The Path to Virtue: The Ethical Philosophy of Al-Raghib Al-Esfahani. An Annotated Translation with critical introduction of Kitab Al-Dhari’ah ila Makarim Al-Shariah (Mohammed Yassin Alli)

ISBN: 9839379402
Author: Mohammed Yassin Alli
Publisher: International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (2006)
Pages: 589 Binding: Hardcover

Description from the publisher:

This book is an introduction to the ethical philosophy of al-Raghib al-Isfahani, the eleventh century Islamic thinker from Isfahan, which is in modern Iran, and to Arabic ethical literature that culminated in his work. To illustrate Isfahani’s thought, Yasien Mohamed provides an annotated translation – the first in English – Isfahani’s most important philosophical work. Kitab al-Dhari’ah ila Makarim al-Shari’ah (The Book of Means to the Noble Qualities of the Law). The Book of Means attempts to integrate elements of Greek ethics into a Quranic-based ethics. It made an impression on Ghazzali’s thought and became an important source for his ethical work. Mizan al-‘Amal (The Scale of Action).

In his extensive introduction, Mohamed discusses the ethical traditions leading up to Isfahani’s work, his cosmology, and epistemology, key concepts such as love and justice, and the relevance of his ethics for education, economics, and psychotherapy. The Path to Virtue is about how to acquire the virtues of the soul which are essential to happiness in this world and the Hereafter. It situates Isfahani’s ideas in the context of thinkers such as Aristole, Miskaway h and Ghazzali.