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Al-Ghazali
on Patience and Thankfulness
Book XXXII of the Revival of the
Religious Sciences (Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din)
Translated by:
HENRY T. LITTLEJOHN
Al-Ghazali on Patience and Thankfulness is
a translation of the thirty-second chapter of The Revival of
the Religions Sciences (Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din).
This chapter fills in the last of the four sections of the Ihya’,
the section dealing with the virtues or what is conducive to salvation.
Ghazali here presents definitions for patience and its different
forms; the need for patience; the degrees of patience; and why patience
is considered to be half of faith. The second part of this chapter
deals with thankfulness and again Ghazali gives us definitions for
thankfulness, its nature and its blessings. In addition to the translation,
Dr Henry Littlejohn provides an extensive introduction which illustrates
the importance of the topics of patience and thankfulness in Islam
throughout the centuries.
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