In-store location: Shelf 3.14
By Imam Al-Ghazali, Translated by M Abdurrahman Fitzgerald, Fons Vitae Publishing, Paperback, 240 pages
The Mysteries of the Prayer (Kitab asrar al-salat) is Book 4 of the Revival of the Religious Sciences series (Ihya ulum al-din) by Imam Al-Ghazali.
Imam Al-Ghazali explains the inner and outer meanings of the prayer, a central practice for Muslims. This is one of five books that deal with the inner dimensions of Islamic worship; books 3, 5, 6, and 7 address purification, zakat, fasting, and pilgrimage, respectively.
Al-Ghazali begins with a discussion of the merits of the prayer, the prostration, the importance of reverence, and the mosque. He explains the acts involved in the outward elements of the prayer and outlines which of these acts are obligatory and which are sunnah. He then discusses the inward requisites of the prayer - the practices of the heart - and presents practical remedies for a distracted heart.
About the author:
Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali (d. 1111) was a leading scholar, jurist, and theologian of the golden age of Islam, and he remains its truest advocate in modern times. As a teacher of both inward and outward faith, he recorded these practical teachings in his forty-book compendium of Islamic knowledge.
Imam Al-Ghazali was fondly referred to as the "Hujjat-ul-lslam", a Proof of Islam, is honoured as a scholar all over the world and is generally acclaimed as the most influential thinker of the Classical period of Islam.
