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Muhammad Mustafa an-Nawali Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mono ...

, Claud Field, Jay Crook , image = Alchemy of Happiness.png , caption = Cover of a 1308

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

copy held in the Bibliothèque nationale de France , author =

Al-Ghazālī Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111; ), full name (), and known in Persian-speaking countries as Imam Muhammad-i Ghazali (Persian: امام محمد غزالی) or in Medieval Europe by the Latinized as Algazelus or Algazel, was a Persian polymat ...

, illustrator = , cover_artist = , country = Persia , language =

Classical Persian Persian (), also known by its endonym Farsi (, ', ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken and u ...

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Islamic ethics Islamic ethics (أخلاق إسلامية) is the "philosophical reflection upon moral conduct" with a view to defining "good character" and attaining the "pleasure of God" (''raza-e Ilahi''). It is distinguished from "Islamic morality", which per ...

and

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

, genre = , publisher = , pub_date = Early 12th century , english_pub_date = , media_type = , pages = , isbn = , oclc = , dewey = , congress = B753.G33 , preceded_by = , followed_by = ''Kīmīyā-yi Sa'ādat'' ( fa, کیمیای سعادت en, The Alchemy of Happiness/Contentment, italics=yes) is a book written by Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad

al-Ghazālī Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111; ), full name (), and known in Persian-speaking countries as Imam Muhammad-i Ghazali (Persian: امام محمد غزالی) or in Medieval Europe by the Latinized as Algazelus or Algazel, was a Persian polymat ...

, a

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

, and prolific

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

author, often regarded as one of the greatest systematic thinkers and mystics of Islam, in

. The Kimiya-yi Sa'ādat was written towards the end of his life shortly before 499 AH/1105 AD.Bowering, Gerhard. " ntitled" Rev. of The Alchemy of Happiness Translated by Claud Feild and Revised by Elton L. Daniel. Journal of Near Eastern Studies July 1995: 227-28. Print During the time before it was written, the Muslim world was considered to be in a state of political, as well as intellectual unrest. Al-Ghazālī, noted that there were constant disputes about the role of philosophy and scholastic theology, and that

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

s became chastised for their neglect of the ritual obligations of Islam.Bodman Jr., Herbert L. "(untitled)." Rev. of The Alchemy of Happiness Translated by Claud Feild and Revised by Elton L. Daniel. Journal of World History Fall 1993: 336-38. Print. Upon the release of this book, the Kimiya-yi sa'ādat allowed al-Ghazali to considerably cut the tensions between the scholars and mystics. Kimiya-yi sa'ādat emphasized the importance of observing the ritual requirements of Islam, the actions that would lead to salvation, and avoidance of sin. The factor that set the Kimiya-yi sa'ādat apart from other theological works at the time was its mystical emphasis on self-discipline and asceticism.

Structure

The Kimiya-yi Sa'ādat and its subsequent translations begin with citing some councils of the Prophet. Overall, the Kimiya-yi sa'ādat has four principle parts of ten chapters each: #''Ebādāt'' (religious duties) #''Monjīāt'' (salvation) #''Mu'amalat'' (human relations aspect of Islam) #''Mohlekāt'' (damnation)

Sa'āda

Sa'āda (happiness) is a central concept in Islamic philosophy used to describe the highest aim of human striving. Sa'āda is considered to be part of the "ultimate happiness", namely that of the hereafter. Only when a human being has liberated his/her soul completely from its corporal existence, and arrives at what is called "active intellect". Al-Ghazali believed in practical-ethical perfection and that by exercising his God-given capacity for reason man must be drawn to the spiritual alchemy that transforms the soul from worldliness to complete devotion to God. This alone, he believed, could produce ultimate happiness. Ghazālī's teachings were to help man to live a life in accordance with the sacred law, and by doing so gain a deeper understanding of its meaning on the Day of Judgement.

Kimiya

Kimiya or Kimiā (

Alchemy Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...

