Iḥyā′ ‘Ulūm al-Dīn (transl.The Revival of the Religious Knowledge; Arabic: إحياء علوم الدين) is a 12th-century book written by Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ghazali.[1][2][3] The book was composed in Arabic and was inspired by a personal religious experience. It is regarded as one of his chief works and a classic introduction to the pious Muslim's path to God.[4] 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 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 the latter and a few of his other theological writings.[5]
Ghazali was the student of Al-Juwayni, under whom he studied religious sciences, including Islamic law and jurisprudence.[6]Nizam al-Mulk, the Seljuk vizier, recognized the great potential in Ghazali as a scholar and appointed him as the head of Nizamiyya madarasa in Baghdad.[7] Ghazali, at the peak of his fame and scholarship went into a spiritual and intellectual crisis. He left his post at the institution on request of pilgrimage. He went into a long journey, travelling to Damascus, Jerusalem and finally to Mecca to perform the pilgrimage. Ghazali throughout the journey, was going through an inner spiritual struggle, and he became attracted towards the pathway of Sufis. This journey influenced Ghazali to write first on his autobiography Deliverance from Error and then his famous book The Revival of the Religious Sciences, explaining in detail about mysticism, theology, Islamic rituals and practices.[8][9]
Structure
An old page with marginalia from The Revival of the Religious Sciences
The book is divided into four parts,[10][11] each containing ten books. It explains the doctrines and practices of Islam and showed how these can be made the basis of a profound devotional life, leading to the higher stages of Sufism or mysticism.[12][13]
First Quarter - Acts of worship (Rubʿ al-ʿibadāt)
This part contains the following books:
Book 1: Book of knowledge
Book 2: Foundations of Belief
Book 3: Mysteries of Taharah (In The Mysteries of Purification (Kitab asrar al tahara), the third of the forty books of the Revival of the Religious Sciences (Ihya' 'ulum al-din), Abu Hamid al-Ghazali explains the fundamentals of the purification that is necessary in order to perform the five daily prayers. Over the following chapters, al-Ghazali examines the lesser ablution (wudu), the greater ablution (ghusl), and the “dry ablution” (ablution without water, or tayammum). He discusses the etiquette of the bathhouse and outlines exactly how to clean the body of external things and natural growths; finally, he discusses the beard and practices related to it.[14])
Book 10: On the Arrangements of Litanies and Divisions of the Night Vigil
Second Quarter - Norms of Daily Life (Rubʿ al-ʿadat)
This part contains the following books:
Book 11: On the Manners Related to Eating
Book 12: On the Etiquette of Marriage
Book 13: On the Etiquette of Acquisition and Earning a Livelihood
Book 14: The Lawful and Prohibited
Book 15: On the Duties of Brotherhood
Book 16: On the Etiquette of Seclusion
Book 17: On the Etiquette of Travel
Book 18: On Music and Singing
Book 19: On Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evil
Book 20: Etiquette of Living and the Prophetic Mannerism (In the Book of Prophetic Ethics and the Courtesies of Living (Kitab Adab al ma’isha wa-akhlaq al-nubuwwa), book twenty of the forty books which compose the Revival of the Religious Sciences (Ihya’ ‘ulum al-din), Abu hamid al-Ghazali gives a full account of the customs and character of the Messenger of God, Muhammad. It is not a biography of Muhammad (peace and blessing of God be upon him) but a roadmap for those who want to strengthen their faith, increase their knowledge and deepen their understanding of the second part of the testimony of faith, namely the first pillar of Islam.[15])
Third Quarter - The Ways to Perdition (Rubʾ al-muhlikat)
Book 35: Faith in Divine Unity and Trust in Divine Providence (In an axial volume from his celebrated compendium, the "Ihya ulum al din," al-Ghazali shares his startling and original exploration of the meaning of trust in Divine Providence and recommends specific spiritual skills to help the seeker develop a state whereby he or she may rightly respond to events as they happen. This judicious use of stories is intended to imitate the Sufi practice of the master/disciple relationship, where the novice is helped to discern correct action.[16])
