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Al-Ghazl ( ) (Algazel)

File:Imam Ghazali.gif

Full name Ab med Muammad ibn Muammad al-

Ghazl

Born 1058

Tus Persia, Great Seljuq Empire

Died December 19, 1111 (aged 5253)

Tus, Persia, Great Seljuk Empire

Era Islamic Golden Age

RegionGreat Seljuq Empire (Nishapur)[1]:292

AbbasidCaliphate(Baghdad)/(Jerusalem)/(Damascus)

[1]:292

School/tradition Sufism, Sunnite (Shafi'ite), Asharite

Main interests Sufism, Theology (Kalam), Philosophy,

Logic, Islamic Jurisprudence

Major works Revivalof Religious Sciences, TheIncoherence of the Philosophers, The

Alchemy of Happiness

Al-GhazaliFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Abmid Muammad ibn Muammadal-Ghazl(c. 10581111); (

), known as Al-Ghazali orAlgazelto the Western medieval world, was a Muslimtheologian, jurist, philosopher, and mystic ofPersian descent.[4]

Al-Ghazali has sometimesbeen referred to byhistorians as the single most influential Muslimafter the Islamic prophet Muhammad.[5]:14-16

Others have cited his movement from science tofaith as a detriment to Islamic scientificprogress.[6] Besides his work that successfullychanged the course of Islamic philosophytheearly Islamic Neoplatonism developed on thegrounds of Hellenistic philosophy, for example,was so successfully refuted by al-Ghazali that itnever recoveredhe also brought the orthodoxIslam of his time in close contact with Sufism.The orthodox theologians still went their ownway, and so did the mystics, but both

developed a sense of mutual appreciation whichensured that no sweeping condemnation couldbe made by one for the practices of theother.[5]:14-16

Contents

1 Life

2 School affiliations3 Works

3.1Incoherence of thePhilosophers

3.2 Autobiography3.3 The Revival of ReligiousSciences

3.4 The Jerusalem Tract4 Al-Ghazali's influence

5 List of works5.1 Works in Persian6 Reception of his Work7 See also8 Notes

Influenced by

Influenced
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimiya-yi_sa%27%C4%81dathttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimiya-yi_sa%27%C4%81dathttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Incoherence_of_the_Philosophershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiqhhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sufismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunni_Islamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunni_Islamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shafi%60ihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ash%27arihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_note-Meri-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baghdadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damascushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Seljuq_Empirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Seljuq_Empirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nishapurhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_Golden_Agehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#See_alsohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#Works_in_Persianhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#Al-Ghazali.27s_influencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#Al-Ghazali.27s_influencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#Al-Ghazali.27s_influencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#The_Jerusalem_Tracthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#The_Revival_of_Religious_Scienceshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#The_Revival_of_Religious_Scienceshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#The_Revival_of_Religious_Scienceshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#The_Revival_of_Religious_Scienceshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#The_Revival_of_Religious_Scienceshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#Autobiographyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#Incoherence_of_the_Philosophershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#Incoherence_of_the_Philosophershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#School_affiliationshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#Lifehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sufismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthodoxyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoplatonismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_note-6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_peoplehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tus,_Iranhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#Noteshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#See_alsohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#Reception_of_his_Workhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#Works_in_Persianhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#List_of_workshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#Al-Ghazali.27s_influencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#The_Jerusalem_Tracthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#The_Revival_of_Religious_Scienceshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#Autobiographyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#Incoherence_of_the_Philosophershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#Workshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#School_affiliationshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#Lifehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_note-Watt1953-5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sufismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthodoxyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellenistic_philosophyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoplatonismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_note-6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_note-Watt1953-5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslimhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_note-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_peoplehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mysticismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosopherhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juristhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theologianhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslimhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimiya-yi_sa%27%C4%81dathttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Incoherence_of_the_Philosophershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiqhhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sufismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ash%27arihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shafi%60ihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunni_Islamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sufismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_note-Meri-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damascushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baghdadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbasid_Caliphatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_note-Meri-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nishapurhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Seljuq_Empirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_Golden_Agehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Seljuq_Empirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tus,_Iranhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:File_Upload_Wizard?wpDestFile=Imam_Ghazali.gif