) is an applied and mystical science that has been studied for centuries. In its essence, Kimiā represents a complete conception of the universe and relations between earthly beings and the

cosmos The cosmos (, ) is another name for the Universe. Using the word ''cosmos'' implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity. The cosmos, and understandings of the reasons for its existence and significance, are studied in ...

. Religious philosophers emphasized its importance as a religious discipline. Due to its spiritual dimensions Kimiā is considered the noblest of all occult sciences (i.e. astrology and various kinds of magic). Ghazali was himself a believer that everything on Earth is a manifestation of God's spirit, thus everything belongs to kimiā.

Iḥyā′ ‘Ulūm al-Dīn

It is a common misconception that the Kimiya-yi sa'ādat is a rewrite of the Iḥyā′ ‘Ulūm al-Dīn. Iḥyā′ ‘Ulūm al-Dīn was written by al-Ghazali after abandoning his duties as a professor due to a "spiritual crisis", which led him to live in seclusion for several years. It was composed in Arabic, and was an attempt to show ways in which the lives of a Sufi could be based on what is demanded by Islamic law. There are definite parallels between Iḥyā′ ‘Ulūm al-Dīn and Kimiya-yi sa'ādat, however the four introductory chapters of the Kimiya-yi sa'ādat contain relevant theological discussions that set the two apart. The Kimiya-yi sa'ādat is noticeably shorter than the Iḥyā′ ‘Ulūm al-Dīn, however in the original Persian introduction of the Kimiya-yi sa'ādat, Ghazālī explicitly states he wrote Kimiya-yi sa'ādat to mirror the essence of Iḥyā′ ‘Ulūm al-Dīn and a few of his other theological writings; he wrote it in Persian so that it could reach a broader, popular audience in his homeland.Netton, Ian R. "(Untitled)." Rev. of The Alchemy of Happiness Translated by Claud Field. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Apr. 1993: 117-18. Print.

Translation and editing

From its original Persian form the Kimiya-yi sa'ādat has been translated into

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
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Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

, Azerbaijani, and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

. Husayn-Khadiv-i Jam edited the first half of the Persian text nearly two decades ago. This version is considered to be the most beneficial, as it improves upon the past editions by

Ahmad Ahram Ahmad ( ar, أحمد, ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other spellings of the name include Ahmed and Ahmet. Etymology The word derives from the root (ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from the ve ...

and

Muhammad Abbasi Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...

. In 1910, Claud Field published an abridged translation of the Kimiya-yi Sa'ādat utilizing the Urdu translation of the Persian text as well as an earlier English paraphrase of a Turkish translation by

. Elton L. Daniel, a professor of Islamic history at the University of Hawaii, compared the texts given to him by Claud Field to the Persian edition and reorganized the sequence of the chapters and paragraph divisions in order to get them to correlate better with the original Kimiya-yi Sa'ādat. He also added annotations indicating the areas in which Field's translation varies from the original Kimiya-yi Sa'ādat, where certain texts were omitted/condensed, and identifies many of the individuals and Qur'anic citations found in the text. The most recent translation of Kimiya-yi sa'ādat was published in 2008 and was translated by Jay Crook. Most scholars agree that nothing can compare to a complete and fresh translation from the original Persian text.

God has sent on Earth a hundred and twenty-four thousand prophets to teach men the prescription of this alchemy, and how to purify their hearts from baser qualities in the crucible of abstinence. This alchemy may be briefly described as turning away from the world, and its constituents are four: Knowledge of Self, Knowledge of God, Knowledge of this world as it really is, Knowledge of the next world as it really is.Ghazzālī, and Claud Field. The Alchemy of Happiness. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, 1991. Print
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References

External links

*''Kimiya-yi sa'ādat'' in Persian
part 1
an
part 2Kimiya-yi sa'ādat
translated into English, at archive.org. {{DEFAULTSORT:Alchemy of Happiness, The 12th-century books Alchemical documents Books about Islam Persian literature Sufism Happiness Books by Al-Ghazali Mystical books