Currently Reading... [Archive]

Ibn Adam

20th February 2007, 08:03 PM

I've been meaning to read this book... Is it any good? I've heard a mixture of reviews.

I found it very slow to get into but there's a point where the story just takes a sudden turn and I couldn't put down till I finished after that.

There are some very interesting reflections on societal control and the use of langauge in shaping belief. It certainly makes you think. But be warned that there is an extensive zina' based sub-plot which gets on your nerves. I nearly stopped reading it because I thought it was just "some stupid love story" but my friend told me to persevere.

On the whole I enjoyed it and the bad bits (i.e. the zina stuff) have faded from my memory. I can totally understand why it is considered a pioneering and culturally influential text. So yeah, it's up to you whether you want to read it or not, as there is both good and evil in it.

wa Allahu a'lam.

Turaabie

20th February 2007, 08:07 PM

Jazzaakillaahu Khayraa' akhee.

Abuz Zubair

20th February 2007, 10:31 PM

George Orwell... Animal Farm is what I enjoyed reading the most, and is something I would like my kids to read, too. It very beautifully sums up the rise and fall of communism.

abu_ibrahim

20th February 2007, 10:38 PM

animal farms not really a kids book, I did for my GCSE exams. It was a great book.

Abuz Zubair

20th February 2007, 10:40 PM

animal farms not really a kids book, I did for my GCSE exams. It was a great book.
If you did it for your GCSEs (as did I), then it must be for kids :)

abu_ibrahim

20th February 2007, 10:41 PM

If you did it for your GCSEs (as did I), then it must be for kids :)

Have you seen the cartoon as well? lol

Abuz Zubair

20th February 2007, 10:54 PM

lol I didn't know it had a cartoon as well! Did they show you cartoon for GCSE?!

gag order

20th February 2007, 11:12 PM

i am reading ARGOS

Break The Cross

20th February 2007, 11:23 PM

For those who are reading more than one book at a time . How do you manage that ?

I really have a bad habit of reading, I read like atleast 2-3 books a week. What i do is I read one in the morning, one at lunch time and one at night. I usually leave the Islamic books for night time so no one can bug me and i can dream about it lol.

Anyways I had to read "of Mice and Men" for my English class, I actually liked it. But its stupid, High School kids are so dumb here, I asked for a more "complex" book and the teacher found it funny :mad:

Im also reading a pdf of "Principles of Islaamic Jurisprudence" by Kamali, but it has some pages missing lol

And my last book I just started is "Al Mawaithath ul Hasana" by Shaikh 'Umar Abdur Rahman, that is a very simple good book for people like me.

I recently saw a movie called "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" MashAllah that movie is great, May Allaah guide the actor Charlie and the little white kid to Islaam, Ameen

Break The Cross

20th February 2007, 11:29 PM

Animal farm is a classic I herd. I love animals and history so it will be great inshAllah Im going to read that again.

Abuz Zubair

20th February 2007, 11:42 PM

I recently saw a movie called "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" MashAllah that movie is great, May Allaah guide the actor Charlie and the little white kid to Islaam, Ameen

I LAUGHED... AND LAUGHED... AND LAUGHED!

Turaabie

20th February 2007, 11:50 PM

I LAUGHED... AND LAUGHED... AND LAUGHED!

Ditto.

I think 'To Kill A Mockingbird' is a good read for GCSE.

Umm Ahmed

21st February 2007, 02:34 AM

We read "animal farm" in primary seven , it's a good book , "to kill a mocking bird" is one of my all time faves.

To Break the cross, I haven't really tried reading more than one book at a time.

Abu Ilyas

21st February 2007, 07:56 AM

I have just finished reading : The Great War For Civilisation - The Conquest Of The Middle East by Robert Fisk.

I am reading The Wealth & Poverty of Nations -why some are so rich and some so poor. Which is something I want to write about one day in relation to the Islamic world.

I want to get my hands on a good english translation of Ibn Khaldun's Muqaddima, so am looking for that to read next.

Reading some of these posts made me realise I have not read a novel for a long time, but I remember reading 'To Kill a Mockingbird', 'Of Mice and Men' and 'Roll Of Thunder Hear My Cry' when I was at school and I enjoyed them and had impact on me as a child...

on the above point is it not a shame that there is hardly any good fictional literature to read for young Muslims...I remember Shaykh Haytham saying to me that as Muslims we really need to get into writing good quality fiction for our young people...and he was right...but I guess when you start practicing all you want to read is Islamic sciences and history so we forget about fiction...but sometimes that leaves a greater impact on a person.

I would say that perhaps one of the most influential books I ever read was 'The Autobiography of Malcolm X' as a teenager.

AI

abu_ibrahim

21st February 2007, 11:09 AM

Umm

21st February 2007, 11:19 AM

Is it worth buying?

Abu Ilyas

21st February 2007, 11:29 AM

Rogue State is a good reference to American crimes. Worth getting if you have nothing similar in your Library.

Something worth mentioning is that a lot of English books against Israel and America are not readily available in the West, some they have tried to ban but you do come across them in other countries.

AI

abudurrah

21st February 2007, 08:37 PM

i liked 'animal farm' but it showed that the one in power always ends up becoming a tyrant

i think its a very sad message to the people that whenever they try to rise up and change then they also become oppressors and nothing changes in the end

i think imam ghazalis explanation of the attitudes of a leader is very good

also im a private teacher and i had to teach 'mice and men' and i did not like it
i also had to teach 'great expecatations' and that was so nonsensical to me

the worst book kids read for GCSEs is romeo and juliet becasue of the fitnah, and it inspires kids to do it as well

i dont like english, maths makes much more sense to me

Abd al Majeed

21st February 2007, 10:13 PM

Ibn Ilyas, check this out:

http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/ik/Muqaddimah/index.htm

Abu Ilyas

22nd February 2007, 06:05 AM

Ibn Ilyas, check this out:

http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/ik/Muqaddimah/index.htm

:) Jazakhallah Khair Akhee. Saved me some money too!

AI

Fajr

23rd February 2007, 08:11 PM

Currently reading:

- Taarikh al-Khilaafah ar-Raashidah [Abridgement of 'Taareekh Ibn Katheer'] by Shaykh Muhammaad Kan'aan
- Riyaadh as-Saaliheen
- Sayd al-Khaatir by Ibn al-Jawzi

- 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
- The Tortue Debate in America [collection of essays, research papers and deep discussions on the matter]

- Will soon start reading some new books I ordered inshaa'Allah!

Of Mice and Men was generally good but quite depressing - I didn't expect the ending to be like that though

Abu Ilyas

23rd February 2007, 08:26 PM

NAveed

24th February 2007, 05:12 PM

7 Habits is okay.
Hes not a muslim- so he is deprived of all the Hikmah in the SUnnah.

Try getting the book on time by shaykh abal fattah (ra)
hes got some nice things about the time management of the ulema
including quotes from shaykh ibn taymeeyah(ra)

gag order

24th February 2007, 09:15 PM

what are the 7 habits of effective people anyway?

Umm Ahmed

25th February 2007, 02:51 AM

what are the 7 habits of effective people anyway?

habit 1 - be proactive
habit 2 - begin with the end in mind
habit 3 - put first things first
habit 4 - think win-win
habit 5 - seek first to understand and then to be understood
habit 6 - synergize
habit 7 - sharpen the saw

Fajr

25th February 2007, 04:37 PM

Is 7 habits worth getting?
I personally think that if you e.g.: feel you need time management, have too many tasks on hand but can't channel your efforts well enough, are ambitious but don't know where to start and want to change everything in you so you can become effective in everything you do etc etc.... then maybe this is a book that'll help.

Obviously it's not a book filled with Islamic guidance (hence lack of certain hikam), but it does make sense in most things and if you have your Islamic understanding firmly in place, then it'll only increase you in positive things inshaa'Allaah.

Above are the 7 habits, and below is an excerpt highlighting the difference between a 'proactive' person and 'reactive' person

Look at the word responsibility - "response-ability" - the ability to choose your response. Highly proactive people recognize that responsibility. They do not blame circumstances, conditions or conditioning for their behaviour. Their behaviour is a product of their own concious choice, based on values, rather than a product of their conditions based on their feeling.

In making such a choice (responding to externals), we become reactive. Reactive people are often affected by their physical environment. If the weather is good, they feel good. If it isn't, it affects their attitude and their performance. Proactive people can carry their own weather with them. Whether it rains or shines makes no difference to them. They are value driven; and if their value is to produce good quality work, it isn't a function of whether the weather is conducive to it or not. Then he goes on to describe reactive people and how if for example someone treat them unwell, they become defensive and protective etc.

Overall, its a good book to generally flick through and it has excellent points on focusing in and expanding out, having focuses etc. Some things are common sense, but I guess it's just stating the obvious and restructuring everything

One thing that I felt was pretty good about the book is the way the author keeps going back to principles - how people aught to be people of principles and establish their actions and thought process on well built principles and values. If everything around you falls and even if you feel yourself 'failing', then your principles are still intact - and this is exactly what the Messenger (s) taught and instilled into his companions (ra), the Principles of Islaam.

Abdel Rahman al-Khattab

25th February 2007, 09:13 PM

aslam alikom wr wb

i am learning quran and olom shar3ia and 40 hadeth nwawy and minhaj almuslim for abu bakr al jazairi and nour alya9in and tafseer and tawheed ilahia and arabic gramer

MosDef

4th August 2007, 04:16 PM

Assalaamu Alaykum,

I have been looking for this type of thread, buried away. :) I am currently reading:

Freedom Next Time (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Freedom-Next-Time-John-Pilger/dp/0593055527) - John Pilger (so far it is very good, covers the oppression in Afghanistan, Palestine, S. Africa and some other not so well known places where the US/UK have literally destroyed whole populations).
Highly recommended!

have just finished reading : The Great War For Civilisation - The Conquest Of The Middle East by Robert Fisk. I have got this and will read it next Insha'Allah. Apparently this book was recommended by Abu Abdillah? Any comments?

I would say that perhaps one of the most influential books I ever read was 'The Autobiography of Malcolm X' Amazing book & amazing man.

Nineteen Eighty-Four by George OrwellThought-crimes... he was spot-on. Today we have things like thought-crimes.

I'm reading Khalid Bin Waleed by A.I AkramIs this the best english book about Khalid bin Waleed?

