Part 14
But Al-Ghazali did not know God’s nearness through the Incarnation of Christ. The hoped-for Vision of God was always full of fear and dread of judgment. The _fear_ of God was the beginning and end of wisdom. What he understood by the fear of God is clear from the following passage taken from the “Revival of Religious Sciences”: “By the fear of God I do not mean a fear like that of women when their eyes swim and their hearts beat at hearing some eloquent religious discourse, which they quickly forget and turn again to frivolity. That is no real fear at all. He who fears a thing flees from it, and he who hopes for a thing strives for it, and the only fear that will save thee is that fear that forbids sinning against God and instils obedience to Him. Beware of the shallow fear of women and fools, who, when they hear of the terrors of the Lord, say lightly, ‘We take refuge in God,’ and at the same time continue in the very sins which will destroy them. Satan laughs at such pious ejaculations. They are like a man who should meet a lion in a desert, while there is a fortress at no great distance away, and when he sees the ravenous beast, should stand exclaiming, ‘I take refuge in God.’ God will not protect thee from the terrors of His judgment unless thou really take refuge in Him.”
Included with his fear of God there was always a fear of death which can best be described as mediæval or early Moslem. Towards the close of his life he composed a short work on eschatology called “The Precious Pearl.” It is no less lurid in its terrible pictures of death and the judgment than some of his older works. In it he says: “When you watch a dead man and see that the saliva has run from his mouth, that his lips are contracted, his face black, the whites of his eyes showing, know that he is damned, and that the fact of his damnation in the other world has just been revealed to him. But if you see the dead with a smile on his lips, a serene countenance, his eyes half-closed, know that he has just received the good news of the happiness which awaits him in the other world....
“On the day of Judgment, when all men are gathered before the throne of God, their accounts are all cast up, and their good and evil deeds weighed. During all this time each man believes he is the only one with whom God is dealing. Though peradventure at the same moment God is taking account of countless multitudes whose number is known to Him only. Men do not see each other or hear each other speak.”
In summing up the character of the Mystic Claud Field says: “As St. Augustine found deliverance from doubt and error in his inward experience of God, and Descartes in self-consciousness, so Ghazali, unsatisfied with speculation and troubled by scepticism, surrenders himself to the will of God. Leaving others to demonstrate the existence of God from the external world, he finds God revealed in the depths of his own consciousness and the mystery of his own free will.... He is a unique and lonely figure in Islam, and has to this day been only partially understood. In the Middle Ages his fame was eclipsed by that of Averroes, whose commentary on Aristotle is alluded to by Dante, and was studied by Thomas Aquinas and the schoolman. Averroes’ system was rounded and complete, but Ghazali was one of those ‘whose reach exceeds their grasp’; he was always striking after something he had not attained, and stands in many respects nearer to modern mind than Averroes. Renan, though far from sympathizing with his religious earnestness, calls him ‘the most original mind among Arabian philosophers.’”
The disciple of Al-Ghazali is perhaps of all Moslems the nearest to the Gospel, and we may hope that when his works are carefully studied and compared with the teaching of Christianity many may find in him a schoolmaster to lead them to Christ. Educated Moslems of to-day may well heed the warning with which Al-Ghazali closes his “Confessions”: “The knowledge of which we speak is not derived from sources accessible to human diligence, and that is why progress in mere worldly knowledge renders the sinner more hardened in his revolt against God. True knowledge, on the contrary, inspires in him who is initiated in it more fear and more reverence, and raises a barrier of defense between him and sin. He may slip and stumble, it is true, as is inevitable with one encompassed by human infirmity, but these slips and stumbles will not weaken his faith. The true Moslem succumbs occasionally to temptation but he repents and will not persevere obstinately in the path of error. I pray God the Omnipotent to place us in the ranks of His chosen, among the number of those whom He directs in the path of safety, in whom He inspires fervour lest they forget Him; whom He cleanses from all defilement, that nothing may remain in them except Himself; yea of those whom He indwells completely, that they may adore none beside Him.”
