God told Prophet David, 'The servant dearest to Me is one who doesn't seek Me out of fear or hope for reward, but to fulfill their duty to My divinity.'
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Sufi
Al-Ghazali
Sufi1058 – 1111Tus, Khorasan (modern-day Iran)259 quotes· 2 sources
Abu Hamid al-Ghazali was a medieval Islamic theologian, philosopher, and Sufi mystic who reconciled orthodox Islam with the inner life of the heart. His masterwork, The Revival of the Religious Sciences, remains one of the most influential texts in Islamic spirituality.
Born in Tus in 1058, al-Ghazali rose to become one of the foremost scholars of his age, teaching at the prestigious Nizamiyya madrasa in Baghdad. At the height of his fame, he underwent a profound spiritual crisis that led him to abandon his academic career and spend years as a wandering Sufi. This crisis transformed him: he concluded that true knowledge of God could only come through direct spiritual experience, not intellectual argument alone. His encyclopedic Ihya Ulum al-Din (Revival of the Religious Sciences) integrated jurisprudence, theology, and Sufi inner practice into a living whole. He is often called 'the Proof of Islam' (Hujjat al-Islam) for saving Islamic thought from what he saw as the sterile excesses of pure philosophy while opening the door to mystical devotion.
Wisdom
My servant seeks closeness to Me so I can make them My friend, and once they're My friend, I become their ear, eye, and tongue.
God is more tender to His servants than a mother to her nursing child.
जो इन सीमाओं का उल्लंघन करता है वह 'अपनी आत्मा को गलत करता है,' जैसा कि कुरान में लिखा गया है।
ईश्वर की पूजा और उनकी स constant स्मृति का अर्थ है एक निश्चित डिग्री की कठोरता और शारीरिक इच्छाओं को रोकना।
However, he was too noble a character to focus solely on his own soul and its eternal prospects.
Ghazzali was a practical mystic who aimed to improve people by guiding them from mere acceptance of Islamic creed to a genuine understanding of God.
One who knows themselves, knows God.
Know, dear one, that humans were not created without purpose or by chance, but were made wonderfully and for a great reason.
Although humans are not eternal, they live forever; and although their body is ordinary and earthly, their spirit is noble and divine.
When, through the process of abstinence, one is purified from worldly desires, they reach the highest state and, instead of being a slave to lust and anger, acquire heavenly qualities.
Having reached that state, one finds their haven in the contemplation of Eternal Beauty, and no longer in worldly pleasures.
The spiritual transformation that brings about this change in a person, similar to the process of turning base metals into gold, is not easily found and is not something that can be learned from just anyone.
The purpose of this work, titled 'The Alchemy of Happiness', is to explain this spiritual transformation and its methods.
The treasuries of God, where this spiritual transformation can be found, are the hearts of the prophets. Those who seek it elsewhere will be disappointed and will have lost everything on the day of judgment, when they hear the words, 'We have lifted the veil from you, and your sight is now clear.'
God has sent 124,000 prophets to the earth to teach people the formula for this spiritual transformation and how to purify their hearts from base qualities through abstinence.
This spiritual transformation can be briefly described as turning away from the world towards God. It consists of four parts: 1. Self-awareness, 2. Knowledge of God, 3. Understanding the world as it truly is, and 4. Understanding the afterlife as it truly is.
One who knows themselves knows God
Angels think about God's beauty and are completely free from animal-like qualities. If you have an angelic nature, then strive to reach your origin, so that you can know and think about the Most High, and be free from the control of lust and anger.
The goal of moral discipline is to cleanse the heart of passion and resentment, until it becomes like a clear mirror, reflecting the light of God.