Ihya Ulum al-Din

Ihya Ulum al-Din (The Revival of the Religious Sciences) is a comprehensive treatise on Islamic ethics, worship, spiritual conduct, and jurisprudence by the Shafi'i scholar and theologian Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (450–505 AH / 1058–1111 CE) Kashf al-Zunun an Asami a…+1.

Composition and Purpose

Al-Ghazali composed the work after departing from his teaching post at the Nizamiyya Madrasa in Baghdad in 488 AH, spending years in ascetic seclusion and travel across Damascus, Jerusalem, and the Hijaz Mawsuat al-Amaal al-Kamil…+1. The book aimed to revive the spiritual dimensions of religious learning by bridging external legal obligations and theological doctrines with internal spiritual states and moral purification, drawing extensively upon earlier Sufi and ascetic literature while reforming their presentation al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya+1.

Structure and Contents

The Ihya is organized into four major divisions (quarters), each containing ten individual books, totaling forty books Ihya Ulum al-Din+1:

• Quarter of Acts of Worship (Rub' al-'Ibadat): Focuses on outer obligations and their inner spiritual secrets, comprising the books of Knowledge (Kitab al-'Ilm), Foundations of Creed (Qawa'id al-'Aqa'id), Secrets of Purification, Secrets of Prayer, Secrets of Zakat, Secrets of Fasting, Secrets of Pilgrimage, Etiquette of Reciting the Quran, Invocations and Supplications, and the Arrangement of Daily Litanies Ihya Ulum al-Din+1.
• Quarter of Norms of Daily Life (Rub' al-'Adat): Addresses social interactions, transactions, and ethical living, comprising the books of Etiquette of Eating, Etiquette of Marriage, Earning a Livelihood, the Lawful and the Unlawful (Kitab al-Halal wa-al-Haram), Companionship and Social Relations, Seclusion (al-'Uzlah), Etiquette of Travel, Audition and Trance (al-Sama' wa-al-Wajd), Enjoining Good and Forbidding Wrong, and Living Etiquette and Prophetic Morals Ihya Ulum al-Din+1.
• Quarter of Destructive Vices (Rub' al-Muhlikat): Examines internal vices and their spiritual remedies, comprising the books of Marvels of the Heart ('Aja'ib al-Qalb), Disciplining the Soul (Riyadat al-Nafs), Overcoming the Appetites of the Belly and the Flesh, Evils of the Tongue, Harms of Anger, Rancor, and Envy, Dispraise of the World, Dispraise of Wealth and Avarice, Dispraise of Status and Ostentation, Dispraise of Pride and Conceit, and Dispraise of Delusion (Ghurur) Ihya Ulum al-Din+1.
• Quarter of Salvific Virtues (Rub' al-Munjiyat): Details the praiseworthy spiritual states necessary for salvation, comprising the books of Repentance (al-Tawbah), Patience and Gratitude (al-Sabr wa-al-Shukr), Fear and Hope (al-Khawf wa-al-Raja'), Poverty and Asceticism (al-Faqr wa-al-Zuhd), Divine Unity and Reliance (al-Tawhid wa-al-Tawakkul), Love, Longing, Intimacy, and Contentment (al-Mahabbah wa-al-Shawq wa-al-Uns wa-al-Rida), Intention, Truthfulness, and Sincerity (al-Niyyah wa-al-Sidq wa-al-Ikhlas), Vigilance and Self-Examination (al-Muraqabah wa-al-Muhasabah), Contemplation (al-Tafakkur), and the Remembrance of Death (Dhikr al-Mawt) Ihya Ulum al-Din+1.

Reception and Criticisms

The Ihya attained widespread circulation and acclaim across the Islamic world, with some commentators stating that if all other books of Islam were lost, the Ihya would suffice in their place Mujam al-Matbuat al-Arabi…+1. Scholars such as Fakhr al-Din al-Razi praised its synthesis of sciences, and Taj al-Din al-Subki commended its utility for guidance al-Wafi bil-Wafayat+1.

Conversely, the work drew substantial criticism from several scholars Mukhtasar Minhaj al-Qasid…+1. Abu Bakr al-Turtushi and Abu Abd Allah al-Mazari raised objections regarding its integration of philosophical and speculative concepts, and some jurists in the Islamic West (al-Maghrib) condemned the work and ordered its copies burned Takhrij Ahadith Ihya Ulum…+1. A primary point of censure—noted by Ibn al-Jawzi, Ibn al-Salah, and Ibn Taymiyyah—was its inclusion of unverified, weak, and fabricated hadiths, as well as certain extreme Sufi anecdotes Mukhtasar Minhaj al-Qasid…+2. Ibn al-Jawzi detailed these perceived errors in his treatise I'lam al-Ahya bi-Aghlat al-Ihya al-Wafi bil-Wafayat.

Commentaries, Hadith Verification, and Abridgments

The prominence of the Ihya prompted numerous derivative works:

• Hadith verification: Hafiz Zayn al-Din al-'Iraqi authored an extensive verification of the traditions cited in the work, titled Al-Mughni 'an Haml al-Asfar fi al-Asfar fi Takhrij ma fi al-Ihya min al-Athar, which is frequently printed alongside the text Durus al-Shaykh Muhammad …+1.
• Commentaries: Murtada al-Zabidi composed an extensive multi-volume commentary titled Ithaf al-Sada al-Muttaqin bi-Sharh Asrar Ihya Ulum al-Din Durus al-Shaykh Muhammad …+1.
• Abridgments: Ibn al-Jawzi restructured and amended the text in his Minhaj al-Qasidin, removing fabricated reports and objectionable anecdotes, which was later abridged by Ibn Qudamah al-Maqdisi as Mukhtasar Minhaj al-Qasidin Mukhtasar Minhaj al-Qasid…. Another abridgment is Ayn al-'Ilm wa-Zayn al-Hilm by Muhammad ibn Uthman al-Balkhi Iktifa al-Qanu bima huwa ….