Al-Ghazalf on the Manners Relating to Eating is the eleventh chapter of The Revival of the Religious Sciences which is widely regarded as the greatest work of Muslim spirituality. This volume begins the section dealing with man and society, and the norms of daily life. While concentrating on a daily activity, eating, al-Ghazalt presents the importance of aligning every aspect of one s life with religion and spirituality. Referring extensively to the example of the Prophet and to that of the early Sufis, al-Ghazali illustrates how the simple activity of eating can encourage numerous virtues which are themselves necessary for the remainder of the spiritual life. The sections of Al-Ghazali on the Manners Relating to Eating are divided into what a person must uphold when eating alone, how a person must conduct himself when eating in company and the manners of hospitality. Through these sections, al-Ghazalt also discusses lawful and unlawful foods and practices, cleanliness, fasting, general health issues, and the blessings of contentment with little and generosity. In this new edition, the Islamic Texts Society has included a translation of Imam Ghazali s own Introduction to the Revival of the Religious Sciences which gives the reasons that caused him to write the work, the structure of the whole of the Revival and places each of the chapters in the context of the others.

“Work for your terrestrial life in proportion to your location in it, and work for your afterlife in proportion to your eternity in it.” This is part of the advice that the great theologian and mystic Abu Hamid al-Ghazali put down in his Letter to a Disciple (Ayyuha l-Walad). Considered to be the spiritual last will and testament of al-Ghazali, Letter to a Disciple is a summary of the spiritual teachings of he who was regarded as the Proof of Islam . Written towards the end of his life, Letter to a Disciple was composed in response to the request by a disciple for the master to write down in a few pages a summary of all his teachings. The main ideas running throughout the work are on acquiring knowledge which is of spiritual benefit, purifying the intention, and acting on the basis of the acquired knowledge. Referring extensively to the example of the Prophet and to that of the early Sufis, al-Ghazali gives us a work of great depth, beauty and simplicity. This new translation is presented here as a bilingual English-Arabic edition. The Arabic text is fully vocalised and the whole book is therefore suitable as a reader for students of Arabic.

Al-Ghazali on Poverty and Abstinence the thirty-fourth chapter of the Revival of the Religious Sciences (Ihya Ulum al-Din), which widely regarded the greatest work of Muslim spirituality. In Al-Ghazali Poverty and Abstinence, Abu Hamid al-Ghazali considers two themes dear to Islamic devotional literature: poverty and abstinence. Taking his example the Prophet s love for the poor, Ghazali explains that poverty not simply an accidental state of destitution that might befall anyone but rather an inner acceptance of the Will of God and form of abstinence for His sake. Thus the life of poverty and abstinence described by Ghazali Al-Ghazali on Poverty and Abstinence refers to what every devoted follower of the Prophet is meant to adopt whatever his or her outer state may be. This volume also includes translation of Imam Ghazali s own Intro duction to the Revival of the Religious Sciences, which gives the reasons that caused him to write the work, the structure of the whole of the Revival and which places each of the chapters in the context of the others.