Download or read book The Prophet s Heir written by Hassan Abbas and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2021-02-23 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The life and legacy of one of Mohammad’s closest confidants and Islam’s patron saint: Ali ibn Abi Talib Ali ibn Abi Talib is arguably the single most important spiritual and intellectual authority in Islam after prophet Mohammad. Through his teachings and leadership as fourth caliph, Ali nourished Islam. But Muslims are divided on whether he was supposed to be Mohammad’s political successor—and he continues to be a polarizing figure in Islamic history. Hassan Abbas provides a nuanced, compelling portrait of this towering yet divisive figure and the origins of sectarian division within Islam. Abbas reveals how, after Mohammad, Ali assumed the spiritual mantle of Islam to spearhead the movement that the prophet had led. While Ali’s teachings about wisdom, justice, and selflessness continue to be cherished by both Shia and Sunni Muslims, his pluralist ideas have been buried under sectarian agendas and power politics. Today, Abbas argues, Ali’s legacy and message stands against that of ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and Taliban.
Download or read book The Caliph s Heirs written by Jurji Zaidan and published by . This book was released on 2012-05-01 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is 809 AD in Baghdad, the capital of the 'Abbasid Empire. The famed Caliph Harun al-Rashid has died. His successor, al-Amin, son of his Hashemite Arab wife, had promised the Caliph that he would appoint his half-brother al-Ma'mun, born to a slave mother, as his heir apparent. But al-Amin appoints his own son instead. This betrayal provides an opening for the Persians to help the statesmanlike and brilliant al-Ma'mun, whom they consider one of their own, to challenge his fickle brother. Against the backdrop of this war of succession, the novel weaves parallel love stories, political intrigue and machinations, nobility and treachery, spies and counterspies. Behzad, a famous doctor with an agenda all his own, is deeply in love with the beautiful Maymuna: both are members of Persian families persecuted by the 'Abbasid house. But the son of al-Amin's vizier is also enamored with Maymuna and wants to marry her. At the center of these tangled webs is al-Amin's mysterious Chief Astrologer, whose true identity and loyalties remain unknown even to the Caliph and his court. He not only divines the future but also shapes it by changing the course of the war between the brothers-a war from which the 'Abbasid Empire never recovered. What will become of the lovers? Who will survive and who will perish? The fast-paced action and suspense leave us guessing to the very end.
Download or read book The Heirs of Muhammad written by Barnaby Rogerson and published by . This book was released on 2007-02-15 with total page 444 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: [In this book, the author] recounts the lives of the handful of individuals - the first four Caliphs, the Prophet's widows and the conquering generals - who led and influenced Islam after the death of Muhammad. Within this fifty-year span of conquest and empire-building, [the author] identifies the seeds of discord and civil war that destroyed the unity of Islam and traces the roots of the schism between Sunni and Shia Muslims to the rivalry of the two people who best knew and loved the Prophet: his cousin and son-in-law Ali and his wife Aisha. -Dust jacket.
Download or read book The Heirs Of The Prophet Muhammad written by Barnaby Rogerson and published by Abacus. This book was released on 2010-11-04 with total page 367 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Prophet Muhammad taught the word of God to the Arabs. Within a generation of his death, his followers - as vivid a cast of heroic individuals as history has known - had exploded out of Arabia to confront the two great superpowers of the seventh-century and establish Islam and a new civilization. That the protagonists originated from the small oasis communities of central Arabia gives their adventures, their rivalries, their loves and their achievements an additional vivacity and intimacy. So that on one hand, THE HEIRS OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD is a swaggering saga of ambition, immense achievement, self-sacrificing nobility and blood rivalry, while on the other it allows us to understand some of the complexities of our modern world. For within this fifty-year span of conquest and empire-building, Barnaby Rogerson also identifies the seeds of discord that destroyed the unity of Islam, and traces the roots of the schism between Sunni and Shia Muslims to the rivalry of the two individuals who best knew and loved the Prophet: his cousin and son-in-law Ali and his wife Aisha.