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Haruniyah ( ) structure in Tus, Iran,named after Harun al-Rashid, themausoleum of Al-Ghazali is thought to besituated at the entrance of this monument

9 References10 Further reading11 External links

Life

The traditional date of al-Ghazali's birth, as given by Ibn al-Jawzi, is 450 AH (March 1058February 1059 CE), butmodern scholars have raised doubts about the accuracy of Ibnal-Jawzi's information, and have posited a date of 448 AH(10561057 CE), on the basis of certain statements in al-Ghazali's correspondence and autobiography.[7]:2325 He wasborn in Tabaran, a town in the district of Tus, which lies withinthe Khorasan Province of Persia (Iran).[7]:25

A posthumous tradition, the authenticity of which has beenquestioned in recent scholarship, arose that al-Ghazali's fatherdied in poverty and left the young al-Ghazali and his brotherAhmad to the care of a Sufi. Al-Ghazali's contemporary and firstbiographer, 'Abd al-Ghafir al-Farisi, records merely that al-Ghazali began to receive instruction infiqh (Islamicurisprudence) from Ahmad al-Radhakani, a localteacher.[7]:2627

He later studied under al-Juwayni, the distinguished jurist and theologian and "the most outstanding Muslim

scholar of his time",[7]:29in Nishapur, perhaps after a period of study in Gurgan. After al-Juwayni's death in1085, al-Ghazali departed from Nishapur and joined the court of Nizam al-Mulk, the powerful vizier of theSeljuq sultans, which was likely centered in Isfahan. After bestowing upon him the titles of "Brilliance of theReligion" and "Eminence among the Religious Leaders", Nizam al-Mulk advanced al-Ghazali in July 1091 to the"most prestigious and most challenging" professoriate at the time, in the Nizamiyya madrasa in Baghdad.[7]:34

He underwent a spiritual crisis in 1095, and consequently abandoned his career and left Baghdad on the pretextof going on pilgrimage to Mecca. Making arrangements for his family, he disposed of his wealth and adopted anascetic lifestyle. After some time in Damascus and Jerusalem, with a visit to Medina and Mecca in 1096, hereturned to Tus to spend the next several years in 'uzla (seclusion). This seclusion consisted in abstaining fromteaching at state-sponsored institutions, though he continued to publish, to receive visitors, and to teach in thezawiya (private madrasa) and khanqah (Sufi monastery) that he had built.

Fakhr al-Mulk, grand vizier to Ahmad Sanjar, pressed al-Ghazali to return to the Nizamiyya in Nishapur; al-Ghazali reluctantly capitulated in 1106, fearing (rightly) that he and his teachings would meet with resistance andcontroversy.[7]:53-4 He later returned to Tus, and declined an invitation in 1110 from the grand vizier ofMuhammad I to return to Baghdad. He died on the 18 December 1111. According to 'Abd al-Ghafir al-Farisihe had several daughters, but no sons.[7]:5759

School affiliations
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_note-Griffel-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_I_(Seljuq_sultan)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_note-Griffel-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmad_Sanjarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khanqahhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zawiya_(institution)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medinahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damascushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meccahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_note-Griffel-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baghdadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nizamiyyahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isfahanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seljuq_dynastyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nizam_al-Mulkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gurganhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nishapurhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_note-Griffel-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Juwaynihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_note-Griffel-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiqhhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sufihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmad_Ghazalihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_note-Griffel-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khorasan_Provincehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tus,_Iranhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_note-Griffel-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hijri_yearhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu%27l-Faraj_ibn_al-Jawzihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#External_linkshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#Further_readinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#Referenceshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harun_al-Rashidhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tus,_Iranhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Haruniyeh.JPG


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Al-Ghazali contributed significantly to the development of a systematic view of Sufism and its integration andacceptance in mainstream Islam. He was a scholar of orthodox Islam, belonging to the Shafi'i school of Islamicurisprudence and to the Asharite school of theology. Al-Ghazali received many titles such as Sharaf-ul-imma ( ),Zayn-ud-dn ( ), ujjat-ul-Islm ( ).