UmmAbdulMalikStorm

5th August 2007, 09:41 PM

The devil wears prada.

Abu Ibraaheem

5th August 2007, 11:04 PM

I have been looking for this type of thread, buried away. :) I am currently reading:

Made the thread sticky, so it always appears at the top of the forum inshaallah.

have just finished reading : The Great War For Civilisation - The Conquest Of The Middle East by Robert Fisk.
I have got this and will read it next Insha'Allah. Apparently this book was recommended by Abu Abdillah? Any comments?

I heard that he said some good things about the author, not sure whether he recommended the book
I just starting reading that, read chapter 1. Seems like an excellent book so far.

Abu Sabaya

5th August 2007, 11:08 PM

I'm currently in the middle of a biography of Heinrich Himmler, Hitler's no. 2. Very interesting fellow.

150 pages down, 500 to go...

MosDef

5th August 2007, 11:13 PM

biography of Heinrich Himmler, Hitler's no. 2. Very interesting fellow.

LOL im sure he is, nothing like light entertainment hey bro..,

I just starting reading that, read chapter 1. Seems like an excellent book so far.

That is quite a hefty book aswell. I finished enemy combatant by Moazzam begg before Freedom Next Time. EC was just riveting - could not put it down... Moazzam is a good brother masha'Allah. Balanced man.

Abu Ibraaheem

5th August 2007, 11:17 PM

That is quite a hefty book aswell.
lol yeah, I find books of that size, very off putting. But once I started reading it, it was one of those books that you do not want to put down.

MosDef

5th August 2007, 11:23 PM

lol same here, thats why i left it until the end of my current cycle (which is political issues at the mo) :)

The devil wears prada.

Erm not sure what to say, i saw a trailer of the movie...

Niqaabis

5th August 2007, 11:49 PM

I'm currently reading a book called I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

I dont like this book at all and regret buying it

The only reason I brought it was becuase recently I had read another book called The Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower by William Blum (which is a very good book)

And in there it mentioned the banning of certain books from the US school curriculum such as Oliver Twist, The Diary of Ann Frank, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings etc.

So I wanted to know why they would want to ban certain books, therefore after reading a few reviews about this one I purchased it but am not enjoying reading it at all.
I think too much hype has been given to it
or maybe its just because it's just been a long time since I’ve read a non islaamic book so the language and some of the context is not something I like reading, especially because this particular book contains a lot of acts of shirk like calling upon Jesus and reading things like that bothers me.

Does anyone else feel the same when they read non islaamic books?

defenderofbusharraf

6th August 2007, 01:13 AM

i am always reading the Quran, but am currently reading The Adventures of Bananaman

Abul-Fadl

6th August 2007, 01:58 AM

Does anyone else feel the same when they read non islaamic books?

Yeah i get that sometimes, but usually only with fiction books. Thats probably why i stopped reading them.

I think too much hype has been given to it

This happens a lot. There's all ways one book that people talk about. I remember it happening with the book 'divinci's code'. With that book it was just like a fashion. When someone was asked to name a book they were reading they just said divinci's code. Same thing happened with the harry potter books.

Really shows how fake society is.

Umm

6th August 2007, 04:55 AM

Recently read the following:

My Jihad by Aukai Collins. Not a very impressive book.

For God and Country - James Yee. V interesting.

Abu wakee

6th August 2007, 05:48 AM

Currently reading a bunch of books. My problem is that I start reading a book, then I pick up another book, then I grab yet another book. And I end up with a number of books, having read only parts of each.

Some of the books I'm reading:

Muhadharat-e-fiqh (urdu) by Dr. Mehmood Ahmed Ghazi.

Freakonomics.

MosDef

6th August 2007, 04:23 PM

Yes i know people who read 5 to 6 books at a time... never worked for me but i can see why... one for the car, one for the house, one at work etc.

but am currently reading The Adventures of Bananaman

LOL highly recommended is it? That made me laugh :)

MosDef

6th August 2007, 05:35 PM

I heard that he said some good things about the author, not sure whether he recommended the book

Yes you are right, i got confused. The actual book recommended was the aforementioned "Rogue State" by Mr Blum.

salafiya

6th August 2007, 05:48 PM

I just started reading Hayatul Barzakh. Life in al-Barzakh from Death until Resurrection by Muhammad Mustafa al-Jibaly. The series is amazing mashaAllaah

As for non-Islaamic books, unfortunately, I liked the Harry Potter series. I also thought the DaVinci Code was an awesome read BECAUSE of the twists, not because of the shirk. Hmm...oo The Royal Diaries: Marie Antoinette was good too (I love historical fiction). But I haven't read many non-Islaamic books for awhile. I guess because they sort of bore me now.

umm emman

6th August 2007, 07:10 PM

im reading..

15 ways to increses your earnings.. (from the quraan and sunnah)
by yasir qadhi...

Brother_Mujahid

6th August 2007, 07:18 PM

Dying to Win: The Logic of Suicide Terrorism by Robert Pape and The Battle for God by Karen Armstrong.

Farhan

6th August 2007, 11:55 PM

I've just ordered 'Toxic Childhood'.

http://www.orionbooks.co.uk/graphics/covers/36895.jpg

You can read the reviews here. (http://www.suepalmer.co.uk/ToxicR.php)

Abu Bubu

9th August 2007, 03:32 AM

This is the book I am currently read by William Blum, its about USA policy with other country's, like test biological weapons, rigging elections and other things. This book is now the bestseller charts since Bin laden mentioned it in a tape in January 2006.

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/1842778277.02._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

You can read the book here (http://www.kalamullah.com/Books/RogueState2002updeditionWilliamBlums.pdf), (To download right click and save target as)

Niqaabis

9th August 2007, 02:14 PM

You can read the book here (http://www.kalamullah.com/Books/RogueState2002updeditionWilliamBlums.pdf), (To download right click and save target as)

I should check Kalamullah more often, before I go shopping at amazon

Junayd

9th August 2007, 05:29 PM

Salam

George Orwell... Animal Farm is what I enjoyed reading the most, and is something I would like my kids to read, too. It very beautifully sums up the rise and fall of communism.

I have read this book (and 1984). It's necessary to read Animal Farm with a "sharh".

"Moses is a tame raven who spreads stories of Sugarcandy Mountain, the "Animal Heaven." These beliefs are denounced by the pigs. Moses represents religion (specifically the Russian Orthodox Church), which was brutally persecuted under Communism. It is interesting to note that, while Moses initially leaves the farm after the rebellion, he later returns and is supported by the pigs. This represents the cynical manipulation of the Moscow Patriarchate by the State to control and observe the population. Moses also shows some characteristics of Grigori Rasputin. The acceptance of Moses by the pigs could be seen to represent Stalin's relaxed attitude towards the Russian Orthodox Church during WWII, as the Church was a way to raise funds for the Russian war effort."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_Farm#Other_animals

Actually, I'm reading à sumerise of "Al Bidaya wal Nihaya"

Abuz Zubair

9th August 2007, 05:37 PM

It was one of the best titles I have ever read... The Animal Farm.

Umm

10th August 2007, 05:57 AM

I am currently reading Musharraf's biography. Even though I despise his attitude towards the mujaahideen, his military training is quite impressive. He's had loads of brushes with death! Much more than just 3 assassination attempts. He writes well too.

AkramUKConv

10th August 2007, 06:54 AM

'Al-Quran: A Contemporary Translation (http://forums.islamicawakening.com/showpost.php?p=43258&postcount=17)' translated by Professor Ahmed Ali (http://tinyurl.com/2vaugd)
'Islam: Beliefs and Teachings (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam:_Beliefs_and_Teachings)' by Professor Ghulam Sarwar (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghulam_Sarwar)
'Towards Understanding Islam (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Towards_Understanding_Islam_(book))' by Sheikh Maulana Sayyid Abul A'la Mawdudi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sayyid_Abul_Ala_Maududi)

Fajr

10th August 2007, 08:52 AM

- Asraar al-Muhibbeen fi Ramadhaan - Sh. Muhammad Husayn Ya'qoob
- Dumoo' al-Qurraa (Tears of the recitors) - Muhammad Shomaan
- al-Tibyaan fi Aadab Hamalat al-Qur'aan - by Imaam al-Nawawi

Umm

10th August 2007, 03:36 PM

'Islam: Beliefs and Teachings (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam:_Beliefs_and_Teachings)' by Professor Ghulam Sarwar (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghulam_Sarwar)

That's the 1st book I read on Islaam prior to conversion. Nice and easy to understand.

Turaabie

10th August 2007, 05:17 PM

MosDef

10th August 2007, 05:22 PM

It is indeed a barrel of laughs... The chapter with the two Men, Umar & Usama was interesting however.

knowrass

10th August 2007, 11:32 PM

- Asraar al-Muhibbeen fi Ramadhaan - Sh. Muhammad Husayn Ya'qoob
- Dumoo' al-Qurraa (Tears of the recitors) - Muhammad Shomaan
- al-Tibyaan fi Aadab Hamalat al-Qur'aan - by Imaam al-Nawawi

assalaamu alaykum, i was just wondering, where can i order that book or other books by shaykh muhammad husayn yaqoob? i'm looking for good prices and speedy delivery.

Najaah

11th August 2007, 01:29 AM

Dying to Win: The Logic of Suicide Terrorism by Robert Pape and The Battle for God by Karen Armstrong.What do you think of the book so far?

salahuddin_ayyubi

11th August 2007, 04:23 PM

Currently I'm reading: -

A Brief history of The Crusades: Islam and Christianity in the struggle for world supremacy by Geoffrey Hindley

and

Skeleton Coast by Clive Cussler

Yasir

11th August 2007, 06:20 PM

I'm currently reading "Slaves of the All-Merciful".The Battle for God by Karen Armstrong.What do you think of it so far? Have you read any of her other books?'Islam: Beliefs and Teachings' by Professor Ghulam Sarwar That's the 1st book I read on Islaam prior to conversion. Nice and easy to understand.It's one of the first books Ed Hussain attacks in "The Islamist" as a result of some of the "political" things he mentions.

AkramUKConv

12th August 2007, 09:43 AM

I'm currently reading "Slaves of the All-Merciful".What do you think of it so far? Have you read any of her other books?It's one of the first books Ed Hussain attacks in "The Islamist" as a result of some of the "political" things he mentions.

