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Al-Ghazali was one of the great Muslim theologians. In this book the author provides a translation of some of his works, including his spiritual autobiography. Al-Ghazali's description of his own emergence from scepticism anticipates the philosophical method of systematic doubt employed by Descartes. Another work translated here sets out Al-Ghazali's ideal of how a religious person should order his life from hour to hour and day to day.
"Abu Hamid al Ghazali, one of the most famous Muslim intellectuals in the history of Islam, set out to provide a legally sanctioned definition of Unbelief (kufr) as the basis for a criterion for determining who is to be considered a Muslim and who is not, as far as theology is concerned. The translation is preceded by an extensive commentary in which the author reconstructs the historical and theoretical context of the Faysal and discusses its relevance for contemporary thought and practice." "This is particularly relevant to the contemporary Muslim theological scene, given the on-going controversy between Revivalist groups, Rationalist and Traditionalist, as to what is the true interpretation of religion and what constitutes a grave deviation from it."--BOOK JACKET.
Centuries after his death, al-Ghazali remains one of the most influential figures of the Islamic intellectual tradition. Although he is best known for his Incoherence of the Philosophers, Moderation in Belief is his most profound work of philosophical theology. In it, he offers what scholars consider to be the best defense of the Ash'arite school of Islamic theology that gained acceptance within orthodox Sunni theology in the twelfth century, though he also diverges from Ash'arism with his more rationalist approach to the Quran. Together with The Incoherence of the Philosophers, Moderation in Belief informs many subsequent theological debates, and its influence extends beyond the Islamic tra...
Al-Ghazali was one of the great Muslim theologians. In this book the author provides a translation of some of his works, including his spiritual autobiography. Al-Ghazali's description of his own emergence from scepticism anticipates the philosophical method of systematic doubt employed by Descartes. Another work translated here sets out Al-Ghazali's ideal of how a religious person should order his life from hour to hour and day to day.
The 37th chapter of the Revival of Religious Sciences, this treatise focuses on the subject of intention--which is of crucial importance in Islam--posing questions such as How can someone ignorant of the meaning of intention verify his own intention? How can someone ignorant of the meaning of sincerity verify his own sincerity? and How can someone sincerely claim truthfulness if he has not verified its meaning? Renowned theologian-mystic Abu Hamid al-Ghazali addresses these questions by expounding the reality and levels of intention, sincerity, and truthfulness and the acts which affirm or mar them. Each of al-Ghazali's responses is based on the Qur'an, the example of the Prophet, and the sayings of numerous scholars and Sufis. As relevant today as it was in the 11th century, this discourse will be of interest to anyone concerned with ethics and moral philosophy.
The Confessions of Al-Ghazali is an Islamic spiritual text by Abu Hamid al-Ghazali. It presents Ghazali's voyage to spiritual conversion, concluding that reason, faith, and the Sufi ways are the end goal.
Al-Ghazali's Book of the Lawful and the Unlawful is the fourteenth chapter of The Revival of the Religious Sciences, which is widely considered as the greatest work of Islamic spirituality. Written by one of the most famous of theologian-mystics of all time, The Book of the Lawful and the Unlawful is unlike other Islamic works concerned with legal issues. Here, Abu Hamid al-Ghazali aims to teach his readers firstly the theory of what is lawful and what is unlawful and how to deal with dubious or ambiguous issues, and secondly how to apply the knowledge they have gained to their everyday lives. The main support for this application, especially in matters that are unclear, is caution or prudence (wara) and Ghazali explains the degrees of prudence necessary beginning with the prudence of the upright and ending with the prudence of the saintly. Thus the sincere practice of what is lawful and desisting from what is unlawful become integrated into one's spiritual life. As in his other works, Ghazali bases himself on the Qur'an and narrations from the Prophet Muhammad, followed by examples from the Companions, the Successor generations and the pious Predecessors.