The Revival of the Religious Sciences (Ihya ulum al-din)

Authentic and undisputed work, composed during his retreat (c. 1096–1106) between Damascus, Jerusalem and Tus. Structure in forty books: I. Rub' al-'ibadat (Acts of worship): 1. Kitab al-'ilm (The Book of Knowledge); 2. Kitab qawa'id al-'aqa'id (Foundations of the Articles of Faith); 3. Kitab asrar al-tahara (The Mysteries of Purification); 4. Kitab asrar al-salat (The Mysteries of Prayer); 5. Kitab asrar al-zakat (The Mysteries of Almsgiving); 6. Kitab asrar al-sawm (The Mysteries of Fasting); 7. Kitab asrar al-hajj (The Mysteries of Pilgrimage); 8. Kitab adab tilawat al-Qur'an (The Etiquette of Qur'an Recitation); 9. Kitab al-adhkar wa-l-da'awat (Invocations and Supplications); 10. Kitab tartib al-awrad fi l-awqat (The Arrangement of Litanies over Time). II. Rub' al-'adat (Customs): 11. Kitab adab al-akl (The Manners of Eating); 12. Kitab adab al-nikah (The Etiquette of Marriage); 13. Kitab adab al-kasb wa-l-ma'ash (The Proprieties of Earning and Living); 14. Kitab al-halal wa-l-haram (The Lawful and the Unlawful); 15. Kitab adab al-ulfa wa-l-ukhuwwa wa-l-suhba (The Duties of Brotherhood and Companionship); 16. Kitab adab al-'uzla (The Etiquette of Seclusion); 17. Kitab adab al-safar (The Etiquette of Travel); 18. Kitab adab al-sama' wa-l-wajd (Music, Listening and Ecstasy); 19. Kitab al-amr bi-l-ma'ruf wa-l-nahy 'an al-munkar (Commanding Right and Forbidding Wrong); 20. Kitab adab al-ma'isha wa-akhlaq al-nubuwwa (The Prophet's Way of Life and Character). III. Rub' al-muhlikat (The ways to perdition): 21. Kitab sharh 'aja'ib al-qalb (The Marvels of the Heart); 22. Kitab riyadat al-nafs (Disciplining the Soul); 23. Kitab kasr al-shahwatayn (Breaking the Two Desires); 24. Kitab afat al-lisan (The Banes of the Tongue); 25. Kitab dhamm al-ghadab wa-l-hiqd wa-l-hasad (Anger, Rancour and Envy); 26. Kitab dhamm al-dunya (The Condemnation of the World); 27. Kitab dhamm al-bukhl wa-hubb al-mal (Avarice and the Love of Wealth); 28. Kitab dhamm al-jah wa-l-riya' (Status and Ostentation); 29. Kitab dhamm al-kibr wa-l-'ujb (Pride and Conceit); 30. Kitab dhamm al-ghurur (Self-Delusion). IV. Rub' al-munjiyat (The ways to salvation): 31. Kitab al-tawba (Repentance); 32. Kitab al-sabr wa-l-shukr (Patience and Gratitude); 33. Kitab al-khawf wa-l-raja' (Fear and Hope); 34. Kitab al-faqr wa-l-zuhd (Poverty and Renunciation); 35. Kitab al-tawhid wa-l-tawakkul (Divine Unity and Trust in God); 36. Kitab al-mahabba wa-l-shawq wa-l-uns wa-l-rida (Love, Longing, Intimacy and Contentment); 37. Kitab al-niyya wa-l-ikhlas wa-l-sidq (Intention, Sincerity and Truthfulness); 38. Kitab al-muraqaba wa-l-muhasaba (Vigilance and Self-Examination); 39. Kitab al-tafakkur (Contemplation); 40. Kitab dhikr al-mawt wa-ma ba'dahu (The Remembrance of Death and the Afterlife). Al-Ghazali answered his critics in *al-Imla' 'ala mushkil al-Ihya'*; al-Zabidi (d. 1791) devoted to it the monumental commentary *Ithaf al-sada al-muttaqin*.