I want to thank you for your efforts in making such questions and answers available for us as students.

I have a serious question. My math teacher was giving a lecture, and he started talking about Imam al-Gazaliy, but he said that Ghazaliy was misguided because “he followed the Ashari beliefs and that he was a Sufi”, and he also said Sufis are misguided and are out of Islam!!

I was shocked to hear that, but did not know what to do.
What is your opinion about Imam Ghazaliy? And was he a sufi? And what should I have done?

Short Answer:
1.    All Muslims of our ummah know the great and high status of Imam al-Ghazali, but only wahhabis deny that.
2.    The Wahhabi sect defames Imam al-Ghazali as well as Ash^aris and Sufis arrogantly, ignorantly, and blindly.
3.    Whoever defames such scholars, is either a wahhabi or influenced by them and their books.
4.    You should have peacefully stood up and discredited his opinion against Gazali, and simply say: “Al-Ghazali has been accepted and praised by the majority of our Ummah for his books and great works, so why are you different the rest of the ummah”?

It’s very sad to hear that math teacher defame such a great scholar such as al-Imam al-Ghazali (Rahimahullah).

The only ones that defame him along with the great Ash^ari and sufi scholars, are a tiny sect called the “Wahhabiyah” whom are “Mushabbihah and Mujassimah”. A sect that emerged from Najd, that likens Allah to His creations, and attributes to Allah the bodily parts and organs.

Sadly, it seems that this teacher is either one of these wahhabis, or is influenced by them and their books. And so we warn you from him and from anyone that deems as misguided, the great scholars of this Ummah such as the four imams or their great followers like Imams al-Ghazali, an-Nawawiy, as-Suyutiy, Ibn Hajar al-^Asqalaniy, al-Bayhaqiy, al-Qurtubiy, an-Nasafiy, at-Tahawiy (whom are all Ash^aris and Maturidis) and many others. Wahhabis also deemed those aformentioned scholars as misguided, we did read books and heard recordings of theirs where they accuse these great scholars with straying from the path of Ahlus-Sunnah and being misguided in the creed (Al-asma’ was-Sifat).

– They declare most Muslim countries namely: Egypt, Libya, Morocco, India, Persia, West Asia, Syria, Nigeria, Turkey, Afghanistan, Turkistan, Sudan, Tunisia, Marrakesh and Algeria  with Kufur and Shirk
See: انظر كتابهم المسمى “إعصار التوحيد” لنبيل محمد

Note: There are few statements falsely attributed to Imam al-Ghazali, and some of them are even inserted into his books, but all his works clear him from such accusation.

Here are some of the quotes of Imam al-Ghazali in clearing Allah from place and direction, and that the “Fawqiah; aboveness” when attributed to Allah, it refers to aboveness in status NOT being in a place or having a form or image as wahhabis delude: