Islam

First published in paperback, this acclaimed new translation of The Qur'an offers English readers a chance to experience one of the most significant religious texts in human history. This sacred scripture of Islam is considered by Muslims to be the infallible word of God, as revealed to the Prophet Muhammad by the archangel Gabriel. These divine revelations, which occurred over...

Karen Armstrong's Islam offers a riveting exploration of one of the world's most prominent yet often misunderstood religions. Through her elegant prose and profound insights, Armstrong delves into the historical and cultural evolution of Islam, meticulously tracing its roots from the ancient traditions of Judaism and Christianity. Her narrative introduces us to the life and character of Muhammad, whom she...

THE CLEAR QURAN(R) Series is one of the most eloquent attempts to masterfully and accurately capture the elegance and vigor of the Quran in modern English. Its clarity for an average reader is evident in the choice of easy-to-understand words and phrases that reflect the original text's beauty, flow, and power. Along with just enough footnotes to clarify complex and...

The Qur'an is the word of Allah; it is the most eloquent and best of all speech. The Qur'an uses different rhetorical devices and parables to convey its message. Allah says in the Qur'an: 'We have given every type of parable in this Qur'an so that they can understand and think'. Allah conveys to us facts, stories, and examples, as...

Across the Islamic world, illuminating Korans from Morocco to Malaysia, and adorning mosques, mausoleums, and palaces, are hidden some of the most exquisite geometrical devices ever conceived by man. In this excellent little book, geometer Daud Sutton unravels the mystery of Islamic patterns, explaining where they come from, how to draw them, and hinting at the Divine messages they encode....

An epic history of Islam and the Middle East through the cities which best epitomised it. Islamic civilisation was once the envy of the world. From a succession of glittering, cosmopolitan capitals, Islamic empires lorded it over the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia, and swathes of the Indian subcontinent. For centuries, the caliphate was both ascendant on the battlefield...

Ramadan Kareem! Celebrate the joy of family and faith with this gorgeous board book! Our Neighborhood is a series of board books that celebrates every kid's culture so kids can find themselves, their family, and their friends in every book. Join an adorable kiddo in this ode to the Muslim observance of Ramadan. From spotting the crescent moon to celebrating...

The surprise election of Hasan Rouhani in 2013 has refocused attention on the dynamics between Islam and democracy in Iran after the hiatus of the Ahmadinejad presidency. With comparisons being drawn between Rouhani and his predecessor, the late Reformist President Mohammad Khatami, there has never been a better time for a close look at the rise and fall of the...

This monumental feat of translation, the product of a ten-year-long collaboration between one of our most respected scholars of Islam, Bruce B. Lawrence, and a poet and scholar of literature, M. A. R. Habib, The Qur'an: A Verse Translation offers readers the first rendering in English to echo, in accessible and fluent verse, the sonorous beauty of the Arabic original...

Colloquial Arabic storytelling is most commonly associated with The Thousand and One Nights. But few people are aware of a much larger corpus of narrative texts known as popular epic. These heroic romantic tales, originating in the Middle Ages, form vast cycles of adventure stories whose most remarkable feature is their portrayal of powerful and memorable women. Wildly appreciated by...

I.B.Tauris in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies introduces this open access work. Among the various Muslim communities that were articulating their doctrinal positions in the early Islamic centuries, one in particular was known derisively as the Ghulat ('extremists'). This was owing to their specific interpretation of Islam, which included an 'extreme' devotion to the Shi'i Imams and the...

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 have never imagined. Current events will come into focus in the backdrop of 1,400 years of inconceivable yet true events and conflicts. Thousands of books, documents,...

What was the role of local history-writing in the early Islamic World, and why was it such a popular way of thinking about the past? In this innovative study, Harry Munt explores this understudied phenomenon. Examining primary sources in both Arabic and Persian, Munt argues that local history-writing must be situated within its appropriate historical contexts to explain why it...

The global economic environment is evolving at an unprecedented pace, with technological advancements, geopolitical shifts, and climate change reshaping the way economies function. Islamic countries, rich in natural resources and cultural heritage, are uniquely positioned to navigate these changes. However, many of these nations face challenges such as political instability, economic diversification, and infrastructural deficits. The Economic Potential of Islamic...

