Imam Al-Ghazali

A well-known Muslim theologian, jurist, philosopher, and mystic, Al-Ghazali also went by the names Imam Al-Ghazali or Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali, lived from 1058 to 1111 CE. One of the most important Islamic intellectuals in history, he was born in Tus, Persia (modern-day Iran).

Al-Ghazali initially chose the academic path and became a professor of Islamic law at the prestigious Nizamiyya College in Baghdad. However, he experienced a period of existential crisis, after which he decided to give up his scientific career and devote himself to spiritual research.

Al-Ghazali made a remarkable transition during his period of rigorous spiritual investigation and eventually adopted Sufism, a mystical branch of Islam. He turned become a  devout promoter of Sufi ideas and practices, placing emphasis on the value of inner awareness, spiritual purification, and personal encounters with the Divine.

 

"The Revival of the Religious Sciences" (Ihya Ulum al-Din) is Al-Ghazali's best-known publication. This extensive book covers a wide range of topics related to Islamic ethics, law, and spirituality. It covers subjects including praise, supplication, almsgiving, penitence, and heart purification. Muslims all across the world continue to read and study "The Revival of the Religious Sciences" in large quantities.

 

Al-Ghazali made important contributions to Islamic philosophy in addition to his mystical and theological writings.

He debated many schools of philosophy, such as Neoplatonism and Aristotelianism, which were influenced by classical Greek philosophy. Al-Ghazali attempted to bring philosophy and Islamic beliefs into harmony.

and criticized various philosophical ideas that he thought ran counter to Islamic principles.

In "The Incoherence of the Philosophers" (Tahafut al-Falasifa), one of Al-Ghazali's most important philosophical writings, he criticized the opinions of Muslim philosophers who were influenced by Greek philosophy. He opposed the universe's eternality, the denial of corporeal rebirth, and the denial of causality. This author's work prompted debates and discussions among his contemporaries' intellectuals and had an impact on later Islamic philosophical discourse.

The intellectual legacy of Al-Ghazali had a significant influence on Islamic philosophy, theology, and spirituality even today. He made a significant contribution to Islamic intellectual history by emphasizing the inner journey, the value of experiential learning, and the harmony of reason and faith.

  

A short list of Gazala's major works

Title	Description	Type
al-Munqidh min al-dalal	Rescuer from Error	Theology
Hujjat al-Haq	Proof of the Truth	Theology
al-Iqtisād fī al-iʿtiqad	The Moderation in Belief	Theology
Iljām al-Awām an Ilm il-Kalām	Bridling the Common Folk Away From the Science of Theological Speculation	Theology
al-maqsad al-asna fi sharah asma' Allahu al-husna	The best means in explaining Allah's Beautiful Names	Theology
Jawahir al-Qur'an wa duraruh	Jewels of the Qur'an and Its Pearls	Theology
Faysal al-tafriqa bayn al-Islam wa-l-zandaqa	The Criterion of Distinction between Islam and Clandestine Unbelief	Theology
al-radd al-jamil li-ilahiyyat ‘Isa bi-sarih al-Injil	The Excellent Refutation of the Divinity of Jesus through the Text of the Gospel	Theology
Mishkat al-Anwar[96]	The Niche for Lights, a commentary on the Verse of Light	Theology
Tafsir al-yaqut al-ta'wil		Theology
Mizan al-'amal	Criterion of Action	Tasawwuf
Ihya'e Ulum-ed'Deen	The Revival of the Religious Sciences	Tasawwuf
Bidayat al-hidayah	The Beginning of Guidance	Tasawwuf
Kimiya-yi sa'ādat	The Alchemy of Happiness [a résumé of Ihya'ul ulum, in Persian]	Tasawwuf
Nasihat al-muluk	Counseling Kings in Persian	Tasawwuf
al-Munqidh min al-dalal	Rescuer from Error	Tasawwuf
Minhaj al-'Abidin	Methodology for the Worshipers	Tasawwuf
Fada'ih al-Batiniyya	The Infamies of the Esotericists, a refutation of esoteric Sufism in general and Isma'ili doctrines in particular	Tasawwuf
Maqasid al falasifa	Aims of the Philosophers written in the beginning of his life, in favour of philosophy and presenting the basic theories in Philosophy, mostly influenced by Avicenna's works	Philosophy
Tahāfut al-Falāsifah	The Incoherence of the Philosophers), Book refutes the Greek Philosophy aiming at Avicenna and al-Farabi; and of which Ibn Rushd wrote his famous refutation Tahāfut al-Tahāfut (The Incoherence of the Incoherence)	Philosophy
Miyar al-Ilm fi fan al-Mantiq	Criterion of Knowledge in the Art of Logic	Philosophy
Mihak al-Nazar fi al-mantiq	Touchstone of Reasoning in Logic	Philosophy
al-Qistas al-mustaqim	The Correct Balance	Philosophy
Fatawy al-Ghazali	Verdicts of al-Ghazali	Jurisprudence
al-wajiz fi fiqh al-imam al-shafi’i	The Condensed in Imam Shafi’i’s Jurisprudence	Jurisprudence
Kitab tahzib al-Isul	Prunning on Legal Theory	Jurisprudence
al-Mustasfa fi 'ilm al-isul	The Clarified in Legal Theory	Jurisprudence
Asas al-Qiyas	Foundation of Analogical reasoning	Jurisprudence
The Jerusalem Tract [97]		Jurisprudence