Gupshup Book Club

[Nadia_H]

From <A HREF="http://al-sunnah.com/pdf/eemaan.pdf" TARGET=_blank>Causes behind
the increase and decrease of eemaan</A>, Shaykh Abdur-Razzaak al-Abbaad:

Related in al-Musnad and other sources, is the hadeeth of Aboo ad Dardaa', may Allaah be pleased with him, in which he says, The Messenger of Allaah - sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam - said: "He who treads a path in search of knowledge Allaah will direct him to tread a path from the paths of Paradise. The Angels lower their wings for the student of knowledge in approval of what he does. All in the heavens and earth and the fish in the depth of the water seek forgiveness for the scholar, and the superiority of the scholar over the worshipper is like the superiority of the full moon at night over the rest of the stars. Verily the scholars are the heirs to the Prophets. Verily, the Prophets did not bequeath deenars or dirhams. All they left behind was knowledge, so whoever takes it, has indeed acquired a huge fortune."

The point of this post is, Insha'Allah, to compile a good list of books regarding Islam. I desperately want to expand my knowledge regarding Islam and am on the hunt for Islamic books by nonMuslim and Muslim authors. Maybe, over time, there might even be productive discussions around the books between the Guppies who have read them. "Books" may include articles as well - in short, any accurate reading material that discusses Islam.

To start off, here's a brief list:
Islam: the Straight Path, John Esposito
Islamic Threat: Myth or Reality?, John Esposito
Political Islam: Revolution, Radicalism or Reform, John Esposito
Islam: a Short History, Karen Armstrong
Muhammad: A Biography Of The Prophet. Karen Armstrong
Discovering Islam: Making Sense of Muslim History and Society, Akbar S. Ahmed
Postmodernism and Islam: Predicament and Promise, Akbar S. Ahmed
Islam Today: A Short Introduction to the Muslim World, Akbar S. Ahmed
Mecca the Blessed - Medina the Radiant, Ali Kazuyoshi Numachi
Gender Equity in Islam, Jamal Badawi
In the Footsteps of Muhammad, John Renard
Muhammad: His Life Based On The Earliest Sources, Martin Lings
The Qur'an and Modern Science, Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips
Jesus, a Prophet of IslamMuhammad Ata'ur-Rahim and Ahmad Thompson

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Verily in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest ~ XIII.28

[armughal]

i dont know about others but i have attended lectures by Prof. John Espositi, Prof. Jamal Badawi and Dr. Bilal Philips, and they r very good writers/speakers....

u cud see books by Dr. Murad Hoffman, Dr. Paul Findley, Dr. Neil Robinson on Islam....



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"Our Lord! forgive us our sins and anything we may have done that transgressed our duty; establish our feet firmly and help us against those that resist faith." Quran(3:147)

[Nadia_H]

Thank you, Armughal... Jamal Badawi is an internationally renowned speaker on Islam. Until I moved, he used to be our local Imam. He has become very approachable, very nice to talk to. SO knowledgeable, Masha'Allah, not just about Islam but other monotheistic religions.

Thanks for the books you mentioned

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Verily in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest ~ XIII.28

[Dil he Pakistani]

A very interesting idea. Thank you for sharing it with everyone Nadia. Im going to try and read the following books insha'Allah.

"The Qur'an and Modern Science", Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips and "Mecca the Blessed - Medina the Radiant, Ali Kazuyoshi Numachi "


[This message has been edited by Dil he Pakistani (edited June 13, 2002).]

[Muni]

Jazakillah Khairun dear sis.

What a wonderful idea!

I think it is a unanimous vote for anything by Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips

I've read a bit in the last few months, my favorite author is Hammudah 'Abd al 'AtiIslam in Focus. He has an amazing writing style and connects with western readers. May he rest in peace.

I'm all tied up with an intensive course I'm taking this summer among other responsibilities however, insha'Allah, I will be able to read some of these books and Insh'Allah, we will discuss.

Nadia, awesome idea! Jazakillah Khairun

[Muni]

So what book is our first pick gang?

[Dil he Pakistani]

Jazakillah Khairun muni. I think the book "The Qur'an and Modern Science" by Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips will be the first one on my list. Just an idea, shall we read different books to each other than we could share opinions about them later.