The literature on Islamic political thought utilises a methodology whose typical characteristic is the arbitrary use of religious, philosophical and political perspectives, as if the differences among them have no effect. This amounts to the theologising or philosophising of works of Islamic political theory written as responses to social, economic and political dynamics, as if they were written as general...

Stoning as Punishment in Early Islam explores some of the contingencies that contributed to the process by which death by lapidation (rajm)—stoning—became a standard punishment for illicit sexual intercourse (zina) for certain schools in the Islamic legal tradition. Syed Atif Rizwan examines stoning through a critical analysis of the transmission history and textual content of key hadith, as well as...

This book examines how seven major classical Islamic thinkers, from Abū Manṣūr al-Māturīdī to Taqī al-Dīn Ibn Taymiyya, developed distinctive metaphysical and theological worldviews that continue to shape how Muslims might engage questions of science and religion today. Each thinker represents a unique school within the broader Islamic intellectual tradition, from the rationalism of the Muʿtazilīs and the philosophical vision...

This book studies the relationship between political thought, preaching and emotions through the writings of Ibn al-Jawzi (d. 1201), a celebrated hortatory preacher in late-Abbasid Baghdad. Through an intertextual analysis of Ibn al-Jawzi's works in various genres, Preaching Pious Rulership in Medieval Islam details how his ideal form of rulership reflected the emotional norms and pietistic moral virtues promoted in...

Modern Trends in Islamic Economy: Philanthropy, Finance and Marketing Innovations explores the dynamic evolution of Islamic economy, highlighting its adaptability in addressing global challenges through the convergence of traditional values and modern innovations. The book provides comprehensive insights into how Islamic principles inform philanthropy, finance, and marketing, emphasizing their transformative potential as tools for ethical innovation, sustainable development, and inclusive...

Do Islamic financial institutions perform better than their Western counterparts during periods of financial stress? How do Islamic financial institutions manage risk, given their unique characteristics and the need for Shari'ah compliance? Islamic Banking and Financial Crisis looks at the challenges for Islamic financial institutions in an international post-Basel II system where banks are required to have more capital and...

Islam and Constructive Interreligious Engagement explores how the Islamic tradition both creates space for and resists constructive inter-religious dialogue. In this book, Adis Duderija examines the conditions necessary for inter-religious dialogue, comparative theological learning, and theological growth within an Islamic context. Applying the writings of Catherine Cornille, Duderija presents fresh discussions of the Qur'an, hadith, and orthodox Islamic doctrines such...

Focusing on Indonesia and Malaysia, Islam and Colonialism examines how European colonial and Islamic modernising powers operated in the common and parallel domains of government and politics, law and education in the first half of the twentieth century. The book demonstrates that colonialisation was able to coexist with Islamisation, arguing that Islamic movements were not necessarily antithetical to modernisation, nor...

Aligning Heaven and Earth in Early Islam focuses on the construction of historical knowledge during the first centuries of Islam (7th-10th centuries CE) and sheds light on the much-neglected genre of astrological histories. It contends that astrologers played a significant, albeit totally overlooked, role in the making of Islamic historiography. The volume documents a unique moment in historical writing and...

Carpets made in the "Rug Belt"—an area that includes Morocco, North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and northern India—have been a source of fascination and collecting since the 13th century. This engaging and accessible book explores the history, design techniques, materials, craftsmanship, and socioeconomic contexts of these works, promoting a better understanding and appreciation of these frequently misunderstood pieces....

The teachings, style and impact of the Qur'an have always been matters of controversy, among both Muslims and non-Muslims. But in a modern context of intercultural sensitivity, what the Qur'an says and means are perhaps more urgent questions than ever before. This book by one of the world's finest Islamic scholars responds to that urgency. Building on his earlier ground-breaking...

Each of the major Islamic holidays, festivals, and special days includes unique traditions and customs. During the month of Ramadan, Muslims fast during the day. At the end of Ramadan, the festival of Eid al-Fitr is a celebration with feasts and acts of kindness. During Eid al-Adha, many Muslims pray together at sunrise and share special foods and gifts with...

This book is the first to explore and highlight the history of the plants mentioned in the Qur’an, many of which are part of our everyday life, from pomegranates and grapes to ginger and garlic. Author Shahina A. Ghazanfar explores the context in which these plants are mentioned in the Qur’an — mainly as food plants, as well as for...

