Part 78

The last of those who we know studied there was the author of al-Qamoos, al-Fayroozabadi, who died in 817 AH, and the school closed at the end of the ninth century AH.541 The school fulfilled its mission of producing scholars of the Sunni Shafa'i school and supplying government departments with officials for some time, especially the departments dealing with judicial matters, comptrolling (prices, weights and measures) and fatwas, which were the most important positions in the state at that time. These graduates spread throughout the Muslim world, until they penetrated the borders of the Batini state in Egypt and reached North Africa, where they supported the Sunni presence. These schools produced a generation who achieved most of the aims for which Nizam al-Mulk had planned. So we see many of those who graduated from these schools travelling to other regions to teach Shafa'i fiqh and Hadith. They spread the beliefs of ahl as-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah in the regions to which they moved, taking up positions as qadis and muftis, or taking up important administrative positions in the state. AsSubki narrated that Abu Is-haq ash-Shirazi — the first teacher in the Nizamiyah in Baghdad — said, "I went out to Khorasan and I never came to any town or village but I found that its qadi, mufti or khateeb542 was one of my students or companions."543 These schools contributed to making the Sunni way strong again in the lives of the Ummah. Another of their most prominent effects was the reduction of Shiite influence, especially after they produced books that were opposed to it. Imam al-Ghazali was foremost among the thinkers who launched an all-out war against the Rafidi Shiites.544 The Nizami schools and the legacy left by their scholars paved the way and made it easy for Noor ad-Deen Zangi and the Ayubids to fulfil the purpose for which these Nizami schools were established. Their aim was to strive to make true Islam prevail, especially in the regions which were under Shiite domination at that stage, such as Syria, Egypt and elsewhere.545 One of the greatest dangers that the Ummah is facing today is the new Batini project that is active throughout the world and which is targeting the beliefs of the Ummah, the Book of its Lord, the Sunnah of its (MESSENGER (SAAW), its history and its prominent figures. Will we learn from these lessons of history and be inspired by them to work in accordance with divine law to call people to true Islam as brought by the (Messenger (SAAW), so that some of our rulers will be like Alp Arslan in courage, some of our ministers will be like Nizam al-Mulk in ambition and protective jealousy (gheerah), some of our scholars will be like al-Juwayni, al-Ghazali, al-Baghawi, al-Jilani and the prominent Maghrebi scholars in defending the Quran and Sunnah and the Companions of the (Messenger (SAAW) and issues of sound Islamic thought? We need to use modern methods to disseminate sound Islamic beliefs, authentic Islamic history and brilliant ideas using satellites, the internet, the press, newspapers, magazines, books, conferences, seminars, curricula, schools, universities and all various means of disseminating knowledge of Islam, seeking thereby the Countenance of Allah and the Hereafter in the company of the (Messenger (SAAW), truthful ones, martyrs and righteous people. Al-Imam al-Ghazali's efforts in defeating the Batini Shiites One of the beneficial effects of the Nizami schools was that they paved the way for the Sunni madh-hab to prevail. This was no easy task; rather it was the outcome of tremendous efforts, great sacrifices and remarkable cooperation. Another of its most prominent effects was the shrinking of Shiite influence, especially after the appearance of books refuting it which were produced by these schools. Imam al-Ghazali, the Sunni scholar, was foremost among the thinkers who launched an all-out war against the heretical Shiites through his writing. It was said that he wrote numerous books concerning that, the most famous of which was Fadd 'ih alBdtiniyah, which he was commissioned to write in 487 AH by the caliph alMustazhir.546 But the most amazing thing is the courage shown by al-Ghazali in his campaign against the Batini Ismailis, at a time when their preachers were widespread in Persia and the danger they posed reached such a point that they established fortresses and citadels and threatened people's safety. They carried out assassinations on a wide scale, targeting many politicians and thinkers, foremost among whom was Nizam al-Mulk himself. Al-Ghazali began this campaign on the orders of the authorities, in addition to his own desire as a Sunni scholar to do his duty in defending true Islam.547 This is something wonderful, when the efforts of the political authorities coincide with the efforts of the scholars to achieve the aims of Islam. Through institutions that benefit both society and the state, such as the role played by the Nizami schools in resisting Batini Shiite thought and influence, this is achieved. The Fatimid state had equipped itself with Batini philosophy and beliefs and emerged as a political and religious entity. It was, as Professor Nadawi states, more dangerous to Islam than philosophy, because philosophy was living in its ivory tower far away from the ordinary people and the masses.548 But batiniyah was trying to spread in society and infuse it with its poison, and it offered powerful, material temptations.