On Knowing Yourself (Great Books of the Islamic World)

Al-Ghazzali begins his masterful Alchemy of Happiness with this topic based on the famous Tradition of the Prophet, “One who knows one’s self, knows one’s Lord.” In al-Ghazzali’s view, everything begins by knowing who you are. He says that you should know that you are born with an outer form and an inner essence and it is that inner essence of the spiritual heart that you have to come to know in order to know who you are.