Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali (Al- gazel, full name Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Ghazali). A Clear Statement of Some of the Wonders of the Maghreb, or a Selection of Memoirs of the Wonders of the Al Hamid Countries

Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Ghazali at-Tusi(Arabic, Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Ghazali; 1058, Tus - December 19, 1111, Tus) - Islamic theologian, jurist, philosopher and mystic, originally from the region of Khorasan in Persia (modern Iran). One of the most authoritative teachers among the founders of Sufism. Al-Ghazali’s activities were aimed at forming a comprehensive and systematic teaching of Sufism, as well as formulating theoretical foundations Sufism.

Biography

Abu Hamid al-Ghazali was born in 1058. His family lived in Tus and were of Persian origin. Abu Hamid's father was a wool spinner. He passed away early and one of his father’s friends took up the upbringing of Abu Hamid and his brother Abul-Futuh Ahmad. Soon the inheritance left by the father dried up and since the father’s friend was very poor himself, he invited the brothers to enter the madrasah as students in order to feed themselves.

In 1070, al-Ghazali and his brother moved to Jurjan (Gorgan) to continue their studies with Imam Ahmad ar-Raziqani and Abul-Qasim Jurjiani. In 1080, al-Ghazali traveled to Nishapur to become a student of the famous Muslim scholar Abul-Ma'ali al-Juwayni (d. 1085), known as Imam al-Haramayn. From Imam al-Juwayni, Abu Hamid studied fiqh, usul al-fiqh, Ash'arite kalam and other disciplines. Among al-Ghazali's teachers who taught him the intricacies of Sufism were Fazl ibn Muhammad al-Faramizi (a student of Abul-Qasim al-Qushayri) and Yusuf al-Nasaj.

Soon the young and talented theologian is noticed by the Seljuk vizier Nizam al-Mulk. He invited al-Ghazali to Baghdad and entrusted him with heading the Nizamiyya madrasah. From 1091 to 1095 he taught Islamic law in the academic institution he created. About 300 students studied at the madrasah, among whom were: Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi, Abu Gild ibn ar-Razar, Abu Gais al-Jaily, al-Barbabazi, Abul-Bayikh al-Bakraji, Abul-Abbas al-Aklishi, Abdul -Qadir al-Jilani, Muhammad ibn Yahya al-Shafi'i and other famous Islamic theologians.

In 1092, Nizam al-Mulk died at the hands of the Ismailis and in 1095, al-Ghazali, under the pretext of performing the Hajj, left Baghdad with his family. Al-Ghazali himself explains his action as follows:

“Then, observing myself from the outside, I found my situation dangerous for me, and that I became very attached to everything that I had acquired from the blessings of earthly life, and everything that surrounded me. Then, as I looked at my affairs, I noticed that the best thing I could do was teach and learn. But these were sciences that were of no use in the next world and were not so important for earthly perishable life. I remembered my intention to teach, and it turned out that I was doing this not purely for the sake of Allah, but for the sake of glory and honor. Then I became convinced that I was on the edge of the abyss and could end up in Hell if I didn’t take up the task of correcting my situation. And so I decided to leave Baghdad, because thoughts about my situation did not give me peace, but my soul (nafs) did not like this at all, and it began to resist me. And thus, I began to vacillate between my unbridled passion and selfishness and the calls of the other world until things moved from choice to necessity...”

Biography of Imam Al-Ghazali at-Tusi

For 11 years until 1106, al-Ghazali lived the life of a hermit. First he arrived in Sham. In Damascus, he became familiar with Sufi practice through seclusion (khalwat), performing internal exercises (riyazat) and spiritual endeavors (mujahadat). For some time he served in service (itikaf) in the Umayyad mosque. Then he went to Jerusalem (Bayt ul-Muqaddas). There he spent most of his time at the Dome of the Rock mosque, located next to the al-Aqsa mosque. Imam al-Ghazali’s most famous book, “The Resurrection of the Sciences of Faith,” was begun in Jerusalem, which he completed in Damascus. After returning to Damascus, al-Ghazali made a pilgrimage to Mecca and visited the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad in Medina. During these years he wrote his most significant works.

In 1106, Nizam al-Mulk's son, Fakhr al-Mulk, invited al-Ghazali to return to teaching, and al-Ghazali began lecturing again at the Nizamiya madrasah in Nishapur. In Nishapur, al-Ghazali met Sheikh Abu Ali al-Farmadi, who is the seventh in the chain (silsila) of sheikhs of the Naqshbandi tariqa. Under the guidance and guidance of al-Farmadi, he went through all the stages (makam) of Sufism.

His family lived in Tus and were of Persian origin. Abu Hamid's father was a wool spinner. He passed away early and one of his father’s friends took up the upbringing of Abu Hamid and his brother Abul-Futuh Ahmad. Soon the inheritance left by the father dried up and since the father’s friend was very poor himself, he invited the brothers to enter the madrasah as students in order to feed themselves.

In 1070, al-Ghazali and his brother moved to Jurjan (Gorgan) to continue their studies with Imam Ahmad ar-Raziqani and Abul-Qasim Jurjiani. In 1080, al-Ghazali traveled to Nishapur to become a student of the famous Muslim scholar Abul-Ma'ali al-Juwayni (d.), known as Imam al-Haramain. From Imam al-Juwayni, Abu Hamid studied fiqh, usul al-fiqh, Ash'arite kalam and other disciplines. Among al-Ghazali's teachers who taught him the intricacies of Sufism were Fazl ibn Muhammad al-Faramizi (a student of Abul-Qasim al-Qushayri) and Yusuf al-Nasaj.

Soon the young and talented theologian is noticed by the Seljuk vizier Nizam al-Mulk. He invited al-Ghazali to Baghdad and entrusted him with heading the Nizamiyya Madrasah. From now on, he teaches Islamic law at the academic institution he created. About 300 students studied at the madrasah, among whom were: Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi, Abu Gild ibn ar-Razar, Abu Gais al-Jayli, al-Barbabazi, Abul-Bayikh al-Bakraji, Abul-Abbas al-Aklishi, Abdul -Qadir al-Jilani, Muhammad ibn Yahya al-Shafi'i and other famous Islamic theologians.

Theological activity

Abu Hamid al-Ghazali was a follower of the Shafi'i school of law (madhab) and the Ash'arite aqida. His writings contributed to the development of a systematic presentation of Sufism and its integration into orthodox Sunni Islam. Al-Ghazali critically examined the positions of all the main directions of Islamic thought from Islamic theology, Sufism, Ismailism to philosophy.

Kalam

Al-Ghazali's thoughts had an important influence not only on Muslim but also on Christian medieval philosophers. Al-Ghazali is considered both the most prominent representative of the Ash'arite kalam (in fact, the last great philosopher of the kalam who completed the creation of the Ash'arite metaphysics) and the fundamental theologian of Sufism. His personality as a self-absorbed thinker and mystic, not refusing to impart his knowledge to others, but avoiding worldly honors and power, is very popular as an example of a “real” Muslim - a mumin.

Al-Ghazali introduced a new interpretation of the concept jihad in the Koran. According to al-Ghazali, in verse 95 of Surah An-Nisa (“Women”), we are not talking about fighting on the battlefield, but about overcoming one’s lower self (nafs). The topic of jihad was touched upon in the book “Al-Wasit fil-madhhab” (volume 6).

According to the level of cognitive abilities of people, al-Ghazali divided them into two categories: “the general public,” “the masses” (al-amma, al-’awamm), and “the chosen ones” (al-hassa). He included ordinary believers in the first category who blindly follow religious tradition. In front of such people, one cannot give a symbolic-allegorical interpretation of sacred texts. He also included the mutakallim in the first category, whose function should be limited to protecting the dogmas of Islam from innovations (bida). He included in the second category, first of all, philosophers (falasifa) and Sufis who come to a monistic view of existence with the help of intuition (ilham).

Among the philosophers, the main subjects of his criticism were Aristotle, al-Farabi and Ibn Sina. Proving the inconsistency of the philosophical path of knowledge, al-Ghazali constantly used philosophical methods of refutation, widely resorting to the methods of Aristotelian logic. The driving forces behind his search for truth were doubt and skepticism.

Sufism

Al-Ghazali played a very important role in unifying the concepts of Sufism and Sharia law. He was the one who gave a formal description of Sufism in his works. When (especially during the years of solitude) he began to carefully study the sciences (kalam, philosophy, Ismailism, Sunni dogma), he came to the conclusion that a rationally constructed faith was not viable, and he seriously turned to Sufism. He realized that moral principles should be based on direct communication with Allah, as well as on personal experience experiences. At the same time, it is important to gain enlightenment or divine grace, for which one must free oneself from everything artificial.

Al-Ghazali identified three levels of existence.

