Purification – Marvels of the Heart and Taming the Ego
Module Description: We intend to cover the first two books from the third quarter in the first module, namely ‘Marvels of the Heart’ and ‘Taming the Ego.’ As understood from two manuscripts, this course is a study of a summary by Imam al-Ghazali of his magnum opus, Ihyā’ ‘ulum al-din ‘Revival of the Religious Sciences’, entitled. Lubāb al-Ihyā’ – ‘The Core of the Ihyā’.’
Arguably, the most authored genre among Muslim scholars from the earliest generations to the present is that of the Purification of the Heart. This shouldn’t surprise us when we consider the two main corpora of Islam, namely the Quran and the Sunnah, frequently call upon believers to be vigilant towards the condition of their spiritual heart, for when orientated correctly, it is the locus where Divine realisations and understandings of the higher orders of existence present themselves. Upon the heart’s rectification reside both worldly and eternal success. Being genuinely attentive to this goal requires learning the Quranic and Prophetic framework and the suggested strategies by the erudite scholars of this Ummah. Actingupon this knowledge entails the heart’s receptivity to know reality as willed and designed by the One and Almighty.
This first purification series is divided into three modules, each comprising ten weeks. In his summary, Imam al-Ghazali observes the same book and quarterly order as in his original work, with Purification as the focus of this course. We will go through the last two-quarters of his summary, ‘Lubāb al-Ihyā’ – The Core of the Ihyā.’ ‘ because they are dedicated to unpacking key terms and providing important definitions, allowing for what follows, as in advised methods and approaches, to replace our particular destructive qualities with salvific ones is undertaken with a willingness and a hope to attain a sound heart.
Module Text: al-Ghazali, Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad. lhya’ ‘ulum ai-din. Ten vols. Edited by lajnahtu Ilmiya Dar al-Minhaj Jeddah, Dar al-Minhaj (2011)
al-Ghazali, Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad. Lubāb al-lhya’. Edited by Mahmud Bayrutī, Dar al-Bayrūti (2021)
Ahmad, Salih al-Shāmi. al-Muhadhab min lhya’ ‘ulum ai-din. 2 vols, Damascus, Dar al-Qalam (2018)
Imam Ghazali. (Imam) Ghazali is Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad, Abu Hamid Hujjat ai-Islam al-Ghazali al-Tusi
Module Outline
Below is the weekly outline for this module.
Week 1 – Introduction and the disciplin’s context within disciplines
Week 2 – Significant terms explained
Week 3 – Significant terms explained and the heart’s role
Week 4 – The faculty of sight both physical and spiritual
Week 5 – The heart’s varying and types of thoughts
Week 6 – The heart’s varying and types of thoughts
Week 7 – Integrals of noble character
Week 8 – Recognising the soul’s defect
Week 9 – Nuturing children
Week 10 – Nuturing children
Module Instructor
“The scholars are the inheritors of the prophets.” [Abu Dawud]
Shaykh Thaqib Mahmood
Shaykh Thaqib Mahmood’s educational journey in the Islamic disciplines comprises a rich tapestry of experiences from the late 90s to 2007. He sought knowledge in many locations, benefiting from and receiving licenses in general and specific areas from scholars in Yemen, Syria, Morocco, Turkey, Mauritania, Makkah and Madinah.~
All our Saturday classes are available both in person and online. As an institute, we strongly encourage students to attend in person, as the benefits of in-person learning far exceed those of online attendance. The Friday sessions are conducted online via Zoom.
Location
Inperson: Challney High School for Boys, Stoneygate Rd, Luton LU4 9TJ. Online Zoom: links will be provided via email
Date/Time
Starting – 3rd January 2026 for 10 weeks Saturdays – 11.30am to 12.30pm
Module Content
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Module Text
al-Ghazali, Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad. lhya' 'ulum ai-din. Ten vols. Edited by lajnahtu Ilmiya Dar al-Minhaj Jeddah, Dar al-Minhaj (2011)
al-Ghazali, Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad. Lubāb al-lhya'. Edited by Mahmud Bayrutī, Dar al-Bayrūti (2021)
Ahmad, Salih al-Shāmi. al-Muhadhab min lhya' 'ulum ai-din. 2 vols, Damascus, Dar al-Qalam (2018)
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Knowledge
Knowledge is understanding that every choice and view one forms is framed in the guidance presented in the Quran and the Prophetic way as understood by Ahle Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah.
Practice
Practice seeks to implement that knowledge in all aspects of our lives. Sincerely applying knowledge facilitates the soul to acquire virtuous characteristics and move beyond its vices and capricious element
Realisation
The soul becomes receptive to realisations concerning God’s oneness, majesty, beauty, and how creation is an ongoing sign of Divine favour. This witnessing is highlighted in the Prophetic statement,‘Excellence is to worship Allah as though you see Him. If you do not see Him, He sees you.
