born in 1074, who wrote a famous commentary
on the Koran; Ibn Tumart, the noted philosopher
of the West who attended Al-Ghazali’s lectures at
Nizamiyya; and ash-Shahristani who wrote on the
various religions and sects the standard work
among all Moslems to-day on comparative re
ligion. The period was in many respects the
golden age of Islamic literature, and it is high
praise indeed that, in the judgment of Moslem and
Christian, Al-Ghazali surpassed all his literary
contemporaries, if not in style and eloquence, at
least in the scope and character of his writings
still more by the enduring and outreaching in
fluence of his life. The story of that life and the
character of his message we will now attempt to
sketch for the reader.
