Al-Ghazali : Jesus Christ

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Regarding the teaching of Jesus we find the following passages in the Ihya. I have indicated the parallel passages in the New Testament where possible. Some of them are taken from the Gospel according to Matthew, especially from the Sermon on the Mount. These are given first and then the apocryphal sayings, for it is difficult to follow any logical order.

" Said Jesus : ’ If a man come to you when he is fasting let him anoint his head and wipe his lips that men may not say he is fasting ; and if he gives alms with his right hand let not his left hand know ; and if he prays let him put a curtain over his door, for verily God divines his trouble even as He does our daily food.’ " (Vol. Ill, p. 203.)

" Said Jesus (upon him be peace), ’ Whosoever shall do and teach shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.’ " (Vol. I, p. 6 ; cf. Matt. 5.19.)

" Said Jesus, ’ Do not hang pearls on the necks of swine ; for wisdom is better than pearls.’ " (Vol. I, p. 43 ; cf. Matt. 7:6.) " Said Jesus,’ How long will ye describe the right road to those who are going astray and ye yourselves remain with those who are perplexed’." (Vol. I, p. 44 ; cf. Matt. 23 : 13.)

" Said Jesus,’ The teachers of evil are like a big stone which has fallen on the mouth of a well so that the water cannot reach the sown fields.’" (Vol. I, p. 45 ; cf. Matt. 23 : 13.)

" Said Jesus, ’ How can that man belong to the people of wisdom who from the beginning of his life until the end looks only after the things of the world ? ’ " (Vol. I, p. 46 ; cf. Matt. 6 : 33.)

Again he makes God address Jesus as follows : ’ O Son of Mary, preach to yourself for if you preach to yourself you will be able to preach to man and if not fear him.’ " (Vol. I, p. 47.)

"Said Jesus (on him be peace), ’Blessed are those who humble themselves in this world, for they shall be the possessors of thrones on the day of judgment. Blessed are those who make peace between men in this world, for they shall inherit Paradise on the day of resurrection. Blessed are they who are poor in this world, for they shall behold God Most High on the day of resurrection.’ " (Vol. Ill, p. 237 ; cf. Matt. 5 : 3-9.)

" Some one said to Jesus : ’ Let me go with you on your wanderings.’ He replied : ’Dispose of all that you have and follow me.’ " (Vol. IV, p. 170 ; cf. Luke 9 : 57 and Matt. 19 : 21.) Here two passages are mixed.

" Said Jesus (on him be peace),’ It has been told of ancient times : a tooth for a tooth and a nose for a nose ; but I say unto you, do not return evil for evil, but whosoever strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the left also ; and whosoever desireth you to go with him a mile go with him twain ; and whosoever taketh away your cloak give him your inner garment also.’ " (Vol. IV, p. 52 ; cf. Matt. 5 : 30-41.) These verses seem to be fairly accurate quotations, though not without some confusion, from some translation of the Sermon on the Mount.

" Said the disciples to Jesus (on him be peace), ’ Behold this mosque how beautiful it is.’ He replied : ’ O my nation ! O my nation ! In truth I say unto you, God will not suffer a stone to remain upon a stone in it but he will destroy it because of the sins of its people. Truly God does not care for gold and silver nor does he care for these stones at which ye marvel ; but the things which God loves most are pure hearts, with them God can build up the earth, and if they are not good they are wasted’" ("Ihya," Vol. Ill, p. 288 ; cf. Matt. 24 : 2.)

" Said Jesus : ’ Do not take the world for your master, for she will make you her slave. Lay up your treasures with him who will not lose them. For he who lays up treasure in the earth fears that which will destroy them ; but he who has treasures with God does not fear for anything that may injure them’ (Matt. 6:9-21). And Jesus said also : ’O company of the Apostles, behold I have poured out the world upon the ground, therefore do not take hold of it again after me, for the evil of this world is that men disobey God in it. And the evil of the world also is that the other world cannot be obtained without abandoning the present. Therefore pass through the world but do not build in it. Know that the root of all sin is the love of the world and perchance the desire of an hour will cause those who follow it to lose the other world altogether.’ He also said : ’ I have cast the world before you and ye have sat upon its back, do not therefore suffer kings or women to dispute its possession with you. As for kings, do not dispute with them for its possession, for they will not give it back to you. And as for women, guard yourselves against them by prayer and fasting’ " (Vol. Ill, p. 139.) "Said Jesus : ’The love of this world and of the world to come cannot abide in the same heart even as water and fire cannot abide in one vessel’ " (Vol. Ill, p. 140.)