1. The highest level was occupied by Allah, who is self-sufficient
2. The lowest level is the material world determined by Allah
3. Between them is a world of people whose souls have free will. They are given ideas and inclinations from Allah, but actions are determined only by the will of people.

Al-Ghazali saw the practical benefits of Sufism in the direction of its teaching towards the moral improvement of man. He rejected the Sufi claims to ontological unity with God and recognized “union” only as a symbol of the comprehension of the deity by a higher cognitive power.

Titles

Al-Ghazali's works are highly appreciated in the Islamic world. He received many titles, among them Sharaful-A'imma (Arabic: شرف الائمة‎), Zainud-din (Arabic: زین الدین‎ - beauty of religion), Khujatul-Islam (Arabic: حجة الاسلام ‎ - argument of Islam) and others . Such Islamic theologians as al-Dhahabi, al-Suyuti, al-Nawawi, Ibn Asakir considered him a “renovator” of the 5th century AH. The diversity of al-Ghazali's teachings became the reason that Muslim dogmatists simultaneously criticized him and extolled him as the “argument of Islam.” IN modern world al-Ghazali is considered one of the most authoritative Islamic theologians. Sheikh Hamza Yusuf writes about him as a man who “literally saved Islam.”

After al-Ghazali, while still a young man, wrote the book “al-Mankhul fi usul al-fiqh” (Fundamentals of Islamic Law, 1109), his teacher Abdul-Malik al-Juwayni said: “You buried me, then time when I’m still alive, couldn’t you really wait until I died. Your book covers my book."

Al-Ghazali's influence on world philosophy and worldview

Al-Ghazali immediately began to be translated into many languages, gaining fame in Christian Europe and in Jewish communities.

Influence on Christianity

Thomas Aquinas was familiar with his writings and highly regarded him.

At the end of the 12th century, the work “The Intentions of the Philosophers” was translated into Latin and widely distributed. “Logica et philosophia Algazelis” was translated by Dominic Gundissalin together with the Jewish scholar Avendout. This translation became the main source in Europe for the study of Arabic philosophy. At the same time, he was mistakenly considered a follower of Avicenna.

Influence on Jewish thought

Subsequently, al-Ghazali's works were translated into Hebrew many times; one of the first translators was Isaac Albalag. His works had a great resonance, and two more translations appeared after him.

Jewish translations of Al-Ghazali's "Intentions of the Philosophers" entitled "De'ôt ha-Fîlôsôfîm" or "Kavvanôt ha-Fîlôsôfîm" became almost the most widespread philosophical texts among European Jews.

Thinkers such as Maimonides, Abraham Hasid, Obadiah Maimonides, Abraham ben Samuel ibn Chasdai, and the kabbalist Abraham Gavison of Tlemcen included excerpts from al-Ghazali in their writings on Jewish law and way of life.

Skepticism

Ghazali's rationalism, attempts to question causality and sever connections between causes and effects that may turn out to be nothing more than a simple sequence of events, has been commented by many authors as a precursor to modern skepticism.

Proceedings

Resurrection of Religious Sciences

The main work of al-Ghazali is the treatise “The Resurrection of Religious Sciences” (Arabic. إحياء علوم الدين ‎), which reveals issues of cult practice (ibadat), socially significant customs (adat), “harmful” character traits (muhlikat) and traits leading to salvation (munjiyat). In this treatise, al-Ghazali defines the main Sufi values ​​and ideals - patience, love, poverty, asceticism. "Resurrection" means the desire to revive the ossified Sunni belief system by defining ways of knowing the truth that combine reason, sincerity and love, honesty and desire for Allah. On the one hand, he values ​​reason as necessary for knowledge, which includes logic, practice, doubt and objectivity. On the other hand, he identifies the levels of glimpses of intuition and ecstasy as one approaches Allah and talks about collective Sufi rituals.

Sufism Philosophy

• Maqasid al-falasifa () (Arabic: مقاصد الفلاسفة ‎ - philosophers' intentions) - a book that provides an objective and systematic presentation of the basic principles of logic, physics and metaphysics of the Eastern Peripatetics.
• Tahafut al-falasifa (Arabic: تهافت الفلاسفة ‎ - self-refutation of philosophers) - an essay that became famous in the West and is considered a refutation of the philosophical school known in the Arab world as “falasifa” (mainly by the followers of al-Kindi). Understanding the title of this book as an attack on philosophy in general represents a typical example of the translator's false friends. Ibn Rushd’s polemical book with a refutation of al-Ghazali “Tahafut al-tahafut” (Self-Refutation of Self-Refutation), also known in the Jewish tradition, is well known.

Theology

• Al-iqtisad fi l-itikad () (Arab. الاقتصاد في الاعتقاد ‎ - middle way theology)
• Ar-risala al-Qudsiyya () (“Letter from Jerusalem”)
• Kitab al-arbain fi usul al-din (“Forty chapters on the principles of the Faith”)
• Mizan al-hamal () (Arabic: ميزان العمل‎)
• Faisal at-tafriq baina al-Islam wa az-zandaka (Arab. فيصل التفرقة بين الإسلام والزندقة ‎ - Criteria for distinguishing Islam from heretical teachings) - polemical work against the Ismailis (Batinites)

Logics

In his works on logic, al-Ghazali popularized the logic of the Eastern Peripatetics. He did this by changing its terminology and presenting the rules of logic as if they were derived from the Koran and Sunnah.

• Miyar al-ilm ()
• Al-Qustas al-Mustaqim () (Arab. القسطاس المستقيم ‎ - Correct scales)
• Mihaqq an-nazar () (Arabic (محك النظر (منطق ‎))

Publications

• Abu Hamid al-Ghazali. Resurrection of the sciences of faith (“Ihya ulum ad-Din”). Selected chapters / Translation by V.V. Naumkin. - M.: Science, 1980.
• Al-Ghazali Abu Hamid. Exploring the innermost secrets of the heart. - Ansar, 2006. - ISBN 5-98443-020-7.
• Al-Ghazali Abu Hamid.“Admonition to Rulers” and other works. - Ansar, 2005. - ISBN 5-98443-011-8.
• Al-Ghazali Abu Hamid.“Scales of Deeds” and other works. - Ansar, 2004. - ISBN 5-98443-006-1.

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Notes

1. . Philosophers of antiquity. Retrieved April 7, 2013. .
2. Ibrahim, T.K., Sagadeev A.V. S. M. Prozorov. - M. : Science , 1991 . - P. 51-52.
3. Imam al-Haramayn means "Imam of the two harams" (Mecca and Medina)
4. The Encyclopaedia of Islam. New edition. London, 1968, p. 707
5. sufizm.ru
6. Al-Ghazali./ Transl. and notes by Caesar E. Farah. - Minneapolis: Bibliotheca Islamica. - ISBN 0-88297-048-8.
7. Griffel Frank. Al-Ghazālī"s Philosophical Theology. - Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. - ISBN 9780195331622.
8. Rybalkin V. S.. Orthodox encyclopedia. Retrieved April 7, 2013. .
9. An-Nisa
10. Ibrahim Desai.. Ask imam.ru (January 14, 2009). Retrieved April 7, 2013. .
11. / Sheikh Hamza Yusuf
12. Az-Dhahabi“Siyar a’lyam an-nubalya”, volume 19, page 335
13. Az-Dhahabi"Siyar a'lyam an-nubalya", volume 9, page 323
16. Shanab, R. E. A. 1974. Ghazali and Aquinason Causation. The Monist: The International Quarterly Journal of General Philosophical Inquiry 58.1: p.140
17. Stepanyants M. T.- In the book: History of Philosophy. West-Russia-East. Book one. Philosophy of antiquity and the Middle Ages. - M.: Greco-Latin Cabinet, 1995. - pp. 429-441.
18. / Russian translation (favorites)
19. / Russian translation

Literature

• Ali-zade, A. A. : [October 1, 2011] // Islamic encyclopedic Dictionary. - M. : Ansar, 2007.
• Ali-zade A. A.. Portal-Credo.ru. Retrieved April 7, 2013. .
• Grigoryan S. N. From the history of the philosophy of peoples Central Asia and Iran 7-12 centuries. - M., 1960.
• Ibrahim, T.K., Sagadeev A.V.// Islam: encyclopedic dictionary / rep. ed. S. M. Prozorov. - M. : Science , 1991 . - P. 51-52.
• Gogiberidze G. M. Islamic Dictionary. - Rostov n/d: Phoenix, 2009. - 266 p. - (Dictionaries). - 3000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-222-15934-7.
• Ignatenko A. A. To know the unknowable (al-Ghazali on the rational knowledge of the transcendental) // Medieval Arabic philosophy. Problems and solutions. - M., 1998.
• Kerimov G. M. Ghazali and Sufism. - Baku, 1969.
• Newby G. Concise Encyclopedia of Islam = A Concise Encyclopedia of Islam / Trans. from English. - M.: Fair Press, 2007. - 384 p. - 3000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-8183-1080-0.
• Umanskaya T. A. The quest for knowledge and faith: comparative analysis“Delivering from Errors” by al-Ghazali and “Confessions” by Aurelius Augustine // Actual problems philosophical and social thought of the foreign East. - Dushanbe, 1983. - pp. 158-169.

