Islamic Book Excerpts

Carefully selected passages from the books we carry, letting the words of the scholars speak for themselves — a window into the content of each title before you read it in full.

Gardens of Purification: The Straight Path of Asceticism, Worship and Piety - The Islamic Book Cafe

Gardens of Purification: The Straight Path of Asceticism, Worship and Piety

In this excerpt from Gardens of Purification ($35.00), Shaykhul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah opens Chapter One with the foundations of the straight path — the place of the Sunnah, and the meaning of misguid...

The Heart's Firmness During the Tempests of Trials - Winning the War Within by Umar Quinn - The Islamic Book Cafe

The Heart's Firmness During the Tempests of Trials | A Book Excerpt from Winning the War Within

What happens to the heart when fitnah strikes — not once, but wave after wave? The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, described it in one of the most powerful similitudes in all of the Sunna...

Humility, Repentance and Renewal — The Good Deed and the Bad Deed — The Islamic Book Cafe

The Good Deed and the Bad Deed | Ibn Taymiyyah on Humility, Tawbah and the Heart

A scholarly reflection from Ibn Taymiyyah on how a sin can lead a servant to Paradise through humility and tawbah, while a good deed performed with arrogance can lead to destruction — and the two w...

The Illustrious Life of Muhammad by Ibn al-Jawzi book cover

Acknowledged by the People of the Book | An Excerpt from The Illustrious Life of Muhammad

A book excerpt from The Illustrious Life of Muhammad by Ibn al-Jawzi on how the Jewish scholars of Madinah recognized the Prophet from their own scriptures — yet jealousy and tribalism prevented ma...

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Captured Thoughts by Ibn al-Jawzi book cover

True Belief Requires Surrendering and Contentment

A book excerpt from Captured Thoughts by Ibn al-Jawzi on true belief, surrendering to Allah's decree, and the difference between enduring hardship and fully submitting to the will of the Owner of a...

The Key to Paradise by Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali book cover

The Manner of Entering Paradise | The Key to Paradise

A book excerpt from The Key to Paradise by Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali on the conditions of La ilaha illallah and why saying the shahada is not enough without fulfilling its obligations and requirements.

Disturber of the Hearts by Ibn al-Jawzi book cover

A Crying Man Who also Makes Others Cry | Disturber of The Hearts

A book excerpt from Disturber of the Hearts by Ibn al-Jawzi on Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir — a scholar whose tears over a single ayah of the Qur'an moved everyone around him. A powerful reminder of wh...

Excellence of Patience and Gratefulness by Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah book cover

The Meaning of Sabr | Excellence of Patience & Gratefulness

A book excerpt from Excellence of Patience and Gratefulness by Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah on the precise definition of sabr — what patience truly means in the Arabic language and in Islamic underst...

Developing Khushu in the Prayer by Muhammad Salih al-Munajjid book cover

Moving at a Measured Pace | A Book Excerpt from Developing Khushu in the Prayer

A book excerpt from Developing Khushu in the Prayer by Muhammad Salih al-Munajjid on the importance of moving at a measured pace during salah — and why rushing is described by the Prophet as steali...

Women around the Messenger by Muhammad Ali Qutb book cover

Aminah bint Wahb | A Book Excerpt from Women around the Messenger

A book excerpt from Women around the Messenger by Muhammad Ali Qutb on Aminah bint Wahb — the mother of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him — and the divine wisdom behind her sele...

The Journey of the Strangers by Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali book cover

Aspiring to Be a Stranger | Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali on the Ghuraba

A book excerpt from The Journey of the Strangers by Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali and Imam al-Ajurri on the meaning of the hadith 'Islam began as something strange' and what it means to be among the ghuraba...

When the Moon Split by Safiur Rahman Mubarakpuri book cover

Islam's First House of Knowledge | An Excerpt from When the Moon Split

A book excerpt from When the Moon Split by Safiur Rahman Mubarakpuri on the House of Arqam — Islam's first secret center of prayer, education, and training during the early days of the da'wah in Ma...

Awaking from the Sleep of Heedlessness by Ibn al-Jawzi book cover

The Stages of Life | Ibn al-Jawzi on Time, Discipline and Heedlessness

A book excerpt from Awaking from the Sleep of Heedlessness by Ibn al-Jawzi on the five stages of life and the obligations of parents in the first stage — a timeless reminder to use time wisely befo...

Trials and Tribulations by Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah book cover

Trials and Tribulations | Ibn al-Qayyim on Wisdom, Benefits and True Religion

A book excerpt from Trials and Tribulations by Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah on the wisdom behind hardship, the doubts that arise during tests, and why complete felicity is found only in the True Reli...

The Concise Presentation of the Fiqh of the Sunnah and the Noble Book by Dr. Abdul-Azeem Badawi book cover

The Prayer Times | A Fiqh Excerpt from The Concise Presentation of the Sunnah

A fiqh excerpt from The Concise Presentation of the Fiqh of the Sunnah by Dr. Abdul-Azeem Badawi on the prayer times — when a prayer is caught, making up missed prayers, and the ruling on one who i...