Indeed, that is where I heard of it. And, after getting it I see that he lies. First, his quotinfg of Sarwar, although not wrong, are worded VERY differently to what is actually written in the book - this is therefore a lie regardless of intention.

And, Husain goes on about Sarwar being involved in some organisation that he didn't know about, therefore Sarwar is bias. I have a copy of Sarwars book from 1990 and 2005 and it says clearly in the books what he is a member of.

Husain is a liar from these two simple examples.

Fajr

13th August 2007, 06:53 PM

assalaamu alaykum, i was just wondering, where can i order that book or other books by shaykh muhammad husayn yaqoob? i'm looking for good prices and speedy delivery.

Unfortunately, I don't think his books are available for purchase online - many Egyptian publishing houses/maktabat don't have a website or online shopping facilities. The shaykh does have a website though, maybe you can check for info there inshaa'Allaah: http://www.yaqob.com/site/docs/index.php

Abu Dharr Al Kashmiri

14th August 2007, 10:37 AM

The Financial Times!

al-omari

14th August 2007, 07:02 PM

Abu Bubu

30th August 2007, 04:20 PM

The Signs of the Hypocrites

http://www.kalamullah.com/img/signsofhypocrites.jpg

Based on the Arabic Work Thala Thun Alamah lil-Munafiqin by Shaykh Aa`id `Abdullah al-Qarnee)

When it is said to them: "Do not make mischief on the Earth," they say: "Why? We only want to make peace." Beware, they are the ones that cause mischief but they do not realise. [Surah al-Baqarah (2):11-12]

The sign of a believer is that he understands the Religion and is constantly increasing his knowledge of certain matters and benefits and he is covetous of all that is good, as well as the gatherings wherein it is disseminated. The hypocrite, however, completely turns away. When the people talk in a gathering about matters to do with the Prayer or worship, it is to him as if they are speaking in a different language. A useful work in current times when Hypocrisy has made deep roads in the Muslim Society.

- Download E-Book - (http://www.kalamullah.com/Books/Hypocrites.pdf) (right click and save target as)

MosDef

30th August 2007, 07:11 PM

This Kalamullah website is one of the best. Maash'Allah brilliant work.

hearandobey

30th August 2007, 11:10 PM

jazakAllah khayr for shaykh aidh's book!!

Abu Jalfrezi

31st August 2007, 12:07 PM

AkramUKConv

31st August 2007, 12:30 PM

I cant get my head into a book properly, cant commit myself to reading a whole book, i only read short articles and discussions online... I cant even remember when i read a full book !! this is not right is it...

Any Advice peoples as to what should i do where should i start, i dont want to buy any books, got loads of pdfs sitting on me computer doing nothing, as well as some on the shelf.

:(

I know what you mean, I was the same. However, I hate reading online so always get a book. The Qur'an has the answer:

Be steadfast in patience - 11:115
Persevere in patience and constancy - 3:200
Pour out on us patience and constancy - 7:126
Peace unto you for that ye persevered in patience - 13:24

Bare with it and listen to Allah.

MosDef

31st August 2007, 12:37 PM

Personally i find reading big pdf documents online very difficult, cant be so good for the eyes. So like Akram i prefer a book. Sometimes i tend to alternate between Islamic books and non-islamic books. Is their a particular type of book you struggle with?

Umm Ahmed

31st August 2007, 09:07 PM

Maybe everyone should add their tips in this thread for reading a book .

Abu Jalfrezi try making the intention to yourself to read a particular book from start to finnish and always carry it with you, so that you read it in every spare moment.

Niqaabis

31st August 2007, 11:04 PM

Maybe everyone should add their tips in this thread for reading a book .

Set a fix time every day to do your reading and stick to it

Join goodreads.com and you can read reviews of books from your friends and others, it will give you an idea of what the book is about and you can see if it is to your taste.

Join the reading club on an-najwa forums and you'll be given deadline dates for when you need to have finished a book by

Try to avoid buying more books until you finished some of your other books, the new book can be an incentive to finish the others

Make friends with people who love books

Those are just a few things I can think of right now.

Abu Bubu

11th September 2007, 03:33 AM

- Imperial Hubris -

Why the West Is
Losing the War on Terrorism

http://img49.imageshack.us/img49/1873/1574888625if3.jpg

- Download - (http://www.fileflyer.com/view/4ApGLBB)

Aishah

11th September 2007, 01:29 PM

Wa alaikum as salam wr wb

Set a fix time every day to do your reading and stick to it

Join goodreads.com and you can read reviews of books from your friends and others, it will give you an idea of what the book is about and you can see if it is to your taste.

Join the reading club on an-najwa forums and you'll be given deadline dates for when you need to have finished a book by

Try to avoid buying more books until you finished some of your other books, the new book can be an incentive to finish the others

Make friends with people who love books

jazakalllahu khair .. nice tips

AbuAliTheRoman

11th September 2007, 09:17 PM

I mention what i am reading just so that others may comment/criticise and not out of riyaa, wAllaahu a'a3lam:

Of course firstly Kitaab Allah and may He increase us in its reading, understanding and application.

Aqeedah
Sharh Thalathi usool - S. Muhammad Saalih al-3Uthaymeen

Fiqh
AlUdda Sharh ul-Umdah - S. Bahaa udDeen alMaqdasi

Lugha

SharhulAajuroomiyah li S. al-3Uthaymeen

Usool itTafseer

أصول التفسير للشيخ العلامة: عبدالرحمن بن محمد بن قاسم

For the kayfiyyah of learning Qur'aan:

Kayfa tahfivu ulQuran-alKareem -Qawaa3id Asaasiyyah wa Turuq 3Amaliyah
"How to Memorize the Noble Quran: the Principle Fundamentals and Practical Methods"
by Dr. Yahya bin 3Abd irRazzaaqi al-Ghawthaanee

Tafsir

AlJalaalayn
AlSa3dee

Brother_Mujahid

11th September 2007, 09:47 PM

What do you think of it so far? Have you read any of her other books?

Yes, I have read a couple of her other books. I also have finished the book by Robert Pape, and I found it to be very illuminating.

Today I purchased The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy (http://www.amazon.com/Israel-Lobby-U-S-Foreign-Policy/dp/0374177724/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-7180922-3687941?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1189545002&sr=8-1) by John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt. So I'm going to start reading that as soon as possible.

Abu Jalfrezi

25th September 2007, 12:59 PM

Medicine of the Prophet by Jalal ud-Din Suyuti...

Anyone read it what you think, also what Aqidah was this shaykh upon ?

AkramUKConv

25th September 2007, 06:14 PM

Fajr

1st November 2007, 11:16 PM

- Tayseer fi 'ilm usool al-fiqh
- A Child Called 'It' [A true story]
- The Kite Runner

Abuz Zubair

1st November 2007, 11:28 PM

Tayseer fi 'ilm usool al-fiqh

who is it by?

1st November 2007, 11:32 PM

:) next week's reading (uni stuff):

1. 'The Rainbow'- D.H. Lawrence
2. Nietzsche's essay 'On the Uses and Disadvantages of History for Life' (I think that's the title)
3. 'The Prince'- Machiavelli
4. Some of Leibnitz's political writings, and some of Pierre Bayle's 'Dictionary'
5. 'Great Gatsby' and 'Dubliners' if there's time

Fajr

1st November 2007, 11:44 PM

who is it by?'Abdullah al-Juday'

Scented Blood

2nd November 2007, 02:52 PM

For those who are reading more than one book at a time . How do you manage that ?

I have different books for different things in different places. I carry a book with me when on public transport, i have one in the living room and one in the bedroom. I just associate that book with that thing and it works for me.

Gag order i think the new argos out soon. Only time i do Hifz on that is just before Eid.

Milk Shaykh

2nd November 2007, 03:17 PM

Yeah, those damn Argos catalogues! Ya Dunyah, Ghurree Ghayry!

Scented Blood

2nd November 2007, 03:53 PM

Bro that book is mans best friend. Its got many brothers out of situations.
You made plans to see brothers but then your wife reminds you that you got a date with her...quick as a flash you produce the argos and their mind wanders off in time for you to get your shoes on running down the garden path...

Abuz Zubair

2nd November 2007, 04:09 PM

dating one's wife?

Milk Shaykh

2nd November 2007, 04:24 PM

Scented Blood

2nd November 2007, 04:29 PM

dating one's wife?

Indeed. A.k.a Quality time

Abuz Zubair

2nd November 2007, 04:50 PM

Dating is when you meet someone for a possible long-term relationship.

Umm Ahmed

2nd November 2007, 05:57 PM

I have to agree the Argos and Index catalogues are a good read. They also keep the kids busy for a bit.

Dating is when you meet someone for a possible long-term relationship.

It's a term used between husband and wife sometimes like date night, ie spending time with each other alone.

Abuz Zubair

2nd November 2007, 08:07 PM

JK for that, I didn't know...

I was thinking what the world has come to if husband and wife need dating!

Niqaabis

3rd November 2007, 12:10 AM

I have to agree the Argos and Index catalogues are a good read. They also keep the kids busy for a bit.

It's a shame about the quality and condition of the products

they have so many returns

Abuz Zubair

3rd November 2007, 12:13 AM

they have so many returns

Not necessarily because the product is bad!

Niqaabis

3rd November 2007, 12:31 AM

Not necessarily because the product is bad!

that's true I guess

but they do have too many returns so something must be wrong

Umm Ahmed

3rd November 2007, 08:13 AM

that's true I guess

but they do have too many returns so something must be wrong

If thats the case, it might be because of not actually seeing the product.

Abu Ikrimah

16th November 2007, 09:30 PM

1 - Aysar At-Tafseer by shaykh Abu Bakr Al-Jazaa'iri (or a book that is based on it)

2 - A very nice sharh of (the ibaadaat section) of Umdat Al-Fiqh by Dr Abdullah Al-Jibreen

3 - A Book on Hajj (cant remember the name) by Shaykh Abdur-Rahman Al-Afriqee

Abu_Abdallah

16th November 2007, 10:06 PM

My share.

