<p/><br></br><p><b> About the Book </b></p></br></br><p>This book studies the interplay of economic philosophy and moral conduct as reflected in the writings of one of the most renowned scholars in Islamic history.</p><p/><br></br><p><b> Book Synopsis </b></p></br></br><p>Al-Ghazālī made seminal contributions to the field of ethical economic thought. Though he dedicated many chapters in his encyclopaedic <em>Iḥyā' Ulūm al-Dīn</em> (The Revival of Religious Sciences) to what he considered just and <em>Sharī'a</em>-based economic conduct in (Muslim) society, this specific aspect of his corpus has been largely overlooked in Western scholarship. This book aims to analyse and revive al-Ghazālī's little studied economic teachings by emphasizing his economic philosophy and its correlation between <em>Sharī'a</em>'s moral law and the tradition of <em>taṣawwuf</em>, situating his thought within the context of modern economic theories. </p> <p>The scholarly ignorance of his economic contributions goes hand in hand with a claim made by several Western scholars (e.g., J. Schumpeter) that classical Islamic scholarship did not offer any significant development in the domain of economic thought in what was known in Europe as the Middle Ages--a claim that Islamic scholars, like Ghazanfar and Islahi, attempted to refute. This book delves into an analysis of al-Ghazālī's theoretical accounts and his economic philosophy as part of his overall ethics of happiness, looking closely at select passages from his work in order to position them at the intersection of two domains within the framework of classical Islamic economic thought, namely <em>taṣawwuf</em> or Sufi-mystical thought and <em>Sharī'a</em> law. </p> <p>This work does not assume that al-Ghazālī anticipated modern trends of Western economics; however, by merging the necessity of <em>kasb</em> (acquisitions of wealth) and the importance of <em>zuhd</em> (renunciation of the worldly endeavours) as equal components in the context of the science of the hereafer ('<em>ilm ṭarīq al-ākhira</em>), he presented the culmination of ethical economic thought in classical Islamic tradition, influencing later Muslim scholars. Hence, in this rather specific reading of al-Ghazālī's economic philosophy, he conceived of an economic analysis that was founded upon ethical teachings through Islam and its metaphysics, an endeavor that should be ultimately regarded as a technology of self-examination.</p><p/><br></br><p><b> Review Quotes </b></p></br></br><br><p>"The new perspective opened by Al-Daghistani's book on Abu Hamid al-Ghazali's economics of happiness is a remarkable addition to the developing literature on the economic thought of one of the most influential thinkers in Islamic intellectual history". -- Souleymane Bachir Diagne, Professor, Columbia University</p><br><br><p>"Al-Daghistani makes a remarkable contribution to the study of economic thought in classical Islam. A rewarding read." --Wael B. Hallaq, Avalon Foundation Professor in the Humanities, Columbia University</p><br><p/><br></br><p><b> About the Author </b></p></br></br><p>Sami Al-Daghistani is a postdoctoral fellow at the Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society in Oslo and an associate faculty member at the Brooklyn Institute for Social Research in New York. He is also a research scholar in the Middle East Institute at Columbia University.</p>