Logia et Agrapha Domini Jesu

Part Two

Anthony Alcock

The following is an English version of Arabic texts 51 to 103 published by Miguel Asin y Palacios in Patrologia
Orientalis 13 (1919) 379-431.1 The texts are taken from the work of al-Ghazâli Revival of Religious Disciplines
( ‫ احياء علوم الدين‬ihya' 'ulûm ad-dîn), abbreviated here as Ih. A summary of Asin's comments about the reliability
of the texts can be found in Part One.2 Asin occasionally cites more than one source, but I have not given the
reference to these sources, except occasionally to the work cited as It. written by the 11th cent, AD Sayyid
Murtâdha. Where there are several versions of the same text, I have translated only the one in al-Ghazâli's work,
but have referred to the others in my note following the translation. On pp. 342ff. of PO 13 there is a conspectus
siglorum that provides full bibliographical details of other abbreviations.

The text below is not and is not intended to be a complete translation Asin's considerable work of scholarship.

51. Ih. III 169, 12

Jesus said: "Demand something that fire cannot consume." They asked him: "What ?" He replied:
"What is good."
Matth. 6, 19ff. Asin has a text in square brackets following the final word of the printed text ‫المعروف‬, which may be
translated as 'generously assigned to your next of kin', but there is no Arabic text or New Testament text from which it
might have been translated.

52. Ih. III 176, 10

John son Zachary encountered the devil in imaginary form and said to him: "Devil, tell me whom
you like and whom you dislike." He replied: "I like the honest miser and I dislike the dishonest
profligate." John said : "Why ?" The Devil said to him: "Because the miser satisfies us with his
greed, whereas the profligate, I am afraid that God may see him acting generously and receive him
in a kindly way." The devil then turned his back, saying: "If you were not John, I would not tell you

1 I am very grateful to Prof. J. R. Ginestar for sending me a reprint of the text that is much easier to read than the one I
used before.

2 http://www.academia.edu/10398212/Logia_et_Agrapha_1

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this."
No source but from a reliable author, Nafi', a 7th-8th AD writer who has recorded traditions imparted to him directly by
the disciples of Muhammad. Asin quotes an alternative version in which the Devil maintains that he dislikes the
'generous hypocrite', because God loves generosity so much that he would forgive the hypocrisy.

53. Ih. III 182, 18 inf.

I have heard that Jesus son of Mary said: "Iniquitous men of learning, you fast and pray and are
upright. But you not do what you order and you teach what you do not know. How wickedly you
use your judicial authority ! Your repentance is only in word and profession of faith, but your
actions are moved by base desires. What does it profit you to cleanse your bodies while your hearts
are truly polluted ? Do not, I tell you, be like the sieve that cleans the flour but retains the bran. You
produce wisdom from your mouths, but in your hearts the hatred remains. Servants of this world !
How is he to attain the life to come, he whose greed is not satisfied by the things of this world and
whose desires are never.ending ? Truly, I say to you that your hearts will weep because of your
deeds. You have placed this world beneath your tongues and good works beneath your feet. I say to
you that you will corrupt the life to come (*). So, the goodness3 of this world is more pleasing to
you than that of the life to come. Who among you will go astray (*) if he knows4 this ? Woe to you.
princes ! (*). You show them the way who make the journey by night while yourselves take your
rest in the house of the stricken (*) as if you were calling on the people of the world to leave it for
you gradually. Woe to you ! What is the use of putting a lamp above a dark house while the interior
is dark and deserted ? Similarly, the light of knowledge is of no use to your mouths as long your
insides are devoid and deprived of knowledge. Servants of this world ! You are not to be considered
as servants who fear their master or as abundantly endowed free men. It will soon be the case that
the world itself will tear you from your roots in such a way that it will lay you flat on your faces,
with earth in your nostrils and the hair of your heads removed so that you will pay the penalty for
your sins, and push you from behind naked to the Angel of Reckoning, who after making you aware
of your ignominy will punish your wicked deeds."
Variant text in some passages is marked (*) but not translated. Gospel parallels: Matth. 23, 25ff; 15, 14; 7,15; 23, 24, 4
and 14. (The order in which Asin gives them). Asin has a long note on the passage, at the beginning of which he says
that the same speech in the same words is attested by Abu Tâlib al-Makkî, a 10th cent. AD writer. He gives translations
of several passages (e.g. from the 7th cent AD Wahab ibn Mutannabih), but I have not included them here.

