The Abridgement of the Branches of Faith is the concise work based on the book Shu'ab al-Iman originally written by Imam Bayhaqi. Imam Qazwini was born in Tabriz in the year 653/1255 and began acquiring knowledge from some local scholars, subsequently travelling to many cities. He arrived in Damascus accompanied by his brother, and studied in some of their schools. He was an expert in Islamic Jurisprudence and qualified as the chief justice. He had a sound character, numerous good deeds, and he had the best of conduct. A summative text which encapsulates the various aspects of faith evidenced by verses of the Qur'an and/or sound hadith. It shows the multi-faceted understanding of one's faith which covers attitudes, words and actions. An invaluable work as a resource for hadith and reflection which will suit both public lecturers and private study circles.

Posing as a wandering dervish, Burton gained admittance to the holy Kaabah and to the tomb of the prophet at Medina and participated in all the rituals of the Hadj (pilgrimage).

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 organizations 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 the verses on just, defensive war that have so often been misinterpreted. This groundbreaking volume fills a gaping hole in the literature on global peace movements, bringing to the fore the many peace movements and peacemakers of the Muslim world. From Senegalese Sufi orders to Bosnian women's organizations to Indian Muslim freedom fighters who were allies of Mahatma Gandhi against British colonialism, it shows that history is replete with colorful personalities from the Muslim world who made a stand for peaceful methods.

Since its inception in Afghanistan in the late 1980s, the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT), also known as the Jamaat-ul-Dawa (JuD), has arguably been the most threatening and disruptive terrorist organization in South Asia and beyond. While there is considerable scholarship on its history and operations, few scholars have exploited the organization's vast publications. This volume is the first scholarly effort to curate a sample of LeT's Urdu-language publications and then translate them into English for the scholarly community studying this group and related organizations. While the original texts were written and published by Dar al Andalus, which exclusively publishes LeT's books, pamphlets, posters, speeches, and other materials with the explicit intention of diffusing the group's ideology, raising funds, and cultivating volunteers for the organization, the authors hope that by rendering the group's materials more accessible, this book can contribute to the myriad efforts to combat such groups and the violence they perpetrate.

Arab debates about the critical relationship between religion and modernity began in the early nineteenth century. Such debates are now integral to the struggle for power between a variety of political groups and their opponents, and are vital to understanding the modern Middle East. This unique volume introduces the writings of the Muslim and Arab Christian revisionist 'free-thinkers' who have tried to redefine the relationship. It challenges the deeply entrenched idea that the contemporary Islamic world has been impermeable to a critique of religious ideas and practices. Authors from the nineteenth century to the present are included. Some are avowed believers, even if they adopt positions many might regard as heretical; others are openly agnostic and atheistic. Despite their differences, all have been united in disputing the fundamentalist idea that life should conform to a system of values and law based on the Quran. They have also rejected the religious 'liberalism' that has been the chief opposition to traditionalism. The book's originality lies in its evaluation of the social and cultural impact of these radical thinkers.

The world is at a crossroads today. A tiny minority of Muslims seems to be bent on hijacking the religion of Islam and bringing it into perpetual conflict with the rest of the world. Because of their actions, very few non-Muslims understand the real difference between Islam as it has always been, and the distorted perversions of Islam today. This book is an attempt to positively say what Islam actually is—and always was—as well as what it is not. “Lucid in its explanations, unassailable in its logic; a book of the moment; simply spot on.” – H.E. Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, The Sultan of Sokoto, Nigeria “Easy to read, easy to understand and easy to swallow and digest. It very beautifully explains what Islam really is, how it is explained in its sacred texts, and how it has been understood throughout centuries by the overwhelming majority of Muslims.” – Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani “A very much needed book, comprehensive, yet concise, easy to read, and authoritative. A must-read book.” – Shaykh Muhammad Al-Yaqoubi “A salient account of a mighty faith drawn in deft strokes by an insider. Edifying, broad, and stimulating.” – Shaykh Nuh Keller “Much anxiety comes from not properly understanding what others think or believe. One example today is the widespread misunderstanding of Islam. So when a respected scholar of Islamic philosophy such as Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad writes A Thinking Person’s Guide to Islam, it is of global significance. I welcome the publication of this book, convinced that interested readers will find much in it to inspire them and set their minds at rest.” – H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso “A most authentic presentation of Islam in its contemporary context.” – Professor M. Hashim Kamali, IAIS, Malaysia “Exceptionally lucid in explanation, deeply scholarly and yet accessible on a popular level, this is an essential book for Muslims and non-Muslims alike at this time in our civilization.” – Revd Canon Professor Paul S. Fiddes, Professor of Systematic Theology, University of Oxford “A concise, luminously clear, and highly readable explanation of Islam from the pen one of its best educated and most influential advocates.” – Professor Miroslav Volf, Yale University Divinity School

Seventeen times per day, Muslims pray that Allah would keep them from going astray--in the way that Christians have gone astray. But have they? Rather than portraying Jesus Christ as an imposter who claimed to be divine, Islamic theology presents Jesus as a mortal prophet who served his generation as other prophets did their respective generations. Since Christians believe the biblical narrative that Jesus is Lord, God, and Savior, it is not surprising that the standard Islamic narrative asserts that Christians have gone astray. In fact, if Christians are correct in their beliefs, then the advent of Muhammad, and the religion of Islam itself, are unnecessary to God's cosmic history. This book probes deeply into the extremely urgent--but often unasked--question facing Muslims regarding when, where, and how the main body of Christians may have gone astray.