Lost Islamic History: Reclaiming Muslim Civilisation from the Past

I love this book. It's an engaging and thought-provoking overview of Islamic history. As a young Muslim-American, I needed this information to dive deeper into Islamic history than my high school world history class did. In that class, we only touched upon a tiny amount of information about Islamic history. This book is great for those who wish to learn about Islamic history specifically with a great breadth of information. It covers so many different aspects of Islamic civilization, including important events, different groups' perspectives, and reasons for conflict and success.

I don’t claim to have read all or even most of the books on history of Islam, but I have read a few. This is probably one of the best. It covers in a few hundred pages what other books have covered in thousands. It encompasses almost the entire history of Muslim world right from the time of the Prophet (peace upon him) through the very exciting initial period of khilafat rashida through the turbulent times of the khilfa, the transition form the khilafa to the hereditary kingdoms and later expansion of Islam in three continents. It is amazing how the author has captured this vast subject in such a small space. It is brief but concise. Nothing important has been left out. It is very coherent and you never feel hurried or rushed even though the author is sometimesgoing through centuries of history sometimes in a space of few dozen pages. That really shows author’s mastery of the subject as you have to posses great judgement in what to include and what to omit.

I am a history fan. More so, a fan of studying what shapes our various faiths and forms of worship; why we believe what we believe; ideologies prompted or inspired by our cultural queues, ancient political and economic forces, and sometimes, charismatic thinkers, teachers, and leaders. I have enjoyed studying the history of Christianity, Judaism, some Buddhism, Hinduism, and Daoism, but I had never found a good, thorough read on Islamic history. Now I have. I didn't just want to know what happened and when, but why. What wars, politics, culture, traditions, honor codes, parochialism, and business negotiations came into play to form an ideological movement that became, in this case, Islam. This book answers those questions. It is well organized and very well written. It is concise and clear. A perfectly enjoyable read! I will probably read it another two or three times. Proud to give this book 5 stars. Congrats and a huge thank you to the author!

This book, as the author states in the introduction, was written to fulfill a need that the author had for a single-volume Islamic history which could be taught to his students, many of whom were second-generation immigrants at te Darul Qasim school in Chicago. He wanted a book to connect his students with an Islamic past that gets very little coverage in American history curricula. In this, he succeeded. The book does a good job of covering everything from Mohammed's birth to the Arab Spring, as well as various ideologies of Islam, aspects of jurisprudence, contributions to science, and many other Muslim contributions to the world. My only complaint is that if you are looking for a serious history book, this won't fit your needs. The history as told is somewhat whitewashed, and some of the less pride-inspiring aspects of the Muslim past are glossed over, as well as some of the more divisive events of the 20th century (Iranian Revolution, Palestinian Liberation Order, Hezbollah). In spite of this, the amount of anti-Muslim writing in the west and the void of unbiased Islamic history is so great that I can hardly fault the book's slight superficiality. Historical nuance belongs to the nations that have time to catch a breath and reflect on the past, and the Muslim diaspora (the Ummah) has hardly had the chance in the face of rampant Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism in the West.

It is a brilliantly written book. I would highly recommend giving it a read. The author has done a great job explaining Islamic History in a simple format. I could not put this book down.

This book summarized the different periods of islamic history. The authur even explains how the last couple of centuries brought us to the current situation we are in.

This should be a staple in any home for those that love history. This highlights how we have come to our modern conflicts and fragmented societies. What Muslims went through tragedy and victory included. Must read and highly recommend.

Clear, concise, and chock full of tidbits that read like "little known facts" this book is a great read. The tidbits are framed out within the general text so they are easy to read and reference. I found myself not only enjoying this book as stand alone information, but also using it as a starting point for further research. Chapters are divided and titled in a way which allows you to travel from pre-Islamic Arabia until the present, while encompassing the geo-political journey of Islam easily. Thus the reader can choose to read sequentially or not without losing the substance of a chapter.

Just Received... Amazing read. :)

