Islamic Book Excerpts

The Truth Is With the People of Hadith | A Book Excerpt from The Eminence of the Hadith Adherents

Selected passages from al-Khatib al-Baghdadi's classic in praise of the people of hadith — those who preserved and revived the Sunnah — including Harun al-Rashid's famous testimony that the truth i...

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

In this excerpt from Gardens of Purification, Shaykhul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah opens Chapter One with the foundations of the straight path — the place of the Sunnah, and the meaning of misguidance, dev...

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 striking similitudes in the Sunnah. This...

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...

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...

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 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.

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...