Bidayat al-Hidaya (The Beginning of Guidance)
Definition
The book's title; al-Ghazali's starting point on the path, by which the seeker tests whether his heart is truly inclined to act upon knowledge
As understood in the classical tradition of Imam al-Ghazali and the scholars of his school.
How the scholars use Bidayat al-Hidaya (The Beginning of Guidance).
-
"Know that Allah Almighty oversees your innermost thoughts and watches over your outward and inward state. You are always under His watch. The Beginning of Guidance, by the Imam al-Ghazali. Know, O seeker who is eager to acquire knowledge and shows sincere desire and deep thirst for it, that if your intention behind seeking knowledge is for rivalry, ostentation, to surpass peers, to attract people's attention to you or to gather the remnants of this worldly life, then you are striving to destroy your religion, ruin yourself and trade your hereafter for your worldly life."
— Imam al-Ghazali, The Beginning of Guidance · playable in the free preview
-
"an outward and an inward aspect, and you cannot reach its end except after perfecting its beginning, nor discover its inward except after standing on its outward. Here I am pointing you to the beginning of guidance, so that you may test your heart with it. If you find your heart inclined towards it, and yourself compliant with it and accepting of it, then continue on to seek the ends and delve into the seas of sciences."
— Imam al-Ghazali, The Beginning of Guidance · playable in the free preview
-
"Do not let your wealth overshadow your honor. This much suffices you, my young fellow, as a beginning of guidance. Test yourself with it. It consists of three parts, a section on the etiquette of obedience, a section on abstaining from sins, and a section on interacting with people, encompassing the comprehensive dealings of a servant with the Creator and the creation."
— Imam al-Ghazali, The Beginning of Guidance
Appears in
1 book in the library
Hear the term in context.
Every book above uses Bidayat al-Hidaya (The Beginning of Guidance) the way the classical scholars meant it. Listen with the full Study Kit in the app.