A R C H I V E S
Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Need your thoughts on resources |
|---|
| sofia |
| 02/05/03 at 21:07:58 |
| As-salaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullah, I've been asked to put together a list of recommended books on various topics in Islaam. The target audience is English-speaking Muslims who are just beginning to learn more about their deen (and new Muslims learning about Islaam, of course). I'm not all that well-read, so will need your assistance, insha'Allah. What I'll need are suggestions on the best books out there (unfortunately, we're limited to books in English). I've added a few things below, but need some more ideas, iA. Won't necessarily need a comprehensive list of every book on any particular topic. Just the "cream of the crop" -- books that you thought were the best on any particular topic and that influenced you the most (preferably books based on relatively authentic sources. I say "relative" because the only truly authentic book is the Qur'aan, followed by some of the books of ahadith. Allahu A'lim). May Allah reward you/jazaakum Allahu khair. :) 1) Qur'aan a. Translations: Yusuf Ali (for People of the Book), the Noble Qur'aan (for Muslims), ? b. Tafseers: Ibn Katheer's 10-volume set, ? 2) Hadith Nawawi's 40 Ahadith + commentary Asqalani's Bulugh-ul-Maram Nawawi's Riyaadhus-Saliheen Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Malik's Muwatta, Abu Dawud ahadith collections (the complete/partial translations are online at www.usc.edu/dept/msa under "sunnah". But collections with explanations are usually more helpful) ? 3) Prayer Albaani's "The Prophet's Prayer Described" ? 4) Seerah Qadi 'Iyad's "Ash-shifaa''" Raheeq-ul-Makhtoom Martin Ling's "Muhammad" ? 5) Fiqh [I'm kind of leaning towards excluding this section but thought beginner-type books would be useful] "Fiqh-us-Sunnah" Qaradawi's "Al Halal wal Haraam fil Islam/The lawful and the prohibited in Islaam" ? 6) Supplications Fortifications of a Muslim (pocket-size), Private Devotions for Morning and Evening (Dar-us-Salam,also pocket-size) Ibn Qayyim's "Invocation of God" ? 7) Rights (along with human rights, even animal rights, the environment, etc) M.H. Kamali's "The Dignity of Man" J. Badawi's "Gender Equity in Islam" ? 8 ) Islaamic manners Ibn Qayyim's "Zaad ul Ma'ad" Jazaa'iry's "Minhaj-ul-Muslim" ? 9) Science Harun Yahya's "The Evolution Deceit" ? 10) Lives of the Prophet's Ibn Katheer's "Stories of the Prophets" ? 11) Misc: A. Sakhr's "Life, Death and Hereafter" (I think that's what it was called. Scared me out of my mind when I first read it) Asfahaani's "Beauty of the Righteous" ? |
| 02/05/03 at 21:10:11 |
| sofia |
| Re: Need your thoughts on resources |
|---|
| se7en |
| 02/06/03 at 03:23:52 |
| as salaamu alaykum wa rahmatAllah, [quote]1) Qur'aan a. Translations: Yusuf Ali (for People of the Book), the Noble Qur'aan (for Muslims), ? [/quote] I would not recommend the Noble Qur'an (Hilali/Khan) to uh.. anyone. Interpretation belongs in footnotes, not in the translation itself, which can and often is mistaken as actual text of the Qur'an. For non-Muslims I think Muhammad Asad's The Message of the Quran and Cleary's the Essential Quran are quite good. [quote]b. Tafseers: Ibn Katheer's 10-volume set, ?[/quote] I think Ibn Katheer is a bit heavy for new Muslims. I really really like Abu Amina Bilal Phillip's Tafseer of Surah al-Hujjurat. It's not just straight up asbab an-nuzul, but has a lot of content about modern Islamic movements, how to apply the teachings of the surah to our daily lives, etc. Way to the Qur'an by Khuram Murad is also very good at teaching people how to approach, study, and understand the Qur'an and have it affect you. [quote] Nawawi's 40 Ahadith + commentary Asqalani's Bulugh-ul-Maram Nawawi's Riyaadhus-Saliheen Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Malik's Muwatta, Abu Dawud ahadith collections (the complete/partial translations are online at www.usc.edu/dept/msa under "sunnah". But collections with explanations are usually more helpful) ? [/quote] I definitely second Riyaadhus Saliheen and Nawawi's 40. A nice short book on hadeeth I would also recommend is A Treasury of Hadeeth by Dr. Mazhar Kazi. [quote]4) Seerah Qadi 'Iyad's "Ash-shifaa''" Raheeq-ul-Makhtoom Martin Ling's "Muhammad" ? [/quote] Companions of the Prophets I & II by Abdul Wahid Hamid are really good too. [quote]5) Fiqh [I'm kind of leaning towards excluding this section but thought beginner-type books would be useful] "Fiqh-us-Sunnah" Qaradawi's "Al Halal wal Haraam fil Islam/The lawful and the prohibited in Islaam" ? [/quote] You might also want to put here the Ethics of Disagreement in Islam by Taha Jabir al Alwani. [quote] 9) Science Harun Yahya's "The Evolution Deceit" ? [/quote] Science and Civilization in Islam - Seyyed Hossein Nasr [quote]10) Lives of the Prophet's Ibn Katheer's "Stories of the Prophets" ?