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ArticlesOfTheIslamicFaithByGhazali, page : 279
the prerequisites
of validity, may be blocked by hidden causes unknown except
to Allah, the Lord of lords of the Mighty Majesty. Hence
it is desirable to entertain some doubts concerning the validity.
These, therefore, are the different reasons for the desirability
of qualifying one's answers when asked about his belief.
With it we conclude the book of the Foundation of Islamic Belief.
The book concluded with the praise of Allah, the High and Allah
praised our Master Muhammad, and every chosen worshiper.
The following principle is explained by Ahmad ibn ed-Darwish
)7(IHSAN, PERFECTION
In the fourth chapter, Imam Ghazali elaborated upon two of the
three parts of the Religion; Islam with means submission and
Iman which means belief. There is a third part which he did
not discuss in this book and that is Ihsan.
Simply, Ihsan in the beginning of Islam was referred to as Ihsan
or Zuhd which means doing without; a form of purification.
Later it became known as Sunni Sufism in which participants
have an unconditional discipline of following the Sunni Order
(Way of the Prophet.)
Ihsan is mainly an ethical and spiritual course which respects
and follows the scholars of Ihsan as well as the other two
parties of scholars namely, the scholars of Iman (belief) i.e.
Imam Ashari and Salaf (first generation) as well as the
scholars of Islamic Jurisprudence i.e. Shafi, Hanballi, Maliki,
and Hanafi.
In simple words, Ihsan is based on three dimensions: For the
sake of self cleansing, one asks Allah for forgiveness repeatedly,
over and over again. This is followed by the multi repeated
remembrance of bearing witness that there is no god except
Allah. Thirdly, by the abundant repeating of the the praise
of Allah and His angels for Prophet Muhammad as prescribed
in the Koran - the praise and peace be upon him.-
During the time of Imam Ghazali, the practice of Ihsan was common
and he too followed a spiritual sheikh of Ihsan. In his
book "Al Munqiz min Ad- Dalal" (The Safety from Deviation)
he investigated the validity of the roots, theory, and practices
of many sects from Greek philosophy to the heritage of
the Indians and Chinese. In this book he dissected and analyzed
each sect individually and certified without any doubt that
the Sufism of the Sunni Muslims was by far the best path
to the Creator.
Having a spiritual guide is highly recommended.
The undermentioned Prophetic quotation describes the three parts
of the Religion - Islam, Iman and Ihsan. "One day when we
(the companions) were with the Messenger of Allah - the praise
and peace be upon him - a man with very white clothing
and very black hair came to us. There was no sign of travel
upon him and none of us recognized him.
He sat down in front of the Prophet
of validity, may be blocked by hidden causes unknown except
to Allah, the Lord of lords of the Mighty Majesty. Hence
it is desirable to entertain some doubts concerning the validity.
These, therefore, are the different reasons for the desirability
of qualifying one's answers when asked about his belief.
With it we conclude the book of the Foundation of Islamic Belief.
The book concluded with the praise of Allah, the High and Allah
praised our Master Muhammad, and every chosen worshiper.
The following principle is explained by Ahmad ibn ed-Darwish
)7(IHSAN, PERFECTION
In the fourth chapter, Imam Ghazali elaborated upon two of the
three parts of the Religion; Islam with means submission and
Iman which means belief. There is a third part which he did
not discuss in this book and that is Ihsan.
Simply, Ihsan in the beginning of Islam was referred to as Ihsan
or Zuhd which means doing without; a form of purification.
Later it became known as Sunni Sufism in which participants
have an unconditional discipline of following the Sunni Order
(Way of the Prophet.)
Ihsan is mainly an ethical and spiritual course which respects
and follows the scholars of Ihsan as well as the other two
parties of scholars namely, the scholars of Iman (belief) i.e.
Imam Ashari and Salaf (first generation) as well as the
scholars of Islamic Jurisprudence i.e. Shafi, Hanballi, Maliki,
and Hanafi.
In simple words, Ihsan is based on three dimensions: For the
sake of self cleansing, one asks Allah for forgiveness repeatedly,
over and over again. This is followed by the multi repeated
remembrance of bearing witness that there is no god except
Allah. Thirdly, by the abundant repeating of the the praise
of Allah and His angels for Prophet Muhammad as prescribed
in the Koran - the praise and peace be upon him.-
During the time of Imam Ghazali, the practice of Ihsan was common
and he too followed a spiritual sheikh of Ihsan. In his
book "Al Munqiz min Ad- Dalal" (The Safety from Deviation)
he investigated the validity of the roots, theory, and practices
of many sects from Greek philosophy to the heritage of
the Indians and Chinese. In this book he dissected and analyzed
each sect individually and certified without any doubt that
the Sufism of the Sunni Muslims was by far the best path
to the Creator.
Having a spiritual guide is highly recommended.
The undermentioned Prophetic quotation describes the three parts
of the Religion - Islam, Iman and Ihsan. "One day when we
(the companions) were with the Messenger of Allah - the praise
and peace be upon him - a man with very white clothing
and very black hair came to us. There was no sign of travel
upon him and none of us recognized him.
He sat down in front of the Prophet