The 38th chapter of the Revival of the Religious Sciences, this treatise follows on from "Al-Ghazali on Intention, Sincerity & Truthfulness." Here, Ghazali focuses on the different stations of steadfastness in religion (murabaha), vigilance and self-examination being its cornerstones. As in all his writings, Ghazali bases his arguments on the Qur an, the example of the Prophet, and the sayings of numerous scholars and Sufis. As relevant today as it was in the 11th century, this discourse will be of interest to anyone concerned with ethics and moral philosophy."

Al-Ghazali on Intention, Sincerity & Truthfulness is the thirty-seventh chapter of the Revival of the Religious Sciences. It falls in the section dealing with the virtues. Here Ghazali deals with the very important subject of intention which is of crucial importance in Islam. He asks: 'How can someone ignorant of the meaning of intention verify his own intention; or how can someone ignorant of the meaning of sincerity verify his own sincerity; or how can someone sincerely claim truthfulness if he has not verified its meaning?' In the Book of Intention, Sincerity & Truthfulness, Ghazali gives a response to each of these questions by expounding the reality and levels of intention, sincerity and truthfulness, those acts which affirm them and those acts which mar them. As in all his writings, Ghazali bases his arguments on the Qur'an, the example of the Prophet and the sayings of numerous scholars and Sufis.

Al-Ghazali on Poverty and Abstinence is the thirty-fourth chapter of the Revival of the Religious Sciences. It falls in the section dealing with the virtues. Ghazali traces poverty and abstinence back to the Prophet Muhammad who exhorted the faithful to love the poor and described this love as a key to heaven. But behind the Prophet's love of the poor lay his legendary humility, and the life of poverty on which Ghazali expatiates in this treatise refers to what every devoted follower of the Prophet is meant to adopt, not simply an accidental state of destitution that might befall anyone. What is true piety? What spiritual infirmities impede the path of poverty? These are the questions that preoccupy Ghazali in the Book on Poverty and Abstinence. His aim in this chapter is to teach the ordinary believer about inner purification through inner poverty and abstinence. The result is a rich tapestry of practises, thoughts, concepts and anecdotes drawn from some of the most fascinating figures in the tradition of practical ethics in Islam, a tradition that harks back to the enduring examples of pre-Islamic prophets like Jesus, Moses and Joseph.