Deliverance from Error (Munqidh Min Dalal)

Context: Al Ghazali wrote the Munqidh between 499/110 and 500/1107 in Nisphapér. He was fifty years old at the time and about to return to teaching. Al Ghazali states in the introduction that he wrote the work at the request of a brother in the faith who asked him “to reveal . . . the purpose of the sciences, the evil and the depths of the schools of thought.

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله

I: Introduction

• From his early youth, before the age of 20 until over 50, he had been concerned with the problem of certitude and had examined critically all the roads leading not only to religious conviction.
• This urge and drive is called Himma. It said that it’s in everyone in depths of their soul to Seek the Truth.
• He was in search of 3 things the Necessary Truth based on which  of the seekers of truth methodology  is the soundest to arrive to Truth the The Existence of God, Prophecy(nubuwwah/revelation), and Resurrection or the Last Day. He notes with regret that he had done so with attachment to worldly honor, even to the point of treating others harshly.
• The doubt in his search is not in the Truth. But arriving to the truth.  (perfect certitude

II: Skepticism and the Denial of Knowledge

• He turned first to sense knowledge -1) Sense-Perception2)Intellect- but soon recognized the illusions it generated.
•  He realized Sense and intellect (aql) has its ceiling in Truth.. example is the sundial. And of the size of the Sun. Both of them are in contradiction.
• He also realized the Intellect breaks down in the phenomena of Dreams. When the power of reason cannot be used as on feels it is real in dream.
• He soon thinks that he could really on knowledge that are based on First Principles such that 3 is more than 10.
• He fell sick for 2 months bcs of this skepticism of acquiring knowledge but God cast a light in the breast to assure him in carrying out this journey.
• One cannot come to the reality of the divine in the depth of the human heart by mere belief and theoretical reasoning, for they remain surfaced and subject to collapsing.

III: The Class of Seekers

1. Theologian (Mutakallimun/Kalam) -Kalam is of little service for it can serve only those with a strong sense of the first and necessary principles of reason, but generally they  limit their convictions solely to such principles. (In other words, those first principle can still be question) They are there to defend orthodoxy against Herectics (Satanism) and Atheist.
2. Batiniyyah (Ta’lim) – Ta’ilmites criteria for an Infallible Imam is not consistent&strong, for the authority of any text which would affirm the existence and infallibility of their Imam would need to be based on prophecy and certified by miracles. He accepted the principles of the ta’limites regarding the need for a doctrine and for an infallible teacher, but turned this against them by pointing out that such a teacher was only Muhammad.
3. Philosophers – Ghazali spent two years reading the works of the Falasifa and a third in organizing his thoughts. He spent these 3 years to master the science of Falsafa in his free time! He divided the Falasifa into three categories and quickly rejected the first two: the nihilists (dahriyyãn) or Zanadiqa who deny the existence of God, and the naturalists (tabi-‘iyyun) who believe in a powerful and wise being, but reject life after death. He gave extensive attention to the third category, the theists (ilahiyyãn) like Greek philosophers, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle and Islamic philosophers, Avicenna and al-Farabi. In sum, however, Falasafa will not suffice because reason is unable to know the basic truths of things, especially (but not only) with regard to the spirit in man and its union with God. There is still good in them to learn from their advice and concept but not be fully immersed lest we fall into falsehood
4. Sufism – He noted that the essence of Sufism was a matter not of knowledge, but of lived experience described as savoring the truth. As practice, its goal is detachment from all else for the purpose of attachment to God. Hence he had to reorient himself from an outward search for objective truth to the realization of an inward state of soul; it was not a matter of knowing the definition of detachment, but of becoming detached step by step. He recounts the stages of the Sufi Way as the purification of the heart of all that is not God and total absorption in God through annihilation of Self. Each interior step of the heart is accompanied by a corresponding step of knowledge unveiling and contemplating the truth. For that it is necessary to proceed by lived, even savored, experience. This has three levels: (1) knowledge by faith or belief based on the good opinion one has of one’s spiritual masters or teachers; (2) indirect knowledge by verification with the help of reasoning; (3) direct knowledge by taste, which he describes as tasted or savored in order to insist upon the subjectivity of an interior appreciation of God as present beyond any objective, exterior knowledge

IV: The Nature of Prophecy – An Urgent Human Need

• Here Ghazali mounts a major effort to communicate to his readers/friends the character of the lived experience to which the Sufi Way leads.
• He begins with a detailed sequence of the development of the various senses, followed by the ability to discern things beyond the sense level at seven years of age, and then the ability to grasp abstract notions, i.e. things as necessary, possible or impossible
• Finally, there opens the eye of prophecy which grasps a domain beyond reason. This capacity of the human for transcend the rational experience is a special gift of God
• He treats three questions regarding prophecy: its possibility, its existence and its realization in a particular person. Its possibility is illustrated by knowledge of the laws of medicine and astrology. Some abstracts theory are know be true but are not subject to rational deduction. Moreover, dreams testify to the fact of a realm of knowledge beyond reason. Prophetic knowledge exists in the experience which can be developed by following the Way of Sufism.
• we are given many gifts, but one of them is given to All prophets. The power of Dream. Its a place that intellect doesnt serve us. Those that understand the symbolism in the realm of barzakh must HAVE A Pure Heart. When one were to practice purification of the heart, then it opens up a door that allows them to navigate in this dream state. When one experience this truth one can arrive to the level imam ghazali had
• Thus it is by being with Sufis that one comes to know that the higher experience has been attained by some and thus that it does exist and can be attained by their Way.

