Al-Ghazali's Path to Sufism : his Deliverance from Error [al-Munqidh min al-Dalal]

  Paperback - 115 pages

This text has long been recognised as not only an Islamic ''classic,'' but also as one of the great ''spiritual autobiographies'' of the world's greatest religious thinkers. It is also the narrative of how one dedicated ''seeker'' after true knowledge and salvation, having probed various systems of thought and differing paths of learning and enlightenment, discovered the peace of the inner life and discipline of mystical spirituality - in al-Ghazali's case, the spirituality of the Sufis. -- William A.Graham, Professor of the History of Religion & Islamic Studies, Harvard University.

This is by far the most scholarly, thoughtful and sympathetic translation of al-Ghazali's classic autobiography. -- William C.Chittick, Professor of Comparative Religious Studies, SUNY, Stony Brook

Imam al-Ghazali (1058-1111) Allah be pleased with him is generally acclaimed as the most influential thinker of the  Classical period of Islam. This present volume contains a translation of Ghazali's autobiography The Deliverance from Error, one of the most remarkable personal documents to have come down to us from Islamic civilisation. The Imam describes his education and his intellectual crisis, which left him so paralysed by doubt that he was forced to resign the most distinguished academic appointment of his day. His faith returned after years of wandering and seeking during which he achieved direct knowledge of God in the form of the illuminative experience of the Sufis. -- T.J.Winter (Dr 'Abd'al Hakim Murad) Professor of Islamic Studies, Faculty of Divinity, Cambridge University.   
 

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Al-Ghazali on  Discipling The Soul :  Kitab Riyadat al-Nafs  & on 
Breaking The Two Desires :  Kitab Kasr al-Shahwatayn 

Paperback - 370 pages

Part of the Revival of the Religious Sciences : Ihya' 'ulum al-din Translation and introduction by T.J. Winter : (Dr. 'Abd'al-Hakim Murad)

The spiritual life in Islam begins with riyadat al-nafs, the inner warfare against the ego. Distracted and polluted by worldliness, the lower self has a tendency to drag the human creature down into arrogance and vice. Only by a powerful effort of will can the sincere worshipper achieve the purity of soul which enables him to attain God's proximity. 
 
This translation of two sections, Books XXII and XXIII, from The Revival of the Religious Sciences (Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din) details the sophisticated spiritual techniques adopted by classical Islam. In the first step, On Disciplining the Soul, which cites copious anecdotes from the Islamic scriptures and biographies of the saints, Imam al-Ghazali May Allah be pleased with him explains how to acquire good character traits, and goes on to describe how the sickness of the heart may be cured. In the second part, Breaking the Two Desires, he focusses on the question of gluttony and sexual desire, concluding, in the words of the Beloved Prophet Muhammad May Allah Shower His Mercy upon him & give him Peace, that 'the best of all matters is the middle way'.  

Shaykh Abd al-Hakim Murad has added an introduction and notes which explore Imam al-Ghazali’s ability to make use of Greek as well as Islamic ethics. The work will prove of special interest to those interested in Sufi mysticism, comparative ethics, and the question of sexuality in Islam.

 
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 Al-Ghazali : Faith in Divine Unity  &  Trust in Divine Providence - 
  Kitab al-tawhid wa'l tawakkul      Paperback -  180 pages  

It is fair to say that the "Book of Faith in Divine Unity and Trust in Divine Providence " plays an axial role in Ghazali's Allah be pleased with him celebrated compendium, the Ihya Ulum al-din. What is at issue is not Divine Unity itself, but the implications for the community arising from the idea that everything comes from God and that "there is no agent but God."  How can we trust in Divine Providence? Al-Ghazali Allah be pleased with himstates that "all that exists in creation--sustenance given or withheld, life or death, riches or poverty, and everything else that can be named" is solely initiated and originated by God Most High.  "If the gates of mystical insight were opened to you, this would be clear to you with a clarity more perfect than ordinary vision." But those gates are not opened to most of us, so the test of our understanding of divine unity will not come by direct insight into the ways of God, but through a life of trust in which concerted practice will bring each of us personally to the threshold of the only understanding possible to us. 