Download or read book The Succession to Muhammad written by Wilferd Madelung and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1997 with total page 436 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a comprehensive study of early Islamic history, Wilferd Madelung examines the conflict which developed after Muhammad's death for the leadership of the Muslim community. He pursues the history of this conflict through the reign of the four 'Rightly Guided' caliphs to its climax in the first inter-Muslim war. The outcome of the war, which marked the demise of the reign of the Early Companions, resulted in the lasting schism between Sunnite and Shi'ite Islam. Contrary to recent scholarly trends, the author brings out Ali's early claim to legitimate succession, which gained support from the Shi'a, and offers a convincing reinterpretation of early Islamic history. This book will make a major contribution to the debate over succession. Wilferd Madelung's book The Succession to Muhammad has been awarded the Best Book of the Year prize by the Islamic Republic of Iran for the year 1997.
Download or read book The Caliph s Splendor written by Benson Bobrick and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2012-08-14 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Caliph’s Splendor is a revelation: a history of a civilization we barely know that had a profound effect on our own culture. While the West declined following the collapse of the Roman Empire, a new Arab civilization arose to the east, reaching an early peak in Baghdad under the caliph Harun al-Rashid. Harun is the legendary caliph of The Thousand and One Nights, but his actual court was nearly as magnificent as the fictional one. In The Caliph’s Splendor, Benson Bobrick eloquently tells the little-known and remarkable story of Harun’s rise to power and his rivalries with the neighboring Byzantines and the new Frankish kingdom under the leadership of Charlemagne. When Harun came to power, Islam stretched from the Atlantic to India. The Islamic empire was the mightiest on earth and the largest ever seen. Although Islam spread largely through war, its cultural achievements were immense. Harun’s court at Baghdad outshone the independent Islamic emirate in Spain and all the courts of Europe, for that matter. In Baghdad, great works from Greece and Rome were preserved and studied, and new learning enhanced civilization. Over the following centuries Arab and Persian civilizations made a lasting impact on the West in astronomy, geometry, algebra (an Arabic word), medicine, and chemistry, among other fields of science. The alchemy (another Arabic word) of the Middle Ages originated with the Arabs. From engineering to jewelry to fashion to weaponry, Arab influences would shape life in the West, as they did in the fields of law, music, and literature. But for centuries Arabs and Byzantines contended fiercely on land and sea. Bobrick tells how Harun defeated attempts by the Byzantines to advance into Asia at his expense. He contemplated an alliance with the much weaker Charlemagne in order to contain the Byzantines, and in time Arabs and Byzantines reached an accommodation that permitted both to prosper. Harun’s caliphate would weaken from within as his two sons quarreled and formed factions; eventually Arabs would give way to Turks in the Islamic empire. Empires rise, weaken, and fall, but during its golden age, the caliphate of Baghdad made a permanent contribution to civilization, as Benson Bobrick so splendidly reminds us.
Download or read book The Prophet s Heir written by Hassan Abbas and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2021-02-23 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The life and legacy of one of Mohammad’s closest confidants and Islam’s patron saint: Ali ibn Abi Talib Ali ibn Abi Talib is arguably the single most important spiritual and intellectual authority in Islam after prophet Mohammad. Through his teachings and leadership as fourth caliph, Ali nourished Islam. But Muslims are divided on whether he was supposed to be Mohammad’s political successor—and he continues to be a polarizing figure in Islamic history. Hassan Abbas provides a nuanced, compelling portrait of this towering yet divisive figure and the origins of sectarian division within Islam. Abbas reveals how, after Mohammad, Ali assumed the spiritual mantle of Islam to spearhead the movement that the prophet had led. While Ali’s teachings about wisdom, justice, and selflessness continue to be cherished by both Shia and Sunni Muslims, his pluralist ideas have been buried under sectarian agendas and power politics. Today, Abbas argues, Ali’s legacy and message stands against that of ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and Taliban.
Download or read book The Great Caliphs written by Amira K. Bennison and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2014-05-14 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This endlessly informative history brings the classical Islamic world to lifeIn this accessibly written history, Amira K. Bennison contradicts the common assumption that Islam somehow interrupted the smooth flow of Western civilization from its Graeco-Roman origins to its more recent European and American manifestations. Instead, she places Islamic civilization in the longer trajectory of Mediterranean civilizations and sees the ‘Abbasid Empire (750–1258 CE) as the inheritor and interpreter of Graeco-Roman traditions.At its zenith the ‘Abbasid caliphate stretched over the entire Middle East and part of North Africa, and influenced Islamic regimes as far west as Spain. Bennison’s examination of the politics, society, and culture of the ‘Abbasid period presents a picture of a society that nurtured many of the “civilized” values that Western civilization claims to represent, albeit in different premodern forms: from urban planning and international trade networks to religious pluralism and academic research. Bennison’s argument counters the common Western view of Muslim culture as alien and offers a new perspective on the relationship between Western and Islamic cultures.
