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The Classics of Islam

Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn: Advanced Arabic Seminar on Imām al-Ghazālī’s Masterpiece


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Omar Qureshi
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Read one of the most influential books in Islamic history in the original Arabic. This advanced seminar explores Imām al-Ghazālī’s Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn, a masterpiece that integrates law, theology, ethics, worship, and spirituality into a comprehensive vision of the Islamic tradition. Students will read, translate, and discuss the text while receiving guidance and correction in a collaborative seminar environment.

Instructor: Dr. Shaykh Omar Qureshi
Date: July 6 - August 31, 2026
 
Schedule: Mondays, 7:30–9:00 PM (Pacific Time)
 
Course Duration: 9 Sessions
 
Location: Online Via Zoom
Course Format:  Advanced Arabic Reading Seminar
Primary Text:
 
Imām Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī (d. 505 AH / 1111 CE)
Imām al-Ghazālī’s Abridgment of the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn (The Revival of the Religious Sciences)
Course Description
 
The Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn is among the most influential books in the history of Islam. Written by Imām al-Ghazālī (d. 505 AH / 1111 CE), it represents one of the most ambitious attempts to integrate law, theology, ethics, worship, and spirituality into a unified vision of the religious life.
 
This advanced seminar is devoted to a close reading of the Iḥyāʾ in Arabic. Students will engage the text directly, examining Ghazālī’s language, arguments, sources, and intellectual method while exploring his reflections on knowledge, intention, worship, character formation, social conduct, spiritual diseases, and the path to God.
 
Particular attention will be given to Ghazālī’s effort to restore the inward meanings of religious practice and to reconnect outward conformity to the Sharīʿah with sincerity, self-discipline, and spiritual transformation.
 
Through guided reading and discussion, students will engage one of the foundational texts of Islamic civilization while strengthening their ability to read and analyze classical Arabic scholarship.
Why Study the Iḥyāʾ?
 
For nearly a thousand years, the Iḥyāʾ has shaped the religious, intellectual, and spiritual formation of scholars throughout the Muslim world. Few books have exercised comparable influence across the disciplines of law, theology, ethics, spirituality, and education.
 
To study the Iḥyāʾ is to engage one of the greatest syntheses of the Islamic tradition and to encounter a vision of Islam in which knowledge, worship, character, and spirituality are inseparable.
Learning Outcomes
 
By the end of the course, students will:
  • Read substantial portions of the Iḥyāʾ in Arabic.
  • Improve their ability to navigate advanced classical Arabic prose.
  • Understand Ghazālī’s intellectual and spiritual project.
  • Analyze major themes in Islamic ethics and spirituality.
  • Explore the relationship between law, theology, and spiritual purification.
  • Gain familiarity with one of the most influential works in Islamic intellectual history.
Seminar Format
 
This course is structured as an interactive reading seminar rather than a lecture.
 
Students are expected to prepare the assigned readings before class and come ready to engage the text. During each session, students will have the opportunity to read portions of the Arabic text aloud, translate passages, analyze grammatical constructions, and discuss key concepts.
 
Readings will be corrected and discussed in real time, allowing students to strengthen their Arabic comprehension, translation skills, and familiarity with the language of the Islamic scholarly tradition.
Major Themes
  • The virtue and purpose of sacred knowledge
  • Intention, sincerity, and spiritual excellence
  • The inner meanings of worship
  • Prayer, fasting, zakat, and pilgrimage
  • Ethics of daily life and social relationships
  • The discipline of the soul
  • Pride, envy, anger, greed, and ostentation
  • Repentance, gratitude, patience, and trust in God
  • Love of Allah and nearness to Him
  • The path of spiritual purification (tazkiyah)
  • Integrating law, theology, and spirituality
  • The cultivation of a life centered on God
Who Should Enroll?
 
This course is intended for:
  • Seminary students
  • Graduates of Islamic studies programs
  • Advanced students of the Islamic sciences
  • Imams and community leaders
  • Students seeking to strengthen their Arabic reading skills through engagement with a major classical text
Prerequisites:

Ability to read classical Arabic.

Classes will involve reading the texts in Arabic, translating them, and discussing their meanings, arguments, and historical significance. Students with Arabic proficiency will benefit most from the readings.

Those without Arabic are also welcome to attend and participate in the discussions. While some portions of the course will be more accessible to readers of Arabic, the lectures and conversations will remain beneficial to all interested students.

Please note that this course is NON-REFUNDABLE and will close 2 weeks after the course ends.

Here is the class outline:

1. RESOURCES

2. Lesson #1

Jul 6 7:30pm .. 9pm

3. Lesson #2

Jul 13 7:30pm .. 9pm

4. Lesson #3

Jul 20 7:30pm .. 9pm

5. Lesson #4

Jul 27 7:30pm .. 9pm

6. Lesson #5

Aug 3 7:30pm .. 9pm

7. Lesson #6

Aug 10 7:30pm .. 9pm

8. Lesson #7

Aug 17 7:30pm .. 9pm

9. Lesson #8

Aug 24 7:30pm .. 9pm

10. Lesson #9

Aug 31 7:30pm .. 9pm
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