Currently reading:

- Kitab al-Iman: mafhumu'l-iman wa-lawazim 'ind ahl al-hadith wal-sunnah wal-athar by 'Amr Abd al-Mun'im Salim

- Insaf Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jama'ah wa-mu'amalatuhum li-mukhalifihum by Mohammad b. Salih b. Yusuf al-'Ali

- al-Asha'irah fi'l-Mizan ;)

Bought today:

- Tahdhir al-Fudala' min Ittiba' Zillat al-Ulama' by 'Aqil b. Muhammad al-Maqtiri

- al-Iqaf ala Sabab al-Ikhtilaf by al-Sindi

- Tarikh al-Fiqh al-Islami by a favourite author Dr. Umar al-Ashqar

- A book I needed just to fill some space left, al-Sahih al-Musnad mimma laysa fil-Sahihayn by Muqbil al-Wadi'i, rahimahullah, very beneficial!

Yasir

16th November 2007, 11:51 PM

- [Using as a reference] Khams Rasaa’il fi ‘Ulum al-Hadeeth
- The Siege of Mecca: The Forgotten Uprising
- Ibn Khaldun’s Science of Human Culture
- ‘Aqeedatut-Tawheed by Sh. Salih al-Fawzaan

Abuz Zubair

17th November 2007, 05:36 AM

Tahdhir al-Fudala' min Ittiba' Zillat al-Ulama' by 'Aqil b. Muhammad al-Maqtiri

Can you tell me the publisher?

Abuz Zubair

17th November 2007, 05:37 AM

Khams Rasaa’il fi ‘Ulum al-Hadeeth

Sh Abu Ghudda's compilation? Can you get his works in England? If so, where from?

Yasir

17th November 2007, 09:47 AM

Sh Abu Ghudda's compilation? Can you get his works in England? If so, where from?Yep, that’s the one.
You can get quite a range of books at reasonable prices from al-Souk (http://www.alsouk.co.uk/index.asp) (they don’t have their catalogue online) and the Islamic Book Centre (http://www.islamic-bookcentre.co.uk/booklist/booklist_arabic.pdf).
The bookstores are very helpful in that they’re able to get hold of a lot of books.

17th November 2007, 11:59 AM

:)

Few chapters of 'Leviathan'
'Dubliners'
'The Geneaology of Morals'
Spinoza's 'Ethics'

I wish I was at the same level as my brothers, masha Allah

Abu_Abdallah

17th November 2007, 08:09 PM

The Tahdhir is a collection of statements of scholars concerning the subject. It is in 86 pages only, a pocket soft-bound booklet published by Dar Ibn Hazm 1416 in Beirut.

http://www.thakafa.info/bookdt.asp?269-6512

The text of the small booklet on the author's site: www.al-maqtari.net/

hearandobey

17th November 2007, 08:16 PM

Abu_Abdallah

17th November 2007, 11:18 PM

The Arabic text p.22

قال الإمام الشاطبي رحمه الله:

(لا ينبغي أن ينسب صاحبها – أي الزلة – إلى التقصير ولا أن يشنع عليه بها ولا ينتقص من أجلها أو يعتقد فيه المخالفة بحتاً فإن هذا كله خلاف ما تقتضي رتبته في الدين) ا هـ من الموافقات (4/170-171).

وقال العلاَّمة ابن القيم رحمه الله:

( من له علم بالشرع والواقع يعلم قطعاً أن الرجل الجليل الذي له في الإسلام [..] وأهله بمكان قد يكون منه الهفوة والزلة هو فيها معذور بل مأجور لاجتهاده فلا يجوز أن يتبع فيها ولا يجوز أن تهدر مكانته ومنزلته في قلوب المسلمين) ا.هـ من أعلام الموقعين (3/295).

English translation

The Imam al-Shâtibi, may Allah have mercy on him said:

It does not behoove to ascribe to the fellow of it - whatever slip - belitteling, nor to make him look ugly through it, or to disparage him because of it, or to to think of him guilt of plain transgress. Indeed, all of this is in conflict with what his place in religion demands.

End from the Muwafaqat 4/170-171.

The scholar Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

Whoso has [tasted] from knowledge of the sacred law and actual reality knows for certain that a man of dignity, one who has in Islam [righteous advance and fine traces and he is from Islam] and its adherents, is upon a standing from which may come lapses and slips, for which he is excused or rather rewarded for his efforts. So its not permitted to follow him therein, nor is it allowed to waste his position and status in the Muslim people's hearts.

End from I'lâm al-Muwaqqi'in 3/295.

These are words I felt very pleased by.

UmmAbdulMalikStorm

21st November 2007, 07:46 PM

Has anyone read Imam al-Sa'di's Exquisite Pearl?

Turaabie

22nd November 2007, 04:10 PM

I finished reading 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' by the authour of 'Kite Runner' (Khaled Hosseini) Very good book!

Abu_Abdallah

22nd November 2007, 05:32 PM

I finished reading 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' by the authour of 'Kite Runner' (Khaled Hosseini) Very good book!

What is it about? And who is the author?

Magoo

22nd November 2007, 05:49 PM

What is it about? And who is the author?

http://www.khaledhosseini.com/ is his website by the looks of it, i havent read his stuff yet but it seems interesting

Abu Bubu

22nd November 2007, 08:07 PM

Isn't he that shia who cusses the shariah throughout his books? Could be wrong.

Abu Bubu

22nd November 2007, 08:26 PM

Here you go, I found a review of the book on muslimmatters:

http://muslimmatters.org/2007/10/29/book-review-a-thousand-splendid-suns-by-khalid-hosseini/

In the comments some people have mentioned he makes the shariah sound barbaric and calls the taliban pedophiles. :/

Fajr

22nd November 2007, 09:49 PM

I've read his first book 'The Kite Runner' which as a piece of writing is very good - I'll give the credit where it's due, it became a bestseller because of his writing skills. However, it's obvious he has a political fire within his novels (at least the one I read), he has something against the Taliban and there were a few things that weren't agreeable like his portraying deen as something backward (the main characters readily drink and party etc and what is nazr anyway?)

Although I don't know if he is a shi'i, the main storyline of Kite Runner is based around 2 friends - one a sunni and the other a shi'i, the first is a coward, the latter is the stronger, more moral and loved character.

hearandobey

23rd November 2007, 01:07 AM

there have been speculations that he is a shi'i. please see brother amad's review of the book in muslimmatters.org

Magoo

23rd November 2007, 12:03 PM

there have been speculations that he is a shi'i. please see brother amad's review of the book in muslimmatters.org

here is the link directly to the review, very informative

http://muslimmatters.org/2007/10/29/book-review-a-thousand-splendid-suns-by-khalid-hosseini/

Abu Hafsa

23rd November 2007, 12:15 PM

Still reading through the ahadith in Bulugh al Maram, been on it since Ramadhan now, cant seem to get stuck in and finish it.

Scented Blood

23rd November 2007, 07:31 PM

About to start 'Enemy Combatant'

Magoo

23rd November 2007, 10:04 PM

About to start 'Enemy Combatant'

thats an excellent read masha'allah

Aishah

24th November 2007, 01:13 AM

Asalamu alaikum wr wb

what is nazr anyway?

nazr if iam correct and I hope the author means this , is the evil eye..

Abu_Abdallah

24th November 2007, 11:46 AM

Still reading through the ahadith in Bulugh al Maram, been on it since Ramadhan now, cant seem to get stuck in and finish it.

One of the best books on Ahadith al-Ahkam.

I find the Ilmam of Ibn Daqiq al-'Id also good. And al-'Iraqi's work entitled Taqrib al-Asanid fi Tartib al-Masanid, it is a very useful book too. This latter book, with the unusual title for an Ahadith al-Ahkam work, is in some aspects even nicer to read.

>UserName<

24th November 2007, 06:11 PM

Just read 'The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People' (http://www.amazon.com/Habits-Highly-Effective-People/dp/0671708635)- excellent excellent book - highly recommended.

About to start 'Milestones'...yes yes, I'm a lil behind, but there ya go.

And while I'm in this thread..Kiterunner was D E P R E S S I N G .
Well written, but depressing. I agree with Fajr about the other things aswell.

Hosseini's recent book, 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' is also well written, also depressing, and not as good as Kiterunner. Worth the read, anyhow.

Abu Maryam PK

2nd December 2007, 08:51 AM

Bismillah
Assalamoalaikum
1) Fathul Baari by Ibn Hajar(vol 1)
2) Tankeel by Al-Mu'allami
3) Sahih Al-Bukhari (random chapters with my wife)

- al-Iqaf ala Sabab al-Ikhtilaf by al-Sindi
- A book I needed just to fill some space left, al-Sahih al-Musnad mimma laysa fil-Sahihayn by Muqbil al-Wadi'i, rahimahullah, very beneficial!

In how many volumes, sheikh muqbil's book?
What is the full name of Al-Sindee? Sh Badi-'uddin?

justabro

2nd December 2007, 10:32 AM

In how many volumes, sheikh muqbil's book?

I've seen the original titled al-Sahih al-Musnad Mimma Laysa Fi al-Sahihayn. It is in two volumes and it is arranged by Masanid of Sahaba. Al-Jami al-Sahih is arranged by topic:

http://waqfeya.com/open.php?cat=33&book=1436

Btw, this is his "Mustadrak" work. He went through all the major source works - those with original asanid- that were at his disposal, trying to find authentic hadiths not in al-sahihayn and that are free of ilal (he didnt include hasan li ghayrih because it would be too difficult). The total number reached about 1800.

A teacher of mine who has Ijazah from Sh. Muqbil in Hadith said that even then, much of the mutun he collected exist in Sahihayn, albeit from other Companions or in many cases, you will find something similar to it in al-Sahihayn. And he is someone who reads al-Sahihayn at least once every year for the past nearly 30 yrs.

Abu_Abdallah

2nd December 2007, 12:10 PM

Bismillah
Assalamoalaikum
1) Fathul Baari by Ibn Hajar(vol 1)
2) Tankeel by Al-Mu'allami
3) Sahih Al-Bukhari (random chapters with my wife)

In how many volumes, sheikh muqbil's book?
What is the full name of Al-Sindee? Sh Badi-'uddin?

In 2 volumes as the brother said.

The Iqaf is by Shaykh Muhammd Hayât b. Ibrahim al-Sindi, the student of Shah Waliullah al-Dihlawi. Not Badi' al-Din al-Sindi of late. Muhammad b. Abd al-Wahhab, the Imam, was a student of this al-Sindi.