Download or read book The Door of the Caliph written by Elsa Cardoso and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2023-05-29 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book focuses on the conceptualization of the court, palace and ruler of the Umayyad Caliphate of al-Andalus. Western terminology still plays a normative role in the representation of foreign courts, determining concepts that fit poorly into chronologies with their own dynamics and specificities, which is the case of Muslim courts. While Court Studies is a well-developed field for modern Western societies, Muslim medieval courts lack a consistent field of research. Sources elaborate a specific terminology for medieval Muslim court societies. In the specific case of the Umayyad Caliphate of al-Andalus, the court is usually articulated as Bāb Suddat al-Khalīfa (“The door of the Sudda of the caliph”) – a reference to the symbology of the main city gate of Cordoba – or simply as Bāb. Bāb Suddat al-Khalīfa became the most emblematic concept to name the Umayyad palace and its society, which will be additionally interpreted in the framework of the performance of ceremonial. The strong conceptualization of the Umayyad court of Cordoba was highlighted through the articulation of ceremonial, as the mis-en-scène of the conceptualization, expressed by gestures, insignia and hierarchies. The preliminary comparative perspective with the Umayyad Caliphate of Damascus, the ‘Abbasid and Fatimid Caliphates and the Byzantine Empire further discusses the Umayyad Andalusi model in relation to other dynasties. While this book focuses on the Umayyad conceptualization and articulation of ceremonial, this model will be discussed within the Mediterranean and Eastern framework of the 10th and 11th centuries, which broadens the interest of the book to other fields of research.
Download or read book The Caliphs Last Heritage written by Mark Sykes and published by . This book was released on 1915 with total page 755 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, Lt. Col. Sir Mark Sykes sets out to correct what he felt were the misguided impressions people had of the Ottoman Empire in 1915. From his own visits to the region, he felt that "there is nothing in our daily private life or public life today which is not directly or indirectly influenced by some human movement that took place in this zone." He firstly discusses different periods from its history: from the Roman and Persian influence to that of Muhammad and the introduction of Islam, to Sulaiman the Magnificent's triumph in Baghdad. In this way, Sykes hopes to impart to the reader the extent of the important role played by the Empire through time. The tone then changes and becomes more personal as the reader is granted access to the Colonel's own diaries and experiences in order to add more color and insight to the historical facts already relayed. Traveling with his dragoman (a Christian from Jerusalem), his English servant, his Greek cook, five Syrian muleteers, and som
Download or read book The Caliphate written by Hugh Kennedy and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2016-07-07 with total page 339 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is a caliphate? Who can be caliph? And how are contemporary ideologues such as ISIS reviving - and abusing - the term today? In the first modern account of a subject of critical importance today, acclaimed historian Hugh Kennedy answers these questions by chronicling the rich history of the caliphate, from the death of Muhammad to the present. At its height, the caliphate stretched from Spain to China and was the most powerful political entity in western Eurasia. In an era when Paris and London boasted a few thousand inhabitants, Baghdad and Cairo were sophisticated centres of trade and culture, and the Ummayad and Abbasid caliphates were distinguished by extraordinary advances in science, medicine and architecture. By ending with the recent re-emergence of caliphal ideology within fundamentalist Islam, The Caliphate underscores why it is crucial that we understand this form of Islamic government before groups such as ISIS distort its practice completely.
Download or read book The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought written by Gerhard Bowering and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2013 with total page 704 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In 2012, the year 1433 of the Muslim calendar, the Islamic population throughout the world was estimated at approximately a billion and a half, representing about one-fifth of humanity. In geographical terms, Islam occupies the center of the world, stretching like a big belt across the globe from east to west."--P. vii.
