Zuhd
زهدDefinition
Zuhd is the inward freedom of the heart from the grip of worldly things — it is not poverty of material circumstances but poverty of attachment. Al-Ghazali is emphatic that zuhd does not require giving away one's wealth or living in material deprivation; a person can be wealthy and be a zahid, provided their wealth does not occupy their heart. Conversely, a person can be materially poor while consumed by greed for more — this is the opposite of zuhd. The criterion is always interior: does the world command one's attention, desire, and anxiety? If so, there is no zuhd regardless of outward circumstances. Al-Ghazali identifies three levels: abstinence from the forbidden, from the doubtful, and from the permissible that nevertheless distracts from God.
As understood in the classical tradition of Imam al-Ghazali and the scholars of his school.
Appears in
4 books in the library
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