Abu_Abdallah

2nd December 2007, 12:46 PM

I've seen the original titled al-Sahih al-Musnad Mimma Laysa Fi al-Sahihayn. It is in two volumes and it is arranged by Masanid of Sahaba. Al-Jami al-Sahih is arranged by topic:

http://waqfeya.com/open.php?cat=33&book=1436

Btw, this is his "Mustadrak" work. He went through all the major source works - those with original asanid- that were at his disposal, trying to find authentic hadiths not in al-sahihayn and that are free of ilal (he didnt include hasan li ghayrih because it would be too difficult). The total number reached about 1800.

A teacher of mine who has Ijazah from Sh. Muqbil in Hadith said that even then, much of the mutun he collected exist in Sahihayn, albeit from other Companions or in many cases, you will find something similar to it in al-Sahihayn. And he is someone who reads al-Sahihayn at least once every year for the past nearly 30 yrs.

Great. JazakAllah. Never noticed the Jami'-version.

Very difficult sometimes to make good use of a Musnad-work, espec. with no indices as is the case with the first version of the Shaykh.

Are there any other works on Sahih (& Hasan) alone, beside al-Albani's al-Sahihah and Muqbil's two works?

Abu Maryam PK

4th December 2007, 10:27 AM

Scented Blood

4th December 2007, 01:11 PM

LOL im sure I finished enemy combatant by Moazzam begg before Freedom Next Time. EC was just riveting - could not put it down... Moazzam is a good brother masha'Allah. Balanced man.

Thats the understanding i get as well. Taught me some lessons. Very open minded even in the middle of oppression. I could quote the horrific bits but then i could also quote the 'happy' bits.

Abu_Abdallah

4th December 2007, 01:51 PM

Bismillahirrahmaanirrahim
Just bought "Sharah Khalq Af'aal Al-'Ibaad" by Shaikh Fahd bin Sulaymaan al-fuhaid in two volumes. A must read and a must buy and every inch worthy of the 50 ryals. The first volume is a primer for anybody wanting to know what the fuss about khalq al-quraan was all about.
Also the biography of bukhari here is such that i did not find elsewhere.

Great, need to get my hands on that edition.

Which mss did he base his edition on? Can you cite the chains? Also, there are two mss which complete one another. How many copies do exist of the first part?

Also, a little touchy: the narration of Abu Fulan/Abu Hanifah. What do the mss versions say? Are they all in agreement?

Abu Maryam PK

5th December 2007, 01:33 PM

Bismillah
Assalamoalaikum
Great, need to get my hands on that edition.

Which mss did he base his edition on? Can you cite the chains? Also, there are two mss which complete one another. How many copies do exist of the first part?

Also, a little touchy: the narration of Abu Fulan/Abu Hanifah. What do the mss versions say? Are they all in agreement?

I will post in detail tomorrow. Right now might i have been turned out of the house and in my work place since my wife invited her firend over our place. But i remember he said that he is making the manuscript of maktabah sa'diyyah, hyderabad as the asal, with two back up manuscripts and i believe he said he will ommit what he thinks has not mutabiqa with the asal.

He said sh al-barrak gave advises during his research.

Fajr

5th December 2007, 02:11 PM

Has anyone read al-Tadhkira by Imam al-Qurtubi?

Abu Maryam PK

5th December 2007, 04:04 PM

bismillahirrahmaanirrahim
the narration of Abu Fulan (بيض له). What do the mss versions say? Are they all in agreement?
Assalamoalaikum
Well it says:
هكذا في الاصل، و أما في بقية النسخ بيّض لهذا الموضوع ، و كتب فوقه (كذا) ، (أبلغ فلاناً المشرك) و في (ق) (أبلغ كذا فلاناً المشرك)

انتهي

So it seems all the manuscripts are unanimous in narrating these words.

The sanad of the various mss's i will write in next post insha'Allah. As i said this is a truly remarkable research. Makes your mouth water?

http://www.dar-atlas.com/Book51.htm

Abu Maryam PK

5th December 2007, 06:31 PM

Bismillah

Which mss did he base his edition on? Can you cite the chains? Also, there are two mss which complete one another. How many copies do exist of the first part?

Assalamoalaikum

SECTION 2 - THE MANUSCRIPTS (مخطوطات) OF THE BOOK

FIRST
This is from Maktabah Al-Sa'eedeeyah in Hyderabad, India, under the catalogue number 352 (1B-31B), with 33 slides (لوحات) in 66 pages. Each page has 25 lines with 13-15 words in each line. I have mad it the 'basic manuscript' (الاصل). I obtained it through Sh Waleed Al-Khamees, director Da'wah Centre, New Delhi, India. This manuscript is neat, compared with others (مقابلة) and with chain of narration uptill the author (Al-Bukhari). It contains evidence that it is comparable to the original manuscript from which it was transcibed from., which was done in 7 sittings (مجالس), all in the Safar of 723 H, by Muhammad b Ahmed b Ibraheem b Haidarah Al-Qurashi Al-Masri Al-Shafa'i Al-Qaadhi, Shamsuddin Abul Ma'aali, famously known as Ibn Al-Qummah, author Al-Majamee' Al-Mufeedah, born 656H and died 741H in Cairo.
He copied it from this codex (نسخة) from the codex in the writing of Abu Bakr bin Al-Khadhibah (died 489 H, also called ibn Al-Hadhanah, which appears to be a mistake) who is famous imam whose copying is accepted by Imams of the science of Hadith. The copier of our codex (sa'eedeeyah) Muhammad b Ahmed Al-Shafa'i says: "I copied this from the codex in the writing of Al-Shaykh Al-Haafidh Abi Bakr b Al-Khudhaibah, may Allah have mercy upon him...(See his biography in Siyar A'alaam (19/109, tadhkaratul Huffadh 4/1224, Ibidayah wal Nihayah 12/153 etc.)) [two reading seccion certificates ar mentioned (طبقة السماع)]"
For this later, original codex of ibn Al-khadibah, here is the complete isnaad

Informed me (اخبرني) Abu Bakr Wajeeh b Taahir b Muhammad Al-shahhami [Siyar 20/109] by writing to us from Naisaboor

He read this (قرأه بعد علي) Al-Haafidh Abi Bakr Muhammad b 'Abdullah b Ahmad b Habeeb Al-'Aamiri Albagdadi [Siyar 19/631] after listening it from him

He said informed me (اخبرني) Al-Shaykh Al-Haafidh Abu Al-fatah Muhammad b Ahmad b Muhammad b Isma'eel Al-Asbahaani Samkawaih [Siyar 19/16], which is from that which he allowed me to narrate from him

He said informed us (أنبأنا) Al-Imam Abu Sahl Muhammad b 'Ali Al-Abyooradi [Siyar 19/416, 21/173]

He said Isma'eel bin Muhammad bin Ahmed b Haajib Al-Kushaani [Siyar 16/48] told us (حدثنا) that he said

Abu 'Abdullah Muhammad b Yousuf Al-Firabri [ٍSiyar 10/15] told us (حدثنا) that

He said that Imam Abu Abdullah Muammad bin Isma'eel Al- Bukhari told us (حدثنا) in the year 256H (the year he died, rahimahullah)"
============================

[From Sh Al-Fuhaid's Khalq Af'aal pp 90-93]
To be continued..............

PS: Bro Abu 'Abdallah i think i should be treated to atleast a jug of moroccan coffee that you offer anyone for valuable info (smile)

Abu Maryam PK

6th December 2007, 09:06 AM

Bismillah

SECOND:

This is 'codex (h) ((نسخة (ه)' and it is from Maktabah Rawdha alhadith, hyderabad, and is filed under number 359. It has 24 slides in 48 pages, each page containing 23 lines. Each lines may contain 18-20 wors. It is a new codex and is written in nasakh ta'leeq writing style....copied in 1305H, and has not been compared with original (غير مقابلة)...and it appears it has been transcribed from the original Al-Sa'eedeeyah codex., with very little difference between the two. I got it from Kuwait University filed as catalog no. 142, Microfilm no. MG2 (or MJ2) مج2

====
to be continued insha'Allah..........there are about 8 manuscripts in total.

Abu_Abdallah

6th December 2007, 10:43 AM

Barakallahu fiek!

Insha'Allah you will get your coffee :)

You don't have to scan - at least not for me, maybe for others - the scans of the Sa'idiyyah manuscript cause I see them in my Khalq Af'al al-'Ibad copy published at Dar Ibn 'Affan/Dar Ibn al-Qayyim, tahqiq ' Amru Abd al-Mun'im Salim.

JazakAllah again!

Abandoned-Mind

6th December 2007, 10:50 AM

A - Z Manliness..... by Maddox...

He is not as 'cool' as I used to find him.... (n)

ibn 'abd al-jabbaar

7th December 2007, 01:19 AM

"The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seven_Habits_of_Highly_Effective_People)" by Stephen Covey :D

Yasir

9th December 2007, 03:13 PM

‘Madrassah Life ( http://www.turathpublishing.co.uk/books.php?resource_id=3)’ by Mohammed Akram al-Nadwi.
I thought it was a good read, quite a bit different to what I had expected.

Hamza

9th December 2007, 04:34 PM

The Motorcycle Diaries - Che

Umm Ahmed

9th December 2007, 04:44 PM

The Evolution of Fiqh by Bilal Phillips

FlagBearer

9th December 2007, 05:18 PM

AsSalaamu 'Alaykum

I'm away from home so I have none of my books with me. But I found a copy of 'Gems and Jewels'. Beautiful stuff masha'Allaah. Found it amongst a pile of 'religious cultural' books published in the sub continent. I was spoilt for choice really.

Wa 'Alaykum asSalaam
-FlagBearer-

Umm Ahmed

9th December 2007, 07:10 PM

'Gems and Jewels'
I just finished that , I thoroughly enjoyed it , the only thing I didn't like, was there are hardly any references for the stories and quotes.

FlagBearer

9th December 2007, 07:15 PM

AsSalaamu 'Alaykum

I'm left thinking the same throughout too.

But I keep telling myself, "don't worry, it's published by Darus Salam" :rolleyes:

Wa 'Alaykum asSalaam
-FlagBearer-

kamran

10th December 2007, 02:50 AM

Assalam o alaikum,

There are always a set of books on my bedside table. These days I have the following:

حفظ العمر by ابن الجوزی
تنبیہ النائم الغمر علی مواسم العمر by ابن الجوزی

The above two books (both very small) tell us about the value of time.