Book 36: On Love, Longing, Intimacy and Contentment
Book 38: On Holding Vigil and Self-Examination (The 38th chapter of the Revival of the Religious Sciences, this treatise follows on from Al-Ghazali on Intention, Sincerity & Truthfulness. Here, Ghazali focuses on the different stations of steadfastness in religion (murabaha), vigilance and self-examination being its cornerstones. As in all his writings, Ghazali bases his arguments on the Qur’an, the example of the Prophet, and the sayings of numerous scholars and Sufis. As relevant today as it was in the 11th century, this discourse will be of interest to anyone concerned with ethics and moral philosophy.)[17]
Book 39: On Meditation
Book 40: On the Remembrance of Death and the Afterlife
Influence
Seyyed Hossein Nasr states that it is 'perhaps the most influential work on ethics in Islamic history'.[18] It became the most frequently read Islamic book after the Quran and the hadith. Its great accomplishment was to bring orthodox Sunni theology and Sufi mysticism together in a useful, comprehensible manner to guide every aspect of Muslim life and death.[19]
Reception
The Ilya Ulum al-Din is considered to be one of the most widely read books in Islam across the world, having gained reverence from scholars and the general acceptance of the Muslim people (ummah). Here are few statements regarding the book from the most revered and renowned scholars:[20]
Al-Nawawi stated that: "Were the books of Islam all to be lost, excepting only the Ihya, it would suffice to replace them all."[21]
Ibn al-Subki said regarding it: "It (Ihya) ranks among the books which Muslims look after (preserve) and spread far and wide so that many people may be guided reading it. Hardly has someone looked into this book, except he woke up on the spot (came to Guidance) thanks to it. May Allah grant us insight that shows us the way of the Truth (Haqq), and protect us from what (darkness) stands between us and the Truth as a veil."[22]
Al-Safadi said: "It is among the noble and greatest books, to the extent that it was said concerning it - that if all the books of Islam were lost, except the 'Ihya' (of Al-Ghazali), it would suffice (be enough) for what was lost."[23]
Fakhr al-Din al-Razi said: "It (Ihya) was as if Allah (God) gathered all the Sciences (subjects) under a dome and showed them to Al-Ghazali."[24]
Minhaj al-Qasidin
Al-Ghazali, despite being a scholar, was not an expert in the field of hadith and thus the hadith narrations contained in his book were scrutinized. Hadith experts like Ibn al-Jawzi and Ibn al-Qudamah al-Maqdisi researched and sorted out the hadith narrations contained in the book on the basis of their authenticities. They then wrote the Minhaj-al-Qasidin and its overview called Mukhtasar.[25] The book was then carefully reworked by Ibn al Jawzi (597 AH) and the result of his work was named Minhaj al-Qāsidīn wa Mufīd al-Shādiqīn. Ibn al-Jawzi's efforts in rewriting the book is considered important and while he had similarities with Al-Ghazali in terms of mastery in mysticism, he also had the superiority of expertise in the knowledge of the hadiths. The reworking by Ibn al-Jawzi focused on the re-examination of the existing hadiths, elimination of weak and disputed hadiths and their replacement with the authentic and sound ones so that the integrity of the book was not compromised. Minhaj al-Qasidin was a fairly thick book and it was summarized in the form of Mukhtasar by Imam Ibn Qudamah. Whenever Ibn al Jawzi focused on the study of hadith, he found the Mukhtasar book in line with its name, aiming at summarizing and making the essence of the previous book to be more concise, organized, and easy to understand. It also added additional notes so that it may become an easy book for students to read. Ibn Qudamah remarked that whenever he read Ibn al Jawzi's Minhajul Qasidin, he felt that this book was very useful for society, so he would read it again in order to absorb the deeper meaning for the second time. He said that his admiration for the book grew such that he also added some important missing topics that were readily available in other prominent books of his time with additional notes such as hadith and commentary.[26]
^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.
