Helpful Islamic Books

[amal 4]

I know there was a thread a LONG time ago about different helpful books about Islam but I can't find it. If you have any recommendations, please post any good reads here for those of us who have no idea what to look for. I want to get some really good and proper books about women, hadith, sunna, the prophet mohammed's (pbuh) life, etc.

Anything is appreciated.

Thanks,

amal

[Aymsgirl 0]

Amal...I am reading Tafsir ibn Kathir. It is almost like a line by line explanation of the Quran and has the hadiths to go with it. It is really helping me to understand some things.

Of course anybody searching about the religion that knows nothing I would suggest Islam for Dummies. It is an easy read and helps to explain the basics of Islam in layman's terms.

The Koran for Dummies was another starter book as well.

I also suggest "Blissful Marriage: A Practical Islamic Guide. This was extremely helpful to me to read prior to marrying my husband. It helped me to understand his thought process and expectations a little bit more.

I've read more but I don't have the names. If I can remember I will try and post later.

[UmmSqueakster 54]

I have a catalog of my islamic book collection on library thing - http://www.librarything.com/catalog/rahma

Books with 4 and 5 stars are those I really really like

Books with 3 stars are those I'm neutral on

Books with 1 or 2 stars are those I do not like

My all time favorites (and there are a lot):

The Accepted Whisper - a large collection of dua from the Qur'an and Hadith, in english and arabic with transliteration + commentary

Agenda to Change our Condition - finally back in print (alhamdulilah!), a concise program to self reflection and change

Al-Maqasid - everyone needs a book of basic fiqh, and this is the best basic shafi'i fiqh book I've found for ibadah.

Al-Muhaddithat - the women scholars in islam - in case you ever feel like women have no place in muslim societies

Believing as Ourselves - every convert experiences a crash after the initial conversion high. You're not alone

Blissful Marriage - excellent marriage book

The Compendium of Knowledge and Wisdom - Rajab ibn Hanbal's commentary on 50 hadith

The Creed of Imam Tahawi - translated by Hamza Yusuf - with all the aqida wars ongoing, it's good to read the basics and not be involved in all the hubbub and fluff

The Difference of the Imams - a very basic introduction to why the madhabs differ

For God and Country: Faith and Patriotism under Fire - James Yee is an amazing american, and this book is his account of the hell his country put him through

The Heirs of the Prophets - the importance of scholars in the deen

Inner Dimensions of Islamic Worship - probably one of my all time favorite books. Helps to deepen our practice of the pillars of the religion

Key of the Garden - who knew there was so much to write on la ilaha il Allah? Great to read in small bits and reflect upon

Love for Allah - the importance and how to love Allah (swt)

Mecca, the Blessed, Medina, the Radiant - great coffee table books with pictures of the 2 holy cities.

The Message of the Qur'an - translation of the Qur'an by Muhammad Asad, great commentary and footnotes

Muhammad, the Prophet of Mercy - focuses on the (shockingly) the mercy of the Prophet (saws)

Muhammad - by Martin Lings, good all around biography of the Prophet (saws) based on traditional sources

Muslim Character - although I'm not a fan of the layout (poor editing), the content is excellent

The Noble Qur'an - translated by the Bewleys, simple, easy to read, not a lot of fluff

One Thousand Roads to Mecca - one of the first books I ever bought on Islam. I love to live vivaciously through other people, and these hajj narratives always make me long for the two holy sanctuaries

Prayers for Forgiveness - always need more of these

Prophetic Invocation - a wird (litany) based on the Qur'an and Sunnah to recite each day

Purification of the Heart - for inward reflection, contemplation and cleaning

Reflection of Pearls - great book of dua

Scattered Pictures - worth it just to read Imam Zaid's conversion story. Normally I'm not a fan of that genre, but this one makes me cry

The Seventy Seven Branches of Faith - discusses the 77 branches of faith (duh), 77 concrete things to learn, and incorporate into your life

Submission, Faith & Beauty - the best introduction to Islam I've come across

Sufism and Good Character - "In short, Sufism gives life to both the outward and inward. As for the outward, it does so through good deeds. As for the inward, it does so through the remembrance of Allah, leaving reliance on other than Him, adorning oneself with praiseworthy traits [akhlaq] and purifying oneself of the taint of base traits. "

Treatise for the Seekers of Guidance - a translation and commentary on a classic spiritual text that makes it easily relevant to the modern reader

Wisdom for the Seeker - translation of letters by Sh. Zulfiqar Ahmad to his students

[amal 4]

Wow! Who knew there were so many great reads out there! Where to start, where to start...

[UmmSqueakster 54]

Wow! Who knew there were so many great reads out there! Where to start, where to start...

What do you want to read?

And also something to remember is that classical texts weren't meant to be published and simply read by any old person. A teacher taught them to their students, who in turn would teach them to more students, and pass it down that way. While books are awesome (I love books, can you tell?), they can't be a substitute for a flesh and blood human being

[amal 4]

Actually, I would like to read about prophet Mohammed (pbuh) wives and their roles and things like that.

[UmmSqueakster 54]

Hmm, I do not have a book on that, but I do have Imam Suhaib's Mothers of the Believers CD set. Very good stuff.

While the price tag looks high, one thing to do is to write down everything you spend in a week. Find a few things that aren't that important - coffee, going out to lunch - cut it out, and then put that money aside in an 'ilm fund. In a matter of weeks, there'll be enough to buy a book or 2, and in a few months, a CD set.

[amal 4]

That's some good advice girl! I'll see what I can do

[Lover500 0]

try this group on facebook, they can send to you free books , answer questions and more

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=26451512440

[amal 4]

try this group on facebook, they can send to you free books , answer questions and more

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=26451512440

Checkin' it out now! Thanks!

[UmmSqueakster 54]

Read 2 good books this weekend.

Patience and Gratitutude - somethings I definitely need more of

The Remembrance of God : The Outcome of Contemplation Over Loud Dhikr - the actual text translated is very brief, but it has a good biography of Imam al Suyuti, good footnotes and appendices.