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O Son! A Translation of Imam al-Ghazali's "Ayyuhal Walad"
This Short Text Provides A Rare Opportunity To Take Personal Advice Directly From Imam Al-Ghazali Himself.
One of al-Ghazali's advanced students wrote to the Imam with a question: From all the fields of knowledge, what will benefit us most in the grave? The student clarified that, while he could certainly find the answer to his question within al-Ghazali's longer works, such as the Ihya 'Ulum al-Din, he wished for his teacher to give him a formal legal opinion, short enough that he could keep it with him at all times and refer to it constantly.
Ayyuhal Walad is the great Imam's response: a personal note from al-Ghazali to his student, and by extension to anyone who desires to follow their way. Imam al-Ghazali elucidates the following for his student, and for the modern reader:
The precise nature of the relationship between knowledge and action, and the role of each in one's striving for Paradise
The significance of the night prayer
Some advice from Luqman the Wise to his son, and its enduring meaning and importance
A concise definition of obedience and worship, which al-Ghazali states is the quintessence of knowledge
The four matters that are required of a spiritual traveler
A single hadith that contains the entirety of the knowledge of the ancients as well as the men of latter days
Eight lessons that are sufficient for deliverance and salvation
Ayyuhal Walad is designed to be read and reread, and referred to frequently throughout one's life. The reader must take note that the original recipient of this letter was a top student of Imam al-Ghazali, and therefore a scholar of the highest caliber himself. This book is thus invaluable simply as a record of the interaction between one of the Ummah's greatest teachers and his esteemed disciple. However, al-Ghazali's prescriptions are conveyed with such clarity that any Muslim of high aspiration will benefit from this text.
This edition includes Ustadh Moustafa Elqabbany's meticulous English translation side-by-side with al-Ghazali's original Arabic epistle. This arrangement allows the English-speaking reader to get a taste of al-Ghazali's unique style, while students of Arabic may peruse the Imam's masterful Arabic prose alongside Ustadh Moustafa's elegant English rendition.
One of al-Ghazali's advanced students wrote to the Imam with a question: From all the fields of knowledge, what will benefit us most in the grave? The student clarified that, while he could certainly find the answer to his question within al-Ghazali's longer works, such as the Ihya 'Ulum al-Din, he wished for his teacher to give him a formal legal opinion, short enough that he could keep it with him at all times and refer to it constantly.
Ayyuhal Walad is the great Imam's response: a personal note from al-Ghazali to his student, and by extension to anyone who desires to follow their way. Imam al-Ghazali elucidates the following for his student, and for the modern reader:
The precise nature of the relationship between knowledge and action, and the role of each in one's striving for Paradise
The significance of the night prayer
Some advice from Luqman the Wise to his son, and its enduring meaning and importance
A concise definition of obedience and worship, which al-Ghazali states is the quintessence of knowledge
The four matters that are required of a spiritual traveler
A single hadith that contains the entirety of the knowledge of the ancients as well as the men of latter days
Eight lessons that are sufficient for deliverance and salvation
Ayyuhal Walad is designed to be read and reread, and referred to frequently throughout one's life. The reader must take note that the original recipient of this letter was a top student of Imam al-Ghazali, and therefore a scholar of the highest caliber himself. This book is thus invaluable simply as a record of the interaction between one of the Ummah's greatest teachers and his esteemed disciple. However, al-Ghazali's prescriptions are conveyed with such clarity that any Muslim of high aspiration will benefit from this text.
This edition includes Ustadh Moustafa Elqabbany's meticulous English translation side-by-side with al-Ghazali's original Arabic epistle. This arrangement allows the English-speaking reader to get a taste of al-Ghazali's unique style, while students of Arabic may peruse the Imam's masterful Arabic prose alongside Ustadh Moustafa's elegant English rendition.
