Al-Ghazali

c. 1058 – 19 December 1111

Al-Ghazali was a Persian polymath, jurist, theologian, and mystic, widely regarded as one of the most influential thinkers in the history of Islam. His critique of Aristotelian philosophy in 'The Incoherence of the Philosophers' and his monumental 'Revival of the Religious Sciences' reshaped Sunni theology and integrated Sufism into mainstream Islamic thought.

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Life events

Born in Tus, Khorasan
c. 1058

Al-Ghazali was born in or near the city of Tus in the Khorasan region of Persia.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Birth ✓
Studied under al-Juwayni at the Nizamiyya of Nishapur
c. 1080 – 1085

He traveled to Nishapur to study jurisprudence and theology under the eminent scholar al-Juwayni, remaining until his teacher's death in 1085.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Joined the court of the Seljuk vizier Nizam al-Mulk
c. 1085

After al-Juwayni's death, al-Ghazali attached himself to the camp-court of Nizam al-Mulk, the powerful vizier of the Seljuk Empire.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Appointed professor at the Nizamiyya madrasa of Baghdad
1091

Nizam al-Mulk appointed him to the prestigious chair at the Nizamiyya college in Baghdad, where he attracted hundreds of students.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Completed 'The Incoherence of the Philosophers'
c. 1095

During his Baghdad professorship he wrote his famous critique of Avicennian and Aristotelian philosophy, the Tahafut al-Falasifa.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Spiritual crisis and departure from Baghdad
1095

Suffering a spiritual crisis, al-Ghazali abandoned his prestigious post, left Baghdad under the pretext of pilgrimage, and adopted the ascetic life of a Sufi.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Years of wandering and writing the 'Revival of the Religious Sciences'
c. 1096 – c. 1105

He spent roughly a decade in Damascus, Jerusalem, the Hejaz, and Tus, during which he composed his masterpiece, the Ihya' Ulum al-Din.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Returned to teaching at the Nizamiyya of Nishapur
1106

At the urging of the Seljuk vizier Fakhr al-Mulk, al-Ghazali returned to public teaching at the Nizamiyya college in Nishapur.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Died in Tus
19 December 1111

Al-Ghazali died in his hometown of Tus, where he had retired and founded a small Sufi lodge and school.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Death ✓