How can someone ignorant of the meaning of intention verify his own intention; or how can someone ignorant of the meaning of sincerity verify his own sincerity; or how can someone sincerely claim truthfulness if he has not verified its meaning? In this thirty-seventh chapter of the Revival of the Religious Sciences, Abu Hamid al-Ghazali gives a response to each of these questions by expounding the reality and levels of intention, sincerity and truthfulness, their interdependence and those acts which affirm them and those acts which mar them. Ghazali links sincere and truthful intention with the heart and calls it the spirit of action . As in all his writings, Ghazalt bases his arguments on the Qur an, the example of
the Prophet and the sayings of numerous scholars and Sufis. Al-Ghazali on Intention, Sincerity && Truthfulness is essential reading for all those seeking a deeper insight into their thoughts and actions, and the integrity of their intentions. It will also be of interest to all those concerned with ethics and the principles that underlie the choices we make.
In this new edition, the Islamic Texts Society has included a translation of Imam Ghazali s own Introduction to the Revival of the Religious Sciences which gives the reasons that caused him to write the work, the structure of the whole of the Revival and places each of the chapters in the context of the others.
About the Author
Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (1058-1111), theologian, logician, jurist and mystic, was born and died in Tas in Central Asia, but spent much of his life lecturing at Baghdad or leading the life of a wandering dervish. His most celebrated work, of which this is an important chapter, has exercised a profound influence on Muslim intellectual history by exploring the mystical significance of the practices and beliefs of Islamic orthodoxy, earning him the title of Hujjat al Islam, the Proof of Islam.
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