107 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2021
5 people are currently reading
65 people want to read
About the author
Abu Hamid al-Ghazali
784 books2,960 followers
أبو حامد الغزالي
Muslim theologian and philosopher Abu Hamid al-Ghazali of Persia worked to systematize Sufism, Islamic mysticism, and in The Incoherence of the Philosophers (1095) argued the incompatibility of thought of Plato and Aristotle with Islam.
Born in 1058, Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ghazālī ranked of the most prominent and influential Sunni jurists of his origin.
Islamic tradition considers him to be a Mujaddid, a renewer of the faith who, according to the prophetic hadith, appears once every century to restore the faith of the ummah ("the Islamic Community"). His works were so highly acclaimed by his contemporaries that al-Ghazali was awarded the honorific title "Proof of Islam" (Hujjat al-Islam).
Al-Ghazali believed that the Islamic spiritual tradition had become moribund and that the spiritual sciences taught by the first generation of Muslims had been forgotten.[24] That resulted in his writing his magnum opus entitled Ihya 'ulum al-din ("The Revival of the Religious Sciences"). Among his other works, the Tahāfut al-Falāsifa ("Incoherence of the Philosophers") is a significant landmark in the history of philosophy, as it advances the critique of Aristotelian science developed later in 14th-century Europe.
أبو حامد محمد الغزّالي الطوسي النيسابوري الصوفي الشافعي الأشعري، أحد أعلام عصره وأحد أشهر علماء المسلمين في القرن الخامس الهجري،(450 هـ - 505 هـ / 1058م - 1111م). كان فقيهاً وأصولياً وفيلسوفاً، وكان صوفيّ الطريقةِ، شافعيّ الفقهِ إذ لم يكن للشافعية في آخر عصره مثلَه.، وكان على مذهب الأشاعرة في العقيدة، وقد عُرف كأحد مؤسسي المدرسة الأشعرية في علم الكلام، وأحد أصولها الثلاثة بعد أبي الحسن الأشعري، (وكانوا الباقلاني والجويني والغزّالي) لُقّب الغزالي بألقاب كثيرة في حياته، أشهرها لقب "حجّة الإسلام"، وله أيضاً ألقاب مثل: زين الدين، ومحجّة الدين، والعالم الأوحد، ومفتي الأمّة، وبركة الأنام، وإمام أئمة الدين، وشرف الأئمة.
كان له أثرٌ كبيرٌ وبصمةٌ واضحةٌ في عدّة علوم مثل الفلسفة، والفقه الشافعي، وعلم الكلام، والتصوف، والمنطق، وترك عدداَ من الكتب في تلك المجالات.ولد وعاش في طوس، ثم انتقل إلى نيسابور ليلازم أبا المعالي الجويني (الملقّب بإمام الحرمين)، فأخذ عنه معظم العلوم، ولمّا بلغ عمره 34 سنة، رحل إلى بغداد مدرّساً في المدرسة النظامية في عهد الدولة العباسية بطلب من الوزير السلجوقي نظام الملك. في تلك الفترة اشتُهر شهرةً واسعةً، وصار مقصداً لطلاب العلم الشرعي من جميع البلدان، حتى بلغ أنه كان يجلس في مجلسه أكثر من 400 من أفاضل الناس وعلمائهم يستمعون له ويكتبون عنه العلم. وبعد 4 سنوات من التدريس قرر اعتزال الناس والتفرغ للعبادة وتربية نفسه، متأثراً بذلك بالصّوفية وكتبهم، فخرج من بغداد خفيةً في رحلة طويلة بلغت 11 سنة، تنقل خلالها بين دمشق والقدس والخليل ومكة والمدينة المنورة، كتب خلالها كتابه المشهور إحياء علوم الدين كخلاصة لتجربته الروحية، عاد بعدها إلى بلده طوس متخذاً بجوار بيته مدرسةً للفقهاء، وخانقاه (مكان للتعبّد والعزلة) للصوفية.
Muslim theologian and philosopher Abu Hamid al-Ghazali of Persia worked to systematize Sufism, Islamic mysticism, and in The Incoherence of the Philosophers (1095) argued the incompatibility of thought of Plato and Aristotle with Islam.
