Al-Ghazali on Poverty and Abstinence : Book 34 of the Revival of the Religious Sciences (Ihya' Ulum al-Din) Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali

ISBN: 978 1 903682 81 4
Author: Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali
Publisher: Islamic Texts Society (2019)
Pages: 224 Binding: Paperback

Description from the publisher:

Al-Ghazali on Poverty and Abstinence is the thirty-fourth chapter of the Revival of the Religious Sciences (Ihya' ‘Ulum al-Din); which is widely regarded as the greatest work of Muslim spirituality. In Al-Ghazali on Poverty and Abstinence; Abu Hamid al-Ghazali considers two themes dear to Islamic devotional literature: poverty and abstinence. Taking as his example the Prophet's love for the poor; Ghazali explains that poverty is not simply an accidental state of destitution that might befall anyone but rather an inner acceptance of the Will of God and a form of abstinence for His sake. Thus the life of poverty described by Ghazali in Al-Ghazali on Poverty and Abstinence refers to what every devoted follower of the Prophet is meant to adopt whatever his or her outer state may be.

In this volume; the Islamic Texts Society has included the translation of Abu Hamid al-Ghazali's own Introduction to the Revival of the Religious Sciences which gives the reasons that caused him to write the work; the structure of the whole of the Revival and places each of the chapters in the context of the others.

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

Dr Anthony Shaker is the author of several studies including the only complete study of Sadr al-Din Qunawi. He is also the translator of both Al-Ghazali on Intention; Sincerity & Truthfulness and Al-Ghazali on Vigilance and Self-examination in the Islamic Texts Society's al-Ghazali Series.

‘…the series as a whole; [is] a significant contribution to our understanding of this key figure in Islamic intellectual thought.'Oliver Leaman; BRISMES Bulletin.Al-Ghazali on Poverty and Abstinence is the thirty-fourth chapter of the Revival of the Religious Sciences (Ihya' ‘Ulum al-Din); which is widely regarded as the greatest work of Muslim spirituality. In Al-Ghazali on Poverty and Abstinence; Abu Hamid al-Ghazali considers two themes dear to Islamic devotional literature: poverty and abstinence. Taking as his example the Prophet's love for the poor; Ghazali explains that poverty is not simply an accidental state of destitution that might befall anyone but rather an inner acceptance of the Will of God and a form of abstinence for His sake. Thus the life of poverty described by Ghazali in Al-Ghazali on Poverty and Abstinence refers to what every devoted follower of the Prophet is meant to adopt whatever his or her outer state may be.

In this volume; the Islamic Texts Society has included the translation of Abu Hamid al-Ghazali's own Introduction to the Revival of the Religious Sciences which gives the reasons that caused him to write the work; the structure of the whole of the Revival and places each of the chapters in the context of the others.

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

Dr Anthony Shaker is the author of several studies including the only complete study of Sadr al-Din Qunawi. He is also the translator of both Al-Ghazali on Intention; Sincerity & Truthfulness and Al-Ghazali on Vigilance and Self-examination in the Islamic Texts Society's al-Ghazali Series.

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