In this episode of pplpod, we explore the life of Al-Ghazali, the 11th-century Persian theologian, philosopher, legal scholar, and mystic known as Hujjat al-Islam, the Proof of Islam. Born around 1058 in Tus, in the Khorasan region of modern-day Iran, Al-Ghazali rose with astonishing speed through the intellectual world of the Seljuk Empire. By his early thirties, he held the most prestigious academic post in the Muslim world as head of the Nizamiyya of Baghdad. He taught law, issued religious rulings, advised political elites, and became one of the most famous scholars of his age. Then, at the height of his success, his body simply shut down. He could not eat. He could not speak. His doctors concluded that the illness came from within, and Al-Ghazali later realized the real crisis was spiritual: he had been teaching for prestige, status ...