Biographies & Scholars

(part 1 of 3): The Empire of Ghana Muslim geographers and historians have provided excellent records of Muslim rulers and peoples in Africa. Among them are Al-Khwarzimi, Ibn Munabbah, Al-Masudi, Al-Bakri, Abul Fida, Yaqut, Ibn Batutah, Ibn Khaldun, Ibn Fadlallah al-’Umari, Mahmud al-Kati, Ibn al Mukhtar and Abd al-Rahman al-Sa’di. Islam reached the Savannah region in the 8th Century C.E., the date the written history of West Africa begins. Islam was accepted as early as 850 C.E. by the Dya’ogo…

(part 1 of 2): Islamic principles transform an Empire After the death of Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, the rapidly expanding Islamic nation was led by a series of men known as the Rightly Guided Caliphs. They were men who had learnt their faith directly from the Prophet himself and governed strictly according to the Quran and authentic traditions of Prophet Muhammad. By 644CE both the Persian and Byzantium empires had fallen to…

The Quran and the Sunnah have been the guide of Muslim political and moral activism throughout the centuries. The example of how the Prophet Muhammad and his companions led their lives and developed the first Muslim community serves as a blueprint for an Islamically guided and socially just state and society. More than a prophet, the Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, was the founder of a state. In the era of the Prophet…

What They Said “The Allaamah, the Shaikh, the Faqih, Abdul-Aziz ibn Baaz, may Allaah the Most High have mercy on him, said about Shaikh al-Albaani, ‘I have not seen under the surface of the sky a scholar of hadith in this time of ours like the Allaamah, Muhammad Naaasirud-Deen al-Albaani.’ And his eminence was asked about the saying of the Prophet, صلى الله عليه وسلم, “Indeed, for this nation, at the beginning of every one hundred years, Allaah sends someone…

Shaikh ‘Abdul-‘Azeez Al-Hada said: “The Shaikh, the great scholar, the ocean (of knowledge), Muhammad Al-Ameen Ash-Shanqeetee (rahimahullaah) – the one whom no knowledge of the Science of Tafseer and the Arabic Language was comparable to during his lifetime – used to respect Shaikh Al-Albaanee so remarkably to the point that when he would see him passing by, and he was giving his class in the masjid of Madeenah, he would stop his class to stand and give Salaam to him…

On the authority of ʽĀaisha (that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said to her:) “‘O ʽĀaisha, if your people had not recently been polytheists and (if it wasn’t for) me not having enough means that would support its construction, I would have spent the treasure of the Kaʽbah in the path of Allāh, and demolished the Kaʽbah to join it to the ground. Then I would build it upon the (original) foundation of Ibrāhīm (Abraham) and make for it…

Uthman ibn Affan was the third of Prophet Muhammad’s successors. He was known as the leader of the faithful and ruled for approximately 12 years. The first six years were times of relative tranquillity and peace, however the last years of his reign were marred by internal conflict, and pockets of rebels trying to cause havoc throughout the Caliphate. Uthman is remembered as a pious, gentle, and kind man, known for his modesty and shyness, and admired for his generosity….

(part 1 of 2): The Early Years Ali “Ibn” (son of) Abu Talib was the young cousin of Prophet Muhammad. This child, who greatly admired his older cousin, grew into a noble warrior for Islam, a knowledgeable judge, a remarkable exegete of Quran and a righteous leader of the Muslim nation. Ali was born in Mecca around the year 600 CE. His father was Abu Talib, Prophet Muhammad’s uncle and staunch supporter. When Ali was a young child, a great…

(part 1 of 2): What is in a name? In 622CE Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, and most of the Muslim community migrated from Mecca to Medina. At that time Medina was known as Yathrib. It was not so much a city as a series of fortresses and strongholds where various political factions were united by tenuous alliances. Medina was ruled by two large Arab tribes, the Khazraj and Aws. A group of…

(part 1 of 2): From Slavery to Freedom “I was present…. when Mohammad, the Messenger of God, walked the earth. I heard what he said and saw what he did…” So begins a book based on the life of one of Prophet Muhammad’s closest companions – Bilal Ibn Rabah. Bilal was a black slave, almost certainly the son of slaves, and is believed to have been from Abyssinia (now known as Ethiopia). Being born into servitude, he probably never expected…