What sort of a practice is trust in divine providence?  It entails aligning oneself with things as they really are: in Ghazali's Allah be pleased with him terms, with the truth that there is no agent but God Most High-- a reminder that everything in the universe is created by that same God and so reflects something of God's majesty and beauty.  Yet the very thing that escapes our understanding is the secret connection of each creature with its creator.  This requires effort, which cannot be solely intellectual, for our relationship to the One Creator resists formulation.  If we truly believe that each created thing reflects God's majesty and beauty, then each event in our lives also reveals God's way of guiding us.  By trying our best to act according to the conviction that the divine decree expresses the truth in events as they unfold, we can allow ourselves to be "shown" how things truly lie. Faith tawhid and practice tawakkul reinforce one another.  The understanding we can have is that of one journeying in faith, a "salik," the name which Sufis appropriated for themselves. Al-Ghazali Allah be pleased with him selects stories of Sufi sheiks, offering them as examples to help point us towards developing specific skills of trusting:  habits of responding to different situations in such a way that we learn by acting how things are truly ordered, the truth of the divine decree.

 
 
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  Al-Ghazali : Letter to a Disciple  -  Ayyuha'l-Walad

 Paperback - 118 pages

Letter to a Disciple : Ayyuha’l-Walad - Translated by:TOBIAS MAYER 
 
‘Work for your terrestrial life in proportion to your location in it, and work for your afterlife in proportion to your eternity in it.’ This is part of the advice that the great theologian and mystic al-Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali May Allah be pleased with him (1058-1111 C.E) put down in his Letter to a Disciple. An old disciple of al-Ghazali had studied the Islamic sciences, including the many works of his master, for most of his life. Faced with the proximity of death, he turns again to his master this time asking for a summary of all his teachings. Letter to a Disciple is al-Ghazali’s May Allah be pleased with him response. The emphasis in this short treatise is on religious and spiritual action and on putting into practice the knowledge that one has acquired. Letter to a Disciple can be considered as the last testament of he who is regarded as Hujjat al-Islam, the ‘Proof of Islam’. This new translation is presented here as a bilingual, English-Arabic, edition.

 
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 Al-Ghazali :  The Alchemy of Happiness       -       Trans byClaud Field   

Paperback - 99 pages

Book Description : Those who deny the reality of the ecstasies and other spiritual experiences of the Sufis merely betray their own narrow-mindedness and shallow insight. This is one of the great works of mystical religious literature, the Kimiya-i-Sa'adaat strove to bring man closer to understanding God by helping him understand himself. These excerpts from that work, by a strikingly original thinker on Islam who lived and wrote in the 11th century, were first published in 1910, and serve as a potent reminder of how powerful an influence Al-Ghazzali had upon religious philosophers of the Middle Ages, both Christian and Islamic. With its wise and warmly humanistic outlook, this little book may well foster a new measure of understanding in the current philosophical battle between the religious traditions of East and West. Also available from Cosimo Classics: The great theologian Imam al-Ghazali (1058-1111) May Allah be pleased with him was classical Islam's most prominent scholar and philosopher. Claud Field is also author of Mystics and Saints of Islam, Heroes of Missionary Enterprise, and Persian Literature.

 
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 Inner Dimensions of Islamic Worship by Imam al-Ghazali -  Tr by Muhtar Holland 
  
  Paperback -142 pages

This great book consists of selections from Al-Ghazali's Ihya, translated into English. 

Imam Ghazali alayhir rahman leads us in his characteristically powerful & inspiring way, into those dimensions of Islamic worship rites- Prayer, Alms-giving, Fasting, Pilgrimage, etc - which are essential to the fulfilment of their inner quality and reaping the rich harvests of spiritual, moral and social upliftment that must be their reward.  

This book will be of enormous help to the countlessyoung men and women of our times who are rapidly growing in their commitment to Islam and ever trying to bring up their lives under the sovereignty of One God - a task which is impossible unless one can develop the immense inner resources which Islamic worship offers.  
 
 

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  AL-GHAZALI - The Remembrance of Death and the AfterLife

 ( Kitab dhikr al-mawt wa-ma ba'dahu )              Translation & Notes by Dr Tim J. Winter   
   Paperback - 378 pages  

[Book XL of The Revival of the Religious Sciences, Ihya Ulum al-Din] 

This is the first English translation of the last chapter of Al-Ghazali’s Revival of the Religious Sciences (Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din), widely regarded as one of the greatest work of Muslim spirituality. After expounding his Sufi philosophy of death and showing the importance of the contemplation of human mortality to the mystical way of self-purification, al-Ghazali alayhir rahman takes his readers through the stages of the future life: the vision of the Angels of the Grave, the Resurrection, the Intercession of the Prophet Peace and Blessings upon him, and finally, the torments of Hell, the delights of Paradise and - for the elect - the beatific vision of God’s Countenance.

