Ibn Taymiyyah's Letters from Prison


Book Description

This small book contains a collection of letters demonstrating a side of the personality of Shaykul-Islaam ibn Taymeeyah which is not commonly recognized. Usually, it is his tough and uncompromising stances and his truthful, sometimes harsh retorts that are remembered. However, as this work demonstrates he was also a concerned son, a devoted teacher and a passionate defender of the religion. These letters were selected and introduced by Shaykul Muhammad Sulaiman al-Abdah. Born in Syria in 1941, and now residing in London, he has taught in the religious institutes and the Islaamic University of Madeenah. He now devotes his time to work in Islamic Da'wah.




Ibn Taymiyyah's Letters from Prison


Book Description

This book contains a collection of letters demonstrating a side of the personality of Shaykul-Islaam ibn Taymeeyah which is not commonly recognized. Usually, it is his tough and uncompromising stances and his truthful, sometimes harsh retorts that are remembered. However, as this work demonstrates he was also a concerned son, a devoted teacher and a passionate defender of the religion. These letters were selected and introduced by Shaykul Muhammad Sulaiman al-Abdah.Born in Syria in 1941, and now residing in London, he has taught in the religious institutes and the Islaamic University of Madeenah. He now devotes his time to work in Islamic Da'wah.







If the Oceans Were Ink


Book Description

PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • Hailed by The Washington Post as “mandatory reading,” and praised by Fareed Zakaria as “intelligent, compassionate, and revealing,” a powerful journey to help bridge one of the greatest divides shaping our world today. If the Oceans Were Ink is Carla Power's eye-opening story of how she and her longtime friend Sheikh Mohammad Akram Nadwi found a way to confront ugly stereotypes and persistent misperceptions that were cleaving their communities. Their friendship-between a secular American and a madrasa-trained sheikh-had always seemed unlikely, but now they were frustrated and bewildered by the battles being fought in their names. Both knew that a close look at the Quran would reveal a faith that preached peace and not mass murder; respect for women and not oppression. And so they embarked on a yearlong journey through the controversial text. A journalist who grew up in the Midwest and the Middle East, Power offers her unique vantage point on the Quran's most provocative verses as she debates with Akram at cafes, family gatherings, and packed lecture halls, conversations filled with both good humor and powerful insights. Their story takes them to madrasas in India and pilgrimage sites in Mecca, as they encounter politicians and jihadis, feminist activists and conservative scholars. Armed with a new understanding of each other's worldviews, Power and Akram offer eye-opening perspectives, destroy long-held myths, and reveal startling connections between worlds that have seemed hopelessly divided for far too long. Praise for If the Oceans Were Ink “A vibrant tale of a friendship.... If the Oceans Were Ink is a welcome and nuanced look at Islam [and] goes a long way toward combating the dehumanizing stereotypes of Muslims that are all too common.... If the Oceans Were Ink should be mandatory reading for the 52 percent of Americans who admit to not knowing enough about Muslims.”—The Washington Post “For all those who wonder what Islam says about war and peace, men and women, Jews and gentiles, this is the book to read. It is a conversation among well-meaning friends—intelligent, compassionate, and revealing—the kind that needs to be taking place around the world.”—Fareed Zakaria, author of The Post-American World “Carla Power’s intimate portrait of the Quran, told with nuance and great elegance, captures the extraordinary, living debate over the Muslim holy book’s very essence. A spirited, compelling read.”—Azadeh Moaveni, author of Lipstick Jihad “Unique, masterful, and deeply engaging. Carla Power takes the reader on an extraordinary journey in interfaith understanding as she debates and discovers the Quran’s message, meaning, and values on peace and violence, gender and veiling, religious pluralism and tolerance.”—John L. Esposito, University Professor and Professor of Islamic Studies, Georgetown University, and author of The Future of Islam “A thoughtful, provocative, intelligent book.”—Diana Abu-Jaber, author of Birds Of Paradise and The Language of Baklava