Born in 1058, Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ghazālī ranked of the most prominent and influential Sunni jurists of his origin.
Islamic tradition considers him to be a Mujaddid, a renewer of the faith who, according to the prophetic hadith, appears once every century to restore the faith of the ummah ("the Islamic Community"). His works were so highly acclaimed by his contemporaries that al-Ghazali was awarded the honorific title "Proof of Islam" (Hujjat al-Islam).
Al-Ghazali believed that the Islamic spiritual tradition had become moribund and that the spiritual sciences taught by the first generation of Muslims had been forgotten.[24] That resulted in his writing his magnum opus entitled Ihya 'ulum al-din ("The Revival of the Religious Sciences"). Among his other works, the Tahāfut al-Falāsifa ("Incoherence of the Philosophers") is a significant landmark in the history of philosophy, as it advances the critique of Aristotelian science developed later in 14th-century Europe.
أبو حامد محمد الغزّالي الطوسي النيسابوري الصوفي الشافعي الأشعري، أحد أعلام عصره وأحد أشهر علماء المسلمين في القرن الخامس الهجري،(450 هـ - 505 هـ / 1058م - 1111م). كان فقيهاً وأصولياً وفيلسوفاً، وكان صوفيّ الطريقةِ، شافعيّ الفقهِ إذ لم يكن للشافعية في آخر عصره مثلَه.، وكان على مذهب الأشاعرة في العقيدة، وقد عُرف كأحد مؤسسي المدرسة الأشعرية في علم الكلام، وأحد أصولها الثلاثة بعد أبي الحسن الأشعري، (وكانوا الباقلاني والجويني والغزّالي) لُقّب الغزالي بألقاب كثيرة في حياته، أشهرها لقب "حجّة الإسلام"، وله أيضاً ألقاب مثل: زين الدين، ومحجّة الدين، والعالم الأوحد، ومفتي الأمّة، وبركة الأنام، وإمام أئمة الدين، وشرف الأئمة.
كان له أثرٌ كبيرٌ وبصمةٌ واضحةٌ في عدّة علوم مثل الفلسفة، والفقه الشافعي، وعلم الكلام، والتصوف، والمنطق، وترك عدداَ من الكتب في تلك المجالات.ولد وعاش في طوس، ثم انتقل إلى نيسابور ليلازم أبا المعالي الجويني (الملقّب بإمام الحرمين)، فأخذ عنه معظم العلوم، ولمّا بلغ عمره 34 سنة، رحل إلى بغداد مدرّساً في المدرسة النظامية في عهد الدولة العباسية بطلب من الوزير السلجوقي نظام الملك. في تلك الفترة اشتُهر شهرةً واسعةً، وصار مقصداً لطلاب العلم الشرعي من جميع البلدان، حتى بلغ أنه كان يجلس في مجلسه أكثر من 400 من أفاضل الناس وعلمائهم يستمعون له ويكتبون عنه العلم. وبعد 4 سنوات من التدريس قرر اعتزال الناس والتفرغ للعبادة وتربية نفسه، متأثراً بذلك بالصّوفية وكتبهم، فخرج من بغداد خفيةً في رحلة طويلة بلغت 11 سنة، تنقل خلالها بين دمشق والقدس والخليل ومكة والمدينة المنورة، كتب خلالها كتابه المشهور إحياء علوم الدين كخلاصة لتجربته الروحية، عاد بعدها إلى بلده طوس متخذاً بجوار بيته مدرسةً للفقهاء، وخانقاه (مكان للتعبّد والعزلة) للصوفية.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 3, 2024
35/2024
-Ayyuhal Walad: Duhai Anak
-Imam Al Ghazali
Membaca karya terjemahan dalam bahasa Melayu, di bawah penerbitan Biblio Press. Naskhah ini dibeli semasa PBAKL 2024 baru baru ini. Membelinya secara rawak kerana blurb belakang buku bagi saya sangat menarik.
