VISION OF ISLAM BY SACHIKO MURATA AND WILLIAM C CHITTICK

I have already bought the Kindle version, but I found the printed book in the IIUM library. Seemed in pristine condition, probably have never been read. Only at 20% of the kindle ebook, but noted that it is a great book. A book which you want to finish it fast, because it is so good.

The book is written based on a short course in introduction to Islam for undergraduates in an American university, which was held since 1980s. The students include both muslims and non muslims. They got a lot of feedback from their students.

The author based the book on the Gabriel Hadith, about Islam (submission), Iman (faith) and Ihsan (doing what is beautiful). The chapters explained the differences between these 3. It is like a stage of ascendancy. You submit first, then have faith and then have Ihsan, which is the highest rank.

The exact difference between Islam and Iman is explained in the Quran 49:14. A story about the bedouins saying to the Prophet PBUH that he have faith.

The dwellers of the desert say: We believe. Say: You do not believe but say, We submit; and faith has not yet entered into your hearts; and if you obey Allah and His Apostle, He will not diminish aught of your deeds; surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. (Quran 49:14)

In the Islam chapter, after explaining the 5 pillars of Islam, they touched on the 6th pillar, jihad. Jihad is a term which was always misinterpreted by the westerners. It's basic meaning is struggle. Struggling in doing all the 5 pillars of Islam and having Iman, is also a jihad.

A quote from the hadith when the muslims had just returned from a battle. Prophet PBUH said "We have returned from a lesser jihad to a greater jihad." The people said, "O Messenger of God, what jihad could be greater than struggling against the unbelievers with the sword?" He replied, "Struggling against the enemy in your own breast."  This Hadith clearly explained the exact meaning of jihad.

I am still at the Iman chapter. The authors exquisitely explained tawhid in a very simple explanation. They used the ayat, which can be defined as the verses of the quran. Also ayat which is defined as proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc by Mohsin Khan; are things around us and within us. How to relate all this with God. The relation between Tanzih and Tashbih. The Mercy of God is above His Wrath. Many examples were taken from the Quran itself.  Also, they used many examples from the 99 names of Allah, mentioned in the Quran.

In my opinion, this book should should be translated to Bahasa Malaysia, in view  to reach a wider readership. Most of us muslims, never understood why we become muslims in the first place. Even though the book is intended for non muslims, I think muslims will benefit a lot from it too.

As of today, at this time of writing, I have finished the book.  But I need to reread it soon, to get a better understanding of it.

A TEXTBOOK OF HADITH STUDIES: AUTHENTICITY, COMPILATION, CLASSIFICATION AND CRITICISM OF HADITH BY PROFESSOR HASHIM KAMALI

This a very comprehensive book about ulum hadith, which is a branch of study or sciences of hadith.  The author discusses almost every branch of this topic. It starts from the delivery, isnad, sahihayn, biographies of muhaddithuns, problems and defects in hadith collection, conflicts, abrogated hadith, 3 classifications of hadith and end with a conclusion. A very good book for one who are interested to delve in the proper study of hadith. 

However, for a lay person like me, with no shariah background, the information is overwhelming. I only browsed through about 40% of the book. For those who wanted to read this book, I would highly recommend to really read chapter 1 to 4. Then just do a superfast reading of chapter 5 to 14. You can reread those chapters, if you decided to further venture into ulum hadith, later on.  Then read slowly chapter 15 to 20.

The first 4 chapters give us an eye opener about the hadith compilations. The meaning of isnad, matn and methods and the effort of the muhaddithuns used to compile the sahihayns. Chapter 4 gives the background stories of the 6 sahihayns ie Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, An Nasai, Ibn Majah and At Tirmidhi.

Chapter 5 to 14, discussed all the other branches of ulum hadith.  Too much and too detailed for me.

Chapter 15 to 17, discussed the 3 types of classifications of hadith. What are the differences between sahih, hassan and daif. What are the differences between marfu, mawquf, muttasil, maqtu, muannin, muannan and muallaq. What are the differences between fard, gharib, aziz, mashhur, mutawatir and ahad. It is great to read, especially on the first and third classifications.

The second last chapter discussed the actual prerequisite of a sahih hadith. It discussed some of the hadith with improper matn. Especially in the ahad hadith. Particular discussion on the hadith about the 73 fractions of muslims, which is an ahad hadith. Also problem is some hadith which is not in sync with the Quran.

The conclusion is a must read. It gives some overview and hope for a better compilation of hadith. A discussion on Qaradawi's suggestions on recompiling the hadith into one proper encyclopedia which only include sahih and hassan hadiths. Qaradawi suggested for the ummah to prepare a 3 volume encyclopedia. The first is the compilation of the list of all the hadith narrators. The second is a compilation of the list of isnads of the hadith, whether one or more than one. The last volume a the exclusive compilation of sahih and hassan hadith.

I don't give good justice in writing this small review. You need to read this textbook, to really enjoy the knowledge.

MECCA, THE SACRED CITY BY ZIAUDDIN SARDAR

Mecca, the Sacred City by Ziauddin Sardar. Mecca, the most sacred city revered by more than a billion Muslims in the world. It has it's own share of history and secrets. Packed by Muslims during the hajj seasons and throughout the years for lesser pilgrimage, it has been through a lot since the days of Prophet Abraham PBUH. Sardar went to hajj for 5 times, during his attachment in the Hajj research centre in the 1970s to 1980s. In this book, he brought us through history of Mecca and the Hijaz from the days of Prophet Muhammad PBUH through the days of the Khulafa Ar Rashidin, Umayyads, Abbasids, Ottomans and Wahabbis. Shocking events throughout its history, especially for me who knew only about good things in Mecca. Mecca was ruled by sharifs, countless of them, who benefited from taxes from pilgrims and beneficiaries from most of the Muslim Caliphs of few different empires. Tragedy upon tragedy and massacre upon massacre happened for multiple reasons. Mainly fighting for power and money. Wars between siblings of sharifs, fighting for power. War between tribes for money and power. War between Turks and Meccans fighting for power. Thousands died during these wars. And many pilgrims also died and murdered during the hajj travels by the warring bedouins. Finally, in 1930s, it was the last of sharif of Mecca who was forced to leave Mecca by the armies of Wahabbis, who came from Riyadh, supported by the British empire. Even before that, many wars occurred between the Meccan aided by Ottomans and Turks with the Wahabbis. However, it is not all bad. Mecca enjoyed peace for quite a long period, with many development and expansion of the sacred mosque, mainly by the Ottomans Caliphs. Railways were built to carry pilgrims and supplies from Egypt. All along these period, Mecca totally depended on money and beneficiaries from pilgrim taxes and Egypt. During these period, slavery still thrived for the Hijaz aristocrats. Slaves from Africa were brought in and traded in the markets. They were made to work for the aristocrats, doing trivial works and serving the pilgrims.  After being captured by the Wahabbis in 1935, Mecca undergoes massive development and restructuring, especially after the oil money came. Historical places and many buildings built during the prophet days and the Ottomans were demolished. For these puritans, these need to be done to prevent the Muslims from venerating these places. Mecca was further developed to be a cosmopolitan city just like Houston or any other cosmopolitan city in the world. However, whether it changed Mecca from it's days during the jahilli period, we don't really know. Whether slavery, prejudices, Arab aristocracy had been removed from the hearts of Meccans, only God knows. Whatever has or had happened, Mecca or Makkah will still be very special in the hearts of Muslims.