Al Ghazali on Islamic Guidance - Bidayat Al Hidaya

In the 11th century ad there was a great deterioration in muslim’s belief and observance of the br>shariah as a result of the evil influence of alfarabi and ibnsina’s neoplatonic philosophy of Shia batinism of false Sufis and evil religious scholars. It was at this time of laxity in beliefs and practices that Abu Hamid Muhammad al Ghazzali (br>D 505 hijri) flourished as a renewed (mujaddid) of the deep and as one of the greatest intellectuals of Islamic history. Well versed in almost all major intellectual disciplines of the time al-gahazali refuted the prevailing false beliefs completely and fully exposed the wrongness of existing practices. As Substitutes to these he presented a belief system following the ashari Sunni tradition and a system of practices in the light of the Quran and the sunnah fiqh Sufism and his own thoughts and experiences. This system of practices may be called al Ghazzali theory of Islamic guidance an aspect of which is set forth in the present work.