^"THE BIOGRAPHIES OF THE ELITE LIVES OF THE SCHOLARS, IMAMS & HADITH MASTERS: Biographies of The Imams & Scholars". Zulfiqar Ayub. 2 May 2015 – via Google Books.
^"Abu Hamid al-Ghazali: Revelation against rationalism". Daily Sabah.
^"Reading al-Ghazali in Ramadan". Daily Sabah. 15 June 2016.
^Al-Ghazzali (1 January 2010). The Alchemy of Happiness. Cosimo, Inc. ISBN9781616405014 – via Google Books.
^Nasr, Seyyed Hossein (2014). "Happiness and the Attainment of Happiness: An Islamic Perspective". Journal of Law and Religion. 29 (1): 76–91 [80]. doi:10.1017/jlr.2013.18. JSTOR 24739088.
^Hunt Janin, The Pursuit of Learning in the Islamic World 610-2003, p 83. ISBN0786429046
^Ayub, Zulfiqar (2 May 2015). THE BIOGRAPHIES OF THE ELITE LIVES OF THE SCHOLARS, IMAMS & HADITH MASTERS Biographies of The Imams & Scholars. Zulfiqar Ayub Publications. p. 206.
^Joseph E. B. Lumbard, Islam, Fundamentalism, and the Betrayal of Tradition: Essays by Western Muslim Scholars, p. 291. ISBN0941532607
^Ayub, Zulfiqar (2 May 2015). THE BIOGRAPHIES OF THE ELITE LIVES OF THE SCHOLARS, IMAMS & HADITH MASTERS Biographies of The Imams & Scholars. Zulfiqar Ayub Publications. p. 206.
^Ayub, Zulfiqar (2 May 2015). THE BIOGRAPHIES OF THE ELITE LIVES OF THE SCHOLARS, IMAMS & HADITH MASTERS Biographies of The Imams & Scholars. Zulfiqar Ayub Publications. p. 206.
^Ayub, Zulfiqar (2 May 2015). THE BIOGRAPHIES OF THE ELITE LIVES OF THE SCHOLARS, IMAMS & HADITH MASTERS Biographies of The Imams & Scholars. Zulfiqar Ayub Publications. p. 206.
^al-Maqdisi, Ahmad ibn 'Abd al-Rahman Ibn Qudamah (19 May 1998). "Mukhtasar minhaj al-qasidin". Dar al-manar – via Google Books.
^ABSTRACT OF THE GUIDE FOR THE ONES TRAVELING TOWARDS ALLAH - Google Search. January 2014. ISBN9782745176592.
External links
The Ghazali Children’s Project at Fons Vitae Publishing, Louisville.
Multilingual resources at the ghazali.org virtual online library.
