One of the most remarkable documents to have come down from classical Islamic civilization, this autobiography of the most influential thinker of medieval Islam (1058-1111) describes his education and his intellectual crisis, which left him so paralyzed by doubt that he was forced to resign the most distinguished academic appointment. His faith returned after years of wandering and seeking, during which he achieved direct knowledge of God in the form of the illuminative experience of the Sufis. Among his most outstanding contributions to Muslim intellectual life were masterly defenses of Islamic orthodoxy, mysticism, and law, against the attacks of those who advocated purely legalistic, or entirely esoteric, readings of the religion. He hence articulated the Islam of the middle way, in balance between the extremes of the letter and the spirit. As such, his works have become a manifesto for modern Muslims struggling against extremist and hence heterodox readings of the faith. 

The volume also contains extensive translations from other key works of Ghazali. One is the Definitive Criterion (Faysal al-Tafriqa), which shows the generous, inclusive nature of Islam and the difficulties involved in excluding any individual from it. This is followed by a tract against the Ismaili sect, and writings on conforming the character to the divine, and on the 'Wonders of the Heart', an important Sufi tract about the nature and function of the soul. 

--T.J. Winter, Cambridge University, translator of al-Ghazali's On Disciplining the Soul and Breaking the Two Desires and The Remembrance of Death and the Afterlife,- The Islamic Texts Society

This new edition contains five important works of Ghazali in addition to "The Deliverance from Error," which makes the volume a significant contribution to the works of Al-Ghazali currently available. Included as appendices are Kitab Sharh Aja'ib al-Qalb (The Explanation of the Wonders of the Heart), Al-Qistas al-Mustaqim (The Correct Balance), Al-Maqsad al Asna fi Sharh Ma'ani Asma Allah al-Husna (The Noblest Aims in the Explanation of God's Fairest Names), Faysal al-Tafriqa bayn al-Islam wa l-Zandaqa (The Clear Criterion for Distinguishing between Islam and Godlessness), and Fada'ih al-Batiniyya wa Fada'il al-Mustazhiriyya (The Infamies of the Batinites and Virtues of the Mustazhieites).

Fons Vitae has done a great service by republishing McCarthy's Freedom and Fulfillment. This is by far the most scholarly, thoughtful, and sympathetic translation of al-Ghazali's classic autobiography. It also includes several extremely pertinent selections from al-Ghazali's other works, making it the best one-volume selection of his writings.

 --William C. Chittick, State University New York

Other Titles in the Fons Vitae Al-Ghazali series: Book of Faith in Divine Unity and Trust in Divine Providence - Al-Ghazali's 'Deliverance from Error' - Al-Ghazali's 'Path to Sufism' - Al-Ghazali's 'Marvels of the Heart' 

Islamic Texts Society books: Letter to a Disciple - On Disciplining the Soul and Breaking the Two Desires - The Ninety-Nine Beautiful Names of God - Invocations and Supplications: Book IX of the Revival of the Religious Sciences - The Remembrance of Death and the Afterlife: Book XL of the Revival of the Religious Science

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REVIEW:

Abu Hamid Muhammad al-Ghazali’s ‘Deliverance from Error and Attachment to the Lord of Might and Majesty’ successfully allows the reader a concise, and informative window into the life of a great scholar. Deliverance from Error, translated from the Arabic ‘al Munqidh min ad-Dalal’ by W. Montgomery Watt, is an autobiographical account of Ghazali’s struggle during a period of spiritual unrest in his life that begins with him as a teacher at a prestigious academic institution at the age of thirty-three, continues through his ascetic wanderings, and concludes upon his return to his teaching career but now as a complete God-orientated man, rather than a person “on the plain of native and second-hand belief (sic)”.

The book opens with Ghazali replying to a colleague, who had questioned him regarding “the aims and inmost nature of sciences and the perplexing depths of the religious systems” and the reasons for Ghazali’s actions at this stage of his life. He is an enquiring man who subjects all to his scrutinising eye. This habit and custom he describes as “a God-given nature, a matter of temperament, and not of my choice or contriving.”

