The Book of Knowledge

Book 1 of The Revival of the Religious Sciences

Author: Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali and Kenneth Honerkamp Series: The Fons Vitae Al-Ghazali Series

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Description

The Book of Knowledge is the foundation of the forty books of the Revival of the Religious Sciences, Imam al-Ghazali's magnum opus. In the Book of Knowledge, he defines knowledge, its relation to faith, theology, and jurisprudence. The book deals with the virtue of knowledge from both rational and traditional points of view. It elucidates the types of knowledge and the nature of people's obligation to seek knowledge. Imam al-Ghazali defines jurisprudence and theology as branches of Islamic knowledge, then outlines those fields that people incorrectly consider to be Islamic disciplines, and distinguishes the praiseworthy from the blameworthy. He describes in detail the perils of disputation and the reasons people engage in debate and dialectics. He also considers the conduct incumbent on the teacher and student, and warns of the perils that can befall those pursuing knowledge. Finally, Imam al-Ghazali discusses the virtues and categories of the intellect and the prophetic traditions related to it.

About the Author

Abu Hamid al-Ghazali is, a native of Central Asia, was the best-known jurist, theologian and mystic of medieval Islam. Himself a teacher of Sufi initiates, he recorded his practical teaching in his great work, the 'Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din' ('Revival of the Sciences of Religion'), from which the present work is taken. Dr. Kenneth Honerkamp is a professor in the Department of Religion at the University of Georgia at Athens; where he teaches World's Religions, Islamic Studies and Arabic. He has published numerous articles on Sufism, and the lives and teaching methods of well-known Moroccan Sufi masters.