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whimsicalmaria's review against another edition
3.0
(1) What were my expectations?
I expected to learn the deeper meanings of 99 of Allah's names, how we could use His names in our daily duas, how we could achieve the attributes as human beings, and as a result, to increase our love for Him.
(2) Did the book meet my expectations?
Yes, in the sense that the book gives us the deeper meanings of each name of Allah. It does not directly tell us how to use Allah's names when we make du'a, but at least now I can use more than "ya Rahman, ya Raheem." For example, I can use "ya Jabbar" if I need something to happen, to be expedited, or "ya Wahhab" for gifts such as a pious, loving family.
The way imam Al Ghazali talk about how we can aspire to take Allah's attributes (as a human, of course), is often by reminding us that it is impossible to achieve most of His attributes because we are human beings. The way he explained things to us is humbling, and that is something that exceeds my expectations.
Another thing I did not expect is the level of philosophy that Imam Ghazali expressed in this book is rather deep. It does make reading the book, esp the first part, rather difficult because of long and wordy sentences.
Looking back, I should have expected this because imam Al Ghazali's works are more philosphical than legal. It is useful for people who needs to understand the deeper meaning of what they learn. That is all good for me, but it does take a considerable amount of time and effort to peel all the layers with him
I am thankful that the book Reflecting on the Names of Allah (by Jinan Yousef) is published in 2020. This book, despite its size, is a lot easier to digest. And somehow it makes Al-Ghazali’s book easier to understand too.
I expected to learn the deeper meanings of 99 of Allah's names, how we could use His names in our daily duas, how we could achieve the attributes as human beings, and as a result, to increase our love for Him.
(2) Did the book meet my expectations?
Yes, in the sense that the book gives us the deeper meanings of each name of Allah. It does not directly tell us how to use Allah's names when we make du'a, but at least now I can use more than "ya Rahman, ya Raheem." For example, I can use "ya Jabbar" if I need something to happen, to be expedited, or "ya Wahhab" for gifts such as a pious, loving family.
The way imam Al Ghazali talk about how we can aspire to take Allah's attributes (as a human, of course), is often by reminding us that it is impossible to achieve most of His attributes because we are human beings. The way he explained things to us is humbling, and that is something that exceeds my expectations.
Another thing I did not expect is the level of philosophy that Imam Ghazali expressed in this book is rather deep. It does make reading the book, esp the first part, rather difficult because of long and wordy sentences.
Looking back, I should have expected this because imam Al Ghazali's works are more philosphical than legal. It is useful for people who needs to understand the deeper meaning of what they learn. That is all good for me, but it does take a considerable amount of time and effort to peel all the layers with him
I am thankful that the book Reflecting on the Names of Allah (by Jinan Yousef) is published in 2020. This book, despite its size, is a lot easier to digest. And somehow it makes Al-Ghazali’s book easier to understand too.
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