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Al-Ghazali
on Intention, Sincerity and Truthfulness
Book XXXVII of the Revival of
the Religious Sciences (Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din)
Translated by:
ASAAD F. SHAKER
Al-Ghazali on Intention, Sincerity and Truthfulness
is a translation of the thirty-seventh chapter of The Revival
of the Religious Sciences (Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din).
Like Al-Ghazali on Patience and Thankfulness, this chapter
falls in the last of the four sections of the Ihya’,
the section dealing the virtues or what is conducive to salvation.
Here Ghazali deals with the very important subject of intention,
which is of crucial importance in Islam. Ghazali asks: ‘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?’ Al-Ghazali on Intention,
Sincerity and Truthfulness includes an introduction that places
the topic in the context of Islamic ethics.
Dr Asaad F. Shaker holds a PhD from McGill University and works
on classical Islam.
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