In God's Path: The Arab Conquests and the Creation of an Islamic Empire


Robert G. Hoyland - 2014
    Their armies threatened states as far flung as the Franks in Western Europe and the Tang Empire in China. The conquered territory was larger than the Roman Empire at its greatest expansion, and it was claimed for the Arabs in roughly half the time. How this collection of Arabian tribes was able to engulf so many empires, states, and armies in such a short period has perplexed historians for centuries. Most accounts of the Arab invasions have been based almost solely on the early Muslim sources, which were composed centuries later to illustrate the divinely chosen status of the Arabs. Robert Hoyland's groundbreaking new history assimilates not only the rich biographical information of the early Muslim sources but also the many non-Arabic sources, contemporaneous or near- contemporaneous with the conquests.In God's Path begins with a broad picture of the Late Antique world prior to the Prophet's arrival, a world dominated by two superpowers: Byzantium and Sasanian Persia. In between these empires, emerged a distinct Arabian identity, which helped forge the inhabitants of western Arabia into a formidable fighting force. The Arabs are the principal actors in this drama yet, as Hoyland shows, the peoples along the edges of Byzantium and Persia--the Khazars, Bulgars, Avars, and Turks--all played critical roles in the remaking of the old world order. The new faith propagated by Muhammad and his successors made it possible for many of the conquered peoples to join the Arabs in creating the first Islamic Empire. Well-paced, comprehensive, and eminently readable, In God's Path presents a sweeping narrative of a transformational period in world history.

The Global War on Christians: Dispatches from the Front Lines of Anti-Christian Persecution


John L. Allen Jr. - 2013
    According to the secular International Society for Human Rights, 80 percent of violations of religious freedom in the world today are directed against Christians. In effect, our era is witnessing the rise of a new generation of martyrs. Underlying the global war on Christians is the demographic reality that more than two-thirds of the world's 2.3 billion Christians now live outside the West, often as a beleaguered minority up against a hostile majority-- whether it's Islamic fundamentalism in the Middle East and parts of Africa and Asia, Hindu radicalism in India, or state-imposed atheism in China and North Korea. In Europe and North America, Christians face political and legal challenges to religious freedom. Allen exposes the deadly threats and offers investigative insight into what is and can be done to stop these atrocities. “This book is about the most dramatic religion story of the early 21st century, yet one that most people in the West have little idea is even happening: The global war on Christians,” writes John Allen. “We’re not talking about a metaphorical ‘war on religion’ in Europe and the United States, fought on symbolic terrain such as whether it’s okay to erect a nativity set on the courthouse steps, but a rising tide of legal oppression, social harassment and direct physical violence, with Christians as its leading victims. However counter-intuitive it may seem in light of popular stereotypes of Christianity as a powerful and sometimes oppressive social force, Christians today indisputably form the most persecuted religious body on the planet, and too often its new martyrs suffer in silence.” This book looks to shatter that silence.

Having Fun the Halal Way: Entertainment in Islam


Abu Muawiyah Ismail Kamdar - 2011
    Combine this with the exponential advances in technology, and the result is an increasing number of ways to amuse ourselves.As a result of such advances, Muslim react in a variety of manners towards entertainment. Some label entertainment as completely forbidden. This sometimes includes parents who say no to almost everything that their young ones deem to be ‘fun’, without providing them with suitable alternatives. Others, who do not want to take this extreme approach, fall into the trap of excessive use of – and even addiction to – various sources of entertainment, without any limits.In Having Fun the Halal Way, Ismail Kamdar explores the teachings of Islam regarding entertainment. Drawing upon the Quran, the Sunnah and the understanding of the righteous scholars of Islam, he provides a detailed and balanced analysis of the topic. He not only explains the detriments of the current entertainment industry, but also suggests alternative means to have a good time with friends and family members.

Liberation Square: Inside the Egyptian Revolution and the Rebirth of a Nation


Ashraf Khalil - 2012
    It was a revolution as swift as it was explosive. For eighteen days, anger, defiance, and resurgent national pride reigned in the streets---protestors of all ages struck back against police and state security, united toward the common goal of liberation. But the revolution was more than a spontaneous uprising. It was the end result of years of mounting tension, brought on by a state that shamelessly abused its authority, rigging elections, silencing opposition, and violently attacking its citizens. When revolution bloomed in the region in January 2011, Egypt was a country whose patience had expired---with a people suddenly primed for liberation. As a journalist based in Cairo, Ashraf Khalil was an eyewitness to the perfect storm that brought down Mubarak and his regime. Khalil was subjected to tear gas alongside protestors in Tahrir Square, barely escaped an enraged mob, and witnessed the day-to-day developments from the frontlines. From the halls of power to the back alleys of Cairo, he offers a one-of-a-kind look at a nation in the throes of an uprising. Liberation Square is a revealing and dramatic look at the revolution that transformed the modern history of one of the world’s oldest civilizations.

My Past Is a Foreign Country


Zeba Talkhani - 2019
    Rejecting the traditional path her culture had chosen for her, Talkhani became financially independent and married on her own terms in the UK. Drawing on her personal experiences Talkhani shows how she fought for the right to her individuality as a feminist Muslim and refused to let negative experiences define her.

