Ahmad Ghazālī (Persian: احمد غزالی‎; full name Majd al-Dīn Abū al-Fotuḥ Aḥmad Ghazālī) was a Persian mystic, writer, and eloquent preacher (c. 1061–1123 or 1126).[1] He is best known in the history of Sufism
Sufism for his ideas on love, expressed primarily in the celebrated work entitled Sawāneḥ. Life[edit] The younger brother of the celebrated theologian, jurist, and Sufi, Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad al-Ghazālī, Ahmad Ghazālī was born in a village near Tūs, in Khorasan. Here he was educated primarily in jurisprudence. He turned to Sufism
Sufism while still young, becoming the pupil first of Abu Bakr Nassaj Tusi (died 1094) and then of Abu Ali Farmadi (died 1084). He was advanced in Sufism
Sufism by 1095, and his brother Abū Ḥāmid asked him to teach in his place in the Nezamiya of Baghdad
Baghdad and assume responsibility during his planned absence. Ahmad Ghazālī’s thought, centered as it was on the idea of love, left a profound mark on the development of Persian mystical literature, especially poetry celebrating love. Many of the topoi (maẓāmīn) used by later poets such as ʿAṭṭār, Saʿdī, ʿIrāqī, and Ḥāfeẓ, to name but a few, can be traced to his works, particularly the Sawāneḥ. Among his predecessors, he was influenced most strongly by Ḥallāj, and he made of his idea of essential love the basis of his own thought. His belief that all created beauty is an emanation of divine beauty was likewise Hallajian or neo-Platonic in origin. Since God is both absolute beauty and the lover of all phenomenal beauty, Ahmad Ghazālī maintained, to adore any object of beauty is to participate in a divine act of love. Hence the practice of naẓar-bāzī or šāhed-bāzī, gazing on young and beautiful faces, a practice for which he became notorious. Ahmad Ghazālī travelled extensively in the capacities of both Sufi master and a popular preacher. He visited Nishapur, Maragheh, Hamadan and Isfahan. He initiated and trained eminent masters of Sufism including Ayn al-Quzat Hamadani, Abu al-Najib al-Suhrawardi. The latter was the founder of the Suhrawardiyya
Suhrawardiyya Order and its derivatives such as the Kubrawiyya, Mevlevi and Ni'matullāhī
Ni'matullāhī orders. He died in Qazvin
Qazvin in 1123 or 1126 and is buried there. Works[edit]

Sawāneḥ, a little book written around 1114 and comprising some 77 short chapters. It was innovative in form, for at a time when Persian Sufi
Sufi authors used only prose, Ghazālī had recourse to verse in order to illustrate in metaphorical fashion the themes he expounded more technically in the prose sections of his work. Risālat al-ṭayr (or al-ṭuyūr) (Epistle of the Birds): In this work Ghazālī employs the metaphor of a bird and its journey to speak of the spiritual path to illumination in God. This work set a precedent for the Conference of the Birds by Attar of Nishapur. Al-tajrīd fī kalimat al-tawḥīd, a theological and mystical interpretation of the basic testimony of Islam, Lā ilāha illā Allāh, which reflects his adherence to the Ashʿarite school of theology. Baḥr al-maḥabba fī asrār al-mawadda, a Sufi
Sufi commentary on Sūrat Yūsuf (Koran 12); and an abridgment of his brother’s Iḥyāʾ ʿulūm al-dīn, a work he himself taught. Bawāriq al-ilmāʾ fī l-radd ‘alā man yuḥarrim al-samāʾ, a description and justification of the Sufi
Sufi Sama ritual and apology for the compatibility of music and Islam.[2]

Notes[edit]

^ Nasrollah Pourjavady, "ḠAZĀLĪ,MAJD-AL-DĪN Abu’l-Fotūḥ AḤMAD b. Moḥammad b. Moḥammad b. Aḥmad" in Encyclopedia Iranica. [1] accessed 2012. ^ Eckhard Neubauer. "Ghazālī, Majd al-Dīn Aḥmad al-". In L. Root, Deane. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press.  (subscription required)

v t e

Persian literature

Old

Behistun Inscription Old Persian inscriptions Ganjnameh Inscription of Xerxes the Great in Van Fortress Achaemenid inscription in the Kharg Island