Being a Moslem, Al-Ghazali was either too proud to search for the true historical facts of the Christian religion, or perhaps it would be more charitable to say that he had no adequate opportunity, in spite of his quotations and misquotations from the “Gospels.” Otherwise he could have found there what would have met his heart-hunger and satisfied his soul—the manifestation of God not in some intangible principle, but in a living person, in Jesus Christ, who “is the image of the invisible God, the first born of every creature. For by Him were all things created that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; in Him are all things, and by Him all things consist.” (Colossians 1: 15-17.) Those who dwell in Christ and in whom He dwells are a part of His spiritual body. They are the branches of the living Vine. They are one in life and purpose, although they remain conscious evermore of their own individual existence; they are fitted progressively for a deeper communion with God. To such a conception the Sufi never attained. Al-Ghazali admits that no man has seen God at any time, but he failed to realize that “the Only Begotten, Who is in the bosom of the Father, hath declared Him.” The artificial glory of Mohammed in his case, as for centuries afterwards, hid the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Yet not altogether, as the next chapter will make clear.
IX
Jesus Christ in Al-Ghazali
Jesus, the very thought of Thee With sweetness fills my breast; But sweeter far Thy face to see, And in Thy presence rest.
Nor voice can sing, nor heart can frame, Nor can the memory find, A sweeter sound than Thy blest name, O Saviour of mankind!
O hope of every contrite heart! O joy of all the meek! To those who fall, how kind Thou art! How good to those who seek!
But what to those who find? Ah! this Nor tongue nor pen can show: The love of Jesus—what it is None but His loved ones know.
—_Bernard of Clairvaux—almost a contemporary (1091-1152)._
IX
JESUS CHRIST IN AL-GHAZALI
Jesus Christ is the Touch-Stone of character, the Master of all spiritual leaders and the one supreme and infallible Judge who can pronounce an unerring verdict concerning the truth of any religious system or teaching. What place has Jesus in the teaching of the greatest of all Moslem theologians, what place had He in the heart of this great mystic, this seeker after God, who, whatever else he may have been, was utterly sincere in his search? Al-Ghazali, as a student of the Koran, must have noticed that in this book Christ occupies a high place; no fewer than three of the chapters of the Koran, namely, that of Amram’s Family (Surah III), that of The Table (Surah V), and that of Mary (Surah XIX), derive their names from references to Jesus Christ and His work. The very fact that Jesus Christ has a place in the literature of Islam, and is acknowledged by all Moslems as one of their greater prophets in itself therefore challenges comparison between Him and Mohammed. Did Al-Ghazali ever meet this challenge and in how far did he compare Mohammed with Christ? It is our purpose in this chapter to answer the question by collating all the important references in the _Ihya_ and his other works and then to draw some conclusions both as to his sources and his opinions. The reader may judge for himself how far Al-Ghazali is a schoolmaster to lead Moslems to Christ.
We search in vain among all his works for a sketch of the life of Christ or of His teaching. Al-Ghazali doubtless had read and was probably well acquainted with the only popular work known which gives a connected account of the life of Jesus Christ according to Moslem sources, namely, _Kitab qusus al Anbiya_ by _Ibn Ibrahim Ath-Thaʾlabi_, a doctor of theology of the Shafi School, who died in A. H. 427 (A. D. 1036). The fabulous character of this mass of traditions has been shown in a translation of the section which deals with Jesus Christ.[83] Al-Ghazali does not give altogether the same stories as are given by Ath-Thaʾlabi but gives a great number of other incidents and reported sayings, many of which resemble those found in the Gospels and others which are wholly apocryphal.
