Al-Ghazali: The Censure of This World (Book 26 of The Revival of the Religious Sciences)

The Censure of This World (Kitab Dhamm al-dunya) Book 26 of The Revival of the Religious Sciences (Ihya’ ‘ulum al-din) 200 pp.

Translated by Matthew Ingalls

The Censure of This World is book 26 of the forty books of the Revival of the Religious Sciences (Iḥyāʾ ʿulūm al-dīn). It is the first of five books that censure specific perils, the others being The Censure of Greed and the Love of Wealth; The Censure of Fame and Hypocritical Ostentation; The Censure of Pride and Vanity; and The Censure of Deceit.

This book covers the broadest topic; namely this world, while the following books delve into specific traits. Al-Ghazālī approaches the topic of this world from the widest possible perspective; that being, the extent of our existence in this world relative to pre-eternity and the eternity of the hereafter. Although our lives here are minute in terms of existence, this time and our choices are crucial to our fate in the next life.