Contrary to what might be perceived, this is not an encyclopaedia of inventions – it is a summary of Islamic history, covering all of the geographical locations that Islam ruled over, from the time of the seerah to the 20th century. The first two (very short) chapters summarise pre-Islamic Arabia and the seerah of the Prophet (saw) – it is very apparent how powerful the Islamic ideology is, as it alone transformed backward, insignificant desert pagans into the greatest world leaders the world has ever known, in the space of a mere 23 years. Leading on from there, the next chapter focuses on the Khulafaa Rashidun (approx. 30 years): Abu Bakr setting the precedent for the role of the caliph, expansion, the encounters with the Roman, Byzantine and Sassanid empires and religious minorities living under Islam. It then goes into the chaos caused by the Khawaarij. Chapter 4 starts with Muawiyaa/Banu Umayyah, the beginning of ‘hereditary rule’ and the conflict of succession they had with Husayn ibn Abi Talib and Abdullah ibn al Zubayr. It makes a note of further expansion into Spain and into India, making it the world’s largest state after less than 100 years since revelation began. The Abbasids then forcibly took power. Chapter 5, ‘Intellectual Golden Ages’, looks at the vast number of scientific and technological achievements achieved under the Abbasids; hospitals, language, universities, astronomy, mathematics, etc. The establishment of ‘Bayt al Hikmah’ (the House of Wisdom) spurred this, however it also led to many theological issues; the Islamic method of thinking was diluted and many started to adopt Greek logic (mantiq) as a basis for thinking to ‘explain’ theology, leading to the Mutazila, Asharis, etc. The final sub-chapter is on Shi’ism. The following chapter, rightly titled ‘Upheaval’, looks into Ismailism, the Crusaders and the Mongols: the Qarmatians, Pope Urban II, the Ayyubid dynasty, the Mamluks, Genghis Khan and his son Ogedai, and Baghdad being ransacked. The next chapter specifically focuses on al-Andalus, expanding when an Umayyad prince fled there during the massacre of the Abbasids. Points mentioned include: Granada, Cordoba, the Taifa kings, sciences, cultural development and the ‘Moriscos’. The Spanish Inquisition did not stretch to just over a few days or a few weeks – rather, it was over a century-long oppression of Muslims, so much so that they had to hide their Islam to the extent that fataawa were issued that allowed them to pray their 5 prayers all at night and eat pork – hence Islam was kept secretively but it survived in the hearts, which eventually led to the expulsion of everyone descended from Muslims (except children under 4, who were taken away and forcibly converted to Christianity by the state). Chapter 8 explains Islam in West Africa, whose leaders were arguably amongst the richest people who have ever existed. They established Timbuktu as one of the greatest Islamic scholarly centres in the world. East Africa was familiar with Islam due to the Companions travelling there in the time of the seerah and hence both regions had many Muslims. Millions were taken as slaves to the American continent (i.e. North and South) after the European Colonisation. There is also a mention of modern-day ‘African Americans’ and Malcolm X. Islam in China had its beginnings from the time of when Uthman ibn Affan was khaleefah, when he sent ambassadors to the Tang dynasty. Thereafter, Muslims were primarily employed in the administration of the government; special note of Zheng He. Islam in India is revisited, as well as in Southeast Asia. Chapter 9 looks at the origins of the Ottomans, who were originally a warrior state, taking the mantle of the Khilafah. They had rapid expansion and eventually took Constantinople, ushering in another ‘Golden Age’. It also explains the rise of the Safavids and the Mughals The following chapter, ‘Decline’, assesses the problems with the Ottoman state, such as the liberal/Tanzimaat reforms which caused further decline. Sultan Abdul Hamid II exerted effort to combat the problems but the Young Turks ended his thirty-three year reign. The decline of India, Africa and Asia is then explained, with cultural and physical colonialism accelerating the decline. Chapter 11 looks into Western ideological infiltration, reform, modernism, the establishment of the Zionist entity, the rise of nation states in the Arab and South Asian regions, the abolishment of the Khilafah, lack of leadership, secularism and the abandonment of the idea of Islamic rule. Although they are two completely different books in terms of purpose and angles, I would recommend reading this before ‘The Inevitable Caliphate’ as it will give a chronological overview of the last 1450 years. I learnt a great deal from this book, such as the importance of the khaleefah being the central leader and the significance of political awareness. It was also a heavy re-iteration for me that the wealth of a nation is its ideas and viewpoint towards life; its intellectual wealth.

A must read, this book offers a concise, sweeping narrative of Muslim civilization from the time of the Prophet Muhammad to the modern era. The book highlights the often-overlooked intellectual, cultural, and political achievements of various Islamic empires and polities, including the Umayyads, Abbasids, Ottomans, Mughals, and Muslim Spain. The book aims to reclaim and showcase the monumental legacy of Muslim civilization, providing a comprehensive overview of its rise, its golden eras, and the crucial lessons that can be drawn from its history.

This book shows why Muslims were able to conquer knowledge, expansion of Empires and the reason for the fall of these Empires. History has proven that Islam is a religion of peace and knowledge. It is not solely about ritual activities which are of course mandatory. The Quran enlightens humans to seek knowledge and fortune. I enjoyed page 78 which states that scientific literature from the Golden Age commonly begins with Quranic verses that encourage seekers of knowledge and calls on Muslims to reflect on the world around them. God makes the path to heaven easier for whoever treads the path in search of knowledge. This book is highly recommended!!

Not enough reference tho which is too bad