Effects of
"Minhaj Al-Qasideen"
In the
Rectification of society
Dr Abdul Hai Madni
Associate professor
NED University, Karachi
Effects of "Minhaj Al-Qasideen"In the Rectification of Society
Dr Abdul Hai Madni *
ABSTRACT:
The famous book of Sufi world "ihya'a Uloom-Ad-Deen" of Ghazali, is a complete book on different sciences which includes topic like: Fiqh, Adab, Tasawuf, ways of true travelers etc. Unfortunately there are many rejected narrations and myths stories in this book because of which those who scrutinize strongly disapprove of it. Therefore Ibn Al-Jawzi has removed all such controversial narrations and placed authentic narrations instead because of which the utility of the book has increased. Similarly Ibn Al-Jawzi has named it "Minhaj Al-Qasideen"and later on it became as a permanent publication. After that, Ibn Al-Qudama summarized it and named "Mukhtasar Minhaj Al-Qasideen".
This book has not played an important role in the rectification of society but also rectified the salkeen haq (True-Travelers). There is no absolute comparison of the book. It provides real solutions to all issues and rulings needed in a positive and complete way that can arise in any society\tribe\nation of the world. The backbone of the review crystallize that how to make relationships strong and committed between a Muslim and Allah (S.W.T) based on strong foundations. The line of beauty in the book is that it provides solid evidences from Qur’an and Sunnah to explain all matters. It purifies all the existing controversial narrations and proved it logically in a very systematic way with the quotations from Qur’an & Sunnah.
Due to the significance of the book it has been justified in the article about its constructive role in the rectification of sociological issues of man & society. Hence, to expound on this topic I have selected the following table of contents:
Introduction
Historical Background of "Minhaj Al-Qasideen"
Introduction of Imam Ibn Al-Jauzi and Imam Ibn Al-Qudamaah
Potential Meanings of the Rectification of Persons and Society
Importance of Minhaj Al-Qasideen
Role of "Minhaj Al-Qasideen" in the Rectification of Persons and Society
Ways & Resources used for Rectification Mentioned in Minhaj Al-Qasideen
It’s Effects upon Rulers and Leaders
It’s Effects upon Worshipers and Saints
It’s Effects upon Businessmen
It’s Effects upon Non-Muslims
Conclusion
Keywords: Background, Rectification, phenomenon, Importance, Effects.
Effects of "Minhaj Al-Qasideen"In the Rectification of Society
Introduction
Historical Background of "Minhaj Al-Qasideen"
“Mukhtasir Minhaj ul Qasedeen wa mufeed ul sadqeen” was written by Imam Ahmed Bin Muhammad Bin Ali Bin Abdul Rehman Bin Qudaamah Al-Maqdasi. He summarized the book, “Minhaj Al-Qasideen “of the Imam Al-Hafiz Ibn ul Jauzi who also make some amendments redact the book of Imam al-Ghazali named “Ihyaa Uloom Uddin”.
It is clearly crystallized that in the book "Ihyaa Uloom uddin" the Imam al-Ghazali collected all Islamic sciences like Islamic law, literature, mysticism, and biographies of righteous men and scholars. But he has stated lot of weak and controversial narrations. He draws the stories, which are not valid and many scholars clearly highlight its inaccuracy and misconception.
Not even a single scholar of the world has denied the significance of the book. Some scholars suggest book as a weak and refined particularly when they find some narrations or stories were not correct and controversial. The detail which is not co relevant has been removed. Overall unwanted details have been revised. Amongst renowned scholars Imam Ibn al-Jauzi has also revised and kept it all Jurisprudential details with commentary and choose the text and narrations, which are most useful for society. The book may not have any scientific methodologies. It is a book of ethics, manners, moralities, and education with understandable terminologies.
Some of the scholars rebuked its reading but with certain conditions, as Imam Al-Mazari quoted: If one did not have complete and thorough knowledge in what holds firmly by the vicissitudes of this book, the reading of this book is not permissible, although the benefit in this book. Some scholars has also warned about its reading, such as Hafiz al-Zahabi and enjoined them from its reading at all, such as Abdul-Latif al-Hanbali, and other scholars.
