Written by Paul Lunde Illustrated by Michael Grimsdale Additional illustrations courtesy of Bodleian Library Towards the end of the 10th century, Ibn al-Nadim, son of a Baghdad, bookseller and boon companion of Abbasid caliphs, compiled an annotated bibliography of books that had passed through his hands during the course of his long and active life. The sheer number of books that he lists, to say nothing of the range of their subject matter,...
BILAL IBN RABAH (ragiy-Allahu lanhu) The First Muezzin (Prayer Caller) and the first slave convert in Islam One of the basic teachings of the religion of Islam is the unity of mankind and equality of people in the sight of Allah.In chapter 49, verse 13 of the Our’an we read what may be translated as: يُّهَا النَّاسُ اِنَّا خَلَقۡنٰكُمۡ مِّنۡ ذَكَرٍ وَّاُنۡثٰى وَجَعَلۡنٰكُمۡ شُعُوۡبًا وَّقَبَآٮِٕلَ لِتَعَارَفُوۡا ؕ اِنَّ اَكۡرَمَكُمۡ...
Khalid ibn AI-Waleed [ranhu] “The Sword of Allah” (d. 21 A.H.) It is reported that Prophet Muhammad [saw] said, ‘The better ones of you in the Days of Ignorance are the better ones of you in Islam when they understand (the religion).” These wise words of Prophet Muhammad [saw] were best proved in the case of our hero today, Khalid ibn AI-Waleed. For, it was Khalid ibn AI-Waleed who managed to cause the defeat of the...
Throughout Islamic history, one of the uniting aspects of the Muslim world was the caliphate. After the death of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, his close companion, Abu Bakr, was elected as the first Khalifah, or caliph, of the Muslim community. His job as a leader combined political power over the Muslim state as well as spiritual guidance for Muslims. It became a hereditary position, occupied at first by the Umayyad family, and later by the Abbasids. In...
Imām Abū Ḥanīfah, (699 — 767 CE / 80 — 148 AH) was the founder of the Sunni Hanafi school of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence). Imam of Imams; Lamp of the Ummah; Leader of the Jurists and Mujtahideen; Hafize-Hadith Hadhrat Imam Abu Hanifah [ranhu] was a prestigious Mujtahid, Muhaddith, authoritative person, truthfully spoken, abstinent, wise, and pious. Al Imam al A’zam (the Great Imam), as he is referred to by those who adore him, was the...
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is a peninsula located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is the westernmost of the three major southern European peninsulas—the Iberian, Italian, and Balkan peninsulas. It is bordered on the southeast and east by the Mediterranean Sea, and on the north, west and...