to the door of the Beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم. If you seek the Merciful Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم, go to the doors of the saints.^[1]

This verse, after enjoining piety, commands the seeking of a wasīlah. This indicates that nobody can do without this, no matter how righteous they are.

No Muslim should think, “I am pious, so I no longer need a wasīlah.” Just as every believer needs good deeds and piety, every pious person needs a wasīlah. ^[2]

صَلُّوۡا عَلَى الۡحَبِيۡب                                     صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلٰى مُحَمَّد

Al-Ghazālī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه as a mujaddid

For around eleven years, Imam al-Ghazālīرَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه  lived in seclusion, devoting his time to acts of worship and spiritual discipline. During this time, trials and tribulations arose that required a learned scholar to confront them. The king of the time wrote letters to al-Ghazālī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه, requesting him to leave his solitude, return to Baghdad, and rescue the Ummah from these trials.

After repeated requests, al-Ghazālī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه consulted various Sufi masters, all of whom said that the time for seclusion had ended. It was now necessary to confront the trials and prevent the Ummah from going astray. Some Sufi masters even received spiritual indications through dreams confirming this.

Imam al-Ghazālī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه began teaching and writing yet again, busying himself with countering tribulations and protecting the community from misguidance.

He faced three major challenges simultaneously:

1)      Misguided philosophers.

In that era, philosophy was at an all-time high in terms of popularity. Select misguided philosophers began objecting to Islam due to their limited