Books for College library

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Books for College library
Saleema
12/09/00 at 22:36:16
Assalam ualykum,

Well, I noticed that they didn't have much on Islam in our Library and I noticed that they have so much on religions such as The Holocaust and Hinduism, etc, etc. The books that they had were biased. So I talked to the Librarian and said that we would like to donate some books to the library. Most students check books out on religions for a philosophy or an art class. So I was thinking that we should donate books on the history of Islam, Islamic theology, Islamic philosophy and Islamic art.

What books do you guys suggest? This is a going to be a big project. Inshallah Allah will make it easy for us. You see, the head librarian said that they will decide if the books we donate meet their criterion. I don't know what that criterion is, they haven't told us yet. They said that it would be easier for us to just give them the money and they will choose the books. I don't trust them. So we compromised and we will begin working on it next semester inshallah.

I wanted to donate books from some classical scholars too. What do you guys say about donating Sahi Bukhari and Sahi Muslim hadith volumes?

They have a copy of the Yusuf Ali translation of the Qur'an, a friend told me. I want to make sure that they only have authentic translations of the Qur'an, if they have some that are not, do you think I should talk to them about it from getting rid of it from their shelves? Would it be possible?

wassalam
Re: Books for College library
bhaloo
12/10/00 at 09:19:23
slm

The number one book that I suggest you give to them is this new book (fairly new) by Yahiya Emerick called, What Islam is All About.   Its 44 chapters, with tons of pictures, and really easy to understand explanations.  Its awesome and explains so much.  In the past I've shown you guys some of the articles this brother has written and his books are in the same manner.

Some other possibilities as well:

Top choice: How to tell others about Islam by Yahiya Emerick

1. Book of Faith by Ibn Tamaiya
2. Reliance of the Traveller by Ibn Naqib al-Misri
3. Fiqh us Sunnah
4. Al-Shafi's Risala
5. Even Angels Ask by Jeffrey Lang
6. Medicine of the Prophet by Ibn Qayyim
7. Muhammad in the Bible by a Professor Dawud
8. Muhammad Messenger of God (Ash-Shifa)
9. Gender Equity in Islam by Jamal Badawi
10. The Fundamentals of Tawheed by Dr. Bilal Phillips

Anything by Ibn Qayyim is good for the library.

So there's my top 11 list.  I think my list is better then Jannah's list.   heheheh

No don't bother with Sahih Bukhari or any hadith collection, they'll just read a few hadiths and use them out of context and try and confuse people.  This was a common thing the missionaries did when I used to discuss with them.
Re: Books for College library
se7en
12/10/00 at 11:59:55

Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley

American Jihad; Islam After Malcolm X by Steven Barboza <--- this book is phhhatt, it has the conversion story of Hamza Yusuf, Jamil al Amin, etc.
Re: Books for College library
Arsalan
12/10/00 at 13:28:30
Assalamu alaikum,
[quote]
American Jihad; Islam After Malcolm X by Steven Barboza [/quote]Hmmm!  Where can I get this book?  Who's the publisher?
Re: Books for College library
se7en
12/10/00 at 14:34:52
wa alaykum as salaam wa rahmatAllah,

It's published by Doubleday, I actually found it in the library.

It's interesting because it's supposed to show a spectrum of Muslims in the United States today, and it's basically a whole bunch of short interviews with different Muslims, like Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Warith D. Muhammad, Malcolm X's daughter, a woman in the military who converted to Islam, etc.  The story of the Jehova's Witness, Raphael Narabaez, who became Muslim is one of the funniest things I've ever read, that's in here too.  Each of the interview/stories is only a few pages long, and some are about people who subscribe to the nation, sufism, etc.  

The last chapter is Hamza Yusuf's, it's literally six and a half pages, so you shouldn't buy it for that reason.  

It's an interesting book to look at, but I don't know if it's worth a buy.  Maybe you can look for it at a library or bookstore and read it first..

:)

wasalaam.
Re: Books for College library
salaam
12/10/00 at 20:23:59
as-Salaamu 'Alaikum,

Honestly, [i]the[/i] best translation of the Qur'an I've read so far is the "Noble Qur'an" the Dar-us-Salam print, translated by Dr.Muhammad Mushin Khan and Dr. Taqi-ud-Deen al-Hilali.  

What would also be an amazing book to put in your school library (I wanna get this for my school's library also) is "When the Moon Split", this is also published by Dar-us-Salam.  It's a biography of the Prophet Muhammad (saw).  This is also amazing! It's really easy to read, it's authentic and it's one of those books that you can't put down. :)

was-Salaamu 'Alaikum.

p.s  Has anyone read "When the Moon Split"?

