Imam Ghazali’s Ihya ‘Ulum al-Din’s Importance and Value: A Reader
Imam Ghazali’s Ihya ‘Ulum al-Din ranks as one of the most widely read books in Islam, having earned the praise of the scholars and the general acceptance of the Community.
The Ihya was also strongly criticized for a variety of reasons, among them the number of weak or forged narrations cited in it.
This reader will attempt, through answers and lectures from Habib Ali Jifri, Dr. Umar Abd-Allah, Shaykh Ahmad Saad, Shaykh Nuh Keller and others, to answer these critics and to shed some light on the importance and value of this work.
What Scholars said about Al-Ghazzali’s Ihya ‘Ulum al-Din [Shaykh Gibril Haddad]
Weak (daif) hadith in Imam Ghazali’s Ihya by Habib Ali Jifri
Dr. Umar Abd-Allah answering a question on weak hadiths in Imam Ghazali’s Ihya ‘Ulum al-Din
Dear Beloved Son by Shaykh Ahmad Saad
“Ayyuhal Walad” or “Dear Beloved Son” is a text written by Imam Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali, a letter that he sent to one of his students advising and describing to him the path towards Allah. In this book, Imam Al-Ghazali makes clear the importance of sincere repentance, self-control, self-remonstrance, reflection, overcoming negligence and lust in order to be close to God.
Shaykh Ahmad Saad Al-Azhari explained extracts from the text of Imam Al-Ghazali.
Shaykh Hamza Yusuf – The Critical Importance of Al-Ghazali in Our Times
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndapcJS5DJs
Dr. Timothy Winter: The life and works of al-Ghazali
Shaikh Nuh Ha Mim Keller: The Place of Tasawwuf in Traditional Islamic Sciences
“These and similar haram inward states are not found in books of fiqh or ‘jurisprudence,’ because fiqh can only deal with quantifiable descriptions of rulings. Rather, they are examined in their causes and remedies by the scholars of the ‘inner fiqh’ of Tasawwuf, men such as Imam al-Ghazali in his Ihya’ ‘ulum al-din [The reviving of the religious sciences], Imam al-Rabbani in his Maktubat [Letters], al-Suhrawardi in his ‘Awarif al-Ma‘arif [The knowledges of the illuminates], Abu Talib al-Makki in Qut al-qulub [The sustenance of hearts], and similar classic works, which discuss and solve hundreds of ethical questions about the inner life. These are books of Shari‘a and their questions are questions of Sacred Law, of how it is lawful or unlawful for a Muslim to be; and they preserve the part of the prophetic sunna dealing with states.”
Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali and Sufism by Mufti Abdur Rahman ibn Yusuf
Scholars appraisal of Imam Ghazali (ra) by Sheikh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InAz-_OFY6A
Shaykh Faraz Rabbani: Five Lessons From Imam al-Ghazali
Related courses:
Purification of the Heart & Praiseworthy Character (from Ghazali’s 40 Foundations of Religion)
Living Spirituality: Beginnings of Guidance-Shaykh Faraz Rabbani Part 1
Living Spirituality: Beginnings of Guidance-Shaykh Faraz Rabbani Part 2
