Renewing Religion: An Overview of Ghazali's Ihya SeekersGuidance.org

In this lesson of Renewing Religion, Ustadh Amjad Tarsin, reflects upon the chapters from Imam Ghazali’s Ihya on sincerity, self-examination, meditation and reflecting on death.



Ustadh Amjad begins with the chapter on sincerity, explaining that true sincerity can lead habits to be acts of worship if they are done with the right intentions. Many of the companions would actually hide a lot of their acts of good and worship so that they would ensure its sincerity. Thus sincerity is the defining factor of our actions that determine whether our actions will be accepted or not. The second chapter that is examined in this lesson is on self-examination.



Ustadh Amjad mentions that many of the righteous would remember their mistakes years after so that it would push them to improve for the better. The Prophet, peace be upon him, says if you do not feel shame then do as you will. Here, he points to the importance of self-examination and understanding that all your actions have a consequence.



Ustadh Amjad gives an overview of the chapter on the importance of meditation and reflection. Spending time in nature calms the soul and really allows our internal sounds to quiet so we can start to think about deeper matters. The second type of reflection that one should seek is reflecting on blessings and be thankful for them. The third is reflecting upon the nature of the world, life, death, and the hereafter.



This allows a person to prepare for meeting their Lord. Lastly, reflecting upon death is the last chapter of the Ihya. Reflecting upon death forces people to get done now what they would have otherwise delayed. That is why the Prophet, peace be upon him, advises us to take advantage of our free time before we become busy. Imam Ghazali likens every breath one takes to a precious jewel because it can never be brought back once it is taken. The fruit of all this will be realized at the time of death if one has lived their life preparing for it then they will welcome it when the time comes but if they have lived their life headless of it they will be terrified of dying.



In this brief overview of Imam Ghazali’s opus magnum, Ihya Ulum al-Din (Renewing the Religious Sciences), this series will serve as a blueprint for how the believer can bring to life their religion. It will aim to help the believer to not just practice the form of the religion properly, but to also practice it with excellence.

In this re-broadcast lesson of Renewing Religion, Shaykh Faraz gives an overview of the chapters on faith in Divine Oneness and trusting in Allah as well as the chapters on love, longing, and intimacy from Imam Ghazali’s Ihya.



Shaykh Faraz begins by explaining that knowing Divine Oneness in its true meaning entails certitude within your heart and trust and reliance upon Allah when it comes to dealing with all that happens. This begins by realizing that Allah is the necessary existence and everything else is dependent on Him. As such everything in existence is necessarily in a state of slavehood to Allah; this is the essence of Tawheed and understanding Divine Oneness.



This understanding should lead one to complete reliance on Allah. Shaykh Faraz reminds us that reliance on Allah is not limited to times of difficulty rather it is only if one relies on Allah in all their times including those of ease can they truly rely on Him during times of difficulty. The Prophet, peace be upon him, says know Allah at the times of ease and He will know you in difficulties. You can know Allah both through the consciousness of Him and trust in Him. The action required to actualize this is to continually remember Allah in all of your actions and continually engage in words of remembrance.



In this brief overview of Imam Ghazali’s opus magnum, Ihya Ulum al-Din (Renewing the Religious Sciences), this series will serve as a blueprint for how the believer can bring to life their religion. It will aim to help the believer to not just practice the form of the religion properly, but to also practice it with excellence.



 







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In this lesson, Ustadh Amjad Tarsin gives an overview of the chapters on patience and thankfulness, fear and hope, poverty, and abstinence from Imam Ghazali’s Ihya.



In this chapter, Imam Ghazali explains that faith is of two halves: half is patience and half is gratitude, and having certainty of Allah is the whole of faith. Ustadh Amjad explains that everything that one goes through in life is neither a blessing or punishment rather our response to it is what matters. That is why the Prophet would pray to Allah not to turn away His decree but to have gentleness in His decree.



The next section of the lesson deals with the chapter on thankfulness. Allah says that if you are thankful then Allah will increase you. Ustadh Amjad advises that we should be especially thankful when we have things to complain about, turn to your numerous other blessings and be thankful for them.



Ustadh Amjad then speaks to the chapter on fear and hope and explains that one should have a balance of both. On fear, he says that some of the most fearful people are the companions of the Prophet, particularly those that the Prophet had told them that they would enter Paradise. However, one should also have hope in Allah’s mercy.



Remember that particularly when you sin and want to return to Allah. But one should never underestimate the gravity of their shortcomings and that should always push us to do better.



Lastly, Ustadh Amjad speaks to the chapter on poverty and abstinence. Our deen advises us to have less, and the Prophet would often praise the poor people of the community. The Prophet would continually warn of worldliness.



Ustadh Amjad counsels us to not be attached to the things of this world but attached to the things that one can do in this world that will yield results in the hereafter.



In this brief overview of Imam Ghazali’s opus magnum, Ihya Ulum al-Din (Renewing the Religious Sciences), this series will serve as a blueprint for how the believer can bring to life their religion. It will aim to help the believer to not just practice the form of the religion properly, but to also practice it with excellence.



