'Were all books of Islam to be lost, and only the Ihya Ulum al Din remain, it would suffice by itself to revive the religion.' This statement, made by many of the leading Ulama of the past, attests to the unique status of the Ihya in world history.
In this course, Shaykh Asim will be covering, Kitab Adab al-Safar. Book 17 of the Ihya deals with the transformational ethics of travel - a difficult, often dangerous undertaking in that time period that was nevertheless essential for serious seekers of God.
The great journey of the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم on the Hijra was mirrored in the spiritual journey of the Isra and Miraj; the return home in triumph to Makka was followed by the return journey of the Prophet (s) to his Lord; and the various campaigns of the Sira were a prelude to the journey of Islam through the world.
Similarly, we note the great journeys of the scholars of hadith seeking Prophetic guidance and its inheritors, the great odysseys of the Sufis bearing a Islam to distant lands, and even those of Ibn Battuta, travelling through the known world simply out of insatiable curiosity.
Travel is a fundamental component of our religion, with Hajj being an obligation upon all who can withstand it. Human life is itself a journey home along a path of guidance.
The Ihya of Imam Hujjat al-Islam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali is unquestionably one of the most important and influential works ever composed. Comprising forty books on the outward and inward aspects of Islam, it traces Ghazali's Ilm Tariq al-Akhira (the knowledge needed for the journey to the life eternal).
Shaykh Dr Asim Yusuf is recognised as an expert in Ghazali and Islamic spirituality and philosophy. Over the past few years, he has been working his way through the Ihya in one of the only full recitations and teaching of the text being undertaken anywhere in the world.
In addition to the recitation and translation of the Ihya, he provides both valuable commentary that keeps the work relevant to the contemporary world, but also uncovers the deep philosophy that underpins the work in terms of Ghazali's 'higher theology' and how this has been understood and transmitted by mystics and philosophers through the ages.
The Shaykh will analyse the words and wisdom of the Imam, seeking to draw out the eternal principles and contextualising his teachings so as to maximise the benefit for the students.
Instructor
'Were all books of Islam to be lost, and only the Ihya Ulum al Din remain, it would suffice by itself to revive the religion.