[/quote] If you can extend the list to tapes, The Lives of the Prophets series by Sh. Anwar al Awlaki is awesome. [quote]Misc[/quote] I would also include: Purification of the Soul - excerpted from Hanbali, Ibn Qayyim, Ghazali, and others The Autobiography of Malcolm X - as told to Alex Haley The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Islam - Yahiya Emerick Islam: A Short History - Karen Armstrong Gender Equity in Islam - Jamal Badawi The Road to Mecca - Muhammad Asad Inner Dimensions of Islamic Worship - by Ghazali, translated by Muhtar Holland Even Angels Ask - Jeffrey Lang Silent No More: Confronting America's False Images of Islam -Paul Findley [I have not read this but hear it is quite good] *whew*... hope this is of help inshaAllah :) wasalaamu alaykum :-) |
| 02/06/03 at 03:25:21 |
| se7en |
| Re: Need your thoughts on resources |
|---|
| se7en |
| 02/06/03 at 03:29:19 |
as salaamu alaykum, uhh.. just realized you probably wanted like, *new Muslims* to post about what's best for new Muslims.. ::) sorry.. I get excited when ppl talk about books :P I'll shut up now wasalaam :-) |
| 02/06/03 at 03:33:26 |
| se7en |
| Re: Need your thoughts on resources |
|---|
| WhatDFish |
| 02/06/03 at 04:13:17 |
| [slm] a book on fiqh u cd recommend would be "The Evolution of Fiqh" by bro Bilal Philips. a few other books that come to mind are - "He came to teach you your Religion" by Zarabozo, a *brilliant* book explaining the Hadeeth of Jibrael(as). al `Uboodiyyah, an essay on servitude by Ibn Taymiyyah Fundamentals of Tawheed by Bilal Philips Patience and Gratitude(`Uddat as Sabireen wa Dhakirat ash Shakireen) by Ibn Qayyim i may have asked somewhere before i think but sis sofia is zaad al ma'ad available in english?? more later inshaa'Allah |
| Re: Need your thoughts on resources |
|---|
| jannah |
| 02/06/03 at 05:30:30 |
| haha we seem to be reviewing each others reviews :) ahh well i agree alot with se7en probably cause she stole my books and pretends to read them... j/k j/k :) sofia maybe you can add a category "fiction" and "poetry" and stuff as well besides what was mentioned [quote author=`Uthmaan link=board=lighthouse;num=1044497278;start=0#3 date=02/06/03 at 04:13:17] a book on fiqh u cd recommend would be "The Evolution of Fiqh" by bro Bilal Philips. [/quote] I don't think I'd recommend that to Newer Muslims it's really heavy but I guess there's really no other intro to schools of thought stuff around. [quote] Fundamentals of Tawheed by Bilal Philips[/quote] excellent fundamental (no pun intended) book for everyone [quote]Patience and Gratitude(`Uddat as Sabireen wa Dhakirat ash Shakireen) by Ibn Qayyim[/quote] This book is a favorite of alot of ppl but I can just never get into it? I like the water fall books better.. purification of the soul would be a great addition how bout any qaradawi books? islam btw rejectionism and extermism is nice a harun yahya?? perished nations a marriage book? err i better stop:) check out jannah.org/reviews for some other stuff |
| Re: Need your thoughts on resources |
|---|
| sofia |
| 02/06/03 at 16:00:00 |
| As-salaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullah, [quote] uhh.. just realized you probably wanted like, *new Muslims* to post about what's best for new Muslims.[/quote] No, it's all good, anyone who's read something good. I had actually thought I should put this post in the Naseehah folder, but the suggestions may eventually be more useful here. [quote] I would not recommend the Noble Qur'an (Hilali/Khan) to uh.. anyone.[/quote] I actually prefer my lil pocket-sized Noble Qur'aan over others. It may be, wAllahu A'lim, since I have a few tafseers that fill in a lot of the gaps in the Noble, walhamdulillah. But I hear ya on the other recommendations, this is what I needed in the Qur'aan section, jAk. [quote] sis sofia is zaad al ma'ad available in english?? [/quote] Yes, check www.islamicbookstore.com. I don't know if it's on their website, but this is where I got mine. Any translation of Ibn Qayyim's is usually good. [quote] sofia maybe you can add a category "fiction" and "poetry" and stuff as well besides what was mentioned[/quote] Ok. But like, what else, besides "If I should speak" and "Memory of Hands"? I checked the Review page, very helpful. Thought I'd ask here as well, to figure out what would be good for the target audience. Jazaakum Allahu khair, keep it coming, all the suggestions are good ones. |
