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What is Book 37 of the Iḥyāʾ?
The Book of Intention, Sincerity, and Truthfulness is Book 37 of Imam al-Ghazālī's Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn, the seventh book of the fourth quarter, The Saving Virtues. Al-Ghazālī composed the Iḥyāʾ in the 11th–12th century as a revival of the religious sciences from the inside. This short book answers a question that sits under all the others: what makes an act count? Outwardly identical deeds can differ completely inside. Al-Ghazālī's answer is that a deed is validated by three inner conditions, intention, sincerity and truthfulness, and that without them worship becomes habit.
The book has three parts, one for each quality. The first explains the reality of intention and takes up the Prophet's saying, peace be upon him, on the intention of a believer. The second treats the reality of sincerity, followed by a chapter on the degrees of impurities and blemishes that disturb it, the small mixed motives that creep into a good deed. The third is on truthfulness: its virtue, its reality, and the essence of honesty and its meaning in ranks.
It opens with praise of Allah, given 'with the praise of the grateful' and 'the certainty of the convinced', and with the verse that anchors the whole book: 'And they were not commanded except to worship Allah, being sincere to Him in religion.' Al-Ghazālī then moves straight into Chapter One, the reality of intention and its meaning, beginning with the virtue of intention. The reader is asked to look at their own deeds from the inside, at the motive underneath the act, and to be honest about what they find.
Is there an English audiobook of The Book of Intention, Sincerity, and Truthfulness?
Yes. Joyful Muslims publishes the complete Book 37: The Book of Intention, Sincerity, and Truthfulness as an English audiobook (about 2 hours), translated from the Arabic, with a word-synced bilingual transcript. It covers the purity of intention, sincerity and truthfulness that validate all outward deeds and distinguish worship from mere habit.
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.
How long is it?
About 2 hours. It covers the reality of intention, the Prophet's saying on the intention of a believer, the reality of sincerity and the blemishes that disturb it, and truthfulness, its virtue, reality and ranks.
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.
