He lived a life of luxury and was showered with worldly riches. reputation and influence were at their zenith. Imam Ghazali had a lot of influence on the royal family, so much so that they listened to him and heeded his advice. Imam Ghazali was appointed the head of Nizamiyya, this was one of the highest-ranking civil positions and the most coveted place in the capital of the Muslim empire. His brilliance in all branches of learning was now well established and Nizamul Mulk recognised this. It wasn’t long before Imam Ghazali’s genius became apparent, his debates, lectures and counselling were overwhelmingly impressive. Imam Ghazali loved the pomp and ceremony of these occasions. This provided young scholars with an opportunity not only to show off their debating skills and depth of scholarship but to impress the royals. Nizamul Mulk was an erudite scholar himself and loved the company of scholars, his court was like a debating society. Imam Ghazali was appointed as a teacher in this prestigious institution. This was the other great centre of learning and under the patronage of Nizamul Mulk, who had built the great university of Nizamiyya. Imam Al-Haramain died in 1086 CE (475 AH), Imam Ghazali decided to leave Nishapur and headed for Baghdad. It was around this time that Imam Ghazali was initiated in the spiritual order of Shaykh Farmadi. Imam Ghazali began to write books and his teacher encouraged him in this endeavour.
He was appointed as the “Mueed”, assistant teacher. Imam Ghazali soon earned a special place amongst the students of Imam Al-Haramain. He had an unrivalled reputation and status. He was held in high esteem by the government and the public. Imam Al-Haramain was the Grand Mufti as well as having the ear of the ruler. According to Shibli, the first Islamic college was established here in Nishapur by the name of Bahiqiyya. Nishapur was one of the famous centres for learning in the Muslim world. Here Imam Al-Haramain, the greatest luminary of his time taught students the Islamic Sciences. Since Nishapur was closer to home, Imam Ghazali decided to go there. However, Nishapur and Baghdad were the two most famous. In those days there were many schools and colleges in every major town and city. The young Ghazali was a brilliant student with an incisive wit and sharp intellect. The method of teaching was didactic, the teacher would deliver the lecture and the students took notes and compiled them. He then moved to Jurjan (near the Caspian Sea) and studied under Imam Abu Nasr Ismaeli. His early education was from local teachers, in his home town. His father was a cotton merchant and therefore he is referred to as Ghazali. His birthplace is the town of Tabran in the district of Tous in the province of Khurasan (Iran). Ihya Ulum al-Din Book Volume 5 (16.His name was Abu Hamid Ibn Muhammad al-Tusi al-Shafi al-Ghazali and he was honoured with the title of “Hujjatul Islam”, “Proof of Islam”. Ihya Ulum al-Din Book Volume 4 (23.6 MB)ĥ. Ihya Ulum al-Din Book Volume 2 (23.7 MB)ģ. Ihya Ulum al-Din Book Volume 1 (17.2 MB)Ģ. Imam Nawawi said about this book : "Were the books of Islam all to be lost, excepting only the Ihya', it would suffice to replace them all." Imam Ghazali translated “Ihya Ulum al-Din” in Persian to a shorter version named “Kimyaye Sadat”. It’s a giant book and the most studied book after Quran and hadith. It covers almost all major fields of Islam. His most important book is “Ihya Ulum al-Din”. But within that small time, he wrote more than seventy books on Islamic philosophy and other areas. Imam Al-Ghazali is considered to be one of those renewers of his time and for later generations also. Prophet (PBUH) told us that in every century a renewer of Islamic faith will come who will restore Islamic teachings.
He is also known as one of the most influential Muslims of Islamic history. Imam Al-Ghazali was a Persian scholar and philosopher.