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The Revival of the Religious Sciences #21
Al-Ghazali's Marvels of the Heart (Ihya Ulum Al-Din/ the Revival of the Religious Sciences) by Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al- Ghazali, Iman Abu Hamid (2010) Paperback
Marvels of the Heart is thought to be the key volume of the 40-book Ihya' 'Ulum-Al Din—Revival of the Religious Sciences—, the most read work in the Muslim world after the Qur’an, and considered by many to be the Summa Theologica of Islam. These traditional teaching stories, which use the theme of the heart as a mirror, illustrate key tenets of Islam on the requirements of religion, living in society, and the inner life of the soul.
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First published April 30, 2007
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About the author
Abu Hamid al-Ghazali
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أبو حامد الغزالي
Muslim theologian and philosopher Abu Hamid al-Ghazali of Persia worked to systematize Sufism, Islamic mysticism, and in The Incoherence of the Philosophers (1095) argued the incompatibility of thought of Plato and Aristotle with Islam.
Born in 1058, Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ghazālī ranked of the most prominent and influential Sunni jurists of his origin.
Islamic tradition considers him to be a Mujaddid, a renewer of the faith who, according to the prophetic hadith, appears once every century to restore the faith of the ummah ("the Islamic Community"). His works were so highly acclaimed by his contemporaries that al-Ghazali was awarded the honorific title "Proof of Islam" (Hujjat al-Islam).
Al-Ghazali believed that the Islamic spiritual tradition had become moribund and that the spiritual sciences taught by the first generation of Muslims had been forgotten.[24] That resulted in his writing his magnum opus entitled Ihya 'ulum al-din ("The Revival of the Religious Sciences"). Among his other works, the Tahāfut al-Falāsifa ("Incoherence of the Philosophers") is a significant landmark in the history of philosophy, as it advances the critique of Aristotelian science developed later in 14th-century Europe.
أبو حامد محمد الغزّالي الطوسي النيسابوري الصوفي الشافعي الأشعري، أحد أعلام عصره وأحد أشهر علماء المسلمين في القرن الخامس الهجري،(450 هـ - 505 هـ / 1058م - 1111م). كان فقيهاً وأصولياً وفيلسوفاً، وكان صوفيّ الطريقةِ، شافعيّ الفقهِ إذ لم يكن للشافعية في آخر عصره مثلَه.، وكان على مذهب الأشاعرة في العقيدة، وقد عُرف كأحد مؤسسي المدرسة الأشعرية في علم الكلام، وأحد أصولها الثلاثة بعد أبي الحسن الأشعري، (وكانوا الباقلاني والجويني والغزّالي) لُقّب الغزالي بألقاب كثيرة في حياته، أشهرها لقب "حجّة الإسلام"، وله أيضاً ألقاب مثل: زين الدين، ومحجّة الدين، والعالم الأوحد، ومفتي الأمّة، وبركة الأنام، وإمام أئمة الدين، وشرف الأئمة.
كان له أثرٌ كبيرٌ وبصمةٌ واضحةٌ في عدّة علوم مثل الفلسفة، والفقه الشافعي، وعلم الكلام، والتصوف، والمنطق، وترك عدداَ من الكتب في تلك المجالات.ولد وعاش في طوس، ثم انتقل إلى نيسابور ليلازم أبا المعالي الجويني (الملقّب بإمام الحرمين)، فأخذ عنه معظم العلوم، ولمّا بلغ عمره 34 سنة، رحل إلى بغداد مدرّساً في المدرسة النظامية في عهد الدولة العباسية بطلب من الوزير السلجوقي نظام الملك. في تلك الفترة اشتُهر شهرةً واسعةً، وصار مقصداً لطلاب العلم الشرعي من جميع البلدان، حتى بلغ أنه كان يجلس في مجلسه أكثر من 400 من أفاضل الناس وعلمائهم يستمعون له ويكتبون عنه العلم. وبعد 4 سنوات من التدريس قرر اعتزال الناس والتفرغ للعبادة وتربية نفسه، متأثراً بذلك بالصّوفية وكتبهم، فخرج من بغداد خفيةً في رحلة طويلة بلغت 11 سنة، تنقل خلالها بين دمشق والقدس والخليل ومكة والمدينة المنورة، كتب خلالها كتابه المشهور إحياء علوم الدين كخلاصة لتجربته الروحية، عاد بعدها إلى بلده طوس متخذاً بجوار بيته مدرسةً للفقهاء، وخانقاه (مكان للتعبّد والعزلة) للصوفية.