revival, religious, sciences, iḥyā, ulūm, dīn, transl, revival, religious, knowledge, arabic, إحياء, علوم, الدين, 12th, century, book, written, abū, Ḥāmid, muḥammad, muḥammad, ghazali, book, composed, arabic, inspired, personal, religious, experience, regarded. Iḥya Ulum al Din transl The Revival of the Religious Knowledge Arabic إحياء علوم الدين is a 12th century book written by Abu Ḥamid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al Ghazali 1 2 3 The book was composed in Arabic and was inspired by a personal religious experience It is regarded as one of his chief works and a classic introduction to the pious Muslim s path to God 4 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 Kimiya ye Sa adat as a rewrite of this work which is a common misconception Kimya ye Sa adat is shorter than this book however Ghazali said that he wrote the former to reflect the nature of the latter and a few of his other theological writings 5 AuthorAl GhazaliOriginal titleإحياء علوم الدينCountryPersiaLanguageArabicSubjectIslamic ethics and PhilosophyPublication dateEarly 12th century Contents 1 Background 2 Structure 3 Influence 4 Reception 5 Minhaj al Qasidin 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksBackground EditGhazali was the student of Al Juwayni under whom he studied religious sciences including Islamic law and jurisprudence 6 Nizam al Mulk the Seljuk vizier recognized the great potential in Ghazali as a scholar and appointed him as the head of Nizamiyya madarasa in Baghdad 7 Ghazali at the peak of his fame and scholarship went into a spiritual and intellectual crisis He left his post at the institution on request of pilgrimage He went into a long journey travelling to Damascus Jerusalem and finally to Mecca to perform the pilgrimage Ghazali throughout the journey was going through an inner spiritual struggle and he became attracted towards the pathway of Sufis This journey influenced Ghazali to write first on his autobiography Deliverance from Error and then his famous book The Revival of the Religious Sciences explaining in detail about mysticism theology Islamic rituals and practices 8 9 Structure Edit An old page with marginalia from The Revival of the Religious Sciences The book is divided into four parts 10 11 each containing ten books It explains the doctrines and practices of Islam and showed how these can be made the basis of a profound devotional life leading to the higher stages of Sufism or mysticism 12 13 First Quarter Acts of worship Rubʿ al ʿibadat This part contains the following books Book 1 Book of knowledge Book 2 Foundations of Belief Book 3 Mysteries of Taharah In The Mysteries of Purification Kitab asrar al tahara the third of the forty books of the Revival of the Religious Sciences Ihya ulum al din Abu Hamid al Ghazali explains the fundamentals of the purification that is necessary in order to perform the five daily prayers Over the following chapters al Ghazali examines the lesser ablution wudu the greater ablution ghusl and the dry ablution ablution without water or tayammum He discusses the etiquette of the bathhouse and outlines exactly how to clean the body of external things and natural growths finally he discusses the beard and practices related to it 14 Book 4 Mysteries of Prayer Book 5 Mysteries of Zakat Charity Book 6 Mysteries of Fasting Book 7 Mysteries of Pilgrimage Hajj Book 8 Etiquette of Qurʾanic Recitation Book 9 On Invocations and Supplications Book 10 On the Arrangements of Litanies and Divisions of the Night VigilSecond Quarter Norms of Daily Life Rubʿ al ʿadat This part contains the following books Book 11 On the Manners Related to Eating Book 12 On the Etiquette of Marriage Book 13 On the Etiquette of Acquisition and Earning a Livelihood Book 14 The Lawful and Prohibited Book 15 On the Duties of Brotherhood Book 16 On the Etiquette of Seclusion Book 17 On the Etiquette of Travel Book 18 On Music and Singing Book 19 On Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evil Book 20 Etiquette of Living and the Prophetic Mannerism In the Book of Prophetic Ethics and the Courtesies of Living Kitab Adab al ma isha wa akhlaq al nubuwwa book twenty of the forty books which compose the Revival of the Religious Sciences Ihya ulum al din Abu hamid al Ghazali gives a full account of the customs and character of the Messenger of God Muhammad