The Shaykh and Imam, the Proof of Islam, Abu-Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Ghazali, may Allah be pleased with him,stated: ‘Thank God for all His bounties; for even enabling us to thank Him; and prayers and peace be upon the Master of Messengers, Muhammad, His Prophet, Mes ­senger and Servant, upon his family and Companions, and upon his successors after him, his Ministers in his time. – I missed, in some of my travels, a facility for extracting from the ‘Ihya’ ‘ulum ad-din’ its essences, due to the difficulty of carrying it around with me, on account of its bulk. Hence I tackled this matter, seeking success and guidance from God and praising His Prophet. It consists of forty chapters. – And God guides to the truth.’