Links

• at vostlit.info
• on sufizm.ru

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Excerpt characterizing Abu Hamid al-Ghazali

Napoleon nodded his head affirmatively.
The adjutant galloped towards Claparede's division. And a few minutes later the young guard, standing behind the mound, moved from their place. Napoleon silently looked in this direction.
“No,” he suddenly turned to Berthier, “I cannot send Claparède.” Send Friant’s division,” he said.
Although there was no advantage in sending Friant’s division instead of Claparède, and there was even an obvious inconvenience and delay in stopping Claparède now and sending Friant, the order was carried out with precision. Napoleon did not see that in relation to his troops he was playing the role of a doctor who interferes with his medications - a role that he so correctly understood and condemned.
Friant's division, like the others, disappeared into the smoke of the battlefield. Adjutants continued to jump in from different directions, and everyone, as if by agreement, said the same thing. Everyone asked for reinforcements, everyone said that the Russians were holding their ground and producing un feu d'enfer [hellfire], from which the French army was melting.
Napoleon sat thoughtfully on a folding chair.
Hungry in the morning, Mr. de Beausset, who loved to travel, approached the emperor and dared to respectfully offer His Majesty breakfast.
“I hope that now I can congratulate Your Majesty on your victory,” he said.
Napoleon silently shook his head. Believing that negation referred to victory and not to breakfast, Mr. de Beausset allowed himself to playfully respectfully remark that there was no reason in the world that could prevent one from having breakfast when one could do it.
“Allez vous... [Get out to...],” Napoleon suddenly said gloomily and turned away. A blissful smile of regret, repentance and delight shone on Monsieur Bosse's face, and he walked with a floating step to the other generals.
Napoleon experienced a heavy feeling, similar to that experienced by an always happy gambler who madly threw his money away, always won and suddenly, just when he had calculated all the chances of the game, feeling that the more thoughtful his move was, the more likely he was to lose.
The troops were the same, the generals were the same, the preparations were the same, the disposition was the same, the same proclamation courte et energique [proclamation short and energetic], he himself was the same, he knew it, he knew that he was even much more experienced and now he was more skillful than he was before, even the enemy was the same as at Austerlitz and Friedland; but the terrible swing of the hand fell magically powerlessly.
All those previous methods were invariably crowned with success: the concentration of batteries at one point, and the attack of reserves to break through the line, and the attack of the cavalry des hommes de fer [iron men] - all these methods had already been used, and not only were not victory, but the same news came from all sides about killed and wounded generals, about the need for reinforcements, about the impossibility of bringing down the Russians and about the disorder of the troops.
Previously, after two or three orders, two or three phrases, marshals and adjutants galloped with congratulations and cheerful faces, declaring the corps of prisoners, des faisceaux de drapeaux et d'aigles ennemis, [bunches of enemy eagles and banners,] and guns, and convoys, and Murat, as trophies He only asked for permission to send in cavalry to pick up convoys. This happened at Lodi, Marengo, Arcole, Jena, Austerlitz, Wagram, etc., etc. Now something strange was happening to his troops.
Despite the news of the capture of flushes, Napoleon saw that it was not the same, not at all the same as in all his previous battles. He saw that the same feeling that he experienced was experienced by all the people around him who were experienced in battle. All faces were sad, all eyes avoided each other. Only Bosse could not understand the significance of what was happening. Napoleon, after his long experience of war, knew well what it meant for eight hours, after all the efforts expended, for the attacker to not win a battle. He knew that it was almost a lost battle and that the slightest chance could now - at that tense point of hesitation on which the battle stood - destroy him and his troops.
When he turned over in his imagination this whole strange Russian campaign, in which not a single battle was won, in which neither banners, nor cannons, nor corps of troops were taken in two months, when he looked at the secretly sad faces of those around him and listened to reports about that the Russians were still standing - a terrible feeling, similar to the feeling experienced in dreams, gripped him, and all the unfortunate events that could destroy him came to his mind. The Russians could attack his left wing, they could tear his middle apart, a stray cannonball could kill him. All this was possible. In his previous battles, he pondered only the accidents of success, but now countless unfortunate accidents presented themselves to him, and he expected them all. Yes, it was like in a dream, when a person imagines a villain attacking him, and the man in the dream swung and hit his villain with that terrible force that, he knows, should destroy him, and he feels that his hand, powerless and soft, falls like a rag, and the horror of irresistible death seizes the helpless man.
The news that the Russians were attacking the left flank of the French army aroused this horror in Napoleon. He sat silently under the mound on a folding chair, head down and elbows on his knees. Berthier approached him and offered to ride along the line to make sure what the situation was.
- What? What are you saying? - said Napoleon. - Yes, tell me to give me a horse.
He got on horseback and rode to Semenovsky.
In the slowly spreading powder smoke throughout the entire space through which Napoleon was riding, horses and people lay in pools of blood, singly and in heaps. Napoleon and none of his generals had ever seen such horror, such a number of people killed in such a small space. The roar of the guns, which did not stop for ten hours straight and tormented the ear, gave special significance to the spectacle (like music in living paintings). Napoleon rode to the heights of Semenovsky and through the smoke he saw rows of people in uniforms of colors that were unusual for his eyes. They were Russians.
The Russians stood in dense ranks behind Semenovsky and the mound, and their guns continually hummed and smoked along their line. There was no more battle. There was an ongoing murder that could lead neither the Russians nor the French anywhere. Napoleon stopped his horse and fell back into that reverie from which Berthier had brought him out; he could not stop the work that was being done in front of him and around him and which was considered to be guided by him and dependent on him, and this work for the first time, due to failure, seemed unnecessary and terrible to him.
One of the generals who approached Napoleon allowed himself to suggest that he bring the old guard into action. Ney and Berthier, standing next to Napoleon, looked at each other and smiled contemptuously at the senseless proposal of this general.
Napoleon lowered his head and was silent for a long time.
“A huit cent lieux de France je ne ferai pas demolir ma garde, [Three thousand two hundred miles from France, I cannot allow my guard to be defeated.],” he said and, turning his horse, rode back to Shevardin.

