The Kingdom of Hazrat Uthman Ibn Affan R.A is a golden and insightful book written to help readers understand in detail the amazing personalities of one of the greatest companions of Prophet Muhammad. It is a must-read, irrespective of your religious inclination, if you want to understand the before, during, the kingdom, and the huge contribution of Uthman to Islam and his special inclination to the prophet that distinguishes him from all other companions. Beyond the historical facts, this book also presents some lessons from his life that can inspire Muslims worldwide to be more committed, dedicated, and faithful to the cause of Islam.
The Kingdom of Hazrat Umar (RA) The life of Al-Farooq Umar ibn al-Khattab is a shining page of Islamic history, which outshines and supersedes all other histories. To the best of his ability, the author has striven to study the personality and era of Ameer al-Mumineen Umar, the second caliph, without claiming to be infallible or free from errors. He studied the life of Umar from his birth until his martyrdom. This book proves the greatness of Umar and confirms to the reader that his knowledge, faith, intellect, attitude, eloquence, and influence were all great. His greatness was based on his understanding and application of Islam, his strong relationship with Allah, and his following the last Prophet of Allah (PBUH). He represented greatness in all its aspects. May Allah make this book beneficial to all who read it.
Hazrat Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq (R.A) became the first caliph of the Muslims after the death of the Prophet (S.A.S). He was a close Companion of the Prophet (S.A.S); therefore, he became the first adult Muslim to believe in the revelation. As a wealthy trader, he supported the Prophet’s (S.A.S) mission in the early years by freeing slaves their masters mistreated for accepting Islam. The Prophet (S.A.S) gave him the title Al-Siddiq for his truthfulness and love for Allah and His Messenger. This book discusses Abu Bakr’s (R.A.) life and kingdom. This book is divided into three parts. The first part confers his life in Mecca. It details his early life, his relationship with the Messenger of Allah, his conversion to Islam, and his persecution after his conversion. The second part of looks at his life in Medina after migration. It sheds light upon his contribution to Medina. He played an active role in the military expedition with the Prophet (S.A.S). The third and final part is about the Caliphate, which lasted two years. Within a short span of two years, he unified the Muslims and expanded Islam to the furthest lands.
Before the caliphate of the 'Uthman b. 'Affan, the Muslim community had grown from strength to strength in spite of a series of major crises--the Hirah, the death of the Prophet, the Riddah wars, the assassination of 'Umar by a Persian slave. But 'Uthman's reign ended in catastrophe. His inability to manage the social and political conflicts that were now emerging among various factions within the community led to his death at the hands of Muslim rebels. The consequences of this tragic event were bitter: not only a century of civil war, but also political and religious schisms of such depth that they have not been entirely healed even now. Most medieval Muslim historians told this story in an overtly partisan manner, but al-Tabari demands more of his readers. First of all, they must decide for themselves, on the basis of highly ambigous evidence, whether 'Uthman's death was tyrannicide or murder. But, more than that, they must ask how such a thing could have happened at all; what had the Muslims done to bring about the near-destruction of their community? Al-Tabari presents this challenge within a broad framework. For, even while the internal crisis that issued in 'Uthman's death was coming to a head, the wars against Byzantium and Persia continued. The first expeditions into North Africa, the conquest of Cyprus, the momentary destruction of the Byzantine fleet at the Battle of the Masts, the bloody campaigns in Armenia, the Caucasus, and Khurasan are all here, in narratives that shift constantly between hard reporting and pious legend. Muslim forces retain the offensive, but there are no more easy victories; henceforth, suffering and endurance will be the hallmarks of the hero. Most evocative in the light of 'Uthman's fate is the moving account of the murder of the last Sasanian king, Yazdagird III--a man betrayed by his nobles and subjects, but most of all by his own character.
