Al-Ghazali
Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111), archaically Latinized as Algazelus, was a Shafi'i Sunni Muslim scholar and polymath. He is known as one of the most prominent and influential jurisconsults, legal theoreticians, muftis, philosophers, theologians, logicians and mystics in Islamic history. He is considered to be the 11th century's '' mujaddid'',William Montgomery Watt, ''Al-Ghazali: The Muslim Intellectual'', p. 180. Edinburgh University Press, 1963. a renewer of the faith, who, according to the prophetic hadith, appears once every 100 years to restore the faith of the Islamic community.Dhahabi, Siyar, 4.566 Al-Ghazali's works were so highly acclaimed by his contemporaries that he was awarded the honorific title "Proof of Islam" ('' Ḥujjat al-Islām''). Al-Ghazali was a prominent mujtahid in the Shafi'i school of law. Much of Al-Ghazali's work stemmed around his spiritual crises following his appointment as the head of the Nizamiyya University in Baghdad - which was ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Revival Of Religious Sciences
''The Revival of the Religious Sciences'' () is a 12th-century book written by the Muslim scholar al-Ghazali. The book was composed in Arabic by al-Ghazali on his spiritual crises that stemmed from his appointment as the head of the Nizamiyya University in Baghdad, which led to his eventual disappearance from the Muslim world for over 10 years. It is regarded as one of his chief works and a classic introduction to the pious Muslim's path to God, and is widely considered to be the most impactful book in Islamic history after the Quran. It originally spanned 40 volumes and dealt with Islamic concepts and practices, demonstrating how these might be formed the foundation of reflective religious life, thereby attaining the higher stages of Sufism. Some consider Kimiyā-ye Sa'ādat (Alchemy of Happiness) as a rewrite of this work, which is a common misconception. Kimyā-ye Sa'ādat is shorter than this book; however, Ghazali said that he wrote the former to reflect the nature of th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sufism
Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are referred to as "Sufis" (from , ), and historically typically belonged to "orders" known as (pl. ) — congregations formed around a grand (saint) who would be the last in a Silsilah, chain of successive teachers linking back to Muhammad, with the goal of undergoing (self purification) and the hope of reaching the Maqam (Sufism), spiritual station of . The ultimate aim of Sufis is to seek the pleasure of God by endeavoring to return to their original state of purity and natural disposition, known as . Sufism emerged early on in Islamic history, partly as a reaction against the expansion of the early Umayyad Caliphate (661–750) and mainly under the tutelage of Hasan al-Basri. Although Sufis were opposed to dry legalism, they strictly obs ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Incoherence Of The Philosophers
''The Incoherence of the Philosophers'' () is a landmark 11th-century work by the Muslim polymath al-Ghazali and a student of the Asharite school of Islamic theology criticizing the Avicennian school of early Islamic philosophy. Muslim philosophers such as Ibn Sina (Avicenna) and al-Farabi (Alpharabius) are denounced in this book, as they follow Greek philosophy even when, in the author's perception, it contradicts Islam. The text was dramatically successful, and marked a milestone in the ascendance of the Asharite school within Islamic philosophy and theological discourse. The book favors faith over philosophy in matters specifically concerning metaphysics or knowledge of the divine. Background In July 1091, at the invitation of Nizam al-Mulk, al-Ghazali became professor of law at the ''Nizamiyya'' of Baghdad, one of the most prestigious colleges at that time. This college was intended in part to train scholars to counter the religious propaganda of the Fatimid caliphs, and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Moderation In Belief
Al-Iqtisād fī al-iʿtiqad (), or The Moderation in Belief is a major theological work by Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ghazali. George Hourani indicated that the ''Iqtisad'' and ''Mizan al-amal'' were completed before or during Ghazali's crisis of faith. It led him to leave his post at the Niẓamiyya school in Baghdad and enter the path of Tasawwuf. In it, he offers what scholars consider as the best defence of the Ash'arite school of Islamic theology. He also expressed strong reservations about a theology based on taqlid and marked by polemics. In this book, Ghazali makes an attempt to respond to the extreme literalists and the Muʿtazilites. It is the balance between reason and revelation that led to the title of book ''The Moderation in Belief''. Contents Ghazali begins the book with praise for God and importance of revelation. On one hand, he says, a person who is not guided by reason will misunderstand the revelation while on the other hand a rational ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Aims Of The Philosophers
Maqasid al Falasifa (), or The Aims of the Philosophers was written by Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ghazali. Influenced by Avicenna's works, he wrote this book presenting the basic theories of philosophy. In this book, he explained in detail about what philosophy is and described basic entities like judgement, concept, premise and logic. Al-Ghazali stated that one must be well versed in the ideas of the philosophers before setting out to refute their ideas. He also stated that he did not find other branches of philosophy including physics, logic, astronomy or mathematics problematic. After writing ''Maqasid al Falasifa'', he wrote another. book Tahāfut al-Falāsifa, criticizing the Avicennian school of early Islamic philosophy. Influence This book was influential in Europe and was one of the first to be translated from Arabic to Latin (12th century). A portion of the book is also translated into Hebrew and English. Muhammad Hanif Nadvi translated it into Urd ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Shafi'i
