Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din: [Volume 2] The Revival of the Religious Sciences

Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din: [Volume 2] The Revival of the Religious Sciences

Author: Al-Ghazali

Publisher: Islamic Book Trust (IBT)

ISBN: 9789670526164

Page: 340pp

Price: RM63

The book is a comprehensive encyclopaedia for all of a Muslim’s religious affairs, including beliefs, acts of worship, dealings and character, as well as for individual and societal welfare. Al-Ghazali’s style is that of one who practices what he knows, one who is determined to rise from the dry, ordinary manner of teaching to one which encourages action. Volume two focuses on the norms of daily conduct and consists of eleven books covering ‘The Rules of Eating and Drinking’, ‘The Secrets of Marriage’, ‘Earning a livelihood’, ‘The Lawful and the Unlawful’, ‘Love and Brotherhood’, ‘Duties to Muslims, Neighbours, Relatives, Slaves and Servants’, ‘The Rules of Living in Seclusion’ and ‘The Rules and Regulations of Travelling’.

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Abu Hamid al-Ghazali is a towering figure in Islam. His enormous influence can be summarized, in the words of Annemarie Shimmel, as the one who “teaches… only to help man to live a life in accordance with the sacred law, not by clinging exclusively to its letter, but by an understanding of its deeper meaning …so that he is ready for the meeting with his Lord at any moment.” His greatest work Ihya Ulum al-Din (Revivification of the Sciences of Religion), comprising forty books divided into four quarters of ten books each, has helped generations towards this end until today.