Naskhah ini tidak tebal sekadar berhalaman 48 muka surat tidak termasuk bab bab lain. Walaupun bukunya tipis sahaja, akan tetapi isinya sangat banyak. Pelbagai kata nasihat Imam Al Ghazali diselitkan dalam buku ini. Bermula dari pengamalan ilmu, sehinggalah kehidupan bermasyarakat, semuanya termuat dalam buku ini. Ianya seperti kisah kisah nasihat daripada seorang bapa buat anaknya.
Penghargaan sewajarnya saya berikan buat penterjemah buku ini, saudara Muhammad Yusra Hulaimi kerana berjaya menulis dengan baik dan terjemahannya mudah dibaca. Untuk mereka yang dahagakan buku buku ilmiah membangun jiwa, karya Duhai Anak ini wajib ada dalam senarai anda!
-Ayyuhal Walad: Duhai Anak
-Imam Al Ghazali
Membaca karya terjemahan dalam bahasa Melayu, di bawah penerbitan Biblio Press. Naskhah ini dibeli semasa PBAKL 2024 baru baru ini. Membelinya secara rawak kerana blurb belakang buku bagi saya sangat menarik.
Naskhah ini tidak tebal sekadar berhalaman 48 muka surat tidak termasuk bab bab lain. Walaupun bukunya tipis sahaja, akan tetapi isinya sangat banyak. Pelbagai kata nasihat Imam Al Ghazali diselitkan dalam buku ini. Bermula dari pengamalan ilmu, sehinggalah kehidupan bermasyarakat, semuanya termuat dalam buku ini. Ianya seperti kisah kisah nasihat daripada seorang bapa buat anaknya.
Penghargaan sewajarnya saya berikan buat penterjemah buku ini, saudara Muhammad Yusra Hulaimi kerana berjaya menulis dengan baik dan terjemahannya mudah dibaca. Untuk mereka yang dahagakan buku buku ilmiah membangun jiwa, karya Duhai Anak ini wajib ada dalam senarai anda!
September 7, 2025
Kadang-kala kita memang memerlukan peringatan rohani tentang hakikat hidup daripada seorang yang alim dan arif.
Buku yang nipis tetapi isinya tebal dan patut menjadi makanan rohani setiap manusia yang bergelar Muslim. Terjemahan kali ini mukanya kurang dari seratus tetapi sebenarnya isinya sangat berat. Memandangkan penulisan Imam al-Ghazali kali ini ditujukan khas untuk seorang muridnya, kebanyakan nasihat yang diberikan sebenarnya ditujukan untuk pelajar yang menuntut aliran ilmu agama.
Tetapi, segala bentuk nasihat itu juga boleh dijadikan refleksi kepada diri sendiri yang tergolong dalam golongan awam. Nasihat berkenaan penyucian hati dan jiwa, menuntut ilmu, ibadah, kerosakan diri dan juga perasaan riak sering kali dipesan-pesan oleh Imam al-Ghazali. Ternyata niatnya memang baik ingin memberi pesan, dan tajuk buku nipis ini juga bertajuk 'Duhai Anak', makanya ia seperti nasihat seorang bapa kepada anak.
Pedoman jugalah yang akan menyedarkan diri bahawa hakikat kehidupan yang sering dicari-cari itu datangnya daripada keimanan, ketakwaan dan penyucian hati. Terima kasih Bibliopress kerana berusaha menterjemah karya ini sebabnya dalam bahasa Inggeris, buku ini mahal dengan nipis muka bukunya.
Dan engkau bertanya pula kepaaku tentang tawakkul. Dan ia adalah engkau meneguhkan peganganmu kepada Allah tentang apa yang Dia telah janjikan (wa'ada)...
Buku yang nipis tetapi isinya tebal dan patut menjadi makanan rohani setiap manusia yang bergelar Muslim. Terjemahan kali ini mukanya kurang dari seratus tetapi sebenarnya isinya sangat berat. Memandangkan penulisan Imam al-Ghazali kali ini ditujukan khas untuk seorang muridnya, kebanyakan nasihat yang diberikan sebenarnya ditujukan untuk pelajar yang menuntut aliran ilmu agama.