Muslim theologian and philosopher Abu Hamid al-Ghazali of Persia worked to systematize Sufism, Islamic mysticism, and in The Incoherence of the Philosophers (1095) argued the incompatibility of thought of Plato and Aristotle with Islam.
Born in 1058, Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ghazālī ranked of the most prominent and influential Sunni jurists of his origin.
Islamic tradition considers him to be a Mujaddid, a renewer of the faith who, according to the prophetic hadith, appears once every century to restore the faith of the ummah ("the Islamic Community"). His works were so highly acclaimed by his contemporaries that al-Ghazali was awarded the honorific title "Proof of Islam" (Hujjat al-Islam).
Al-Ghazali believed that the Islamic spiritual tradition had become moribund and that the spiritual sciences taught by the first generation of Muslims had been forgotten.[24] That resulted in his writing his magnum opus entitled Ihya 'ulum al-din ("The Revival of the Religious Sciences"). Among his other works, the Tahāfut al-Falāsifa ("Incoherence of the Philosophers") is a significant landmark in the history of philosophy, as it advances the critique of Aristotelian science developed later in 14th-century Europe.
أبو حامد محمد الغزّالي الطوسي النيسابوري الصوفي الشافعي الأشعري، أحد أعلام عصره وأحد أشهر علماء المسلمين في القرن الخامس الهجري،(450 هـ - 505 هـ / 1058م - 1111م). كان فقيهاً وأصولياً وفيلسوفاً، وكان صوفيّ الطريقةِ، شافعيّ الفقهِ إذ لم يكن للشافعية في آخر عصره مثلَه.، وكان على مذهب الأشاعرة في العقيدة، وقد عُرف كأحد مؤسسي المدرسة الأشعرية في علم الكلام، وأحد أصولها الثلاثة بعد أبي الحسن الأشعري، (وكانوا الباقلاني والجويني والغزّالي) لُقّب الغزالي بألقاب كثيرة في حياته، أشهرها لقب "حجّة الإسلام"، وله أيضاً ألقاب مثل: زين الدين، ومحجّة الدين، والعالم الأوحد، ومفتي الأمّة، وبركة الأنام، وإمام أئمة الدين، وشرف الأئمة.
كان له أثرٌ كبيرٌ وبصمةٌ واضحةٌ في عدّة علوم مثل الفلسفة، والفقه الشافعي، وعلم الكلام، والتصوف، والمنطق، وترك عدداَ من الكتب في تلك المجالات.ولد وعاش في طوس، ثم انتقل إلى نيسابور ليلازم أبا المعالي الجويني (الملقّب بإمام الحرمين)، فأخذ عنه معظم العلوم، ولمّا بلغ عمره 34 سنة، رحل إلى بغداد مدرّساً في المدرسة النظامية في عهد الدولة العباسية بطلب من الوزير السلجوقي نظام الملك. في تلك الفترة اشتُهر شهرةً واسعةً، وصار مقصداً لطلاب العلم الشرعي من جميع البلدان، حتى بلغ أنه كان يجلس في مجلسه أكثر من 400 من أفاضل الناس وعلمائهم يستمعون له ويكتبون عنه العلم. وبعد 4 سنوات من التدريس قرر اعتزال الناس والتفرغ للعبادة وتربية نفسه، متأثراً بذلك بالصّوفية وكتبهم، فخرج من بغداد خفيةً في رحلة طويلة بلغت 11 سنة، تنقل خلالها بين دمشق والقدس والخليل ومكة والمدينة المنورة، كتب خلالها كتابه المشهور إحياء علوم الدين كخلاصة لتجربته الروحية، عاد بعدها إلى بلده طوس متخذاً بجوار بيته مدرسةً للفقهاء، وخانقاه (مكان للتعبّد والعزلة) للصوفية.