3 ‫صلح‬

4 Arabic: 'if you know this'.

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54. Ih. III 188, 17 inf.
It is said on the authority5 of Jarîr al-Laith that a companion of Jesus son of Mary said to him: "I
will come with you." They left and came to the river bank, where they sat down to eat. They had
three loaves with them, two of which they had eaten and one of which was left. Jesus stood up and
went to the iver. After he had drunk water from it, he returned. Unable to find the remaining loaf, he
said to his companion: "Who has taken the loaf ?" The other replied: "I do not know." Jesus then left
and his companion with him. He then saw a gazelle6 with two of its young. He called one of them,
and it came. He killed it, grilled it and ate it, with his companion. He then said to the calf: "With the
permission of God, arise." The calf arose and went. He then said to his companion: "By the one who
has let you see this miracle,7 tell me who took the loaf." He said that he did not know. They reached
the river and Jesus took his companion by the hand and both walked over the water. After they had
reached the other side, Jesus said: " By the one who has let you see this miracle, tell me who took
the loaf." He said that he did not know. They then came to a deserted spot. They sat down, and Jesus
mixed some dust with sand and said to it: "With the permission of God, you will be made into
gold." And it was made into gold, which Jesus divided it into three parts and said: "One part is for
me, one for you and one for the person who took the loaf." He replied: "It was I took the loaf."
Jesus said: "The gold is all yours." Jesus then departed and left him alone. Two men came walking
through the desert towards the one with the gold, with the intention of taking the gold from him and
killing him. He said: "Let the gold be divided into three parts and let one of you go to town to buy
food for us to eat." So one of them went, saying to himself: "Am I to share this gold with the other
two ? By no means ! I will secretly put poison in their food, thus killing them both, so that I will
have all the money for myself." This is what he said and this is what he did. Meanwhile, the other
two said: "Why give this man a third of the gold ? When he returns, let us kill him and share his
portion." When he returned, they killed him, ate the food and died. The gold remained in the desert,
with three dead bodies lying beside it. As Jesus walked past them, he said to his disciples: "This is
the world, Beware of it !"

There are three more versions of this story: version 2 is taken from a work by the 12th-13th cent. writer Abu Bakr al-
Tortûshî, version 3 from another text written by al-Ghazâlî and version 4 from Abu Tâlib al-Makkî. Asin says that there
are 8 versions that can be grouped into 4 'families'. The coherence with Gospel passages is threefold: (1) Matth. 8, 19ff

5 ‫عن‬

6 ‫ الخشف‬cf. E.W. Lane Arabic-English Lexicon (1863) Bk 1 p. 743

7 ‫الية‬

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and Lk. 9, 57ff., illustrating faith and self-denial; (2) Matth. 14, 24ff., miracle of walking on water; (3) Mk. 6, 36, from
which an elaborate story of self-destructive greed has been woven, cf. B. Pick Paralipomena (1908) p. 102.

55. Ih. III 203, 4 inf.

Jesus Christ said: "When it is a fasting day, let each of you anoint his head and his beard and wipe8
his lips lest he appear to be fasting. When he gives with his right hand, let him hide it from his left.
When he prays, let him drop the covering of his door. For God distributes praise as He distributes
nourishment."
Matth. 6, 3ff., 6, 17ff. One of the Muslim authorities for this is Abdallah ibn a-Mas'ûd, a contemporary of Muhammad.

56. Ih. 235, 21

Christ said: "Blessed is the one to whom God has taught His book. His pride will not remain."
Asin can find no support in the NT or Muslim sources for this despite obvíously echoing the Beatitudes, the fullest text
of which is Matth. 5, 3.