This is a new story of Islam. It is the story of the movement which was launched by Muhammad, the Messenger of God, in A.D. 610 in Makkah, and was consummated with the support of his cousin, collaborator and vicegerent, Ali ibn Abi Talib, in A.D. 632 in Medina. It covers a period of ninety years from A.D. 570 when he was born in Makkah, to A.D. 661 when his successor, Ali ibn Abi Talib, was assassinated in Kufa. Countless histories of Islam have been written in the past and will be written in the future. The spectacular advance of Islam in the missionary field in our own times; the renaissance of the Muslim nations after many centuries of slumber; the obtrusion of oil as a new factor in world politics in this century; but above all and most recently, the success of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, all are acting, both in the east and in the west, as catalysts of a new interest in Islam. The Revolution in Iran, has, in fact, triggered a world-wide explosion of interest in Islam, and many new books are being written on the subject - both by Muslims and non-Muslims...
This volume of al-Ṭabarī's history deals with the traumatic breakup of the Muslim community following the assassination of the Caliph 'Uthman. It begins with the first seriously contested succession to the caliphate, that of ʿAlī, and proceeds inexorably through the rebellion of 'A'ishah, T'alhah, and al-Zubayr, to the Battle of the Camel, the first time Muslim army faced Muslim army. It thus deals with the very first violent response to the two central problems of Muslim history: who is the rightful leader, and which is the true community? It is a section with the weightiest implications for the Muslim interpretation of history, wide open to special pleading. There are the Shi'a who depict ʿAlī as a spiritual leader fighting against false accusations and the worldly ambitious. Conversely, there are those who would depict him or his followers in a negative light. There are also the 'Abbasid historians, who, though anti-Umayyad, must balance a reverence for the Prophet's household (ahl al-bayt) with a denunciation of 'Alid antiestablishmentarianism. All these points of view, and more, are represented in al-Ṭabarī's compilation, illustrating the difficulty the Muslim community as a whole has faced in coming to terms with these disastrous events.
The two books which compose 'Umar ibn al-Khattâb: His Life and Times are sold together as a set. They belong in Part II of the Islamic History Series, as the second set of The Rightly Guided Caliphs. The second caliph of Islam, 'Umar ibn al-Khattâb faced more struggles than any other Muslim leader in the early onset of Islam. His life began in a time of ignorance and ended during the Golden Age of Islam. Under his leadership, the Muslim world was witnessing some of its most notable conquests in the history of Islam. The strength and resilience of Islam's leaders were being tested, and 'Umar ibn al-Khattâb's true commitment to Allah shone to reveal an Islamic spirit unlike that found in any other Muslim leader. The standards by which he lived can teach us a lot about determination, hardship, and success. This book was translated into English by Nasiruddin al-Khattab, who writes: For those who would be leaders, this book offers the model of an ideal Muslim leader, one who felt responsible before Allah for the well being of all those under his rule, including his troops, women, infants, non-Muslim subjects and even animals. 'Umar was a 'hands on' leader who kept himself informed and consulted scholars and experts before every major decision. For the rest of us, this book offers a window into an exciting and important period of Islamic history, and it also reminds of an important lesson, that our strength comes not from wealth or money or status, but from our submission to Allah and our commitment to the path of Islam.
Acclaimed worldwide as the definitive biography of the Prophet Muhammad in the English language, Martin Lings' Muhammad: His Life Based to the Earliest Sources is unlike any other. Based on Arabic sources of the eighth and ninth centuries, of which some important passages are translated here for the first time, it owes the freshness and directness of its approach to the words of men and women who heard Muhammad speak and witnessed the events of his life. Martin Lings has an unusual gift for narrative. He has adopted a style which is at once extremely readable and reflects both the simplicity and grandeur of the story. The result is a book which will be read with equal enjoyment by those already familiar with Muhammad's life and those coming to it for the first time. Muhammad: His Life Based to the Earliest Sources was given an award by the government of Pakistan, and selected as the best biography of the Prophet in English at the National Seerat Conference in Islamabad in 1983.
