Al-Ghazali on Intention; Sincerity and Truthfulness : Book 37 of the Revival of the Religious Sciences (Ihya' Ulum al-Din) Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali

ISBN: 9781911141341
Author: Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali
Publisher: Islamic Texts Society (2014)
Pages: 172 Binding: Paperback

Description from the publisher:

Al-Ghazali on Intention; Sincerity & Truthfulness is the thirty-seventh chapter of the Revival of the Religious Sciences. It falls in the section dealing with the virtues. Here Ghazali deals with the very important subject of intention; which is of crucial importance in Islam. He asks: ‘How can someone ignorant of the meaning of intention verify his own intention; or how can someone ignorant of the meaning of sincerity verify his own sincerity; or how can someone sincerely claim truthfulness if he has not verified its meaning?'

In the Book of Intention; Sincerity & Truthfulness; Ghazali gives a response to each of these questions by expounding the reality and levels of intention; sincerity and truthfulness; those acts which affirm them and those acts which mar them. As in all his writings; Ghazali bases his arguments on the Qur'an; the example of the Prophet and the sayings of numerous scholars and Sufis.

Please refer to the Islamic Texts Society Al-Ghazali Series for further translations from Al-Ghazali.

Dr Anthony Shaker holds a PhD in Islamic Studies from McGill University and is the author of Thinking in the Language of Reality: Sadr al-Din Qunawi and the Philosophy of Reason. He writes on the philosophical traditions of Islam; contemporary developments around the world; and is a professional consultant and researcher.

‘…the series as a whole; [is] a significant contribution to our understanding of this key figure in Islamic intellectual thought.'Oliver Leaman; BRISMES Bulletin.