Revival of the Religious Sciences: An Abridgement

Imam al-Ghazali

Abridged by Salih Ahmad al-Shami

Translated by Mokrane Guezzou

Hardback, Cloth-bound edition

9780992700522

Al-Ghazali sought, through the Revival (Ihya Ulum al-Din), to breathe life into the religious knowledges which, by his age, had become moribund due to peoples’ concern with status, fame, and comfort instead of true spiritual understanding. The forty chapters of the book are organized into four major parts: Acts of Worship, Norms of Daily Life, Qualities Leading to Perdition, and Qualities Leading to Salvation. The structure of the whole Ihya revolves around two main axes. The first axis is the framework that must regulate the relationship between God and man, and the second is how to lead an exemplary life in this world, and how to prepare for one's journey to the afterlife.

With its lucid prose and accessible style, the present translation — based upon the abridgement of the Syrian scholar Salih Ahmad al-Shami — makes such study eminently accessible to everyone.

‘If people had no concern for any of the works authored by scholars save the Revival, it would suffice them.’ - Imam Taj al-Din al-Subki