Ghazali on Intention Sincerity and Truthfulness

How can someone ignorant of the meaning of intention verify his own intention; or how can someone ignorant of the meaning of sincerity verify his own sincerity; or how can someone sincerely claim truthfulness if he has not verified its meaning? In this thirty-seventh chapter of the Revival of the Religious Sciences, Abu Hamid al-Ghazali gives a response to each of these questions by expounding the reality and levels of intention, sincerity and truthfulness, their interdependence and those acts which affirm them and those acts which mar them. Ghazali links sincere and truthful intention with the heart and calls it 'the spirit of action'. As in all his writings, Ghazali bases his arguments on the Qur'an, the example of the Prophet and the sayings of numerous scholars and Sufis.

Al-Ghazali on Intention, Sincerity & Truthfulness is essential reading for all those seeking a deeper insight into their thoughts and actions, and the integrity of their intentions. It will also be of interest to all those concerned with ethics and the principles that underlie the choices we make.

In this new edition, the Islamic Texts Society has included a translation of Imam Ghazali's own introduction to the Revival of the Religious Sciences which gives the reasons that caused him to write the work, the structure of the whole of the Revival and places each of the chapters in the context of the others.