The Condemnation of Pride and Self-Admiration is the first translation into a European language of chapter twenty-nine of The Revival of the Religious Sciences, a monumental work of classical Islam written by the greatest theologian-mystic of Islam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (d. 1111). Perhaps the most important chapter in the whole of the Revival, The Condemnation of Pride and Self-Admiration delves into the fundamental spiritual ailments and major impediments of the soul, namely pride and self-admiration. Ghazali offers readers an in-depth analysis of how and why pride and self-admiration are so harmful to a person's soul, and oulines methods of recognizing and subsequently healing these diseases of the heart. The key ingredient in this cure, Ghazali explains, is the cultivation of humility, which results from an increasing awareness of one's lowliness and essential nothingness before God. An indepth and very lucid analysis of the major vices and virtues central to all religions.
About the Author
Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (1058-1111) is the most famous theologian-mystic of Islam and the equivalent of Thomas Aquinas in Christianity and Maimonides in Judaism. His contribution to the formation of Islamic thought and mysticism is incalculable. Mohammed Rustom is Associate Professor of Islamic Studies at Carleton University.
Praise For…
"In his vivid and lively English translation of the twenty-ninth book of the Revival, Mohammed Rustom has gone to great pains to accurately convey the highly nuanced nature of the original Arabic, thereby bringing al-Ghazālī’s thought to life for the contemporary reader." —Steven Styer, Oxford University
"Anybody willing to examine how the vice of pride can sour the human heart and warp not only our relations with one another, but our very perception of reality, will stand to benefit from Mohammed Rustom’s excellent English translation." —Taneli Kukkonen, Professor of Philosophy
"Mohammed Rustom’s annotated translation of one of the most important parts of al-Ghazālī’s hugely influential Revival, admirably combines lucidity with scholarly accuracy, and is a pleasure to read. I recommend it without hesitation to anyone interested in al-Ghazālī, Sufism, or virtue ethics in Islam." —Ayman Shihadeh
