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What is Book 17 of the Iḥyāʾ?
Book 17 of Imam al-Ghazālī's Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn is the Etiquettes of Travel. It is the seventh book of the quarter on Norms of Daily Life. Imam al-Ghazālī wrote in the 11th to 12th century. The book answers two questions: why should a Muslim travel, and how should he conduct himself and pray on the road? Al-Ghazālī distinguishes two kinds of travel: the physical journey of the body from home to open lands, and the journey of the heart from the lowest of the lowly to the kingdom of the heavens. The nobler of the two, he says, is the inner journey.
The book has two chapters. Chapter 1 is on the benefits, virtue, and intention of travel. It covers travel in pursuit of knowledge, travel to escape a disturbance to faith, and travel to flee from harm, and it sets out the eleven manners of the traveller. Chapter 2 is on the concessions of travel: wiping over leather socks, tayammum in place of water, residency without a firm intention, praying while riding or walking, breaking the fast, and finding the qibla and the times of prayer.
It opens with praise of Allah, who opened the insight of His allies to wisdom and lessons, so that land and sea, plain and rugged terrain, wilderness and settlement are alike to them. Al-Ghazālī warns that remaining in the state one was born into, holding only to inherited traditions and customs, keeps a person in deficiency. He quotes the saying that there is no fault like the inability of those capable of perfection to achieve it. The reader is asked to travel with an intention.
Is there an English audiobook of Etiquettes of Travel?
Yes. Joyful Muslims publishes the complete Book 17: Etiquettes of Travel as an English audiobook (about 1.5 hours), translated from the Arabic, with a word-synced bilingual transcript. It outlines the spiritual and practical etiquettes of travel in Islam, from the intention behind journeying to the conduct and prayers of the traveller.
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?
Two chapters: the benefits, virtue, and intention of travel with the eleven manners of the traveller, and the concessions of travel, such as wiping over leather socks, tayammum, praying while riding, and breaking the fast.
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.