Tetapi, segala bentuk nasihat itu juga boleh dijadikan refleksi kepada diri sendiri yang tergolong dalam golongan awam. Nasihat berkenaan penyucian hati dan jiwa, menuntut ilmu, ibadah, kerosakan diri dan juga perasaan riak sering kali dipesan-pesan oleh Imam al-Ghazali. Ternyata niatnya memang baik ingin memberi pesan, dan tajuk buku nipis ini juga bertajuk 'Duhai Anak', makanya ia seperti nasihat seorang bapa kepada anak.
Pedoman jugalah yang akan menyedarkan diri bahawa hakikat kehidupan yang sering dicari-cari itu datangnya daripada keimanan, ketakwaan dan penyucian hati. Terima kasih Bibliopress kerana berusaha menterjemah karya ini sebabnya dalam bahasa Inggeris, buku ini mahal dengan nipis muka bukunya.
Dan engkau bertanya pula kepaaku tentang tawakkul. Dan ia adalah engkau meneguhkan peganganmu kepada Allah tentang apa yang Dia telah janjikan (wa'ada)...
May 11, 2022
Read this book.
Then read it again.
Then read it again.
May 26, 2024
I read in Malay translation. The first book that has hooked me with the work of Imam Al Ghazali. Personally, it is an excellent book on the go with petite and thin pages, yet there is so much to ponder and reflect on at every single line. Got lost in thought, and find solace.
September 14, 2021
Imam Ghazali (rh) was asked by a student to write him something concise, a sum total in a way, of the lessons that he had been learning through him and through many of his books. What are some definitely takeaways that shouldn’t be forgotten? So he receives this wonderful letter covering all of the facets of life with an underlying theme of protecting and nurturing the heart while recognising the importance of being a seeker. The advise is layered with meaning and offers deep insights and motivation (read: reason) to strive towards Allah ﷻ.
The book is beautifully curated and in addition to the letter and the original Arabic, there are colorful pages and spreads highlighting some amazing quotes.
One thing that is mentioned in the publishers note is that this book is meant to be read with a teacher. So there are footnotes, lots of them. Much of that information went over my head but I read it anyway to be exposed to it, at least.
It is important to remember that one should not make drastic changes in understanding or religious actions while reading anything without a teacher. If I was to read the footnotes with the intention to understand or, dare I say, implement, then I surely would have led myself towards further confusion. So I focused on the letter itself, letting the words shake me to *want* to be better.
Imam Ghazali (rh) mentions multiple times the importance of worship during the night. Over and over. There is benefit to being a believer who forgoes sleep and the comforts of a warm bed to go towards the comfort of the Divine instead.
There is a beautiful dua that he (rh) teaches his student at the end and it was a perfect way to sign off from a short read. I would love to read this alongside a teacher that will add depth to this letter which I can’t even begin to uncover by myself.
In short: Get this book! You’ll love it.
The book is beautifully curated and in addition to the letter and the original Arabic, there are colorful pages and spreads highlighting some amazing quotes.
One thing that is mentioned in the publishers note is that this book is meant to be read with a teacher. So there are footnotes, lots of them. Much of that information went over my head but I read it anyway to be exposed to it, at least.
It is important to remember that one should not make drastic changes in understanding or religious actions while reading anything without a teacher. If I was to read the footnotes with the intention to understand or, dare I say, implement, then I surely would have led myself towards further confusion. So I focused on the letter itself, letting the words shake me to *want* to be better.
Imam Ghazali (rh) mentions multiple times the importance of worship during the night. Over and over. There is benefit to being a believer who forgoes sleep and the comforts of a warm bed to go towards the comfort of the Divine instead.
There is a beautiful dua that he (rh) teaches his student at the end and it was a perfect way to sign off from a short read. I would love to read this alongside a teacher that will add depth to this letter which I can’t even begin to uncover by myself.
In short: Get this book! You’ll love it.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews