The Early Hours

This was like reading Ertugrul instead of watching it. The show is described as The Black Panther for Muslims and I would likewise describe this novel. The characters are authentic and admirable. The story is captivating and purposeful. My respect for the author grew more after sensing the love he poured into this literary masterpiece.

Pickthalls' best work in my opinion (besides the quran translation). I am a Muslim and the only work I've been familiar with is his Quranic translation. I did not know the man. Moreover, I didn't know he was an esteemed novelist in his time. Pickthall penetrates difficult subjects with his compact, poetic prose. He is a master of setting and he uses this to craft the last embers of the dying Ottoman era in this novel of love, hardship, betrayal and death. It is a novel to bring one to tears and the lessons contained therein - the steadiness of the Muslim soul and its acceptance of destiny, the profound contentment found in the everyday and also in the horrific, the leaving of an uncertain fate to the hands of God - are relevant in such a whirlwind of an era.Read this book. Read it because it will give you an insight into people you would think could not exist.

Excellent book. Most people know Pickthall from his excellent and popular translation of the Holy Quran. But this novel was a great find for me. Loved reading about an excellent character and how chaotic things were as the Ottoman Empire was falling and a new republic was being formed.

Great novel by a great author!I love how the main character is portrayed as an Ottoman of the old age in the early stages of the new world.The story journeys through piety, chivalry, love, comradeship, heroism, tragedy and faith.The imagery and the intrinsic details of the Ottoman culture during the empire's final stages are excellent.