
He was the first to combine the concepts of Sufism into Shariah laws and the first to give a formal description of Sufism in his works. Al-Ghazali also played a major role in amalgamating Sufism and Shariah. Even though al-Ghazali has mentioned that he has wrote more than 70 books, presently there are more than 400 books that are attributed to him.Īl-Ghazali had a significant influence on both Muslim and Christian medieval philosophers. Al-Ghazali then wrote an abridged version of the The Revivial of Religious Sciences in Persian under the title Kimiya-yi sa’adat also known as The Alchemy of Happiness. The book has received many positive criticisms. This includes Islamic jurisprudence, theology, and Sufism. The work covers almost all fields of Islamic science. Another of al-Ghazali’s most renowned work is Ihya’ Ulum al-Din or The Revival of Religious Sciences. The encounter he had with skepticism led al-Ghazali to form a belief that all events and interactions are not the product of material conjunctions but instead are the present and immediate Will of God. Al-Ghazali published his book The Incoherence of Philosophers, this is marked as the turning point in Islamic epistemology. By 1091 Nizam al-Mulk promoted Ghazali to the professorship in Nizamiyya madrasa in Baghdad.ĭuring al-Ghazali’s life he wrote more than 70 books on science, Islamic philosophy and Sufism. Al-Ghazali was then bestowed the titles of “Brilliance of the Religion” and “Eminence among the Religious Leaders”. After the death of al-Juwayni, al-Ghazali left Nishapur and joined the court of Nizam al-Mulk who was then the vizier of Seljuq sultans in Isfahan in 1085. He later on went to study the subjects of jurist and theology from al-Juwayni in Nishapur. Al-Ghazali had begun to receive instruction in Islamic jurisprudence from a local teacher by the name of Ahmad al-Radhakani. Most posthumous traditions began that al-Ghazali’s father had passed away in stark poverty leaving both al-Ghazali and his younger brother Ahmad in the care of a Sufi. He was born in the town of Tabaran in the district of Tus which is now situated in modern day Iran. Al-Ghazali was a Muslim theologian, jurist, philosopher, and a mystic descending from the Persians. To many Westerners he is known as Algazel. Al-Ghazali was born in 450 AH or between March 1058 to February 1059 CE with the original name of Abu Hamind ibn Muhammad al-Ghazali.