Kutuzov sat, with his gray head drooping and his heavy body slumped, on a carpeted bench, in the very place where Pierre had seen him in the morning. He did not make any orders, but only agreed or disagreed with what was offered to him.
“Yes, yes, do it,” he responded to various proposals. “Yes, yes, go, my dear, and have a look,” he addressed first one or the other of those close to him; or: “No, no, we’d better wait,” he said. He listened to the reports brought to him, gave orders when his subordinates required it; but, listening to the reports, he seemed not to be interested in the meaning of the words of what was said to him, but something else in the expressions of the faces, in the tone of speech of those reporting, interested him. From long-term military experience, he knew and with his senile mind understood that it is impossible for one person to lead hundreds of thousands of people fighting death, and he knew that the fate of the battle is not decided by the orders of the commander-in-chief, not by the place where the troops are stationed, not by the number of guns and killed people, and that elusive force called the spirit of the army, and he watched over this force and led it, as far as it was in his power.
The general expression on Kutuzov’s face was one of concentrated, calm attention and tension, which barely overcame the fatigue of his weak and old body.
At eleven o'clock in the morning they brought him the news that the flushes occupied by the French were again repulsed, but that Prince Bagration was wounded. Kutuzov gasped and shook his head.
“Go to Prince Pyotr Ivanovich and find out in detail what and how,” he said to one of the adjutants and then turned to the Prince of Wirtemberg, who stood behind him:
“Would it please Your Highness to take command of the first army?”
Soon after the prince's departure, so soon that he could not yet get to Semenovsky, the prince's adjutant returned from him and reported to his Serene Highness that the prince was asking for troops.
Kutuzov winced and sent Dokhturov an order to take command of the first army, and asked the prince, whom he said he could not do without at these important moments, to return to his place. When the news of Murat’s capture was brought and the staff congratulated Kutuzov, he smiled.
“Wait, gentlemen,” he said. “The battle has been won, and there is nothing unusual in the capture of Murat.” But it's better to wait and rejoice. “However, he sent an adjutant to travel through the troops with this news.
When Shcherbinin rode up from the left flank with a report about the French occupation of flushes and Semenovsky, Kutuzov, guessing from the sounds of the battlefield and from Shcherbinin’s face that the news was bad, stood up, as if stretching his legs, and, taking Shcherbinin by the arm, took him aside .
“Go, my dear,” he said to Ermolov, “see if anything can be done.”
Kutuzov was in Gorki, in the center of the position of the Russian army. The attack directed by Napoleon on our left flank was repulsed several times. In the center the French did not move further than Borodin. From the left flank, Uvarov's cavalry forced the French to flee.
In the third hour the French attacks stopped. On all the faces who came from the battlefield, and on those who stood around him, Kutuzov read an expression of tension that had reached the highest degree. Kutuzov was pleased with the success of the day beyond expectations. But the old man’s physical strength left him. Several times his head dropped low, as if falling, and he dozed off. He was served dinner.
The outhouse adjutant Wolzogen, the same one who, driving past Prince Andrei, said that the war must be im Raum verlegon [transferred into space (German)], and whom Bagration hated so much, drove up to Kutuzov during lunch. Wolzogen arrived from Barclay with a report on the progress of affairs on the left flank. The prudent Barclay de Tolly, seeing the crowds of wounded running away and the upset backsides of the army, having weighed all the circumstances of the case, decided that the battle was lost, and with this news he sent his favorite to the commander-in-chief.
Kutuzov chewed the fried chicken with difficulty and looked at Wolzogen with narrowed, cheerful eyes.
Wolzogen, casually stretching his legs, with a half-contemptuous smile on his lips, approached Kutuzov, lightly touching the visor with his hand.
Wolzogen treated His Serene Highness with some affected carelessness, intended to show that he, as a highly educated military man, was allowing the Russians to make an idol out of this old, useless man, and he himself knew with whom he was dealing. “Der alte Herr (as the Germans called Kutuzov in their circle) macht sich ganz bequem, [The old gentleman settled down calmly (German)] - thought Wolzogen and, looking sternly at the plates standing in front of Kutuzov, began to report to the old gentleman the state of affairs on the left flank as Barclay ordered him and as he himself saw and understood it.
- All points of our position are in the hands of the enemy and there is nothing to recapture, because there are no troops; “They are running, and there is no way to stop them,” he reported.
Kutuzov, stopping to chew, stared at Wolzogen in surprise, as if not understanding what was being said to him. Wolzogen, noticing the excitement of des alten Herrn, [the old gentleman (German)] said with a smile:
– I did not consider myself entitled to hide from your lordship what I saw... The troops are in complete disorder...
- Have you seen? Did you see?.. – Kutuzov shouted, frowning, quickly getting up and advancing on Wolzogen. “How do you... how dare you!..”, he shouted, making threatening gestures with shaking hands and choking. - How dare you, dear sir, say this to me? You don't know anything. Tell General Barclay from me that his information is incorrect and that the real course of the battle is known to me, the commander-in-chief, better than to him.
Wolzogen wanted to object, but Kutuzov interrupted him.
- The enemy is repulsed on the left and defeated on the right flank. If you have not seen well, dear sir, then do not allow yourself to say what you do not know. Please go to General Barclay and convey to him the next day my absolute intention to attack the enemy,” Kutuzov said sternly. Everyone was silent, and all that could be heard was the heavy breathing of the out of breath old general. “They were repulsed everywhere, for which I thank God and our brave army.” The enemy is defeated, and tomorrow we will drive him out of the sacred Russian land,” said Kutuzov, crossing himself; and suddenly sobbed from the tears that came. Wolzogen, shrugging his shoulders and pursing his lips, silently walked away to the side, wondering uber diese Eingenommenheit des alten Herrn. [at this tyranny of the old gentleman. (German)]
“Yes, here he is, my hero,” Kutuzov said to the plump, handsome, black-haired general, who was entering the mound at that time. It was Raevsky, who spent the whole day at the main point of the Borodino field.
Raevsky reported that the troops were firmly in their places and that the French did not dare to attack anymore. After listening to him, Kutuzov said in French:
– Vous ne pensez donc pas comme lesautres que nous sommes obliges de nous retirer? [You don't think, then, like others, that we should retreat?]
“Au contraire, votre altesse, dans les affaires indecises c"est loujours le plus opiniatre qui reste victorieux,” answered Raevsky, “et mon opinion... [On the contrary, your lordship, in indecisive matters the winner is the one who is more stubborn, and my opinion …]
- Kaisarov! – Kutuzov shouted to his adjutant. - Sit down and write an order for tomorrow. “And you,” he turned to the other, “go along the line and announce that tomorrow we will attack.”
While the conversation was going on with Raevsky and the order was being dictated, Wolzogen returned from Barclay and reported that General Barclay de Tolly would like to have written confirmation of the order that the field marshal gave.
Kutuzov, without looking at Wolzogen, ordered this order to be written, which the former commander-in-chief, very thoroughly, in order to avoid personal responsibility, wanted to have.
And through an indefinable, mysterious connection that maintains the same mood throughout the entire army, called the spirit of the army and constituting the main nerve of the war, Kutuzov’s words, his order for battle for the next day, were transmitted simultaneously to all ends of the army.
It was not the very words, not the very order that was transmitted in the last chain of this connection. There was not even anything similar in those stories that were passed on to each other at different ends of the army to what Kutuzov said; but the meaning of his words was communicated everywhere, because what Kutuzov said stemmed not from cunning considerations, but from a feeling that lay in the soul of the commander-in-chief, as well as in the soul of every Russian person.
And having learned that the next day we would attack the enemy, from the highest spheres of the army, having heard confirmation of what they wanted to believe, the exhausted, hesitant people were consoled and encouraged.

Prince Andrei's regiment was in reserves, which until the second hour stood behind Semenovsky inactive, under heavy artillery fire. In the second hour, the regiment, which had already lost more than two hundred people, was moved forward to a trampled oat field, to that gap between Semenovsky and the Kurgan battery, where thousands of people were killed that day and on which, in the second hour of the day, intensely concentrated fire was directed from several hundred enemy guns.
Without leaving this place and without firing a single charge, the regiment lost another third of its people here. In front and especially on the right side, in the continuous smoke, cannons boomed and from a mysterious area of ​​smoke that covered the entire area ahead, cannonballs and slowly whistling grenades flew out, without ceasing, with a hissing rapid whistle. Sometimes, as if giving rest, a quarter of an hour passed, during which all the cannonballs and grenades flew over, but sometimes within a minute several people were torn out of the regiment, and the dead were constantly dragged away and the wounded were carried away.
With each new blow, fewer and fewer chances of life remained for those who had not yet been killed. The regiment stood in battalion columns at a distance of three hundred paces, but despite this, all the people of the regiment were under the influence of the same mood. All the people of the regiment were equally silent and gloomy. Rarely was a conversation heard between the rows, but this conversation fell silent every time a blow was heard and a cry: “Stretcher!” Most of the time, the people of the regiment, by order of their superiors, sat on the ground. Some, having taken off their shako, carefully unraveled and reassembled the assemblies; who used dry clay, spreading it in his palms, and polished his bayonet; who kneaded the belt and tightened the buckle of the sling; who carefully straightened and refolded the hems and changed his shoes. Some built houses from Kalmyk arable land or wove wickerwork from stubble straw. Everyone seemed quite immersed in these activities. When people were wounded and killed, when stretchers were being pulled, when ours were returning, when large masses of enemies were visible through the smoke, no one paid any attention to these circumstances. When the artillery and cavalry passed forward, the movements of our infantry were visible, approving remarks were heard from all sides. But the events that deserved the most attention were completely extraneous events that had nothing to do with the battle. It was as if the attention of these morally tormented people rested on these ordinary, everyday events. An artillery battery passed in front of the regiment's front. In one of the artillery boxes, the tie-down line came into place. “Hey, the tie-down!.. Straighten it! It will fall... Eh, they can’t see it!.. - they shouted from the ranks equally throughout the entire regiment. Another time, everyone’s attention was drawn to a small brown dog with a firmly raised tail, which, God knows where it came from, ran out in front of the ranks at an anxious trot and suddenly squealed from a cannonball striking close and, with its tail between its legs, rushed to the side. Cackling and squeals were heard throughout the regiment. But this kind of entertainment lasted for minutes, and people had been standing for more than eight hours without food and without anything to do under the persistent horror of death, and their pale and frowning faces became increasingly pale and frowning.
Prince Andrei, just like all the people of the regiment, frowning and pale, walked back and forth across the meadow near the oat field from one boundary to another, with his hands behind him and his head down. There was nothing for him to do or order. Everything happened by itself. The dead were dragged behind the front, the wounded were carried, the ranks closed. If the soldiers ran away, they immediately returned hastily. At first, Prince Andrei, considering it his duty to arouse the courage of the soldiers and show them an example, walked along the ranks; but then he became convinced that he had nothing and nothing to teach them. All the strength of his soul, just like that of every soldier, was unconsciously directed to restrain himself from contemplating the horror of the situation in which they were. He walked through the meadow, dragging his feet, scratching the grass and observing the dust that covered his boots; either he walked with long strides, trying to follow the tracks left by mowers across the meadow, then he, counting his steps, made calculations of how many times he must walk from boundary to boundary to make a mile, then he purged the wormwood flowers growing on the boundary, and I rubbed these flowers in my palms and sniffed the fragrant, bitter, strong smell. From all yesterday's work of thought there was nothing left. He didn't think about anything. He listened with tired ears to the same sounds, distinguishing the whistling of flights from the roar of shots, looked at the closer faces of the people of the 1st battalion and waited. “Here she is... this one is coming to us again! - he thought, listening to the approaching whistle of something from closed area smoke. - One, another! More! Got it... He stopped and looked at the rows. “No, it was postponed. But this one hit.” And he began to walk again, trying to take long steps in order to reach the boundary in sixteen steps.