The Medieval Islamic Republic of Letters


Book Description

In The Medieval Islamic Republic of Letters: Arabic Knowledge Construction, Muhsin J. al-Musawi offers a groundbreaking study of literary heritage in the medieval and premodern Islamic period. Al-Musawi challenges the paradigm that considers the period from the fall of Baghdad in 1258 to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1919 as an "Age of Decay" followed by an "Awakening" (al-nahdah). His sweeping synthesis debunks this view by carefully documenting a "republic of letters" in the Islamic Near East and South Asia that was vibrant and dynamic, one varying considerably from the generally accepted image of a centuries-long period of intellectual and literary stagnation. Al-Musawi argues that the massive cultural production of the period was not a random enterprise: instead, it arose due to an emerging and growing body of readers across Islamic lands who needed compendiums, lexicons, and commentaries to engage with scholars and writers. Scholars, too, developed their own networks to respond to each other and to their readers. Rather than addressing only the elite, this culture industry supported a common readership that enlarged the creative space and audience for prose and poetry in standard and colloquial Arabic. Works by craftsmen, artisans, and women appeared side by side with those by distinguished scholars and poets. Through careful exploration of these networks, The Medieval Islamic Republic of Letters makes use of relevant theoretical frameworks to situate this culture in the ongoing discussion of non-Islamic and European efforts. Thorough, theoretically rigorous, and nuanced, al-Musawi's book is an original contribution to a range of fields in Arabic and Islamic cultural history of the twelfth to eighteenth centuries.




Ibn Taymiyyah on Jihād and Baghy (Penerbit USM)


Book Description

Ibn Taymiyyah is one of the best-known figures of medieval Islam. He has also been seen as the initiator of the idea of reformation in the Muslim world in the 13th century. His views on many social problems of his age reflect a pragmatic orientation, and in consequence his impact on succeeding generations has been profound. Though there are some studies of Ibn Taymiyyah’s life and works, they have failed to focus adequately on his jihād and baghy concepts and theories. Therefore, this book aims to: • contribute to the study of early Islamic political thought • consider how the terms jihād and baghy have developed and been expanded from the structure established by the Qur’an and hadith • examine the relationship between jihād and baghy in Islamic law • reveal the pivotal role of the imām in politics • explain why Ibn Taymiyyah upheld jihād against the Mongols, the Franks and the heretic Shi‘ah Referring to all those discussions, this book undoubtedly is an essential text for those who are interested in understanding the relationship between Ibn Taymiyyah’s concepts of jihād and baghy. Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia




In Their Own Words


Book Description

The author's introductory and contextual material lays out a framework for what the jihadis are saying - to each other and to the world."--BOOK JACKET.




Islam and the State in Ibn Taymiyya


Book Description

"Proto-Salafist" 14th-century theologian Ibn Taymiyya is recognized as the intellectual forefather of contemporary Salafism and Jihadism. This volume offers a unique approach to the study of Ibn Taymiyya, by offering an English translation of his fundamental political treatise, The Office of Islamic Government, and shorter collections from The Collected Fatwas and The Prophetic Way, and Islamic Governance in Reconciling between the Ruler and the Ruled. The volume not only sheds light on these primary sources through translation and annotation, but also offers a theoretical analysis of Ibn Taymiyya’s thought and how his legal views can be reconciled with current trends in Islamic political theory. The analysis provides an overview of Ibn Taymiyya’s geopolitical context, and includes an original study of his normative political thought. In examining the contemporary implications of Ibn Taymiyya’s political theology, the authors explore his doctrine of the Islamic state in the context of Islamic decolonial theory. Islam and the State in Ibn Taymiyya will appeal to academics in the fields of political science and religious studies, particularly within the field of Islamic history.







The Removal of Blame from the Great Imams: رفع الملام عن الأئ


Book Description

Ibn Taymiyyah is often seen through a simplistic anti-rationalist prism, that is, as someone with strict and literal inclinations towards hadith which he over emphasized and preferred to acceptance of broader legal theories and principles. The present text would suffice to undermine the view. Raf al Malaam an AlAimmat al A'lam is a short text in which the reader observes Ibn Taymiyyah as a jurist Par excellence. In this treatise, which has a balanced tone and is couched in erudite language, he proceeds to argue as to why a mujtahid might depart from directly acting upon a hadith text and follow instead his methodological principles (Usul). This forms the basis of his delineating the reasons underlying the disagreements found among Muslim jurists in general and their holding differing legal opinions and proffering divergent arguments in support of those opinions.




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