The Alchemy of Happiness (Hardcover Library Edition)

Amazing book for beginners to know about yourself and your creator..

This book is totally a masterpiece. It is like a road map to your soal. Al-Gazzali (R. A) has put all his indept understanding of the soul and God in this wonderful work. May Allah have mercy on his soul. Once you start reading this book, it grabs the attention of the reader in such a powerful way that it is almost impossible to think about anything else. Gazzali (ra) makes the use of allegories to grab the attention and to give a bigger picture of the things that otherwise would be difficult to understand.I can't summarise what is written in this book. But anyone who could have summarised this book in a beautiful manner was Al-Gazzali himself. And we can easily see the summary of this book ( and of all his work) in his own last words before death.************************************************Imam Ghazali woke up one early morning and as usual offered his prayers and then enquired what day it was, his younger brother, Ahmad Ghazali replied,"Monday." He asked him to bring his white shroud, kissed it, stretched himself full length and saying "Lord, I obey willingly," breathed his last.And underneath his head rest they found the following verses; composed by him, probably, during the night."Say to my friends, when they look upon me, deadWeeping for me and mourning me in sorrowDo not believe that this corpse you see is myselfIn the name of God, I tell you, it is not I,I am a spirit, and this is naught but fleshIt was my abode and my garment for a time.I am a treasure, by a talisman kept hid,Fashioned of dust, which served me as a shrine,I am a pearl, which has left it's shell deserted,I am a bird, and this body was my cageWhence I have now floron forth and it is left as a tokenPraise to God, who hath now set me freeAnd prepared for me my place in the highest of the heaven,Until today I was dead, though alive in your midst.Now I live in truth, with the grave - clothes discarded.Today I hold converse with the saints above,With no veil between, I see God face to face.I look upon "Loh-i-Mahfuz" and there in I readWhatever was and is and all that is to be.Let my house fall in ruins, lay my cage in the ground,Cast away the talisman, it is a token, no moreLay aside my cloak, it was but my outer garment.Place them all in the grave, let them be forgotten,I have passed on my way and you are left behindYour place of abode was no deweling place for me.Think not that death is death, nay, it is life,A life that surpasses all we could dream of here,While in this world, here we are granted sleep,Death is but sleep, sleep that shall be prolongedBe not frightened when death draweth night,It is but the departure for this blessed homeThink of the mercy and love of your Lord,Give thanks for His Grace and come without fear.What I am now, even so shall you beFor I know that you are even as I amThe souls of all men come forth from GodThe bodies of all are compounded alikeGood and evil, alike it was oursI give you now a message of good cheerMay God's peace and joy for evermore be yours."

A little heavy but nice

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Nice quality

The Quality of book is just premium. Very good quality binding, nicely printed and paper quality is also very good.About the subject matter of the book---------There are some things which I really liked and there are things which I disagree with.In short it is a good one time read. Gives you different perspective about the meaning of faith.

The author uses amazing analogies to explain some of the most complex concepts of Self, Heart and spirituality. If one reads with sincerity, it can really inspire a person to onset on a spiritual journey towards the love of God

well obs it has to be good as it was originally written by imam gahzali r.a ,the translation done by the author is good ,but many times he has referred imam ghazali saab as only ghazali which is being disrespectful.thank u amazon ur service was as usual good and prompt .