Find out all about the world of Islam in this friendly first look at religion. A World of Faiths: Islam takes a positive and celebratory look at Islam, exploring how it began, its core beliefs, ways of worship, important festivals, and more. Friendly, accessible text is complemented by a bright, colourful design and images that show Islam in the real...

Find out all about the world of Islam in this friendly first look at religion. A World of Faiths: Islam takes a positive and celebratory look at Islam, exploring how it began, its core beliefs, ways of worship, important festivals, and more. Friendly, accessible text is complemented by a bright, colourful design and images that show Islam in the real...

This collection explores the dynamic place of Muslim visual and expressive culture in processes of decolonisation across the African continent. Presenting new methodologies for accentuating African agency and expression in the stories we tell about Islamic art, it likewise contributes to recent widespread efforts to decolonise the art historical canon. The contributors to this volume explore the dynamic place of...

The Qur'an, believed by Muslims to be the word of God, was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad 1400 years ago. Recognised as the greatest literary masterpiece in Arabic, the sacred text has nevertheless remained difficult to understand in its English translations. First published in 2004, M.A.S. Abdel Haleem's translation has been acclaimed for its success in avoiding archaism and cryptic...

Shi'i Islam and Sufism is published by I.B. Tauris in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies. Offering new perspectives on the relationship between Shi'is and Sufis in both modern and pre-modern times, this book challenges the supposed opposition between these two esoteric traditions in Islam. It explores what could be called "Shi'i Sufism" and "Sufi-oriented Shi'ism" at various points...

The Muslim world is tremendously rich and diverse, yet few Westerners are familiar with the writings and teachings of a culture that is at the forefront of world events. In their insightful anthology The Middle East and Islamic World Reader, historians Marvin E. Gettleman and Stuart Schaar have assembled a broad selection of documents and contemporary scholarship to give a...

The early Arab conquests pose a considerable challenge to modern-day historians. The earliest historical written tradition emerges only after the second half of the eighth century—over one hundred years removed from the events it contends to describe—and was undoubtedly influenced by the motives and interpretations of its authors. Indeed, when speaking or writing about the past, fact was not the...

First published in 2005, this book addresses the challenges arising from Christian-Muslim encounter and attempts to enable outsiders to understand the religion of Islam. The author offers distinctive perspectives that complement much other literature in the study of Islam and, in particular, Christian-Muslim relations and the relation of Islam and the West. Routledge Revivals: The Challenge of Islam is divided...

This ethnography of Muslim life among the Kazaks of Central Asia describes the sacralisation of land and ethnic identity, local understanding of Islamic purity, the Kazak ancestor cult and domestic spirituality, and pilgrimage to the tombs of Sufi saints.

The Prophet Muhammad – acknowledged by his followers to have been the hand with which God wrote his definitive Word enshrined in the Koran – was born into the Quraishi tribe at Mecca around 570 AD and died in Medina in 632 AD. The great religion founded on that Word, which first claimed the submission (Islam) of the Arabs, rapidly...

The story of Islam is not one story, but many stories involving peoples of different races, ethnicities, and cultures. Every religious tradition is marked by internal diversity, manifested through its various communities of interpretation. Islam likewise is multifaceted, as are Muslim life and faith. Living Islam invites readers to appreciate ways in which Muslims from diverse backgrounds and traditions interpret...

A groundbreaking comparative study that illuminates the connections between the Qur'ān and the Bible While the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament are understood to be related texts, the sacred scripture of Islam, the third Abrahamic faith, has generally been considered separately. Noted religious scholar Gabriel Said Reynolds draws on centuries of Qur'ānic and Biblical studies to offer rigorous and...

This book explains the aspirations and concerns of Islamist actors in the aftermath of the Arab Uprisings by looking at two sets of relationships: between Turkey’s ruling AKP and the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, and between the AKP and Tunisia’s Ennahda. It presents a unique analysis of the interplay between the AKP, Ennahda and the Muslim Brotherhood, characterizing the actors, the...