He is viewed as the key member of the influential Asharite school of early Muslim philosophy and the mostimportant refuter of Mutazilites. However, he chose a slightly different position in comparison with the Asharites;

his beliefs and thoughts differ, in some aspects, from the orthodox Asharite school.

[8]

Works

Al-Ghazali wrote more than 70 books on the sciences, Islamic philosophy and Sufism.

ncoherence of the Philosophers

His 11th century book titled The Incoherence of the Philosophers marks a major turn in Islamic epistemology.

The encounter with skepticism led al-Ghazali to embrace a form of theological occasionalism, or the belief thatall causal events and interactions are not the product of material conjunctions but rather the immediate andpresent Will of God.

TheIncoherence also marked a turning point in Islamic philosophy in its vehement rejections of Aristotle andPlato. The book took aim at thefalasifa, a loosely defined group of Islamic philosophers from the 8th throughthe 11th centuries (most notable among them Avicenna and Al-Farabi) who drew intellectually upon the AncientGreeks. Al-Ghazali bitterly denounced Aristotle, Socrates and other Greek writers as non-believers and labeledthose who employed their methods and ideas as corrupters of the Islamic faith.[citation needed]

In the next century, Averroes drafted a lengthy rebuttal of al-Ghazali'sIncoherence entitled The Incoherence othe Incoherence; however, the epistemological course of Islamic thought had already been set.[citation needed]

This long-held argument has been disputed. Some argue that al-Ghazali was the first intellectual to champion theseparation between several disciplines wrongly classified underfalsafa (Arabic word for philosophy but onethat used to include physics, maths and logic).[9] "Al-Ghazali argued that some fundamentalists, who perceivealsafa to be incompatible with religion, tend to categorically reject all views adopted by 'philosophers',

including scientific fact like the lunar and solar eclipse. And when that person is later persuaded of a certainview, he tends to blindly accept all other views held by philosophers".[9]

Autobiography

The autobiography al-Ghazali wrote towards the end of his life,Deliverance From Error( al-munqidh min al-all) is considered a work of major importance.[10] In it, al-Ghazali recounts how, once acrisis of epistemological skepticism was resolved by "a light which God Most High cast into my breast...the keyto most knowledge,"[11]:66 he studied and mastered the arguments of kalam, Islamic philosophy, and Ismailism.Though appreciating what was valid in the first two of these, at least, he determined that all three approacheswere inadequate and found ultimate value only in the mystical experience and insight (the state of prophecy ornubuwwa) he attained as a result of following Sufi practices. William James, in Varieties of Religious

Experience, considered the autobiography an important document for "the purely literary student who wouldlike to become acquainted with the inwardness of religions other than the Christian" because of the scarcity ofrecorded personal religious confessions and autobiographical literature from this period outside the Christiantradition.[12]:307
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_note-James-12http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varieties_of_Religious_Experiencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Jameshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sufihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ismailismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_philosophyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_note-McCarthy-11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistemological_skepticismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_note-Iranica-10http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autobiographyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_note-thenational.ae-9http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_note-thenational.ae-9http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Incoherence_of_the_Incoherencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Averroeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socrateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greecehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Farabihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avicennahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotlehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occasionalismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skepticismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistemologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Incoherence_of_the_Philosophershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_note-8http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutazilitehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Muslim_philosophyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asharitehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ash%27arihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurisprudencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shafi%27ihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sufism


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Last page of Al-Ghazali'sautobiography in MS Istanbul, ShehidAli Pasha 1712, dated AH 509 (AD1115-1116).

