Following the Sunnah In Imam Ghazali’s Kitaab Al-Arba’in Fi Usul ad-Din, The Forty Principles of the Religion, which is a summary of his great work, Ihya Ulum ad-Din, he has a chapter on Following the Sunnah. He discusses the importance of following the Prophet (peace be on him) and establishing a bondship with him. Not just following him in ibadah but in all spheres of our life. Importantly, he emphasises that we should do this even if we do not understand the wisdom behind and refers to three secrets why we should do this. Inward and outward – Secret 1 In the three secrets which should motivate us to follow the sunnah, the first is that there is a hidden connection between the outward action and the inward state. This means that by following the Sunnah we enhance our spiritual state and our closeness to Allah Almighty. We see this is wudu and salah which are external actions that have internal effects such as inner purification. Polish the heart – Secret 2 The second secret is to polish the heart because a heart clouded by dunya cannot reflect divine light. The heart is polished through istighfar and sincere worship, dhikr of Allah, removing base desires and ridding the character of evil traits.   He also mentions that we need to ‘straighten’ our heart, as a mirror that is crooked will reflect distorted images. Straightening the heart means that one’s limbs conform to justice. It means that you to put things in their proper places. This is called tadeel which derives from the word adl, meaning justice. Therefore the definition of justice is to put things where they belong. This has a broad application. Control your desires – Secret 3 The third secret to your happiness is to refrain from lower … Continue reading Ghazali’s third secret – control desire