Al-Ghazali : Kitab al-'ilm The Book of Knowledge
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Translator
Kenneth Honerkamp
Description
About The Book
The Book of Knowledge (Kitab al-'ilm) is the foundation of the forty books of the Revival of the Religious Sciences (Ihya' 'ulum al-din), Imam al-Ghazali’s magnum opus. In the Book of Knowledge, he defines knowledge, its relation to faith, theology, and jurisprudence. The book deals with the virtue of knowledge from both rational and traditional points of view. It elucidates the types of knowledge and the nature of people’s obligation to seek knowledge.
Imam al-Ghazali defines jurisprudence and theology as branches of Islamic knowledge, then outlines those fields that people incorrectly consider to be Islamic disciplines, and distinguishes the praiseworthy from the blameworthy. He describes in detail the perils of disputation and the reasons people engage in debate and dialectics. He also considers the conduct incumbent on the teacher and student, and warns of the perils that can befall those pursuing knowledge. Finally, Imam al-Ghazali discusses the virtues and categories of the intellect and the prophetic traditions related to it.
Each chapter includes a discussion of the Qur'anic verses, Hadith, and traditions from the Companions and the pious predecessors related to the subject at hand. Imam al-Ghazali then engages his readers in a heartfelt discourse; he offers proofs, metaphors, and examples to encourage seekers along the path to knowledge of the hereafter.
About the Contributor(s)
About the author
al-Ghazali: Abu Hamid Muhammad al-Ghazali (450-505 AH / 1058-1111 CE) was born in Tus, in the Khorasan region of Persia, and is remembered as one of Islam's most influential thinkers. Losing his father young, he studied at Nishapur and was appointed, while still in his thirties, to the prestigious Nizamiyya college in Baghdad. He was Shafiʿi in law and Ashʿari in creed, and his contemporaries honored him as Hujjat al-Islam, the Proof of Islam. At the height of his fame al-Ghazali passed through a profound spiritual crisis, recounted in his autobiography al-Munqidh min al-Dalal (Deliverance from Error). He abandoned his teaching post, traveled, and devoted years to the inward discipline of the Sufis before returning to instruction with a renewed purpose. His landmark work, Ihyaʾ ʿUlum al-Din (The Revival of the Religious Sciences), reconstructs the religious life across four parts, acts of worship, social custom, the vices that ruin the soul, and the virtues that save it. In philosophy he wrote Tahafut al-Falasifa (The Incoherence of the Philosophers), a careful critique of the Hellenistic thinkers of his age. Bridging law, theology, philosophy, and mysticism, al-Ghazali shaped the direction of Sunni thought for centuries, and his books remain widely read and translated. His many works are available here in English translation.
Specifications
EAN 13 / ISBN
9781941610152
Publisher
Fons Vitae
Author
al-Ghazali
Pages
336
Translator
Kenneth Honerkamp
Year Published
2016
Size
W- | H- | D-
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