A Spiritual Model Of Good Deeds According To Imam Al-ghazali

Abstract

This article analyses the spiritual model of good deeds according to Imamal-Ghazali. Being a great jurist and Sufi master, al-Ghazali made earnest efforts in his own way to rediscover the inner dimension of religious observance and to bring about a return in Muslim societies to a more profound reflection upon the inner dimension of the spiritual life. This article discovers that al-Ghazali formulates an important spiritual analysis of good deeds, offering a sophisticated way of understanding and performing them, formulated within the framework of his own direct mystical experience. This article found that al-Ghazali addresses his own unique and profound ways of understanding and performing good deeds to every level of society which can be developed into a spiritual model in various degrees. He formulates and systematises the Inner Knowledge (‘ilm al-batin) and inner actions (al-a‘mal al-batinah) of good deeds which should be observed equally. He insists that only through the balanced observance of outer and inner dimensions can good deeds achieve their goals and be conducive to spiritual growth.