The Path of the Worshipful Servants to the Garden of the Lord of All the Worlds (Minhaj al-Abidin)

329 Pages·2011·0.827 MB·English

by  Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, Muhtar Holland

i
The Path of the Worshipful Servants
to the Garden of the Lord of All the Worlds
- -
[Minha-j al- ‹Abid-in ila- Jannati Rabbi ’l- ‹Alam-in]
i
i i The Path of the Worshipful Servants
ii
iii
The Path of the Worshipful Servants
to the Garden of the Lord of All the Worlds
- -
[Minha-j al- ‹Abid-in ila- Jannati Rabbi ’l- ‹Alam-in]
- - - - -
IMAM ABU H. AMID AL-GHAZALI
TRANSLATED FROM THE ARABIC BY MUHTAR HOLLAND
AL-BAZ PUBLISHING, INC. iii
FT. LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA
i v The Path of the Worshipful Servants
Surå al-Ikhlåƒ - Q.112
Cover photography: Robin Roslund - www.photofl.com
Cover Design: Dryden Design, Houston, Texas
C over Preparation: DesignbyIndigo.com, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Body text set in Ghazali and Jilani fonts by Al-Baz Publishing, Inc.
Printed on acid-free paper
©2000 by Al-Baz Publishing, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording,
or by any information storage and retrieval system without
permission in writing from the publisher and copyright owner.
Library of Congress
Catalog Card Number: 2011921727
First Edition February 2011
ISBN: 978-1-882216-26-0
Published by:
Al-Baz Publishing, Inc.
1516 NE 38th Street
Oakland Park, FL 33334, U.S.A.
[phone]
E-mail: [email protected]
Printed and bound in the United States of America by Sheridan Books, Inc.
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Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Translator’s Introduction ix
Concerning the Author xiii
Preface 3
Author’s Introduction
Preamble to the book by the author,
Ab« ªåmid Mu¥ammad al-Ghazålº 5
The First Hurdle
The Hurdle of Knowledge 18
The Second Hurdle
The Hurdle of Repentance 31
The Third Hurdle
The Hurdle of the Impediments 44
The Fourth Hurdle
The Hurdle of the Four Hindrances 143
The Fifth Hurdle
The Hurdle of the Incentives 198
The Sixth Hurdle
The Hurdle of the Impairments 230
The Seventh Hurdle
The Hurdle of Praise and Thankfulness 267
Conclusion 306
About the Translator 307
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Acknowledgments
All praise is due to Allåh, the Beneficent, the Merciful!
We bear witness that there is no god except Allåh, and that
Mu¥ammad is the Messenger of Allåh!
Our Lord, thank You for giving us this wholesome task!
(cid:2) (cid:3)
Grateful thanks to Muhtar Holland for devoting years of his life to
translating these works; may Allåh bless him! Thanks also to the
many who have helped make this publication possible, among
them the following:
Nadeem Syed and his group of friends, may Allåh reward them.
Rashid and Mahomed Raidhan
Audria Gardner for the cover preparation
Hani Nimr for the plate from Jerusalem with the Surå
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Translator’s Introduction
First and foremost, I wish to pay personal tribute to Imåm al-Ghazålº
(mayAllåh be well pleased with him). As a non-Muslim university
student and then lecturer in the field of Islåmic studies, I had acquired
a superficial knowledge of the Imåm’s life and work, but it was only in
the mid-to-late 1960’s that I really “discovered” Ihyå› ‹Ul«m ad-Dºn
[Revival of the Religious Sciences], his magnum opus. At that stage in
my life, I would express my view of religion by saying: “If I ever
embraced a religion outwardly, it would be Islåm, for I am inwardly
convinced that Almighty God is One and that Mu¥ummad is His
Messenger.” For a variety of reasons, I resisted a growing urge to profess
my Islåmic faith openly, but those reasons gradually ceased to prevail.
One very important factor in dispelling my resistance was undoubtedly
the wise influence of Imåm al-Ghazålº (may Allåh be well pleased with
him), and I feel sure that his spiritual presence was there among the
living witnesses to my public testimony of faith in 1969.
Shortly after declaring myself a Muslim, I felt moved to translate
Duties of Brotherhood, part of Book 15 of Imåm al-Ghazålº’s Ihyå› ‹Ul«m
ad-Dºn. My translation was eventually published in 1975, and so began
my career as a translator. I often say with a smile: “The author of Duties
of Brotherhood has come to be my Elder Brother, guiding me from one
part of the world to another, and helping me survive on translation
work as a full-time profession!”
However sincere, my own appreciation of the venerable Imåm may
seem rather modest. Let me therefore assure the reader that his
inestimable worth has been extolled in far more glowing terms. As
reported by Aflåkº, for instance, Jalål ad-Dºn R«mº (may Allah sanctify
his spirit) once said: “Imåm Mu¥ammad al-Ghazålº has purified the
ocean of science in the world of the angels. He has raised its standard
high. He has become the guide of the universe and the sage of mortal
beings.”1
1 See: J. S. Trimingham. The Sufi Orders in Islam. Oxford University Press, London,
ix
1971, p.52.