Similarly, some scholars are in opinion that such rules and regulations in this book are taken from the Quran and Hadith. Amongst these scholars Imam Ibn ul jauzi has also wrote a book in the discipline of “Ihyaa” and called it by name of “Mukhtasir Minhaj ul Qasedeen wa mufeed ul sadqeen”. He said in his preface:
Do to know that in the “Ihyaa” book some lesions are known only to scholars, and also false narrations and conversations suspended, have raised them, but also transfer it and take a lie and should not worship a speech topic, and being deceived by the word audible. (1)
After Ibn ul Jauzi (Imam Ibn Qudaamah Maqdisi) compiled this book in more comprehensive way. He summarized it authentically and provides some additions comprehensively and inclusively. In his compilation he did not left any important topic of worship and transactions, and contains a striking lessons in ethics quoted from the Quran and Hadith in two chapters of this book named: “al-muhlikaat” - Lethal Affairs- and "Al-munjiyaat."- Liberation-.
Introduction of Imam Al-Ghazali, Ibn Al-Jauzi and Imam Ibn Al-Qudama
Ø Imam Al-Ghazali:
Name and birth:
AL-GHAZALI, ABU HAMID (1058-1111)
Name & birth: Abu Hamid Muhammad Bin Muhammad Bin Ahmed Al-Ghazali is The Imam major Shafi‘i jerist, and debater, expert in the principles of doctrine and those of jurisprudence. He was born in 450 AH (1058 A.D). In Tus (modern Mash'had in NE Persia).
Education & Life:
He attended the village madressa and as a young man went to the Nizamia Madressa, which was a very famous educational institution in Nishapur. His cleverness as a student was commented upon in court circles in Persia and the Grand Vizier took special interest in his progress and encouraged him to devote himself to the pursuit of knowledge.( Abul Hassan Ali Nadwi, Saviors Of Islamic Spirit by , page:125)
The eventful life of al-Ghazali can be divided into three major periods. The first is the period of learning, first in his home town of Tus in Persia, then in Gurgan and finally in Nishapur. After the death of his teacher, Imam al-Haramayn AL-JUWAYNI, Ghazali moved to the court of Nizam al-Mulk, the powerful minister of the Seljuq Sultans, who eventually appointed him head of the Nizamiyyah College at Baghdad in AH 484/AD 1091. The second period of al-Ghazali’s life was his brilliant career as the highest-ranking orthodox ‘doctor’ of the Islamic community in Baghdad (AH 484-8/AD 1091-5). This period was short but significant. This event marks the beginning of the third period of his life, that of retirement (AH 488-505/AD 1095-1111), but which also included a short period of teaching at the Nizamiyyah College in Nishapur. After leaving Baghdad, he wandered as a Sufi in Syria and Palestine before returning to Tus, where he was engaged in writing, Sufi practices and teaching his disciples until his death.( Watt, W M. (1963) Muslim Intellectual: A Study of al-Ghazali, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. (An analysis of al-Ghazali’s life and thought in the historical and social context from the viewpoint of sociology of knowledge.)(Campanini, M. (1996) ‘Al-Ghazzali’, in S.H. Nasr and O. Leaman (Eds) History of Islamic Philosophy, London: Rutledge, ch. 19, 258-74. (The life and thought of al-Ghazali is discussed in detail, with a conspectus of his thought through his very varied career.)
List of books:
Al-Ghazzali began writing books on religious philosophy which later made him famous throughout the world. He was a prolific writer and he wrote nearly 400 books on a variety of subjects which covered several volumes.
Four works in Shafi‘i fiqh: the large al-Basit, the medium, seven-volume al-Wasit, and the two-volume al-Wajiz, condensed in al-Khulasa. Al-Wasit received many commentaries and abridgments, among them al-Nawawi’s Rawda al-TaliBin.
Four books on usûl al-fiqh: al-Mankhul, written in the lifetime of his teacher, Imam al-Haramayn; Shifa’ al-Ghalil fi Masa’il [or Masalik] al-Ta ‘lil; al-Maknûn; and al-Mustafa. "Imam al-Ghazali’s Encyclopedia of Shari‘a Source Methodology, his fourth book on the subject, and his last word, was al-Mustafa, which has been printed several times in Egypt and elsewhere. Indeed, this is the work he wrote after coming out of his period of meditation and seclusion."
Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din, among his last works.
al-Imla’ ‘ala Mushkil al-Ihya’, in which he replied to some of the insinuations made against the Ihya’ in his lifetime. This book is also called al-Ajwiba al-Muskita ‘an al-As’ila al-Mubhita, Tafsir al-Qur’an al-‘Azim, Jawahir al-Qur’an.
Al-Arba‘un fi al-Tawhid, originally part of Jawahir al-Qur’an, al-Asma’ al-Husna.
al-Ma’akhidh, on the divergences of jurisprudents, Tahsin al-Ma’akhidh, a commentary on al-Ma’akhidh, Kimya’ al-Sa‘ada, The Alchemy of Happiness, originally written in Persian, al-Lubab al-Muntakhal, on disputation, al-Iqtisad fi al-I‘tiqad.
He came out of seclusion in 499 and travelled to Cairo, Iskandariyya and other places, finally returning to Baghdad where he taught his magnum opus Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din until his death in nearby Tus, occupying the remainder of his time with devotions, Qur’an recitations, prayer and fasting, and the company of Sufis.
Al-Ghazali died at Tabran in Jamadi al Ukhra 505 AH at the age of 55 years. Imam al-Ghazzali was fondly referred to as the "Hujjat-ul-lslam", Proof of Islam; He is honored as a scholar and a saint by learned men all over the world.
(Macdonald, D.B. (1899) ‘The Life of al-Ghazzali, with Especial Reference to His Religious Experiences and Opinions’, Journal of the American Oriental Society 20: 71-132. (A classic biography, dated but still somewhat useful.)
Ø Ibn-ul-jauzi
Name: Jamal ud din Abu al-farj Abdul Rehman Bin Ali Bin Muhammad Bin Ali Bin jauzi al-Qurashi al-Taymi al-Baghdadi al-Hanbali. (2)
Birth: he was born in Baghdad in 511hijri/ 1117ad. (3)(4)
Life and education: Orphaned of his earlier age when he was in three, he was raised by his aunt who brought him to the Hadith scholar Ibn Nasir. He took Hadith from him as well as over eighty sheikhs and was teacher to his grandson Yusuf ibn Qazghali al-Hanafi some of the greatest Hanbali Hadith masters and jurists such as Muwaffaq al-Din Ibn Qudama, Ibn al-Najjar, and Diya' al-Din al-Maqdisi.(5)
al-Jauzi took a staunch Ash`ari stance in doctrine and courageously denounced the anthropomorphism of his school in the interpretation of the divine Attributes in his landmark work Daf` Shubah al-Tashbih bi Akuff al-Tanzih, also known as al-Baz al-Ashhab al-Munqadd `ala Mukhalifi al-Madhhab.(6)
It was a sign of his period and the Imam of his time in lectures for preach and writes in different parts of arts of many, he said: "wrote his plan something too much, people exaggerate in that where they say he collected pamphlets by and calculated for age, The pamphlets were divided on how long it was what singled out every day nine pamphlets (7)
He was reading books and he told about himself that read twenty thousand books or more, which is still a student (8)
Hafiz Dhahabi said: he was Imam in tafseer, preaching, history, also he has the complete knowledge about Hadith with knowledge of correction and false of Hadith (9)
Hafiz dhahabi in his famous history book “al-tareekh ul-kabeer”: he did not Praise described but as the large number of briefing and collect (10)
Hafiz ibn al-dabeethi said about ibn ul jauzi: he was one of the best people in behavior and blessed in his life and his work narrated a lot of Hadith, and people heard him more than forty years. (11)
Death: ibn ul jauzi died at Baghdad in 12 Rmazan 597 AH at the age of 86 years (12)