| NS |
| 02/06/03 at 16:04:24 |
| sofia |
| Re: Need your thoughts on resources |
|---|
| saadia |
| 02/07/03 at 10:02:35 |
| [slm] What about [u]Islamic Law: Understanding Juristic Differences[/u] by Ahmad Zaki Hammad? It's short and concise, a good read....hmmm..I think it would be ok for beginners.... [wlm] |
| Re: Need your thoughts on resources |
|---|
| merimda |
| 02/08/03 at 04:01:01 |
| Salam How about Islam, the West and the Challenges of Modernity by Tariq Ramadan. |
| Re: Need your thoughts on resources |
|---|
| Mujahideen |
| 02/08/03 at 04:34:25 |
| [slm] 1) Qur'aan To be honest I don’t really think there is much at all that is very good in English. I know that’s not very helpful but I also think those translations with the commentary are very bad and most English speaking Muslims who know little or no Arabic will confuse the commentary with the Qur’an translation. Best to give a literal translation without commentary or something with commentary in the footnotes only. 2) Hadith Again the problem with Hadith books in English is the translations are very poor and often have commentary that is not well separated from the Hadith translation and many cannot tell the difference. Also some publishers have done significant editing of hadith text – Dar Asalam is really bad for this - they will with add stuff in or take stuff out of the material they “translate” and won’t reference the change. Read The Broken chain. Might initially want to stay away from collections that have hadith related to a lot of Fiqh because newer Muslims or those just returning to the Deen might have a tendency to read a Hadith and simply implement it without knowing fully what it means – fiqh books are better for these matters – once they become scholars then they can interperate from the Quran and Sunnah. Imam Nawawi’s 40 hadith are very good depending on the publisher. Al-Bayquniyyah ma' Sharh Abdallah Siraj – this is a good book to study if they want to interpret hadith. 3) Prayer Matn al-Akhdari Kitab al-Umm Nurul Idah 4) Seerah Qadi 'Iyad's "Ash-shifaa''" Martin Ling's "Muhammad" 5) Fiqh – would only recommend basic level stuff for new Muslims Al-Matin - Ibn Ashir al-Misri Kitab al-Umm Nurul Idah Risalah Ibn Abi Zayd 'Aqidah Tahawiyyah li Imam at-Tahawi 6) Supplications Fortifications of a Muslim (pocket-size), Ibn Qayyim's "Invocation of God" The Prophetic Invocations – Imam Al-Haddad 7) Rights (along with human rights, even animal rights, the environment, etc) Gender Relations (tape set) – Abdullah Adhami 8 ) Islaamic manners Two Treatises Mutual reminding and Good manners – Imam Al-Haddad 9) Science Darwin’s Black Box – M. Behe 11) Misc: The Broken Chain – Aftab Malik Instruction of the Student – Imam Al-Zarnuji The Heirs of the Prophets – Ibn RajabAl-Hanbali Someone else had recommended ‘The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Islam - Yahiya Emerick’ – this book is actually very very good. Its really good light reading material for non-Muslims and returning Muslims. Its interesting, very well written and light enough that it does not seem like a chore to read for people that are sort of interested. Humm well that’s all I think of off the top of my head..I’ll try to add some more later. [wlm] |
| Re: Need your thoughts on resources |
|---|
| Kathy |
| 02/08/03 at 09:05:30 |
| [slm] [quote]I've been asked to put together a list of recommended books on various topics in Islaam. The target audience is English-speaking Muslims who are just beginning to learn more about their deen (and new Muslims learning about Islaam, of course).[/quote] Have you been thinking of making a donation to your southern neighbor Dawah Center? Just think of the rewards! Insha Allah! [code]The parable of those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah swt is as the parable of the grain growing seven ears of corn with one hundred grains in every ear: and Allah multiplies for who he pleases.[/code] Two books I enjoy are the Let Us Be Muslims and Hajj: Reflections Barr sent us a beautiful coffee table book It is by Tudung. Beyond Face Value It is an excellent pictorial book empowering women who wear Hijab. I highly recommend it. |
