Khashya
Definition
Khashya is the highest form of God-consciousness in al-Ghazali's hierarchy — not ordinary fear but the profound, knowledge-based awe that comes from truly understanding the greatness of God and the smallness of the self. The Quran says: 'Only those who have knowledge truly fear God' — and al-Ghazali takes this seriously. The more one knows of divine majesty, power, and perfection, the deeper the khashya becomes. It is not the fear of a child afraid of the dark, but the awe of a scholar standing before an ocean of knowledge, suddenly feeling the limits of what they know. Khashya is the fear of the spiritually illuminated, and it produces not paralysis but an exquisite, reverent attentiveness in every moment of life.
As understood in the classical tradition of Imam al-Ghazali and the scholars of his school.
Appears in
1 book in the library
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