Middle

Ayadgar-i Zariran Counsels of Adurbad-e Mahrspandan Dēnkard Book of Jamasp Book of Arda Viraf Karnamak-i Artaxshir-i Papakan Cube of Zoroaster Dana-i Menog Khrat Shabuhragan
Shabuhragan of Mani Shahrestanha-ye Eranshahr Bundahishn Menog-i Khrad Jamasp Namag Dadestan-i Denig Anthology of Zadspram Warshtmansr Zand-i Wahman yasn Drakht-i Asurig Shikand-gumanig Vizar

Classical

900s

Rudaki Abu-Mansur Daqiqi Ferdowsi
Ferdowsi (Shahnameh) Abu Shakur Balkhi Abu Tahir Khosrovani Shahid Balkhi Bal'ami Rabia Balkhi Abusaeid Abolkheir
Abusaeid Abolkheir (967–1049) Avicenna
Avicenna (980–1037) Unsuri Asjadi Kisai Marvazi Ayyuqi

1000s

Bābā Tāher Nasir Khusraw
Nasir Khusraw (1004–1088) Al-Ghazali
Al-Ghazali (1058–1111) Khwaja Abdullah Ansari
Khwaja Abdullah Ansari (1006–1088) Asadi Tusi Qatran Tabrizi (1009–1072) Nizam al-Mulk
Nizam al-Mulk (1018–1092) Masud Sa'd Salman (1046–1121) Moezi Neyshapuri Omar Khayyām (1048–1131) Fakhruddin As'ad Gurgani Ahmad Ghazali Hujwiri Manuchehri Ayn-al-Quzat Hamadani (1098–1131) Uthman Mukhtari Abu-al-Faraj Runi Sanai Banu Goshasp Borzu-Nama Afdal al-Din Kashani Abu'l Hasan Mihyar al-Daylami Mu'izzi Mahsati
Mahsati Ganjavi

1100s

Hakim Iranshah Suzani Samarqandi Hassan Ghaznavi Faramarz Nama Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi
Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi (1155–1191) Adib Sabir Falaki Shirvani Am'aq Najm al-Din Razi Attār (1142–c.1220) Khaghani
Khaghani (1120–1190) Anvari (1126–1189) Faramarz-e Khodadad Nizami Ganjavi
Nizami Ganjavi (1141–1209) Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (1149–1209) Kamal al-din Esfahani Shams Tabrizi
Shams Tabrizi (d.1248)

1200s

Abu Tahir Tarsusi Awhadi Maraghai Shams al-Din Qays Razi Sultan Walad Nasīr al-Dīn al-Tūsī Afdal al-Din Kashani Fakhr-al-Din Iraqi Mahmud Shabistari
Mahmud Shabistari (1288–1320s) Abu'l Majd Tabrizi Amir Khusro
Amir Khusro (1253–1325) Saadi (Bustan / Golestān) Bahram-e-Pazhdo Pur-Baha Jami Zartosht Bahram e Pazhdo Rumi Homam Tabrizi (1238–1314) Nozhat al-Majales Khwaju Kermani Sultan Walad

1300s

Ibn Yamin Shah Ni'matullah Wali Hafez Abu Ali Qalandar Fazlallah Astarabadi Nasimi Emad al-Din Faqih Kermani

1400s

Ubayd Zakani Salman Sawaji Hatefi Jami Kamal Khujandi Ahli Shirzi (1454–1535) Fuzûlî
Fuzûlî (1483–1556) Ismail I
Ismail I (1487–1524) Baba Faghani Shirzani

1500s

Faizi (1547–1595) Abu'l-Fazl (1551–1602) Vahshi Bafqi (1523–1583) 'Orfi Shirazi

1600s

Taleb Amoli Saib Tabrizi (1607–1670) Kalim Kashani Hazin Lāhiji (1692–1766) Saba Kashani Bēdil Dehlavi (1642–1720) Naw'i Khabushani

