The Alchemy of Happiness – Imam Al Ghazali
Imam Al Ghazali was a Muslim philosopher and theologian of the 11th century. The title accurately captures the message of this work: According to this man, he shares the recipe for joy and happiness in this life and the life to come.
Imam Al Ghazali begins his recipe description with the ingredients you must work with, your essential nature, and its various components. He goes on to explain why these ingredients contain all the vital nutrients. These ingredients must be properly prepared according to the formula provided. When each step in the recipe is carefully followed, the result will delight all the senses, provide life-giving nutrition, and bring truth and joy to the heart forever.
The ability to give life is the most significant expression of divine power. The vital force, anima, or the soul, comes from the divine presence. The soul is the vehicle for the heart to travel through the material world. The experience of the world is just a temporary visit of the heart. The heart or consciousness was created to experience the beauty and awe of the divine presence.[1] It comes from the divine presence and will return.
The wisdom of the Koran speaks to the heart. Your ultimate punishment or reward is directed to the heart. The heart has states and attributes. It can be of good character and experience felicity or bad character, resulting in damnation.
The joy or happiness of the consciousness is knowledge of God. This knowledge of God is through the creation, by way of the senses. Your various mental and physical facilities have been provided to gather an understanding of creation and are all ultimately managed by the heart or conscience.
Let’s begin. He says if you want to know yourself, know that you are composed of two parts. The first is the heart, and the second is the body. What he refers to as the heart is what we today call our consciousness. This attribute or quality is what you will be taking with you into the next life.
The intellect, part of the body, was designed for abstract thought. It is the servant of consciousness. In turn, the senses are the servants of the intellect. The primary mission of the senses, when properly managed and controlled, is to experience the majesty of Ala in the creation. This is the delight of the intellect.
Everything you can see or understand is of the material world. In this context, the word ‘understand’ needs interpretation. It means to apply reasoning and logic to comprehend how the material world functions. This approach is inappropriate for your theological deliberations. It would be best to start with beliefs you assume are true. Believe in others who have achieved the knowledge.[2] Imam Al Ghazali reminds us that the allure of worldly things can be deceptive. Focusing on transient aspects like wealth and property can distract us from the true path of spiritual enlightenment. By emphasizing the impermanence of these things, the audience is encouraged to shift their focus to the eternal and the divine.
Imam Al Ghazali explains that the path to securing knowledge of Ala begins with knowledge of yourself. To find that knowledge, he defines the qualities within the individual using the analogy of four entities: ruminants, predators, demons, and angels. The characteristics of these entities encompass the thoughts and behaviors of the individual. He points out that the Koran cautions us to avoid inward and outward sin. It further shows us that the inward and outward do not always reflect each other.
The four qualities within the individual have the expanded definitions below.
- The demon. This is the source of activities such as plotting and planning. Manipulating others for your advantage. Hiding an evil nature.
- The ruminant. The ruminant is a beast, such as a cow that chews cud. Their life consists entirely of the primary activities of eating (gluttony), drinking (excessive use of intoxicants), and copulation (lust).
- The predator. This is characteristic of anger and aggression. Excessive use of power. Intimidation and control.
- The angel. This characteristic reflects the intellect. It controls the senses. From here, we gather empirical knowledge of the creation leading to the enlightenment of the divine presence.
It is a lifelong challenge to bring all our natural characteristics under the control of our consciousness. They must be well-balanced and moderate.[3] This is the nature of our consciousness and must be brought under our management. When we finally acquire the balance and control required, we will see patience, prudence, and courage. The final product is justice.
You must purify your heart. Be sincere in your struggle and be empty of vile character. You will stumble onto the truth, but it won’t arrive through the senses. It comes by way of the heart.
Sit in an empty place. Completely suppress your senses. Turn inward. Open your inner eye. Arouse your internal hearing. Strive to achieve an awareness of the divine presence. At this point, you won’t even have self-awareness of the world around you. Eventually, your inner eye will open even when you are awake. There will be experiences that can’t even be expressed. You will have knowledge of the incredible creation and the attributes of the divine. Dwell in it. Abandon all worldly attachments.
You have found the road to the divine presence and have witnessed his majesty and beauty. You have freed yourself from the constraints of desire and anger. Thus, it is the way of purification in this world and onward to final salvation.
[1] Sleep is the nourishment of the soul. People become agitated when they are deprived of sleep.
[2] This is equivalent to faith by Christians. In Christianity it is an appeal to our fundamental nature.
[3] Imam Al Ghazali certainly was familiar with Aristotle’s ‘Golden Mean’.
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