| 02/08/03 at 09:22:15 |
| Kathy |
| Re: Need your thoughts on resources |
|---|
| bhaloo |
| 02/10/03 at 09:06:08 |
| [slm] Alhumdullilah Sofia you have a good list. Every translation of the Quran has some problems, and here is a good list of the problems with each one: http://members.cox.net/ameer1/annota.html Having said that, I think Khan and Hilali's translation of the Quran is really good. Yusuf Ali's isn't bad either. But definitely include Ibn Kathir's tafsir of the Quran. There's a couple of books mentioned that I want to object to. The first book being Syed Nassir's books, and this is because he is shia and so some of the things in there though they maybe beneficial maybe problematic. We've also had a discussion on the board about some very extreme sufi things within some of his books, so its best to stay away from his books. People highly recommend Karen Armstrong's books, but there have been quite a few problems already pointed out on the board in the past with her stuff. There was an audio I put up earlier as well where she was interviewed about Islamic fundamentalism and I was very disappointed with what I heard in it. Also she is a non-Muslim, and I think its a really bad idea to get a non-Muslim to talk about Islam. While I do have Prophetic Invocations from Imam Haddad, I found some things in there that I felt were objectionable (i can't remember what now), and I raised my objection to them a year or 2 back on the old board. (if someone knows how to search on the old board, go ahead) Mostly the book is ok, but still I think to be on the safe side you can go with other books that are more popular. Another good book is by Yahiya Emerick called What Islam is All about. It covers everything in an easy to read format, and I imagine his Islam for Idiots book is along the same lines. Jannah is a huge Dr. Bilal Phillips fan, and I'm kinda surprised she didn't want to recommend Evolution of Fiqh. This is a definite MUST read book, I only wish I had gotten it sooner. I was very impressed with it. |
| Re: Need your thoughts on resources |
|---|
| sofia |
| 02/10/03 at 09:15:47 |
| What about videos? Any videos/lectures that you were particularly influenced by? And what about books on parenting? Videos I would recommend: On the subject of History - absolutely anything by Abdullah Hakim Quick Science - most lectures by Zakir Naik Spirituality/Islam in the West - most lectures by Hamza Yusuf (the Science of the Shari'ah video was good). I definitely second most of the suggestions made here, esp Abdullah Adhami's audio lectures. Besides authenticity, I'm looking for *simplicity*/ease of making Islaam practical, for this particular target pop'n. Sis Kathy, was that a big hint, or what? :) Could your dawah center benefit from videos (besides books)? jazaakum Allahu khair |
| 02/10/03 at 09:17:56 |
| sofia |
| Re: Need your thoughts on resources |
|---|
| muslimah853 |
| 02/10/03 at 13:38:19 |
| [slm] Hamza Yusuf's Foundations of Islam is absolutely excellent for the basics, the five pillars, the articles of faith, and the rudiments of the history of the Qur'an. IMO it's a must have. It's available in video format I believe as well as audio. [wlm] |
| Re: Need your thoughts on resources |
|---|
| Kathy |
| 02/11/03 at 07:54:25 |
| [quote]Sis Kathy, was that a big hint, or what? :) Could your dawah center benefit from videos (besides books)?[/quote] According to constitution rule #9-[code]No.... advertisements, ... personal requests for money (solicitation) or quick rich schemes unless we get 10% :P [/code] If it is a violation of rule #9... than no... I wasn't hinting at all... ;) On a side note... we are currently in need of any Islamic information. Surprisingly, as of late we are getting a lot of requests of info from emerging Muslims. Especially videos for the children. Our community is filled with Muslims that lived in areas, such as Bosnia, Somalia, etc... These are refugees who want to learn more about their religion. |
| Re: Need your thoughts on resources |
|---|
| se7en |
| 02/12/03 at 02:55:05 |
| as salaamu alaykum, bhaloo true I definitely agree that some of the authors of the books I reccomended are shady in various ways.. but I don't think there's anything to take issue with *in* the actual content of the books I mentioned up there. wasalaamu alaykum :-) |
Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board |