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March 2, 2014
Timothy J. Winter (Abdal Hakim Murad), a major intellectual figure in the contemporary Islam of the English-speaking world, once said of Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali that a Muslim could read his Ihya ulum al-din (The Revival of the Religious Sciences) alongside the Qur'an and gain a complete picture of what it means to live as a Muslim. Ghazali's lasting impact has been from his perfect marriage of the exoteric and esoteric sciences in Islam. His life exemplified the attainment of knowledge of all forms on the spiritual path, and translator Walter James Skellie cites this passion and constant effort at learning as having a permanent impact on his health which may have contributed to Ghazali's early death at the age of 53. Early on, Ghazali committed himself to the intellectual attainment of knowledge which would direct him towards his desired deeper experiential knowledge of God. Yet he had a famous crisis of faith which forced him out of his position as a teacher of theology into seclusion for the sake of purification of his heart and the experience of the divine. It is towards this second type of knowledge that he turns in focusing on the heart.
Ghazali quotes the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) as saying that God is "in the hearts of his believing creatures" (40). The heart contains the divine energy yet also partakes of the human in that free will plays a part in the "reflection" that is manifest in the heart. This image of the heart-as-mirror contains a couple of key ideas. First, the direction of the heart determines its reflection. The Islamic concept of ignorance comes into play here in that we cannot know the proper direction to point the heart without knowing and following the sacred law. This can be attained through striving in the attainment of what we might call intellectual knowledge, which Ghazali sub-divides into axiomatic and acquired knowledge. This focuses the aim of the heart: "So to busy one's self in the path of learning is a surer and easier means of attaining the aim" (56).
Yet once the "aim" or proper direction of the heart is attained, we enter on the greater struggle against that part of the nafs (soul) that can and does cloud the mirror of the heart. The heart can be pointed towards the divine but still not reflect (manifest) the divine in the human soul due to those things which separate us from God. Remembrance of God (dhikr) is the method of polishing the heart and enabling a clear reflection. This remembrance starts with following the path of the law and continues into the experiential knowledge and practice of the Sufis, which enables a heart that shines so bright as to ultimately block out vision of anything other than God.
To keep the heart polished requires vigilance in remembrance and practice. Ghazali spends the last portion of the book discussing the various methods that Satan uses to cloud our hearts. The devoted servant knows to avoid the obvious areas as delineated by the law. It's the subtle distractions that can arise that are the most dangerous. Here it becomes a question of emphasis, even in matters of the spiritual. For what reason are we doing a supposed spiritual action? Is it purely God motivated? This at base is about purity in intention and authenticity, which is such a central idea in Islamic thought. The constant return to Taqwa or God-consciousness is the antidote to those subtle Satanic influences that cause separation.
There is so much that could be said on this book and so much that has jumped out at me on a second read. I found myself underlining major portions of each page. The beauty of reading Ghazali is this complete picture of Islam that I mentioned at the beginning and his authenticity in the practice of the path through knowledge and intention in religion: "For hearts are like vessels; as long as they are filled with water, air cannot enter them. So the knowledge of the majesty of God, the Exalted, cannot enter into hearts that are occupied with anything apart from Him" (24).
Ghazali quotes the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) as saying that God is "in the hearts of his believing creatures" (40). The heart contains the divine energy yet also partakes of the human in that free will plays a part in the "reflection" that is manifest in the heart. This image of the heart-as-mirror contains a couple of key ideas. First, the direction of the heart determines its reflection. The Islamic concept of ignorance comes into play here in that we cannot know the proper direction to point the heart without knowing and following the sacred law. This can be attained through striving in the attainment of what we might call intellectual knowledge, which Ghazali sub-divides into axiomatic and acquired knowledge. This focuses the aim of the heart: "So to busy one's self in the path of learning is a surer and easier means of attaining the aim" (56).
