Within the Boundaries of
Islam: A Study on Bid'ah
(Laysa Min Al- Islam)
By Shaykh Muhammad
al-Ghazali
Translated
by Aslam Farouk-Alli
Published by Islamic
Book Trust
ISBN
9789675062650
Paperback,
269 Pages
This modern study on bid'ah - or heretical
innovation - critically
explores the boundaries of normative Islam and oulines the legal debate
surrounding the subject. It examines the influence of foreign elements
in Islamic thought, focusing on corrupt religious practices, as well as
distorted beliefs, acts of worship and customary practices pertaining
to religious expression. Muhammad al-Ghazali also argues for
a 'Sufi
core' in the reformist tradition, but one that has been stripped of the
foreign accretions that have corrupted many Sufi movements.
About
Sheikh Muhammad al-Ghazali
Sheikh Muhammad al-Ghazali
was
one of
the most influential Islamic scholars of the twentieth century, both as
an author and in the field of Da'wah. Born at Buhayra, Egypt in
1335/1917, he received his schooling at the Alexandria Religious
Institute before entering the Faculty of Usul al-Din at the University
of al-Azhar.
In 1362/1943, al-Ghazali was appointed Imam and lecturer at al-Makataba
al-Khadra in Cairo. He later became a prominent member of the Muslim
Brotherhood and a close associate of Sheikh Hasan Al-Banna. During the
early 1950s he worked for the Islamic Movement in various capacities.
Subsequently his work for Islam extended over many parts of Africa,
Asia. Europe and America as well as the Arab
countries.
Between 1391/1971 and 1410/1989, Sheikh al-Ghazali rose through the
ranks of the Egyptian Ministry of Awqaf, to become Undersecretary for
Islamic Da'wah, His academic career included spells of teaching at the
universities of Umm al-Qura (Makka) and Qatar: and he served as a
Chairman of the Academic Council first of al-Amir 'Abd
al-Qadir
University, at Constantine, Algeria, and later of the international
institute of Islamic Thought at Cairo.
Sheikh Muhammad al-Ghazali published over sixty books, several of which
have been published in translation. Probably the most important
is "Journey through the Qur'an" (al-Tafsir al-mawdu' li-suwar
al-Quran al
Karim). He received many awards in recognition of his contribution to
learning and Da'wah. He died in 1416/1996 while attending a conference
in Saudi Arabia.
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