Al-Ghazali's Adapted Summary of Ihya Ulum al-Din

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Al-Ghazali's Adapted Summary of Ihya Ulum al-Din - The Forty Principles of the Religion

Ihya Ulum al-Din – The Forty Principles of the Religion is a comprehensive distillation of Imam al-Ghazali’s magnum opus, Ihya Ulum ad-Din (The Revival of the Religious Sciences), in which he explores the spiritual depth of virtually every aspect of Islam. This condensed work presents Imam al-Ghazali’s profound insights regarding man’s lifelong struggle to draw closer to Allah in a simple framework, providing the reader with a step-by-step tried and proven method for spiritual development. The result is an essential guide to improving one’s relationship with both the Creator and the creation and a perfect introduction to Imam al-Ghazali’s other great works.

Abu Hamid al-Ghazali

English translation by Nasir Abdussalam | Editing and footnotes by Mariam Madge Conlan | Publisher: Turath Publishing

About The Authors

Abu Hamid ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Tusi al-Shafi’i al-Ghazali

Abu Hamid ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Tusi al-Shafi’i al-Ghazali (or al-Ghazzali) was born in 450/1058, in Tus (located in present-day Iran). He studied under the great theologian and jurist Imam al-Haramayn al-Juwayni (478/1085) and produced a number of texts on Islamic law and theology. At the age of 34 he accepted a position as rector and professor of the Nizamiyya College in Baghdad. He remained busy teaching, refuting heresies, and responding to questions from all segments of the community. During this period he produced the celebrated works The Objectives of the Philosophers (Maqasid al-Falasifa), followed by The Incoherence of the Philosophers (Tahafut al-Falasifa), in which he strongly challenged Peripatetic philosophy. Thereafter, facing a personal spiritual crisis, Imam Ghazali abruptly left his position and spent the next ten years in or between the cities of Damascus, Makka, Madina, and Jerusalem. During this period, he wrote the seminal Revivification of the Religious Sciences (Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din), a grand work of forty books outlining the significance and wisdom underlying the practices of Islam. At this point, Imam Ghazali returned to teaching in Nishapur and finally in his birth place of Tus, leaving a legacy of works that synthesized jurisprudence, philosophy, theology, and sufism. Imam Ghazali died in 505/1111 in Tus and in short time was recognized as the reviver (mujaddid) of the century, celebrated ever since among Muslims as the Proof of Islam (Hujjat al-Islam).