V: The Practical Problems and reasons for Teaching again

• The remainder of the work focuses on the practical problems or difficulties in bringing the Way into more general practice.
• Ghazali explained the nature of prophecy by leading the reader step by step toward experiences that transcends both the senses and reason. But in order to be attracted toward such a goal one needs to experience it in others
• But those who should exemplify the experiences achieved from the Way in fact may be impeded by various temptations and therefore generate scandal rather than constituting beacons for others.
• Ghazali attempts to protect against this by assuring: (1) that all have knowledge of the difference between good and evil and should not be misled by anyone who falls before temptations which everyone experiences, and (2) that knowledge of the Way is itself a corrective for it directs one to repent and move on, not to remain in sin.
• Ghazali had a practical response to make as well. Seeing that tepidity seemed to be spreading he became convinced that a strenuous effort at education was needed. He made a last effort in that direction by accepting the invitation of the son of Nizam to take charge of the school at Nîshapãr. When this was cut short by the assassination of his patron, he moved his effort to his home in Tãs, where he built a school and monastery to teach and promote the practice of Sufism.

Transcribed commentary from a Sufi Pov:

• It shows us that the path to Islam in strengthening belief and foundation is not an intellectual path. It’s the spiritual experience thru practicing that one truly secures them.
• This path is in the awakening of the soul-consciousness. It is not based on ego and intellectual concepts.
• The approach to the divine is rather by ascetic and ritual practices which progressively remove the chains that bind the heart so as to allow it to open before the corresponding unveiling of the divine. Its in this that one comes to certain knowledge (Yaqin), rising above religious conformism (Taqlid) through actively savoring the experiencing of God.
• When we come in direct contact with the Divine Presence, sometimes, its the attribute of the divine that can be manifested in us. But its a personal relationship that is in-explainable in words.
• Islam is not about doing the same thing 20-30 yrs. If there is no true growth and awakening along the way then we are not doing it right.
• ISLAM IS ABOUT CHANGE, TRANSFORMATION & AWAKENING THE SOUL. Realizing who you truly are in this LIFE.
• There is not need to force to convince, manipulate others to agree to Islam or anything. Our job as believers is to Serve, to Heal, to Love. Its about facilitating change, its about awakening the true human being. That is the way of the prophets Saw.
• If we don’t have the urge to seek Allah, then we need to ask why? Because we need to know with certainty that everyone has this innate of us (the urge to seek the Creator, bcs we were created from love) its this Himma (drive,yearn etc) that is created within. Like those of passion and desires.
• Its only bcs of the Ego, Mind, Nafs(self) and Desires; is the reason WHY we cannot find and experience the Divine.
• There are no veils from Allah to us. He is always calling us to Him. We remove these thousands of veils from the Mind to the Heart, through purification of the heart.
• Question: How do we raise the Himma that is within? Answer: it can only start from a pure intention! Purify the intention and things within will start to surface.
• Imam Ghazali when back and forth for 6 months until he decided to strip down everything and throw himself into the path of the divine. In the state of humility. He work as a janitor and hid from everyone. He did everything he could to control his Mind.
•  It is like the way its manifested in the Prophet Saw before he received revelation. The intention and drive he had in seeking the truth and to go into isolation in the Cave (Gua Hira).
•  The part of Islamic spirituality is the path of experience. Its only after the 10 years of Purifying the Soul (tazkiyahtun nafs) that Imam complete most of the Ihya.
• Like Rumi, he was once a very profound scholar. But he only got his awakening when he met his spiritual master that’s when he wrote his Mathnawi. Can be compared to Ihya. He was writing from a place of truth. And the truth transcends religion cos every heart can recognize clear truth.
• When we recognise the deepest aspect of our being then we can know our Lord.
• But to be awaken to this reality we must, we must die from ego consciousness to the self.
• There can be no Islam w/o tasawwuf. Tazkiyah. Zikr, Meditation, remembrance of Allah. These are the tools in this Path.
• We need to be certain and believe that the Heart is a portal to the Divine. That a journey to the pure self ultimately gg back to our Lord.

Inference & Analysis

(Includes answers for  the take away questions)

• What was the most important thing you remember about the book?
• What was the main message of the book?
• What do the ideas in this book relate to?

• THE LIFE OF IMAM GHAZALI IS A BEAUTIFUL LESSON FOR ALL OF US, A LESSON IN SINCERITY. He realised Allah cannot be found in books, words and knowledge. But only found in actual walking the Path.
• Most people reflect on the life of the Prophet Saw in the 23 yrs but most people overlook the years before that. That he was truly seeking the truth. He isolated himself to fervently contemplate. Its exactly what imam ghazali did and lived. Sincerity.
•  When a person does that, then Allah will allow the essence of Islam to manifest itself to become apparent in this world to us. This is very different from blindly following.
• Imam Ghazali realised HUMILITY is the essence of the Way. The removing of the ego and self centricity is the Path..
• He also realised that Knowledge is a TRAP. It leads to arrogance, self righteousness and in fact becomes a VEIL! The very knowledge that leads to truth can be a veil to Truth. Knowledge itself is not the reality of Truth if it keeps it trap to the level of the Mind.
•  If we Based on knowledge to get to the Truth then its a trap! True knowledge is based on the practice and struggle in the ego and nafs and its in the experience of the heart that one cant be explained fully.
• Formal knowledge is not the actual way we depend on getting to the Truth, its a means, a part of seeking it. We really can learn from the association of people that reach this levels. They will teach us true humility, adab. The essence of knowledge.. Its like the karate kid, its by deflating the ego.
•  Preservation of Islam is in a realised Human Being. The essence of Islam is not in books. That’s the way of Prophet Saw. He never had any formal books. The Quran is also not compiled. It’s through learning by experience and sincerely living in the way of Islam that one can get to the Truth.

And Allah knows best.