Yet once the "aim" or proper direction of the heart is attained, we enter on the greater struggle against that part of the nafs (soul) that can and does cloud the mirror of the heart. The heart can be pointed towards the divine but still not reflect (manifest) the divine in the human soul due to those things which separate us from God. Remembrance of God (dhikr) is the method of polishing the heart and enabling a clear reflection. This remembrance starts with following the path of the law and continues into the experiential knowledge and practice of the Sufis, which enables a heart that shines so bright as to ultimately block out vision of anything other than God.
To keep the heart polished requires vigilance in remembrance and practice. Ghazali spends the last portion of the book discussing the various methods that Satan uses to cloud our hearts. The devoted servant knows to avoid the obvious areas as delineated by the law. It's the subtle distractions that can arise that are the most dangerous. Here it becomes a question of emphasis, even in matters of the spiritual. For what reason are we doing a supposed spiritual action? Is it purely God motivated? This at base is about purity in intention and authenticity, which is such a central idea in Islamic thought. The constant return to Taqwa or God-consciousness is the antidote to those subtle Satanic influences that cause separation.
There is so much that could be said on this book and so much that has jumped out at me on a second read. I found myself underlining major portions of each page. The beauty of reading Ghazali is this complete picture of Islam that I mentioned at the beginning and his authenticity in the practice of the path through knowledge and intention in religion: "For hearts are like vessels; as long as they are filled with water, air cannot enter them. So the knowledge of the majesty of God, the Exalted, cannot enter into hearts that are occupied with anything apart from Him" (24).
March 30, 2016
"For surely it is not the eyes that are blind, but blinded are the hearts which are in the breasts"
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February 15, 2013Truth be told I worked on this book we read the whole text and compared it to the Arabic text. We restored the missing text, made corrections where necessary updated footnotes and kept as much of the translators introduction up to where he begins to summarize the text. We felt that the summary didn't add any value and had to be cut. It is best sometimes to let Imam Ghazali speak for himself and we felt the Imam deserved better. We believe that we serviced the text well and did our utmost to keep the translation as is except where necessary to update the language and make the changes that we feel kept. Further I designed the layout for the text and added a Persian miniature of the story that Imam Ghazali had mentioned. I was alerted to this listening to erudite Michael Barry one of the foremost experts in Persian Miniature art. I tried to get a particular miniature but we couldn't find it in time for publication so I opted for another equally brilliant rendition of the scene. I was not fond of the cover art but the publisher insisted on it as the book was advertised for many many years with the cover design.
The text itself is amazing as it goes in details about the heart not the physical organ but the spiritual and psychological. As a matter of fact the 39 books of the ihya go into this topic as well in varying detail. You will come out richer knowing about one of the most important spiritual organs and how it can lead you to felicity and bliss in this life and the life to come. Don't put this on your to read list but put it on the read list.
I hope to work on more of these works and to bring this masterpiece to light into readable and comprehensible English that is true to the original.
The text itself is amazing as it goes in details about the heart not the physical organ but the spiritual and psychological. As a matter of fact the 39 books of the ihya go into this topic as well in varying detail. You will come out richer knowing about one of the most important spiritual organs and how it can lead you to felicity and bliss in this life and the life to come. Don't put this on your to read list but put it on the read list.
I hope to work on more of these works and to bring this masterpiece to light into readable and comprehensible English that is true to the original.
May 18, 2013
The book is full of gems and gives you a lot to reflect on. It's definitely fit for the "read again" list.
I gave it a 4 instead of a 5 not because of the book/content itself, but rather my inability to grasp some things. It's definitely a more advanced book compared to "Dear Beloved Son".
Following along with the audio notes and commentary by Sh Yahya Rhodus from the free Seekers Guidance course on the book helps too.
I gave it a 4 instead of a 5 not because of the book/content itself, but rather my inability to grasp some things. It's definitely a more advanced book compared to "Dear Beloved Son".
Following along with the audio notes and commentary by Sh Yahya Rhodus from the free Seekers Guidance course on the book helps too.
September 10, 2025
this was a really difficult read for me. there are many beautiful lessons but the metaphors, similes, analogies, sometimes lost me.
April 7, 2013
One of the best books I've ever read. Essential reading for anyone serious about the science of heart purification.