The question again arises where did Al-Ghazali gain this knowledge of the Gospel? Did he have access to a Persian or Arabic translation; or was all this material which we have collated, the result of hearsay, gathered from the lips of Christian monks and Jewish rabbis? It is perfectly clear that he was acquainted with Old Testament tradition even more than with that of the New Testament. There are scores of passages in which he refers to the teachings of Moses, the Psalms of David, and the lives of the Old Testament Prophets. We have already referred to translations of the Bible into Arabic before the time of Al-Ghazali in our first chapter. There is a tradition that “the People of the Book used to read the Torah in Hebrew and interpret it in Arabic to the followers of Islam.” Another tradition says that “Kaʾab the Rabbi brought a book to Omar the Caliph and said, ‘Here is the Torah, read it.’”[84] We learn from the Jewish Encyclopædia that “The _fihrist_ of al-Nadim mentions an Ahmed ibn Abd Allah ibn Salam who translated the Bible into Arabic, at the time of Haroun ar-Rashîd, and that _Fahr ud-Din ar-Razi_ mentions a translation of Habbakuk by the son of _Rabban At-Tabari_. Many of the Arabic Historians as At-Tabari, Masʾudi, Hamza, and Biruni cite passages and recount the early history of the Jews in a most circumstantial manner. Ibn Kutaibah, the historian (d. 889), says that he read the Bible; and he even made a collection of Biblical passages in a work which has been preserved by Ibn Jauzi of the twelfth century.” The first important Arabic translation is that of Saʾadia Gaon (892-942). The influence of this translation was in its way as great as that of Gaon’s philosophical work.
A version of the Psalms was made by Hafiz al-Quti in the tenth century and from internal evidence we know that the author had been Christian. Another translation of the Old Testament in Arabic was made by the Jews in Cairo in the middle of the eleventh century. The translation of Saʾadia had become a standard work in Egypt, Palestine and Syria, by the end of the tenth century, and it was revised about A. D. 1070.[85] As regards Persian translations of the Bible we learn from the Jewish Encyclopædia that according to Maimonides, the Pentateuch was translated into Persian many hundred years previous to Mohammed. But this statement cannot be further substantiated. In regard to Arabic versions of the Gospels we have already given Dr. Kilgour’s statement.
Is it not probable that one or other of these versions of the Gospel was known to Al-Ghazali? Does he not himself state: “I have _read_ in the Gospel”? Not only does he reproduce the stories and sayings of Christ from the Gospels but in some cases, as the reader will see, the very words of the text. It is true that there is much apocryphal matter also of which the canonical Gospels know nothing. We are in ignorance and we must remain in ignorance whence Al-Ghazali derived this material; or did he invent it even as the men of his day invented stories about Mohammed?
In the _Ihya_ we find the following incidents, real and apocryphal, regarding the life of Christ on earth as a prophet and saint.[86] We begin with Al-Ghazali’s witness to His sinlessness: “It is said that the devil (may God curse him) appeared to Jesus and said, ‘Say there is no God but God.’ He replied: ‘The word is true but I will not repeat it after you.’” (Vol. III, p. 23.) Again: “It is related that when Jesus was born, the devils came to Satan and said: ‘All the idols have fallen on their faces.’ He said: ‘This has happened on your account.’ Then he flew until he reached the regions of the earth; there he found Jesus had been born and the angels were protecting him. So he returned to the devils and said to them: ‘Truly a Prophet was born yesterday. No woman has ever given birth before to a child when I was not present except in this case.’ And that is why men now despair of worshipping idols.” (Vol. III, p. 26.)
“It is related that Jesus one day was pillowing his head on a stone; and the devil passed by and said: ‘O Jesus, now you have shown your love for the world!’ Then Jesus picked up the stone, threw it at him and said: ‘Take it and the world.’” (Vol. III, p. 26.) We find this reference to the days of His youth in Nazareth: “Some one said to Jesus: ‘Who gave you your education?’ He replied: ‘No one. But I beheld the ignorance of the foolish despicable and so I departed from it.’” “Jesus the Prophet was of those who were especially favoured. Among the proofs of it is this that he called down peace upon himself, for he said: ‘Peace be on me the day I was born and the day I shall die and the day I shall be raised up alive.’ And this was because of his peace of mind and his loving kindness towards men. But as for John the son of Zachariah (on him be peace), he took the place of awe and fear towards God and did not utter these words until after they were repeated to him by his Creator, who said: ‘Peace be upon him the day he was born and the day he died and the day he was raised again.’” This is an interesting critical comment on the two passages referred to, which occur in the same chapter of the Koran, and I have never seen them used elsewhere as an argument for the superiority of Christ to John. (Vol. IV, p. 245.)
