There are two kinds of Riya - Showing off-Ostentation ie pure ostentation and adulterated ostention. In pure ostentation "Riya" a man does a good deed only for worldly benefit. In Adulterated ostentation, a man does a good deed with the intention of reaping the benefits of the world as well as of the Hereafter.
Al-GhazaliMen have such a good opinion of themselves, of their mental superiority and intellectual depth; they believe themselves so skilled in discerning the true from the false, the path of safety from those of error, that they should be forbidden as much as possible the perusal of philosophic writings.
Al-GhazaliAre you ready to cut off your head and place your foot on it? If so, come; Love awaits you! Love is not grown in a garden, nor sold in the marketplace; whether you are a king or a servant, the price is your head, and nothing less. Yes, the cost of the elixir of love is your head! Do you hesitate? 0 miser, It is cheap at that price!
Al-GhazaliDo not dispute with anyone in any matter as far as possible. For in argumentation lies much harm and its evil is greater than its benefit.
Al-GhazaliWhatever the situation may be, in the recollection of death there is reward and merit. For even the man engrossed in the world benefits from it by acquiring an aversion to this world, since it spoils his contentment and the fullness of his pleasure; and everything which spoils for man his pleasures and his appetites is one of the means of deliverance.
Al-GhazaliIf those who do not possess knowledge avoid the scholarly discussions, disagreement will end.
Al-GhazaliWhoever says that all music is prohibited, let him also claim that the songs of birds are prohibited.
Al-GhazaliPeople count with self-satisfaction the number of times they have recited the name of God on their prayer beads, but they keep no beads for reckoning the number of idle words they speak.
Al-GhazaliTo completely trust in Allah is to be like a child who knows deeply that even if he does not call for the mother, the mother is totally aware of his condition and is looking after him.
Al-GhazaliThis visible world is a trace of that invisible one and the former follows the latter like a shadow.
Al-GhazaliMan's nature is made up of four elements, which produce in him four attributes, namely, the beastly, the brutal, the satanic, and the divine. In man there is something of the pig, the dog, the devil, and the saint.
Al-GhazaliNo one who possesses snow would find any hardship in exchanging it for jewels and pearls. This world is like snow exposed to sun, which continues to melt until it disappears altogether, while the next life is like a precious stone that never passes away.
Al-GhazaliDoes money upset the hearts of learned men? He answered, "men whose hearts are changed by money are not learned"
Al-GhazaliDo not allow your heart to take pleasure with the praises of people, nor be saddened by their condemnation.
Al-GhazaliKnowledge exists potentially in the human soul like the seed in the soil; by learning the potential becomes actual.
Al-GhazaliYou must convince your heart that whatever Allah has decreed is most appropriate and most beneficial for you.
Al-GhazaliIf your busy with yourself now, you will be busy with yourself then. If you are busy with Allah now, you will be with Him then.
Al-GhazaliHalf of disbelief in Allah in the world is caused by people who make religion look ugly due to their bad conduct and ignorance
Al-GhazaliDeclare your jihad on thirteen enemies you cannot see - Egoism, Arrogance, Conceit, Selfishness, Greed, Lust, Intolerance, Anger, Lying, Cheating, Gossiping and Slandering. If you can master and destroy them, then will be ready to fight the enemy you can see.
Al-GhazaliWhen you have a bad suspicion about a Muslim in your heart, you should increase your consideration toward him and make dua for him. This way you will infuriate Satan and will be able to drive him away. Because of this, Satan will be reluctant to put evil thoughts into your heart, afraid that you would increase your consideration towards your brother and will make dua for him again.
Al-GhazaliOffen love between two people intensifies not because of beauty or some advantage, but because of sheer spiritual affinity.
Al-GhazaliThe mere physical man is like the ant crawling on the paper, who observes black lettering and attributes its production to the pen and nothing more.
Al-GhazaliWork for your terrestrial life in proportion to your location in it, and work for your afterlife in proportion to your eternity in it.
Al-GhazaliNeglect not your time, nor use it haphazardly; on the contrary you should bring yourself to account. Structure your litanies and other practices during each day and night. This is how to bring about the spiritual blessing (baraka) in each period. If each of your breaths is a priceless jewel, Be not like the deceived fools who are joyous because each day their wealth increases while their life grows ever shorter.
Al-GhazaliUnderstand that for every rule which I have mentioned from the Quran, the Devil has one to match it, which he puts beside the proper rule to cause error.
Al-GhazaliIf you see Allah, Mighty and Magnificent, holding back this world from you, frequently trying you with adversity and tribulation, know that you hold a great status with Him. Know that He is dealing with you as He does with His Awliya’ and chosen elite, and is watching over you.
Al-GhazaliLove for God is the farthest reach of all stations, the sun of the highest degrees, and there is no station after that of love, except its fruit and its consequences.
Al-GhazaliDo not fix hopes on your health, and do not laugh away life. Remember how they walked and now all their joints lie separately, and the tongue with which they talked lightly is eaten away by the worms
Al-GhazaliRemember it is the heart and not the body, which strives to draw near to God. By heart I do not mean the flesh perceived by the senses, but that secret thing which is sometimes expressed by spirit, and sometimes by soul.
Al-GhazaliThe way to paradise is an uphill climb whereas hell is downhill. Hence, there is a struggle to get to paradise and not to hell.
Al-GhazaliWhoever passes forty without his virtue overpowering his vice, let him get ready for hellfire. This advice contains enough for people of knowledge.
Al-GhazaliEach of your breaths is a priceless jewel, since each of them is irreplaceable and once gone, can never be retrieved.
Al-GhazaliA human-being is not a human-being while his tendencies include self-indulgence, covetousness, temper and attacking other people
Al-GhazaliKnow, O beloved, that man was not created in jest or at random, but marvelously made and for some great end. Although he is not form everlasting, yet he lives for ever; and though his body is mean and earthly, yet his spirit is lofty and divine
Al-GhazaliIf the first inward thought is not warded off, it will generate a desire, then the desire will generate a wish, and the wish will generate an intention, and the intention will generate the action, and the action will result in ruin and divine wrath. So evil must be cut off at its root, which is when it is simply a thought that crosses the mind, from which all the other things follow on.
Al-GhazaliNever have I dealt with anything more difficult than my own soul, which sometimes helps me and sometimes opposes me.
Al-GhazaliWhoever determines the truth from people alone will remain lost in the plains of bewilderment. Rather, know the truth, and you will know its people.
Al-GhazaliAnyone who refuses to marry is shrinking his farmwork, wasting the seed, and leaving idle the appropiate tools created by God; he sins against the purpose of creation and wisdom visible in the evidence of natural structure. The man who refuses to marry has severed a chain of being, a previously unbroken chain linking his own existence to that of Adam.
Al-GhazaliIn the intricate paths of life when difficulties and hardships confront a man, and the darkness of difficulty and suffering becomes long, it is patience only that acts like a light for a Muslim, that keeps him safe from wandering here and there, and saves him from the muddy marsh of disappointment, desperation and frustration.
Al-Ghazali