Parable and Politics in Early Islamic History: The Rashidun Caliphs

The story of the succession to the Prophet Muhammad and the rise of the Rashidun Caliphate (632-661 AD) has been familiar to historians from the political histories of medieval Islam, which lend a factual credibility to scholarly narratives, and the competing perspectives of Sunni and Shi'i Islam, which focus on the legitimacy of their claims. While descriptive and varied, these approaches have long excluded a third reading in which the conflict over the succession to the Prophet is treated as a parable, the motives, sayings, and actions of the protagonists revealing profound links to previous texts and an irony with regard to political and religious issues.In a controversial break from previous historiography, Tayeb El-Hibri privileges the literary and artistic triumphs of the medieval Islamic chronicles and maps the origins of Islamic political and religious orthodoxy. Considering the patterns and themes of unified narratives, including the problem of defining qualification according..

Damascus after the Muslim Conquest: Text and Image in Early Islam

Before it fell to Muslim armies in AD 635-6 Damascus had a long and prestigious history as a center of Christianity. How did this city, which became the capitol of the Islamic Empire and its people, negotiate the transition from a late antique or early Byzantine world to an Islamic culture? In Damascus after the Muslim Conquest, Nancy Khalek demonstrates that the changes that took place in Syria during this formative period of Islamic life were not simply a matter of the replacement of one civilization by another as a result of military conquest, but rather of shifting relationships and practices in a multifaceted social and cultural setting. Even as late antique forms of religion and culture persisted, the formation of Islamic identity was affected by the people who constructed, lived in, and narrated the history of their city. Khalek draws on the evidence of architecture and the testimony of pilgrims, biographers, geographers, and historians to shed light on this process of identity ..

Who was Hazrat Umar (RA)?

A short book on the excellent qualities, character and leadership strategy of the second Khalifa (Leader) in Islam, Hazrat Umar (Radhiallahu Anho - may Allah be pleased with him)...

Heaven on Earth: A Journey Through Shari'a Law from the Deserts of Ancient Arabia to the Streets of the Modern Muslim

In the wake of the colossal acts of terrorism of the last decade, the legal historian and human rights lawyer Sadakat Kadri realized that many people in the West had ideas about the origins and implications of the shari‘a, or Islamic law, that were hazy, contradictory, or simply wrong. Even as “shari‘a” became a loaded word and an all-encompassing explanation, most of us remained ignorant of its true meaning. And we were doing this at our peril. In Heaven on Earth, Kadri brings lucid wit and analytical skill to the thrilling and turbulent story of Islam’s foundation and expansion. He shows how legal ideas gradually evolved out of thousands of reports about the Prophet Mohammad, most of which were not even written down until two centuries after his death. And he explains how, just in the last forty years, the shari‘a has been appropriated and transformed by hardliners desperate to impose their oppressive vision. In the second half of the book, Kadri takes us on an extraordin..

The Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence

This digital edition was derived from ACLS Humanities E-Book's (http://www.humanitiesebook.org) online version of the same title...

The Life of Mohammed (Annotated)

Originally published in 1883 as a portion of the author’s larger “Beacon Lights of History, Volume V: the Middle Ages,” this Kindle edition, equivalent in length to a physical book of approximately 30 pages, describes the life and conquests of Mohammed, the Arab prophet and founder of Islam.Includes supplemental material:• A Brief Summary of the Life of Mohammed• About MohammedismSample passage:He was now second to none in the capital of Arabia, and great thoughts began to fill his soul. His wife perceived his greatness, and, like Josephine and the wife of Disraeli, forwarded the fortunes of her husband, for he became rich as well as intellectual and noble, and thus had time and leisure to accomplish more easily his work. From twenty-five to forty he led chiefly a contemplative life, spending months together in a cave, absorbed in his grand reflections—at intervals issuing from his retreat, visiting the marts of commerce, and gaining knowledge from learned men.…With all g..

Islam: A Brief History (Wiley Desktop Editions)

Reflecting recent global developments, the second edition of this illuminating introduction to Islamic history expands its coverage of the Qur’an, Sufism, and Muslim views on human rights, including the rights of women.An expanded new edition of this concise, illuminating introduction to Islam, written by one of the field’s leading scholarsSpans Islamic history from the life of Muhammad and the birth of Islamic ideals, through Islam’s phenomenal geographical expansion and cultural development, to the creation of modern states and its role in today’s global societyFeatures expanded coverage of the Qur’an, Sufism, and Muslim views on human rights, including the rights of womenIncludes fascinating vignettes of Islamic life, representing mainstream Muslim viewpoints on issues of global concernExplores the complex interrelationships of cultural, political, and ideological developments woven throughout Islamic history, drawing on specific examples including current developments in ..

Covert Gestures: Crypto-Islamic Literature as Cultural Practice in Early Modern Spain

Forcibly expelled from Spain in the early seventeenth century, the substantial Muslim community known as the moriscos left behind them a hidden yet extremely rich corpus of manuscripts. Copied out in Arabic script and concealed in walls, false floors, and remote caves, these little-known texts now offer modern readers an absorbing look into the cultural life of the moriscos during the hundred years between their forced conversion to Christianity and their eventual expulsion. Covert Gestures reveals how the traditional Islamic narratives of the moriscos both shaped and encoded a wide range of covert social activity characterized by a profound and persistent concern with time and temporality. Using a unique blend of literary analysis, linguistic anthropology, and phenomenological philosophy, Barletta explores the narratives as testimonials of past human experiences and discovers in them evidence of community resistance. In its interdisciplinary approach, Vincent Barletta's work is nothin..

Pan-Islam[illustrated]

I HAVE written this book to present the main factors of a many-sided problem—political, social and religious—in a form which the general public can easily grasp.Modern democratic principles tend to give the public increasing control of international and inter-racial affairs, and therefore any contribution to public knowledge on such questions is in the interests of sound administration.The book is not intended to advise those who actually handle these affairs: I give such advice, when required, in more detail and not through the medium of a published work."Pan-Islam" is an elementary handbook, not a text-book—still less an exhaustive treatise, but the questions it discusses are real enough. My qualifications for writing it are based on a quarter of a century's experience of the subject in most parts of the Moslem world, and I have studied the question in areas which I have not actually[viii]visited through intercourse with pilgrims from those parts.I have no axe to grind or infal..

What Every American Needs to Know about the Qur'an - A History of Islam & the United States

WHAT EVERY AMERICAN NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT THE QUR'AN - A HISTORY OF ISLAM & THE UNITED STATES You will be fascinated by this fast-paced, objective history of the world from a perspective you never imagined. Current events come into focus in the back drop of 1,400 years of unbelievable yet true events. Thousands of books, documents and articles have been researched over several years in preparation for this book. In 2006, Keith Ellison became the first Muslim elected to the United States Congress. He swore in on a Qur'an. Most Americans know little about the Qur'an, who wrote it and how Islam spread. Within 100 years of Mohammed's death, his followers conquered North Africa, the Holy Land, Persia, Spain - from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean. President Barak Obama stated in Cairo, Egypt, June 4, 2009: “Islam has always been a part of America’s story.” Indeed, Islam has affected the Western World from 622 AD to today’s headlines. This book will give you a fascinating glimpse..

Goal of Life

These five lectures revolve around God, as the ultimate Goal of Life. The first lecture is introductory in content and the last one serves the purpose of summary and conclusion. The Introduction by thc first publisher has been retained to emphasize the usefulness of these lectures. It poses a crucial question: "Are all the pains and sufferings, which have made life so bitter for mankind today, not due to the lack of human recognition of the goal of life?" Lecture one deals with the above question in the context of the prophetic missions. It points out, Creation has a goal which is one of achieving perfection - on the part of the created, as envisaged by the Creator. Prophetic missions are acknowledged as enhancing this process. In the light of the divine revelations, individuals are called upon to realize their potential-and achieve the goal of their respective life, which, in its perfectibility before eventual return to the Creator, is identical with that of all creations . Lecture tw..