Al-Ghazali gives Jesus the usual titles given Him in the Koran, namely, Son of Mary, Spirit of God, Word of God, Prophet and Apostle. But these latter titles mean little because he endorses the strange Moslem theory that there have been no less than 124,000 prophets since the world began. In his book “_Al-Iqtasad_” he devotes a long argument to prove to the Jews that Jesus was indeed a prophet, basing it upon his teaching and miracles (pp. 83-86). In his _Jawahir ul-Koran_ he even classes Mary the Virgin with the prophets and gives the list of these worthies in the following curious order: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Aaron, Zachariah, John, Jesus, Mary, David, Solomon, Joshua, Lot, Idris, Khudra, Shuʾaib, Elijah, and Mohammed!
Regarding the fasting of our Lord, Al-Ghazali says: “It is related that Jesus (on him be peace) remained for sixty days without eating, engaged in prayer; then he began to think of bread and behold a loaf of bread appeared between his hands; then he sat weeping because he had forgotten his prayers. And behold an old man came to him and Jesus said: ‘God bless you, O servant of God. Call upon God Most High, for I too was in a sad condition and I thought of bread until my prayer departed.’ Then the old man prayed: ‘O God, if thou knowest any occasion when the thought of bread entered my head when I was praying do not forgive me!’ Then he said to Jesus: ‘When anything is brought to me to eat I eat it without even thinking what it is.’” (Vol. III, p. 61.) The following story seems to be based on the injunction of the Gospel “to pluck out the eye” that offends: “It is related of Jesus (on him be peace) that he once went out to pray for rain and when the people gathered together Jesus said to them, ‘Whosoever of you hath committed a sin let him turn back,’ so they all turned away and there was no one left in the cave with him save one. And Jesus said unto him, ‘Have you any sin?’ He replied: ‘By God, I do not know of any except that one day when I was praying a woman passed by me and I looked upon her with this eye and when she had passed I put my finger in my eye and plucked it out and followed her to ask her pardon.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Call upon God that I may believe in your sincerity.’ Then the man prayed and the heavens were covered with clouds and the rain poured down.” (Vol. II, p. 217.)
The following stories are related of the miracle-working Christ: “Said the disciples to Jesus: ‘What do you think of the _dinar_-piece (money)?’ They said: ‘We think it is good.’ He said: ‘But as for me I value it and ashes the same.’” (Vol. III, p. 161.) “It was said to the Prophet that Jesus (upon him be peace) used to walk upon the water. He replied: ‘Had he still more striven after holiness, he would have walked on the air.’” (Vol. IV, p. 71.) “It is related that a certain robber waylaid travellers among the children of Israel for forty years. Jesus passed by that way and behind him walked a saint of the worshippers of the people of Israel, one of his disciples. Said the robber to himself: ‘This is the Prophet of God who passes by and with him one of his disciples. If I should come down I would be the third.’” He then goes on to say that the robber tried to show his humility by following not Christ but his disciple. Jesus rebukes them both because of their sins. (Vol. IV, p. 110.) “It is related that Jesus (on him be peace) passed by a blind man who was a leper and lame of both feet because of paralysis and his flesh was consumed by leprosy, and he was saying: ‘Praise be to God who has kept me in good health and saved me from many things which have befallen others of his creatures.’ Then Jesus said to him: ‘O thou friend, from what kind of affliction do I see that you are free?’ and he replied: ‘O Spirit of God, I am better than those in whose heart God has not put anything of his knowledge and his grace.’ And Jesus said: ‘You have spoken truly. Stretch forth your hand,’ and he stretched forth his hand and became of perfect health both as to his body and his appearance, for God had taken away all his sickness. So he accompanied Jesus and worshipped with him.” (Vol. IV, p. 250.)
