MOHAMMED AL-GHAZZALI In the field of religious literature Ghazzali did for the faith of Islam approximately what Augustine did for Christianity. The following account of his life is trans- lated from a Persian biographical history of Khorasan that is called the Maztla‘ ash-Shams, or, The Place Where the Sun Rises. This name is significant because Khorasan is the province in Persia upon which the sun shines first. Care has been taken to make the translation sufficiently literal to exhibit the characteristic features of Moslem biographies although freedom has been exer- cised in omitting a certain amount of uninteresting repe- tition. Mohammed Al-Ghazzali was-one of the foremost men of the world. But while many Moslem authorities have considered him one of the Saints, others have regarded him as a heretic and have not permitted the reading of his books. He was born in 450 or 451 A.H., in the city of Tus, the ancient capital of Khorasan, and when he reached the age to give attention to studies he began going to Ahmad Rad- kani for instruction. Later he went to Nishapur (which is known in western countries as the home of Omar Kha- yam,) and there under the direction of Abu Muali Javeni, he pursued his studies with great application. In a short time he surprised his fellow students and attracted so much attention that even during the lifetime of his teacher his own name and reputation were widely known. It was in Nishapur that he began writing books. He left Nishapur to go with the army of Sultan Jalal ud-Din, Malik Shah Seljuki, and became acquainted with the extraordinary vazier, Khoja Nizam-ul-Mulk, 377378 THE MOSLEM WORLD Tusi, who had heard of his intellectual attainments. The court of the Nizam ul-Mulk was a place much frequented by the learned men of the age, so that Al-Ghazzali had an excellent opportunity for discussions on theology and science. He is said to have been the winner in most of these de- bates, answering and silencing his opponents. From this his reputation and the confidence people had in him con- siderably increased, and he was appointed as “Director of Instruction” in the Government School in Bagdad and had under his instruction three hundred teachers. He was then thirty-three years of age. The people, not only of Bagdad, but of all the province of Irak, were exceedingly pleased with him. His pop- ularity was greater than that of any of the other religious teachers of Bagdad; in fact, he was even more popular than any of the leaders of the government or the grandees of the Caliphate. As Abdullah Yafi says in “The Mirror of the Heart” and again in “The Warning to Keep Awake,” “The reason for the respect and honor paid to him in Bagdad was because his popularity surpassed that of all the scholars and officials in the Caliph’s court.” And it was then, in the very midst of material pros- perity and in his youth, that he severed his affections from the acquisition of position and the glory of superficial at- tainments, and sought to follow God according to his own splendid conscience. He shook from him office and property, position and glory. He had taught but four years, and he had to employ various arts of deception and subtleties of counsel to get free from the people of Bag- dad. With the intention of resigning employment and of living in solitude, he determined to make a pilgrimage to Mecca. One writer says that he went first to Mecca and returned to Syria, but in Ghazzali’s own words, in his book, 4/-Munkaz min az-Zalal, it would seem evi- dent that he went from Irak to Syria, and that after about two years he made the pilgrimage to Mecca. He says:MOHAMMED AL-GHAZZALI 379 “When through with my studies, with all my will I fol- lowed the way of the Sufis, and it became clear to me that in the final happiness there must be no covetousness except for piety and self-restraint from lust. And the soul of this task is the separation of the heart from the world, in keeping aloof from pride. The return to the world that is eternal and happy is only possible through the truth of the Almighty God. God does not accept the mere appearance of truth, there must be a turning away from position and property and an abandonment of occu- pation and affections. ‘And when I looked I saw myself deceived, entangled with bonds and chains. It had seemed to me that the very best work that I did was the work of teaching. But when I examined this work mi- nutely and reflected upon it I saw that in this teaching there was a personal satisfaction in unprofitable subjects of knowledge, and that this sort of thing would never be in demand in the final market. I examined my purpose in teaching and found that it was imperfect. That which drove me on to this work was nothing else than the quest of position, popularity, and reputation. So I knew truly that I was standing on the brink of Hell, that I had placed my foot on the lip of the fire, and that if I did not make provision for the time that was past and make good use of the present time, I was already established in infernal tor- ment. The advantages of popularity and the distinc- tions of position bind your worthy foot in strong chains, but the victorious cry of faith and prayer for deliverance will break the thread of the affections. “The Devil said to me, ‘This is a sort of sickness that has come upon you, it will soon disappear. Wait until this feeling quiets down and you are restored to health from this melancholy sickness. But if you do not accept my advice, if you insist in breaking away from your pres- ent estate of wealth and convenience, it may be that your mad notion will completely overcome your reason. Or if you should afterwards desire these dignities and posi-