1700s

Neshat Esfahani Abbas Foroughi Bastami (1798–1857)

1800s

Ghalib
Ghalib (1797–1869) Mahmud Saba Kashani (1813–1893)

Contemporary

Poetry

Iran

Ahmadreza Ahmadi Mehdi Akhavan-Sales Hormoz Alipour Qeysar Aminpour Aref Qazvini Manouchehr Atashi Mahmoud Mosharraf Azad Tehrani Mohammad-Taqi Bahar Reza Baraheni Simin Behbahani Dehkhoda Hushang Ebtehaj Bijan Elahi Parviz Eslampour Parvin E'tesami Forough Farrokhzad Hossein Monzavi Hushang Irani Iraj Mirza Bijan Jalali Siavash Kasraie Esmail Khoi Shams Langeroodi Mohammad Mokhtari Nosrat Rahmani Yadollah Royaee Tahereh Saffarzadeh Sohrab Sepehri Mohammad-Reza Shafiei Kadkani Mohammad-Hossein Shahriar Ahmad Shamlou Manouchehr Sheybani Nima Yooshij Fereydoon Moshiri Rasoul Yunan

Armenia

Edward Haghverdian

Afghanistan

Nadia Anjuman Wasef Bakhtari Raziq Faani Khalilullah Khalili Youssof Kohzad Massoud Nawabi Abdul Ali Mustaghni

Tajikistan

Sadriddin Ayni Farzona Iskandar Khatloni Abolqasem Lahouti Gulrukhsor Safieva Loiq Sher-Ali Payrav Sulaymoni Mirzo Tursunzoda

Uzbekistan

Asad Gulzoda

Pakistan

Muhammad Iqbal

Novels

Ali Mohammad Afghani Ghazaleh Alizadeh Bozorg Alavi Reza Amirkhani Mahshid Amirshahi Reza Baraheni Simin Daneshvar Mahmoud Dowlatabadi Reza Ghassemi Houshang Golshiri Aboutorab Khosravi Ahmad Mahmoud Shahriyar Mandanipour Abbas Maroufi Iraj Pezeshkzad

Short stories

Jalal Al-e-Ahmad Shamim Bahar Sadeq Chubak Simin Daneshvar Nader Ebrahimi Ebrahim Golestan Houshang Golshiri Sadegh Hedayat Mohammad-Ali Jamalzadeh Aboutorab Khosravi Mostafa Mastoor Jaafar Modarres-Sadeghi Houshang Moradi Kermani Bijan Najdi Shahrnush Parsipur Gholam-Hossein Sa'edi Bahram Sadeghi Goli Taraqqi

Plays

Reza Abdoh Mirza Fatali Akhundzadeh Hamid Amjad Bahram Beyzai Mohammad Charmshir Alireza Koushk Jalali Hadi Marzban Bijan Mofid Hengameh Mofid Abbas Nalbandian Akbar Radi Pari Saberi Mohammad Yaghoubi

Screenplays

Saeed Aghighi Rakhshan Bani-E'temad Bahram Beyzai Hajir Darioush Pouran Derakhshandeh Asghar Farhadi Bahman Farmanara Farrokh Ghaffari Behrouz Gharibpour Bahman Ghobadi Fereydun Gole Ebrahim Golestan Ali Hatami Abolfazl Jalili Ebrahim Hatamikia Abdolreza Kahani Varuzh Karim-Masihi Samuel Khachikian Abbas Kiarostami David Mahmoudieh Majid Majidi Mohsen Makhmalbaf Dariush Mehrjui Reza Mirkarimi Rasoul Mollagholipour Amir Naderi Jafar Panahi Kambuzia Partovi Rasul Sadr Ameli Mohammad Sadri Parviz Shahbazi Sohrab Shahid-Saless

Translators

Amrollah Abjadian Jaleh Amouzgar Najaf Daryabandari Behzad Ghaderi Sohi Mohammad Ghazi Lili Golestan Sadegh Hedayat Saleh Hosseini Ahmad Kamyabi Mask Mohammad Moin Ebrahim Pourdavoud Hamid Samandarian Jalal Sattari Jafar Shahidi Ahmad Shamlou Ahmad Tafazzoli Abbas Zaryab

Essayists

Aydin Aghdashloo Mohammad Ebrahim Bastani Parizi Ehsan Yarshater

Contemporary Persian and Classical Persian are the same language, but writers since 1900 are classified as contemporary. At one time, Persian was a common cultural language of much of the non-Arabic Islamic world. Today it is the official language of Iran, Tajikistan and one of the two official languages of Afghanistan.

v t e

Shafi`i
Shafi`i School

by century (AH CE)

2nd/8th

Al- Shafi`i
Shafi`i (founder of the school)

3rd/9th

Abu al-Hasan al-Ash`ari Al-Humaydi Al-Nasai Harith al-Muhasibi Ibn al-Mundhir Ibn Khuzaymah Ibn Majah Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj

4th/10th

Abd al-Jabbar ibn Ahmad Abu Mansur al-Baghdadi Abu Nuaym Abu Talib al-Makki Al-Daraqutni Al-Hakim Nishapuri Ibn Furak

5th/11th

Abu Isḥāq ash-Shirazi Ahmad Ghazali Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Tha`labi Al-Baghawi Al-Bayhaqi Al-Juwayni Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi Al-Mawardi Al-Qushayri Yusuf Hamadani

6th/12th

Ahmed al-Rifa`i Al-Ghazali Al-Shahrastani Fakhr al-Din al-Razi Ibn al-Salah Ibn `Asakir Sayf al-Din al-Amidi Shahab al-Din Yahya ibn Habash Suhrawardi

7th/13th

Ahmad al-Badawi Al-Baydawi Al-Nawawi Ibn Abil-Hadid Ibn Daqiq al-Id Ibn Khallikan Izz al-Din ibn Abd al-Salam Safi-ad-din Ardabili Yusuf ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Mizzi

8th/14th

Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri Ali ibn Abu Bakr al-Haythami Al-Dhahabi Badr Ad-Din az-Zarkashi Ibn al-Jazari Ibn Kathir Taftazani Taj al-Din al-Subki Taqi al-Din al-Subki Zain al-Din al-Iraqi

9th/15th

Al-Qastallani Al-Sakhawi Al-Suyuti Ali ibn Ahmad al-Samhudi Ibn Hajar al-`Asqalani Ibn Nuhaas Zakariyya al-Ansari

10th/16th

Al-Khaṭib ash-Shirbiniy Al-Sha`rani Ibn Hajar al-Haytami

11th/17th

Abdullah ibn Alawi al-Haddad

12th/18th

Muhammad Hayyat ibn Ibrahim al-Sindhi

13th/19th

Abd Al-Rahman bin Ahmad al-Zayla`i Ibrahim al-Bajuri Shaykh Sufi Uways al-Barawi Yusuf an-Nabhani

14th/20th

Abdul Azeez Madani Abdallah al-Qutbi Abdullah al-Harari Afifi al-Akiti Ahmad Syafi'i Maarif Ahmed Kuftaro Ali al-Jifri Ali Gomaa Awn Al-Qaddoumi Cherussery Zainuddeen Musliyar Gibril Haddad Hamka Hasyim Muzadi K. Ali Kutty Musliyar Mohammad Salim Al-Awa Muhammad bin Yahya al-Ninowy Nuh Ha Mim Keller Said Nursî Sayyid Ibraheem Khaleel Al Bukhari Sayyid Muhammad Jifri Muthukkoya Thangal Sheikh Aboobacker Ahmed Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas Taha Jabir Alalwani Umar bin Hafiz Wahbah al-Zuhayli Zaid Shakir

Scholars of other Sunni Islamic schools of jurisprudence

Hanafi Hanbali Maliki Zahiri

Authority control

WorldCat Identities VIAF: 42230786 LCCN: n80121198 ISNI: 0000 0001 0856 9574 GND: 102412545 SELIBR: 189226 SUDOC: 028965205 BNF: