What is the Ghazali Children’s Project? With Aisha Gray Henry

Sister Virginia Gray Henry is the Director of Fons Vitae books, a non-profit academic publishing house which focuses on translating the great classical texts of Islamic Spirituality. She co-founded the Ghazali Children's Project with Sheikh Hamza Yusuf more than a decade ago.
Ghazali Children's Project: ghazalichildren.org/
Ghazali books: ghazalichildren.org/books/
Fons Vitae Publishing fonsvitae.com/
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The Ghazali Children’s Project seeks to educate children spiritually & transform their characters by showing the inner spiritually transformative meaning behind the outer aspects of Islam. The Project aims to help support entire communities of Muslim parents, teachers, and children in realizing how to live by and embody the noble Prophetic character through self-observation and correction.
The Fons Vitae Ghazali Children’s Series provides authentic quality Tarbiyah guidance for children of all ages at a time when their values are being formed. Imam al-Ghazali’s systematic approach for developing virtuous character is distilled and simplified and provided in an educational package which includes beautifully produced children’s books, and original texts for parents and teachers. These materials offer a creative, enjoyable and spiritual supplement or alternative to standard Islamic Studies curricula with a strong focus on the purification of the heart.
The aim of the Ghazali Children’s Project is to support children:
• in their ability to recognize and maintain their innate human dignity.
• in realizing nobility of character through imitation of the Prophetic qualities realized by understanding, loving, and practicing the inner dimensions of all outward acts - to stop simply just “going through the motions”.
• in becoming aware of their True Selves and in identifying with this pure aspect of their being rather than with the lower, false, egoic and separative nature which is centered on itself [al-nafs alammara].
• in becoming self-observant and self-correcting.
• in living life with humility and in service.
Chapters:
00:00:00 - Introduction to Aisha Gray Henry
00:05:06 - The Trust of God and Our Purpose
00:10:07 - The Harm of Gossiping and Backbiting
00:15:00 - Recognizing Authentic Spirituality and the Similarity between Jesus and Muhammad
00:19:35 - The Book of Knowledge for Children
00:24:04 - The Polishing of the Heart
00:28:30 - The Miracles of Speech and the Heart
00:33:16 - Stories within Stories
00:38:25 - Sharing Knowledge with Islamic Educators
00:42:57 - The Parallel Between Music and Creativity

[@ghazalichildren]

For more materials please note there are 100s of Ghazali Children's videos on our channel here: www.youtube.com/@ghazalichildren

[@lynnfaulkner2706]

As a brand new Revert, i am so grateful for Paul and his guest. They both inspire me to be worthy of Islam. I am not finding it easy to be a Muslim in a small city in the U.S., hundreds of miles from a Mosque. Yesterday i wore a hijab in public for the first time and people stared at me. Then i remembered that 60 years ago, when i was young, everyone stared at me. So, I'm just going to pretend that its 60 years ago.

[@megasp]

Put a tag on your handbag saying or say it to anyone who confronts you: I obey God and cover the way Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, covered.

[@Samaalgg]

My allah help you and us

[@faiq757]

More power to you....steadfast and you'll see horizons opening

[@bacinthezahab7818]

😍 Salam Alykum sister I hope u well n may u be always steadfast on the right path may Allah ease any hardship u encouter Sorry for my English🙈 Love from Egypt

[@davidclayton.1511]

Absolutely priceless.

[@iboyyobi1543]

I am crying as I am watching this video. It showed me my place in the great scheme of things. I as a born muslim don’t know my religion as good as what my revert brothers and sisters do. I am ashamed, I am just wasting away my time on trivial things. What face am I going to show my Lord and Creator on the day of reckoning? May God have immense mercy on people like us. Aameen ya Rabb al Aalameen

[@hyderalwi41]

Aamiin

[@YuSeR_5]

Allahumma Aaaameen🤲

[@Memon54]

ًاللهم آمين يارب العالمين ان الله واسع المغفره

[@karenshaikh3744]

Today is always a good day to strive to learn more, don't be ashamed make intention to learn all you can!

