Elements of Restraint
Al-Ghazālī’s Moral Psychology - From Self-Control to Self-Surrender - Joel Craig Richmond
Joel Craig Richmond [+]
Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University, Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia
Description
Chapter Three Nothing better explains the correct human orientation toward providence than al-Ghazālī’s reminder that two of God’s divine names (asmā’ Allāh al-ḥusnā) are the Patient (al-Ṣabūr) and the Thankful (al-Shakūr). Our immediate concern in chapter three is how these qualities manifest themselves on the path to human perfection. Throughout the chapter, the question of habituation and character reformation is looked at closely as it features in the text of the Revival. No term could be more pertinent to the meaning of self-control than patience, for almost every situation demanded by one quality requires the other, and often, they are virtual synonyms in meaning when used as a pedagogical tool by al-Ghazālī. He mentions that the power to struggle against appetites is itself named patience. This is shown through a host of Qur’anic verses, in addition to numerous narrations and reports, as his methodology requires.