The Revival of Religious Sciences

Another of al-Ghazali's major works isIhya' Ulum al-Din orIhya'u Ulumiddin (The Revival of ReligiousSciences). It covers almost all fields of Islamic sciences: fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), kalam (theology) andsufism. It contains four major sections:Acts of worship (Rub' al-'ibadat),Norms of Daily Life (Rub' al-'adatat), The ways to Perdition (Rub' al-muhlikat) and The Ways to Salvation (Rub' al-munjiyat). The bookhas attracted much positive criticism: "If all Islamic sciences were made to disappear, they could be taken

back from Ihya'u Ulumiddin."He then wrote a brief version of this book in Persian underThe Alchemy ofHappiness (Kimiya-yi sa'dat).

The Jerusalem Tract

At the insistence of his students in Jerusalem, al-Ghazali wrote aconcise exposition of Islam entitled The Jerusalem Tract.[13]:29

Al-Ghazali's influence

Al-Ghazali had an important influence on both Muslim philosophersand Christian medieval philosophers. Margaret Smith writes in herbookAl-Ghazali: The Mystic (London 1944): "There can be nodoubt that al-Ghazalis works would be among the first to attract theattention of these European scholars" (page 220). Then sheemphasizes, "The greatest of these Christian writers who wasinfluenced by al-Ghazali was St. Thomas Aquinas (12251274), whomade a study of the Arabic writers and admitted his indebtedness tothem. He studied at the University of Naples where the influence of

Arab literature and culture was predominant at the time." In addition,Aquinas' interest in Islamic studies could be attributed to theinfiltration of Latin Averroism in the 13th century, especially at theUniversity of Paris.

Al-Ghazali's influence has been compared to the works of ThomasAquinas in Christian theology, but the two differed greatly in methodsand beliefs. Whereas al-Ghazali rejected non-Islamic philosopherssuch as Aristotle and saw it fit to discard their teachings on the basisof their "unbelief," Aquinas embraced them and incorporated ancient

Greek and Latin thought into his own philosophical writings.

Al-Ghazali also played a very major role in integrating Sufism with Shariah. He was also the first to present aformal description of Sufism in his works. His works also strengthened the status of Sunni Islam against otherschools. The Batinite (Ismailism) had emerged in Persian territories and were gaining more and more powerduring al-Ghazali's period, as Nizam al-Mulk was assassinated by the members of Ismailis. Al-Ghazali strictlyrefuted their ideology and wrote several books on refutation of Baatinyas which significantly weakened theirstatus.

List of worksAl-Ghazali had mentioned the number of his works "more than 70", in one of his letters to Sultan Sanjar in thelate years of his life. However, there are more than 400 books attributed to him today. Making a judgment onthe number of his works and their attribution to al-Ghazali is a difficult step. Many western scholars such as
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmed_Sanjarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nizam_al-Mulkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ismailismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batiniyyahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunni_Islamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shariahhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sufismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Aquinashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Parishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Napleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Aquinashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Smith_(author)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_philosophyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_philosophershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_note-Khalidi-13http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimiya-yi_sa%27%C4%81dathttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sufismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurisprudencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiqhhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anno_Dominihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anno_Hegiraehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Munqidh_min_al-dalal_(last_page).jpg


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William Montgomery Watt (The works attributed to Al-Ghazali), Maurice Bouyges (Essai de chronologiedes oeuvres d'Al-Ghazali) and others prepared a list of his works along with their comments on each book.

