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Spiritual_Roadmap_by_Ghazali, page : 146
vision‟.
Moreover I say: `Even if you have not experienced it, yet your mind judges it an absolute
obligation to
believe in it and follow it. Let us suppose that a man of full age and sound mind, who has never
experienced
illness, now falls ill; and let us suppose that he has a father who is a good man and a competent
physician,
of whose reputation in medicine he has been hearing as long as he can remember. His father
compounds a
drug for him, saying, `This will make you better from your illness and cure your symptoms‟ What
judgment
does his intellect make here, even if the drug is bitter and disagreeable to the taste? Does he
take it? Or
does he disbelieve and say, `I do not understand the connection of this drug with the achieving of
a cure; I
have had no experience of it‟. You would certainly think him a fool if he did that! Similarly
people of vision
think you a fool when you hesitate and remain undecided‟.
You may say: `How am I to know the good will of the Prophet, peace be upon him and his knowledge of
this medical art‟? I reply: `How do you know the good will of your father, seeing
this is not something
perceived by the senses? The fact is that you have come to know it necessarily and
indubitably by
comparing his attitude at different times and observing his actions in various circumstances‟.
If one considers the sayings of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and what
is related in
Prophetic Sayings about his concern for showing people the true way and about his graciousness in
leading
men by various acts of sympathy and kindness to improve their character and conduct and to better
their
mutual relations leading them to the indispensable basis of all betterment, religious and secular
alike, if one
considers this, one comes to the obvious knowledge that his good will towards his people is greater
than
that of a father towards his child.
Again, if one considers the marvelous acts manifested in his case and the wonderful mysteries
declared by
his mouth in the Koran and in the Prophetic Sayings, and his predictions of events
in the distant future,
together with the fulfillment of these predictions, then one will know necessarily that
he attained to the
sphere which is beyond reason, where an eye opened in him by which the mysteries were laid bare
which
only the elect apprehend, the mysteries which are not apprehended by the intellect.
This is the method of reaching obvious knowledge that the Prophet, peace be upon him is to be
believed.
Make the experiment, reflect on the Koran, read the Prophetic Sayings; then you will know that by
seeing for
yourself.
We have now dealt with the students of philosophy in sufficient detail, discussing the question at
some
length in view of the great need for
Moreover I say: `Even if you have not experienced it, yet your mind judges it an absolute
obligation to
believe in it and follow it. Let us suppose that a man of full age and sound mind, who has never
experienced
illness, now falls ill; and let us suppose that he has a father who is a good man and a competent
physician,
of whose reputation in medicine he has been hearing as long as he can remember. His father
compounds a
drug for him, saying, `This will make you better from your illness and cure your symptoms‟ What
judgment
does his intellect make here, even if the drug is bitter and disagreeable to the taste? Does he
take it? Or
does he disbelieve and say, `I do not understand the connection of this drug with the achieving of
a cure; I
have had no experience of it‟. You would certainly think him a fool if he did that! Similarly
people of vision
think you a fool when you hesitate and remain undecided‟.
You may say: `How am I to know the good will of the Prophet, peace be upon him and his knowledge of
this medical art‟? I reply: `How do you know the good will of your father, seeing
this is not something
perceived by the senses? The fact is that you have come to know it necessarily and
indubitably by
comparing his attitude at different times and observing his actions in various circumstances‟.
If one considers the sayings of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and what
is related in
Prophetic Sayings about his concern for showing people the true way and about his graciousness in
leading
men by various acts of sympathy and kindness to improve their character and conduct and to better
their
mutual relations leading them to the indispensable basis of all betterment, religious and secular
alike, if one
considers this, one comes to the obvious knowledge that his good will towards his people is greater
than
that of a father towards his child.
Again, if one considers the marvelous acts manifested in his case and the wonderful mysteries
declared by
his mouth in the Koran and in the Prophetic Sayings, and his predictions of events
in the distant future,
together with the fulfillment of these predictions, then one will know necessarily that
he attained to the
sphere which is beyond reason, where an eye opened in him by which the mysteries were laid bare
which
only the elect apprehend, the mysteries which are not apprehended by the intellect.
This is the method of reaching obvious knowledge that the Prophet, peace be upon him is to be
believed.
Make the experiment, reflect on the Koran, read the Prophetic Sayings; then you will know that by
seeing for
yourself.
We have now dealt with the students of philosophy in sufficient detail, discussing the question at
some
length in view of the great need for