Reddit mentions of Al-Ghazali's Path to Sufism: His Deliverance from Error (al-Munqidh min al-Dalal)

If you like alchemy of happiness you will want anything from the Ihya which is a lot more in-depth.

You want high quality translations. These are done by the islamic texts society:

http://www.its.org.uk/product-category/the-ghazali-series/

They're quite good, but pricey, raid your local library.

I want to read this book:

"Deliverance from error"

http://www.amazon.com/Al-Ghazalis-Path-Sufism-Deliverance-al-Munqidh/dp/1887752307/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1415351661&sr=1-2

I feel like I identify with Al-Ghazali on a small scale. This is his autobiography.

BTW. He has books on philosophy and logic as well as theology. This is what he is famous for as well. Those works are very abstract in their nature but if you are interested his work "Moderation in Belief" was translated very well.

EDIT: Also, hamza yusuf has translated his "marvels of the heart" Check that out too, because hamza yusuf is awesome.

> New scenarios pop up all the time and religion can't have specific answers for all of them. That is why there are jurisprudential principles that help scholars come to new rulings on new things based on the spirit and principles of islam.

They can try, but often they are wrong, that's all.

> I don't understand your question. Do you think homosexuality doesn't harm others? What things do you think don't harm others? I need examples.

Yes homosexuality doesn't harm others. Other examples would include not praying, eating pork, drinking alcohol, taking drugs, and not keeping holidays like Ramadan. These are victimless crimes.

> I have no idea what you're talking about concerning ezra. Do you mean that your post insult ezra and the muslim forum censored it because they don't like the insults?

There is a difference betwen criticism and insults, a difference that many Muslims fail to recognize. Ibn Hazm, an Andalusian Muslim scholar, explicitly accused Ezra of being a liar and a heretic who falsified and added interpolations into the Biblical text. This is a criticism. The Muslim forum censored it because they don't like free speech/thought.

> Concerning free speech, what I know is that it should have boundaries. Where those are, I'll have to think about it.

Here is something to think about:

http://www.mikraite.org/Freedom-of-Speech-tp1915.html

Regarding Al-Ghazali, I don't read Arabic so I read Path to Sufism: His Deliverance from Error (al-Munqidh min al-Dalal) and my opinion is based on that.

> Why did you come up with that? Why do you think that's enough? From the POV of islam, the one true god requires far more than what you're doing in beliefs and practice. Are you not concerned that it might be the truth and you're overlooking it?

I was raised as an atheist. So switching to the Old Testament was a big change. But it didn't require me to give up skepticism, so it works well for me. I don't believe in truth in Plato's sense, so I am not concerned about this. I consider both the Old Testament and Islam to be valid paths, but the Old Testament works better for me and Islam works better for most other people.

> Without an afterlife then there is no point in living or waging a culture war as you're doing. It's all pointless then, so why keep on living or acting righteously?

The Old Testament promise is success for one's descendants, not an afterlife. This view is strongly compatible with evolution which I believe in. The idea that my genes, genes for intelligence and morality, will be wiped out and replaced by the genes of evil morons in the future horrifies me. So I will do what I can to prevent this.

> Why is 2:2 problematic?

2:2 asks for certainty and I doubt everything by my nature.