Islamic Book Recommendations

Books by Ibn al-Jawzi: Where to Start

Imam Abu al-Faraj Abdur-Rahman ibn al-Jawzi (508–597 AH) was a Hanbali scholar of Baghdad: a hadith scholar, historian and preacher whose written works are said to number in the hundreds. He lost h...

Books by Shaykh al-Fawzan: Where to Start

Shaykh Salih ibn Fawzan al-Fawzan was born in 1354 AH in al-Qassim. He studied at the colleges of Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University, where he went on to earn his doctorate in fiqh, and he t...

Books by Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhab: Where to Start

Imam Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhab (1115–1206 AH) was born in the town of al-Uyaynah in Najd. He memorised the Qur'an as a boy, took fiqh first from his father, the judge Abdul-Wahhab ibn Sulayman, and...

The History of the Adhan: A Chronology of the Muslim Call to Prayer

Most books on the adhan treat it as a chapter inside a book on salah. The Adhan: A Brief Chronology by Flamur Vehapi takes the call to prayer itself as the subject and follows it forward from Madin...

Books on the Four Rightly-Guided Caliphs: al-Sallabi's Biographies from IIPH

Dr. Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi's full-length biographies of Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali from IIPH — what each volume covers, why the sifting of reports matters for this period, and which one to rea...

Madarij as-Salikin in English: Ibn al-Qayyim's Map of the Journey to Allah

Ibn al-Qayyim's Madarij as-Salikin in English — what the book actually is, why the whole journey is framed on Surah al-Fatihah, the correction of Manazil as-Sa'irin that sits inside it, and where t...

Meet the Publisher: Flowers of Jannah

Flowers of Jannah is a children's publisher built almost entirely around a single idea: connect a Muslim child to the Qur'an, the Sunnah, and the Arabic language as early as possible, and make it s...

Books by Ibn Qudamah: Where to Start

Imam Muwaffaq al-Din Ibn Qudamah al-Maqdisi (541–620 AH) was a scholar of the Hanbali school, an imam who followed the way of the Salaf as-Salih, known for his precision in hadith and his sincerity...

Books by Ibn Rajab: Where to Start

Imam Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali (736–795 AH) was a scholar of hadith and the sciences of the heart, an imam of the Hanbali tradition who followed the path of Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim and carried i...

Books by Ibn al-Uthaymeen: Where to Start

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymeen (1347–1421 AH) was an imam who followed the way of the Salaf as-Salih, a member of the Senior Scholars Council of Saudi Arabia, and the most famous student of...

Books by as-Sa'di: Where to Start

Shaykh Abdur-Rahman Nasir as-Sa'di (1307–1376 AH) was a scholar of the Arabian Peninsula, an imam who followed the way of the Salaf as-Salih, based in 'Unayzah in the Qaseem region, and among the t...

Best Islamic Books for Muslim Women: Where to Start

Islam did not come to diminish women. It came to honor them, with a status, a set of rights, and a role that Allah Himself defined. But separating what Islam actually teaches from what culture has ...

Best Books to Learn Arabic: From Reading the Script to Understanding the Qur'an

Allah revealed the Qur'an in Arabic, and no translation, however careful, fully conveys what the original does. Learning Arabic is the key that opens the Qur'an, the Sunnah, and the works of the sc...

Best Tafsir Books in English: Where to Start with the Qur'an's Explanation

Reading a translation of the Qur'an tells you what a verse says. Tafsir tells you what it means: the context in which it was revealed, how the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and his Comp...