مختصر منہاج القاصدین by ابن قدامہ المقدسی

The above book is a wonderful book on Tazkiyah.

محاضرات فقہ by محمود غازی

The above book is a series of lectures delivered on Fiqh and unlike the ridiculously monotonous subcontinental Fiqh treatises, which only focus on Taqleed/anti-Taqleed issues, actually starts off with a comparison of Islamic Jurisprudence and several Kufr legal systems before gaining momentum. The writer (or speaker) focuses on the brilliance of Muslim jurists and jurisprudence rather the typical rubbish. So Muslim jurists, even those whom you do not follow, for once sound like your brothers and not adversaries.

شرح ریاض الصالحین by سلیم ھلالی

This is an Urdu translation (as my Arabic is quite poor) and much better than the standard ones available in Urdu. I had been reading the Dar us Salam one for a while but it was really bland and I would stop at the Hadiths. This one is better.

All the above books are in Urdu. Hence the Urdu names etc.

Milestones by Syed Qutb

I focus on the Surah Burooj chapter a lot. And indeed the opening.

Quran:

I tend to flip between Tafheemul Quran and Taiseerul Quran. For a commoner, I have not found Tafseers in Urdu with with one can relate to. However, these days I am reading Tafseer as-Sa'adi which is, for once, different. It is not a conventional Tafseer and like the above two, is more about some really heartfelt reflections on the Quran.

I personally like to read the Quran in a way that makes me relate to it. For example, if I am reading about some miracle of the Prophets, I do not want it to be a traditional bulleted list of sayings of the Salaf thinking beyond which is declared Haram. I always tend to feel that a miracle leaves you stunned and the think describe is beyond commonsense. It is upon that that I build. The Quran is Allah's Word and He addressed man in a language he could understand. So it is with this spirit that I read the Book or try to do so. I want to derive my Iman out of it and not merely memorise some sayings. What happens is there are always some verses which really hit you. For example, I was really shaken by those verses in Surah Ya-Seen where we are told about that man who comes running in and crying out with all the sincerity. Another one was at the start of Surah Kahf where Allah asks the Prophet SWS... that you'll kill yourself worrying for the kuffar. That verse, as I relate to it, embodies the spirit of Dawah: The Prophet SWS was giving Dawah to the Kuffar and yet such was the sincerity that Allah asked him, "Do you want to kill yourself worrying for them?" Compare this with the way we mention Muslims we do not agree with (and I am not talking about heretics) and some harsh realities will come screaming on your face. And it also tells us about the way Allah loves and cares for the believers. Just consider it: For starters, we are hardly so sincere about the recipients of our Dawah. Even if we are, how many times would our best friend come to us, lend us a shoulder to cry upon if we are not succeeding?

Of course, there are many more.

Kamran

Niqaabis

10th December 2007, 01:37 PM

Will They Ever Trust Us Again?: Letters from the War Zone to Michael Moore

Abandoned-Mind

10th December 2007, 02:29 PM

A-Z Manliness

- by Shaykh Maddox

Interesting, humour not perceived as I once used to, but hey people develop.

Turaabie

10th December 2007, 02:39 PM

A - Z Manliness..... by Maddox...

He is not as 'cool' as I used to find him.... (n)

Yah.. You said.. 4 days ago...

Abandoned-Mind

10th December 2007, 02:44 PM

Did I?

Hm.

Abu Maryam PK

11th December 2007, 06:10 AM

Bismillah
Assalamoalaikum
A-Z Manliness

People have challenged Abuz Zubayr's various faculties, but this is new.

Mustafa al-Muhaajir

11th December 2007, 08:04 AM

Companero: The Life and Death of Che Guevara

justabro

18th December 2007, 04:33 PM

Great. JazakAllah. Never noticed the Jami'-version.

Very difficult sometimes to make good use of a Musnad-work, espec. with no indices as is the case with the first version of the Shaykh.

Are there any other works on Sahih (& Hasan) alone, beside al-Albani's al-Sahihah and Muqbil's two works?

This is about Sh. Sa'id Hawa's Book, al-Asas Fi al-Sunnah wa Fiqhiha:

أما الدافع لتأليفه [ الأساس في السنة ] فيقول : [ وإذا كنت أتصور أنه لا تنضج شخصية الداعية والقائد المسلم في عصرنا إلا باستكماله دراسة عدة أمور منها السنة النبوية : فقد رأيت أنه لا بد من كتاب جامع لنصوص السنة الصحيحة والحسنة يدرسه كل من يتصدر للدعوة إلى الله ، أو تؤهله مؤهلاته لذلك ، أو يقدمه إخوانه للقيادة الراشدة وكان هذا عاملاً من عوامل تأليف هذا الكتاب ] هذا إلى جانب عوامل أخرى كثيرة ، ذكرها المؤلف قصداً أو ضماً ، أما عن منهجه في هذا الكتاب ، فلقد وضحه في مقدمته ، وفيها يقول [ تستطيع أن تقول إذا قرأت هذا الكتاب أنك كدت أن تحيط بمعاني السنة النبوية لأنه حوى الهدى النبوي الذي روته أمهات كتب السنة : وهي <o>></o>>
<o>> </o>>
صحيح البخاري صحيح ابن حبان<o>></o>>
صحيح مسلم صحيح ابن خزيمه <o>></o>>
سنن ابن داود سنن النسائى<o>></o>>
سنن الترمذى موطأ الإمام مالك <o>></o>>
مسند الإمام أحمد مسند أبى يعلى الموصلي<o>></o>>
مستدرك الحاكم المعاجم الثلاثة للطبرانى <o>></o>>
مسند الدارمى .<o>></o>>
وما تيسر جمعه من غير هذه الكتب من صحيح السنة وحسنها .([1] (http://forums.islamicawakening.com/#_ftn1) )<o>></o>>
ويقول عن طريقته في التخريج [ وقد ألزمت نفسي ألا آخذ من هذه الأصول إلا حديثا صحيحاً أو حسناً وقد أدخلت في هذا الكتاب بعض ما صادفني مما ليس في الكتب السبعة عشر [ السابق ذكرها ] فتميز هذا الكتاب على كتب الجمع الأخرى بأنه ما حوى إلا الصحيح والحسن . ([2] (http://forums.islamicawakening.com/#_ftn2) )<o>></o>>
<o>> </o>>


<hr align="right" size="1" width="33%">  [1] (http://forums.islamicawakening.com/#_ftnref1) - المرجع السابق المجلد الأول ص 14 ، 25 <o>></o>>

[2] (http://forums.islamicawakening.com/#_ftnref2) - المرجع السابق المجلد الأول ص 25 <o>></o>>

Abu_Abdallah

18th December 2007, 06:04 PM

This is about Sh. Sa'id Hawa's Book, al-Asas Fi al-Sunnah wa Fiqhiha:

أما الدافع لتأليفه [ الأساس في السنة ] فيقول : [ وإذا كنت أتصور أنه لا تنضج شخصية الداعية والقائد المسلم في عصرنا إلا باستكماله دراسة عدة أمور منها السنة النبوية : فقد رأيت أنه لا بد من كتاب جامع لنصوص السنة الصحيحة والحسنة يدرسه كل من يتصدر للدعوة إلى الله ، أو تؤهله مؤهلاته لذلك ، أو يقدمه إخوانه للقيادة الراشدة وكان هذا عاملاً من عوامل تأليف هذا الكتاب ] هذا إلى جانب عوامل أخرى كثيرة ، ذكرها المؤلف قصداً أو ضماً ، أما عن منهجه في هذا الكتاب ، فلقد وضحه في مقدمته ، وفيها يقول [ تستطيع أن تقول إذا قرأت هذا الكتاب أنك كدت أن تحيط بمعاني السنة النبوية لأنه حوى الهدى النبوي الذي روته أمهات كتب السنة : وهي <o>></o>>
<o>> </o>>
صحيح البخاري صحيح ابن حبان<o>></o>>
صحيح مسلم صحيح ابن خزيمه <o>></o>>
سنن ابن داود سنن النسائى<o>></o>>
سنن الترمذى موطأ الإمام مالك <o>></o>>
مسند الإمام أحمد مسند أبى يعلى الموصلي<o>></o>>
مستدرك الحاكم المعاجم الثلاثة للطبرانى <o>></o>>
مسند الدارمى .<o>></o>>
وما تيسر جمعه من غير هذه الكتب من صحيح السنة وحسنها .([1] (http://forums.islamicawakening.com/#_ftn1) )<o>></o>>
ويقول عن طريقته في التخريج [ وقد ألزمت نفسي ألا آخذ من هذه الأصول إلا حديثا صحيحاً أو حسناً وقد أدخلت في هذا الكتاب بعض ما صادفني مما ليس في الكتب السبعة عشر [ السابق ذكرها ] فتميز هذا الكتاب على كتب الجمع الأخرى بأنه ما حوى إلا الصحيح والحسن . ([2] (http://forums.islamicawakening.com/#_ftn2) )<o>></o>>
<o>> </o>>


<hr align="right" size="1" width="33%">  [1] (http://forums.islamicawakening.com/#_ftnref1) - المرجع السابق المجلد الأول ص 14 ، 25 <o>></o>>

[2] (http://forums.islamicawakening.com/#_ftnref2) - المرجع السابق المجلد الأول ص 25 <o>></o>>

Barakallahu fik.

Shaykh Muqbil mentioned that in his Musnad al-Sahih he only mentioned the ahadith which are Sahih or Hasan in themselves according to his Ijtihad. He excluded the Hasan li ghayri, as he explicitly mentioned.

The above author does the same, if he means with the last sentence that. In that case, what's the difference between the things he collects and the Shaykh? I think little. Of course, the more works te better.

Is there another scholar who added ALL sahih/hasan ahadith in a book, i.e. incl. the mutun that are good based upon several weak narrations?

BTW who is the publisher of this book?

Student_of_Knowledge

18th December 2007, 09:30 PM

The universe in a Nutshell by Stephen William Hawking

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Universe-Nutshell-Stephen-William-Hawking/dp/0593048156/ref=pd_bbs_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198011314&sr=8-4

Superb book and I highly recommend it to everyone, Insha'Allah.