57. Ih. III 237,

Christ said: "Blessed are the humble in this world, for they will occupy elevated places9 on the day
of judgement. Blessed are those who make peace between men in this world, for they will inherit
paradise on the day of judgement. Blessed are those pure in heart, for they will see God on the day
of judgement.
A selection of beatitudes, mostly in Matth. The first here seems to be a composite, with allusions to Matth. 18, 4 and 23,
12; the second and third are Matth. 5, 9 and 5, 8, respectively.

58. Ih. III 287, 11 inf.

It is said that God revealed this to Jesus: "When I grant you a blessing, you will accept it humbly,
and I will perform it.
Not known in Christian or Muslim sources.

59. Ih. III 240, 6

Jesus said: "Seed germinates in soft ground but not on rock. Wisdom works in the same way in a
humble heart but not in a proud heart. Is it not clear that that one whose head touches the ceiling
will injure his head, whereas the one who walks with bowed head will be shaded and protected by
the ceiling ?"

8 ‫مسح‬, which can also mean 'anoint' or 'polish'.

9 Ar. ‫ المنابر‬refers to the elevated place from which a sermon is preached in a mosque, but there may be some
confusion here with ‫المنا ئر‬, from which the call to prayer and which refers to the top of the mosque.

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The first part refers to Matth. 13, 3ff. The second part is described by Asin as omnino agrapha.

60. Ih. III 247, 14 inf.

Jesus said: "Fine clothing and arrogant heart."
Lk. 7, 25

61. Ih. III 247, 1 inf.

Jesus said: "Why do you come dressed like monks10 when your hearts are as rapacious as wolves ?
Put on the garments of kings but mortify your hearts with the fear of God."
The first part eachoes Matth. 7, 15, where the wolves in sheep's clothing are pseudoprophets. The second part can be
ascribed to Bakr ibn Abdallâh al-Muzani, who died about 722 AD.

62. Ih. III 288, 3

The apostles said to Jesus: "Look at this house of prayer.11 How beautiful it is !" Jesus said: "My
people, my people, I say you in truth. God will not leave one stone of this building on another but
will destroy it to punish his people. God does not care for gold or silver or those stones you admire.
Of all things this is the most precious to God; a good heart. For the sake of good hearts God will
make the land flourish. But if the opposite is true, he will destroy the land."
A medley of Gospel sources: Matth. 24, 1ff., Mk. 13, 1ff. and Lk. 21, 5ff. There is also some similarity to Jo. 4, 21ff.

63. Ih. (a) IV 9, 14

Jesus ended up by placing a stone as headrest on his bed. The devil then came and said to him:
"Have you left this world for the other ? " Jesus said: "Yes. Why ?"12 The devil said: "Because you
have got a headrest for yourself when you sleep in this world and do not rest your head on the
earth." Jesus threw away the stone and placed his head on the earth.
There are several versions of this story which mostly agree with each other. The only Gospel passages that approximate
to the incidents related are Matth. 4, 1ff. and 8, but they are fairly remote.

64. Ih. IV 145, 3

Jesus said: "You do not attain to the things you love unless you tolerate the things that you do not
love."
10 ‫رهبان‬. Lane Lexicon p. 1168 cites two Muslim traditions about monasticism (‫)رهبانية‬: that it does not exist in Islam
and that it is a state of preparedness for the holy war (‫)جهاد‬,

11 ‫المسجد‬

12 Lit. "What has happened ?"

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Jo. 12, 25

65. Ih. IV 52, 18 inf.

I have seen in the Gospel that Jesus son of Mary said: "It is said of old that tooth is for tooth and
nose for nose. I say to you: 'Do not counter evil with evil, but do the opposite: if one strikes you on
the right cheek, turn the left one to him and if anyone takes your cloak, offer him your loincloth and
if anyone forces you to walk a mile with him, walk two miles.'"
Matth. 5, 38ff., where 'nose' ='eye' ; 'cloak' ='garment'; 'loincloth' = 'cloak'.

