In A Return to Purity in Creed, Imām Abū Ḥāmid Al-Ghazzālī proves, once again, to be a man of the times by striking a balance between two extremes and refocusing the common Muslim on the simplistic beauty of the Islamic doctrine as learned and transmitted by the early Muslim community.

Largely debated between specualative theologians (mutakallimun) and traditionalists (ahl al-hadith) for centuries, speculative theology (kalam) and figurative interpretation (ta'wil) remain a lively source of contention amongst Muslims today. Traditionalists have remained loyal in their opposition to rational pursuits in theology and claim the mantle of orthodoxy in creed. The speculative theologians, while having strong rational and scriptual support for their views, still struggle to convince a considerable sector of the Muslim populace that their understanding is not a departure from the creed of the pious forebears (Salaf). This book is an attempt by Imam al-Ghazali to reconcile them both and lay the age old debate to rest.