The Alchemy of Happiness

One Day Imam Al Ghazali woke up early in morning, as usual he offered Fajar Prayer. He asked his Brother Ahmed Al Ghazali, what day it was? ; his younger brother replied "Monday". The Imam Ghazali Asked him to bring his white shroud(Cloak),kissed it and stretched himself full length and saying "Lord, I obey willingly," Breathed his Last. And underneath his head rest, they found the below words, composed by him at night. 

"Say to my friends, when they look upon me, Dead

Weeping for me, mourning for me in sorrow

Don't Believe that this corpse you see is myself

In the name of God, I tell you, It is not I

I am Spirit, and this is naught but flesh

It was my abode and garment for time.

I am treasure, by talisman kept hid,

Fashioned of dust, which served me as a shrine,

I am a pearl, which has left it's shell deserted, 

I am a bird, and this body was my cage

Whence I have now floron forth and it is left as a token

Praise to God, Who hath now set me free

And prepared for me my place in the highest of the heaven

Until today I was Dead, through alive in your midst 

Now I live in truth, with grave - clothes discarded.

Today, I hold converse with saints above, 

With no veil between, I see God face to face.

I look upon "Loh-i-Mahfuz" and there in I read

Whatever was and is and all that is to be.

Let my house fall in ruins, lay my cage in ground

Cast away the talisman , it is a token, no  more

Lay aside my cloak, it was but my outer garment.

Place them all in the grave, let them be forgotten,

I have passed on my way and you are left behind

Your place of abode was no dwelling place for me.

Think not that the death is death, nay, it is life,

A life that surpasses all we could dream of here

While in this world, here we are granted sleep,

Death is but sleep, sleep that should be prolonged

Be not frightened when death draweth  night, 

It is but the departure for this blessed home

Think of the mercy and the Love of your Lord,

Gave thanks for His Grace and Come without Fear,

What I am now, even so you shall be

For I know that you are even as I am

The soul of all men come forth from God,

The bodies of all are compounded alike,

Good and evil, it was alike ours

I gave you now message of good cheer

May God Peace and Joy for evermore be yours"

  

This is a review of Lecture given by one most influential scholar of Islam , Sheik Hamza Yousuf . The lecture was based on the book review of the mystic of Islam Imam-Al Ghazali, The Alchemy of Happiness. Down the road, Imam Ghazali always questioned the real existence of human being and raised questions as, 

1. Know yourself
2. Who you are?
3. From Where you came (From Where are you originated)?
4. Why you are created?
5. Through which things your end come?
6. To know the qualities of animals, demons and Angels (Which are gathered ) ?
7. To accept, Soul is the Reality of your Essence (your not a body)
8. Everything other than soul is alienated from you
9. Soul is Loan and Borrowed
10. Romance, Lust, greed etc. has Nourishment and Joy of Soul

 Each one of them either nourishes or strengthen them. For example, The joy of the romance is eating, drinking and population. The joy of a predator is attacking and ripping of flesh. The Joy of the demon is trickery and evil. The joy of the angels is witnessing the beauty of the divine presence. Now, if you are one in the above then you are occupying yourself in that nature. if you are from angelic essence, struggle in the right direction to know your source.

  The below section, if you are curious or want to know yourself then know your self. The first is heart and the second is Nafs. The reality of the mankind is the internal reality, the heart is not lymph of flesh because this is shared attribute by living and dead creature. we see this world with eyes but hereafter can only seen through heart. Furthermore, To know about himself he expanded the self knowledge in the order of living system  like  

• Nafs: The Nafs for human being is like Riding Beast
• World: His temporary way station 
• Two Hands & Two Feet's: Are His Servant. These four act like servant for human being
• Intellect: His Minister
• Desire: His Labor
• Wrath & Anger: His Police Force
• Senses: His Spies

   Every reference in the above Paradigm is entrusted in order for one to understand the true nature of above credentials. The memory is in the middle of the brain, like (map-master) collect information, after receiving information, the senses (Spies) verify those collected news in order to check its reality, the intellect(Minister) asses that reality. 

If you can control your anger, You can understand, Why the anger is out there  

  On the other hand, Imam Ghazali also focuses on Heart, he consider heart as conscious object. The heart is a very unique and special part in human beings. It(heart) is stranger in this world and act as vehicle of consciousness. The heart is king, all limbs of the body are its soldiers. The knowledge and beauty of God presence is the attribute of the Heart. The holy book Quran also mention and says about "Heart" not the body. The place of the intention in body is a Heart, Salvation follows the heart.