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I would recommend reading a biography of the prophet (sawa). I think reading about the prophet's life is one of the best ways to understand Islam.
As a note, if the Qur'an translation you have is proving difficult to get through, try a different one. Not all translations are the same. You can go to quran.com to compare some translations or search this sub for some recommendations.
What about Islam's beliefs do you find difficult?
"Righteousness is not that you turn your faces toward the east or the west, but [true] righteousness is [in] one who believes in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the prophets and gives wealth, in spite of love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveler, those who ask [for help], and for freeing slaves; [and who] establishes prayer and gives zakah; [those who] fulfill their promise when they promise; and [those who] are patient in poverty and hardship and during battle. Those are the ones who have been true, and it is those who are the righteous." 2:177
Jesus (as) is a revered, respected and beloved prophet in Islam. He is mentioned a lot in the Qur'an, particularly in chapters 3 (Ali 'Imran) and 19 (Maryam).
On the off chance there is a mosque somewhere near you, try getting in touch or going to a visit just to check it out, ask some questions, etc.
Last but not least: Ask God for guidance. At night before you sleep, face the qiblah if you wish (north east), and ask God with a sincere intention to guide you to truth, to peace, to what is right and better for you, whatever it may be.
I was once a lanyard-in-training hill intern and Veep is so accurate. I always tell people that the ruling class are not playing to dumb voters when they say stupid shit, they are actually dumb.
Lots of insane stories to tell, but my favorite is when Tom Coburn said at a personal gathering in his home (no cameras, just lanyard proto-chuds) that The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam helped him understand the Middle East. He even showed us his well-worn copy wiht highlights and shit. A fucking US Senator was reading Robert Spencer books and nodding along the whole way.
The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise: Muslims, Christians, and Jews under Islamic Rule in Medieval Spain The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise: Muslims, Christians, and Jews under Islamic Rule in Medieval Spain by Dario Fernandez-Morera https://www.amazon.com/Myth-Andalusian-Paradise-Christians-Medieval/dp/1610170954/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+myth+of+the+Andalusian+paradise&qid=1608261297&sr=8-1
Also: "... At least, this is the medieval myth, which is constantly peddled to cultural tourists travelling though the Iberian peninsula. The question though is where this idea comes from; and what are the facts and the fictions behind? In order to get an inkling of what lies behind the construction of this myth it may be pertinent to follow the history behind the concept. ..." https://www.medieval.eu/medieval-convivencia/
Houston Smith's book The World Religions is a classic . https://www.amazon.com/Worlds-Religions-Plus-Huston-Smith/dp/0061660183/ref=zg\_bs\_12783\_20?\_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=CYCAGX7Q1SH3NWT07JJP
Just read it normally and if you have questions ask. Hopefully you got a reliable interpretation like saheeh or sahih international. I am sure there are many reliable interpretations but this is the one I am most familiar with.
All english books titled "Qur'an" are interpretations made by human authors. They are a lot easier to understand and read than the Quran itself which only exists in the arabic language.
Everything you need to know about Islam will be clearly and explicitly told in the Quranic interpretation you have. There is not a single fundamental of Islam which is not mentioned in the Quran. It's always a good place to start alongside the seerah. Some people recommend the martin lings seerah life of the prophet from birth to death.
Someone recently sent me a photo of my great grandparents from my grandmother's side.
I saw my great grandmother, there were a cock-ish grin on her face, with her hand on her hip and thought, "Now, that is one cool lady! I wish I could've known her." I will never meet her, but I love her already. I didn't love her before I saw that photo.
Regarding Muhammad, I was really quite skeptical of him as a prophet and couldn't see why people loved him so much. The book <em>Muhammad: His Life Based Upon the Earliest Sources</em>, by Martin Lings shed some light on the man as a person and the basic story of his prophethood. It is a good book. It didn't try to preach to me or convince me of anything, it just laid out the known facts. And it was well-written, which made it easy and enjoyable to read. I couldn't put the book down, once I got into it.
Read a book about Christianity first. The Bible has far too many layers to understand on a cold reading.
I recommend books by Huston Smith. Try this one out - you can get it from your library or probably find a pdf online. It's been a classic for decades and you'll learn a lot about Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and a number of other major religions if you want to read those parts, too.
