Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din: [Volume 3] The Revival of the Religious Sciences

Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din: [Volume 3] The Revival of the ReligiousSciences

Author: Al-Ghazali

Publisher:Islamic Book Trust (IBT)

ISBN: 9789670526171

Page: 440pp

Price: RM69

The book isa comprehensive encyclopaedia for all of a Muslim’s religious affairs,including beliefs, acts of worship, dealings and character, as well as forindividual and societal welfare. Al-Ghazali’s style is that of one whopractices what he knows, one who is determined to rise from the dry, ordinarymanner of teaching to one which encourages action. Volume three focuses on thedestructive vices and consists of ten books covering ‘The soul and itsattributes’, ‘Disciplining the self’, ‘Breaking the two desires’, ‘Harms of thetongue’, ‘Anger, hatred and envy’, ‘Attachment to the world’, ‘Love for wealth’, ‘Love for power and ostentation’ , ‘Pride and self-pride’ and ‘Condemnationof pride’.

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Abu Hamidal-Ghazali is a towering figure in Islam. His enormous influence can besummarized, in the words of Annemarie Shimmel, as the one who “teaches… only tohelp man to live a life in accordance with the sacred law, not by clingingexclusively to its letter, but by an understanding of its deeper meaning …sothat he is ready for the meeting with his Lord at any moment.” His greatestwork Ihya Ulum al-Din (Revivification of the Sciences of Religion), comprisingforty books divided into four quarters of ten books each, has helpedgenerations towards this end until today.