جواهر القرآن و درره Quotes

“Also, it has been mentioned to show one of the secrets of the Quran. Those who are heedless of this secret can not realize the pearls hidden in the Quran (that is, the deep meanings of the Quran). When one has the intention to do so, he should exert much effort and seek the help of those who are well-versed in the religious knowledge. One cannot be successful in this field with the help of his limited reason.”
― أبو حامد الغزالي, al-Ghazzali Jewels of the Quran edited by Laleh Bakhtiar

“Thus the Sūrah of Opening has comprised eight of the ten divisions [of the Qur’an]—divine essence, attributes and works, description of the life to come and of the straight path together with both its sides, i.e. purification [of the soul] and making it beautiful, description of [God’s] favour to His friends and of His anger towards His enemies, and [finally] description of the resurrection. Only two divisions [of the Qur’an] fall outside this sūrah, namely, [God’s] argument with infidels and judgements of jurists—two subjects from which the sciences of theology and jurisprudence stem off.[136] From this it becomes clear that [in reality] these two subjects fall into the lowest of the grades of religious sciences. It is only the love of wealth and influence [obtainable by them] which has raised them to a higher status.”
― Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, The Jewels of the Qur'an: A-Ghazali's Theory: A translation, with an introduction and annotation of al-Ghazali's Kitab Jawahir al-Qur'an

“The second division concerns the definition of the path of advancing towards God (may He be exalted!). This is by devoting oneself to the service of God as He (may He be exalted!) said, “Devote yourself to Him very devoutly”[15] (وَتَبَتَّلْ إِلَيْهِ تَبْتِيلًا). Devotion to Him is achieved by advancing towards Him and turning away from things other than Him; and this is expressed in His words, “There is no God but He; so take Him for a guardian.”[16] (لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ فَاتَّخِذْهُ وَكِيلًا) Advancement towards Him can only be achieved by perseverance in remembrance of Him, while turning away from things other than Him is effected by opposing passion, by cleansing oneself from the troubles of this world, and by purification of the soul from them. The result of this purification is prosperity in the Hereafter[17] as God (may He be exalted!) said, “He indeed has achieved prosperity who has purified himself and remembers the name of his Lord and so performs the ritual prayer”[18] (قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَن تَزَكَّى ■ وَذَكَرَ اسْمَ رَبِّهِ فَصَلَّى). Thus the path is supported by two matters, namely, perseverance and opposition—perseverance in remembrance of God (may He be exalted!) and opposition to that which diverts from Him. This is the journey (al-safar) to God.[19]”
― Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, The Jewels of the Qur'an: A-Ghazali's Theory: A translation, with an introduction and annotation of al-Ghazali's Kitab Jawahir al-Qur'an