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What is Book 15 of the Iḥyāʾ?
Book 15 of Imam al-Ghazālī's Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn is Friendship and Brotherhood, in full the Book of the Etiquette of Brotherhood and Companionship. It belongs to the quarter on Norms of Daily Life. Imam al-Ghazālī wrote in the 11th to 12th century. The book answers two questions: whom should I take as a companion, and what do I owe the people around me? Al-Ghazālī counts mutual love for the sake of Allah among the finest acts of devotion, and he says such love has conditions and rights. Meeting them purifies brotherhood from impurities and draws a person close to Allah.
The book has three chapters. Chapter 1 is on the virtue of fellowship and brotherhood, its conditions, levels, and benefits. It includes love and hatred for the sake of Allah, and who is suitable for companionship. Chapter 2 is on the rights of brotherhood and companionship. Chapter 3 widens the circle to the rights of the Muslim, of kindred, of neighbours, and of authority. Here the sections are practical: greeting and shaking hands, responding to a sneeze, visiting the sick, the rights of neighbours, the ties of kinship, and the rights of parents.
It opens with praise of Allah, who united the hearts of His chosen servants and made them brothers through His grace, removing grudges from their hearts so that they could be friends and companions in this world and beloved comrades in the hereafter. Al-Ghazālī then sets out the plan of the three chapters. The reader is asked to treat friendship not as a matter of taste but as an act of devotion with its own conditions and rights, to be observed and preserved.
Is there an English audiobook of Friendship and Brotherhood?
Yes. Joyful Muslims publishes the complete Book 15: Friendship and Brotherhood as an English audiobook (about 5 hours), translated from the Arabic, with a word-synced bilingual transcript. It covers the rights, duties, and spiritual dimensions of companionship, how to choose friends wisely, and how to maintain brotherhood with faith and integrity.
Is it free to listen?
The whole library is open to everyone. Every member gets five hours of listening free each month; Joyful+ removes the time limit.
What does it cover?
Three chapters: the virtue and conditions of brotherhood, the rights of companions, and the rights of Muslims, relatives, neighbours, and those in authority, down to greeting, visiting the sick, and the rights of parents.
Last updated 2026-09-11
Inside the book.
Chapters
Word-synced with the narrator.
The first three minutes are transcribed here. In the app, the Living Manuscript scrolls through the entire book in rhythm with the audio — Arabic alongside English.
Living Manuscript
Listen to the full book in the app for the complete Living Manuscript.
The full, word-synced transcript in Arabic and English is in the app.