66. Ih. IV 98, 8

It is told that Zachary fled from the faithless children of Israel and hid himself in a tree. When they
saw this, they brought a saw and sawed the tree until it struck his head and he let out a cry of
distress.13 God revealed to him: "If I hear you moan a second, I will remove your name from the
list14 of the prophets." Zachary patiently bore it until he was split into two.
This legend is handed down by various Muslim writers. St Jerome in his commentary of Matthew 23 says it has been
recorded in quibusdam apocryphorum somniis. The prophet Isaiah was executed with a saw cf. R.H. Charles Ascension
of Isaiah (1900) p. 40, and it is possible that the names of the two prophets have been confused.

67. Ih. IV 110, 18

It is told that a certain brigand in Israel had committed robberies for forty years. One day Jesus,
followed by one of his pious Israelite disciples, passed by him. The thief said to himself: "This is
the son of God passing by with a disciple at his side. If I go down and join them, there will be three
of us." So he went down with the intention of joining the two of them. But looking down on himself
and up to the apostle, he said to himself: "Someone like me does not walk with this pious man." He
spoke and blessed the apostle,15 who said to himself: "This man is in a hurry to walk beside me." He
walked towards Jesus and, in this way, moved further away from the thief. At that point, God said to
Jesus: "Tell both that they have to re-do their good deeds because I have deleted everything that
they have done so far. The good deeds of the apostle have been cancelled because of his pride and
the wicked deeds of the other because he has disdained himself." Jesus said this to both, and took
the thief with him on his travels, where he made him one of his apostles.
Asin has an extended note, in which it is clear that the Gospel passage referred to is Lk. 18, 9ff. After the text translated

13 Asin appears to translate ‫ انة‬as gemitus. I have not been able to find the Arabic word in Wehr or Lane.

14 ‫الديوان‬

15 Asin's translation seems to be relatively free here. I am not sure that my version is any better.

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above there is a further incomplete passage of Arabic from an 10th-11th cent. writer al Qushairi abbreviated to RC,
which he has translated in his note.

68. Ih. IV 124, 12

It is told that Christ said: "Community of apostles, you fear sin, but we, the community of prophets,
fear faithlessness."
Unknown in Christian or Muslim sources.

69. Ih. IV 131, 1 inf.

John son Zachary went into the temple while he was still a boy of eight.16 He saw pious men clothed
in a loose garment of hair and wool, the more perfect of them tearing at their collarbones and
inserting iron chains into them and inflicting harm on themselves against the walls of the temple.
Struck by fear, he went back home. On the way he passed by some children playing, who said to
him: "John, come and play with us." He said: "I was not made for playing." He arrived home and
asked his parents to put animal hair on him. He then returned. wearing the hair, to the temple, where
he served the priests by day and tended the burning lamps by night. When he was fifteen, he left the
temple to find a dwelling in the hills and caves. So when they went out to look for him, they
followed him as far as the small lake of the Jordan,17 in which his feet had been for such a long time
that, overcome by thirst, he was near to death. He kept on crying out: "Through your glory and
majesty, I will not drink cold water until I know my place with you." His father asked him to break
his fast and eat a little barley bread that he had with him and drink a little water from the river. He
did this, and made a vow in obedience to his father, for which he was praised by God. His parents
brought him back to the temple, and there, when he began to pray, he implored the trees and the
rocks to pray with him. Zachary, moved by his son's lament, prayed so vehemently that he became
unconscious. His son did not cease from his lament until, his cheeks lacerated by tears, his teeth
became exposed to all those looking at him. His mother said: "Please allow me to cover up your
teeth from the gaze of the onlookers." He gave her permission, and she took two pieces of cloth18
and put them on his lacerated cheeks. Each time John prayed the pieces of cloth became soaked
with the tears, and his mother removed them, squeezed out the tears and replaced them. John, seeing
the tears running down his mother's arms, cried out: "My God, these are my tears and this is my
mother and I am your servant. You are the most merciful of all the merciful." One day Zachary said