Download or read book History of the Caliphs written by Ǧalāl-ad-Dīn ʿAbd-ar-Raḥmān Ibn-Abī-Bakr as- Suyūṭī and published by . This book was released on 1881 with total page 600 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Early Islamic Institutions written by Abd Al-Aziz Duri and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2011-08-30 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The rapid expansion of the early Islamic world is conventionally ascribed to a combination of perceptive military leadership and religious fervour. By looking at the administration and taxation which would be implemented by political rulers, Abd al-Aziz Duri demonstrates how these leaders were able to provide for growth, development and durability in a turbulent time, as well as efficient mechanisms for taxation and tax collection. Drawing on original research into the fiscal policies of this period, especially land tax and the tax on non-Muslim populations, Duri shows how different models evolved and renewed themselves. He examines the political systems that accompanied these fiscal regimes, and attitudes towards them. He also scrutinises the institutions which supported this remarkably coherent mode of governance, offering a new perspective on the relationship between politics and Islam in this formative period. By looking at these early Islamic institutions, Duri makes the argument that due to persistence of such organization, from the early Muslim conquests and the later Umayyad era to the end of 'Abbasid rule, the leaders of the time can be seen to be particularly politically and organizationally skilled. Duri's work makes a major contribution to our understanding of how Islam established itself and flourished as a lasting major force in the development of world history. Abd al-Aziz Duri (1919-2010) was Professor of History at the University of Jordan, having previously served as President of Baghdad University from 1963 to 1968. Among the most influential of his books on early Islam are The Economic History of Iraq in the Fourth Century AH (1948), An Introduction to the History of the Dawn of Islam (1949), and The Early Abbasid Period (1988), as well as treatises on Arab nationalism such as The Historical Roots of Arab Nationalism (1960) and The Historical Formation of the Arab nation: A Study in Identity and Consciousness (1987).
Download or read book Islam and the West written by Wagih H. Makky Ph.D. and published by AuthorHouse. This book was released on 2019-04-01 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the third book in the series “Islam and the West”. The West here is atheism as it currently represents Western high-culture. It is based on the premises that atheism is exclusively the legacy of Western Christianity and the Western fallacy out of sheer ignorance of considering Islam as a Christian heresy that suffers whatever shortcomings Christianity may have. Atheism took center stage with the rise of European enlightenment that sent its ideals across the Atlantic to form the intellectual foundation of the founding fathers of the American republic. Atheism dismantled Western Christianity avoiding all moral arguments while taking full advantage of the presumably absurd biblical statements about material physical issues such as the age of the universe and instantaneous creation. While this is patently an internal Western squabble, atheists unabashedly drag Islam into the brawl. Western self-centeredness cannot shake off bigotry and innate historical hatred of Islam even after renouncing Christianity. To make that point, the book ascertains the historical fact that the celebrated “Western Civilization” is simply nothing more than a product of the “Islamic Civilization” in the sense that all civilizations produce their offspring without exception as none come from a void. It does that through discussing Muslim scholars’ contributions to building an Islamic way of life and Westerners absorbing such massive structure at known geographical points of contact. Atheistic arguments are analyzed vis-a-vis well established Islamic norms and are found wanting. A rule of thumb is established that Islam alone can be discussed as a true representative of “Religion” as opposed to atheism. Since atheism’s newfound religion is “Science”, its major foundations and breakthroughs till the present are discussed. Islam’s sacred statements are then shown to be emphatically reconcilable with all findings of modern science without exception. These are the “Fruits of Knowledge”.
Download or read book The Meaning of Mecca written by M E McMillan and published by Saqi. This book was released on 2012-01-16 with total page 139 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The hajj, the fifth pillar of Islam, is a religious duty to be performed once in a lifetime by all Muslims who are able. The Prophet Muhammad set out the rituals of hajj when he led what became known as the Farewell Hajj in 10 AH / 632AD. This set the seal on Muhammad's career as the founder of a religion and the leader of a political entity based on that religion. The convergence of the Prophet with the politician infuses the hajj with political, as well as religious, significance. For the caliphs who led the Islamic community after Muhammad's death, leadership of the hajj became a position of enormous political relevance as it presented them with an unrivalled opportunity to proclaim their pious credentials and reinforce their political legitimacy. Exhaustively researched, The Meaning of Mecca is the first study to analyse the leadership of the hajj in the formative and medieval periods and to assess the political subtext of Islam's most high-profile religious ritual.
Download or read book THE RISALA OR EPISTLE ON THE ELEMENTS OF DOGMA AND THE LAW OF ISLAM ACCORDING TO THE MALIKI RITE English Arabic written by IBN ABI ZAYD AL-QAYRAWANI and published by Dar Al Kotob Al Ilmiyah دار الكتب العلمية. This book was released on 2014-01-01 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
