Ahmad Ghazali was a Persian mystic, writer, and eloquent preacher (c. 1061, 1123 or 1126).

Life

The younger brother of the celebrated theologian, jurist, and Sufi, Abū Ḥāmed Moḥammad Ḡazālī

Al-Ghazali

Abu Hāmed Mohammad ibn Mohammad al-Ghazzālī , known as Algazel to the western medieval world, born and died in Tus, in the Khorasan province of Persia was a Persian Muslim theologian, jurist, philosopher, and mystic....

, Aḥmad Ghazali was born in a village near Tous

Tous, Iran

Tus also spelled as Tous, Toos or Tūs, is an ancient city in the Iranian province of Razavi Khorasan. To the ancient Greeks, it was known as Susia...

, in Khorasan.

Here he was educated primarily in jurisprudence. He turned to Sufism

Sufism

Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...

 while still young, becoming the pupil first of Abu Bakr Nassaj Tusi (died 1094) and then of Abu Ali Farmadi (died 1084). He was advanced in Sufism

Sufism

Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...

 by 1095 and his brother Abū Ḥāmed asked him to teach in his place in the Nezamiya of Baghdad

Baghdad

Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...

 and assume responsibility during his planned absence. Ahmad Ghazali travelled extensively in the capacities of both Sufi master and a popular preacher. He visited Nishapur

Nishapur

Nishapur or Nishabur , is a city in the Razavi Khorasan province in northeastern Iran, situated in a fertile plain at the foot of the Binalud Mountains, near the regional capital of Mashhad...

, Maragheh

Maragheh

Maragheh also Romanized as Marāgheh and Marāghen) is a city in and the capital of Maragheh County, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 146,405, in 38,891 families....

, Hamadan

Hamadan

-Culture:Hamadan is home to many poets and cultural celebrities. The city is also said to be among the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities.Handicrafts: Hamadan has always been well known for handicrafts like leather, ceramic, and beautiful carpets....

 and Isfahan. He died in Qazvin

Qazvin

Qazvin is the largest city and capital of the Province of Qazvin in Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 349,821, in 96,420 families....

 and is buried there. He initiated and trained imminent masters of Sufism

Sufism

Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...

 including Ayn al-Quzat Hamadani, Abu al-Najib al-Suhrawardi

Abu al-Najib al-Suhrawardi

Abu al-Najib Suhrawardi a was a Persian Sufi who was born in Sohrevard near Zanjan and founded the Suhrawardiyya Sufi order....

. The latter was the founder of the Suhrawardi order and its deravitatives such as the Kubrawiya, Molawiya and Nematollahi orders.

Works

• Sawaneh, a little book written around 1114 and comprising some 77 short chapters. It was innovative in form, for at a time when Persian Sufi authors used only prose, Ḡazālī had recourse to verse in order to illustrate in metaphorical fashion the themes he expounded more technically in the prose sections of his work.
• Resālat al-ṭayr (or al-ṭoyūr). In this work Ahmad Ghazali employs the metaphor of a bird and its journey. This work set a precedence for the conference of the birds of Attar.