Spiritual Journey (Sayr wa Sulūk) from the Viewpoint of Fayḍ Kāshānī and Abū Ḥāmid Ghazali

Fayḍ Kāshānī, the great Imāmī jurisprudent, ḥadīth scholar, philosopher, and mystic of the eleventh/seventeenth century and Abū Ḥāmid Ghazālī, the philosopher, theologian, jurisprudent, and one of the great Sunni scholars of mysticism of the fifth/eleventh century, have both dealt with the way to engage in devotional acts and spiritual journey towards Allah’s Presence. Fayḍ, due to his strong loyalty to the religious law (sharī‘a) established by the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) and the Purified Imams (A.S.), and Abū Ḥāmid, for his firm belief in Sufism, have each presented a particular procedure for practicing self-mortification and self-discipline and, in general, spiritual journey. Despite their substantial disagreement as to how a disciple is to struggle against the carnal self and to practice self-discipline in the beginning of spiritual journey, these two mystics have common grounds in terms of dealing with spiritual journey towards God and purification of the heart of all other than God. This article examines and analyzes the differences and similarities of Fayḍ and Ghazālī in this respect.