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This text crystallizes and encapsulates the Imam’s personal advice to a senior student, a scholar in his own right, who asks for brief guidance in what will ultimately benefit them in the next life. The goal of the course is to find out what pieces of knowledge will benefit one most in the next life, and what one really needs to know and practice. The benefit is that we are being advised by a classical scholar who is one of the best positioned in the nation to do so. Very rarely do we get personal coaching from such a consummate scholar of the past.


This course answers the questions of what we should really focus on, or put our hopes in. It reminds us why we seek knowledge in the first place, and where it should take us other than learning the material at hand. Often, we lose sight of the point of the information we learn and need to be reminded constantly that the bigger purpose is to please Allah and gain nearness to Him for our eventual return to Him in the afterlife. Keeping this in mind helps us live right here and now, and choose what is most beneficial for ourselves of the things we can spend our time doing and pursuing.


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About the text:

Ayyuhal-Walad, translated as “Dear Beloved Son”, is a short letter of advice written by Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali to a nameless senior student, in response to a question about what is the most beneficial of all religious knowledge to have and act upon for the Hereafter, out of all the many things that scholars learn.


The text covers the reality of knowledge and its true essence. It also informs about the critical importance of doing good actions and having a pure inner state in order for the knowledge to be worthwhile and applied. Without this, knowledge itself does not benefit and rather becomes a burden.

This text is significant because it is a summary and brief reminder of all one needs to succeed in this life and successfully spiritually travel to Allah for the next life. It also emphasizes the importance of fulfilling one’s worldly obligations and treating others well, rather than focusing only on oneself. This is ideal for any curriculum of Islamic knowledge because it reminds a student and a scholar that despite the many things we learn, we must be wary of the pitfalls and focus on what benefits in the Hereafter.


About the Author:

Imam Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Ghazali, born in 450 AH in Nishapur (modern-day Iran), was a towering scholar who was acknowledged as the Imam of his time, especially in the regions of Khurasan and Iraq. Having risen to the highest position in scholarship, he was sought after by scholars and authored many texts in different subjects, namely legal theory, beliefs, refutation of heresies, and spirituality.


His magnum opus is Ihya Ulum al-Din, but he is also known for the Mustasfa in Usul (legal theory); the Iqtisad, and Tafriqa in Beliefs; Tahafut al Falasafa in philosophy; and smaller texts in spirituality such as this one. After reaching the height of scholarship and teaching at the prestigious Nizamiyya madrasa, he had a calling to leave that life and pursue purification of the heart in solitude. He traveled the world for a number of years until he returned finally to teaching and penned amazing works reflecting his new experiential spiritual perspective. Many scholars who followed took from his works and ground-breaking combination of practical and theoretical sciences and Islamic spirituality. He passed away in 505 AH.


Who is this course for:
  • This course is suitable for all audiences.
  • It is particularly beneficial for those who are seeking religious knowledge.
  • This course can also be taken by anyone who is interested in understanding Imam Ghazali’s over-arching views on the relationship between knowledge and spirituality.
  • It is a General-level course. Students do not require any prerequisite in order to successfully complete this course.
Learning outcomes:
  • Understand what true knowledge is, and what to prioritize in it.
  • Understand the pitfalls that a student or scholar should avoid.
  • Understand the relationship between spirituality and religious learning.
  • Apply the things that one learns to benefit them in the Hereafter.
  • Understand what really matters out of life and religion, and how to seek it.
  • Understand how the greatest scholars advised their students and emulate this.
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