[@hilallazrak]

I wish this episode didn't end, What have we done us born Muslims??, I feel ashamed to see the great works of our brothers/sisters reverts.

[@SuperAmir2011]

I feel ashamed daily. I have been seeing our revert brothers and sisters do so much for the ummah, while we can't even do the basics in Islam. As Allah said in the Quran, He will replace us with people who are better and who love Allah.

[@pembebulut2781]

Because you had it & took it for granted. They didn’t have it & it’s a treasure

[@IsxaaqAcademy]

Whenever I listen to Aisha Gray, I get more humbled and my respect to her increases Mashalah

[@ddds9921]

I am a Muslim by heredity. I do not hide my anger at myself because of my lack of interest in the intellectual history of Islam, but I am happy that God has provided someone who cares about preserving the Islamic treasure for the intrest of mankind.

[@bebrave1622]

I have them and they are so excellent! Highly recommend as an Islamic school teacher and mommy.

[@awamer2116]

Amazing. Most people don't know their islam

[@mahmoodmirza3301]

یہ رِشتۂ بلند مِلا ، جِس کو مِل گیا !

[@Esra.oztrk91]

How can i have those books i am in Turkey please helppp

[@bebrave1622]

I'm sure they will send to you sis. I left the link below.

[@MuhammadAli-hr1bj]

Allahu Akbar, I've been wiping my tears throughout this conversation. Truly amazing!

[@subbejanat2194]

Allah Hu Akbar ☝️🌎😍

[@TheRockeyAllen]

"Charity is not you having mercy upon someone poor, but rather, it is you thanking the poor to have given you the opportunity to let go of some of what you have been bestowed with"

[@ieltstutor9644]

Thanks Paul for another excellent interview. Jazakallah

[@Muhr-u-Souleiman]

We do appreciate your kind comments

[@saifmaher3429]

what an honorable lady, as a father who work hard to get his children close to their deen thank you so much for the books and all this beneficial project for the entire ummah, Sheikh Hamza Yusuf is indeed a blessing.

[@DanaDoe]

I'm so glad this randomly came across my feed; my child is 3.5 and as someone who was raised with no religion in our family for 3 generations due to assimilation into the US and loss of cultures, in a US city with few Muslims let alone educational or spaces of worship, I've been completely lost as to how to bring my child into Islam. Thankyou for this resource.

[@aminebeghidja6153]

Thank you Mr Williams for this meeting. I don't know Miss Gray, it's very pleasure to hear her

[@BloggingTheology]

Thanks for listening

[@hassanmirza2392]

Paul his expanding his interview scope. Well done!

[@abdurrahmanhalis]

Another superb interview from one of the most valuable channels of KZbin. I am a fan of Ghazzali for childrens project from day one. I hope we can incorporate these gems into our public education curriculum at every corner of the ummah.

[@user-wc7ku7ud3e]

I enjoyed the wonderful dialogue. The Sufi lady🌷🌹🍀🌺 has a beautiful and wonderful understanding of the values ​​of Islam through her study of the Imam, the Sufi philosopher, Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali🌷🌻🍁🌺🍀, may God have mercy on him. I hope that our children will benefit from this lady’s project.🌷🌺🌹🌿🌷🍀☘🪴

[@bacinthezahab7818]

The Sufi lady ! What made u choose to say that It's a sufficient honor to call her The Muslim lady and a pious Muslim lady

[@user-wc7ku7ud3e]

@@bacinthezahab7818 Dear, why are you angry? Muslims are very diverse. Among us are Sunnis, among us are the Shiites, among us are the Mu’tazilites, among us are the Druze, among us are the Sufis, among us are the Ahmads, among us are the Salafists, the followers of Ibn Taymiyyah, and the bombers among the people, and among us, and among us, and among us. Why the anger? The lady is clear from her words that she is a Sufi Muslim. My regards

[@Kaiman__san]

والنبي قال كلهم بالنار الا واحده هم اهل السنه والجماعه لاتسولف كان التفرقة بالدين عاديه ساعد انك ترجع الناس لرشدها وانت ارجع لرشدك

[@abdurrazzak2970]

May Allah Bless and Reward Both of you in this Life and in the Hereafter.