Finally, Abdel Rahman Badawi, an Egyptian scholar, prepared a comprehensive list of al-Ghazali's works under457 titles:

from 1 to 72: works definitely written by al-Ghazalifrom 73 to 95: works of doubtful attribution96 - 127: works which are not those of al-Ghazali with most certainty128 - 224: are the names of the Chapters or Sections of al-Ghazali's books that are mistakenly thoughtbooks of his225 - 273: books written by other authors regarding al-Ghazali's works274 - 389: books of other unknown scholars/writers regarding al-Ghazali's life and personality389 - 457: the name of the manuscripts of al-Ghazali's works in different libraries of the world

The following is a short list of his major works:

Theologyal-Munqidh min al-dalal(Rescuer from Error)Hujjat al-Haq (Proof of the Truth)al-Iqtisad fil-i`tiqad(Median in Belief)al-maqsad al-asna fi sharah asma' Allahu al-husna (The best means in explaining Allah's BeautifulNames)Jawahir al-Qur'an wa duraruh (Jewels of the Qur'an and its Pearls)Fayasl al-tafriqa bayn al-Islam wa-l-zandaqa (The Criterion of Distinction between Islam andClandestine Unbelief)

Mishkat al-Anwar(The Niche of Lights)Tafsir al-yaqut al-ta'wil

Sufism

Mizan al-'amal(Criterion of Action)Ihya' ulum al-din, "Revival of Religious Sciences", al-Ghazali's most important workBidayat al-hidayah (Beginning of Guidance)Kimiya-yi sa'dat (The Alchemy of Happiness) [a rsum of Ihya'ul ulum, in Persian]Nasihat al-muluk(Counseling Kings) [in Persian]al-Munqidh min al-dalal(Rescuer from Error)Minhaj al-'Abidin (Methodology for the Worshipers)

Philosophy

Maqasid al falasifa (Aims of Philosophers) [written in the beginning of his life, in favour of philosophyand presenting the basic theories in Philosophy, mostly influenced by Avicenna's works]Tahafut al-Falasifa (The Incoherence of the Philosophers), [in this book he refutes the GreekPhilosophy aiming at Avicenna and Al-Farabi; and of which Ibn Rushd wrote his famous refutation

Tahafut al-tahafut(The Incoherence of the Incoherence)]Miyar al-Ilm fi fan al-Mantiq (Criterion of Knowledge in the Art of Logic)Mihak al-Nazar fi al-mantiq (Touchstone of Reasoning in Logic)al-Qistas al-mustaqim (The Correct Balance)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_Rushdhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Incoherence_of_the_Philosophershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_languagehttp://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Alchemy_of_Happinesshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimiya-yi_sa%27%C4%81dathttp://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Niche_for_Lightshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdel_Rahman_Badawihttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maurice_Bouyges&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Montgomery_Watt


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Jurisprudence

Fatawy al-Ghazali (Verdicts of al-Ghazali)Al-wasit fi al-mathab (The medium [digest] in the Jurisprudential school)Kitab tahzib al-Isul(Prunning on Legal Theory)al-Mustasfa fi 'ilm al-isul(The Clarified in Legal Theory)Asas al-Qiyas (Foundation of Analogical reasoning)

Works in Persian

Al-Ghazali wrote most of his works in Arabic and few in Persian. His most important Persian work is KmyySa'dat (The Alchemy of Happiness). It is al-Ghazali's own Persian version ofIhya'ul ulumuddin (The Revivalof Religious Sciences) in Arabic, but a shorter work. It is one of the outstanding works of 11th-century-Persianliterature. The book was published several times in Tehran by the edition of Hussain Khadev-jam, a renownIranian scholar. It is translated to English, Arabic, Turkish, Urdu and other languages.

Apart from Kimya, the most celebrated of al-Ghazali's works in Persian is Nashatul Mulk(The Counseling

Kings), written most probably for Sultan Ahmad Sanjar ibn Malekshah. In the edition published by JalluddnHumy, the book consists of two parts of which only the first can reliably be attributed to al-Ghazali. Thelanguage and the contents of some passages are similar to the Kimyaye Sa'adat. The second part differsconsiderably in content and style from the well-known writings of al-Ghazali. It contains the stories of pre-Islamic kings of Persia, especially those of Anoshervn. Nasihatul Muluk was early translated to Arabic underthe title al-Tibr al-masbuk fi nasihat al-muluk(The Forged Sword in Counseling Kings).

