Al-Ghazali in Damascus…

While my students and I were reading al-Ghazali (d. 1111) this week in Beirut, I found myself drawn to the passage below about his time in Damascus. After all, Sufism in Syria has a long and rich history…

In due course, I entered Damascus and there I remained for nearly two years with no other occupation than the cultivation of retirement and solitude, together with religious and ascetic exercises, as I busied myself purifying my soul, improving my character and cleansing my heart for the constant recollection of God most high, as I had learnt from my study of mysticism. I used to go into retreat for a period in the mosque of Damascus, going up the minaret of the mosque for the whole day and shutting myself in so as to be alone…

— al Ghazali