Iranian theologian and philosopher of Islam. He was a mystic in the spirit of Sufism, challenged the universal validity of the law of causality, then became an ardent opponent of philosophy (“Refutation of the Philosophers”) and the new founder of orthodox theology (“Resurrection of the Sciences of Faith”). Ghazali was one of the most famous thinkers of the Muslim Middle Ages. Researchers also claim that Ghazali influenced Thomas Aquinas and all scholasticism.

Abu Hamid Muhammad Ibn Muhammad Ibn Ahmad al-Ghazali was born in 1058 (1059) in the city of Tus in Khorasan. He was orphaned early. Having begun his studies in Tus with Imam Ahmad ar-Raziqani, Ghazali then travels to Jurjan and Nishapur, where he attends the lessons of the famous Asharite al-Juwayni.

Then Ghazali is noticed by the ruler Nizam al-Mulk and accepts him into his entourage, where the young scientist is greeted with honor and respect. Ghazali is quickly gaining popularity.

In 1095, Ghazali left Baghdad under the pretext of the Hajj and abandoned his career as a lawyer and theologian. He led the life of an ascetic and hermit for eleven years, until 1106. According to modern researchers, the reason for leaving was fear of political persecution by the Seljuk Sultan Barkyaruk.

By in my own words Ghazali, the reason why he left his post in Nizamiyeh and began “searching for truth” was doubt. Ghazali doubted the correctness of the views of all the main groups of Islam of that time: the Mutakallims, philosophers, Ismailis (Batinites) and Sufis.

At this time, he wrote “Savior from Error,” in which he describes the most important events of his life and the evolution of his views. At the same time, he completed “The Resurrection of the Sciences of Faith.”

In 1106, Ghazali returned to lecturing at the Nizamiyya madrasah.

Shortly before his death, Ghazali again left teaching and returned to Tus.

Ghazali died in the fifty-fifth year of his life in 1111.

His main work, “The Resurrection of the Sciences of Faith,” combines the values ​​of orthodox Sunnism with Sufi ideals.

Ghazali's largest work consists of four rubes ("quarters"), and each rub includes 10 books. The rubies are called “Rites”, “Customs”, “Destroyers”, “Saviors”.

Ghazali's treatise contains the main ideas of the Sufi system: the idea of ​​mystical closeness to God; the idea of ​​tariq - the path to this closeness, on which “stops” are marked, symbolizing certain qualities; the idea of ​​Sufi ideals of patience, poverty, asceticism, love, etc.

By making religion an object of feelings and emotions, Ghazali is trying to “revive” Sunni traditionalism, which has lagged behind the demands of the new life, which is why he called his work “Resurrection of the Sciences of Faith.”

Ghazali was the first major thinker of Islam, whose doubt about the very possibility of knowing the truth about the world received complete philosophical expression in his belief system. Ghazali considers doubt to be the path to understanding truth. For these reasons, some Ghazali scholars call him the forerunner of all philosophical skepticism.

Ghazali also denies the causal connection of the phenomena in “The Resurrection of the Sciences of Faith.” According to Ghazali, the creator and cause of each of these phenomena is Allah. He created an order in which one phenomenon can only occur in the presence of another.

To know Allah does not necessarily mean to see him, but to understand his unknowability. Regarding the ways of knowledge, Ghazali develops the concept of various human abilities, among which, based on the text “Resurrection of the Sciences of Faith,” two main ones can be distinguished - reason and the highest supersensible ability.

“The Resurrection of the Sciences of Faith” united three main directions of Muslim thought: traditionalism, rationalism and mysticism. The Ghazali system, due to its heterogeneity and combination of contradictory tendencies, which is typical in general for large religious systems of the world, could be used in the interests of various social classes and groups.

Imam Ghazali entered the history of the development of Muslim doctrine with the title “Hujjat al-Islam” - “Proof of Islam”.

Valuable Messages about Nations of Eastern Europe left by Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Abd ar-Rahim al-Garnati al-Andalusi (1080-1169/70) - Spanish-Arab writer, preacher and traveler who visited different countries North Africa, Middle East, Central Asia and Europe. In the 30-50s of the 12th century. he visited Eastern and Central Europe and traveled through the Caucasus. For about 20 years, al-Garnati lived in Saksin, a city located, in all likelihood, on the site of the destroyed Itil, visited Volga Bulgaria and the Caucasus, and lived in Hungary. In 1150 he traveled from Saksin to Hungary, passing through Volga Bulgaria and Rus'. In 1153, al-Garnati made this journey in the opposite direction and stayed with the “king of the Slavs” throughout the winter, giving him a letter from the Hungarian king Geza II (1141-1162).

Al-Garnati left a description of his travels in two works: “A clear statement of some wonders of the Maghreb” (“Mu’rib an ba’d aja’ib al-Maghrib”, [another name according to another manuscript is “A selection of memories of the wonders of countries” ( “Nuhbat al-azkhan fi aja’ib al-buldan”)] and “A gift to the minds and a selection of miracles” (“Tuhfat al-albab wa nuhbat al-a’jab”). From two works of Abu Hamid “Tuhfat al-albab” "was more popular and has survived to this day in many manuscripts, while "Mu'rib" - only in two. The books contain, in addition to observations and information about the travels of Abu Hamid al-Garnati, many stories about wonders in accordance with the widespread in Arabic medieval literature genre of stories about miracles (aja'ib).

Abu Hamid al-Garnati's data on Eastern Europe are rich and varied. The areas where al-Garnati visited are described in detail - North Caucasus, Lower Volga, Bulgar, Kiev, as well as the regions that travelers told him about - the territories of the northern peoples of the Visu, Yura and Aru (the chronicles of the whole, Yugra and Arsk land). Al-Garnati's writings contain a description of interesting everyday details - fishing from ships on the Volga; barter trade, common among the peoples of the European North; fur money used by the Slavs.

Al-Garnati's description of barter trade, which was practiced by the Yura people, served as a source for similar descriptions in the writings of later Arab authors - Zakariyya al-Qazwini, Abu l-Fida, Ibn Battuta.

Abu Hamid al-Garnati is not the only Eastern author who reports on the circulation of fur money in Eastern Europe. There is information about the use of fur-bearing animal skins by the Rus as money in Nizami’s poem “Iskander-name”, as well as in the Persian geographers Najib Hamadani (XII century) and Amin Razi (XVI century). However, Abu Hamid’s data is of particular value, since he does not convey other people’s information, known to him by hearsay, but describes his own impressions.

The reliability of Abu Hamid's reports has long been in doubt among many orientalists. However, as we studied the traveler's writings, it became clear that Abu Hamid's stories should be approached as direct information from an eyewitness, even the fantastic details of whose narrative may have some value.

  Editions and translations: Le Tuhfat al-albab de Abu Hamid al-Andalusi al-Garnati / Ed. G. Ferrand // JA. 1925. T. CCVII. P. 1-148, 193-304; Abu Hamid el Granadino y su relacion de viaje por tierras eurasiaticos / Ed. C. Doubler. Madrid, 1953; The journey of Abu Hamid al-Garnati to Eastern and Central Europe (1131-1153) / Publ. O. G. Bolshakova, A. L. Mongaita. M., 1971; Abu Hamid al-Garnati. Tuhfat al-Albab (El regalo de los espiritus) / Tr. A. Ramos. Madrid, 1990; Bolshakov O. G. Al-Garnati // IT. T. II. pp. 770-802.

  Literature: Hrbek 1955; Mongait 1959; Korzukhina 1978; Izmailov 2001; Mishin 2002. P. 39-41; Kalinina 2005; Bolshakov 2006a.

A CLEAR EXPLORATION OF SOME MIRACLES
MAGHRIB, OR A SELECTION OF MEMORIES
ABOUT THE WONDERS OF THE COUNTRY

(Description of Baku, Derbent and the peoples of the Caucasus)

  And I went by sea to the country of the Khazars. And he arrived at a huge river, which is many, many times larger than the Tigris, it is like a sea from which large rivers flow.