16 The word that follows is ‫حخخ‬, which I do not understand in this context.

17 Presumably Lake Tiberias

18 Ar, 'two pieces'.

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to him: "My son, I have asked God to grant you to me that my eyes may rest upon you." John said
to him: "The angel Gabriel has instructed me that between paradise and hell there is a great desert
that can be crossed only with tears." Zachary said: "My son, you must therefore weep."
This story is of Muslim origin. Al-Ghazâli and his commentator both point to Ibn 'Umar (7th cent. AD) as the source.
The Gospel story of John the Baptist is at its most extensive in Matth. 3, 1ff. This story records a tradition of the almost
excessive severity of pre-Christian and pre-Muslim devotion. On the subject of excesses in the Islamic period, cf. Ignaz
Goldhizer 'De l'ascétisme aux premiers temps de l'Islame' Revue de l'Histoire des Religions 37 ( 1898) pp, 315ff

70. Ih. IV 132, 13

Christ said: "Company of apostles, fear of the Lord and love of paradise generate patience in
difficulty and distance you from this world. Truly, I tell you to eat barley and sleep among the
refuse with the dogs, a little to ask for paradise."19
There is no Gospel reference here. It seems to be of some antiquity. Asin refers the adage to no. 39 of the collection, at
the end of which Christ tells the apostles to eat barley and sleep with the dogs.

71. Ih. IV 140, 10

It is told that Christ when travelling on foot walked by a man sleeping wrapped in a cloak. Christ
roused him from sleep and said: "Arise and think of God." He replied: "What do you want of me ? I
have left this world to those who are of this world." Christ said: "Sleep on."
Lk. 12, 30. The story illustrates the superior worth of poverty and indifference to the world.

72. Ih. IV 140, 8 inf.

Christ said: "It is only with difficulty that the rich will enter heaven."
Matth. 19, 23 is only one of the Gospel sources.

73. Ih. IV 140, 4 inf.

Christ said: "I love poverty and hate wealth." Of all the names the one dearest to him was 'pauper'.
The nearest NT passage is James 2, 5. The earliest Muslim source seems to be the 10th cent. Abu Tâlib al-Makkî.

74. Ih. IV 144, 4 inf.

Christ said; "Pay no attention to the wealth of people of this world. The splendour of their wealth is
surpassed by the light of your faith."
There seems to be no condemnation of wealth as such here. Morality seems to depend on human actions.

19 Lit. 'in asking paradise a little'. I understand it to mean that this humility is a small price to pay for paradise.

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75. Ih. IV 158. 3 inf.
Christ said: "The world is a bridge: pass over it and do not make your home there." They said to
him: "Prophet of God, please teach us how to build a house in which we can worship God." He
replied: "Go and build your house on water." The disciples said: "How is it possible to build a house
on water ?" He said: "How is it possible to build the worship of God on love of the world ?"
An echo of Matth. 7, 26. One of the Muslim writers ascribes first part of the story to Muhammad. In another version of
the second Christ cites the futility of building a house on a public highway.

76. Ih. IV 159, 12

It is told that our Prophet and Christ said: "There are four things that cannot be obtained without
hard work: silence, which is the beginning of the pious life; humility; constant remembrance of
God; and the triviality of secular matters."
There are various Muslim sources for this, but no Christian ones.

77. Ih. IV 159, 10 inf.

'Ubaîd son of 'Umaîr said: "Jesus son of Mary used to wear garments of camel hair. He used to eat
from the fruits of trees. He did not have a son who could die or a house that could fall into ruin. He
used not to save for the next day.Wherever he was at nightfall, there he used to sleep."
There are several Muslim sources for this. The Christian ones are references are mostly in Matth. 6.

