The Beginning of Guidance by Imam Al Ghazali

The following is my understanding of Imam Al Ghazali’s book, The Beginning of Guidance.

As a seeker of guidance, ensure that your desire for guidance is not for worldly gain such as a desire for power, status and such or else your efforts will be wasted in this life while you thought you were acquiring good by your deeds. (Whoever increases in knowledge but does not increase in guidance only increases in distance from Allah SWT) Woe to the scholar who does not act upon his knowledge. So seek knowledge to use as a provision for the hereafter and aim at nothing but the Face of Allah SWT and the hereafter. Indeed, the expression of one’s state is more eloquent than one’s words and people’s nature leans more towards following one’s actions than adhering to one’s words.

The beginning of guidance is outward piety and its end is inward piety. Religion has two aspects namely performing acts of obedience and refraining from prohibitions, which is the more challenging part. Only the truthful can abstain from desires.

Be aware that disobeying Allah SWT with your limbs, which are a blessing to you and a trust in your care, is the peak of ingratitude annd betraying the trust is the height of tyranny.

Eyes are for finding your way, observing and reflecting on the wonders of creation and not to look at the forbidden or looking down on a person or prying into a person’s faults.

Ears enable you to hear the creation, the Words of Allah SWT and not to listen to heresay, gossip, obscenities, vain talk or the faults of people.

Tongue is to remember Allah SWT abundantly, recite His Book, guide Allah SWT’s creation to His path, express your needs and not for 1. lying, (notice your disdain for the liars and their lies – you don’t see the ugliness of your faults in yourself but in others, what you find repulsive in others, they find repulsive in you too) 2. Beware of making a promise and not fulfilling it, your kindness to others should be through your actions and not just words, breaking a promise is a trait of hypocrisy and poor character 3. Avoid backbiting (saying a thing about someone which if they heard it, it would offend them) rather reflect on yourself, do you have any apparent or hidden faults? are you comitting sins openly or secretly, recognizing your flaws makes you realize others inability to avoid faults is similiar to yours and their excuse is like yours, as you dislike your faults being exposed, others dislike it too. If you cover other’s faults Allah SWT will cover yours, if you find no fault in yourself, know that being oblivious of your faults is the greatest folly and being unaware of your own shortcomings is extreme ignorance 4. Avoid disputing and arguing as it is showcasing one’s wit and knowledge and it is demeaning. You cannot always expose the truth without compromise, advice requires tactfulnness otherwise it becomes scandalous and argumentation can lead to divine and human disdain 5. Avoid self praise as it diminishes your stature among people and incurs Allah SWT’s disdain. (Notice how you feel when your peers boast about their virtues or status, how your heart rejects it, how unnatural it feels to you, how you criticize them once they are gone, know that they too, in the moment of your self-praise will condemn you in their hearts and will speak of it in your absence 6. Refrain from cursing any of Allah SWT’s creation whether animal, food or individual, do not accuse a believer of polytheism, disbelief or hypocrisy, only Allah SWT knows the innermost secrets so do not come between Allah SWT and His servant, do not disparage anything created by Allah SWT. Prophet Muhammad SAW never spoke ill of any food, if he desired something, he ate it, if not, he left it. Guard your tongue against jesting, mocking and ridiculing others, in seriousness or in jest as it humiliates others, diminishes respect, breeds animosity, hurts feelings and is the root of disputes, anger and hostility. It embeds grudges in hearts. These are the major pitfalls of the tongue and nothing can aid you against them except solitude or maintaining silence except when necessary.

The stomach must be satisfied by refraining from consuming the prohibited or doubtful, rather strive for the lawful and eat in moderation as overeating hardens the heart, impairs the intellect, hampers memory, makes the body too sluggish for worship and learning and strengthens desires. Overeating is the beginning of all evils. If you are content with coarse clothing yearly and with a couple of coarse bread loaves daily, avoiding indulgence in the finest foods, you will not lack what suffices you in lawful means.

Protect your private parts from all that is forbidden, guarding your chastity is not possible without protecting your eyes from improper looks, your heart from wrongful thoughts and your stomach from excessive eating as these incite and plant the seeds of desire.

Guard your hands from harming Allah SWT’s creation, unlawful wealth, committing injustice, betraying trusts or writing what should not be spoken. The pen is one of the two tongues, safeguard it as you would your spoken words.

Guard your feet from walking towards the sinful.

Purifying the heart is inner piety, if rectified, it rectifies the rest of the body and if corrupted, it corrupts the rest of the body.  It’s rectification comes through constant vigilance. Know that there are numerous blameworthy traits within the heart like envy, jealousy, ostentation, vanity and more

Envy is a branch of stinginess. A miser is one who is stingy with what they have while a covetous person is stingy with Allah SWT’s blessings which are in His power and not theirs. This form of stinginess is greater. The envious person is distressed by Allah SWT’s blessings on another, whether in knowledge, wealth, love in peoples hearts or any fortune to the extent that they wish for these blessings to vanish, even if they gain nothing from their disappearance. True faith is not attained until one desires for others what they desire for themselves

Ostentation is hidden polytheism, (one of the two forms of worshipping other than Allah SWT or associating others in worship with Allah SWT), seeking status in peoples hearts to attain fame and reverence. Desire for fame is a misguided pursuit.

Vanity, arrogance and boasting is viewing one’s self with undue honor and others with contempt. This attitude manifests in speech as constant self-reference. It leads to seeking prominence in gatherings, resisting being contradicted and reacting harshly if advised. Anyone who considers themselves better than another is arrogant. You should recognize that true virtue is known only to Allah SWT and is contingent upon one’s final state. Instead view everyone as potentially superior, the young for their innocense, the elderly for their longer worship, the learned for their knowledge and the ignorant for their sins of ignorance versus your knowledgeable disobedience. Even towards a non believer, consider the possibility of their eventual conversion and redemption compared to your own uncertain end. Eradicating arrogance requires recognizing that true greatness is defined by Allah SWT and is dependent on one’s final moments, which are uncertain. Concern for your own end should prevent arrogance, knowing that hearts are in Allah SWT’s control, guiding and leading astray as He wills.

Guard your tongue from slandering your brothers, especially those who carry the Quran. Bear your sins and do not impose them on others, do not degrade yourself by slandering them, do not elevate yourself over them, do not mix the deeds of the worldly life with those of the hereafter, do not show off in your deeds, do not act arrogantly in your gatherings, lest people avoid you due to you bad character, do not engage in private coversations in the presence of a third person,do not exalt over people lest you lose the good of this world and the hereafter, do not tear people apart with your tongue. It is sufficient for you to love for people what you love for yourself and hate for people what you hate for yourself.

Know that your Companion who does not part from you whether you are home or travelling, awake or asleep, in life or death, is your Lord, your Master, your Protector, your Creator. Whenever you remember Him, He is with you.

Some ettiquettes towards your Lord, your Companion are bowing your head, lowering your gaze, concentrating your thoughts, maintaining silence, calming your limbs, hastening to obey, avoiding prohibitions, accepting faith without objection, continual remembereance, constant contemplation, preferring truth over falsehood, losing hope in creation, being humble and reverent, being broken under His Majesty, being still from devising means to earn a living and trusting in His Promise and relying on Allah SWT’s grace and His excellent choice.