What happens when authorities you venerate condone something you know is wrong? Every major religion and philosophy once condoned or approved of slavery, but in modern times, nothing is seen as more evil. Americans confront this crisis of authority when they erect statues of Founding Fathers who slept with their slaves. Muslims faced it when ISIS revived sex-slavery, justifying it...

Imam Nawawi's commentary on Sahih Muslim is one of the most highly regarded works in Islamic thought and literature. Accepted by every Sunni school of thought, and foundational in the Shaafi school, this text, available for the first time in English, is famed throughout the Muslim world. After the Qur'an, the prophetic traditions are the most recognised source of wisdom...

Author Reza Aslan, an internationally acclaimed scholar of comparative religions, has crafted an accessible and fascinating introduction to Islam in this young adult nonfiction work. Engaging, accessible, and thought-provoking, No god but God is a persuasive, elegantly written, and accessible introduction for young readers to a faith that for much of the West remains shrouded in ignorance and fear. Adapted...

A compelling book that casts the Qur'anic encounter with Jews in an entirely new light. In this panoramic and multifaceted book, Meir Bar-Asher examines how Jews and Judaism are depicted in the Qur'an and later Islamic literature, providing needed context to those passages critical of Jews that are most often invoked to divide Muslims and Jews or to promote Islamophobia....

The first modern state to be founded in the name of Islam, Pakistan was the largest Muslim country in the world at the time of its establishment in 1947. Today it is the second-most populous, after Indonesia. Islam in Pakistan is the first comprehensive book to explore Islam's evolution in this region over the past century and a half, from...

Recent events have made an understanding of the turmoil in the Middle East more important than ever. In these essays, Bernard Lewis, a leading expert on Islam, provides essential background on Middle Eastern conflicts with the West. He demonstrates how Islam—from its first expansion to its interpretation by Saddam Hussein and other extremists—has always been inextricably linked to the Western...

The beauty of Islamic geometric designs, and the breathtaking skill of the craftsmen who created them, are admired the world over. The intricacy and artistry of the patterns can seem almost beyond the powers of human ingenuity. In this handsomely illustrated volume, artist and teacher Eric Broug analyses and explains these complex designs for the first time in their historical...

This stunning book offers an introduction to and an exceptional view of an imposing collection of arts from across the Islamic world, highlighting outstanding examples of design, workmanship and craft in paintings and manuscripts, calligraphy, metalwork, ceramics, jade, glass, wood and ivory. The book opens with an explanation of the characteristics common to artistic creativity stretching back to the seventh...

Indigenous Australians are increasingly finding in Islam the possibility of reconnection with lost Indigenous traditions and a model of community unavailable elsewhere. But this is not a new story. From the Makassan trepang fisherman of Arnhem Land, the Malay pearl-divers of Broome, through the Afghan camel drivers of the interior, Muslims have lived and worked in Australia for over three...

Heidegger, Ontology, and the Destiny of Islam: Thoughts and Reflections on the Nature of Islam in the World critiques Islam as a phenomenon set into motion from its beginning. It is a reflective work that addresses difficult questions about Islam through familiar historical concerns and grapples with the issues that arise in that process. Notably, it attests to making no...

Louis Cartier (1875-1942), the grandson of Cartier founder Louis-Francois, was an impassioned collector and lover of the arts. He was particularly entranced by Islamic arts, especially Persian book arts, geometric shapes and colour combinations, and its motifs and exotic colour palette are apparent in Cartier jewellery to this day. However, it was his younger brother Jacques - an expert in...

Among the most beautiful and precious textiles in the world, carpets from Islamic lands have been treasured for centuries on nearly every continent. Prized by European monarchs and traded as far afield as Tibet and the Americas, these woven and knotted masterpieces are both distinguished works of art and revealing utilitarian objects that offer a rare glimpse of life in...

Qureshi promotes a moderate and inclusive view of contemporary Islam, with the intellectual underpinnings to support it. - Booklist, Starred Review Accessible introduction to Islam and the Qur’an that explains how Muslims live and avoids the extremes of Orthodoxy and Islamophobia. The truths of every religion are typically challenged and re-written, serving as potent grounds for some of history’s most...

Over the last 1,400 years, a succession of Muslim polities and empires expanded to control territories and peoples stretching from southern France to East Africa and South East Asia. Yet many of the contributions of Muslim thinkers, scientists and theologians, not to mention statesmen and soldiers, have been overlooked. The bestselling Lost Islamic History, now in a new updated edition,...