Re: Books for College library
jannah
12/10/00 at 23:00:49
"When the moon split" is a revised edition of Ar-raheeq al Makhtoom. They just edited it a bit took out alot of the redundant info and they cut down the first chapter which was on the history of the pre islamic arabs.

btw it is an excellent book...but i don't know if i would put it in a college library.. i'd go for sunshine in madina by zakaria bashir for that purpose maybe or even martin lings even though there are a few issues with that...
Re: Books for College library
writeamir
12/27/00 at 23:57:32
I recommend

Islam in Focus by Hammudah Abdalati

The Meaning of the Glorious Quran: An explanatory translation by Mohammed Marmaduke Pickthall (it has nice short history section at the start)
   
Even Angels Ask by Jeffrey Lang

The Bible, the Quran, and Science by Maurice Bucaille

The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam by Yusuf Al-Qaradawi

Muhammad: His Life Based On the Earliest Sources
Martin Lings (Abu Bakr Siraj Ad-Din)

An-Nawawi's 40 Hadith

History of Islam I & II (2 Volumes)
By Prof. Masudul Haque (haven't read it but it looks ok)

I do not recommend the Noble Quran if these books will be used primarily by non-Muslims. I believe the commentary in 24:31 & 33:59 with regards to women showing only one eye would turn off many people from Islam and I don't think that commentary is correct either. I think it is better to give a straight translation without commentary.

When donating books, you have to think about who you want your audience to be. Here are some other books I recommend, but they are directed mostly at Muslims.

Sahih al-Bukhari

Ash-Shifa: Muhammad, Messenger of Allah by Qadi Iyad ibn Musa al-Yahsubi  Translated by Aisha Bewley

Al-Muwatta of Imam Malik

Life in al-Barzakh by Mohammad al-Jibaly

Fortification of the Muslim through Remembrance and supplication from the Quran and the Sunnah compiled and referenced by Sa'aeed Ibn 'Ali Ibn Wahf Al-Qahtaani (book of duas)

There are some great prices out there for Islamic books. You just have to do the research and find the sales. Currently IBTS has a pretty good one. Hope this was helpful.

Amir
Re: Books for College library
boy
12/28/00 at 12:57:00
As salaam u 'alykum

I have History of Islam by Masud ul Hassan and I have yet to be bored enough to actually read more then 10-15 pages of it. It's boring.

Revolution by the Book by Imam Jamil Al-Amin.

Shamaail Tirmidhi by obviously Imam Tirmidhi. It's a collection of Hadiths about the apperance and character of the Prophet saw.

If something a bit deep wouldn't be a problem then al-Maqsad al-asna fi sharh asma Allah al-Husna (The 99 beautiful names of God) by Imam Ghazali translated by David Burrell and Nazih Daher would be awesome.

If you want elementary books some of the more common books by Mawlana Mawdudi or Khurrum Murad would also be beneficial.

The best translation which I read is Mawlana Mawdudi's. I really dislike Noble Quran because some of the notes on it are a bit iffy especially for non Muslims plus it tends to give too many brackets. Yusuf Ali has old english which irritates me. I've heard that Sister Aisha Bewley's translation is really good but haven't seen it yet. Also Muhammad Asad's translation is supposedly very nice as well.

Also I'd recommend Muhammad by Martin Lings over Ar-Raheeq al-Makhtum simply because you don't have to go and deal with the translation. Even though some say there are errors in some of the events it still doesn't take away from the beautifully written book.

I don't personally think putting Bukhari or Muslim's saheeh would be that wise because there are numerous hadiths in there that could give a not so great impression about Islam to non-Muslims unless explained. Riyadh us Salaheen by Imam Nawawi would be a much better pick.

Just to add some taste to the collection, Shikwa/Jawab e Shikwa would be awesome as well :)
Re: Books for College library
moinhs
12/28/00 at 17:18:27
Assalaamuailaikum!

I find that these books are suitable for either univesity/college / msa's / or even one's homes.

1. Marmaduke Picktall's or Muhammad Asad's translation of the Quran. (I really like Muhammad Asad's... quite nice)...

2. Riyadh-us-Salaheen, by Imam an-Nawawi.

3. Aqidah at-Tahawiyyah by al-Shaykh Imam Abu Ja'far  Al Warraq At-Tahawi al-Misri. (eg. The Articles of Faith in Islam).

