The First Islamic Reviver

Building on recent revisionist scholarship, this book offers a new account of the last two decades of the life of the seminal eleventh-century Islamic thinker Ab

“"Beyond the myth, this is the first convincing reviving of the historical al-Ghazali and a proper understanding of his reformist project in the Ihya. A great work, and a must read for all the nave admirers and other aficionados of the Hujjat al-Islam" --Yahya Michot, Professor of Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations, Hartford Seminary "This is a much needed and long absent study on al-Ghazali's most influential work. Garden masterfully examines its complex origins, what it set out to accomplish, and the controversies it triggered during the author's lifetime. No reader of al-Ghazali should be without this." --Frank Griffel, Professor of Islamic Studies, Yale University "Garden's historically grounded reading of al-Ghazali reveals how Islam's scholars acted as guides for society and not mere seekers of wisdom for themselves. Tracing the connection between his thought and life work as self-proclaimed reviver of Islam, this study makes it now virtually impossible to look at al-Ghazali's writings apart from his efforts in society to bring about nothing less than the salvation and eternal happiness of his fellow believers." --Paul L. Heck, author of Skepticism in Classical Islam: Moments of Confusion "...Kenneth Garden has here given us a major publication on al-Ghazali. It is philologically rigorous and puts forward innovative views on al-Ghazali's place in Islamic intellectual history. In addition, the book is crafted in graceful and engaging prose that makes it very enjoyable to read. I recommend it to students and scholars of Islamic studies alike." --Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations”

"Beyond the myth, this is the first convincing reviving of the historical al-Ghazali and a proper understanding of his reformist project in the Ihya. A great work, and a must read for all the naïve admirers and other aficionados of the Hujjat al-Islam" --Yahya Michot, Professor of Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations, Hartford Seminary"This is a much needed and long absent study on al-Ghazali's most influential work. Garden masterfully examines its complex origins, what it set out to accomplish, and the controversies it triggered during the author's lifetime. No reader of al-Ghazali should be without this." --Frank Griffel, Professor of Islamic Studies, Yale University"Garden's historically grounded reading of al-Ghazali reveals how Islam's scholars acted as guides for society and not mere seekers of wisdom for themselves. Tracing the connection between his thought and life work as self-proclaimed reviver of Islam, this study makes it now virtually impossible to look at al-Ghazali's writings apart from his efforts in society to bring about nothing less than the salvation and eternal happiness of his fellow believers." --PaulL. Heck, author of Skepticism in Classical Islam: Moments of Confusion"...Kenneth Garden has here given us a major publication on al-Ghazali. It is philologically rigorous and puts forward innovative views on al-Ghazali's place in Islamic intellectual history. In addition, the book is crafted in graceful and engaging prose that makes it very enjoyable to read. I recommend it to students and scholars of Islamic studies alike." --Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations

Kenneth Garden is Assistant Professor of Religion at Tufts University. He holds a PhD from the University of Chicago. His articles have appeared in the Journal of Islamic Studies and Muslim World.

Building on recent revisionist scholarship, this book offers a new account of the last two decades of the life of the seminal eleventh-century Islamic thinker Ab

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