[ammarr]

This is a very good idea indeed.
Are there online sites which allow for the purchase of Islamic literature?

[sallu123]

Originally posted by ammarr:
This is a very good idea indeed.
Are there online sites which allow for the purchase of Islamic literature?

yes yaar, there are online sites for Islamic books, I think even www.amazon.com has books on Islam, u can do a search there. Apart from that there's www.islamicity.com , but really if u wanna search then use the search engine www.google.com and type the name of the book and author u are lookin for and hopefully u will find many sites providing that book.

May be other guppies can suggest some other sites.

[fay123]

Aslam-o-Alaikum,
Sounds like a really good idea, a way of ppl sharing their knowledge.

Just to let u know there are books you can buy online from the following website:- www.soundvision.com

I've recently read some books by the author Harun Yahya, his books are suitable for Muslims and non-Muslims. If you can get hold of some, do read them.

Another book I found very interesting:
‘The Signs Before The Day Of Judgement’ By Ibn Kathir. A very informative book!




[This message has been edited by fay123 (edited June 16, 2002).]

[Pakiice]

Asalamu Alykum Wa RhamtuAllah,

Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum ( The sealed nectar), Biography of the Noble Prohet (SAWS).. I have just started reading it, subhanAllah i think its much better than Martin Lings..
"Silent no More" by paul findley
"Islam in America" by Jane Smith
"Daughters of another path" by Carl L. Anway( I love this book)
"Agenda to change our condition" by Sh.Humza yusuf hanson ( This is a small booklet but so very essential for every muslim to have, also its very useful in halaqa's)

Ofcourse Malcom-X's biography by Alex Haley
"Forgotten Roots" by sh.humza
"Inner dimensions of prayer" by Sh. Muhammad-al-Ghazali,.
"Ulum Al- Quran" can't think of the author right now, but the whole book is avalaible online...
JazakumAllahu khair

[Pakiice]

Asalamu Alykum...

Nadia_H... hmm so you are a canadian, Jamal badawi is amazing.. he came to our campus recently,And gotta tell you canadian sisters, you guys are awesome..

[eemo]

I have some books on Aqeedah, american policy(the islamic angle) and 1 or 2 others in electronic form if u're wanting them.

Let me know

its VERY heavy reading though. i have to keep re-reading them to really make them sink in

[This message has been edited by eemo (edited June 16, 2002).]

[Maniac]

Join The Caravan - By Sheikh Abdullah Azzam,

You can find a complete online translation(book was originally written in arabic) at http://www.religioscope.com/info/doc...1_foreword.htm

An Account of his death from the foreword to the book....
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In 1989 CE, a lethal amount of TNT explosive was placed beneath the pulpit from which he delivered the sermon every Friday. It was such a formidable quantity that if it had exploded, it would have destroyed the mosque, together with everything and everybody in it. Hundreds of Muslims would have been killed, but Allah provided protection and the bomb did not explode. The enemies, determined to accomplish their ugly task, tried another plot in Peshawar, shortly after this in the same year.

They planted three bombs on a road so narrow only a single car could travel on it. It was the road Shaykh `Abdullah would use to drive to the Friday prayer. That Friday, the Shaykh, together with two of his sons, Ibrahim and Muhammad, along with one of the sons of the late Shaykh Tamim `Adnani (another hero of the Afghan jihad), drove along the road. The car stopped at the position of the first bomb, and the Shaykh alighted to walk the remainder of the way. The enemies, lying in wait, then exploded the bomb. A loud explosion and a great thundering were heard all over the city.

People emerged from the mosque, and beheld a terrible scene. Only a small fragment of the car remained; the young son Ibrahim flew 100 meters into the air; the other two youths were thrown a similar distance away, and their remains were scattered among the trees and power lines. As for Shaykh `Abdullah himself, his body was found resting against a wall, totally intact and not at all disfigured, except that some blood was seen issuing from his mouth.
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May ALLAH accept him as a shaheed. Aameen

Abdullah



[This message has been edited by Maniac (edited June 16, 2002).]

[Pakiice]

Asalmu Alykum,
I hate to see this post die... Any more books?
waslamu alykum