In Service of God and Humanity

The book under review is an extensive biography of the renowned Egyptian Islamic scholar Shaykh Muhammad al-Ghazali (1917–1996). The biographer, Benauda Bensaid, is a PhD. graduate from McGill University, Canada, specialising in Islamic Studies, currently associated with the College of Art and Science, Effat University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The book begins with a long foreword by the IIIT, London Office and an abstract explaining the main subject matter of the book, that is how Shaykh al-Ghazali defines Da[wah (inviting to Islam) and what model of Da'wah he suggests. The book has a long introduction describing al-Ghazali’s views on Da[wah and comparing them briefly with the views of other authors writing on the same subject such as Fathi Yakan, Mustafa Mashhur, Muhammad H. Fadlallah and others. The book has extensive reference notes and a list of books consulted by the author. It consists of four extensive chapters with a conclusion summing up the subject matter of the book, arguing in support of al-Ghazali’s model of Da'wah...