Imam Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Ghazali (r.a.) & the Robbers

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

On his way back from Jurjan to Tus, Imam Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Ghazali (r.a.) was robbed by highwaymen.  When they left him, he followed them but was told, “Leave us or you will die.” 

He replied, “I ask you for Allah’s Sake to only return to me my notes, for they are of no use to you.” 

The robber asked him, “What are those notes?” 

He said, “Books in that satchel, for the sake of which, I left my country in order to hear, write, and obtain their knowledge.” 

The robber laughed and said, “How can you claim that you obtained their knowledge when we took it away from you and left you devoid of knowledge!”  Then he gave an order and the satchel was returned to him. 

Imam al-Ghazali (r.a.) said, “This man’s utterance was Divinely Inspired: Allah Caused him to say this in order to guide me.  When I reached Tus, I worked for three years until I had memorised all that I had written down.”