prominent and elevated influential of the fifth century after hijra. He was born in 450 AH in Tābarān, a district of Ṭūs, in the province of Khorasan.^[1]

His name, his father’s name, and his grandfather’s name were all Muhammad, whilst his great-grandfather’s name was Aḥmad. He had a son, Imam Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī, who was also an expert Islamic scholar. It is in reference to him that Imam al-Ghazālī adopted the title of Abū Ḥāmid.

Imam al-Ghazālīرَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه  was an extraordinary scholar who mastered jurisprudence, theology, philosophy, and taṣawwuf. Witnessing his scholarly excellence and intellectual brilliance, the prime minister of the time, Niẓām al-Mulk, honoured him with the titles Zayn al-Dīn – the Beauty of Islam – and Sharaf al-Millat - Honour of the Islamic Nation. Another of his well-known titles was Imam al-Baḥr - the Ocean of Knowledge and Wisdom.

His teacher was Al-Juwaynī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه, the imam of the Ḥaramayn, who would often say about him: اَلْغَزَالِی بَحْرٌ مُغَدَّقٌ – “Al-Ghazālī is a surging ocean of knowledge.”^[2] 

Imam Aḥmad Raza Khan رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه, in his Fatāwā Riḍawiyyah, referred to Imam al-Ghazālī as Ḥakīm al-Ummah - The Thinker of the Ummah.^[3]

Imam al-Ghazālīرَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه  silenced heretics and non-Muslims who attacked Islam, defeating them with strong proofs and arguments. For this reason, he became known as Ḥujjat al-Islam - The Proof of Islam. He memorized a significant number of hadith, but he did not study hadith sciences formally with a teacher until later in his life.

Despite being globally renowned and a source of benefit for even leading scholars, he constantly sought even more knowledge.

When he began the formal study of hadith under a teacher, he passed away whilst engaged in this endeavour.

He lived for 55 years and passed away on the 14th of Jumādā al-Ākhir 505 AH.^[4]