  And on it there is a city called Sajsin, in which there are forty tribes of Ghuzz, and each tribe has a separate emir. They [the Guzz] have large courtyards, and in each courtyard there is a felt-covered tent, huge, like a large dome, one that can accommodate a hundred or more people. And in the city there are thousands of merchants of different nationalities and foreigners and Arabs from the Maghreb, their numbers cannot be counted. And there are cathedral mosques in it, in which the Khazars, who are also several tribes, perform Friday prayers. And in the middle of the city lives the emir of the Bulgar inhabitants, they have a large cathedral mosque in which Friday prayers are held, and the Bulgars live around it. And there is also a cathedral mosque, another, in which the people pray, which are called “residents of Suvar”; it is also numerous.

  And on the day of the holiday, numerous mimbaras are brought out, and each emir prays with numerous nationalities. And every nation has qadis, and fakihs, and khatibs; and all the sects of Abu Hanifa, except for the “Maghribins”, who are of the Malik sect, and the foreigners of the Shafi’i sect, and my house is now among them, and [among them] slave mothers, and my sons, and my daughters.

(Description of fish species that are found in the Lower Volga)

  They have tin in circulation, every eight Baghdad mannas 10 are worth 11 dinars, they cut it into pieces and buy with it whatever they want from fruits, bread and meat.

  And their meat is cheap, so when the caravans of infidels come, they have rams, one ram for half a danik 12, and a lamb for tassoudj 13. And they have so many different varieties of fruit that there are no more, including extremely sweet melons, and there is a type of melon that lasts through the winter.

  And their winters are very cold. Their winter houses are made of large pine logs, laid one on top of the other, and their roofs and ceilings are made of wooden planks. And they light a fire [in the houses], but their doors are small, covered with sheep skins and fur, and inside the houses it is hot, like in a bathhouse, and they have a lot of firewood.

  And this river freezes so that it becomes like the ground; horses and calves and all livestock walk on it. And on this ice they fight. And I walked this river in width when it froze, and its width, without the branches that flow from this river, was a thousand steps and eight hundred and forty-something steps with my steps.

  And the jinn made Sulaiman 14 next to this river a thousand rivers, each river a mile in size, and they took out the earth from them, and it became as if near this river there was a mountain, its width was the flight of an arrow, and next to it there were a thousand mountains similar to it and a thousand rivers, deep rivers filled with water from this river. And the fish multiply in them, and become [numerous] like dust. And any ship that comes into one of these rivers sets a net at the mouth of the river, and they bring the ships [into the mouth], filling the ships [with fish]. Even if there were a hundred ships, they would also be filled from one river different types fish, and these rivers would not be exhausted. There is nothing like this.

  And behind these rivers and mountains, for several days' journey, stretched the land, all covered with salt, red, and white, and blue, and various other colors. They fill ships with it and transport it along this river to Bulgar. And between Sajsin and Bulgar along this river [one must sail] forty days.

  And Bulgar is also a huge city, all built of pine, and the city wall is of oak. And around him there are endless [all] peoples, they are already beyond the seven climates. When the day is long, it is twenty hours long, and the night is four hours long. And when winter comes, the night lasts twenty hours, and the day lasts four hours.

(Description of the climate of Bulgaria)

  And in their land there are bones of the Hell tribe, the width of one tooth is two spans, and its length is four spans; and from his head [i.e. giant] to the shoulder - five ba 15, and his head is like a large dome, and there are many of them. And underground there are elephant tusks, white as snow, heavy as lead, one is a hundred manna and more and less, they don’t know what animal they were broken from. And they take them to Khorezm and Khorasan. Combs and boxes and other things are made from them, just as they are made from ivory, but only this is stronger than ivory: it does not break.

  And above this country there live peoples who are innumerable; they pay jizya 16 to the king of the Bulgars.

(A story about a Muslim merchant from Bukhara who visited Bulgar)

  And he [Bulgar] has a region, [whose inhabitants] pay kharaj 17, there is a month’s journey between them and Bulgar, they call it Visu 18. And there is another region called Aru 19, in which beavers and stoats and excellent squirrels are hunted. And the day there in the summer is twenty-two hours. And they produce extremely good beaver skins.

(Description of beaver habits)

  And beyond Visu on the Sea of ​​Darkness there is an area known as Jura 20. In summer their days can be very long. So, as the merchants say, the sun does not set for forty days, and in winter the night is just as long. The merchants say that the Gloom is not far from them and that the people of Yura go to this Gloom and enter it with torches, and find there a huge tree like a large village, and on it is a large animal, they say it is a bird. And they bring goods with them, and [each] merchant places his property separately, and makes a mark on it, and leaves; then after that they come back and find a product that is needed in their country. And each person finds some of those things near his goods; if he agrees, then he takes it, and if not, he takes his things and leaves others, and there is no deception. And they don’t know who those from whom they buy these goods are.

  And people bring swords from the countries of Islam, which they make in Zanjan, and Abhara, and Tabriz, and Isfahan, in the form of blades, without attaching a handle and without decorations, just iron, as it comes out of the fire...

  And these swords are just the ones that are suitable to be taken to Iura. But the inhabitants of Yura have no war, and they have neither riding nor pack animals - only huge trees and forests in which there is a lot of honey, and they have a lot of sables, and they eat sable meat. And the merchants bring these swords and cow and ram bones to them, and in payment for them they take sable skins and make huge profits from it.

  And the road to them is on land from which the snow never melts; and people make boards for the feet and plan them; The length of each board is ba, and the width is a span. The front and end of such a board are raised above the ground, in the middle of the board there is a place where the walker places his foot, there is a hole in it, in which strong leather straps are fixed, which are tied to the feet. And both of these boards, which are on the legs, are connected by a long belt like horse reins, it is held in the left hand, and in the right hand is a stick as long as a person’s height. And at the bottom of this stick is something like a ball of fabric stuffed big amount wool, it is the size of a human head, but light. With this stick they rest against the snow and push off from behind, as sailors do on a ship, and quickly move through the snow. And if it weren’t for this invention, no one would be able to walk there, because the snow on the ground is like sand and doesn’t cake at all. And no matter what animal walks through this snow, it falls into it and dies in it, except for dogs and light animals like the fox and the hare, and they walk through it easily and quickly. And the skins of foxes and hares in this country turn white so that they become like cotton wool, and wolves turn white in the same way. In the Bulgar region their skins turn white in winter.

  And these swords, which are brought from the countries of Islam to Bulgar, bring great profit. Then the Bulgars take them to Visu, where beavers live, then the inhabitants of Visu take them to Jura, and [its inhabitants] buy them for sable skins, and for female slaves, and male slaves. And every person living there needs a sword every year to throw into the Sea of ​​Darkness. And when they throw down their swords, Allah brings them out of the sea a fish like a huge mountain...

(Description of a huge fish living in the Sea of ​​Darkness)

  The inhabitants of Visu and Jura are forbidden to enter the country of the Bulgars in the summer, because when one of them enters these regions, even in the most intense heat, the air and water become cold as in winter, and people’s crops perish. They have verified this. I saw a group of them in Bulgar during winter: red, with blue eyes, their hair is white as flax, and in such cold they wear linen clothes. And some of them have fur coats made from excellent beaver skins, the fur of these beavers is turned outward. And they drink a barley drink, sour like vinegar, which suits them because of the hotness of their temperament, which is explained by the fact that they eat beaver and squirrel meat and honey.

(Description of a bird living in Visu and Jura)

  When I went to the country of the Slavs 21, I left Bulgar and sailed on a ship along the river of the Slavs 22. And its water is black, like the water of the Sea of ​​Darkness, it is like ink, but at the same time it is sweet, good, clean. There are no fish in it, but there are large black snakes, one on top of the other, there are more of them than fish, but they do no harm to anyone. And there is an animal in it like a small cat with black skin, its name is water sable. Its skins are exported to Bulgar and Sajsin, and it is found in this river.

  When I arrived in their country, I saw that this country was vast, abundant in honey and wheat and barley and large apples, of which there is nothing better. Their life is cheap.

  They pay each other with old squirrel skins, which have no wool, and which can never be used for anything, and which are not good for anything at all. If the skin of the squirrel’s head and the skin of its paws are intact, then every eighteen skins cost [the Slavs] a silver dirham; they tie [the skins] into a bundle and call it jukn 23 . And for each of these skins they give excellent round bread, which is enough for a strong man.

  They buy any goods with them: slaves, slaves, gold, silver, beavers, and other goods. And if these skins were in some other country, they would not have bought a thousand packs of them for Habba 24 and they would not have been useful for anything at all. When they [the skins] spoil in their homes, they are [sometimes even] torn and carried in bags, heading with them to a well-known market, where there are certain people, and in front of them are workers. And so they put them in front of them, and the workers string them on strong threads, every eighteen in one bundle, and attach a piece of black lead to the end of the thread, and seal it with a signet, on which there is an image of the king 25. And for each seal they take one skin from these skins until they have sealed them all. And no one can refuse them; they sell and buy them 26.

