This translation published for the first time with facing Arabic text also includes many notes and transliteration for the supplications contained within.
This book can be considered as an Introduction to imam Ghazali's Magnum Opus The Revival of the Religions Sciences (Ihya Ulum al-Din) and directs the reader to the larger work of what lies beyond that. This book may not seem to be suited to the hurried life of a modern city. Yet al-Ghazali’s seriousness and sense of urgency stand out vividly and communicate themselves.
It is divided into two parts: acts of obedience and refraining from sin. It comprises the fundamentals of Din, Important basic issues and excellent virtues. It is brief, yet concise.
One of the scholars has said that the benefit of anything sacred can not be achieved unless one follows its Adab i.e Etiquettes, this book deals with many of the etiquettes of everyday life according to the Sunnah.
Imam Al-Ghazali's Bidaya al-hidaya complements his spiritual autobiography, He emphasises the importance of knowledge and using it correctly at all times. From acts of obedience to the relationship between God and Man. Imam Al-Ghazali shares with us how a man should order his life from hour to hour and day to day.
About the author
Imam Abu Hamid Muhammad Al-Ghazali was born in 450 AH (1058 A.D) in the Iranian town of Tus, studied Islamic law and theology at the Seljuq College in Nishapur, and became a distinguished professor at the famous Nizamiyya University in Baghdad.
Despite his glittering success, he was inwardly dissatisfied, so he abandoned his career for a life of hardship, abstinence and devotion to worship. During ten years of wandering, he experienced a spiritual transformation.
Imam al-Ghazzali was fondly referred to as the "Hujjat-ul-lslam", Proof of Islam, he is honoured as a scholar and is acclaimed as one of the most influential thinkers of the Classical period of Islam. He passed away in 505 AH (1111 A.D).
About the translator
Dr. Mashhad Al-Allaf holds a doctoral degree in Modern Philosophy: Science & Metaphysics (1995). His bachelor’s and master’s degrees concentrated on the Philosophy of Science. He has taught at Washington University, St. Louis University, and Webster University and is the author of several works, including The Basic Ideas and Institutions of Islam (2008), Locke’s Philosophy of Science and Metaphysics (2007), and The Essential Ideas of Islamic Philosophy (2006).
He is the co-author of the forthcoming Islamic Philosophy of Science and Logic (University of Pittsburgh). His current research focuses on integrative studies and multiculturalism, as well as Engineering Ethics, Biomedical Ethics, Love and Romance in Islam, and Islamic Theory of Science.
Author: Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali
Translator: Mashhad al-Allaf
Format: Paperback
Pages: 176
Publisher: White Thread Press
Published: 2010
Dimensions: 23 x 15 x 1.5 cm
ISBN: 9781933764061