Al-Ghazali - The Alchemist of
Happiness Video DVD
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: TJ WINTER & PS GILDERS
A Film PRODUCED & DIRECTED BY OVIDIO SALAZAR
Running Time 80mins Approx
© Matmedia Productions
View Trailer
SPECIAL FEATURES:
ADDITIONAL INTERVIEWS WITH SHAYKH HAMZA YUSUF & DR. KARIM D. CROW
This film sets out to discover who al-Ghazali
was and whether we, living in the 21st century, can still find relevance in his
teaching.
Born in 1058 in Tus, Khorasan,
in present-day Iran, Abu Hamid al-Ghazali was one of the most original thinkers
the world has known. Besides being a major influence in the Muslim world, the
West has also felt his effect. He influenced major figures of medieval
philosophy such as Thomas Aquinas and Moses Maimonides, who shaped the
philosophy of the Latin West. As the author of some 250 books on topics ranging
from theology and ethics to metaphysics and philosophy, al-Ghazali came to be
known as ‘Proof of Islam’. For almost a thousand years he has served as an
inspiration for spiritual seekers everywhere as he was someone, like the Buddha,
willing to give up everything: wealth, position, family and comfort in order to
search for Truth.
with Robert
Powell as the voice of al-ghazali
FEATURING:GHORBAN NADJAFI, DARYUSH ARJMAND, MITRA HAJJAR, ABDOLREZA KERMANI
Director of Photography: Mahmoud Kalari
Art Direction: Malak Khazai
Screenplay: Simon van der Borgh
Editor: Gabriela Enis
Music: Dirk Campbell
'The film is a
remarkable achievement, capturing not only the drama of Ghazali’s life and the
texture of the world in which he lived, but also skilfully distilling the
significance of major themes in his writings. This is no small feat: the art of
dramatizing ideas. I cannot wait to show it in my courses on Medieval Muslim
Thought.' - FAROUK
MITHA University of Victoria, Canada
---
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.
Al-Ghazali is generally acclaimed as the most
influential thinker of the Classical period of Islam,
in his autobiography The Deliverance from Error, the Imam describes his
education and his intellectual crisis, which left him so paralysed by doubt
that he he gave up his academic pursuits and worldly interests and became a
wandering ascetic. This was a process (period) of mystical transformation.
Later, he resumed his teaching duties, but again left these. An era of
solitary life, devoted to contemplation and writing then ensued, which led to
the authorship of a number of everlasting books
(Many of
which have been translated in English)
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