Mad Nan Society At The Time Of The Prophet Its Characteristics And Organization

As its title clearly implies, "Madinan Society at the Time of the Prophet" (SAAS) is a work that brings out the most important aspects of life in the early Muslim community. Its author, the renowned scholar of sirah and Sunnah studies Professor Akram Diya' al'Umari, has expended a great deal of effort in order to make this book more than just a recitation of the historical record. The result is a breakthrough in historiographical methodology, as Dr. al'Umari has effectively succeeded in combining the strict methodological guidelines used by traditional Muslim scholars of the Sunnah and usul al hadith with modern methods of historical criticism. Volume One of this important new work, subtitled "Its Characteristics and Organization", aims at presenting the reader with an accurate description of the society brought about through the efforts of the Prophet (SAAS) and his Companions, the society viewed by every successive generation of Muslims as the ideal in temporal spiritual values.Volume Two of this important new work, subtitled "The Jihad Against the Mushrikun", deals with the all-important subject of the relations of the struggling new community with the forces that threatened its very existence. Without a doubt, the exemplary behavior of the Prophet (SAAS) and his Companions during the long years that they remained under attack has remained a continued source of inspiration for all Muslims. Its contemporary relevance and significance to the Ummah is a matter that needs no explanation.

In 1105, six years after the first crusaders from Europe conquered Jerusalem, a Damascene Muslim jurisprudent named ’Ali ibn Tahir al-Sulami (d. 1106) publicly dictated an extended call to the military jihad (holy war) against the European invaders. Entitled Kitab al-Jihad (The Book of the Jihad), al-Sulami’s work both summoned his Muslim brethren to the jihad and instructed them in the manner in which it ought to be conducted, covering topics as diverse as who should fight and be fought, treatment of prisoners and plunder, and the need for participants to fight their own inner sinfulness before turning their efforts against the enemy. Al-Sulami’s text is vital for a complete understanding of the Muslim reaction to the crusades, providing the reader with the first contemporary record of Muslim preaching against the crusaders. However, until recently only a small part of the text has been studied by modern scholars, as it has remained for the most part an unedited manuscript. In this book Niall Christie provides a complete edition and the first full English translation of the extant sections (parts 2, 8, 9 and 12) of the manuscript of al-Sulami’s work, making it fully available to modern readers for the first time. These are accompanied by an introductory study exploring the techniques that the author uses to motivate his audience, the precedents that influenced his work, and possible directions for future study of the text. In addition, an appendix provides translations of jihad sermons by Ibn Nubata al-Fariqi (d. 985), a preacher from Asia Minor whose rhetorical style was highly influential in the development of al-Sulami’s work.

This publication examines art, the human sciences, science, philosophy, mysticism, language and literature. For this task, UNESCO has chosen scholars and experts from all over the world who belong to widely divergent cultural and religious backgrounds.--Publisher's description.

A look at the developing conflicts in Christian-Muslim relations during late antiquity and the early Islamic era How did the medieval Middle East transform from a majority-Christian world to a majority-Muslim world, and what role did violence play in this process? Christian Martyrs under Islam explains how Christians across the early Islamic caliphate slowly converted to the faith of the Arab conquerors and how small groups of individuals rejected this faith through dramatic acts of resistance, including apostasy and blasphemy. Using previously untapped sources in a range of Middle Eastern languages, Christian Sahner introduces an unknown group of martyrs who were executed at the hands of Muslim officials between the seventh and ninth centuries CE. Found in places as diverse as Syria, Spain, Egypt, and Armenia, they include an alleged descendant of Muhammad who converted to Christianity, high-ranking Christian secretaries of the Muslim state who viciously insulted the Prophet, and the children of mixed marriages between Muslims and Christians. Sahner argues that Christians never experienced systematic persecution under the early caliphs, and indeed, they remained the largest portion of the population in the greater Middle East for centuries after the Arab conquest. Still, episodes of ferocious violence contributed to the spread of Islam within Christian societies, and memories of this bloodshed played a key role in shaping Christian identity in the new Islamic empire. Christian Martyrs under Islam examines how violence against Christians ended the age of porous religious boundaries and laid the foundations for more antagonistic Muslim-Christian relations in the centuries to come.

Islam in the World Today sheds light on the dynamics and practices of Muslim communities in contemporary societies across the world, by providing a rigorous analysis of their economic, political, socio-cultural and educational characteristics.--Provided by publisher.