What did al-Ghazali say about self-examination (muḥāsabah)?
Muḥāsabah is the practice of holding oneself to account before one is held to account. Al-Ghazali laid out how to do it — daily, nightly, and over a lifetime.
10 passages from 8 books in the library
Al-Ghazali described muḥāsabah as holding oneself to account before being held to account, and devoted a whole book of the Iḥyāʾ to self-examination and self-reckoning. He cries to the soul, 'Woe to you! Do you not believe in the day of reckoning, thinking that death will free you?' — recalling that whoever's good deeds outweigh his bad enters Paradise without reckoning, while one whose deeds are equal faces an easy reckoning. He warns against the self-delusion of imagining oneself already cleared, and Ibn Kathir relates the counsel to 'work with reckoning, for you will be questioned.'
Drawn from the classical sources below — in the scholars' own words.
The classical approach.
These passages are drawn from 8 books by Imam al-Ghazali and Ibn al-Qayyim — 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.
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"This is mentioned in the hadith, 70,000 will enter paradise without reckoning, and with each one of them, 70,000. As for the disbelievers, they will enter the fire without reckoning. Among the believers, some will have an easy reckoning and then be commanded to paradise, as previously mentioned. Others will be scrutinized, and their matter is with Allah, the Almighty."
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"What is weighed are the records of their deeds, as illustrated by the example of the 99 scrolls, known through transmission and hearing. Now, regarding those brought near to Allah, they will enter paradise without reckoning. This is mentioned in the hadith, 70,000 will enter paradise without reckoning, and with each one of them, 70,000."
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.
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"and narrated by Al-Bukhari in the saying of Ibn Umar, be in the world as if you are a stranger. The world is departing and the hereafter is arriving. You are now in a day of work with no reckoning and soon you will be in a day of reckoning with no work. Lady Um Al-Mundir stated that one evening, the messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, addressed the people saying, O people, do you not feel shy before Allah?"
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"Jabir ibn Abdullah said, Whoever's good deeds outweigh his bad deeds on the Day of Judgment, that is the one who enters Paradise without reckoning. And whoever's good deeds and bad deeds are equal, that is the one who will have an easy reckoning and then enter Paradise. The intercession of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, is for the one who has destroyed himself and burdened his back."
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 →
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"Sufyan, may Allah have mercy on him, noted that the poor chose peace of mind, an unburdened heart, and an easy reckoning, while the rich chose a troubled soul, a preoccupied heart, and a difficult reckoning. Ibn 'Ata' mentioned that wealth is an attribute of the Divine and therefore superior, but this holds true only when a person is indifferent to both having and not having wealth, viewing them equally."
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 →
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"so ask of Me," and they ask for His pleasure. In paradise, a group will roam freely, and when the angels ask if they saw the reckoning, they will reply, "We saw no reckoning. The angels will inquire about the Sirat and Hell, and they will answer, "We saw nothing. When asked of which community they are, they will say, "We are from the community of Muhammad, peace be upon him."
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 →
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"Regarding the story of Moses, peace be upon him, it is said, "As for the scrupulous, no one will undergo a detailed reckoning except for them, for I am ashamed of them and hold them in high esteem to subject them to reckoning." Scrupulousness and piety are names derived from meanings whose conditions include fear; without fear, they are not called by these names."
14th century · Damascus, Syria
Madārij al-Sālikīn — the classical map of the spiritual journey — and a vast body of work on the soul, love, the traps of the ego, and the nature of the heart.
More on Ibn al-Qayyim →
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"Each has its children, so be among the children of the hereafter, not the children of this world. For today is for deeds and no reckoning, but tomorrow there will be reckoning and no deeds. Abu al-Darda used to say, The thing I fear most for myself on the Day of Judgment is to be told, O Abu al-Darda, you had knowledge, so how did you act upon what you knew?"
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 →
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"The desire for worldly gains is divided into that which exposes its owner to the torment of the Hereafter, called forbidden, and that which impedes from high ranks and subjects to prolonged reckoning, called permissible. A keen person knows that prolonged reckoning is also a torment, for whoever is scrutinized in the account is tormented."
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 →
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"And it is said, Let his parents enter with him into paradise. In another narration, children gather at the scene of resurrection when creation is presented for reckoning, and it is said to the angels, Take them to paradise. They stand at the gate of paradise and are welcomed with, Welcome, descendants of Muslims, enter without reckoning."
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