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Abu Hamid al-Ghazali

أبو حامد الغزالي

1058 CE · 450 AH† – c. 1111 CE · c. 505 AH †

† Hijri date derived by computation from the Gregorian/Julian date; it may differ from the transmitted date by a day or two.

Hujjat al-Islam al-Ghazali the Shafi'i, author of the Ihya' — of which al-Nawawi said that were all Islam's books lost and the Ihya' alone remained it would suffice; he died at Tus in 505 1.

Depth

At a glance

Roles
Scholar
Era
The Buyid, Fatimid and Seljuk Era
Region
Persia & Central Asia · Levant & Iraq
Identifiers
Wikidata
Review
Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it

Life in time

1025105010751100112511501175 c. c. c. c. c. c.
The Buyid, Fatimid and Seljuk Era · The Crusades, Ayyubids and Mamluks Contemporaries: Abdallah ibn Hamuwayh al-Juwayni · Abu Bakr ibn Abd al-Baqi · Ahmad-e Jami (Zhanda Pil, Khorasani Sufi, d. 1141) · Al-Baghawi, al-Husayn ibn Muhammad · al-Farawi

Overview

Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Ghazali al-Shafi'i, "the Proof of Islam", author of "Ihya Ulum al-Din". 2

Haji Khalifa relates from al-Nawawi that he said: if all the books of Islam were lost and the "Ihya" remained, it would suffice in place of what was lost. 2

His life

He was born in Tus in 450 AH. His father spun wool and sold it, and on his deathbed he entrusted him and his brother Ahmad to a Sufi friend. 3

He moved to Nishapur and attended the lessons of the Imam al-Haramayn, and was appointed to teach at the Nizamiyya in Baghdad in 484 AH. He then left the world and turned to worship and wandering, and went out to the Hijaz in 488 AH. 3

He stayed in Damascus for ten years and wrote books there, and it is said that the "Ihya" was among them. He then visited Jerusalem and Alexandria and returned to Tus. 3

He died on the fourteenth of Jumada al-Akhira 505 AH at al-Tabaran in the lands of Tus. 3

Among his works, in the museum's records, are Iljam al-Awamm and al-Iqtisad fi al-I'tiqad. 4

In the 'Al-Mubdi'un' programme (part 1 — formation)

Tareq al-Suwaidan chooses Abu Hamid al-Ghazali as the programme's closing figure 'not because he is the greatest but because he is unique, gathering many fields' — modelling the maker-quartets on him 5 6. The son his father prayed for: born 450 AH — of the five factors in his making: a pious illiterate father who spun cloth in Tus, sat weeping in the jurists' circles at his own ignorance, and prayed with a sincere heart for a son who would be a jurist and a preacher — answered with Abu Hamid and his preacher brother Ahmad 7 8 9 10 11 12 13. The father died with his sons still small, entrusting them to a Sufi friend — 'this is my inheritance: educate my sons with my money, spend it all' — and the Sufi, having spent it, seeing their keenness, advised them to a school that maintains its students 14 15 16 17. The travel factor: among them a lesson from a highwayman — who looted the caravan including al-Ghazali's satchel of notes; begged to return them, the robber laughed 'how do you call it your knowledge when you do not know? if the notes are lost your knowledge is lost' and threw it back; al-Ghazali said 'a man God made speak to enlighten me about my affair', went home and memorized all he had written over three years — memorization becoming his method 18 19 20 21. Of his teachers: al-Radhkani in fiqh at Tus, Abu Nasr al-Isma'ili at Jurjan, then Nishapur's Nizamiyya — among the schools of Nizam al-Mulk, 'the greatest minister in the nation's history' (the speaker's view) — where he clung to Imam al-Haramayn al-Juwayni, who would leave him teaching in his place and call him 'a drowning sea' 22 23 24 25 26 27. He left Nishapur at al-Juwayni's death aged twenty-eight, debated in Nizam al-Mulk's assembly until opponents conceded, and was appointed to Baghdad's Nizamiyya — 'the world's greatest university' — at thirty-four 28 29 30 31 32. Of his quest for truth: he studied the four contending groups — philosophers, theologians, Batinis, Sufis — until he had absorbed and answered each, recording it in al-Munqidh min al-Dalal; emerging 'with a heavy dose of doubt' for six months, then the decision to leave Baghdad on subsistence money 33 34 35 36 37 38 39. The seclusion: two years in Damascus at the Umayyad Mosque's western minaret, then Jerusalem shutting the Dome's door on himself — where he began Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din — then Hajj in 489 AH, and ten years of retreat 40 41 42 43 44 45.

In the 'Al-Mubdi'un' programme (part 2 — crisis and return)