What do you do when divine law and the justice demanded by your conscience clash? Muslims have wrestled with this problem since the earliest caliphates. The mazalim courts, dating back to the eighth century, were the answer: courts where any subject could appeal directly to an Islamic ruler regarding any matter of justice. Mazalim courts, which were not bound by...

Geometric patterns are perhaps the most recognisable visual expressions of Islamic art and architecture, magnificent in their beauty and awe-inspiring in their execution. Now, with the aid of this book, anyone can learn how to master this ancient art and create intricate patterns or re-create classic examples. An introduction guides the reader through the basics, and is followed by some...

An accessible introduction to the quintessential art form of the Islamic world How to Read Islamic Calligraphy explores the preeminence of the written word as a means of creative expression throughout the Islamic world. Aimed at a general audience, the book introduces all five major Islamic calligraphic script types, demonstrates their distinctive visual characteristics, and explains the various contexts in...

Education has always been an important pursuit in Islam. The Prophet Muhammad enjoined his followers to “seek knowledge, even unto China.” Within the religion, educational theory and practice were founded on the work of itinerant teachers who taught the fundamental tenets of the faith in exchange for lodging and other services; Qur’anic schools where masters of the Qur’an tutored pupils;...

An accessible and accurate translation of the Quran that offers a rigorous analysis of its theological, metaphysical, historical, and geographical teachings and backgrounds. It includes extensive study notes, special introductions by experts in the field, and is edited by a top modern Islamic scholar, respected in both the West and the Islamic world. Drawn from a wide range of traditional...

This is the first account in English of how Islamic religious orders dating back to Ottoman times have risen to dominate and define the future of Turkey, Europe's awkward neighbour and the major power in the Eastern Mediterranean. Given its determined programme of secularising the people both under and after the Atatürk regime, Turkey is often projected as a model...

Who really built Europe's finest Romanesque monuments? Clergymen presiding over holy sites are credited throughout history, while highly skilled creators remain anonymous. But the buildings speak for themselves. This groundbreaking book explores the evidence embedded in medieval monasteries, churches and castles, from Mont Saint-Michel and the Leaning Tower of Pisa to Durham Cathedral and the Basilica of Santiago de Compostela....

"A civil but honest dialogue. As illuminating as it is fascinating."- Ayaan Hirsi Ali Is Islam a religion of peace or war? Is it amenable to reform? Why do so many Muslims seem to be drawn to extremism? And what do words like jihadism and fundamentalism really mean? In a world riven by misunderstanding and violence, Sam Harris—a famous atheist—and...

Today, genocide has almost entirely lost its meaning. Either its occurrence is denied into oblivion, or its frequency allows it to fall on stone-deaf ears in a world on fire. As our newsfeeds inundate us with the agony of the Palestinians, the Rohingyas, the Uighurs, and a seemingly endless list of minority, marginalised communities, where does one draw the line?...

Women in Islam is an attractive book offering a simple compilation of quotations from the Qur'an and Hadith collections that specifically refer to or address women. This book engages the reader in a moment of reflection on the Islamic view of womanhood: her existence as a creation of Allah, her role as a positive stakeholder in building a God-conscious society,...

The seas have long served as both connective tissue for and barriers between intellectual, social, and artistic traditions. Nowhere is this dual role more evident than within the visual and material cultures of the Islamic world. This remarkable new book, The Seas and the Mobility of Islamic Art, brings together an international group of scholars and curators whose contributions address...

Stories between Christianity and Islam offers an original and nuanced understanding of Christian–Muslim relations that shifts focus from discussions of superiority, conflict, and appropriation to the living world of connectivity and creativity. Here, the late antique and medieval Near East is viewed as a world of stories shared by Christians and Muslims. Public storytelling was a key feature for these...

Contrary to the distorted and in many places all-too prevalent view of Islam as somehow inherently or uniquely violent, there is a dazzling array of Muslim organisations and individuals that have worked for harmony and conciliation through history. The Qur’an itself, the Muslim scripture, is full of peace verses urging returning good for evil and wishing peace upon harassers, alongside...

