Building on his earlier work from the Revival of the Religious Sciences, the main virtue of this book is 'streadfast commitment' (murabata); vigilance and self-examination being two of its stations. Referring to the Quran and Prophetic example, Ghazali states that God has enjoined upon creation patience and steadfast commitment and that the latter is made up of a further stations he delves deeper into the book. These and in particular vigilance and self-examination he argues are the cornerstones of steadfast commitment.
Translated with notes by scholar Anthony F. Shaker.