Asnaf al-Maghrurin
- Author died
- 505 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat al-Qur’ān lil-Nashr wal-Tawzī‘
Asnaf al-Maghrurin (Categories of the Deluded), also titled by its author as al-Kashf wa-l-Tabyin fi Ghurur al-Khalq Ajma'in (Unveiling and Elucidation Regarding the Delusion of All Creation), is a spiritual and ethical treatise by the Muslim scholar Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (450–505 AH / 1058–1111 CE) examining the nature and varieties of self-delusion (ghurur) .
Purpose and Framework
Al-Ghazali defines delusion as the soul's contentment with that which accords with personal inclination and passion through a deceptive misapprehension cast by Satan . In the opening framework, he classifies creation into animal and non-animal, and divides animals into those morally accountable (mukallaf) and those excused from obligation . Morally accountable beings are further categorized into believers and disbelievers, with believers subdivided into the obedient and disobedient, both comprising knowledgeable and ignorant individuals . Al-Ghazali notes that delusion affects both disbelievers and believers, though he directs the primary focus of the work toward exposing the four main classes of deluded Muslims in a concise manner .
Structure and Classification
Excluding disbelievers—whose chief delusion consists of preferring immediate worldly gains over the hereafter or resting on false assumptions about God—the treatise divides the deluded among the faithful into four distinct classes (asnaf), detailing multiple factions (firaq) within each :
- Scholars (al-Ulama'): This class includes those who master the legal and rational sciences but neglect bodily obedience and abstain from sins, falsely presuming that their intellectual attainments grant them immunity from divine punishment . It also encompasses scholars who observe outward deeds but overlook internal vices such as pride (kibr), envy (hasad), and the pursuit of prestige (riyasa); preachers who describe inner spiritual virtues while remaining devoid of them; and jurists who restrict their focus to litigation and mundane commercial transactions while disparaging other disciplines .
- Worshipers and Devotees (Arbab al-Ibadat wa-l-Amal): This group comprises factions misled in specific acts of devotion . These include individuals gripped by obsessive misgivings (waswas) during ritual ablution or prayer, those who prioritize voluntary acts (nawafil) over obligatory duties (fara'id) or disrupt the proper prioritization of spiritual obligations (tartib), and ascetics who renounce wealth but crave social acclaim, rank, and leadership .
- Wealthy Property Owners (Arbab al-Amwal): This category includes wealthy individuals who construct mosques, schools, and bridges using tainted or illicit wealth while engraving their names on them out of ostentation (riya'); those who squander resources on decorative embellishments in places of worship; those who hoard wealth out of miserliness while performing cost-free bodily acts of worship; and those who disburse obligatory alms (zakat) only to poor individuals from whom they expect future personal service or deference .
- Sufis (al-Mutasawwifa): This class comprises claimants to spiritual path who adopt the outward garb, terminology, and physical postures of genuine Sufis—such as lowering the head, sighing, and soft-spoken speech—without engaging in genuine spiritual combat (mujahada) or purifying the heart, while competing for unlawful gains, rulers' patronage, and worldly goods . It also includes those who claim advanced experiential knowledge (ma'rifa) and direct witnessing (shuhud) merely through memorized slogans, looking down upon scholars and laypeople alike .
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