Tawāzun
Definition
Tawazun — balance — is al-Ghazali's answer to the misunderstanding that takes his condemnation of the world as a call for total withdrawal from worldly engagement. He is not prescribing monastic renunciation: he is prescribing the correct proportioning of the heart's loves and investments. The world should receive from the heart what it actually deserves — the attention and effort required to fulfil one's genuine worldly obligations — and no more. The Hereafter should receive what it actually deserves — the primary loyalty of the heart, the best of one's time and energy, and the deepest and most sustained attention. This proportioning is what zuhd actually means in practice.
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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