Al-Ghazali on Vigilance and Self-examination is the thirty-eighth chapter of the Revival of the Religious Sciences and follows on from Al-Ghazali on Intention, Sincerity & Truthfulness.
Here Ghazali focuses on the different stations of steadfastness in religion (muraba'a), vigilance and self-examination being its cornerstones. As in all his writings, Ghazali bases his arguments on the Qur’an, the example of the Prophet and the sayings of numerous scholars and Sufis.
As relevant today as it was in the 11th century, this discourse will be of interest to anyone concerned with ethics and moral philosophy.
About Imam Ghazali
Abu Hamid Muhammad, famous in the world of learning as al-Ghazzal was born in 450 AH (1058 A.D). in Persia . He graduated from the Nizamia Madressa at Nishapur, with distinction.a very famous educational institution in Nishapur. Later he was appointed as a teacher at the Nizamia College in Baghdad, where he proved very successful in imparting knowledge to the scholars under his care. This valuable gift of sustaining interest of his pupils and passing on his knowledge to them made him so famous that students from all parts of the country flocked to study under him.
Imam al-Ghazzali was fondly referred to as the "Hujjat-ul-lslam", Proof of Islam, He is honoured as a scholar and a saint by learned men all over the world.
Al-Ghazali is generally acclaimed as the most influential thinker of the Classical period of Islam,in his autobiography The Deliverance from Error, the Imam describes his education and his intellectual crisis, which left him so paralysed by doubt that he he gave up his academic pursuits and worldly interests and became a wandering ascetic. This was a process (period) of mystical transformation. Later, he resumed his teaching duties, but again left these. An era of solitary life, devoted to contemplation and writing then ensued, which led to the authorship of a number of everlasting books
About the Translator
Anthony F. Shaker holds a PhD in Islamic Studies from McGill University and is the author, among other works, of Thinking in the Language of Reality: Sadr al-Din Qunavi and the Philosophy of Reason. He writes on the philosophical and Sufi traditions of Islam, contemporary developments around the world, and is a professional consultant and research