Imam Ghazali is Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad
Imam Ghazali is Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad, Abu Hamid Hujjat ai-Islam al-Ghazali al-Tusi, the Shafi’i Imam, Proof of Islam, and Sufi adept born in Tabiran, near Tus Gust north of present-day Mashhad, Iran), in 450/1058. The Imam of his time, nicknamed Shafi’i the Second for his legal virtuosity, he was a brilliant intellectual who first studied jurisprudence at Tus and then travelled the Islamic world to Baghdad, Damascus, Jerusalem, Cairo, Alexandria, Mecca, and Medina, taking Sacred Knowledge from its masters, among them the Imam of the Two Sanctuaries Juwayni, with whom he studied until the Imam’s death, becoming at his hands a scholar in Shafi’i law, logic, tenets of faith, debate, and in the rationalistic doctrines of the philosophical schools of his time, which he was later called upon to refute. When Juwayni died, Ghazali debated the Imams and scholars of Baghdad in the presence of the vizier Nizam al-Mulk, who was so impressed that he appointed him to a teaching post at the Nizamiyya Academy in Baghdad, where word of his’ brilliance spread and scholars journeyed to hear him.
His worldly success was something of a mixed blessing, and in mid-career, after considerable reflection, he was gripped by an intense fear for his soul and his fate in the afterlife, and he resigned from his post, travelling first to Jerusalem and then to Damascus to purify his heart by following the way of Sufism. In Damascus, he lived in seclusion for some ten years, engaged in spiritual struggle and the remembrance of Allah, at the end of which he emerged to produce his masterpiece lhya’ ‘ulum aI-din [Giving life to the religious sciences], a classic among the books of the Muslims about internalising god fearingness (taqwa) in one’s dealings with Allah, illuminating the soul through obedience to Him, and the levels of believers’ attainments therein. The work shows how deeply Ghazali personally realised what he wrote about, and his masterly treatment of hundreds of questions dealing with the inner life that no one had previously discussed or solved is a performance of sustained excellence that shows its author’s well-disciplined legal intellect and profound appreciation of human psychology. He also wrote nearly two hundred other works on the theory of government, Sacred Law, refutations of philosophers, tenets of faith, Sufism, Koranic exegesis, scholastic theology, and bases of Islamic jurisprudence. He died in Tabiran in 505/1111 (al-A ‘lam (y136), 7.22; lhya’ ‘ulum ai-din (y39), 1.330; al-Munqidh min al-dalal (y41), 46-50; al-Shita (y116), 2.602;N; and n).
(Keller, Nuh Ha Mim. Reliance of the Traveller: A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law. Rev. ed. Beltsville, MD: Amman, 1996) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ghazali
Shaykh Thaqib Mahmood’s educational journey in the Islamic disciplines comprises a rich tapestry of experiences from the late 90s to 2007. He sought knowledge in many locations, benefiting from and receiving licenses in general and specific areas from scholars in Yemen, Syria, Morocco, Turkey, Mauritania, Makkah and Madinah.
The central place of studying abroad unfolded in Damascus, where Shaykh Thaqib Mahmood immersed himself in a traditional curriculum. He received one-on-one tutoring for particular subjects or was part of a small group of students. Over time, he studied various subjects to their advanced levels with various scholars. This led to a comprehensive study of the well-known and established scholarly works, showcasing the depth of arguments and positions representing the mainstream understandings of this Ummah.
Since his return to the UK in the last 17 years, Shaykh Thaqib Mahmood has been actively involved in teaching a broad spectrum of Islamic disciplines, from Sirah to Tafsir. In addition developing educational programmes at the various institutions he’s been serving. His significant contributions include a 9-year tenure as a Quranic Arabic tutor at the University of Oxford, where he designed and developed the Quranic Arabic programme, which was previously neglected, bringing it up to par with the other languages taught at the Faculty of Theology and Religion. He also played a crucial role in creating the first approved BSL (British Sign Language) Adhan, providing essential knowledge of the Arabic phrases that BSL can best capture. His academic achievements include a PGDip in teaching communicative Arabic and an MA in linguistics; he completed both postgraduate programmes at SOAS, which have further enriched his understanding and teaching of Islamic disciplines.
The following are the names of some of the scholars he studied under, each of whom played a meaningful role during his time away studying.
In Yemen: Habib Umar b. Hafidh In Damascus: Shaykh Abdulah Siraj ud-Din, Shaykh Shukri al-Luhafī, Shaykh Ramadhan al-Buṭī, Shaykh Muhammad Darwish, Shaykh Abdul Wahaab, Shaykh Muhammad al Yaqoubi, Shaykh Adnan al Majd, Shaykh Maree al Rashid and Shaykh Khalil al Sabbagh, In Mauritania: Murabit al-Hajj, Murabit Ahmad Fāl and Murabit Hadamīn. In Turkey: Shaykh Mahmud Effendi, Shaykh Muhammed Ameen Siraj, Shaykh Ehsaan Hojah. In Makkah: Shaykh Khalid, Shaykh Abdul-Qadir al-Dhabwān, Shaykh Ahmad al-Ruqaymi, Shaykh Ahmad al-Kāf, and Shaykh ‘Abbas al-Maliki In Madinah: Shaykh Abdur Rahman And in the UK: Shaykh Siraj and Shaykh Muhammad Ba Shuayb.
May Allah preserve those who are alive and grant them the best in this world and the hereafter. And may Allah shower His mercy on those who have returned to their creator and, forgive their shortcomings, and raise their ranks. He continues his learning under both local and international scholars. Shaykh Thaqib has been part of the Fountain for over 25 years.