It is great that you are interested! If you would like to read more, I would recommend the book Destiny Disrupted by Tamil Ansary. It gives a good overview of Islamic history up to the modern day. Amazon link
Thousands of Christians tortured and murdered under the Islamic government of Spain beg to differ. (And you couldn't do pogroms in cities because cities had bishops and bishops sheltered Jews, but please, continue to blame Christianity for it.)
I didn't read it yet. It was recommended by Muslimmatters.org: http://muslimmatters.org/2014/07/30/book-review-lost-islamic-history/
Here is another book:
- <strong>[Book] Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes</strong> - Tamim Ansary, for people looking for a comprehensive-but-approachable way to look at world history through the lens of Islam.
They follow islam, read your pedo prophet's biography ffs.
9:29 Fight those who do not believe in Allah or in the Last Day and who do not consider unlawful what Allah and His Messenger have made unlawful and who do not adopt the religion of truth from those who were given the Scripture - [fight] until they give the jizyah willingly while they are humbled.
9:73 O Prophet, fight against the disbelievers and the hypocrites and be harsh upon them. And their refuge is Hell, and wretched is the destination.
9:123 O you who have believed, fight those adjacent to you of the disbelievers and let them find in you harshness. And know that Allah is with the righteous.
Sourah 9, the most peaceful Sourah in the Quran, the religion of 'peace' really shows its colors in it right?And guess what? It so just happens that Sourah 9 is the PENULTIMATE Sourah to be revealed, giving Muhammad the final marching orders towards every non-Muslim on Earth.
Bukhari transmits how your Momo said:
(Sahih al-Bukhari 25)
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: "I have been ordered (by Allah) to fight against the people until they testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), and offer the prayers perfectly and give the obligatory charity, so if they perform that, then they save their lives and property from me except for Islamic laws and then their reckoning (accounts) will be done by Allah."
Seems pretty straightforward, and no amount of mental gymnastics can make you look away from the truth.
Read your pedo prophet's biography by Ibn Ishaq/Ibn Hisham, it's all in there:
After doing a bit of research, I’m quite confused. Sahih al Bukhari was compiled 846 AD, while Sirat Ibn Hisham was compiled in 834 AD. So, technically it comes before.
However, hadiths are Berra ruins that are passed on through centuries, technically making the Hadiths in Bukhari significantly older than SIH.
Even so, AFAIK, SIT is a recession of Sirat Ibn Ishaq. And this, Sirat Rasuallah, which was translated by an Oxford professor (here), and on page 792, it states:
“He married ‘A’isha in Mecca when she was a child of seven and lived with her in Medina when she was nine or ten. She was the only virgin that he married. Her father, Abu Bakr, married her to him and the apostle gave her four hundred dirhams.” (Ibn Ishaq, Sirat Rasulullah (The Life of Muhammad), translated by Alfred Guillaume [Oxford University Press, Karachi, tenth impression 1995], p. 792)
Did Ibn Hisham write multiple biographies?
Finally, my time to shine.
In terms of the amount of minimally biased historical research I recommend:
Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources by Martin Lings
Link: https://www.amazon.com.au/Muhammad-Martin-Lings/dp/1594771537
In terms of understanding the nuances and significance of that historical data I recommend: Muhammad: A Prophet for Our Time by Karen Armstrong
Link: https://www.amazon.com.au/Muhammad-Karen-Armstrong/dp/0061155772
Full disclosure, I am not a Muslim.
I second this. It is well-written and a good introduction.
"World histories" have been criticized as being too Eurocentric. I agree.
Two books can help correct this myopia.
Destiny Disrupted: World History Through Islamic Eyes
Big History by David Christian. This history starts with the origin of the universe. This views human history in the biggest perspective. I listened to the author's Great Courses lecture series on the topic.
>E esse artigo aí é uma resenha de um livro. No mínimo mostra um estudo.
https://www.amazon.com/Christian-Slaves-Muslim-Masters-Mediterranean/dp/1403945519
Aqui está o livro.
"Robert Davis is professor emeritus of Italian Renaissance and pre-modern Mediterranean history at Ohio State University. He has studied Naples, Rome, Palermo, Venice, the Vatican, and Perugia, and mostly works on the lives of ordinary people and the values they cherished. His subjects have ranged from shipbuilders, bull fighters, and amateur boxers in Venice to the corsairs who terrorized the Mediterranean everywhere else. He has co-authored studies of Venice as the world's most touristed city and of Renaissance men and women. He has also been in a number of television documentaries, on shipbuilding, Carnival, and the Mediterranean slave trade, and is currently writing a textbook on the history of modern Europe."