78. Ih. IV 163, 6

It is told of John son of Zachary that he used to wear a rough upper garment to make marks on his
skin to avoid the softness of a light garment and escape from the comfort that was good to the
touch. His mother asked him to wear wool instead of this harsh material. which he did until he
heard the voice of God: "John, so you prefer this world to me." John wept, tore off the woollen
garment and returned to his former clothing.
For a Gospel parallel cf. Matth. 3, 4 and 11, 8. It is clearly connected with the narrative of no. 69

79. Ih. IV 163, 9

Jesus sat in the shade of a wall belonging to a man. The owner of the wall moved it. Jesus said to
him: "It is not you who have moved me, but He who did not want me to relax in the shade of the
wall."
Asin quotes another version of the 9th cent. Suleiman al-Darânî, in which Jesus is asked by the owner of the wall to
move. The story may be an 'amplification' of Matth. 8, 20 in the tradition of what came to be known in Europe as the
Wandering Jew.

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80. Ih. IV 164m 14 inf.
Christ said to the sons of Israel: "You should use pure water and wild herbs. Avoid barley bread if
you are unable to offer thanks."
There is no Gospel source for this. Fot the Muslim sources cf. sayings 39 and 70 in this collection

81. Ih. 167, 9 inf.

Jesus Christ used to carry nothing with him but a comb and a jug. He saw a man combing his beard
with his fingers and threw his comb away. He saw another man using his hands to drink water from
the river and threw his jug away.
Not attested in Muslim sources, it is nevertheless in keeping with al-Ghazâli' view of Jesus as the perfect example of
abstinence and rejection of the world. For a Gospel parallel cf. Mk. 6, 8. On drinking with the hands cf. Diogenes
Laertius Philosophers 6, 37 on Diogenes of Sinope.

82. Ih. 190, 14

Jesus said: "Look at the birds, who neither sow nor reap nor store their food, and God nourishes
them daily. If you say: 'But we have a larger stomach', then look at the camels and how God has
provided natural sustenance for them."
In Muslim sources this can be traced back to the 8th cent. AD. The Gospel sources are Matth. 6, 26 and Lk. 12, 24.

83. Ih. IV 205, 7 inf.

Jesus said. "There is no wise man who does not rejoice when the body and its riches are beset by
disasters and illnesses, when it is hoped that this will benefit the forgiveness of sins."
A Christian sentiment but an unattested Christian adage. It is attested in Muslim sources.

84. Ih. IV 206, 10

It is said that Jesus walked past three men, emaciated with faces that changed colour. He said to
them: "How did you come to be in this condition ?" Their reply: "Fear of hell." Jesus said: "God is
obliged to protect those who are afraid." A little further on, he passed three more sleeping bodies,
even more emaciated with discoloured faces, and asked them the same question. They replied:
"Desire for paradise." Jesus said: "God is obliged to give you what you hope for." A little further on
he passed three more emaciated, whose faces had undergone a change of colour, as if mirrors of

10
light were shining on them. He said to them: "What has brought you to this state ?" They replied:
"We love God." Jesus said: "You are truly friends of God."
There are three versions of this story. The third involves a group of women whose faces are discoloured by the thought
of hell. It is not certain if they are all from the same source but it is certain that that source is not Muslim. Asin points to
Gnostic sources, such as that described by Clement Stromateis 4, 361. The only Gospel passages that seem to be
relevant here are Jo. 14, 23 and 15, 14ff.

85. Ih. IV 221, 10

In the stories about Jesus: "If you see a young man occupied with praying to the Lord, the love of
God will please him so much that he will forget everything else that is not God."20
There is no Gospel source for this.

86. Ih. IV 236, 4

Someone said to Jesus: "Why do you not buy a donkey to sit on ?" He replied: "I am so esteemed by
God that he would not allow me to occupy myself with a donkey and forget him."
A saying that glorifies renunciation of the type found in several early Muslim writers. The obvious Christian association
between Jesus and a donkey is of course his entry into Jerusalem. Asin suggests a Christian echo in Jo. 4, 31ff

87. Ih. IV 242, 11

It is said in the Gospel that if you give alms. you are to give them when your left hand does not
know what your right hand is doing and the one who sees what is hidden is to repay you openly.
And when you fast, wash your face and put unguent on your hair so that nobody knows this, except
your Lord.
See saying 55. The sentiment is expressed in the gospels except Mark and Muslim sources. Another version of the text
is also provided.

