Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ghazālī - Confessions of al-Ghazali

Abu Hamid al-Ghazali was born in 1058 AD in the city of Tus in modern day Iran. He was a reputed scholar, philosopher and Shafi'i jurist who was a professor of theology at the Nizamiyya College of Baghdad. At the peak of his fame, he was gripped by an internal schism between his beliefs and his inner self. He gave up his position lead a life of seclusion and personal mystical transformation. During this time of solitude and contemplation he authored a number of seminal works reconciling the outward practices of Islam with a deep inner spirituality. The Confessions of al-Ghazali (Munkidh min al-Dalal, literally Deliverance from Error), is an intellectual autobiography on al-Ghazali's transformation. In this work he catalogs the various sects and schools of thought he encountered on his search for the divine truth. — Summary by Zishan Sheikh