This collection of short wisdoms from the works of Imam al-Ghazali reflects the broad range of his brilliant intellectual thought. With an emphasis upon literary quality, concision, and concentration of meaning, each aphorism is full of value and significance and typifies the tradition of qawa'id (legal maxims) in the Islamic intellectual sciences. A commentary accompanies each maxim unraveling its wisdom. Tastefully presented and luxurious in feel, this book is a chamber of spirituality readers will look forward to delving into. The fourth title in the Treasury in Islamic Thought and Civilization series, which seeks to present clear introductions to the thought and wisdom of major Islamic intellectual figures, prepared by learned translators.
The time has come to reveal more of Rumi than the inaccurate portrayal of a new age guru. With careful selections from his work and accompanying commentaries this book will bring readers closer to his poetry’s true, traditional meaning. ‘Everyone has, in their view, become my close friend but they have not sought out the secrets within me.’ — Rumi
Covers those dimensions of Islamic rituals of worship – prayer, almsgiving, fasting, Pilgrimage, etc. which are essential to the fulfilment of inner quality. Consists of selections from al-Ghazali's Ihya, a pivotal work in the history of Islamic thought.
Muhammad Iqbal (d.1938), thinker and philosopher - poet of Indo-Pakistani sub-continent was one of the key architects of contemporary Islam. Through the medium of his thoughtful writing and soul-transforming poetry, both Urdu and Persian, he infused a new spirit in the Muslims, not only of India and Pakistan but also Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asia and the Middle East. He challenged the western concept of nationalism and expounded the concept of Islamic nations, on which the idea of Pakistan is based. A Treasury of Iqbal is a glimpse of his thought and contribution.
The book you must read to understand the Islamist crisis—and the threat to us all Robert R. Reilly’s eye-opening book masterfully explains the frightening behavior coming out of the Islamic world. Terrorism, he shows, is only one manifestation of the spiritual pathology of Islamism. Reilly uncovers the root of our contemporary crisis: a pivotal struggle waged within the Muslim world nearly a millennium ago. In a heated battle over the role of reason, the side of irrationality won. The deformed theology that resulted, Reilly reveals, produced the spiritual pathology of Islamism, and a deeply dysfunctional culture. The Closing of the Muslim Mind solves such puzzles as: · Why the Arab world stands near the bottom of every measure of human development · Why scientific inquiry is nearly dead in the Islamic world · Why Spain translates more books in a single year than the entire Arab world has in the past thousand years · Why some people in Saudi Arabia still refuse to believe man has been to the moon
The spiritual life in Islam begins with riyadat al-nafs, the inner warfare against the ego. Distracted and polluted by worldliness, the lower self has a tendency to drag the human creature down into arrogance and vice. Only by a powerful effort of will can the sincere worshipper achieve the purity of soul which enables him to attain God's proximity. This translation of two chapters from The Revival of the Religious Sciences (Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din) details the sophisticated spiritual techniques adopted by classical Islam. In the first step, On Disciplining the Soul, which cites copious anecdotes from the Islamic scriptures and biographies of the saints, Ghazali explains how to acquire good character traits, and goes on to describe how the sickness of the heart may be cured. In the second part, Breaking the Two Desires, he focusses on the question of gluttony and sexual desire, concluding, in the words of the Prophet, that 'the best of all matters is the middle way'. The translator has added an introduction and notes which explore Ghazali's ability to make use of Greek as well as Islamic ethics. The work will prove of special interest to those interested in Sufi mysticism, comparative ethics, and the question of sexuality in Islam.