Palestinian Walks: Forays into a Vanishing Landscape


Raja Shehadeh - 2008
    He enjoys nothing more than heading out into the countryside that surrounds his home. But in recent years, his hikes have become less than bucolic and sometimes downright dangerous. That is because his home is Ramallah, on the Palestinian West Bank, and the landscape he traverses is now the site of a tense standoff between his fellow Palestinians and settlers newly arrived from Israel. In this original and evocative book, we accompany Raja on six walks taken between 1978 and 2006. The earlier forays are peaceful affairs, allowing our guide to meditate at length on the character of his native land, a terrain of olive trees on terraced hillsides, luxuriant valleys carved by sacred springs, carpets of wild iris and hyacinth and ancient monasteries built more than a thousand years ago. Shehadeh's love for this magical place saturates his renderings of its history and topography. But latterly, as seemingly endless concrete is poured to build settlements and their surrounding walls, he finds the old trails are now impassable and the countryside he once traversed freely has become contested ground. He is harassed by Israeli border patrols, watches in terror as a young hiking companion picks up an unexploded missile and even, on one occasion when accompanied by his wife, comes under prolonged gunfire. Amid the many and varied tragedies of the Middle East, the loss of a simple pleasure such as the ability to roam the countryside at will may seem a minor matter. But in Palestinian Walks, Raja Shehadeh's elegy for his lost footpaths becomes a heartbreaking metaphor for the deprivations of an entire people estranged from their land.

Quran: The Final Testament, Authorized English Version With Arabic Text, Revised Edition Iv


Rashad Khalifa - 1989
    The Book is, without a doubt, a revelation from the Lord of the Universe. The Final Testament comes with built-in physical evidence that it is God's message to you; it is mathematically composed beyond human capability. This proves that God is the Truth, and that He revives the dead, and that He is Omnipotent. Our Salvation in the hereafter lies on upholding The Quran. The Quran is God's Final Testament to the world. Unlike any other book, the Quran is taught by God (55:1-2); He teaches us what we need at the time we need it. This is why we read the Quran hundreds of times without getting bored. We can read a novel, for example, only once. But the Quran can be read an infinite number of times, and we derive new and valuable information from it every time. Since the Quran is God's message to all the people, regardless of their language, the Quran is accessible to the believers, regardless of their language (41:44). This explains a profound phenomenon: the believers who do not know Arabic know the Quran better than the Arabic speaking unbelievers. Because of the invisible forces serving the Quran, it is readily and enjoyably accessible to the sincere believers, and utterly inaccessible to the unbelievers (17:45, 18:57, 56:79).

Memories of Muhammad: Why the Prophet Matters


Omid Safi - 2009
    This definitive biography of the founder of Islam by a leading Muslim-American scholar will reveal invaluable new insights, finally providing a fully three-dimensional portrait of Muhammad and the one billion people who follow him today.Memories of Muhammad presents Muhammad as a lens through which to view both the genesis of Islamic religion and the grand sweep of Islamic history—right up to the hot button issues of the day, such as the spread of Islam, holy wars, the status of women, the significance of Jerusalem, and current tensions with Jews, Hindus, and Christians. It also provides a rare glimpse into how Muslims spiritually connect to God through their Prophet, in the mosque, in the home, and even in cyberspace.This groundbreaking book offers the opportunity to move from telling Muhammad's story to talking about how different Muslims throughout Islamic history have both honored and contested Muhammad's legacy.

Prayers for the Assassin


Robert Ferrigno - 2006
    The Space Needle lies crumpled. Veiled women hurry through the busy streets. Alcohol is outlawed, replaced by Jihad Cola, and mosques dot the skyline. New York and Washington, D.C., are nuclear wastelands. Phoenix is abandoned, Chicago the site of a civil war battle. At the edges of the empire, Islamic and Christian forces fight for control of a very different United States.Enormous in scope and brilliantly imagined, Prayers for the Assassin promises to be the powerhouse read of the year. Burning with cinematic violence, fiendish betrayal, and global intrigue, Robert Ferrigno's sensational thriller asks: What would happen to America if the terrorists won?After simultaneous suitcase-nuke attacks destroy New York, Washington, D.C., and Mecca—attacks blamed on Israel—a civil war breaks out. An uneasy truce leaves the nation divided between an Islamic republic with its capital in Seattle, and the Christian Bible Belt in the old South. In this frightening future there are still Super Bowls and Academy Awards, but calls to Muslim prayer echo in the streets and terror is everywhere. Freedom is controlled by the state, paranoia rules, and rebels plot to regain free will...One of the most courageous is the beautiful young historian Sarah Dougan, who uncovers shocking evidence that the nuclear attacks might not have been planned by Israel, evidence that, if true, will destabilize the nation. When Sarah suddenly goes missing, the security chief of the Islamic republic calls upon Rakkim Epps, her secret lover and a former elite warrior, to find her—no matter what the risk.But as Rakkim searches for Sarah, he is tracked by Darwin, a brilliant psychopathic killer trained in the same secretive unit as Rakkim. To survive, Rakkim must become Darwin's assassin—a most forbidding challenge. A bloody, nerve-racking chase takes them through the looking-glass world of the Islamic States of America, and culminates dramatically as Rakkim and Sarah battle to expose the truth to the entire world.Can the couple outrun Darwin? Who is really behind the nuke attacks? Will Sarah and Rakkim stay alive long enough to deliver the truth? Does a nation divided have a prayer?Robert Ferrigno's Prayers for the Assassin shows the novelist at the height of his powers, and delivers a masterful, unforgettable read.