The Shafi'i school or Shafi'i Madhhab () or Shafi'i is one of the four major schools of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), belonging to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition within Sunni Islam. It was founded by the Muslim scholar, jurist, and traditionist al-Shafi'i (), "the father of Muslim jurisprudence", in the early 9th century. The other three schools of Sunnī jurisprudence are Ḥanafī, Mālikī and Ḥanbalī. Like the other schools of fiqh, Shafii recognize the First Four Caliphs as the Islamic prophet Muhammad's rightful successors and relies on the Qurʾān and the "sound" books of Ḥadīths as primary sources of law. The Shafi'i school affirms the authority of both divine law-giving (the Qurʾān and the Sunnah) and human speculation regarding the Law. Where passages of Qurʾān and/or the Ḥadīths are ambiguous, the school seeks guidance of Qiyās (analogical reasoning). The Ijmā' (consensus of scholars or of the community) was "accepted but not stressed". The ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kimiya-yi Sa'ādat
''Kīmīyā-yi Sa'ādat'' ( ) is a book written by Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ghazālī, a Persian theologian, philosopher, and prolific Muslim author, often regarded as one of the greatest systematic thinkers and mystics of Islam, in Persian. 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 Sufis 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 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world's Major religious groups, second-largest religious population after Christians. Muslims believe that Islam is the complete and universal version of a Fitra, primordial faith that was revealed many times through earlier Prophets and messengers in Islam, prophets and messengers, including Adam in Islam, Adam, Noah in Islam, Noah, Abraham in Islam, Abraham, Moses in Islam, Moses, and Jesus in Islam, Jesus. Muslims consider the Quran to be the verbatim word of God in Islam, God and the unaltered, final revelation. Alongside the Quran, Muslims also believe in previous Islamic holy books, revelations, such as the Torah in Islam, Tawrat (the Torah), the Zabur (Psalms), and the Gospel in Islam, Injil (Gospel). They believe that Muhammad in Islam ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sharia
Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' refers to immutable, intangible divine law; contrary to ''fiqh'', which refers to its interpretations by Ulama, Islamic scholars. Sharia, or fiqh as traditionally known, has always been used alongside urf, customary law from the very beginning in Islamic history; has been elaborated and developed over the centuries by fatwa, legal opinions issued by mufti, qualified jurists – reflecting the tendencies of Schools of Fiqh, different schools – and integrated and with various economic, penal and administrative laws issued by Muslims, Muslim rulers; and implemented for centuries by Qadi, judges in the courts until recent times, when secularism was widely adopted in Islamic societies. Traditional Principles of Islamic jurisprudence, theory o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Philosophy
Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational and critical inquiry that reflects on its methods and assumptions. Historically, many of the individual sciences, such as physics and psychology, formed part of philosophy. However, they are considered separate academic disciplines in the modern sense of the term. Influential traditions in the history of philosophy include Western philosophy, Western, Islamic philosophy, Arabic–Persian, Indian philosophy, Indian, and Chinese philosophy. Western philosophy originated in Ancient Greece and covers a wide area of philosophical subfields. A central topic in Arabic–Persian philosophy is the relation between reason and revelation. Indian philosophy combines the Spirituality, spiritual problem of how to reach Enlightenment in Buddhism, enlighten ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sunni
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Muslim community, being appointed at the meeting of Saqifa. This contrasts with the Shia view, which holds that Muhammad appointed Ali ibn Abi Talib () as his successor. Nevertheless, Sunnis revere Ali, along with Abu Bakr, Umar () and Uthman () as ' rightly-guided caliphs'. The term means those who observe the , the practices of Muhammad. The Quran, together with hadith (especially the Six Books) and (scholarly consensus), form the basis of all traditional jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. Sharia legal rulings are derived from these basic sources, in conjunction with consideration of public welfare and juristic discretion, using the principles of jurisprudence developed by the four legal schools: Hanafi, Hanbali, Maliki ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Condensed In Imam Shafi’i’s Jurisprudence
Al-Wajiz fi Fiqh al-Imam al-Shafi'i () or The Condensed in Imam Shafi’i’s Jurisprudence is a concise summary of Shafi’i Fiqh and (the science of juridical disagreement) written by Imam al-Ghazali the leading juristconsult of his time. It mentions the contrary opinions of Al-Shafi'i including Abu Hanifa, Malik Ibn Anas and Al-Muzani. This book is considered one of the five major works in Shafi'i school of jurisprudence. Development The book “al-Wajeez” is a selection of series of Al-Ghazāli books on Shafi’i jurisprudence, entitled al-Baseet, al-Waseet and al-Wajeez. The premise of all these books is based on '' Nihayat al-Matlab fi Dirayat al-Madhhab'' authored by Imam al-Haramayn al-Juwayni, master of al-Ghazāli. This was elucidated by Ibn Hajar al-Haytami when he said: "Al-Ghazāli has abridged the book “Nihāyat” (i.e. Al-Juwayni’s book) in a lengthy and rich summary and named it “al-Baseet”; then he abridged further and named it “al-Waseet” wh ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |