Page:A Moslem seeker after God - showing Islam at its best in the life and teaching of al-Ghazali, mystic and theologian of the eleventh century (IA moslemseekeraft00zwem).pdf/249



AL-GHAZALI AS A MYSTIC 231

denuded of self, so that he no longer knows his own experiences and practices, and, as though with senses sealed, sinks into the ocean of the contempla tion of God. This condition the Sufis characterize as self-annihilation (Fana)." ("The Confes sions.")

Elsewhere he compares this highest condition of ecstasy of the human soul to a clear mirror of course he means the mirror of the ancients made of polished brass or bronze which reflects the colours of anything towards which it is directed. Again and again he comes back to this metaphor in his books. Sin is like rust on the mirror of the soul. Light is reflected in it, but the rays are no longer clear, until by repentance the rust of guilt and passion are removed.

Al-Ghazali’s mysticism was always accompanied by orthodox insistence on the six articles of faith and the five pillars of practice, through which alone the soul can receive its fundamental impulse to wards God.

Yet Al-Ghazali’s mysticism leads him to empha size always the spiritual side of worship. The mere form is nothing in itself. The author of the Masnavi had mastered Al-Ghazali and absorbed his spirit when he wrote:

" Fools laud and magnify the mosque, While they strive to oppress holy men of heart. But the former is mere form, the latter spirit and