Imam al-Ghazali on the 4 Qualities of a Person - Shaykh Hamza Yusuf
Summary
TLDRThe video explores the concept of four inherent qualities within every human: the dog, pig, demon, and angel, each representing different traits. The dog symbolizes aggression, the pig represents indulgence, the demon embodies malice, and the angel signifies virtue. It emphasizes the importance of self-control, using the intellect to guide these qualities towards positive behavior. By managing the 'dog' and 'pig' natures, one can achieve virtue akin to angelic traits. The script also addresses ethical questions, such as the responsibility for eliciting aggression, ultimately highlighting the spiritual path to righteousness.
Takeaways
- 😇 Each person has four qualities within them: the dog, the pig, the demon, and the angel.
- 🐶 The dog's form is not blameworthy, but its behavior can be. Training a dog can make it praiseworthy.
- 👿 The qualities of the demon and the angel are judged by their behavior, not their form.
- 🐷 The pig's behavior is blameworthy, but its appearance is not. Its actions can be destructive if not controlled.
- 🧠 The intellect should guide the dog (irascible soul) and the pig (concupiscent soul), acting as their shepherd.
- 😊 The result of controlling these qualities is virtue and beautiful characteristics, leading to felicity in the next life.
- 😈 If these qualities serve the concupiscent and irascible soul, the result is vicious character and wretchedness.
- 💭 In dreams, serving a dog or pig while feeling constricted symbolizes serving base qualities over intellect.
- 🙏 Surrendering to base qualities is likened to taking Muslims prisoner and handing them over to disbelievers.
- 🌱 Acting according to the intellect and controlling base qualities plants seeds of felicity for the next life.
Q & A
What are the four qualities mentioned within each person according to the speaker?
-The four qualities mentioned within each person are the qualities of the dog, the pig, the demon, and the angel.
How is the dog characterized in the context of human qualities?
-The dog is characterized by its irascible (easily angered) nature. It can become praiseworthy if trained, but is blameworthy if left untrained and aggressive.
What does the speaker say about the qualities of the demon and the angel?
-The speaker explains that the qualities of the demon and the angel are praise- and blameworthy based on their behavior, not their form.
How does the speaker explain the behavior of the pig?
-The pig is blameworthy in its qualities, particularly its gluttony and tendency to live in filth, but not blameworthy for its external appearance.
What lesson does the speaker draw from the Prophet Muhammad's behavior?
-The speaker notes that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was the most forbearing of men and never lost control of his nature, even when angry. His anger was always measured and appropriate.
What did the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) say about everyone having a demon?
-The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said that everyone has a demon, but Allah helped him with his demon, which became a Muslim. This indicates the need to control one's own demon.
How does the speaker relate the metaphor of a sleeping dog being hit with a stick to ethical responsibility?
-The speaker uses the metaphor to illustrate that if a dog bites someone after being provoked, the responsibility lies with the person who provoked the dog, not the dog itself.
What does the speaker imply about people with a 'pit bull nature'?
-People with a 'pit bull nature' have aggressive tendencies that must be restrained. If not controlled, these tendencies can cause harm to others, similar to an unrestrained pit bull.
How does the speaker describe the relationship between the intellect and the qualities of the dog and the pig?
-The intellect is described as the shepherd that must control the concupiscent (desiring) and irascible (angry) qualities, represented by the pig and the dog, to achieve virtue and avoid vice.
What is the consequence of serving the concupiscent and irascible soul, according to the speaker?
-Serving the concupiscent and irascible soul results in vile qualities and vicious character, which are the seeds of wretchedness in the next life.
Outlines
🐕 Qualities Within the Human Spirit
The paragraph discusses the four qualities inherent in every person: the dog, the pig, the demon, and the angel. It emphasizes that these qualities are metaphorical and relate to behavior rather than physical form. The dog represents untamed behavior, which can be trained and controlled to become praiseworthy. Similarly, the demon and the angel are praised or blamed based on their qualities, not their forms. The paragraph highlights the importance of the heart and intentions in the Islamic tradition, citing the Prophet Muhammad's teachings on the state of the heart over outward appearances.
🐖 Metaphors for Ethical Guidance
This paragraph elaborates on the metaphorical nature of the dog and the pig within the human soul. The dog symbolizes the irascible part of the soul, which can be protective or destructive depending on control. The pig represents the indulgent part, living in filth and gluttony, potentially harmful if not controlled. The text stresses that controlling these animalistic tendencies under the intellect's guidance leads to virtuous behavior and felicity in the next life, while failure to do so results in vicious character and wretchedness.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Dog (el kellb)
💡Pig
💡Demon (Shaitaan)
💡Angel (al-Malek)
💡Irascible soul
💡Concupiscent soul
💡Intellect
💡Virtue
💡Vicious character
💡Seeds of felicity
Highlights
Within each person are four qualities: the dog, the pig, the demon, and the angel.
The dog's qualities are blameworthy in behavior but not in form. Training can transform a dog into a praiseworthy creature.
The prophet said that Allah looks at the state of your heart and intentions, not your outward form.
The pig is blameworthy in its characteristics, not its appearance.
Jahl (ignorance) is also described as acting without forbearance. The prophet was the most forbearing of men.
The prophet mentioned that everyone has a demon, but with Allah's help, he had control over his demon, and it became a Muslim.
Aisha got angry, and the prophet remarked if her demon visited her, highlighting everyone has a demon.
The dog represents the irascible soul, which needs to be controlled to avoid aggressive behavior.
Muslims have ethical traditions regarding the dog's behavior as a metaphor for the irascible part of the soul.
The pig nature represents gluttony and living in filth. It can destroy a human being if uncontrolled.
