Faith in Divine Unity and Trust in Divine Providence: The Revival of the Religious Sciences Book XXXV (The Revival of the Religious Sciences, Book 35) [Paperback]

Abu Hamid Muhammad al-Ghazali (Author), David B. Burrell (Translator)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1887752358 | ISBN-13: 978-1887752350 | Publication Date: January 1, 2001

In an axial volume from his celebrated compendium, the "Ihya ulum al din," al-Ghazali shares his startling and original exploration of the meaning of trust in Divine Providence and recommends specific spiritual skills to help the seeker develop a state whereby he or she may rightly respond to events as they happen. This judicious use of stories is intended to imitate the Sufi practice of the master/disciple relationship, where the novice is helped to discern correct action.

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About the Author

Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali is generally acclaimed as the most influential thinker of medieval Islam, whose writings have been regarded as the greatest in spirituality and have been, for centuries, the most read work after the Qur'an in the Muslim world.

Product Details

• Paperback: 175 pages
• Publisher: Fons Vitae (January 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1887752358
• ISBN-13: 978-1887752350
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,019,805 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #54 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Islam > Shi'ism

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22 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A word on translation, March 6, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Faith in Divine Unity and Trust in Divine Providence: The Revival of the Religious Sciences Book XXXV (The Revival of the Religious Sciences, Book 35) (Paperback)

Kitab al-Tawhid wa al-Tawakkul is a significant part of al-Ghazali's Ihya Ulum al-Din, so I purchased it the first time I saw its translation. Unfortunately, it is my humble opinion that the translation is a little disappointing in that it is hardly acceptable by scholarly standards, which does not allow the reader to enjoy what the author has to say about the subject matter of the book. In many places, the meanings of the original Arabic statements were not reflected in the English interpretation at all, and this seems to have led the translator to be too liberal at times in interpreting those statements. The English rendition of certain crucial statements appear to be far-fetched interpretations and hardly make sense, at least to me. I do not think al-Ghazali actually says, in many places, what the translator claims he says. Readers who do not know Arabic to check the Arabic original must be very careful and cautious in reading it. I am just wondering if the Arabic-knowing people listed in the acknowledgments have really read and checked the translation at all. This work seems to be the result of a perfunctory effort and needs a total revision. It is just not fair to al-Ghazali, nor to the reader.