Umm Kalthoom

22nd December 2007, 05:24 PM

A very Stupid Book by a very ignorant Author .. Guess!

abbccdd

22nd December 2007, 08:16 PM

^satanic verses by salaman rushdie?

Abuz Zubair

29th December 2007, 11:43 PM

al-Irshadat fi Taqwiyat al-Ahadeeth bi al-Shawahid wal-Mutaba'at by Tariq b. 'Awadh Allah, published by Maktaba Ibn Taymiyya, Egypt.

justabro

29th December 2007, 11:55 PM

al-Irshadat fi Taqwiyat al-Ahadeeth bi al-Shawahid wal-Mutaba'at by Tariq b. 'Awadh Allah, published by Maktaba Ibn Taymiyya, Egypt.

excellent choice : )

btw, whenever Sh. Tariq points out mistakes of Sh. al-Albani as examples, he does not mention him by name

abuyasin

30th December 2007, 12:33 AM

Quran, I am trying to focus all my reading on quran and aroound it (Tafseer, khwatir, signs...etc). but I have 2 book waiting for me to read for a while now on my desk but .......

Enemy Combatanr by Brother Moazzam Begg
Milestones by Sayyed Qutb

Abu_Abdallah

30th December 2007, 12:45 AM

The Tahdhib Siyar A'lam al-Nubala in 3 volumes. Not each and every page, but a selected reading.

Celebrating birthdays or not, if I did and I was offered any book I desired: definetly the Siyar A'lam al-Nubala ;)

Abu Maryam PK

30th December 2007, 06:12 AM

Bismillah
Assalamoalaikum
The Tahdhib Siyar A'lam al-Nubala in 3 volumes. Not each and every page, but a selected reading.

Celebrating birthdays or not, if I did and I was offered any book I desired: definetly the Siyar A'lam al-Nubala

Who did the tahdhib? If he copmpressed 40 vols into 3, must have left out quite a chunk. Are the tarajim now just 3-4 lines like in taqrib etc.?

Originally Posted by Abuz Zubair http://forums.islamicawakening.com/images/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://forums.islamicawakening.com/showthread.php?p=65671#post65671)
al-Irshadat fi Taqwiyat al-Ahadeeth bi al-Shawahid wal-Mutaba'at by Tariq b. 'Awadh Allah, published by Maktaba Ibn Taymiyya, Egypt.

how much the ryal price? and more importantly how many pages? do you (or justabro) recommend it for me or do i need a pre-req?

Abuz Zubair

30th December 2007, 10:45 AM

Celebrating birthdays or not, if I did and I was offered any book I desired: definetly the Siyar A'lam al-Nubala ;)

lol... may be we should have a wish list of books... I am sure we can invent various occasions to get our wishes fulfilled! My Birthday, My camel day, My Laptop Day, yearly anniversary for the best day in the last year...

I wonder what the ruling on a wish list be? Would it be something disliked due to minna?

how much the ryal price? and more importantly how many pages? do you (or justabro) recommend it for me or do i need a pre-req?Erghhhh I took the price tag off just yesterday! I think it was about 30... and it is 450 pages. As for pre-req for you, I don't think you need one, iA, if you have done mustalah and have some experience in the topic.

justabro

30th December 2007, 09:17 PM

Erghhhh I took the price tag off just yesterday! I think it was about 30... and it is 450 pages. As for pre-req for you, I don't think you need one, iA, if you have done mustalah and have some experience in the topic.

I agree, you probably don't need any pre-req... I don't have a hardcopy, I just printed out the whole thing... being in America forces you to do things like that. : )

Abu_Abdallah

31st December 2007, 06:02 PM

Who did the tahdhib? If he copmpressed 40 vols into 3, must have left out quite a chunk. Are the tarajim now just 3-4 lines like in taqrib etc.?

al-Salamu 'Alaikum wa-Rahmatullah,

The editor is Ahmad Faayiz al-Himsi, with proofreading of 'Adil Murshid. Some features of the Tahdhib:

- The Tahdhib is a epitome of the mothes book Siyar A'lam al-Nubala, as edited by Shu'ayb al-Arna'ut and others. The 'author' of the Tahdhib reduced the tarajim of 'Ulama, not by paraphrasing or summary in his own words; he rather deleted superfluous sentences and other additional reports the real author, al-Dhahabi, added. So if you cite from it, it is if you cite from the Siyar itself.

- The Tahdhib contains all the tarajim mentioned in the original. Nothing has been left out, of the subjects of course.

- The Tahdhib's tarajim are not one or two or three lines; on the contrary, each and every tarjama contains the most important elements to learn about the subject of tarjama. If the subject is long, the muhadhdhib made it similarly a bit long in it Tahdhib version; if he's short, also. So the tarajim of Ahmad, Malik, al-Silafi and other famous scholars, these are longer than those of less known scholars; not each and every subject is of similar length.

- The Tahdhib's tarajim contain most of what you search for: the muhadhdhib left the names, genealogy, titles, epithets etc.; most teachers and students, or the most important; little mention of books, though Im not sure (have to check the original Siyar). But anyway, if you cite from a tarjama the beginning it is like the original. The editor tried to stay as close to the original.

- The Tahdhib's tarajim contain also the verdicts and dates, which are two important elements of the text; in fact, for this use it is very handy.

- The Tahdhib in 3 volumes has a small lettertype. So if I randomely open the book, you'll find in two page-sides 15 Tarajim-names! And believe me, they are all longer than three lines. In fact, each page is divided in two sides. For example, now by accident the following Tarjama is an example:

941 - Ibn 'Aqil

al-Imam al-Muhaddith Abu Muhammad Abdallah b. Muhammad b. 'Aqil b. 'am al-nabiy, sallalahu 'alayhi wa-sallam, Abu Talib al-Hashimi al-Talibi al-Madani. His mother is Zaynab bt. al-imam 'Ali b. Abi Talib. He narrated from Ibn 'Umar, Jabir b. Abdallah, Anas b. Malik, Sa'id b. al-Musayyib and a party.

From him: al-Thawri, Sufyan b. 'Uyayna and more. The Imam Ahmad and other made use of him. Abu Hatim said: soft in hadith.

I say: his narrations do not rise to the level of soundness and al-ihtijaj. He died after 140.

Definetly, the book is very useful and good. Shaykh al-Arna'ut has reviewed it himself too. I'll use it to produce small biographies of Ulama.

Abu Maryam PK

2nd January 2008, 09:53 AM

Bismillah
Hmmm..its a must have for my small library. JK for the detailed response.

Abu Maryam PK

12th January 2008, 09:15 AM

Bismilah
Isbaal Al-Matar 'ala Qasb Al-Sukkar by Al-Yamani
basically an explanation of nukhbah of ibn hajr.
Good so far. Though i have read only a few pages.

AnonyMousey

12th January 2008, 08:13 PM

Just finished reading:
A Thousand Splendid Suns
Kabul Beauty School

Currently reading:The Qur'an
Eulalia by Brian Jacques (kids' novel)

Waiting to be read:
Milestones by Syed Qutb (got it saved as pdf on my PC)

Fajr

12th January 2008, 08:25 PM

Persuasion
The Art of Influencing People by James Borg :)

Subul al-Salam by San'ani

Abu Maryam PK

13th January 2008, 08:17 AM

Bismillah
انتقاض الاعتراض في الرد على العيني في شرح البخاريby ibn hajr al-asqallani (thanx to justabro).

This is a thriller, action packed and macho.

Umm

14th January 2008, 03:56 PM

Dining with Terrorists by Phil Rees.
He's the one who did the documentary At Home with the Terror Suspects.

Highly recommended book!

http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/17/2005/1673

Abu Maryam PK

29th January 2008, 11:18 AM

Bismillah
al-Irshadat fi Taqwiyat al-Ahadeeth bi al-Shawahid wal-Mutaba'at by Tariq b. 'Awadh Allah, published by Maktaba Ibn Taymiyya, Egypt.

Just found it in my shamila v 2. I git it free AZ.

AnonyMousey

26th February 2008, 08:17 PM

How to Be A Person of Influence and
Problems in the Life of the Da'wah and the Da'iyah

Both are really good, masha'Allah...

Abuz Zubair

26th February 2008, 08:22 PM

Bismillah

Just found it in my shamila v 2. I git it free AZ.
Just finished this, and I must say, it changed my entire outlook on the science of hadeeth as opposed to much of what is taught and practised today! It can be classified as an excellent book on 'ilal, mashaAllah

Abu Maryam PK

27th February 2008, 05:17 AM

Bismillah
Could get round to get reading it. Insha'Allah will start soon.

Anikaa

27th February 2008, 07:09 AM

Apart from all the reading i have to do for University, i'm reading the "Sealed Nectar" :D al-Humdulillaah.

Abu Dharr Al Kashmiri

27th February 2008, 11:09 AM

University

I have to write over 17,500 words. Don't know where to begin! Allahul musta'aan! Anyone who knows more about Corporate Social Responsibility and Auditing please do help insha'Allah!

Abu Maryam PK

27th February 2008, 11:21 AM

Bismillah
Here is an extremely illeagal tip:
Search scholar.google.com and search for theses done on this topic. U can plagiarize, i mean take ideas. If u have access to emeral full-text database or thesis databasis of US universities, u can get loads of stuff.

Abu Dharr Al Kashmiri

27th February 2008, 11:26 AM

We have to hand in via this turnitin plagiarism software (http://turnitin.com/static/plagiarism.html)

Magoo

27th February 2008, 11:39 AM

We have to hand in via this turnitin plagiarism software (http://turnitin.com/static/plagiarism.html)

ha ha you cant cheat at uni anymore, no one is ever going to graduate with this level of strictness...

Fajr

27th February 2008, 05:09 PM

- al-Mabadi' fi Usool al-hadeeth, A. Nadwi
- Villete, C. Bronte

I have to write over 17,500 words.And I thought my 6000 words on cot death was too much.

Turnitin is too accurate at times, just a few matching words (common phrases etc) can give a plagiarism percentage of 2 or 3%! It's really efficient though I have to say.

Anikaa

29th February 2008, 12:48 AM

I have to write over 17,500 words.

Subhana-Allaah. You have to write that much?! I shouldn't complain about the reading then, al-Humdulillaah. May Allaah aid you with your essay. Oh and say NO to plagiarism!

