Imam Al Ghazali The Mysteries Of Charity And Fasting For Children

"Understanding the spiritual meanings on which the practices of Islam are based, opens up the vastness of the inner life. Even though young Muslim children are not yet obliged to fast or pay zakat, the virtues and spiritual dimensions on which these are based can easily be introduced and comprehended even by five-year olds. Imam al-Ghazali's stories and metaphors offer an effective way for parents to communicate with their children, in a language which can be used and directly related to the occurrences within everyday life. In the following two books of the Ihya, such virtues as generosity, gratitude, selflessness, reflection, self-discipline, patience, honesty, moderation, and trust in God's loving wisdom are no longer abstract concepts but can be clearly seen instead as urgent and absolutely relative to each individual. We are indeed blessed to have Imam al-Ghazali's systematic presentation of aspects belonging to the inner sunna and his detailed map for guarding and perfecting our innate and noble nature. Table of Contents: Introduction to Imam al-Ghazali's The Mysteries of Charity and Fasting for Children by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf Chapter One: Why Are Some People Rich and Others Poor? Chapter Two: At the Family Farm Chapter Three: Five Necessary Parts of Charity Chapter Four: The First Inward Manner of Giving Charity Chapter Five: Something You Should Be Sure Not to Do and Other Inward Duties Chapter Six: The Story of the King and His Servants and The Fifth Inner Duty Chapter Seven: Going More Deeply into Greed, Pride, Conceit, Generosity, and Humility and The Sixth Inner Duty Chapter Eight: The Example of Grandfather and His Pure Orange Blossom Honey and The Seventh Inner Duty Chapter Nine: Knowing Who Most Deserves to Receive and The Final Inner Requirement Chapter Ten: Hiking Through the Forest Chapter Eleven: Reaching the Summit Sadaqa - Voluntary Charity - Its Virtues & Manners"

Covers those dimensions of Islamic rituals of worship – prayer, almsgiving, fasting, Pilgrimage, etc. which are essential to the fulfilment of inner quality. Consists of selections from al-Ghazali's Ihya, a pivotal work in the history of Islamic thought.

In The Mysteries of Purification (Kitab asrar al tahara), the third of the forty books of the Revival of the Religious Sciences (Ihya' 'ulum al-din), Abu Hamid al-Ghazali explains the fundamentals of the purification that is necessary in order to perform the five daily prayers.

This short book, based on authentic sources, outlines the story of Imam al-Ghazali's life.

This volume, the first of six to be published, studies fundamental values of Islam, along with the nature of rights and the responsibilities in a general context. The authors analyse the development of social thought and morality in Islam, and ways in which they are enforced through the family and education. Particular attention is paid to the status of women, children, youth and the socially excluded. Several chapters broach specially Islamic approaches to economics, government and justice. A world religion since its inception in the seventh century A.D., Islam is today seeking vigorous answers to contemporary problems through its multi-faceted history. Issues of poverty and wealth, inequality and demands for political expression, and respect for diversity in a difficult world of conformity are dealt with in this series. The study is organized along thematic rather than chronological lines and thus it is not necessary to read the volumes in order. Volume II is in fact the first to have been published. Volume IV is forthcoming end 2002, volume V mid 2003 and volumes III and VI in 2004. This volume, the first of six to be published, studies fundamental values of Islam, along with the nature of rights and the responsibilities in a general context. The authors analyse the development of social thought and morality in Islam, and ways in which they are enforced through the family and education. Particular attention is paid to the status of women, children, youth and the socially excluded. Several chapters broach specially Islamic approaches to economics, government and justice.

Abu hamid al-Ghazali discusses the fundamentals and inner meanings of the pilgrimage, including its pillars, preconditions, and obligations. The book begins with an introduction on the merits of the pilgrimage and its rewards. Al-Ghazali explains the Qur'anic statement announcing the pilgrimage: And proclaim to the people the pilgrimage; they will come to you on foot and on every lean camel; they will come from every distant pass--that they may witness benefits for themselves and mention the name of God on known days over what He has provided for them of [sacrificial] animals.

One of the great works of mystical religious literature, the Kimiya-i-Sa'adaat strove to bring man closer to understanding God by helping him understand himself. These excerpts from that work, by a strikingly original thinker on Islam who lived and wrote in the 11th century, were first published in 1910. They serve as a potent reminder of how powerful an influence Al-Ghazzali had upon religious philosophers of the Middle Ages, both Christian and Islamic. With its wise and warmly humanistic outlook, this little book may well foster a new measure of understanding in the current philosophical battle between the religious traditions of East and West.Also available from Cosimo Classics: Field's Shadows Cast Before and Jewish Legends of the Middle Ages.ABU HAMED MUHAMMAD IBN MUHAMMAD AL-GHAZZALI (1058-1111)was a Persian Islamic philosopher, theologian, psychologist, and mystic, known today as one of the most famous Sunni scholars in history, sometimes cited as next-in-importance only to Muhammad. Born in Tus, Al-Ghazzali was a pioneer of methodic doubt; his work The Incoherence of Philosophers shifted early Islamic philosophy from metaphysics to the theory of occasionalism, an Islamic doctrine that states cause-and-effect is controlled by God. He also succeeded in bringing orthodox Islam in contact with Sufism. The author of more than 70 books on various subjects, his influence continues to stretch far and wide even today.