Zd-e kherat (Provision for the hereafter) is an important Persian book of al-Ghazali but gained less scholarlyattention. The greater part of it consists of the Persian translation of one of his Arabic books,Bedyat al-Hedya (Beginning of Guidance). It contains in addition the same contents as the Kmyy Sa'dat. The book

was most probably written during the last years of his life. Its manuscripts are in Kabul (Library of theDepartment of Press) and in Leiden.

Pand-nma (Book of Counsel) is another book of advice and probably attributed to Sultan Sanjar. Theintroduction to the book relates that Al-Ghazali wrote the book in response to a certain king who had asked himfor advice. Ay farzand (O son!) is a short book of counsel that al-Ghazali wrote for one of his students. Thebook was early translated to Arabic entitled ayyuhal walad. His another Persian work is Hamqti ahliibhat orRaddi ebhyya (Condemnation of antinomians) which is hisfatwa in Persian illustrated withQuranic verses and Hadiths.

Faza'ilul al-anam min rasa'ili hujjat al-Islam is the collection of letters in Persians that al-Ghazali wrote inresponse to the kings, ministers, jurists and some of his friends after he returned to Khorasan. The collectionwas gathered by one of his grandchildren after his death, under five sections/chapters. The longest letter is theresponse to objections raised against some of his statements inMishkat al-Anwar(The Niche of Light) and al-

unqidh min al-dalal(Rescuer from Error). The first letter is the one which al-Ghazali wrote to Sultan Sanjarpresenting his excuse for teaching in Nizamiyya of Nishapur; followed by al-Ghazali's speech in the court ofSultan Sanjar. Al-Ghazali makes an impressing speech when he was taken to the king's court in Nishapur in1106, giving very influential counsels, asking the sultan once again for excusing him from teaching in Nizamiyyaand refuting the accusations made against him for disrespecting Imam Abu Hanifa in his books. The sultan wasso impressed that ordered al-Ghazali to write down his speech so that it will be sent to all the ulemas of

Khorasan and Iraq.

Reception of his Work
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_Iraqhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Khorasanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulemahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Hanifa_an-Nu%E2%80%98manhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nishapurhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nizamiyyahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmed_Sanjarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khorasan_Provincehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadithhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quranhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatwahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leidenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabulhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khosrau_Ihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmed_Sanjarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urduhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tehranhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic


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Praise for al-Ghazali not withstanding, he also received criticism from within Islam:

Ibn Taymiyyah states:

If we assume that someone narrated the view of the salaf but what he narrated is far removedfrom what the view of the salaf actually is, then he has little knowledge of the view of the salaf,such as Abul-Maaali, Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, Ibn al-Khateeb and the like, who did not have

enough knowledge of hadith to qualify them as ordinary scholars of hadith, let alone asprominent scholars in that field. For none of these people had any knowledge of al-Bukhari andMuslim and their hadiths, apart from what they heard, which is similar to the situation of theordinary Muslim, who cannot distinguish between a hadith which is regarded as sahih andmutawatir according to the scholars of hadith, and a hadith which is fabricated and false. Theirbooks bear witness to that, for they contain strange things and most of these scholars of ilm al-kalam (science of kalam) and Sufis who have drifted away from the path of the salaf admit that,either at the time of death or before death. There are many such well-known stories. This AbuHamid al-Ghazali, despite his brilliance, his devotion to Allah, his knowledge of kalam andphilosophy, his asceticism and spiritual practices and his Sufism, ended up in a state ofconfusion and resorted to the path of those who claim to find out things through dreams andspiritual methods."[14]

Ibn Rushd (Averroes), a rationalist, famously responded that "to say that philosophers are incoherent is itself tomake an incoherent statement."[citation needed] Rushd's book, The Incoherence of the Incoherence, attemptedto refute al-Ghazali's views, though the work was not well received in the Muslim community.[15]

See also

MujaddidNashatnme

Notes

1. ^ ab Griffel, Frank (2006). Meri, Josef W., ed. Medieval Islamic civilization : an encyclopedia. New York:Routledge. ISBN 0415966906.