Shaitan (the demon) and al-Malek (the angel) represent qualities within humans that need to be managed.
The intellect should guide the irascible (dog) and concupiscent (pig) qualities, acting as their shepherd.
Virtue results when the intellect controls these qualities, leading to the development of angelic characteristics.
Vile qualities and vicious character result from serving the irascible and concupiscent soul, leading to wretchedness.
In dreams, serving a dog or pig in a state of constriction symbolizes surrendering to these base qualities.
Transcripts
yeah know that
within the
shell of the son of adam are four things
el kellb the dog the
the pig the shaitaan
the demon and al-malek the angel
so in each person are these four
qualities the quality of the dog the
quality of the pig
quality of the demon and the quality of
the angel
[Music]
well kelvin
the dog is blameworthy in his qualities
but it's not blameworthy in its form its
form is not blameworthy the way it looks
there's nothing wrong with the way it
looks but it's blameworthy in
its behavior so if you train a dog
a dog actually can become a praiseworthy
creature
but if he's not trained he's blameworthy
he's
jumping all over he's spilling things he
is aggressive if he sees something he
doesn't know he just starts growling he
doesn't
know why he's growling it could be a
friend not a foe but he doesn't
distinguish between friend or foe
he's just in that aggressive mode so the
dog
that's the state of the dog and like
that the demon and the angel
the blame and the praise of these two
creatures is in their qualities
it's not in their forms
the prophet sallallahu alaihi said
what's the state of your heart your
intentions that's what allah looks at he
doesn't look at your outward forms
it's not in their form or how they've
been created
and like that the pig
is blameworthy in his qualities
in his characteristics and he's not
blameworthy in his external appearance
you can't blame a pig for the way it
looks but the way it behaves
that's another thing now one of the
meanings of jahl
is also to act with zealousness
it's to act without him is forbearance
he was the most forbearing of men he
never lost it
if you study his seerah you will not see
that the prophet sallallahu
alaihi wasallam ever lost control of his
nature
he just he didn't happen because he was
always
in possession of his
he was and it restrains
and so even when he was angry his anger
was
measured it was measured it was
appropriate
because there's a time for anger it's
not just accept everything and don't get
angry no you should get angry
and things should make you angry that
are unjust
that are improper but
how does that anger manifest that's the
difference
so the prophet salallahu
there's none of you except that he has a
demon
even i have a demon the prophet's elijah
even i have a demon but allah has helped
me with my demon and he became a muslim
so he's telling us there you have a
demon
when aisha got very angry what the
prophet salla islam said
attacking did your shaytan
give you a visit and he said
do i have a demon everybody has a demon
so now you know so what's going on
are you behaving as a human being
or are you under the influence of a
demon
in your behavior that's the question is
this from your demon
so those are those the four things so
the kelp
is the koa it's the irascible soul
the metaphor of that i give a talk in
in oxford and i i was talking about
the danish cartoons and i said in the
talk
that if you have a sleeping dog and
you go and you take a stick and you hit
it and then it bites you
who's responsible morally who's
responsible is the dog
responsible for biting you or are you
responsible
for eliciting that response from the dog
that's an ethical question and one of
the muslims got really upset that i was
like comparing muslims to dogs
but i was basing it on this idea
that this is part of the muslim ethical
tradition that the dog
is the erasable part of your soul and
the dog is a good
quality when it's guarding when the dog
is guarding
but if it's biting your baby and tearing
its leg off
like the pit bull people that have pit
bulls
and so the neighbor's baby is out
playing and the person
his pitbull goes over and eats that
happens in america you have people that
have pit bulls
there's people that have pit bull
natures and they're not aware of it
so if you don't have your pitbull nature
on a leash
so then when it's uh going crazy you're
restraining it
so that it doesn't go and eat the next
door neighbor's baby
so that's the dog nature and then you
have the kinzier nature
people have the kansai nature the pig
nature the pig
eats all day long it lives in its own
filth
if it gets too hungry it will eat its
own children
that's the pig so that's the pig nature
will actually destroy the human being
if it gets out of control but if you can
control it
then it becomes beneficial for you and
then shaitan the demon
and then the malek he also calls it the
sheikh as the sage
as well so what kadarika
like that is the concubine and irascible
so it has to be under the sovereignty
the control of the intellect
so that they do not do anything except
with the command of the intellect
the intellect is the one guiding the
concupiscent
and the harassable the the dog and the
pig it's the shepherd
the intellect is the shepherd of these
two
qualities
if he is able to do that then
the result is beautiful characteristics
the result is virtue
that's the result that the person
becomes a virtuous character was
and these are the qualities of angels
and this is the seed of felicity in the
next life
you're planting the seeds of felicity in
the next life
by acting according to this
but if they act in contradiction to that
and serve the concupiscent and the
harassable soul
the result is vile qualities
the result is vicious character
and these are the qualities of demons
and these are the seeds of wretchedness
in the next life
this will manifest in a dream as if he's
standing
in a state of total constriction serving
the dog and the pig
so if somebody sees in their dream that
they're serving a dog or a pig
and they're in a state of constriction
this is what it means
that's what he's saying that in the
science of dreams that's what that means
and this type of person is comparable to
the one
who takes a group of muslims
prisoner and hands them
over to kafirin to disbelievers
it's as if you're taking the intellect
prisoner and you're
giving the intellect the muslim you're
giving
them over to the cafe that's what he's
saying
that when you surrender your will to the
your concupiscent and your irascible
soul to the pig and the dog
and the demon this is what you've done
you've surrendered
muslims to the cafe
because they're ingrains that they're
not they don't appreciate the nema the
blessings
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