‘I warmly recommend Winter’s translation to everyone interested in Islamic eschatology and Islamic thought.’Annemarie Schimmel

‘This book is an excellent translation of a very important work...This translation and the series as a whole, are significant contributions to our understanding of this key figure in Islamic intellectual thought.’Oliver Leaman (BRISMES Bulletin)

‘Winter’s rendering combines exactness with fluency and dignity of style. The introduction, notes, appendix, bibliography, index - all make this an exemplary publication, produced to the highest standards.’Christian Troll (CSIC)

‘Of considerable value and solace to many who will buy it for reasons both religious and academic.’H.T. Norris (BSOAS) 

Excerpt: On the Remembrance of Death, and an Encouragement to Remember it Abundantly

Know that the heart of the man who is engrossed in this world and is given over to its vanities and harbours love for its appetites must certainly be neglectful of the remembrance of death. Thus falling to recall it, when reminded of it he finds it odious and shies away. Such are the people of whom God has said: Say: Lo! the death from which ye shrink will surely meet you, and afterward ye will be returned unto the Knower of the Invisible and the Visible, and He will tell you what ye used to do.

’Now, men may be either engrossed [in the world], penitent beginners, or arrived gnostics. The man engrossed does not remember death, or, if he does, it is with regret for his world, and he busies himself with disparaging death. The remembrance of death increases such a one in nothing but distance from God.

The penitent man recalls death frequently, so that fear and apprehension might thereby proceed from his heart, making his repentance complete. It may be that he is in fear of death lest it carry him off before his repentance is complete and before his provisions for the journey are replenished; lie is excusable in his aversion to death, and is riot included in the saying of the Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace): ‘Whosoever would abhor meeting with God, God abhors meeting with him’. Such a man does not abhor death and meeting God, but only fears the meeting with God passing him by as a result of his deficiency and remissness. He is like the man who is made late for a meeting with his beloved by busying himself with preparations for the encounter in a way that will find approval: he is not deemed to be reluctant about the meeting! The distinguishing mark of thepenitent man is his constant preparation for this matter and his lack of any other concern. Were he to be otherwise he would associate with the man engrossed in the world.

As for the gnostic, he remembers death constantly, because for him it is the tryst with his Beloved, and a lover never forgets the appointed time for meeting the one he loves. Usually such a man considers death slow in coming and is happy upon its advent, that he might have done with the abode of sinners and be borne away into the presence of the Lord of the Worlds.’ Such was the case with Hudhayfa, of whom it is related that when death came he said, ‘A dear friend has come at a time of poverty. Whoever repents [at such a moment as this] shall not succeed. O Lord God! Should You know that poverty is dearer to me than wealth, and sickness more beloved to me than health, and death more dear to me than life, then make my death easy for me until I meet You.’

 
 
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The Duties of Brotherhood in Islam          From Imam Ghazali's Ihya ulum ud Deen 

 Paperback - 95 pages                                                                            Translated by Muhtar Holland

 An immensely important portion of Imam al-Ghazali's 'Ihya, this work discusses, at the micro-level, what is needed to instill in each of us the sense of brotherhood that is a necessary fabric for Muslims to be effective as a nation. The eight duties each Muslim has to perform towards the other are each discussed in detail.  

Imam Al-Ghazali, Abu Hamid Muhammad Rahmatullahi ta'ala 'alayh (450/1058-505/1111), a towering figure in Islam, was born at Tus, near Mashhad in Iran, in the early Seljuq era and studied theology and law at Nishapur. His formidable intellectual abilities soon won him honour and respect at the Court of the famous Seljuqi Prime Minister, Nizam al-Mulk, and, while still in his early thirties, he became Professor at Madrasa Nizamiyya in Baghdad and attained great prominence there. But soon he abandoned his professorship for a decade of contemplation and studies. He returned for a while to lecture at the Nizamiyya in Nishapur before his death. He wrote a large number of works, which include Al-Munqidh min al-Dalal (a biographical account), Tahafut al-Falasifa; but his magnum opus remains the Ihya' Ulum al-Din in four volumes, compiled during his period of retirement and contemplation.

 
 
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