Al-Ghazali Letter to a Disciple

by al-Ghazali, Abu Hamid Muhammad; Mayer, Tobias

• ISBN13: 9780946621637
• ISBN10: 0946621632
• Edition: Bilingual
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-06-01
• Publisher: Islamic Texts Society

Summary

'Work for your terrestrial life in proportion to your location in it, and work for your afterlife in proportion to your eternity in it.' This is part of the advice that the great theologian and mystic Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (1058-1111 AD) put down in hisLetter to a Disciple. An old disciple of al-Ghazali had studied the Islamic sciences, including the many works of his master, for most of his life. Faced with the proximity of death, he turns again to his master this time asking for a summary of all his teachings.Letter to a Discipleis al-Ghazali's response. The emphasis in this short treatise is on religious and spiritual action and on putting into practice the knowledge that one has acquired.Letter to a Disciplecan be considered as the last testament of he who is regarded as Hujjat al-Islam, the 'Proof of Islam'. This new translation is presented here as a bilingual, English-Arabic, edition.

Author Biography

Abu Hamid Muhammad al-Ghazali was a theologian, logician, jurist, and mystic whose success in revealing the compatibility of Islam with the Sufi/mystical tradition has led him to be regarded as the most influential thinker of medieval Islam. Tobias Mayer, Ph.D., is a professor at the Institute of Ismaili Studies.

Table of Contents

Abbreviations	vi
Introduction	vii
I. Intellectual context	vii
II. Biographical context	xi
III. Content of Ayyuha 'l-walad	xxii
IV. Arabic text of the epistle	xxxv
Notes to Introduction	xxxvii
Translation and Arabic Text	2	(63)
Notes to Translation	63	(2)
Appendix: Persons Cited in the Text	65	(6)
Bibliography	71	(4)
Index	75