For more SeekersGuidance podcast shows, visit seekersguidance.org/podcasts.



Help SeekersGuidance reach millions around the world through reliable knowledge and guidance from qualified scholars, completely free: become a monthly supporter – www.seekersguidance.org/donate

In this lesson, Shaykh Faraz Rabbani gives an overview of the chapters on the condemnation of the Dunya; pride; conceit and delusion; and on repentance. These chapters are part of Imam Ghazali’s Ihya and a series of sessions on renewing religion.



Shaykh Faraz begins by explaining that each person has a self that requires affirmation and that affirmation can manifest in the form of pride or delude oneself into thinking that you are doing well. It is common for people to be heavily concerned with the progression of their worldly matters and along with it with their selves, however, when it comes to matters of the deen they don’t feel the urgency and the need to change to improve. For that reason, the condemnation of the dunya in this chapter refers to everything that busies you from Allah.



One should strive in this dunya but consider what you really need of this life to get you to the hereafter. Thus one should always remember the lowliness and fleetingness of this life and the vastness of the Hereafter in comparison.



On pride and conceit, Imam Ghazali defines pride is to think oneself great and conceit is to be self-satisfied and impressed with oneself. Imam Ghazali explains that the basis of all damndest is pride because it is the original sin of Iblees (Satan) and that’s why we have to be very wary of it. As for arrogance, the signs of it are to look down on people and reject what is true. That is why the sunnah of the Prophet, peace be upon him, is grounded in humility, both in outward actions and inward consciousness.



Shaykh Faraz advises that the best way to guard oneself against pride is to attribute all good in your life to Allah and praise Him for it. That stems from an understanding that you are a servant of Allah and every blessing you have is from Allah.



The next vice Shaykh Faraz discusses is delusion and that refers to a satisfaction one has with themselves or their lives, it is a fake satisfaction that is fleeting and does not lead to contentment. One can fall into various types of worldly and religious delusions that are explained in the lesson. Shaykh Faraz recommends that one reads more on this topic in particular through Shaykh Nuh Keller’s Reliance of The Traveller book.



The last portion of the lesson is devoted to the chapter on repentance. Repentance has three integrals: [1] leaving the sin [2] feel remorse for having sinned [3] have resolved to never return to it The fuel of repentance is having a good opinion of Allah and rejoicing in your return to the one you love. Allah has made repentance obligatory because it is mandatory to enter paradise unless you refuse it, so make it a habit to continually repent.



Shaykh Faraz explains in the lesson the various levels of repentance that one can aspire to. In this brief overview of Imam Ghazali’s opus magnum, Ihya Ulum al-Din (Renewing the Religious Sciences), this series will serve as a blueprint for how the believer can bring to life their religion. It will aim to help the believer to not just practice the form of the religion properly, but to also practice it with excellence.



For more SeekersGuidance podcast shows, visit seekersguidance.org/podcasts



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In this re-broadcast lesson, visiting scholar, Shaykh Walead Mosaad, gives an overview of Imam Ghazali’s chapters on the condemnation of miserliness, love of wealth, status; and the condemnation of ostentation. These chapters fall in the third quarter of Imam Ghazali’s opus magnum that focuses on the vices of person. All these vices are primarily about how one interacts with these things, wealth status, etc.



Wealth in and of itself is not wrong, however, it can’t be all-consuming such that it distracts you from everything else. One of the principal objectives of zakat to force you to give something you love for the sake of Allah.



Shaykh Walead counsels us to make a regular habit of taking stock of our shortcomings and identifying ways to improve upon them. One is either on a path of increase or decrease in their deen and iman and as such one should always strive to improve because if you stand still you will inevitably be on a downward trajectory.



The nature of the world is that one is never satiated of it and thus one has to be content through other means that are not materialistic. The remedy to this is a combination of knowledge and practice, to be content in your heart with Allah’s decree, and to only be in need of Allah and that is the true wealth.



Shaykh Walead explains that research has shown that one has a minimum threshold of needs that one needs to be fulfilled but beyond that, any additional wealth doesn’t make you happy. The chapter following that is on the condemnation of status and ostentation. How one is viewed by others is one of the most ingrained inclinations in a human and thus only those of truly high status are those who let go of their love of status and leadership. Seeking fame for the sake of fame has become central to our society today and that is blameworthy. Imam Ghazali comments that one should be famous only if Allah has made them known not through any effort or objective of their own.



Shaykh Walead concludes with a reminder that first and foremost one should seek roots through cultivating ourselves and character. If then Allah decides that we should be known to others and for us to bear fruit and benefit to the community then that should be but one should not seek it out.



In this brief overview of Imam Ghazali’s opus magnum, Ihya Ulum al-Din (Renewing the Religious Sciences), this series will serve as a blueprint for how the believer can bring to life their religion. It will aim to help the believer to not just practice the form of the religion properly, but to also practice it with excellence.



 



For more SeekersGuidance podcast shows, visit seekersguidance.org/podcasts



Help SeekersGuidance reach millions around the world through reliable knowledge and guidance from qualified scholars, completely free: become a monthly supporter – www.seekersguidance.org/donate