts to a special type of defense mechanism in which he rationalizes actions that are emotionally impelled. Such a person starts with a state of conflict between:        - What his moral judgment demands - What is his need for immediate, unlimited and unjustified gratification.

37. 2. If he has resolved the conflict his belief and practice become completely at variance. However, at times he is taken over by the conscience to resolve the conflict and justify his behavior. 3. If he has resolved the conflict his belief and practice become completely at variance. However, at times he is taken over by the conscience to resolve the conflict and justify his behavior.

38. 4. If his conscience is so weak that he cannot continue to keep to his belief and has to resolve this situation by believing in what he is practicing is correct, rather than the other way round he will continue to act as before. This situation has been described in the hadith of the Prophet that there is a piece of flesh in the body. If it is healthy, the whole body is healthy. If it becomes unhealthy, the whole body gets unhealthy.

39. 5. If his conscience is strong and starts rethinking of his previous action is against reason and shari`ah, he will refrain himself from doing the same act in future. The central role of qalb in this situation is emphasizes in the Prophetic tradition that says when a believer commits a sin, a dark spot appears on his heart. If he repents and seeks forgiveness of Allah, his heart becomes spotless again. If he persists in sin, the dark spot increases

40. This spot has been mentioned in al-Qur’an: But on their hearts is the stain of the (ill) which they do.” (Surah al-Mutaffifin, 83:14). Al-qalb of man as created by Allah is pure and untarnished. Every time that a man does an evil deed, it marks a stain or rust. If there is no repentance, the stains deepen and spread more and more, until the heart is sealed and eventually the man dies a spiritual death. It is such stains that stand in the way of his perceiving truths, which are obvious to others. That is why he mocks at truth and hugs falsehood to his bosom.

41. The earlier discussion on the meanings and functions of the human spirit, soul, intellect and heart revealed that the inner dimensions of man are somewhat different in meaning. Ruh is the divine element in man which places man in the exalted position entrusted with the responsibility of Allah’s vicegerency.

42. Ruh provides a potential for knowledge and God-consciousness. However, this potential became more stronger with `aql as the source of man’s good characters and among others is God-consciousness. This aspect of consciousness can be operated through the qalb which is the locus of cognition, thought and feeling and therefore, responsible for decision making regarding actions and their correspondence with belief. Qalb if properly functioning, can reinforce the positive tendencies of the personality leading to a state of constant awareness and self-understanding, known also as al-nafs al-lawwamah.

43. On the other hand qalb can be subdued to al-nafs al-ammarah bi al-su’. His God-consciousness and his capacity for knowledge are clouded. This means that the distinction of having ruh and `aql, is completely lost and the man starts existing at the level of animals (refer to Surah al-A`raf, 7:175-177; Surah al-Anfal, 8:22, 55). This is known as emotional blocking or spiritual death.

44. From the above discussion it seems that the inner dimension of man somehow different in identity. In actual fact it is not. According to al-Ghazzali, qalb is the essence of man. He uses it as a synonym for ruh or nafs at times. It is the spiritual entity, which abides in the physical body and controls its organic and physical functions. It is connected with the physical heart though the connection is essentially transcendental.

45. The spiritual heart is the substance and the physical organ of the same name is only an accident of it. Al-Ghazzali prefers to use the word qalb for the self, soul and intellect in all of his writings. The knowledge of this entity is essential to the knowledge of the ultimate Reality. In line with this statement, i.e. the knowledge of ultimate reality, al-Ghazzali further explains that the self or nafs has an inherent yearning for an ideal, which it strives to realize.

46. In the embodied conditions, nafs has been endowed with qualities that help it, on the one hand, to provide for the bodily needs and on the other, to qualify for the ideal. The self fulfils the bodily needs through the powers namely muharrikah (motor) and mudrikah (sensory).

47. Two special impulses of these powers are desire and anger. The power of desire urges the body to strive for the obtain satisfaction of its primary needs whereas the power of anger urges to avoid what is harmful for the body. Sensory power is the power of apprehension or knowledge and it includes the five outer senses and the five inner senses of common senses namely, imagination (takhayyul), remembrance (tadhakkur), reflection (tafakkur) and retention (tahaffuz). Desire, anger and knowledge are basic to all powers of the self. These basic powers make up the human psyche.

48. From the foregoing discussion, it can be concluded that all reality and all being is a manifestation of the Divine principle and it emanates from this principle in a hierarchical order from God to matter. Man is composed of physical body and spiritual elements. The body pertains to matter and the spirit to God. Man therefore, is to contemplate and comprehend his creation and the purpose of his creation. In addition to this he also needs to know another important concept namely concept of mean (wast) so that he will be guided and be among the successful in this world and hereafter.