It is not a biography of Muhammad peace and blessing of God be upon him but a roadmap for those who want to strengthen their faith increase their knowledge and deepen their understanding of the second part of the testimony of faith namely the first pillar of Islam 15 Third Quarter The Ways to Perdition Rubʾ al muhlikat This part contains the following books Book 21 The Marvels of the Heart Book 22 On Disciplining the Soul Book 23 On Breaking the Two Desires Book 24 Defects of the Tongue Book 25 Condemnation of Rancor and Envy Book 26 Condemnation of the World Book 27 Condemnation of Miserliness and Condemnation of the Love of wealth Book 28 Condemnation of Status and Ostentation Book 29 Condemnation of Pride and Conceit Book 30 Condemnation of Self DelusionFourth Quarter The Ways to Salvation Rubʿ al munjiyat Book 31 On Repentance Book 32 On Patience and Thankfulness Book 33 On Fear and Hope Book 34 On Poverty and Abstinence Book 35 Faith in Divine Unity and Trust in Divine Providence In an axial volume from his celebrated compendium the Ihya ulum al din al Ghazali shares his startling and original exploration of the meaning of trust in Divine Providence and recommends specific spiritual skills to help the seeker develop a state whereby he or she may rightly respond to events as they happen This judicious use of stories is intended to imitate the Sufi practice of the master disciple relationship where the novice is helped to discern correct action 16 Book 36 On Love Longing Intimacy and Contentment Book 37 On Intention Sincerity and Truth Book 38 On Holding Vigil and Self Examination The 38th chapter of the Revival of the Religious Sciences this treatise follows on from Al Ghazali on Intention Sincerity amp Truthfulness Here Ghazali focuses on the different stations of steadfastness in religion murabaha vigilance and self examination being its cornerstones As in all his writings Ghazali bases his arguments on the Qur an the example of the Prophet and the sayings of numerous scholars and Sufis As relevant today as it was in the 11th century this discourse will be of interest to anyone concerned with ethics and moral philosophy 17 Book 39 On Meditation Book 40 On the Remembrance of Death and the AfterlifeInfluence EditSeyyed Hossein Nasr states that it is perhaps the most influential work on ethics in Islamic history 18 It became the most frequently read Islamic book after the Quran and the hadith Its great accomplishment was to bring orthodox Sunni theology and Sufi mysticism together in a useful comprehensible manner to guide every aspect of Muslim life and death 19 Reception EditThe Ilya Ulum al Din is considered to be one of the most widely read books in Islam across the world having gained reverence from scholars and the general acceptance of the Muslim people ummah Here are few statements regarding the book from the most revered and renowned scholars 20 Al Nawawi stated that Were the books of Islam all to be lost excepting only the Ihya it would suffice to replace them all 21 Ibn al Subki said regarding it It Ihya ranks among the books which Muslims look after preserve and spread far and wide so that many people may be guided reading it Hardly has someone looked into this book except he woke up on the spot came to Guidance thanks to it May Allah grant us insight that shows us the way of the Truth Haqq and protect us from what darkness stands between us and the Truth as a veil 22 Al Safadi said It is among the noble and greatest books to the extent that it was said concerning it that if all the books of Islam were lost except the Ihya of Al Ghazali it would suffice be enough for what was lost 23 Fakhr al Din al Razi said It Ihya was as if Allah God gathered all the Sciences subjects under a dome and showed them to Al Ghazali 24 Minhaj al Qasidin EditAl Ghazali despite being a scholar was not an expert in the field of hadith and thus the hadith narrations contained in his book were scrutinized Hadith experts like Ibn al Jawzi and Ibn al Qudamah al Maqdisi researched and sorted out the hadith narrations contained in the book on the basis of their authenticities They then wrote the Minhaj al Qasidin and its overview called Mukhtasar 25 The book was then carefully reworked by Ibn al Jawzi 597 AH and the result of his work was named Minhaj al Qasidin wa Mufid al Shadiqin Ibn al Jawzi s efforts in rewriting the book is considered important and while he had similarities with Al Ghazali in terms of mastery in mysticism he also had the superiority of expertise in the knowledge of the hadiths The reworking by Ibn al Jawzi focused on the re examination of the existing hadiths elimination of weak and disputed hadiths and their replacement with the authentic and sound ones so that the integrity of the book was not compromised Minhaj al Qasidin was a fairly thick book and it was summarized in the form of Mukhtasar by Imam Ibn Qudamah Whenever Ibn al Jawzi focused on the study of hadith he found the Mukhtasar book in line with its name aiming at summarizing and making the essence of the previous book to be more concise organized and easy to understand It also added additional notes so that it may become an easy book for students to read Ibn Qudamah remarked that whenever he read Ibn al Jawzi s Minhajul Qasidin he felt that this book was very useful for society so he would read it again in order to absorb the deeper meaning for the second time He said that his admiration for the book grew such that he also added some important missing topics that were readily available in other prominent books of his time with additional notes such as hadith and commentary 26 See also EditAlchemy of Happiness Aims of the Philosophers Incoherence of the PhilosophersReferences Edit Garber Marjorie 13 September 2013 One Nation Under God Religion and American Culture Routledge ISBN 9781135207854 via Google Books Ghazzali 1978 Ihya Ulum Al din Sind Sagar Academy al Ghazzali 16 April 1997 Ihya Ulum Al din Dar al Tauzi ISBN 9789772651894 via Google Books Watt Montgomery Ghazali Abu Hamed Mohammad ii iii Encyclopedia Iranica 1 12 Print 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 THE BIOGRAPHIES OF THE ELITE LIVES OF THE SCHOLARS IMAMS amp HADITH MASTERS Biographies of The Imams amp Scholars Zulfiqar Ayub 2 May 2015 via Google Books Abu Hamid al Ghazali Revelation against rationalism Daily Sabah Reading al Ghazali in Ramadan Daily Sabah 15 June 2016 Al Ghazzali 1 January 2010 The Alchemy of Happiness Cosimo Inc ISBN 9781616405014 via Google Books Revival of Religious Sciences https bookstore zaytuna edu collections al ghazali products revival of the religious sciences an abridgment dead link al Ghazali Muslim jurist theologian and mystic Ghazali Imam Ihya Ulum al Din إحياء علوم الدين by Imam Ghazali Maktabah Mujaddidiyah Al Ghazali the Mysteries of Purification Book 3 of the Revival of the Religious Sciences Al Ghazali The Book of Prophetic Ethics and the Courtesies of Living Al Ghazali Faith in Divine Unity and Trust in Divine Providence Al Ghazali on Vigilance amp Self Examination Nasr Seyyed Hossein 2014 Happiness and the Attainment of Happiness An Islamic Perspective Journal of Law and Religion 29 1 76 91 80 doi 10 1017 jlr 2013 18 JSTOR 24739088 Hunt Janin The Pursuit of Learning in the Islamic World 610 2003 p 83 ISBN 0786429046 Ayub Zulfiqar 2 May 2015 THE BIOGRAPHIES OF THE ELITE LIVES OF THE SCHOLARS IMAMS amp HADITH MASTERS Biographies of The Imams amp Scholars Zulfiqar Ayub Publications p 206 Joseph E B Lumbard Islam Fundamentalism and the Betrayal of Tradition Essays by Western Muslim Scholars p 291 ISBN 0941532607 Ayub Zulfiqar 2 May 2015 THE BIOGRAPHIES OF THE ELITE LIVES OF THE SCHOLARS IMAMS amp HADITH MASTERS Biographies of The Imams amp Scholars Zulfiqar Ayub Publications p 206 Ayub Zulfiqar 2 May 2015 THE BIOGRAPHIES OF THE ELITE LIVES OF THE SCHOLARS IMAMS amp HADITH MASTERS Biographies of The Imams amp Scholars Zulfiqar Ayub Publications p 206 Ayub Zulfiqar 2 May 2015 THE BIOGRAPHIES OF THE ELITE LIVES OF THE SCHOLARS IMAMS amp HADITH MASTERS Biographies of The Imams amp Scholars Zulfiqar Ayub Publications p 206 al Maqdisi Ahmad ibn Abd al Rahman Ibn Qudamah 19 May 1998 Mukhtasar minhaj al qasidin Dar al manar via Google Books ABSTRACT OF THE GUIDE FOR THE ONES TRAVELING TOWARDS ALLAH Google Search January 2014 ISBN 9782745176592 External links EditThe Ghazali Children s Project at Fons Vitae Publishing Louisville Multilingual resources at the ghazali org virtual online library Islamic Texts Society Ghazali Series Cambridge UK Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Revival of the Religious Sciences amp oldid 1134511125, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
