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Life and teaching of Ghazzali

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Ghazzali : Biography

Abu Hamid Ibn Muhammad Ibn Muhammad al-Tusi al-Shafi'i al-Ghazali [Ghazali in Persian, Al-Ghazali in Arabic) was born in 450/41 AH/1058 A.D. in Tus in Khorasan, (a region of Iran). His father died while he was still very young but he had the opportunity of getting education in the prevalent curriculum at Nishapur and Baghdad. Soon he acquired a high standard of scholarship in religion and philosophy and was honoured by his appointment as a Professor at the Nizamiyah University of Baghdad, which was recognised as one of the most reputed institutions of learning in the golden era of Muslim history. After a few years, however, he gave up his academic pursuits and worldly interests and became a wandering ascetic. This was a process (period) of personal mystical transformation. Later, he resumed his teaching duties, but again left these. An era of solitary life, devoted to contemplation and writing then ensued, which led to the author- ship of a number of everlasting books. He died in 505 AH/1111 A.D. at Tus.

  
  


Ghazzali : Bibliography

- Ghazzali, Abu Hamid Muhammad al-. The Book of Knowledge. Translated by Nabih Amin Faris. New Delhi: International Islamic Publishers, n.d: The first book of al-Ghazzali's (1058-1111) magnum opus, Revival of the Religious Sciences, is essentially a Sufi treatise on knowledge, its categories, properties, value, and means of acquisition.
- Ghazzali, Abu Hamid Muhammad al-. Mishkat Al-Anwar (The Niche for Lights). Translated by W. H. T. Gairdner. Lahore: Ashraf, 1952: Al-Ghazzali's (1058-1111) famous esoteric treatise on the Light Verse" of the Qur'an. Provides great insight into the Sufi doctrine of knowledge.
- Ghazzali, Abu Hamid Muhammad al-. O Disciple. Translated by George H. Scherer. Beirut: Catholic Press, 1951: Short work, in the form of an epistle, by al-Ghazzali (1058-1111) to a disciple, containing all the essential information needed by the novice on the spiritual path. An interesting glimpse into the master-disciple relationship.
- Ghazzali, Ahmad. Sawanih: Inspirations from the World of Pure Spirits. Translated by Nasrollah Pourjavady. London: KPI, 1986: Overshadowed by his illustrious brother Abu Hamid al-Ghazzali, Ahmad Ghazzali (d. 1126) was a great Sufi master in his own right. This work makes his most important work, a philosophical Persian treatise on mystical love, accessible to readers of English. Contains commentary and notes by the translator.
- Ghazzali, Abu Hamid Muhammad al-. The Faith and Practice of Al-Ghazali. Translated by W. Montgomery Watt. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1953: The bulk of this translation is a highly personal, autobiographical work by the great jurist, theologian, and Sufi master, al-Ghazzali (1058-1111), which tells of his travels in pursuit of truth, taking him from skepticism regarding his pursuit of philosophy and theology to his embracing of the Sufi way. Includes another short work on the practices necessary for the spiritual aspirant.

Ghazzali : Links

Islam, Abd el-Kader, Abu Bakr al Sabbak, Abu Sa'id, Adda Bentounčs, Ahmad Al-Alawi, Al Nuri, Al-Junayd, Araqi, Attar, Baba Kuhi of Shiraz, Bistami, Cheikh Ahmed Tidiane Sy, Cheikh Bamba Dieye, Dhu-l-Nun, Frithjof Schuon, Ghazzali, Hallaj, Hujwiri, Ibn 'Arabi, Ibn' Ata' Allah, Iraqi, Jami, Kalabadhi, Khaled Bentounčs, Nazir, Others Sufis Teaching, Rabia al-Adawiyya, Rumi, Shabistari, Sheikh Badruddin, Sheikh Muzaffer, Sidi Hamza al Qâdiri al Boutchichi, Umar Ibn Al-Farid, etc.

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