Imam Al-ghazali

This little book about a pillar of Islamic scholarship has been very elegantly produced – its theme deserves no less. The reader will find in it a helpful list of maps, illustrations (photos, line drawings, ancient folios, designs, images), a timeline of events, a glossary, a bibliography, a further reading list and an index. There are eight chapters covering Ghazali’s childhood, his student life, his becoming a sceptic, his appointment as a professor, his crisis, adoption of a new life and his return to his roots. It ends with an assessment of Imam al-Ghazali as an individual. In a short but informative introduction, Albert sketches the personal predicaments of the Imam, the circumstances of the time, the Greek ideas then percolating among some Muslims, and hints at the difference between cities in the West and the then Muslim world, and the fact that the Imam lived during the Crusades. In so doing, Albert indicates that it was a time of crisis, and consequently, for anyone seeking to understand Islam today, knowledge of al-Ghazali and his enduring influence on Muslims is essential. Through this lens, he draws parallels between the times of al-Ghazali and contemporary situations and suggests that the Imam’s writings challenge and address these issues. Importantly, he notes that the Imam brought the lived experience of God within the ambit of ordinary Muslims.