Al Ghazali For Children Book 20: The Book of Prophetic Ethics and the Courtesies of Living

The Book of Prophetic Ethics and the Courtesies of Living: Book 20 of Ihya' 'ulum al-din, The Revival of the Religious Sciences 

In the Book of Prophetic Ethics and the Courtesies of Living (Kitab Adab al ma’isha wa-akhlaq al-nubuwwa), book twenty of the forty books which compose the Revival of the Religious Sciences (Ihya’ ‘ulum al-din), Abu Hamid al-Ghazali gives a full account of the customs and character of the Messenger of God, Muhammad. It is not a biography of Muhammad (peace and blessing of God be upon him) but a roadmap for those who want to strengthen their faith, increase their knowledge and deepen their understanding of the second part of the testimony of faith, namely the first pillar of Islam.

The author details the Messenger’s noble nature and his miracles while removing doubts regarding his message. He deals with the issue of the imitation of Muhammad (peace and blessing of God be upon him) noting that the ultimate source of knowledge is a revelation from God which comes to us through the Messenger. The revelation serves as medicine for the heart and is essential for human salvation. The messengers are the doctors of the heart whose prescriptions must be followed. They are spiritual guides for the purification of the heart and for transforming base qualities.

The messengers of God are not merely sources of law that aim to govern the body; indeed they are a fount of spiritual nourishment for the soul, the heart and the mind. This volume lays clear that the aim of the imam in this Series is to call for a return to the Sunna and the imitation of the Messenger in all aspects of life.

The focus is on the acts which directly influence the heart; he provides the reader with the necessary knowledge that makes up the path leading to the Hereafter. Al-Ghazali concludes that for him the truth and validity of the revelation is verified by the moral influence it exercises on the heart, mind and ultimately on the soul.

About The Author

Imam Abu Hamid Muhammad Al-Ghazali was born in 450 AH (1058 A.D) in the Iranian town of Tus, studied Islamic law and theology at the Seljuq College in Nishapur, and became a distinguished professor at the famous Nizamiyya University in Baghdad.

Despite his glittering success, he was inwardly dissatisfied, so he abandoned his career for the life of hardship, abstinence and devotion to worship. During ten years of wandering, he experienced a spiritual transformation, in which the Truth came to him at last, as something received rather than acquired.

Blessed with an inner certainty, he then applied his outstanding faculties and vast learning to the task of revitalizing the whole Islamic tradition. Through his direct personal contacts, and through his many writings, he showed how every element in that tradition could and should be turned to its true purpose.

Imam al-Ghazzali was fondly referred to as the "Hujjat-ul-lslam", Proof of Islam, he is honored as a scholar and a saint by learned men all over the world and is generally acclaimed as the most influential thinker of the Classical period of Islam.

He passed away in 505 AH (1111 A.D).