Al-Suwaidan narrates the turning in al-Ghazali's own words: he read al-Makki's Qut al-Qulub and the works of al-Muhasibi and al-Junayd — 'I knew with certainty they are masters of states, not masters of sayings' — and 'what could be acquired by study I acquired; what remained cannot come by hearing or teaching, only by taste and wayfaring' 46 47 48. His reckoning with himself: he examined his deeds and found the best of them teaching, then probed its motive — 'my intention was not pure for God but sought rank and fame; I knew I was on the brink of a collapsing bank' — and six months between 'the appetites of the world dragging me by their chains' and 'the herald of faith crying: depart, depart' 49 50 51 52 53 54. From choice to compulsion: 'God sealed my tongue until it was bound from teaching' — he strove to lecture a single day and could not utter a word; 'I resorted to God with the resort of the desperate, and He who answers the desperate answered me' 55 56 57. Eleven years of seclusion — ten between Syria, Jerusalem, Mecca and Medina and one in Tus — neither teaching nor learning, only contemplating his self: 'that is why none has spoken of the soul's depths like al-Ghazali — he studied his own for eleven years' (the speaker's conclusion) 57 58 59. The return: Fakhr al-Mulk Ali ibn Nizam al-Mulk pressed him, and he taught at Nishapur's Nizamiyya two years until Fakhr al-Mulk's assassination, then retired to Tus building a lodge for students and a khanqah for Sufis, leaving it only in death 60 61 62. Of his traits: bearer of a systematic call since youth; he united — rarely joined — Sufi spirituality and purity of worship with scientific method, freedom of opinion and courage; and he led the intellectual stand against the Isma'ili-Batini Fatimid bid — who assassinated Nizam al-Mulk and his son — writing Fada'ih al-Batiniyya at Caliph al-Mustazhir's commission in 487 AH, Tahafut al-Falasifa, and al-Munqidh min al-Dalal 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71. His farthest aim: to be 'the renewer of religion in the fifth century' — visible in the very title Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din 68 72. His method of mind: doubt everything from zero, then intuition and contemplation — 'certain knowledge is that in which the known is unveiled so no doubt remains' — doubting even sense-data and axioms until he reached sincere faith 73 74 75 76.

Connections

Explore the connections

Taught
Muhyi al-Din Abu Sa'd al-Nisaburi· Abu al-Hasan al-Balansi· جمال الإسلام السلمي· أبو منصور بن الرزاز
Authored
Iljam al-'Awam 'an 'Ilm al-Kalam· al-Iqtisad fi'l-I'tiqad
Criticised by
ابن رشد الحفيد
Participated in
al-Ghazali's arrival in Damascus as an ascetic, in 488· Death of al-Ghazali at Tus· al-Ghazali leaves Baghdad· al-Ghazali becomes chief professor at the Nizamiyya in Baghdad
Mentioned in
The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam

People and things also explored

Baghdad· ابن رشد الحفيد· The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam· Fu'ad and qalb (the heart as insight)· Seeking knowledge· Religious experience· Tasawwuf· Tests of religious experience: intellectual and pragmatic

Explore the timeline

Sources

  1. Kashf al-Zunun an Asami al-Kutub wa'l-Funun — Hajji Khalifa (Furqan ed.) , p. 221
  2. Kashf al-Zunun an Asami al-Kutub wa'l-Funun — Hajji Khalifa (Furqan ed.) , p.221
  3. Shadharat al-Dhahab — Ibn al-Imad al-Hanbali , p.491-492
  4. Kashf al-Zunun an Asami al-Kutub wa'l-Funun — Hajji Khalifa (Furqan ed.)
  5. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 28, at 00:01:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  6. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 28, at 00:01:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  7. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 28, at 00:02:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  8. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 28, at 00:03:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  9. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 28, at 00:03:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  10. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 28, at 00:04:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  11. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 28, at 00:04:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  12. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 28, at 00:05:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  13. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 28, at 00:05:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  14. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 28, at 00:06:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  15. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 28, at 00:06:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  16. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 28, at 00:07:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  17. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 28, at 00:07:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  18. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 28, at 00:09:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  19. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 28, at 00:09:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  20. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 28, at 00:10:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  21. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 28, at 00:10:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  22. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 28, at 00:13:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  23. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 28, at 00:13:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  24. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 28, at 00:14:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  25. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 28, at 00:14:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  26. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 28, at 00:15:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  27. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 28, at 00:15:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  28. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 28, at 00:16:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  29. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 28, at 00:16:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  30. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 28, at 00:17:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  31. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 28, at 00:17:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  32. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 28, at 00:18:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  33. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 28, at 00:18:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  34. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 28, at 00:19:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  35. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 28, at 00:19:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  36. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 28, at 00:20:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  37. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 28, at 00:20:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  38. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 28, at 00:21:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  39. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 28, at 00:21:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  40. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 28, at 00:22:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  41. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 28, at 00:22:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  42. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 28, at 00:23:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  43. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 28, at 00:23:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  44. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 28, at 00:24:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  45. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 28, at 00:24:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  46. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 29, at 00:02:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  47. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 29, at 00:03:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  48. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 29, at 00:03:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  49. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 29, at 00:04:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  50. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 29, at 00:05:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  51. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 29, at 00:05:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  52. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 29, at 00:06:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  53. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 29, at 00:07:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  54. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 29, at 00:07:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  55. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 29, at 00:10:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  56. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 29, at 00:10:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  57. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 29, at 00:11:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  58. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 29, at 00:12:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  59. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 29, at 00:13:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  60. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 29, at 00:13:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  61. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 29, at 00:14:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  62. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 29, at 00:14:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  63. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 29, at 00:15:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  64. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 29, at 00:16:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  65. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 29, at 00:17:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  66. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 29, at 00:17:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  67. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 29, at 00:18:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  68. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 29, at 00:18:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  69. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 29, at 00:20:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  70. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 29, at 00:21:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  71. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 29, at 00:21:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  72. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 29, at 00:19:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  73. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 29, at 00:22:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  74. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 29, at 00:23:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  75. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 29, at 00:23:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  76. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Al Mubdioune, episode 29, at 00:24:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  • From Greek Philosophy to Modern Philosophy — Sulayman Sulayman Khamis
  • Al-Ghazali — Encyclopaedia Britannica
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Abu Hamid al-Ghazali”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/al-ghazali-abu-hamid/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-27.

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