SCHOLARS, PHILOSOPHERS, AND SUFIS 115
band in his absence and in his presence; she should seek his pleasure in all
affairs .... She should not leave his home without his permission: if she
goes out with his permission, she should conceal herself in worn-out
clothes ... being careful that no stranger hear her voice or recognize her
personally .... She should ... be ready at all times for {her husband) to
enjoy her whenever he wishes."^4 Ghazali also discusses men's obligations to
their wives, but add up all his remarks and you can see that he's envision-
ing a social world divided strictly into public and private realms, with
women restricted to the private one and the public realm reserved exclu-
sively for men.
Anxiety about change and a longing for stability tend to deepen tradi-
tional and familiar patterns of society. In the Muslim world, these included
patriarchal patterns inherent not just in Arabic tribal life but also in pre-
Islamic Byzantine and Sassanid societies. Ghazali's ideas proved persuasive
in his time and in the centuries following his death because this was a
period of rising disorder, a time of anxiety that cast a pall over civilized life,
a time of instability that came finally to a horrifying crescendo.