  And the Slavs have strict rules. If someone harms another’s slave, or his son, or his cattle, or violates the law in any way, then a certain amount of money is taken from the offender. And if he does not have them, then they sell his sons and daughters and his wife for this crime. And if he doesn’t have a family and children, then they sell him. And he remains a slave, serving the one who has him, until he dies or gives back what was paid for him. And they don’t count anything towards his price for serving the master.

  And their country is reliable. When a Muslim deals with one of them and the Slav goes bankrupt, he sells his children and his house and repays the debt to this merchant.

  The Slavs are brave. They adhere to the Byzantine brand of Nestorian Christianity 28 .

  And around them are people living among the trees, shaving their beards 29 . They live on [the banks of] a huge river and hunt beavers in this river. I was told about them that every ten years they have a lot of witchcraft, and their women, the old witches, harm them. Then they grab all the old women in their country, tie their hands and feet and throw them into the river: the old woman who drowns is left and knows that she is not a witch, but the one who remains on top of the water is burned in the fire.

  I stayed with them with a caravan long time, their country is safe. They pay Kharaj to the Bulgars. And they have no religion; they worship a certain tree, in front of which they bow to the ground. So I was told by someone who knows their circumstances.

(Description of a trip to Hungary)

  And so I asked the Bashkird king for permission to go to the country of Muslims, to Sajsin, and said: “After all, my children and my wives are there, and I will return to you if Allah wishes.” And he said: “Leave your eldest son Hamid here, and I will send with you a Muslim envoy so that he can recruit for me from the poorest Muslims and Turks those who are good at throwing arrows.” And he sent with me a letter to the king of the Slavs 35 and sealed it with red gold, on which was the image of the king. And he sent with me a man whose name was Ismail ibn Hasan, one of those who read under my guidance. And he was one of the sons of brave Muslim emirs who openly professed their religion, and with him were his ghulams 36 and a group of his associates.

  And when I arrived in the country of the Slavs, its king showed me honor, respecting his letter and fearing him [the king of Hungary]. And we spent the winter with him, and in the spring we left for the country of the Turks, heading to Sajsin. And Abd al-Karim ibn Fairuz al-Jauhari, who left the country of the Slavs with his wife and son, left with me, left his wife in Sajsin, and then returned to the country of the Slavs.

(Translation by O.G. Bolshakov from: Garnati. pp. 27-37, 44)

Arab. ابو حامد محمد بن محمد الغزالى‎

Islamic theologian, jurist, philosopher and mystic, originally from the Khorasan region of Persia; one of the most authoritative teachers among the founders of Sufism

Abu Hamid al-Ghazali

short biography

Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Ghazali at-Tusi(Arabic: ابو حامد محمد بن محمد الغزالى‎, Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Ghazali; 1058, Tus - December 19, 1111, Tus) - Islamic theologian, jurist, philosopher and mystic, originally from the Khorasan region of Persia (modern Iran). One of the most authoritative teachers among the founders of Sufism. Al-Ghazali's activities were aimed at forming a comprehensive and systematic teaching of Sufism, as well as formulating the theoretical foundations of Sufism.

Abu Hamid al-Ghazali was born in 1058. His family lived in Tus and were of Persian origin. Abu Hamid's father was a wool spinner. He passed away early and one of his father’s friends took up the upbringing of Abu Hamid and his brother Abul-Futuh Ahmad. Soon the inheritance left by the father dried up, and since the father's friend was himself very poor, he invited the brothers to enter the madrasah as students in order to support themselves.

In 1070, al-Ghazali and his brother moved to Jurjan (Gorgan) to continue their studies with Imam Ahmad ar-Raziqani and Abul-Qasim Jurjiani. In 1080, al-Ghazali traveled to Nishapur to become a student of the famous Muslim scholar Abul-Ma'ali al-Juwayni (d. 1085), known as Imam al-Haramayn. From Imam al-Juwayni, Abu Hamid studied fiqh, usul al-fiqh, Ash'arite kalam and other disciplines. Among al-Ghazali's teachers who taught him the intricacies of Sufism were Fazl ibn Muhammad al-Faramizi (a student of Abul-Qasim al-Qushayri) and Yusuf al-Nasaj.

Soon the young and talented theologian is noticed by the Seljuk vizier Nizam al-Mulk. He invited al-Ghazali to Baghdad and entrusted him with heading the Nizamiyya madrasah. From 1091 to 1095 he taught Islamic law in the academic institution he created. About 300 students studied at the madrasah, among whom were: Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi, Abu Gild ibn ar-Razar, Abu Gais al-Jaily, al-Barbabazi, Abul-Bayikh al-Bakraji, Abul-Abbas al-Aklishi, Abdul -Qadir al-Jilani, Muhammad ibn Yahya al-Shafi'i and other famous Islamic theologians.

In 1092, Nizam al-Mulk died at the hands of the Ismailis and in 1095, al-Ghazali, under the pretext of performing the Hajj, left Baghdad with his family. Al-Ghazali himself explains his action as follows:

“Then, observing myself from the outside, I found my situation dangerous for me, and that I became very attached to everything that I had acquired from the blessings of earthly life, and everything that surrounded me. Then, as I looked at my affairs, I noticed that the best thing I could do was teach and learn. But these were sciences that were of no use in the next world and were not so important for earthly perishable life. I remembered my intention to teach, and it turned out that I was doing this not purely for the sake of Allah, but for the sake of glory and honor. Then I became convinced that I was on the edge of the abyss and could end up in Hell if I didn’t take up the task of correcting my situation. And so I decided to leave Baghdad, because thoughts about my situation did not give me peace, but my soul (nafs) did not like this at all, and it began to resist me. And thus, I began to vacillate between my unbridled passion and selfishness and the calls of the other world until things moved from choice to necessity...”

Biography of Imam Al-Ghazali at-Tusi

For 11 years until 1106, al-Ghazali lived the life of a hermit. First he arrived in Sham. In Damascus, he became familiar with Sufi practice through seclusion (khalwat), performing internal exercises (riyazat) and spiritual endeavors (mujahadat). For some time he served in service (itikaf) in the Umayyad mosque. Then he went to Jerusalem (Bayt ul-Muqaddas). There he spent most of his time at the Dome of the Rock mosque, located next to the al-Aqsa mosque. Imam al-Ghazali’s most famous book, “The Resurrection of the Sciences of Faith,” was begun in Jerusalem, which he completed in Damascus. After returning to Damascus, al-Ghazali made a pilgrimage to Mecca and visited the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad in Medina. During these years he wrote his most significant works.

In 1106, Nizam al-Mulk's son, Fakhr al-Mulk, invited al-Ghazali to return to teaching, and al-Ghazali began lecturing again at the Nizamiya madrasah in Nishapur. In Nishapur, al-Ghazali met Sheikh Abu Ali al-Farmadi, who is the seventh in the chain (silsila) of sheikhs of the Naqshbandi tariqa. Under the guidance and guidance of al-Farmadi, he went through all the stages (makam) of Sufism.

Shortly before his death, al-Ghazali gave up teaching again and returned to Tus. Lives in a cell and teaches young followers the Sufi way of life. Al-Ghazali died in December 1111 at the age of 53. According to Abdul-Ghafur Farisi, al-Ghazali had several daughters and no sons.

Theological activity

Abu Hamid al-Ghazali was a follower of the Shafi'i legal school (madhab) and the Ash'arite aqida. His writings contributed to the development of a systematic presentation of Sufism and its integration into orthodox Sunni Islam. Al-Ghazali critically examined the position of all the main directions of Islamic thought from Islamic theology, Sufism, Ismailism to philosophy.

Kalam

Al-Ghazali's thoughts had an important influence not only on Muslim but also on Christian medieval philosophers. Al-Ghazali is considered both the most prominent representative of the Ash'arite kalam (in fact, the last great philosopher of the kalam who completed the creation of the Ash'arite metaphysics) and the fundamental theologian of Sufism. His personality as a self-absorbed thinker and mystic, who does not refuse to impart his knowledge to others, but avoids worldly honors and power, is very popular as an example of a “real” Muslim - a mumin.

Al-Ghazali introduced a new interpretation of the concept jihad in the Koran. According to al-Ghazali, in verse 95 of Surah An-Nisa (“Women”), we are not talking about fighting on the battlefield, but about overcoming one’s lower self (nafs). The topic of jihad was touched upon in the book “Al-Wasit fil-madhhab” (volume 6).

