Biographies of Imam Ghazali

Original Source material in Arabic**:

Author Date Work download
Abdel Ghafir Al-Farisi d. 529 h. History of Nishapur html
*Abu Bakr bin al-'Arabi d. 543 h. al-'Awasem min al-Qawasem #18 pp.546-7
Ibn 'Asaker d. 571 h. Tabyan kathab al-muftari pdf
*Ibn 'Asaker d. 571 h. Tarikh dimishaq #9 pp.504-9
*Ibn al-Jawazi d. 597 h. Al-Muntazim fi al-Tarikh #10 pp,510-3
Yaqut al-Hamawi d. 626 h. Mu'ajam al-Buldan  
Ibn as-Salaah d. 642 h.    
*Sibt ibn al-Jawazi d. 654 h. Mir'at al-Zaman #11 pp.514-5
*Muhyideen an-Nawawai d. 676 h. al-Tabaqat #17 p. 545
ibn Khailikan d. 681 h. Wifyat al-'Ayan pdf
*al-Hafiz al-dhaabi d. 748 h. Siyar 'alam al-Nubala' pdf
al-Hafiz al-dhaabi d. 748 h. Tarikh al-islam pdf
al-Yafee d. 768 h. Mir'at al-Jenan pdf
ibn al-Imad al-hanbali   Shuthart al-dhab fi akhbar min dhab pdf - html
*Taj-udeen as-Subki d. 771 h. Tabaqat al-Shaifyah al-kubra pdf
*ibn Katheer d. 774 h. al-Bidya wal-Nihyah link
*Muhammad al-Wasiti d. 776 h. al-Tabaqat al-Ulyah fi manaqib al-shafiyah pdf
*Ibn al-Mulaqqan d. 790 h. al-'Aqd al-muthahab fi tabaqat hamlat al-madhab #19 pp.548-50
*Taqi ad-din Ibn Shahbah d. 851 h. Tabaqat al-Shafihyah #8 pp.501-3
*Al-'Aini d. 855 h. 'Aqd al-juman #13 pp518-20
*Al-Jamai d. 898 h. Nafhat al-'Uns #5 pp.483-4
*Tash Kubari Zadah d. 962 h. Miftah as-saadah wa misbah al-siyadah #4 pp.479-83
*Salah ad-din as-Safadi d. 964 h. al-Wafi bil-wafiyat pdf
*Abd-ar-rauf al-Manawi d. 1031 h. al-kawakib al-durriyah fi tarajim al-sadah a-shafiyah #14 pp 521-2
*al-'adirus ba-'Alawi d. 1038 h. Tarif al-ihyah bi fadil al-ihya #7 pp.499-50
*Murtza al-Zubadi d. 1205 h. Ithaf as-sadaah al-mutaqeen fi  sharah as-srar ihya uloom al-din pdf

Notable biographies:

  1. Sirat al-ghazali (al-Ghazali's biography from the original sources) complied by Abdelkarim al-Othman (1961 AD, Damascus, n.p.) that complied the above biographies in order (PDF out takes).
  2. *These works are available from the appendix Mu'alafat al-Ghazali by Abdurrahman Badawi. (PDF: file size: 2112kb)
  3. Biography from old editions of Ihya uloom ad-din (complied from above listed books) pdf.

Supplementary Material:

  1. Imam Ghazali (Between his Admirers and Critics) by Yusef al-Qaradawi (Arabic PDF.) (File size: 7000kb) (Warning: Big file!)  currently in print
  2. Imam Ghazali by M. S. Shami in Arabic (PDF.) (File size: 7000kb) (Warning: Big file!)  currently in print.
  3. Muslim Intellectual: A Study of Al-Ghazali. W. M. Watt. (HTML- E-text) is also available in (PDF: file size: 7111kb). (Warning: Big file!) 
  4. The faith and Practice of Al-Ghazali. W. M. Watt. (E-text) Deliverance translation only.
  5. A Study in Islamic Epistemology: Al-Ghazali. M. M. Abusway (E-text) available in (PDF: file size: 9650kb). (Warning: Big file!) 
  6. Al-Ghazali: from History of Muslim Philosophy. (E-text).
  7. The Life of Al-Ghazali with special reference to his religious experiences and opinions (JAOS). 1887. D. B. Macdonald. (e-text) Also available in (PDF: file size: 2966kb). (Warning: Big file!)
  8. Al-Ghazali: from History of Islamic Philosophy, by M. Campanini. (E-text)
  9. Al-Ghazali: from Encyclopedia of Philosophy, by K. Nakamura. (E-text)
  10. Al-Ghazali: from Encyclopedia of Religion. (E-text)
  11. Al-Ghazali: A new bio by K. Nakamura- from Ghazali and Prayer. (E-text) now in HTML!
  12. Al-Ghazali: A New entry from CIS by M. Abu Sway. (link)
  13. Al-Ghazali: Encyclopedia of Islam's Article by M. Watt (E-text) 
  14. Al-Ghazali: from Encyclopedia Iranica. (E-text)
  15. al-Ghazali: From A shia perspective: from Milal by Subhani. (PDF, In Arabic; file size: 457kb)
  16. Al-Ghazali: A short standard Biography. (PDF -in Arabic) (E-text)
  17. Al-Ghazali: A detailed somewhat controversial Biography. by U. Farukh (PDF, In Arabic; file size: 370kb)
  18. A Moslem Seeker after God. S. M. Zwemer (PDF: file size: 7704kb). (Warning: Big file!) a dated biography by an evangelist with an agenda.
  19. Al-Ghazali: Encyclopedia Britannica's Article  by W. M. Watt. (link availability is now limited)

 

**Acknowledgement: Content of the table above made generous use of the work of Mashhad Al-Allaf, PhD's work "The Essence of Islamic Philosophy" pp. 181-186. (ISBN: 0972272216) IIC, 2003 and Abdurrahman Badawi's Mu'llafat al-Ghazali (Les Oeuvres D'Al-Ghazali, Etude Bibliographique par 'Abdurrahman Badawi) 2nd Edition 1977AD wakalat al-matbu'at, Kuwait (Distributed by Dar al-Qalam, Beirut, Lebanon)pp471-550. (Complete book in PDF format 573pp +47. Size: 17cmX24cm).

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