2. ^ The Influence of Islamic Thought on Maimonides (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/maimonides-islamic/)

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, June 30, 20053. ^ Muslim Philosophy (http://www.netmuslims.com/index.php/islamic-articles/muslim-contributions/89-muslim-

philosophy), Islamic Contributions to Science & Math, netmuslims.com4. ^ "Ghazali, al-" (http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/al-Ghazali.aspx). The Columbia Encyclopedia. Retrieved

17 December 2012.5. ^ ab Watt, W. Montgomery (1953). The Faith and Practice of Al-Ghazali

(http://www.ghazali.org/works/watt3.htm). London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd.6. ^ Sawwaf, A. (1962) al-Ghazali: Etude sur la rforme Ghazalienne dans lhistoire de son dveloppement

(Fribourg).7. ^ abcdefgGriffel, Frank (2009). Al-Ghazl's Philosophical Theology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

ISBN 9780195331622.8. ^ R.M. Frank, Al-Ghazali and the Ash'arite School, Duke University Press, London 19949. ^ ab "How the decline of Muslim scientific thought still haunts"

(http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/how-the-decline-of-muslim-scientific-thought-still-haunts#full). thenational.ae. Retrieved 2012-10-04.

10. ^ Bwerin , Gerhard. "AZL" (htt ://www.iranicaonline.or /articles/ azali-i-bio ra h ).Enc clo dia
http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/gazali-i-biographyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_ref-Iranica_10-0http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/how-the-decline-of-muslim-scientific-thought-still-haunts#fullhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_ref-thenational.ae_9-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_ref-thenational.ae_9-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_ref-8http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780195331622http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Numberhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_ref-Griffel_7-6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_ref-Griffel_7-5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_ref-Griffel_7-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_ref-Griffel_7-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_ref-Griffel_7-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_ref-Griffel_7-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_ref-Griffel_7-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_ref-6http://www.ghazali.org/works/watt3.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_ref-Watt1953_5-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_ref-Watt1953_5-0http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/al-Ghazali.aspxhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_ref-4http://www.netmuslims.com/index.php/islamic-articles/muslim-contributions/89-muslim-philosophyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_ref-3http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/maimonides-islamic/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_ref-plato.stanford.edu_2-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0415966906http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Numberhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_ref-Meri_1-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_ref-Meri_1-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nas%C3%AEhatn%C3%A2mehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mujaddidhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_note-15http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Averroeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_note-14http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sufismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asceticismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allahhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sufihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutawatirhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahihhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslimhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imam_Muslimhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_ibn_Ismail_al-Bukharihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadithhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salafhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_Taymiyyah


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Iranica. Retrieved 17 December 2012.

11. ^ McCarthy, Richard Joseph (1980). Freedom and fulf illment : "al-Munqidh min al-Dalal" and other relevantworks. Boston: Twayne. ISBN 0805781676.

12. ^ James, William (2012). Bradley, Matthew, ed. The Varieties of Religious Experience. Oxford Univ Press.ISBN 9780199691647.

13. ^ Khalidi, Walid; Khalidi, commentary by Walid (1984). Before their diaspora : a photographic history of thePalestinians, 1876-1948 (http://btd.palestine-studies.org/content/introduction-last-days-ottoman-rule-1876-1918). Washington, D.C.: Institute for Palestine Studies. ISBN 0887281435.

