Al-Ghazali: The Banes of the Tongue – Book 24

In the Banes of the Tongue (Kitāb āfāt al-lisān), book 24 of Imām al-Ghazālī’s 40-volume magnum opus, the Revival of the Religious Sciences (Iḥyāʾ ʿulūm al-dīn), al-Ghazālī divides up the banes, or defects, of the tongue from the least to the most offensive, into twenty chapters. These include seemingly mundane acts, such as speaking about what is not our concern, superfluous chatter, pretentious speech, to more serious defects, such as using obscene words, cursing, ridiculing others, making false promises, lying, gossip, and backbiting (even with gestures and looks).

Al-Ghazālī carefully defines each defect and analyzes both its psychological and spiritual dimensions. He offers examples of how these banes manifest themselves in behavior, highlighting their effects on others, while outlining the consequences for the soul. Finally, he offers practical suggestions for eliminating these banes, and stresses the devastating nature of their consequences, both in this life and in the next.

Al-Ghazālī brilliantly explains the nature of the tongue itself. Of all the organs that we can directly move, the tongue is the most easily used, yet most difficult to control; while seemingly harmless, it is dangerous to ourselves and others. With our tongue, we can communicate the superficial and the profound; we can declare our faith and console our brothers or wound those around us risking our future in the Hereafter. The merit of the solution—often simply silence—can be enormously difficult

While the misuse of the gift of speech is not something new (as this work, composed nearly 950 years ago, amply shows), it is, perhaps, more critical now than ever before. In this age of internet-based communication, we can project anything that comes to mind, both positive and negative, in just a nanosecond. Yet the results of that split-second decision can continue almost indefinitely, causing both harm and regret. Thus, the Banes of the Tongue is highly relevant for our times.

Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (d. 1111) was a leading jurist, theologian, and spiritual master of the golden age of Islam, and he remains its truest advocate in modern times. As a teacher of both inward and outward aspects of faith, he presented these practical teachings in systematic form, with eloquence and precision, in his forty-part compendium of Islamic knowledge.

Fouad Aresmouk grew up in a traditional Marrakesh family, the son of an Arabic teacher in the public school system and grandson of one of the most renowned Qur’an teachers in Marrakesh and muqaddam for the Tijani Sufi order. Fouad completed his degree in Islamic Studies and Arabic at Qadi Ayyad University, Marrakesh, also pursuing a personal study of Sufism in Morocco that continues today. He is the author of al-Rashad fi zabdati alawrad, a commentary (sharh) on the litany of the Habibiyya Sufi order of Morocco, and co-translator of four other of the books of the Fons Vitae Ghazali series into English, as well a number of other works from the Moroccan Sufic tradition. In addition to scholarly pursuits, Fouad is a husband, a father of three. and a co-founder and the human resource manager of the Center for Language and Culture in Marrakesh.

Originally from California, Abdurrahman Fitzgerald and his wife migrated to Morocco in the late 1970s. Since that time, he has been involved in education and the study of Arabic, Islam, and Sufism. He is the co-translator of Ibn al-Qayyim on the Invocation of God (Islamic Text Society, 2000) and, along with Fouad Aresmouk, has translated two portions of Ibn ‘Ajiba’s Quranic commentary, al-Bahr al-Madid, Ibn ‘Ajiba’s spiritual glossary The Book of Ascension, five other books for Fons Vitae’s al-Ghazali’s series, and Letters on the Spiritual Path by Mulay al ‘Arabi al-Darqawi, and the Diwan of Sidi Muhammad ibn al-Habib. Abdurrahman and his wife have two daughters and seven grandchildren. He is a co-founder and senior consultant for the Center for Language and Culture, Marrakesh