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Al-Ghazzali:
The Alchemy of Happiness (Kimiyah al-saadat)
Volume I & II
Hujat al Islam Abu Hamid
Muhammad al-Ghazzali (Ghazali) al-Tusi
Translator: Jay R. Crook
Pages: 1000+ Paperback
Publisher: Great Books of the Islamic World, Kazi Publications
This is a 2 volume
Paperback English translation of Imam Ghazali's famous work "Kimiya al-Sa'adat"
(Alchemy of Happiness
Kimiya'e Saadat
is Al-Ghazzali's own abridgement, in
Persian, of his masterwork "The Revival of Religious Sciences" (Ihya Ulum
al-Din). Here we have published Claud Field's "The Alchemy of Happiness"
(which is Claud Field's abridgment of the Kimiya'e Saadat).
The first complete English translation of The
Alchemy of Happiness (Kimiyah al-saadat) Imam Ghazali’s Persian summary of his
famous Arabic treatise on mystical Islam, The Revival of the Religious Sciences
(Ihya Ulum al-Din). In this work, Ghazali details the many pitfalls, snares, and
distractions—internal and external—that lie in wait to diver the traveler of the
Way from attaining the goal which Ghazali calls “spiritual happiness.” But there
are also defenders, guides, and helpers which the traveler may enlist in his aid
if he recognizes them. In the Alchemy, Ghazali has provided the traveler of the
Way with a critique of faith and a detailed guidebook to guide him safely to
that goal. If he follows its counsels, he will successfully pass through the
awesome tribunal of the Resurrection to achieve everlasting salvation, the
highest degree of which is that state in which there remains neither fear of the
terros of hell nor appetite for the pleasures of paradise. It is the pure
ecstasy of the loving Divine Presence: absolute spiritual happiness
Know, O beloved, that man was not created in jest or at
random, but marvellously made and for some great end. Although he is not from
everlasting, yet he lives for ever; and though his body is mean and earthly, yet
his spirit is lofty and divine. When in the crucible of abstinence he is purged
from carnal passions he attains to the highest, and in place of being a slave to
lust and anger becomes endued with angelic qualities. Attaining that state, he
finds his heaven in the contemplation of Eternal Beauty, and no longer in
fleshly delights. The spiritual alchemy which operates this change in him, like
that which transmutes base metals into gold, is not easily discovered, nor to be
found in the house of every old woman. It is to explain that alchemy and its
methods of operation that the author has undertaken this work, which he has
entitled, The Alchemy of Happiness. Now the treasuries of God, in which
this alchemy is to be sought, are the hearts of the prophets, and he who seeks
it elsewhere will be disappointed and bankrupt on the day of judgement when he
hears the word, "We have lifted the veil from off thee, and thy sight to-day is
keen."
About Imam Ghazali
Abu Hamid
Muhammad, famous in the world of learning as al-Ghazzal was born in 450 AH (1058
A.D). in Persia . He graduated from the Nizamia Madressa at Nishapur, with
distinction.a very famous educational institution in Nishapur. Later he was
appointed as a teacher at the Nizamia College in Baghdad, where he proved very
successful in imparting knowledge to the scholars under his care. This valuable
gift of sustaining interest of his pupils and passing on his knowledge to them
made him so famous that students from all parts of the country flocked to study
under him.
Imam al-Ghazzali was fondly referred to as the "Hujjat-ul-lslam", Proof of
Islam, He is honoured as a scholar and a saint by learned men all over the
world.
Imam al-Ghazzali's life was
spent in self-sacrificing service of God and his fellowmen. He left behind him a
fine example for all men to follow. He died in 505 AH He remains one of the most
celebrated scholars in the history of Islamic thought. His exceptional life and
works continue to be indispensable in the study of jurisprudence, theology,
philosophy and mysticism. The books that he left behind were the result of an
inquisitive mind that began the quest for knowledge at a very early stage
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