According to the level of cognitive abilities of people, al-Ghazali divided them into two categories: “the general public,” “the masses” (al-amma, al-’awamm), and “the chosen ones” (al-hassa). He included ordinary believers in the first category who blindly follow religious tradition. In front of such people, one cannot give a symbolic-allegorical interpretation of sacred texts. He also included the mutakallim in the first category, whose function should be limited to protecting the dogmas of Islam from innovations (bida). He included in the second category, first of all, philosophers (falasifa) and Sufis who come to a monistic view of existence with the help of intuition (ilham).

Among the philosophers, the main subjects of his criticism were Aristotle, al-Farabi and Ibn Sina. Proving the inconsistency of the philosophical path of knowledge, al-Ghazali constantly used philosophical methods of refutation, widely resorting to the methods of Aristotelian logic. The driving forces of his search for truth were doubt and skepticism.

Sufism

Al-Ghazali played a very important role in unifying the concepts of Sufism and Sharia law. He was the one who gave a formal description of Sufism in his works. When (especially during the years of solitude) he began to carefully study the sciences (kalam, philosophy, Ismailism, Sunni dogma), he came to the conclusion that a rationally constructed faith was not viable, and he seriously turned to Sufism. He realized that moral principles should be based on direct communication with Allah, as well as on personal experience. At the same time, it is important to gain enlightenment or divine grace, for which one must free oneself from everything artificial.

Al-Ghazali identified three levels of existence.

• The highest level was occupied by Allah, who is self-sufficient
• The lowest level is the material world determined by Allah
• Between them is a world of people whose souls have free will. They are given ideas and inclinations from Allah, but actions are determined only by the will of people.

Al-Ghazali saw the practical benefits of Sufism in the direction of its teaching towards the moral improvement of man. He rejected the Sufi claims to ontological unity with God and recognized “union” only as a symbol of the comprehension of the deity by a higher cognitive power.

Titles

Al-Ghazali's works are highly appreciated in the Islamic world. He received many titles, among them Sharaful-A'imma (Arabic: شرف الائمة‎), Zainud-din (Arabic: زین الدین‎ - beauty of religion), Khujatul-Islam (Arabic: حجة الاسلام‎ - argument of Islam) and others. Such Islamic theologians as al-Dhahabi, al-Suyuti, an-Nawawi, Ibn Asakir considered him a “renovator” of the 5th century AH. The diversity of al-Ghazali's teachings became the reason that Muslim dogmatists simultaneously criticized him and extolled him as the “argument of Islam.” In the modern world, al-Ghazali is considered one of the most authoritative Islamic theologians. Sheikh Hamza Yusuf writes about him as a man who “literally saved Islam.”

After al-Ghazali, while still a young man, wrote the book “al-Mankhul fi usul al-fiqh” (Fundamentals of Islamic Law, 1109), his teacher Abdul-Malik al-Juwayni said: “You buried me, then time when I’m still alive, couldn’t you really wait until I died. Your book covers my book."

Hafiz al-Zahabi (d. 1348) in his biography of al-Ghazali wrote: “Al-Ghazali, sheikh, imam, the ocean of knowledge, the argument of Islam, the phenomenon of his time, the beauty of religion, Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad Ibn Ahmad al-Tusi al-Shafi'i al-Ghazali. Possessor of many works, very witty. At first he studied Islamic law in his city, then he moved to Naisabur and was in a circle of students, studied with Imam al-Haramayn, and absorbed Islamic law in a short time, and became eloquent and skillful in discussion and was the main one among the debaters.”

Al-Ghazali's influence on world philosophy and worldview

Al-Ghazali immediately began to be translated into many languages ​​and gained fame in Christian Europe and in Jewish communities.

Influence on Christianity

Thomas Aquinas was familiar with his writings and highly regarded him.

At the end of the 12th century, the work “The Intentions of the Philosophers” was translated into Latin and widely distributed. “Logica et philosophia Algazelis” was translated by Dominic Gundissalin together with the Jewish scholar Avendout. This translation became the main source in Europe for the study of Arabic philosophy. At the same time, he was mistakenly considered a follower of Avicenna.

Influence on Jewish thought

In the XII - XIII centuries, the Jewish population of Arab Spain actively owned Arabic, and Jewish thinkers could directly perceive Arabic literature. Yehuda Halevi, in his polemical works against Aristotle, followed the position of al-Ghazali (“Self-Refutation of the Philosophers”), contrasting the vagueness of philosophy with mathematics and logic. Abraham ibn Daud, in his work “Emunah Rama” (Hebrew: “Exalted Faith”), on the contrary, followed Avicenna and al-Ghazali in the concept of will, intention and ecstasy (based on al-Ghazali’s work “Intentions”) philosophers").

Subsequently, al-Ghazali's works were translated into Hebrew many times; one of the first translators was Isaac Albalag. His works had a great resonance, and two more translations appeared after him.

Jewish translations of Al-Ghazali's "Intentions of the Philosophers" entitled "De'ôt ha-Fîlôsôfîm" or "Kavvanôt ha-Fîlôsôfîm" became almost the most widespread philosophical texts among European Jews.

Thinkers such as Maimonides, Abraham Hasid, Obadiah Maimonides, Abraham ben Samuel ibn Chasdai, and the kabbalist Abraham Gavison of Tlemcen included excerpts from al-Ghazali in their writings on Jewish law and way of life.

Skepticism

Ghazali's rationalism, attempts to question causality and sever connections between causes and effects that may turn out to be nothing more than a simple sequence of events, has been commented by many authors as a precursor to modern skepticism.

Proceedings

Resurrection of Religious Sciences

The main work of al-Ghazali is the treatise “The Resurrection of Religious Sciences” (Arabic: إحياء علوم الدين‎), which reveals issues of cult practice (ibadat), socially significant customs (adat), “detrimental” character traits (muhlikat) and traits leading to salvation (munjiyat). In this treatise, al-Ghazali defines the main Sufi values ​​and ideals - patience, love, poverty, asceticism. "Resurrection" means the desire to revive the ossified Sunni belief system by defining ways of knowing the truth that combine reason, sincerity and love, honesty and desire for Allah. On the one hand, he values ​​reason as necessary for knowledge, which includes logic, practice, doubt and objectivity. On the other hand, he identifies the levels of glimpses of intuition and ecstasy as one approaches Allah and talks about collective Sufi rituals.

Sufism

• Kimiya-ye sa'dat (Arabic: كمياء السعادة ‎ - Elixir of Happiness) is a book about Sufism written in Farsi. In this book, al-Ghazali criticizes contemporary ulema who turned religious knowledge into a means of achieving worldly goals
• Mishkat al-anwar (“Niche of Light”) - explanation of the hadith about seventy thousand veils

Philosophy

• Maqasid al-falasifa (1094) (Arabic: مقاصد الفلاسفة‎ - philosophers' intentions) - a book that provides an objective and systematic presentation of the basic principles of logic, physics and metaphysics of the Eastern Peripatetics.
• Tahafut al-falasifa (Arabic: تهافت الفلاسفة‎ - self-refutation of philosophers) - an essay that became famous in the West and is considered a refutation of the philosophical school known in the Arab world as “falasifa” (mainly by the followers of al-Kindi). Understanding the title of this book as an attack on philosophy in general is a typical example of the translator's false friends. Ibn Rushd’s polemical book with a refutation of al-Ghazali “Tahafut al-tahafut” (Self-Refutation of Self-Refutation), which is also known in the Jewish tradition, is well known.

Theology

• Al-iqtisad fi l-itikad (1095) (Arabic: الاقتصاد في الاعتقاد‎ - middle way of theology)
• Ar-risala al-Qudsiyya (1097) (“Letter from Jerusalem”)
• Kitab al-arbain fi usul al-din (“Forty chapters on the principles of the Faith”)
• Mizan al-hamal (1095) (Arabic: ميزان العمل‎)
• Faisal at-tafriq baina al-Islam wa az-zandaka (Arabic: Criteria for distinguishing Islam from heretical teachings) - polemical work against the Ismailis (Batinites)

Logics

In his works on logic, al-Ghazali popularized the logic of the Eastern Peripatetics. He did this by changing its terminology and presenting the rules of logic as if they were derived from the Koran and Sunnah.

• Miyar al-ilm (1095)
• Al-Qustas al-Mustaqim (1096) (Arabic: القسطاس المستقيم‎ - Correct scales)
• Mihaq al-nazar (1095) (Arabic (محك النظر (منطق‎))

Publications

• Abu Hamid al-Ghazali. Resurrection of the sciences of faith (“Ihya ulum ad-Din”). Selected chapters / Translation by V.V. Naumkin. - M.: Nauka, 1980.
• Al-Ghazali Abu Hamid. Exploring the innermost secrets of the heart. - Ansar, 2006.
• Al-Ghazali Abu Hamid.“Admonition to Rulers” and other works. - Ansar, 2005.
• Al-Ghazali Abu Hamid.“Scales of Deeds” and other works. - Ansar, 2004.

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