[@basheerahmedkhatib4974]

May Allah give us true emman to humanity,🎉

[@MuhammadAli-hr1bj]

A wonderful location surrounded by beautiful volumes. This is a truly remarkable production, which is indispensable in educating the future generations from the finest scholarship in the history of Islam.

[@al_worshiper6086]

Allah bless you both for all the work you're doing!

[@nourdinehaqiqati]

Sailing from the USA to morocco, and then driving across the desert to Egypt is absolutely fascinating! She says there were many people from different countries there and I really want to know if this still happens today? Or maybe the level of scholarship in the west increased to the point that such trips are no longer necessary?

[@blackmoney986]

May Allah bless her for her works

[@nihalbaya1672]

Beautiful souls blessing us with precious knowledge ❤️ May Allah bless both of you ❤️

[@keekl6870]

I was anticipating Paul to say, "You're most welcome, sir.." 😀

[@Ratibaofficial]

SubhanAllah Machallah to you both! Great work! I can’t wait to read it for my children

[@TheConservativeHippie]

I am certainly adding these books to my collection

[@imaadmislam]

Absolutely beautiful mA. Cannot wait to purchase these books iA! JazakAllah Khair Br Paul and Sister Aisha for an excellent interview.

[@user-fc2zz8en7v]

جزاك الله خيرا وبارك فيك يا اخي الكريم

[@islombekabdullaev4692]

The other day my 5 year old son asked me, "Where is Allah?'' He meant where He is located literary, and I got stuck at that moment. I need to read that book by Gazali to get ready to answer my kids questions.

[@PenangNorthamRd.]

Salam from Penang, Paul... This is great!

[@khanazhar1282]

Paul I don't know about the depth but you are doing an absolutely marvelous Job for Islam.

[@iggythedragon3980]

Saving this for 2028 when my first daughter will turn 5 in shaa Allah. Such beautiful books to teach children. Amazing work done by the sister, may Allah reward her

[@arzeminahusovic6270]

May Allah Swt. bless you all.Amee ya Rabby!❤

[@ihnew786]

MashaAllah, she is so humble and hardworking, may Allah bless her and her efforts. And bless you paul bhai for bringing it to our knowledge. JazakAllah Alkhair

[@ellalinecarnaro9037]

SubhanAllah Adheem! We’ve been waiting for this ! Shukran!

[@irfanahmed6411]

Dear brother Paul Allah bless you are doing great work on this planet and we love

[@khairt1731]

Alhamdulilah for shaykh hamza and Aisha for creating this al ghazali children project.

[@nawfalism]

Brilliant! Keep enlightening us with your amazing videos 👏🏼

[@Asqwasqwa1212]

Thank you for your great work Brother mayALLAH bless you all ❤️

[@dark_attack7896]

Wa'aleykum Salam Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh All Brother's Islam. BARAKALLAHU FEEKUM, From Indonesia.

[@BeckyInCa]

Thank you, Paul, for sharing this conversation.

[@abduljada6152]

Thank you sir and madam and may Allah bless you both.🙏🏼😁

[@dilkaarman1000]

One of your finest and informative interview. Really enjoyed every minute of it. Endless blessing for sister Aisha Gray and you Paul.

[@facts.explained.]

Amazing Muslim lady, and great contribution to the western Muslims, Masha'Allah

[@user-qf1qg1fe9i]

How precious this lady is .Wisdom and knowledge with love and grace given to her by Allah

[@karaeyed5057]

She's lovely. Thanks to Almighty for blessing us with such people

[@seifabdi9248]

Shukran and jazakahllah for the beautiful talk with educationist Ms Gray i really enjoyed the show. I am watching it from Nairobi Kenya 🇰🇪.

