Table of Contents

Al-Ghazali's Introduction to the Revival of the Religious Sciences Abbreviation Preface Introduction Notes to Introduction Prologue The First Part    Chapter One: On the Remembrance of Death, and an Encouragement to Remember it Abundantly       An exposition of the excellence of the remembrance of death, however done       An exposition of the way to bring about the recollection of death, in the heart    Chapter Two: On Lengthy Hopes, and the Merit of Brief Hopes, together with the Reason for their Prolongation, and how this may be Cured.       The merit of brief hopes       From the Narratives       An exposition of the cause of lengthy hopes, and how they may be cured       An exposition of people's diverse ranks in lengthy and brief hopes       An exposition of making haste to works, and a warning about the unworthiness of delay    Chapter three: On the Agonies and Violence of Death, and the States Preferable upon its Advent.       An exposition of the states preferable in the dying man       An exposition of the sorrow felt upon meeting the Angel of Death, through accounts uttered on the tongue of the Spiritual State    Chapter Four: On the death of the Emissary of God (may God bless him and grant him peace), and of the Rightly-guided Caliphs after him.       The death of the Emissary of God (may God bless him and grant him peace)       The death of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may God be pleased with him)       The death of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may God be pleased with him)       The death of 'Uthman (may God be pleased with him)       The death of 'Ali (may God ennoble his face)    Chapter Five: On the Sayings of the Caliphs, Princes and Righteous Men when Nearing Death.       An exposition of the sayings of a number of the most righteous men among the Companions, the Followers, and the Sufis who came after them    Chapter Six: On the Sayings of the Gnostics at Funerals and Cemeteries, and the Legal Verdict concerning the Visitation of Graves.       An exposition of the condition of the grave, and of their sayings at the graveside       Some verses found inscribed upon graves       An exposition of their sayings upon the death of a child       An exposition of the visitation of graves, the offering of supplications for the deceased, and related matters    Chapter Seven: On the True Nature of Death, and what the Dead Man Undergoes in the Grave prior to the Blast on the Trump.       An exposition of the true nature of death       An exposition of the grave's discourse to the dead, and of their utterances, either on the tongue of common speech, or that of the Spiritual State       An exposition of the Punishment of the Grave, and the questioning of Munkar and Nakir       An exposition of the questioning of Munkar and Nakir, their aspect, and the straitening of the Grave, and the remainder of what needs to be said regarding the Punishment of the Grave    Chapter Eight: On the States of the Dead which have been known through Unveiling [mukashafa] in Dreams.       An exposition of visionary dreams which reveal the states of the dead and the works which have brought advantage in the Afterlife       An exposition of the visionary dreams of the Shaykhs, may God be pleased with them all The Second Part    The Trumpet-Blast    The Land and People of the Concourse    The Perspiration    The Length of the Day of Arising    The Day of Arising, and its Calamities and Names    The Inquisition    The Scales    The Adversaries, and the Restoration of Wrongs    The Traverse    The Intercession    The Pool    The Inferno, and its Terrors and Torments    Heaven, and the Varieties of its Bliss       The Number of the Gardens    The Wall of Heaven, its Land, Trees and Rivers    The Raiment of Heaven's People, their Furnishings, Beds, Divans and Tents    The Food of Heaven's People    The Large-eyed Houris and the Pages    An Exposition of a Diverse Group of the Attributes of Heaven's People for which Accounts are Forthcoming    The Beatific Vision, and the Beholding of the Countenance of God (Blessed and Exalted is He!) Notes Appendix: Persons Cited in Text Index to Qur'anic quotations Qur'anic chapter titles cited Bibliography General Index

About the Author

Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (d. 505/1111), theologian, logician, jurist and mystic, was born and died in Tus in Central Asia, but spent much of his life lecturing at Baghdad or leading the life of a wandering dervish. His most celebrated work, Revival of the Religious Sciences, has exercised a profound influence on Muslim intellectual history by exploring the mystical significance of the practices and beliefs of Islamic orthodoxy, earning him the title of Hujjat al Islam, the ‘Proof of Islam’.

Reviews

I warmly recommend Winter's translation to everyone interested in Islamic eschatology and Islamic thought.
*Annemarie Schimmel*

Winter's rendering combines exactness with fluency and dignity of style. The introduction, notes, appendix, bibliography, index - all make this an exemplary publication, produced to the highest standards.
*Christian Troll*

Of considerable value and solace to many who will buy it for reasons both religious and academic.
*H.T. Norris*

…the series as a whole, [is] a significant contribution to our understanding of this key figure in Islamic intellectual thought.
*BRISMES Bulletin*