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What did al-Ghazali say about dhikr?

Remembrance is not one practice among many for al-Ghazali — it is the thread that holds every other practice together. The Iḥyāʾ treats dhikr as the proof that the heart is awake.

2 passages from 2 books in the library

Where the answer comes from

The classical approach.

These passages are drawn from 2 books by Imam al-Ghazali — part of the classical Sunni tradition that carries over a thousand years of reflection on the Qurʾān, the authentic Sunnah, and the consensus of the early community. Nothing below is a paraphrase. The words are the scholars' own, translated from the original Arabic manuscripts.

Read them closely. If a passage doesn't sit right, open the full book in the library and listen to the chapter around it. Context in the classical tradition is everything.

Cover of Book 40: The Book of the Remembrance of Death and the Afterlife
Book 40: The Book of the Remembrance of Death and the Afterlife
Imam al-Ghazali · Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din

11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali → · Provenance →

  1. "Once upright he began to glorify and remember Allah then wept and said you only remember your Lord now Muawiyah after decrepitude and decline"

Cover of Book 33: Fear and Hope
Book 33: Fear and Hope
Imam al-Ghazali · Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din

11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali → · Provenance →

  1. "When morning came, they would remember Allah, swaying like trees in the wind, their eyes flowing with tears that soaked their garments."

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