Jump to content

Page:Al-Ghazzali - Some Religious and Moral Teachings of Al-Ghazzali (1921).djvu/133

From Wikisource
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
126
THE NATURE OF LOVE

far as to believe in the airy nothings of pantheism. These are all vagaries of the imagination, whether they take the form of "Ibn Allah", (Son of God) or "Anal Haq" (I am God).[1] They are to a great extent responsible for the evils of superstition and scepticism.

These four causes when properly understood, demonstrate that the true object of our love is God and therefore it has been enjoined: "Thou shalt love the lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy


  1. Al Ghazzali condemns all such expressions which are called by Cardinal Newman "eccentricities of the saints." He is aware of their liability to abuse and points out their error in a manner which six hundred years later took the form of Bishop Butler's dictum that reason cannot abdicate its right of judging obvious improprieties in religious doctrines and persons. "Ibn Allah", (Son of God) refers to the orthodox Christian view of Jesus. "Anal Haq" (I am the truth, i.e. God) refers to the expression of Husain bin Mansur al Hallaj, who in 309 A.D. was crucified in Bagdad for his blasphemy. The poet Hafiz says of him: "Jurmash an bud ki asrar huwaida bikard." (His crime was that he revealed the secrets