I recommend reading Destiny Disrupted.
Europe didn't catch up to the middle east and China until about the 16th - 17th Century.
The Siege is particularly important because it held the Ottomans back from taking over the Mediterranean. Had they won, the Turks could have invaded Sicily and Southern Italy. They potentially could have snuffed out the Spanish Empire before it really got going. Then much of Europe would look like the Balkans today. It's arguably as important as the Siege of Vienna, another massive and stunning Ottoman defeat. One Christian victory was the gateway to central Europe and the other, Malta, was the gateway to Southern Europe. Empires of the Seas puts the battle into perspective and how important it and the later Lepanto were.
if your interested in Islam then learning about the Prophet is really helpful. The best English biography at the moment is by Martin Lings. Amazon link
There’s a good twitter thread that has a solid booklist. twitter link
Seerkersguidance.org has a bunch of free courses.
There’s some more resources but these should be good introductions.
They did not co exist peacefully. I would recommend you read the book “Myth Of Andalusian Paradise” by Dario Fernandez Morera as he provides both Muslim and nonMuslim historians sources on this period.
The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise: Muslims, Christians, and Jews under Islamic Rule in Medieval Spain https://www.amazon.com/dp/1610170954/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_C7GABJ7X81NQ91PK42N2
As for the crusades, those were defensive wars against Muslim invasion of Europe.
I was baptized Christian and at a young age, studied the faith a bit, but it came down to that I couldn't trust the Bible. It's got Truth mixed with distorted truths. It's the Word of God AND the word of (imperfect) humans.
The Quran is believed to be unchanged. Not only is it not the word of Muhammad (he was simply a Messenger), it is only the word of God. Supposedly, originally the Torah was like this as well, but then (like the Bible), some powerful humans decided to change it to suit their needs better. AFAIK, even the historical research into the Quran remaining unchanged confirms this.
If you want to learn more about Prophet Muhammad, I highly recommend the book <em>Muhammad: His Life Based Upon the Earliest Sources</em> by Martin Lings.
I found it very well written and I found it a great introduction to learning more about Muhammad (peace and blessings upon him).
The World's Religions by Huston Smith is an excellent overview of all major, and some minor religions. Have read it many times, explains faith in a very understandable way.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0061660183/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_WYS36CDX3G4Y4TX2KNKQ
In that case, I would recommend this book, which start with the origin and history of the Kaaba.
The great thing about this book is that it uses historical sources and not religious sources.
Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/1594771537/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_CV3ZM10GZHXJGJH4S879
Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources by Martin Lings.
Also Stories of the Prophets by Ibn Kathir is a collection of stories about Prophets (peace be upon them) prior to The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources. This has a lot of good information.
If you're up for some reading, here's a book on the biography of The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) which contains a lot of details on his life which you may not have known. It's a good read and very inspiring once you understand all that he went through and how he kept succeeding despite overwhelming odds. It'll teach you about our religion and provide historical context of how things originated in our deen.
Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources by Martin Lings.
Here's another book on prior Prophets (peace be upon them). I've started this one myself and I always wanted to learn about our past Prophets (peace be upon them) and the people they guided and how they lived and what obstacles were faced.
Stories of the Prophets by Ibn Kathir.
A good book on this topic, written by an African church minister and an associate professor of christianity and islam. https://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Arab-Islam-Africa-Inter-religious-Dialogue/dp/1851682732
I recommend you order and read the book below to get a good understanding of his life.
Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources by Martin Lings.
Hello!
You may like Martin Lings’ book “Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources”
I also have an annual tradition of reading Omid Safi’s “Memories of Muhammad” during the month of the Prophet’s birth.
I’d probably start there and then if you want to read the more classical ones you can try to find Ibn Ishaq’s bio.
No worries, if you like reading books I would advise readingthis book by Martin Lings about the life of the prophet Mohammed.
But I will tell you that, Mohammed and Jesus pbut are very very very comparable if you take the first 13 years of the prophethood of Mohammed with the 3 years of prophethood of Jesus, and the last 10 years of prophet Mohammed are close to prophet Moses peace be upon all of them.