14. ^Majmoo al-Fataawa, part 4, p. 7115. ^ http://books.google.co.za/books/about/The_Ornament_of_the_World.html?id=4dxbqEmU-OkC&redir_esc=y

The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in MedievalSpain

References

Haque, Amber (2004), "Psychology from Islamic perspective: contributions of early Muslim scholars andchallenges to contemporary Muslim psychologists",Journal of Religion & Health43 (4): 357377,

doi:10.1007/s10943-004-4302-z (http://dx.doi.org/10.1007%2Fs10943-004-4302-z)Savage-Smith, Emilie (1995), "Attitudes toward dissection in medieval Islam",Journal of the History ofMedicine and Allied Sciences50 (1): 67110, doi:10.1093/jhmas/50.1.67(http://dx.doi.org/10.1093%2Fjhmas%2F50.1.67), PMID 7876530(//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7876530)

Further reading

Laoust, H:La politique de Gazali, Paris 1970

Campanini, M.:Al-Ghazzali, in S.H. Nasr and O. Leaman, History of Islamic Philosophy 1996Watt, W. M.:Muslim Intellectual: A Study of al-Ghazali, Edinburgh 1963Zwemer, S. M.A Moslem Seeker after God, New York 1920Nakamura, K.Al-Ghazali, Encyclopedia of PhilosophyDougan, A. The Glimpse, A study of the inner teaching of the Mishkat al-Alwar (The Niche for Lights)by Abdullah Dougan ISBN 0-9597566-6-3

External links

Al-Ghazali website (http://www.ghazali.org)Ghazali and Islamic reform (http://www.islamtimes.org/vdch.-n-t23nzz10d2.html)Full text of Incoherence of the Philosophers (http://www.ghazali.org/works/taf-eng.pdf), from Al-GhazaliwebsiteAl-Ghazali (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/al-ghazali) entry by Frank Griffel in the StanfordEncyclopedia of Philosophy

Short commentary (http://www.butler-bowdon.com/the-alchemy-of-happiness.html) onThe Alchemy ofHappiness

The Alchemy of Happiness, by Mohammed Al-Ghazzali, the Mohammedan Philosopher, trans. Henry

A. Homes (Albany, N.Y.: Munsell, 1873). See original text in The Online Library of Liberty(http://oll.libertyfund.org/index.php?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php&title=1844)."Al-Ghazali Contra Aristotle: An Unforeseen Overture to Science In Eleventh-Century Baghdad"(http://www.asa3.org/ASA/PSCF/1994/PSCF3-94Aulie.html). Richard P. Aulie. PSCF 45. March1994. pp. 2646.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_ref-Iranica_10-0http://www.asa3.org/ASA/PSCF/1994/PSCF3-94Aulie.htmlhttp://oll.libertyfund.org/index.php?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php&title=1844http://www.butler-bowdon.com/the-alchemy-of-happiness.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_Encyclopedia_of_Philosophyhttp://plato.stanford.edu/entries/al-ghazalihttp://www.ghazali.org/works/taf-eng.pdfhttp://www.islamtimes.org/vdch.-n-t23nzz10d2.htmlhttp://www.ghazali.org/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0959756663http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_Douganhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7876530http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PubMed_Identifierhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1093%2Fjhmas%2F50.1.67http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_object_identifierhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1007%2Fs10943-004-4302-zhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_object_identifierhttp://books.google.co.za/books/about/The_Ornament_of_the_World.html?id=4dxbqEmU-OkC&redir_esc=yhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_ref-15http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_ref-14http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0887281435http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Numberhttp://btd.palestine-studies.org/content/introduction-last-days-ottoman-rule-1876-1918http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_ref-Khalidi_13-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780199691647http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Numberhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_ref-James_12-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0805781676http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Numberhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_ref-McCarthy_11-0http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/gazali-i-biographyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali#cite_ref-Iranica_10-0


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en wikipedia org/wiki/Al Ghazali 9/9

Review of Ghazali's Tahafat al-Falasifa (http://consideredbookreviews.blogspot.com/2009/09/tahafut-al-falasafah-incoherence-of.html)Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali (http://www.intellectualencounters.org/KotarApp/BrowseBooks.aspx?ExpandNodeID=2442$2443$2447&bAsImage=False), in http://www.intellectualencounters.org/(French) Profession de Foi de l'Imam Al Ghazali (http://www.at-tawhid.net/article-qawa-id-ul-aqa-id-al-ghazali-61087403.html)

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