[@baay81]

Love Ghazali too! Thanks for all your work

[@aieshahuss1282]

Beautiful message !!! Love this ❤️❤️🤲💕

[@Rlouis367]

Two beautiful human being, may Allah bless you both n all of us, aamiinnn

[@SuicidalSummerSnowWoman]

i always think of this ayat whenever i see a revert that really loves islam "O ye who believe! if any from among you turn back from his Faith, soon will Allah produce a people whom He will love as they will love Him,- lowly with the believers, mighty against the rejecters, fighting in the way of Allah, and never afraid of the reproaches of such as find fault. That is the grace of Allah, which He will bestow on whom He pleaseth. And Allah encompasseth all, and He knoweth all things." its sad and hopeful at the same time(that people choose to abandon their faith and hopeful because they are replaced by much better muslims)... May He swell our ranks with righteous God loving/fearing believers

[@mdrejaulkarim8018]

Thank you for such a good discussion Great fan of yours.Eager to meet you one day here in France

[@BloggingTheology]

inshaAllah

[@mukhamadsuhermanto2764]

Alhamdulillah, one of the keys of most of Indonesian muslims practicing islam (work of Al Ghazali) is explored here

[@hatidjesabri7326]

Allah bless our dear sister and her noble efforts. I can't express how grateful we are as parents for what she and her team are doing. May Allah reward you abundantly!

[@sohrabtajadin3402]

MashaAllah. Powerful words.

[@alib7489]

Paul i love this format. Would love to see more face to face episodes in the future.

[@fahadalenezi9677]

I was so so Happy,when I see foreign scholar study about Islam and give us A jewel study’s ❤🙌

[@md.wahidulislam7800]

Alhamdulillah.. May Allah bless both of you for your efforts.

[@alisaisovic204]

I only got Book of Knowledge from Amazon maybe 2 years ago, but didn’t do any research on publishers. So glad to know they’ve got more and will be getting them directly from their website. Thanks brother Paul!

[@knightkiller329362]

I've tried reading Fons Vitae books in the past and they were so difficult and as sister Gray mentioned, scholarly, that I gave up. I will try the Children's books to go through with my daughter insha Allah.

[@samiismail8548]

What a brilliant and lovely guest! Watching this interview gave my heart a good polishing! Now I must go and learn more about Al Ghazali. Brother Paul, nicely done, Sir! Thank you both.

[@sphinkstrenic462]

Amazing work. Masha Allah..

[@amania9254]

🥲👌❤❤❤ Mashallah dear sister! Great work 👌 👏

[@mehreen2928]

I needed this, so beautiful! JazakAllah khair ❤ May Allah accept your immense and blessed efforts, ameen

[@pembebulut2781]

I’ve had the pleasure to meet her in Konya 10 years a go. Masallah she looks healthy & great 💕

[@sanashams7836]

Thank you so much!

[@imm6250]

Thank you

[@sumeyyyesahiin9395]

I amazed by the work that is done... Hearing that the books are avaliable in other languages is made me quite happy because all over the video I taught that how amazing can it be if this work may avaliable for other children from different nationality. I search but I didin't recognize is it avaliable in Turkish. In Turkey there are lots of valuable publishing works present for teaching children about Islam but I feel quite excited to see these books avaliable for children in here . I wish it may possible in a short time.. Thanks a lot for this video Paul and for this amazing work Sister Aisha جَزَاكَ ٱللَّٰهُ خَيْرًا

[@mohammedkoyamp9363]

Greater than ever ❤❤❤❤🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@ghazaliazmi614]

SubhanAllah❤

[@RosewiththornsRWT]

This was quite fascinating and insightful. Jazakallah khair for sharing with us 👍

[@asadasadaz]

Amazing video

[@RoselinaARahim]

Jazakallah khayr.