4. Muhammad: His Life Based On the Earliest Sources Martin Lings (Abu Bakr Siraj Ad-Din). There are some small errors but they do not detract from this excellently written bigraphy.

5. Muhammad, Messanger of Allah (in arabic, "Ash-Shifa" by Qadi Iyah Ibn Musa al-Yahsubi, translated by  Aisha Bewley.

6. The Remembrance of Death & The AfterLife, by Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, translatated by T.J Winters. This book is from the Ihya ulum al-din "Revival of the Relgious Sciences" multivolume set.

7. The 77 Branches of Faith. Imam al-Bayhaqi, translated by Abdal Hakim Murad.

8. Reliance of the Traveller, by Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri translated by Nuh Ha Mim Keller.

9. The book of Assistance, by Imam abdallah ibn Alawi al-Haddad.

10. Even Angels Ask by Jeffrey Lang.

11. Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley.

12. Gender Equity in Islam by Jamal Badawi
(can't remember if this is a book or a small pamphelt.)

13. "What Islam Is All About", by Y. Emerick ...
I have not read this... is it good? Online bookstores say its huge! 397 pages!!! :)
Re: Books for College library
Ruqayyah
01/01/01 at 00:18:39
slm,

The book by Yahiya Emerick, What Islam Is All About, is very good! We used it in our Saturday Islamic class. It is a big book, but the book itself has very large pages with very large print, and it's an easy read, so the 300+ pages aren't as overwhelming as it sounds :) It explains a lot of basic info with as much details as a non-muslim would need if they were interested in Islam. It's probably about 7th grade level, I would definitely recommend it :)

wasalam,
Ruqayyah
Re: Books for College library
Kashif
01/01/01 at 20:39:29
assalaamu alaikum

Stories of the Prophets by Ibn Kathir is excellent, so is anything by Bilal Phillips. And how about Ahmed Deedat's "The Choice?"

Also:
- The Crusades through Arab Eyes - by Amin Maalouf
- Deeper Roots - by Dr Abdullah Hakim Quick
- What did Jesus really say? - by Misha'al bin Abdullah

And some copies of "A brief illustrated guide to understanding Islam."

Kashif
Wa Salaam
NS
Re: Books for College library
Anonymous
01/11/01 at 14:58:58
Assalaamu alaykum, just to let you know, I am a librarian and
a bit more about the kinds of things they will be looking for at your
library. They are going to be first & foremost trying to assess if this
topic is relevant to the audience and of sufficient interest. Therefore
books on obscure, narrow, very scholarly topics probably won't be
chosen unless you have a very big, diverse library with a significant
section on Islam. Also probably something accessible to non Muslims, doesn't
require a huge amount of background knowledge.
Also the quality, currency, ... Dusty old pamphlets in very bad english
are unlikely to make it into the collection. Anything that looks like
propaganda, i.e. most dawah brochures that are (let's face it) biased in
favor of Islam. (I *know* there are anti-Islam books out there but the
people who bought those books don't see their own prejudices!...) Try
to get something put out by mainstream presses (e.g. major
American/British presses, rather than "obscure" ones in "far off lands -- for
example I like Esposito's "Islam: The Straight Path" put out by Oxford Univ.
Press). Get something that looks interesting, on a topic that sounds
interesting. I know that's vague, but... If possible, try to find
positive library journals/newspaper reviews to back up your selection...You
can often do quick searches on this through things like ProQuest, if your
school has this database (it will give you things like Library Journal,
Booklist, and Publisher's Weekly Reviews, for example). Try to think
like them -- try to give them as many mainstream-compatible reasons to
buy books that look like something the average student would find either
useful for a class (e.g. intro religion, history, architecture) or for
personal interest. Nothing too obscure, have I said this enough, but
also nothing too basic and boring. Nothing that says all Jews/Christians
are evil, either.

And for goodness sakes, pick books you want to read.

You want these books to get checked out, not just sit on the shelf.
Because if they get checked out, they might buy more to satisfy this
demand, but if they just sit there, it will be a one time thing and that's
ultimately useless.

Other random suggestions for introductory but not awful books to
supplement what you've already heard about
Hathout's Reading the Muslim Mind
(written by a Muslim, fairly basic, includes discussion of the faith
and a non-harsh assessment of the differences and similarities between
Judaism and Christianity)
Zepp's Muslim Primer (written by a Christian, has a fair amount of
comparative religion stuff but I think it's done well)

Good luck.
NS
Re: Books for College library
shafi
01/23/01 at 08:19:27
assalam alaikum

The Road to Mecca
                 by Muhammad Asad
is a good book for general redding


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