political fragmentation and cultural diversity 247show and power, evils of self conceit and pride, and evils of vanity.
The size of this volume is also large, over 120,000 words.
The book of constructive virtues. Ten chapters, again, compose this
book: repentance, patience and gratefulness, fear and hope, poverty
and asceticism, Tawhìd (unity of God) and Tawakkul (full reliance
on God), love and contentment, intention, truthfulness and sincerity,
self examination and self accounting, meditation, and death and power
over death. The fourth volume is over 178,000 words.
In total, the four volumes of al-Iœya"consist of over 1500 pages
containing over half a million words!
The Importance of Learning
In the early part of his first chapter al-Ghazàlìemphasised that seek-
ing knowledge is compulsory for every Muslim, male and female.
Interestingly, he seems to have taken the importance of learning
almost to the extreme when he said, “To be present in an assembly
of a learned man is better than praying one thousand rak"a”, (Volume
1 page 20). But that reflects how important learning was to him.
Learning would be sought for itself and also as a means to an
end. As learning helps improve the results of the task performed it
also gives the feeling of self-satisfaction, which contributes to the ulti-
mate feeling of happiness. Furthermore, acquisitions of knowledge,
and its teaching, are excellent actions for seeking rewards in this life
and the hereafter.
Learning to al-Ghazàlìis not only the process of acquiring knowl-
edge in religious matters, but also of acquiring the necessary skill
and expertise to run worldly affairs. Linking learning to production
activities is therefore important. With this emphasis, al-Ghazàlì
stressed the importance of labour in production activity. We find
him, after stating that acquisition of knowledge is important to “this
world”, proceeding to explain, “The affairs of this world do not
become orderly except through activities.... without which the world
cannot go in order”. He then continued to discuss these activities
such as agriculture, weaving, architecture, government, iron-crafts,
eating, drinking, and tailoring and so on. Learning and acquisition
of knowledge and expertise for economic activities are regarded by
al-Ghazàlìas compulsory religious duties on the community (Fardh
Kifayah). We find him stating strongly, “The sciences that are nec-
essary for progressing the world are praiseworthy, such as medicine,