Examining Muslim neo-traditionalist scholars in the West and their community of young seekers of sacred knowledge, Walaa Quisay explores the emerging trend within Anglo-American Islam that emphasises the importance of 'tradition'. Neo-traditionalism in Islam in the West focuses on spiritual retreats hosted by three main shaykhs: Hamza Yusuf, Abdal Hakim Murad, and Umar Faruq Abd-Allah, to examine how religious authority...

In this groundbreaking book, Akbar Ahmed, one of the world's leading authorities on Islam, who has worked in the Muslim world but lives in the West, explains what is going wrong in his society by referring to Islamic history and beliefs. Employing theological and anthropological perspectives, he attempts to answer the questions that people in the West are asking about...

Published in 1974, Marshall Hodgson’s The Venture of Islam was a watershed moment in the study of Islam. By locating the history of Islamic societies in a global perspective, Hodgson challenged the orientalist paradigms that had stunted the development of Islamic studies and provided an alternative approach to world history. Edited by Edmund Burke III and Robert Mankin, Islam and...

The study of Islam has historically been approached in two different ways: apologetical and polemical. The former focuses on the preservation and propagation of religious teachings, and the latter on the attempt to undermine the tradition. The dialectic between these two approaches continued into the Enlightenment, and the tension between them still exists today. What is new in the modern...

Focusing on the Arab World and Turkey, the authors show how Christian and Jewish minorities survived and even prospered under Islam, thus modifying the view of Islam as dogmatic and unbending. They demonstrate that the decline of these minorities occurred in the wake of confrontation with the Christian West, the Crusades, the Spanish Reconquista, the collapse of the Ottoman Empire...

This popular introduction by a well-known Islamic scholar has been updated and expanded, offering a balanced portrayal of the Qur’an and its place in historic and contemporary Muslim society. The Story of the Qur'an features new sections on the Qur’an and its relationship to democracy, science, human rights, and the role of women. The book contains expanded sections on the...

The first volume of a world-renowned scholar’s long-awaited Qur’an commentary, now available in English Angelika Neuwirth’s six-volume commentary, published originally in Germany, offers a historical and philological analysis of the form, structure, and semantic message of each of the 114 Qur’anic suras. It brings together the fruits of the past hundred years of modern scholarship and provides access to the...

A free ebook version of this title is available through Luminos, University of California Press’s Open Access publishing program. Visit www.luminosoa.org to learn more. For centuries, the Mosque of Eyüp Sultan has been one of Istanbul’s most important pilgrimage destinations, in large part because of the figure buried in the tomb at its center: Halid bin Zeyd Ebû Eyûb el-Ensârî,...

Why are Muslim men portrayed as inherently violent? Does the veil violate women's rights? Is Islam stopping Muslims from integrating? Across western societies, Muslims are more misunderstood than any other minority. But what does it mean to believe in Islam today, to have forged your beliefs and identity in the shadow of 9/11 and the War on Terror? Exploding stereotypes...

New York, Washington, Madrid, London, and now Paris—the list of Western cities targeted by radical Islamic terrorists waging global jihad continues to grow. Does this extreme violence committed in the name of Islam point to a fundamental enmity between the Muslim faith and the West? In this compelling essay, leading scholar of Islam Tamara Sonn argues that whilst the West...

An authoritative survey situating some of the Western world’s most renowned buildings within a millennium of Islamic history. Some of the most outstanding examples of world architecture, such as the Mosque of Córdoba, the ceiling of the Cappella Palatina in Palermo, the Giralda tower in Seville, and the Alhambra Palace in Granada, belong to the Western Islamic tradition. This architectural...

“A challenging, sensitive, appreciative, deep and broad-minded book.”The Muslim World Book Review “The work of a master scholar who has devoted a lifetime of scholarly, dialogical, and contemplative reflection to these three interconnected traditions. Audacious in its breadth, the book also addresses important and urgent issues, ranging from creation and eschatology to providence and grace, and the debates that even...

This book takes a fresh look at the foundations of modern Islam. Scholars often locate the origins of the modern Islamic world in European colonialism or Islamic reactions to European modernity. However, this study focuses on the rise of Islamic movements indigenous to the Middle East, which developed in direct response to the collapse and decentralization of the Islamic gunpowder...