Al-Ghazali
Reason has limits: certainty comes from experiencing God.
The Aims of the Philosophers (Maqasid al-falasifa)
A faithful account of Avicenna's philosophy, written in order to refute it afterwards. Translated into Latin in the 12th century without its preface: the Scholastics long took "Algazel" for an Avicennian philosopher. Not in our corpus.
The Incoherence of the Philosophers (Tahafut al-falasifa) essential
Finished in Baghdad in January 1095. Twenty discussions against al-Farabi and Avicenna: the eternity of the world, causation, divine knowledge, the soul, resurrection. We quote the Arabic; Kamali's English translation (1958) is an unproofread scan.
Moderation in Belief (al-Iqtisad fi al-i'tiqad) essential
His positive theology, written just after the Incoherence: God's existence, attributes, God's acts, prophecy. We quote the Arabic and give our own translation.
The Revival of the Religious Sciences (Ihya' 'ulum al-din) essential
His major work, in forty books: religious practice and the inner life, from a Sufi point of view. Not yet in our corpus.
Deliverance from Error (al-Munqidh min al-dalal) essential
His intellectual autobiography, written "past fifty": the crisis of doubt, the examination of theologians, philosophers, Isma'ilis and Sufis. An account reconstructed after the fact.