88. Ih. IV 250, 12

It is said that Jesus passed by a blind man, leprous and paralyzed.21 He nevertheless said: "Praise be
to God who has kept me unharmed from the misfortunes that afflict others." Jesus said: "You
unfortunate man, what calamity have you been spared ?" He replied: "Spirit of God, I am better
than he in whose heart God has not implanted the knowledge of Him which He has implanted in my
heart." Jesus said to him: "You speak the truth. Put out your hand." The man gave his hand to Jesus,

20 Ar. ‫فقد ألها ذلك عما سواه‬. My translation follows that of Asin.

21 The terms ‫ ابرص‬and ‫ الجذام‬seem to have overlapping meanings of leprosy and paralysis, and Asin thinks that they
might simply be two aspects of the same illness.

11
and behold he became the handsomest man with the most noble face. God had taken away all his
illnesses. He became a disciple of Jesus and, with him, devoted himself to the service of God."
Text from a book called Israelite Traditions by Wahab ibn Munabbih (8th cent. AD).

89. Ih. IV 256, 3 inf.

It is said that Jesus said to the sons of Israel: "Where does seed germinate ?" They said: "In the
earth." He said to them: "Truly, I say that wisdom will not germinate in your heart unless it is like
earth."
No comparable sayings in Arabic. Asin says that al-Ghazâli emphasises the need for humility and contrition. For Gospel
parallels cf. for example Lk. 8, 15.

90. Ih. IV 258, 16

God revealed to Jesus: "When I enter into the hidden parts of my servant and find no love of this
world or the next, I fill him with love and place him under my guidance."
An explanation of this can be found in the work of the 11th cent. Sayyid Murtâdha, quoted by Asin. Gospel parallel Jo.
14, 21 and 23.

91. Ih. IV 258, 17 inf.

Jesus was asked about the best of deeds and said: "The most pleasing thing to God is to love Him
with a thankful heart."
No parallel in Muslim sources. Gospel parallel is 1 Cor. 13.

92. Ih. IV 260, 1 inf.

Jesus said: "Happy is the eye that, having given itself to sleep, does not think of sin, and, having
awoken from sleep, is blameless."
Al-Ghazâli seems to be the earliest source of this adage. Gospel parallel is Matth. 6, 22ff

93. Ih. IV 267, 8

It is said of Zachary that he was once working on a wall with mud as a wage labourer for others.
His employers gave him food, and he ate only what the work of his hands had earned. A group of
men came into him, but he did not invite them to eat with him until he was finished. They admired
him, for they knew of his generosity and his abstinence and they thought that it would be good to
ask if he needed help in eating. Zachary said to them: "I have hired out my labour to the owners.
They provide me with food so that I might work for them more effectively. If you were to share my
food, it would be enough for neither of us, and I would not be strong enough to do their work."

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The various Muslim sources for this passage are examined by Asin. There is no exact Gospel parallel but there are
echoes, cf. I Cor. 10, 31 and Col. 3, 17.

94. Ih. IV 273, 11 inf.

The disciples said to Jesus: "What is the purest of deeds ?" He said: "Work for God and not wanting
to be praised by anyone."
There is no Muslim source earlier than al-Ghazâli. The concept of ‫( اخلص‬the noun form of the word I have translated
as 'purest', in the sense disinterested devotion to God) seems to have been important to Muslim mystics. For Gospel
parallels cf. Matth. 6, 22ff. and Lk. 11, 34ff.

95. Ih. IV 286, 1

It is said John son of Zachary that when once walking past a woman he pushed her, and she fell flat
on her face. People said to John: "Why did you do that ?" He replied: "I thought she was merely a
wall."
Not in Muslim sources, but Asin thinks it is an example adduced by al-Ghazâli of 'ecstasy', brought on by contemplation
of the divine. Asin thinks it fits very well with the image (effigies) of John's Gospel but he does not specify any
passages.

96. Ih. IV 288, 17

Jesus said. "Deeds can be reduced to three: one whose uprightness is clear, so follow it; one whose
wickedness is clear, so avoid it; one that is doubtful, so leave it to the discriminating."22
Its Muslim credentials are not secure. Asin believed that it is omnino agraphum.

97. Ih. IV 305, 14

The disciples said to Jesus son Mary: "Spirit of God, is there anyone like you alive today ?" Jesus
replied: "Yes. He whose speech is an invocation of God and whose silence is a meditation on God
and whose gaze is full of tears, he is like me."
Asin quotes a similar passage recorded in a text ascribed to al-Ghazâli. Both texts belong to the style known as ‫سجع‬
(rhymed prose), in its rhythmic and rhyme structure not unlike the language use that in recent decades has created 'rap'
poetry. The section of the text dealing with 'gaze' (‫ )نظر‬is slightly different: 'the one whose gaze is on something other
than contemplation'.

22 Lit. 'the one who knows it'.

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98. Ih. IV 325, 12
When death was mentioned to Jesus Christ, his skin begun to exude blood.
Another version is quoted by Asin in his note of the passage. It recalls the text in Lk. 22, 44 with its graphic portrayal
Jesus' agony at Gethsemane, not named in Luke.

99. Ih. IV 326, 6 inf.

It is said that, while Jesus was sitting, an old man was working with a spade, digging the earth with
it. Jesus said: "God, take hope away from him." The old man put down his tool and lay down for an
hour. Jesus said: "God, restore hope to him." The old man picked up his tool and resumed his work.
Jesus then asked him about his life. The old man replied: "While I was working, my soul asked me:
'How long, at this advanced age, will you continue to work ?' So I lay on the ground. Then my soul
said to me: 'By God, you need a livelihood as long as you remain in this world.' I arose
immediately and continued my work."
There is a 9th cent. AD Muslim source for this story. According to Asin. the moral is the rejection of the vanity of this
world in favour of 'spiritual perfection.' It is possible that there is wordplay involving words of different origins: ‫مسحاة‬
(spade) and ‫( مسحاء‬wiping clean).

100. Ih. IV 330, 7

Jesus said: "Have no care for the necessities of life for tomorrow. For if tomorrow is one of the days
appointed23 for you, your food will undoubtedly come at the appointed times. If not, then do not
worry about appointed days that do not concern you."24
Possibly from ibn Hanbal (9th cent. AD). Gospel parallel is Matth. 6, 34.

101. Ih. IV 332, 2 inf.

Jesus said: "Company of apostles. Pray to God that He might make this intoxication25 easy and
light, I mean the agony of death. I fear death so much that I am close to being frightened to death."
There is an earlier source than al-Ghazâli. The Gospel parallel is Matth. 26, 37ff., which contains a reference to a
drinking vessel (ποτηριον) and extreme grief (περίλυπος εστιν ἡ ψυχη μου ἕως θανατου).

102.Ih. IV 334, 2
It is said that as Jesus was passing by a skull, his foot struck it, and he said: "Speak with the

23 ‫اجال‬

24 ‫غيركم‬. I am not sure if this is the meaning, but neither am I sure what Asins's Latin means here.

25 ‫سكر‬

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permission of God !" The skull said: "Spirit of God, I was once a king. I used to sit in my kingdom
wearing my crown, surrounded by armies and protected by servants and family. Then the angel of
death descended upon me. As he approached, the life went out of my limbs. My soul went out of
my body to meet him. I then knew what was to happen to my family: I would be parted from them.
I then knew what was to happen to my friends: I would lose them."
There are five versions of this story. some quite a bit longer than the one recorded by al-Ghazâli, which can be divided
into two 'families'. Asin has an extremely long note which takes account of all five texts, which I have not read and
about which I am thus unable to comment.

103. Ih. IV 383, 14

Jesus said: "How many healthy bodies, beautiful faces and clever tongues will be crying out in the
layers of the fire !"
No other Muslim sources. Asin comments: agraphum quidem est.

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