Abu Ikrimah

31st March 2008, 10:05 PM

A small booklet on du'aa' within the Khutbat Al-Jumu'ah by shaykh su'ood ash-shuraym...

al-istiqamah.com

1st April 2008, 02:02 PM

Charlie Bronson's Good Prison Guide

Brother_Mujahid

1st April 2008, 02:23 PM

I just finished March Toward Hell by Michael Scheuer. I'm finishing up Glenn Greenwald's book about Bush: A Tragic Legacy: How a Good vs. Evil Mentality Destroyed the Bush Presidency.

Yasir

1st April 2008, 11:56 PM

Niqaabis

2nd April 2008, 12:24 AM

I really want to get this (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Book-Assistance-Abdallah-Alawi-Al-Haddad/dp/1872038018) book

Has anyone read it?

Should I? Should I not?

Yasir

2nd April 2008, 10:08 AM

Should I? Should I not?There are extracts and details about it here (http://www.fonsvitae.com/bookassis.html), so perhaps you can read them first, before deciding whether or not to buy the book, insha’Allah.

Niqaabis

2nd April 2008, 01:22 PM

There are extracts and details about it here (http://www.fonsvitae.com/bookassis.html), so perhaps you can read them first, before deciding whether or not to buy the book, insha’Allah.

Jazaak Allaahu khairan

leo

2nd April 2008, 03:00 PM

Has anyone read " Khutbaat e Bahawalpur" by Dr Hameedullah, a famous scholar?

Hamza

2nd April 2008, 03:06 PM

I just finished “The Kite Runner”. The plot is quite gripping at times, althoughthe author does seem to have political motivations behind the novel, as mentioned earlier in this thread.

I think I’ll keep an eye out for his “A Thousand Splendid Suns” in the future, insha’Allah.

Serious political motivations akhi. I just could not totally enjoy the book because of the feelings of foul play, although it must be said i did like some parts of the book.

Like the russian at the checkpoint and newly wed afghan lady. Intense!

Hopefully we can have unbiased authors spring to the fore soon inshaa'Allah.

Yasir

2nd April 2008, 04:21 PM

Serious political motivations akhi. I just could not totally enjoy the book because of the feelings of foul play, although it must be said i did like some parts of the book.Yes, the underlying disapproval of practising people and religion entwined with Afghan politics was quite evident throughout the book. Like the russian at the checkpoint and newly wed afghan lady. Intense!That was quite an intense point in the plot. I guess the idea portrayed is true though; despite his father not practising, drinking openly, disapproving of religion etc. everyone has that core sense of gheerah and principle to stand up against naked aggression like that.

Another point that I thought was particularly striking was where upon returning to Kabul, Amir met an old dishevelled, ruined beggar, who turned out to be a University lecturer with decades of teaching experience. It really reminded me of the aayah from an-Naml:

قَالَتْ إِنَّ الْمُلُوكَ إِذَا دَخَلُوا قَرْيَةً أَفْسَدُوهَا وَجَعَلُوا أَعِزَّةَ أَهْلِهَا أَذِلَّةً وَكَذَلِكَ يَفْعَلُونَ
She said, “Indeed kings - when they enter a city, they ruin it and render the honored of its people humbled. And thus do they do.Hopefully we can have unbiased authors spring to the fore soon inshaa'Allah.That would be good insha’Allah… Are there any that you would recommend? Have you read Hosseini’s “A Thousand Splendid Suns”?

Fajr

2nd April 2008, 08:27 PM

Oops, I must have ruined the plot for everyone reading the Kiterunner then! Sorry, I'll edit my post insha'Allaah.
Have you read Hosseini’s “A Thousand Splendid Suns”?I heard this is a really sad and tragic tale, one that has those sad effects on the reader after they finish reading it - I haven't bought the book because of this! I've seen Khalid Hosseini's powerful style of writing now so... one time whilst reading the Kiterunner I actually threw the book across the room. First time I've done that, some parts actually got me to.

Niqaabis, I believe you've read A Thousand Splendid Suns - what are your thoughts?

A series of books that are really good: The Lincoln Rhyme Novels (by Jeffery Deaver). It's amazing if like me, you look for some intellectual stimulation and active reading. Lincoln Rhyme is a genius, I've yet to beat him in figuring out the main plot & outcome.

Niqaabis

2nd April 2008, 09:57 PM

Niqaabis, I believe you've read A Thousand Splendid Suns - what are your thoughts?

No, no, I've only read the kite runner; you must have me mixed up with one of the other sisters on the goodreads site, everyone’s either read one of the two

I liked his style of writing but don’t really agree with the content in the book

I’m surprised you found it to be extreamly moving, I mean I did too, but I always try to tell myself its not real, it's fiction (though I think it must have been based on real accounts)

Have you read princess?

now that’s one book you’ll defiantly want to throw across the room

waziri

2nd April 2008, 10:03 PM

Asalamualaykum,

MasahaAllah, you guys read alot I aint read a book in ages.

well not a whole one anyway lol

wasalam

Niqaabis

2nd April 2008, 10:16 PM

wa 'alaikum as salaam

something nice regarding books

The Truest Companion

“The book is a companion that does not praise you and does not entice you to evil. It is a friend that does not bore you and it is a neighbour that causes you no harm. It is an acquaintance that desires not to extract from you favours through flattery and it does not deceive you with duplicity and lies. When you are poring through the pages of a book, your senses are stimulated and your intellect sharpens. Furthermore, your tongue will find eloquence and grandeur. Through reading the biographies of others, you gain an appreciation of common people and you learn the ways of kings. It can even be said that you sometimes learn from the pages of a book in a month, that which you do not learn from the tongues of men in a century. All this benefit, yet no loss in wealth and no need to stand at the door of the teacher who is waiting for his fees, to learn from someone who is lower than you in manners.

The book obeys you by night as it does by day, both when you are travelling and when you are at home. A book is not impaired by sleep nor does it tire in the late hours of the night. It is the teacher who is there for you whenever you are in need of it and it is the teacher, who, if you refuse to give to it, it does not refuse to give to you.

If you abandon it, it does not decrease in obedience. And when all turn against you, showing you enmity, it remains by your side. As long as you are remotely attached to a book, it suffices you from having to keep company with those who are idle. It prevents you from sitting on your doorstep and watching those who pass by. It saves you from mixing with those who are frivolous in their character, who are foul in their speech, who are base in character, and who are woeful in their ignorance.

If the only benefit of a book was that it keeps you from foolish daydreaming and prevents you from frivolity, it would certainly be considered to be a true friend who has given you a great favour.”

- Al-Jahiz
[posted here (http://talk.islamicnetwork.com/showthread.php?t=2988)]

Hamza

3rd April 2008, 11:13 AM

Yes, the underlying disapproval of practising people and religion entwined with Afghan politics was quite evident throughout the book. That was quite an intense point in the plot. I guess the idea portrayed is true though; despite his father not practising, drinking openly, disapproving of religion etc. everyone has that core sense of gheerah and principle to stand up against naked aggression like that.

Another point that I thought was particularly striking was where upon returning to Kabul, Amir met an old dishevelled, ruined beggar, who turned out to be a University lecturer with decades of teaching experience. It really reminded me of the aayah from an-Naml:

قَالَتْ إِنَّ الْمُلُوكَ إِذَا دَخَلُوا قَرْيَةً أَفْسَدُوهَا وَجَعَلُوا أَعِزَّةَ أَهْلِهَا أَذِلَّةً وَكَذَلِكَ يَفْعَلُونَ
She said, “Indeed kings - when they enter a city, they ruin it and render the honored of its people humbled. And thus do they do.That would be good insha’Allah… Are there any that you would recommend? Have you read Hosseini’s “A Thousand Splendid Suns”?

I liked the cab driver who took him back through the Khyber Pass? and Amir was shocked by the state of Afghanistan. And the driver said it may be shocking for you, middle class mansion, closed off but for most normal afghans this was always afghanistan. a war zone. If my memory serves me correct, its been a while.

I decided not to read thousand splendid suns because of the bad taste. I mean how ironic is it that he tries to portray the Taleban as peodophiles yet they were ignited by the execution of that infamous governor of Kandahar; the one who used to marry boys. The Taleban did not deserve to be portrayed like this. Unjust!

Hosseini obviously ignored details like this.

Check this out:

http://www.muslimwritersawards.co.uk/

wa alaykum salaam

Yasir

3rd April 2008, 10:29 PM

wa’alaikum as-salaam,
I heard this is a really sad and tragic tale, one that has those sad effects on the reader after they finish reading it - I haven't bought the book because of this! I've seen Khalid Hosseini's powerful style of writing now so... one time whilst reading the Kiterunner I actually threw the book across the room. First time I've done that, some parts actually got me to.I too felt there were quite a few disturbing issues raised. With regards to the child abuse, for example, it made me wonder whether there really are systems in place within Muslim countries (and on a more relevant scale, within our Muslim communities) that deal with these problems in a transparent fashion. Is it one of those discussions which are taboo? Do we have the procedures in place to deal with these issues, help victims, and create awareness etc? (Does anyone remember the Trouble at The Mosque ( http://www.channel4.com/life/microsites/T/trouble_mosque/index.html) documentary a few years ago? That highlighted a terrible case of child abuse at a Mosque in the UK).

From the response I got from friends working in social care, I think it is correct to assume that this problem does exist to an extent within our communities – although it is something often not practically confronted.A series of books that are really good: The Lincoln Rhyme Novels (by Jeffery Deaver). It's amazing if like me, you look for some intellectual stimulation and active reading. Lincoln Rhyme is a genius, I've yet to beat him in figuring out the main plot & outcome.JZK for the suggestion, I’ll look out for the series, insha’Allah.

Have you read princess? now that’s one book you’ll defiantly want to throw across the roomWho is it written by?
JZK for sharing the piece from al-Jahiz. There is certainly a lot of truth in it.

I decided not to read thousand splendid suns because of the bad taste. I mean how ironic is it that he tries to portray the Taleban as peodophiles yet they were ignited by the execution of that infamous governor of Kandahar; the one who used to marry boys. The Taleban did not deserve to be portrayed like this. Unjust!The political bias did ruin the story as it is a subjective view and is not something that should be imposed on the reader in fiction.

I managed to purchase a copy of “A Thousand Splendid Suns” earlier today, so I’ll post my thoughts on it once I’ve finished it, insha’Allah.