August 21, 2023
BOOK :-AL-GHAZALI THE MARVELS OF THE HEART-BOOK 21- THE REVIVAL OF THE RELIGIOUS SCIENCES TRANSLATED FROM THE ARABIC WITH AN INTRODUCTION AND NOTES BY WALTA JAMES SKELLIE WITH A FORWARD BY T.J.WINTER
The book is an approach from the Islamic angle to the meaning of soul,spirit,heart and intelligence and their purport;an exposition of the special properties of the heart of man;comparing the conditions of the heart as related to the categories of knowledge namely the intellectual,religious,worldly and other worldly;the difference between inspiration and learning experiencial knowledge and divine law;overcoming the evil promptings of Satan amongst others.The book discusses the individual as the armies and his gentle and clear heart as his king,who enjoys good health only when the individual is healthy.The book looks at the planting of deep secrets and knowledge in the heart of human as orchestrated or imagined by God before put into intellectual existence.The book is both from knowledge of prophets and from the spirits of knowledge of philosophies from the material world.
The book is an approach from the Islamic angle to the meaning of soul,spirit,heart and intelligence and their purport;an exposition of the special properties of the heart of man;comparing the conditions of the heart as related to the categories of knowledge namely the intellectual,religious,worldly and other worldly;the difference between inspiration and learning experiencial knowledge and divine law;overcoming the evil promptings of Satan amongst others.The book discusses the individual as the armies and his gentle and clear heart as his king,who enjoys good health only when the individual is healthy.The book looks at the planting of deep secrets and knowledge in the heart of human as orchestrated or imagined by God before put into intellectual existence.The book is both from knowledge of prophets and from the spirits of knowledge of philosophies from the material world.
April 27, 2023
It was a difficult read for me, very philosophical which was expected of course, but at times made it difficult for me to follow. Nonetheless had some really great points and I learned a lot from it. I had to read this book for a Ribaat class, and I appreciated being introduced to the book.
March 24, 2019
Sometimes this translation leans too heavily on this assumption of philosophy which is untrue to al-Ghazali himself, but if you are aware of that when reading, it's still a good read.
March 25, 2020
This book is so marvelous it is hard to describe. As a Muslim, it speaks to me deeply and is so rich and robust it will take several readings before I can fully digest the concepts and lessons.
April 15, 2021
Absolute best! And must read for anyone beginning on the path of tasawwuf.
December 19, 2024
A very profound book that is better read slowly and re-read. (I might do a review later when I have listened to some classes on it).
March 15, 2025
The heart is a universe within itself, and to study it is to study the greatest of all sciences.
August 10, 2025
I read The Marvels of the Heart as if I was walking into an inner mosque.
Al-Ghazali’s teaching, that the heart is not just an organ but the seat of knowledge, presence, and light, resonates deeply with my own work on Islamic symbolism in architecture. Just as a sacred building must be purified, oriented, and illuminated, so too must the heart if it is to reflect the Divine without distortion.
This isn’t a quick read. It’s a mirror, showing both the beauty and the blemishes within. Abdal Hakim Murad’s introduction and Walter James Skellie’s translation make the text accessible, but its depth comes alive only when read with sincerity and reflection.
For me, it is a reminder that the ultimate architecture is not built of timber or stone, it is built within.
Al-Ghazali’s teaching, that the heart is not just an organ but the seat of knowledge, presence, and light, resonates deeply with my own work on Islamic symbolism in architecture. Just as a sacred building must be purified, oriented, and illuminated, so too must the heart if it is to reflect the Divine without distortion.
This isn’t a quick read. It’s a mirror, showing both the beauty and the blemishes within. Abdal Hakim Murad’s introduction and Walter James Skellie’s translation make the text accessible, but its depth comes alive only when read with sincerity and reflection.
For me, it is a reminder that the ultimate architecture is not built of timber or stone, it is built within.
December 4, 2011
Bab 21, Keajaiban Hati. Pendekatan sistemik yg cukup menarik. Buku yg harus diselami oleh umat Islam. Mutiara yg tetap bersinar sepanjang zaman.
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November 23, 2016So far so good. Intro is a bit longer than I like. Meat of the book is very illuminating
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews