Al Ghazali on Invocations and Supplications (Al-Ghazali/K. Nakamura)

ISBN: 0946621144
Author: Al-Ghazali; K. Nakamura (translator)
Publisher: Islamic Texts Society (UK)
Pages: 131 Binding: Paperback

Description from the publisher:

This definitive treatment on the subject of prayerfulness and remembrance of God, is a translation of Book 9 of the Ihya', and is widely read not only for its comprehensiveness, but also for the analytical approach of the author, who explores the psychological and spiritual effects of prayers and the celebrations of God's names. Although prayerfulness and the remembrance of God suffuse all the formal practices of Islam, there are time when the Muslim simply 'sits alone with his lord' to repeat formulas drawn form the Quran and the sayings of the Prophet, seeking remission of his sins and the purification of the heart. The present volume, Book IX of the Revival of the Religious Sciences, is probably the most widely read compendium of such material, popular not only for its comprehensiveness and beauty, but also for the analytical approach of its author, who explorers the psychological and spiritual effects of prayer and the celebration of God's name. Abu-Hamid al-Ghazali (1058-1111), theologian, logician, jurist, and mystic, was born and died at the town of Tus in Central Asia, but spent much of his life lecturing at Baghdad or leading the life of a wandering dervish. His most celebrated work, of which this is an important section, has exercised a profound influence on Muslim intellectual history by exploring the mystical significance of the practices and beliefs of Islamic orthodox, earning him the title of Hujjat al-Islam, the 'proof of Islam'. The original translation by Kojiro Nakamura, now Head of the Islamic Studies Department at the University of Tokyo, has been substantially revised and augmented, with hadith identification, by T.J. Winter. General Editor of the Islamic Texts Society's at-Ghazali's series. Invocations & Supplications is the second title in this series.