Egypt


Jane Dunford - 1995
    This fully updated guide includes street maps of cities and towns, plus unique illustrated cutaways, floor plans and reconstructions of the must-see sights. Vibrant full-color photography will help you visualize your destinations as you discover Egypt one region at a time. Detailed listings will inform you of the best hotels, restaurants, bars, and shops for all budgets. Explore local festivals and markets, day trips and excursions to see ancient pyramids, and find your way effortlessly around the region. DK's insider tips and cultural insight will help you explore every corner of Egypt, as if you were a local."DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Egypt" showing you what others only tell you.

The Illustrated Rumi: A Treasury of Wisdom from the Poet of the Soul


Rumi - 2010
    But add images and story, and you have more than enough for a lifetime, an overabundance…an excess of wisdom, beauty, and pleasure. This book will be one of the few I take wherever I go.” —Thomas Moore, author of Care of the Soul and Original SelfThis richly illustrated collection delivers a fresh and inspiring way to read Rumi’s most intimate poems of love, rage, sadness, joy, and longing. No other edition of Rumi’s poetry combines his singularly passionate words with authentic, rare, and wonderful Sufi and Islamic art. Readers moved by Sappho, Hafiz, Rilke, or by Coleman Barks’ translations of Rumi will relish the beautiful imagery and new translations in this unique volume of some of the finest works by “the most popular poet in America” (Time magazine).

The Conference of the Birds


Attar of Nishapur
    He recounts the perilous journey of the world’s birds to the faraway peaks of Mount Qaf in search of the mysterious Simorgh, their king. Attar’s beguiling anecdotes and humor intermingle the sublime with the mundane, the spiritual with the worldly, while his poem models the soul’s escape from the mind’s rational embrace.Sholeh Wolpé re-creates for modern readers the beauty and timeless wisdom of the original Persian, in contemporary English verse and poetic prose.

Angeline


Karleen Bradford - 2004
    Only a short time ago she left her small village in France to follow Stephen, a shepherd boy whose vision led him to mount a children's Crusade to the Holy Land. But they were decieved by those who offered to help. Now it seems they are doomed to a life of slavery in a foreign land and even Stephen has lost all hope.Somehow, Angeline mist find the strength to survive, as well as to help Stephen overcome his despair. But first she must learn to understand and respect the ways of a culture so very different from her own.

Rumi's Daughter


Muriel Maufroy - 2004
    Not much is known about his life except that he lived in thirteenth-century Anatolia (now Turkey), had a great spiritual friendship with a wild man called Shams, brought an adopted daughter into his family, and was distraught when Shams finally disappeared.Rumi's Daughter is the delightful novel about Kimya, the girl who was sent from her rural village to live in Rumi's home. She already had mystical tendencies, and learned a great deal under Rumi's tutelage. Eventually she married Shams, an unusual husband, almost totally absorbed by his longings for God. Their marriage was fiery and different and, in the end, dissolved by Kimya's death - after which Shams vanished.Rumi's Daughter tells Kimya's story with great charm and tenderness. Well written and thought-provoking, it is sure to draw comparison with Paolho Coelho's The Alchemist, and also to add something fresh and new to what is so far known about Rumi.

رياض الصالحين


يحيى بن شرف النووي
    Covering every aspect of Islamic belief and moral conduct, it selects approximately 2000 hadith from the six major collections: Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawood, Tirmidhi, An-Nasai and Ibn Majah. It serves as an excellent hadith primer and daily reader. Wide range of topics: sincerity of purpose, spending in the way of Allah, rules of fasting, seeking knowledge, attending funerals and safeguarding the Qur'aan. Arabic text as well as English translation are presented here in this handsome hardcover two volume set.Riyad-us-Saliheen comprises of about 2000 ahadiths in 372 Chapters and 19 Sections: The Book of Good Manners - The Book about the Etiquette of Eating - The Book of Dress -The Book of the Etiquette of Sleeping, Lying and Sitting, etc.- The book of Greetings - The Book of Visiting the Sick - The Book of Etiquette of Traveling - The Book of Virtues - The Book of I'tikaf - The Book of Hajj - The Book of Jihad - The Book of Knowledge - The Book of Praise and Gratitude to Allah - The Book of Supplicating Allah to Exalt the Mention of Allah's Messenger (PBUH) - The Book of the Remembrance of Allah - The Book of Du'a (Supplications) - The Book of the Prohibited Actions - The Book of Miscellaneous Ahadith of Significant values - and The Book of Forgiveness.رابط التحميل:http://www.waqfeya.com/book.php?bid=5160