" Said Jesus (on him be peace), ’ O ye teachers of wickedness ! Ye fast and pray and give alms and do not what ye command others and ye teach that which ye do not understand. How evil is that which ye do. Ye repent only with words but your deeds are without value. In vain do ye purify your skins while your hearts are covered with evil. I say unto you, be not as the sieve from which the good flour passes out and all that remains in it are the siftings. Thus ye make the truth to pass out of your mouths, but deceit remains in your hearts, O servants of the world ! How can any one understand the other world while his desires cling to this ? Of a truth I say unto you that your hearts shall weep because of your deeds. Ye have put the world upon your tongues and trampled upon good deeds. Of a truth I say unto you, ye have corrupted your future life, for ye are more in love with the good things of this world than of the good things of the world to come. Which of the children suffers greater loss than ye do, if only ye knew it ! Woe be to you ! How long will ye describe the right way to those who are in darkness and ye yourselves remain in the place of doubt ? It is as if ye invite the children of the world to forsake its pleasure in order to leave it for yourselves a little while. Woe be to you ! What benefit is it to the darkened house if the candle be put on its roof while the rooms of the house remain in darkness ? In the same way ye will not be enriched if the light of knowledge is on your lips, while your hearts remain in darkness. O ye servants of the world ! what of your righteousness or your freedom ? Perchance the world will pluck you up by the roots and cast you upon your faces and drag you in the dust. It will expose your sins upon your foreheads, then it will drive you before it until you are delivered up to the angel of judgment, every one of you naked. Then shall you be punished by your evil deeds.’" (Vol. Ill, p. 183 ; cf. Matt. 23 : 1-27.)

" Do not be anxious about the food of to-morrow, for perhaps to-morrow will be your time of death." (Vol. IV, p. 330 ; cf. Matt. 6 : 34.)

" Behold the bird, it does not sow nor reap nor lay up store and God Most High provides for it." (Vol. IV, p. 190 ; cf. Matt. 6 : 26.)

"Said Jesus (on him be peace), ’He is not wise who does not rejoice when he enters upon trials and sicknesses of the body and loss of his possessions ; for in it he may find atonement for his sins’ " (Vol. IV, p. 205 ; cf. Matt. 5 : 10.)

" It is related of Jesus that he said : ’ If you see a young man passionately fond of prayer to God you will know that he has escaped all temptations’" (Vol. IV, p. 221 ; cf. Matt. 26:41.) The reference might be to Christ’s words in the Garden of Gethsemane.

" Said Jesus (on him be peace), ’ Serve God by hating the people who transgress, and draw near to God by departing from them. Seek the goodwill of God by hating them.’ They said to him : ’ O spirit of God, with whom then shall we keep company ?’ He answered them : ’Keep company with those who make you remember God and those whose words improve your conduct and those whose example makes you earnest for the world to come.’" (Vol. II, p. 110.)

" It is related of Jesus (on him be peace) that he said to the children of Israel : ’Where does that which ye sow grow ? ’ They replied : ’ In the good ground,’ and he said : ’ Verily I say unto you, wisdom does not grow except in the heart which is good soil.’" (Vol. IV, p. 256 ; cf. Matt. 13 : 1-9.)

"Said Jesus (on him be peace), ’Truly the harvest does not grow on the mountain but in the plain. Thus wisdom works in the heart of those that are humble and not in the heart of the proud.’" (Vol. Ill, p. 240 ; cf. Matt. 13 : 23.)

" Said Jesus (on him be peace), ’ Fine garments make proud looks’ " (Vol. Ill, p. 247.)

" Said Jesus (on him be peace), ’ What ails you that ye come in the garments of monks and your hearts are the hearts of ravening wolves ? Wear the garments of monks if you wish but humble your hearts with godly fear’" (Vol. Ill, p. 247 ; cf. Matt. 7 : 15.)

" Said Jesus (on him be peace), ’ O company of disciples, call upon God Most High that he may make light for you this terror, namely, death. For I fear death in such a fashion that I stand afraid of the same.’ " Is it possible that Al-Ghazali here refers to the agony in Gethsemane ? The chapter in which this passage occurs is entitled " The terrors of death." (Vol. IV, p. 324 ; cf. Matt. 26 : 38.)

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