[@sobirhamidov2484]

Incredible woman, incredible project for children

[@Muhr-u-Souleiman]

Great job, thank you both very much 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@hero4963]

This is amazing I enjoyed it

[@user-xu1ue1cf1o]

Allah bless both of you ❤❤🎉 thank you so much Paul Williams

[@bishryounis]

Respect

[@manav____]

beautiful lessons for heart. may allah bless them and us

[@bernadettetormey4452]

Salaams, brother Paul. This interview was incredible. As an extremely devoted mother, this is what I consciously practice every day or at least try to,we are not perfect. So important ❤

[@BloggingTheology]

wa alaikum assalam, yes Sister Aisha Gray Henry is am amazing woman, alhamdulillah.

[@ditebayu7248]

beautiful conversation

[@MAR-lt7xo]

Listening to and seeing the efforts and contributions of revert Muslims toward the good of society as a whole, I feel ashamed of myself as a born Muslim. We born Muslims need to correct our acts and contribute to the betterment of humanity as a whole instead of fighting each other on minor sectarian differences or even non-muslims on false beliefs that we are better. Only Allah knows who is better!

[@greenbird3227]

"SUN IS RISING FROM THE WEST" ALHAMDULILLAH

[@MjdChaima-ct8gi]

Dear brother paul Allah bless alhamdulillah

[@amjadmehta1087]

Excellent... Allah Bless you and your family for the Excellent contributions to Humanity

[@videogamesplanet6631]

Al ghazali is a well known renouned scholar in islam. There are many more but not much is written about them.

[@LirimKapitaj]

I am forever grateful to you brother Paul. Your videos and the brilliant guests you bring on are so insightful and have really broadened my mind in Islamic discourse and history. I’ve also learned a lot about Christianity and Judaism through your channel. May Allah (swt) bless you and sister Aisha Gray Henry immensely for all the work you’ve done to help us born Muslims, reverts, and non-Muslims alike ❤️🤲🏻

[@ADJatoi1]

❤Hello, Sir Paul Williams. I would request and suggest that if you could do a video or a podcast aiming at explaining the philosophy, major beliefs,the need for islam ,the crux of Islam so to speak.... As to introduce it to people new to Islam and born Muslims too... May peace be on you..💐❤

[@muhamadsaugi4992]

One of best episode ❤

[@NisarAhmed-yc4rl]

I wish if these books get translated in Urdu one day.

[@servetbozdag2359]

Selamun Aleyküm. Thank you very much you both.

[@BloggingTheology]

wa alaikum assalam

[@sitikhadijah9403]

That which comes from the heart reaches the heart. Thank you so much for this beautiful conversation sir. I so hope to find these books in Malaysia too.

[@notyourbus]

Imazing! Jzaki Allah kheer God bless you!

[@w1zzk1dd]

such an amazing episode, very enlighten, thank you

[@muhammadabdullahawan6023]

Jazak ALLAH khair

[@tauseefhussain3936]

Informative. Greetings from Belgium 😊

[@raedbourisli7645]

I can’t help but recall one of Paul’s guests who said something to the effect of.. it’s people like you, Paul, who are carrying the banner or dawa and brining the Islamic knowledge to the 21st century (issues). And when I saw sister Aisha Grey Henry, I can’t help but hear in my head the verse وَإِنْ تَتَوَلَّوْا يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ ثُمَّ لا يَكُونُوا أَمْثَالَكُمْ “And if you turn away, He will replace you with another people; then they will not be the likes of you.” Muhammad 38 The verse starts by talking about people who withhold [out of greed] from spending and contributing to Allah’s cause. As a born Muslim, from Kuwait, I see many people a pound me spend, especially with the current situation, but I see very few people taking on this big task of opening up those classics and doing these revivals (of the sciences of religions) and these English reverts and Midwest school teachers are doing. This is a miracle. I love you guys ❤. And I believe all the prophets will tell you what good jobs you’ve been doing, one Day.

[@joetoss5781]

Thanks!

[@freedomjustice113]

Insightful.. Very interesting