The Ghazali Children's Project

Al-Ghazali – Illustrated Biography

Take a lavishly illustrated journey with your family into the remarkable and inspiring life of one of the most important figures in the Western and Islamic worlds! This short book tells the story of Imam al-Ghazali (1058-1111), his humble birth, his education and rise to fame, then his subsequent journey to find the truth.

Demi is the author and illustrator of more than 300 children’s books. Her titles have been designated American Library Association Notable Children’s Books, New York Times Best Illustrated Books, Notable Books for a Global Society, and American Bookseller Pick of the List Books. She lives in Yarrow Point, Washington.

Product Description

This book is based on his semi-autobiographical account and the accounts of his students and his many biographers. Chief among these is Taj al-Din al-Subki, Tabaqat al-Shafi’iyya al-kubra.

This short book is beautifully illustrated by the renowned artist Demi.

Al-Ghazali shared his profound understanding with the world in the many books he wrote. This biography is intended as an introduction to the Fons Vitae al-Ghazali Series of complete new translations of the forty books of the Ihya ‘ulum al-din, “Revival of the Religious Sciences”, and the accompanying series for children.

The importance of al-Ghazali in the intellectual and spiritual history of both the Western and Islamic world cannot be too highly estimated. He is considered to be the savior of Islam because in his 40-volume opus magnum, The Revival of the Religion Sciences, he clarifies the spiritual meanings and inner purposes of every aspect of the Islamic faith. This book, an illustrated biography for both parents and children—with adjacent text for both—presents this inspiring life with exquisite miniatures in the Persian style. The biography covers his humble birth and education, rise to fame, spiritual crisis, and subsequent journeying to find the Truth in Syria, Palestine, and Mecca before returning home, having purified his heart. The text is distilled from his own autobiography, Deliverance from Error, written in the 11th century CE and from other scholarly biographies.

Read more: “Who was Ghazali?” on the GhazaliChildren.org website

Reviews

Al-Ghazali (1058–1111) is generally acclaimed as the most influential thinker of medieval Islam.
T. J. Winter, faculty member, Divinity Cambridge University