for such great books - which are XXII and XXIII of his ihyā’ Ulum al-Dīn - he did a great job in trying to summarize Ghazalis main points, though the books are a MUST to get the full detail of a true ascetic for conforming to one thing only, and thats you and your relationship with Allah (swt)
I am overjoyed; god guided me to these ideas at the most vital time. I have an uphill battle ahead of me and god will guide my soul into asking of me to provide for what it needs. And that is in the form of renouncing the destruction my desire has brought into my life. My soul is urging me to take the middle, harder path because that is where the truth may lay
For those asking about the reference and source. Most of this has been taken from the 'Revival of Religious Sciences (Ihya Ulum Al DIn) www.ghazali.org
This is exactly what Aristotle Ethics was saying, Al-Ghazali ana amazing scholar bu he learned a great deal from Aristotle. Request you all to read Aristotle Ethics and four causes then you see where all this has come from.
If you follow your desires **knowing** that they are wrong, then you are neglecting your intellect and giving more power to your appetite. Similarity you can apply it to the anger, etc. In every case, your intellect / reason / mind should be the power of your actions. Your mind should control every action you do. Also read the full book of Imam Al Ghazali to understand it better.
+Tyenuj K That's pretty ignorant statement, shows how much you know about the history of philosophy, Since philosophy historically doesn't contrast religion in-fact it's inspired by religion Socrates,Aristotle,Averroes,Avicenna...are among philosophers who are basing their observations on the assumption that a higher power exist, you can't separate a philosophical argument from it's religious background it won't make sense.
We live in the 21st century my friend. Also it is a fact that all the Sufis have been simply attempting to mix Greek philosophy into Islam. Would of been nice if they made their plagiarism more open.
Tyenuj K Oh i see now, your problem isn't his philosophy it's him being a philosopher with an Islamic background, i thought it's the 21st century, right ? You call it fact i call it red herring ; the majority of the philosophers in history and now won't agree with your so called "fact" , not the first time that the word is being miss used. And don't worry they are not waiting for your majesty to praise their contributions in all fields not only Philosophy, all the world does.
Philosophy is the result of thinking and generated by your mind. On the other hand religion, if it is taught and learned correctly is the science of Heart and Soul. Good Luck.