His book: Ibn al-Jawzi was a prolific author of over seven hundred books, among which al-Dhahabi lists the following:
al-Adhkiya', Afat al-Muhaddithin, Akhbar al-Akhyar, Akhbar al-Nisa', an informative handbook for Muslim women, al-Amthal, a work on proverbs, al-Bulgha fi al-Fiqh, Dhamm al-Hasad, Dhamm al-Hawa, Dhamm al-Muskir, Dhikr al-Huffaz, Dhikr al-Qussas, al-Du`afa', a compendium of weak narrators of hadith, Dur' al-Dim fi Siyam Yawm al-Ghaym, Durra al-Iklil in history, Fada'il al-`Arab, Fadl Maqbarat Ahmad, on the benefits associated with Ahmad ibn Hanbal's cemetery in Baghdad, al-Fara'id, al-Fawa'id al-Muntaqat in fifty-six parts, Funun al-Afnan fi `Ulum al-Qur'an', al-Hada'iq in two volumes, Hal al-Hallaj, "The Status of al-Hallaj, al-Hathth `ala al-`Ilm, al-Hathth `ala Talab al-Walad, al-`Ilal al-Mutanahiya fi al-Ahadith al-Wahiya in two volumes, a companion work to his Mawdu`at, al-Intisar fi al-Khilafiyyat in two volumes, al-Ishara fi al-Qira'at al-Mukhtara, al-Jadal, Jami` al-Masanid in seven volumes, al-Khata' wa al-Sawab Min Ahadith al-Shihab; al-Khawatim; Manafi` al-Tibb; Manaqib, a series of books on bibliographies of scholars, al-Manasik, al-Manfa`a fi al-Madhahib al-Arba`a in two volumes; Mashhur al-Masa'il in two volumes; al-Mawdu`at in two volumes, Minhaj al-Qasidin wa Mufid al-Sadiqin, al-Mudhish; al-Muhadhdhab fi al-Madhhab; al-Mughaffalin; al-Mughni, a massive Qur'anic commentary which he abridged into Zad al-Masir; al-Mukhtar fi al-Ash`ar, a ten-volume anthology of poetry; Mukhtasar Funun Ibn `Aqil in over ten to twenty volumes; al-Muntakhab; Muntaqad al-Mu`taqad; al-Muntazam fi al-Tarikh, a ten-volume history of Islam, Mushkil al-Sihah in four volumes; Muthir al-Gharam al-Sakin ila Ashraf al-Amakin; al-Nab`a fi al-Qira'at al-Sab`a; Naqy al-Naql in two volumes; al-Nasikh wa al-Mansukh; Nasim al-Suhur; Qiyam al-Layl in three parts; al-Qussas; al-Riyada; Sayd al-Khatir in three volumes containing aphorisms and wise counsels; Siba Najd; Sifa al-Safwa in four volumes, al-Tabsira in three volumes, on oratory; Tadhkira al-Arib on the Arabic language; Tadhkira al-Muntabih fi `uyun al-Mushtabih; al-Tahqiq fi Masa'il al-Khilaf in two volumes; Tahrim al-Dubur; Tahrim al-Mut`a; Talbis Iblis, a work written against the Shi`a and the wayward Sufis; Talqih al-Fuhum; al-Taysir fi al-Tafsir; al-Thabat `ind al-Mamat; al-`Udda fi Usul al-Fiqh; Usud al-Ghaba fi Ma`rifa al-Sahaba; Uyun al-Hikayat in two volumes; al-`Uzla; al-Wafa bi Fada'il al-Mustafa, a large work on Prophetic biography and immense merits in several hundred chapters; al-Wahiyat, another title for al-`Ilal al-Mutanahiya; Wird al-Aghsan fi Ma`ani al-Qur'an; al-Wujuh wa al-Naza'ir; al-Yawaqit, a collection of sermons.(al-Dhahabi, Siyar A`lam al-Nubala' 15:483-494 #5342)
his teachers: he wrote a book about his teachers and described approximate 89 teachers, and when we see to his good choice for religious studies where studied with renowned teachers of that time, and mentions his interest in the selection of the most brilliant to his sheikhs: Abu bakar Muhammad Bin Abdul baaqi Bin Muhammad Bin Abdullah Bin Abdul Rehman Bin rabee Bin sabit, Abu baker Muhammad Bin Alaskan Bin ali Bin Ibrahim, Abu ul hasan ali Bin Abdul Wahid al-denuri, Abu al-fath Abdul malik Bin abi al-qasim al-karookhi, Abu saad ahmed Bin Muhammad Bin al-hasan Bin ali al-Baghdadi.