About The Book

This fascinating work profiles Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (1058-1111), the foremost Islamic scholar and mystic of the medieval period. Attracting the patronage of the vizier Nizam al-Mulk early in his career, he was appointed head of the Nizamiyyah College at Baghdad, and attracted audiences from across the Islamic world, who sought his teachings on Islamic philosophy and jurisprudence.

Eventually renouncing his position due to a spiritual crisis, he went into self-imposed exile, during which he wrote the Sufi masterpiece, Revival of the Sciences of Religion. Concise and lucid, this is a perfect introduction to the great man's life and work.

CONTENTS

Preface
Abbreviations
Names and terms
Chronology

INTRODUCTION

The Seljuqs
The "Schools” of Law
The Notion of Kalam
The Mu‘tazili Factor
Ash‘ari and the Three Brothers
Philosophy (Falsafa)
The Isma‘ilis
Sufism

1 THE RISE TO RENOWN

A Child of Khorasan
The Stages of his Career
Early Studies: Sufi Masters and Theologians
Juwayni
The Patronage of the Powerful
Ghazali at Court
The Temptations of Prestige

2 DEVOTION TO THE LAW

Ghazali's Contributions to Law
The Example of Analogy (qiyas)
The Indolence of the Learned
Shafi‘i: the Beloved Model
Fidelity to the Law

3 THE DOUBLE-EDGED DISCIPLINE: GHAZALI AND THEOLOGY

Theology vs Philosophy
Against a "Religion of Donkeys”
Ghazali the Theologian
The Dogmatic Manual al-Iqtisad fi'l-i‘tiqad
Ghazali's Mode of Argument in "The Just Balance”
The Shadow of Ibn Sina
A Human Accent
Ghazali on Divine Names
The Absence of Insight as Insight
A Manual for Meditation
Ghazali's Attitude towards Kalam

4 THE POISON OF PHILOSOPHY AND ITS ANTIDOTE

Did Ghazali Destroy Philosophy in Islam?
The Seductiveness of System
The Exposition of Philosophy: the Maqasid al-Falasifa
The Attack: Tahafut al-Falasifa

5 CRISIS AND RECOVERY

The Breakdown of 1095
Sickness and Health
Al-Munqidh min al-Dalal ("The Deliverer from Error”)
Scepticism and Ghazali: His Early Crisis
The Significance of Dream
The Four Ways
The Decisive Break and the Departure from Baghdad
Baghdad, the "Nest of Darkness”
The Role of Ahmad Ghazali

6 THE REVIVAL OF ISLAM

The Character of the Ihya'
The Architecture of the Ihya'

CONCLUSION: KNOWLEDGE IN ACTION

The Return to Teaching
Death and Posthumous Career


Bibliography
Index

About The Author

Eric Ormsby is Chief Librarian at the Library of The Institute of Ismaili Studies, London. He was formerly Professor and Director of the Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University.