Summary:
Allah grants no better gift to a student than sound reasoning and good manners. If both are lost, then death is better than living without them.

The Greatest Gift for Students: Common Sense and Good Manners

Mochamad Anwar Thohiri

ما وهب الله لإمرئ هبة 🌼 أحسن من عقله ومن أدبه

هما جمال الفتى فإن فقدا 🌼 ففقده للحياة أجمل به

Indeed, Allah does not grant a student a better gift than sound reasoning and good manners. If both are lost, then death is a better path than living without them."

Let me know if you'd like me to refine it further!

In the introduction to Al-Mustashfa, Imam Al-Ghazali explains that reason (aql) serves as the judge, while the Sharia acts as the witness. This means that a judge cannot render a decision without a basis (evidence) or testimony from a witness. Conversely, the testimony of a witness cannot be implemented without a judge's ruling.

Here, Imam Al-Ghazali likens the relationship between reason and Sharia to a court proceeding. It becomes clear that a just witness and a wise judge will result in a decision that brings benefit (maslahah).

تَنَاطَقَ قَاضِي الْعَقْلِ وَهُوَ الْحَاكِمُ الَّذِي لَا يُعْزَلُ وَلَا يُبَدَّلُ، وَشَاهِدُ الشَّرْعِ وَهُوَ الشَّاهِدُ الْمُزَكَّى الْمُعَدَّلُ، بِأَنَّ الدُّنْيَا دَارُ غُرُورٍ لَا دَارُ سُرُورٍ

According to Imam Al-Ghazali, reason and Sharia—the judge and the witness—agree that this worldly life is a place of deception, not a realm of true joy.

This temporary world is not the place to seek ultimate happiness. Failing to recognize this can cause us to abandon the rules of Sharia and lose our sound reasoning due to being deceived by worldly allurements.

Only those who pursue obedience will find salvation—this obedience is achieved through knowledge and action. Imam Al-Ghazali positions both as essential components of devotion. Some obey Allah through their deeds, while others do so through their knowledge. However, the highest form of devotion is knowledge, as it is a part of action. Therefore, the knowledge we acquire and the deeds we perform should serve as a means of obedience to Allah (SWT).

وَالطَّاعَةُ طَاعَتَانِ عَمَلٌ وَعِلْمٌ، وَالْعِلْمُ أَنْجَحُهَا وَأَرْبَحُهَا، فَإِنَّهُ أَيْضًا مِنْ الْعَمَلِ

In conclusion, sound reason combined with the evidence of Sharia gives rise to knowledge and action as forms of a servant's obedience to the Creator. Sami’na wa Atha’na—we hear

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