Al-Ghazali often pictures the power of Jesus to heal the sick, for Christ as the Merciful One appeals to Moslems always and everywhere. We have for example in the _Masnavi-i-Maʾanavi_ this beautiful picture which can be found in prose, section by section in Al-Ghazali too.
“The house of ʾIsa was the banquet of men of heart, Ho! afflicted one, quit not this door! From all sides the people ever thronged, Many blind and lame, and halt and afflicted, To the door of the house of ʾIsa at dawn, That with his breath he might heal their ailments. As soon as he had finished his orisons, That holy one would come forth at the third hour. He viewed these impotent folk, troop by troop, Sitting at his door in hope and expectation; He spoke to them, saying, ‘O stricken ones! The desires of all of you have been granted by God: Arise, walk without pain or affliction. Acknowledge the mercy and beneficence of God!’ Then all, as camels whose feet are shackled, When you loose their feet in the road, Straightway rush in joy and delight to the halting-place So did they run upon their feet at his command.”
Many of the miracles, however, are puerile, as in this story: “A certain man accompanied Jesus the Son of Mary (upon him be peace) and said: ‘I would like to be with you as your companion.’ So they departed and arrived at the bank of a river and sat down and took their meal. Now they had three loaves, so they ate two and one remained. Then Jesus arose and went to the river to drink and returning did not find the remaining loaf. He said to the man: ‘Who took the loaf?’ He replied: ‘I know not.’ So he departed with his companion and saw a gazelle with her two young, and Jesus called one of them and it came to him and he killed it and prepared it and they ate together. Then he said to the young gazelle: ‘Get up by God’s will,’ and it arose and departed. And he turned to the man and said: ‘I ask you in the name of Him who worked this miracle before your eyes, who took the loaf?’ He answered: ‘I know not.’ So they departed to a cave and Jesus (upon whom be peace) began to collect the pebbles on the sand and said: ‘Become bread by God’s permission!’ and they became bread; then he divided them into three parts and said: ‘A third is for me, a third is for you and a third is for the man who took the loaf,’ and the man said: ‘I am he who took the loaf.’ Jesus replied: ‘Take all of it and depart from me.’” (Vol. III, p. 188.) This story is related by Al-Ghazali in his chapter on greed and covetousness to show that he who loves this world cannot be a companion of the saints!
That Jesus was gentle in word and conduct seems to be the lesson taught in the following two stories: “It is related of Jesus that once a pig passed by him and he said to it: ‘Go in peace.’ They said to him: ‘O Spirit of God, why do you say this to a pig?’ He replied: ‘I dislike to accustom my tongue to use any evil words.’” (Vol. III, p. 87.) “It is related that Jesus with his disciples once passed the carcase of a dog. Said the disciples: ‘How noisome is the smell of this dog.’ Said Jesus (on him be peace): ‘How beautiful is the shine of his white teeth,’ as if he wanted to rebuke them for abusing the dog and to warn them not to mention anything of what God has created save at its best.” (Vol. III, p. 150.) This incident is given by Jallal ud Din in poetic form:
“One evening Jesus lingered in the market-place, Teaching the people parables of truth and grace, When in the square remote a crowd was seen to rise And stop with loathing gestures and abhorring cries. The Master and His meek disciples went to see What cause for this commotion and disgust could be, And found a poor dead dog beside the gutter laid: Revolting sight! at which each face its hate betrayed. One held his nose, one shut his eyes, one turned away, And all among themselves began aloud to say, ‘Detested creature! he pollutes the earth and air!’ ‘His eyes are bleared!’ ‘His ears are foul!’ ‘His ribs are bare!’ ‘In his torn hide there is not a decent shoe-string left!’ ‘No doubt the execrable cur was hung for theft!’ Then Jesus spake and dropped on him this saving breath: ‘Even pearls are dark before the whiteness of his teeth!’”