Aslam

At Baghdad, he was appointed principal of Nizamiyah Madrasha by Nizamul Mulk the chief vizier of the Turkish ruler Malek Shah. Being thus appointed at an early age to such a high post, his popularity as a great learned man spread far and wide and the rulers and the chieftains used to consult him in state affairs and theological matters.

LECTURES OF IMAM GHAZZALI: In the lectures of the Imam, hundreds of learned men and dignitaries of the State and even the ruling princes attended. His lectures were full of arguments and reasons and they were mostly recorded by Sayeed-b-Fares and Ibn Lobban. They recorded nearly 183 of his lectures which were completed in a book named Majalesse-Ghazzali.

The great Imam then turned his mind to gain spiritual heights and the circumstances leading to it were recorded by him in his book Munkezum Minaddalal (Deliverance from error). He was a follower of Imam Shafeyi in his early age but in Baghdad he mixed freely with the peoples of all sects and thoughts and ideas. There were then the Shias, the Sunnis, Zindiqs, Magians, Scholastic theologians, Christians, Jews, atheists fire-worshippers and idol worshippes. There were also the Deists, the Materialists, the Naturalists, the philosophers.
They used to meet in mutual wars of argumentations and debates. This had such an effect in the mind of the Imam that his whole life became changed and he began to search for truth with a free mind. His old ideas disappeared and he began to live in

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doubts. He then became inclined to Sufism but here practical actions were more required than mere belief. Beng imbued with such an idea, he gave up his lucrative post at Baghdad, wore Sufi dress and left Baghdad suddenly one night in 488 A.H.

He then went to Damascus and closetted himself in a room of its mosque and began attentively the divine services, meditations and Zikr. Thus he spent here two years in solitude. At the age of 27 years, he was initiated by Pir'Abu Ali Farnedi who was the spiritual guide of also the vizier Nizamul Mulk. After two years he went to Jerusalem and visited the birth place of Jesus Christ and in 499 A.H. he visited the holy shrine of Hazrat Abraham and made there three promises:- 1) he will not go to the Darbar of any ruler, 2) he will never accept their presentation, 3) he will not join any religious debates. He fulfilled these promises up to his death.
Then he went to Mecca for pilgrimage and visited also Medina and stayed there for a long time. When he returned hdme, he was requested by the ruler to accept the post of the principal of Nizamia Madrashah and he accepted it. When the ruler was assassinated by an assassin, he gave up the post and went to Tas and closetted himself in a khankah. The new ruler requested the Imam to join his post of the principal but he declined the offer.