With this outlook he starts to question the different types of knowledge around him. He systematically and diligently tackles each science which influences man’s spiritual/religious mindset, covering the four main sciences of the time: theology, authoritative instruction, philosophy and mysticism, all of which continue to play significant roles today.

The analysis is carried out in detail, unbiased and authoritatively (as Ghazali studied and authored in most of the fields of his investigation). He dissects each science like a skilled surgeon and then delivers his post-surgery evaluation with accuracy and precision. A passage which distils the essence of his spiritual journey can be found in Section 4 - The Ways of Mysticism, “I learnt with certainty that it is above all the mystics who walk on the road of God; their life is the best life, their method the soundest method, their character the purest character; indeed, were the intellect of the intellectuals and the learning of the learned and the scholarship of the scholars, who are versed in the profundities of revealed truth, bought together in the attempt to improve the life and character of the mystics, they would find no way of doing so; for to the mystics all movement and all rest, whether external or internal brings an illumination from the light of the lamp of prophetic revelation; and behind the light of prophetic revelation there is no other light on the face of the earth from which illumination may be received.”

A chapter on the nature of Prophecy follows which highlights its compelling need. He discusses sensual and intellectual perceptions, their development in humans from simple to complex, and they end where divine inspiration and revelation begin. The methodology used to explain this spectrum of perceptions is both simple and effective and allows the reader to follow the thought pattern of the author.

A concluding chapter on Ghazali’s return to teaching also tackles and in fact successfully deals with possible rebuttals of the hypothesis that he postulates on the need for prophetic leadership. As an expert in each of the fields his replies to the various groups are from their own teachings, doctrines and methodology.

The translation is reasonable, however it can prove challenging to read in certain places due to the occasional unusual use of grammar and language. Having said that, the reader should be prepared to be astounded at the effortless artistry of a great master plucking pearls from the depths of the oceans.

In this time of great confusion, misinformation (or rather overawed by information!) and the claim of many sects to be ‘the callers of truth’, ‘Deliverance of Error’ can prove to be a lighthouse on the horizon gently bringing in the seeker of Truth from the darkness and volatility of the ocean to the abode of Truth and Certainty. [Please note that this review is of the translation by W. M. Watt].

Reviewed by: Amjad Muhammad

Source: Deenport.com

A short biographical note on Richard J. McCarthy

This re-publication of Freedom and Fulfillment: An Annotated Translation of Al-Ghazali’s al-Munqidh min al-Dalal and other relevant works of Al-Ghazali by Richard J. McCarthy, S.J. evokes the memory of this dedicated Arabist and Islamic scholar who passed away in 1981.

His translation marked the culmination of a life of scholarship; it was completed during Fr. McCarthy’s last years despite illness and partial paralysis.

Fr. McCarthy’s initiation into Islamic theology began at Oxford University in 1947 with his doctoral studies of al-Baqqalani, and his academic life ended at Oxford in 1977 at St. Anthony’s. Those years at Oxford bracketed a life of teaching, research, and preaching in Baghdad at the Jesuit institutions of Baghdad College and al-Hikma University.

As President of al-Hikma, Fr. McCarthy saw his ambitious plans for an Oriental Institute thwarted by the reversal of the political leadership in Iraq in 1968 which led to the closure of al-Hikma and the expulsion of the Jesuits.

His contribution to Islamic and Arabic studies is remarkable. In addition to his works editing theological texts, he completed a two-volume work on The Spoken Arabic of Baghdad and also published a collection of his sermons in Arabic.

He was a familiar figure in both scholarly and popular circles in Baghdad. The expulsion of the Jesuits from Iraq, when Saddam Hussein and the Baath party came into power, was a very painful reversal of fortune for Fr. McCarthy. But with aid of colleagues like Albert Hourani, Ilsa Lichtenstader, and Annemarie Schimmel, Fr. McCarthy adapted to the change, first at Oxford and then later, after suffering a stroke, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he used his talents and acquired wisdom up to the very end. A model priest and a dedicated scholar.

--John J. Donohue, S.J.
January 14, 1999
Boston, Massachusetts

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