[1][2][3] The book was composed in Arabic by al-Ghazali on his spiritual crises that stemmed from his appointment as the head of the Nizamiyya University in Baghdad, which led to his eventual disappearance from the Muslim world for over 10 years.

It is regarded as one of his chief works and a classic introduction to the pious Muslim's path to God, and is widely considered to be the most impactful book in Islamic history after the Quran.

[4][5][6] It originally spanned 40 volumes and dealt with Islamic concepts and practices, demonstrating how these might be formed the foundation of reflective religious life, thereby attaining the higher stages of Sufism.

This journey influenced Ghazali to write his autobiography Deliverance from Error and then his famous book The Revival of the Religious Sciences, explaining in detail about mysticism, theology, Islamic rituals and practices.

Its great accomplishment was to bring orthodox Sunni theology and Sufi mysticism together in a useful, comprehensible manner to guide every aspect of Muslim life and death.

[21] The Ihya Ulum al-Din is considered to be one of the most widely read books in Islam across the world, having gained reverence from scholars and the general acceptance of the Muslim people (ummah).

Ibn al-Jawzi's efforts in rewriting the book is considered important and while he had similarities with Al-Ghazali in terms of mastery in mysticism, he also had the superiority of expertise in the knowledge of the hadiths.