This is a carefully reasoned, positive, and largely reflective work. Looking back at the various stages of Islamic historical development, AbuSulayman puts forward a thesis that focuses on the recovery of what is termed the Qur’anic worldview. By this is meant an ethical, monotheistic, and purposeful perspective on the world and those within it. Our faith will only be complete when we have become utterly sincere in our love for God, a love expressed in a pure, passionate love for goodness and truth in this world. It was the strict internalization of this perspective and close adherence to the principles of the Qur’an which AbuSulayman contends, played a key factor in galvanizing the devout and intensely God-conscious followers of fledgling Islam to achieve the successes that they once did, the profound historical and global impact of which is still the subject of much study and admiration today. The rebirth of Islamic identity through this Qur’anic worldview is the key requirement of our times and a prerequisite for any future healthy and viable development of Muslim societies.

"Is practicing Islam in the American Diaspora identical to its practice in other countries, or must a new Islamic jurisprudence be developed that takes into account the culture, customs and laws of this country?" This is the central question around which world-renowned Islamic scholar Dr. Azizah al-Hibri bases her analysis of Islamic Jurisprudence. This book revisits traditional Islamic jurisprudence to develop a modern understanding of Islam with respect to gender, marriage, family, and governance.

The Book in the Islamic World brings together serious studies on the book as an intellectual entity and as a vehicle of cultural development. Written by a group of distinguished scholars, it examines and reflects upon this unique tool of communication not as a physical artifact but as a manifestation of the aspirations, values, and wisdom of Arabs and Muslims in general. The Islamic system of book production differed from that of the West. This volume shows the peculiarities of book making and the intellectual principles that governed a book's inner structure, mysteries, and impact on culture. Investigated and explained are the issues involved in printing; the compilation of the Koran, the most important book in Islam; attitudes toward books; the oral versus the written tradition; metaphors of the book in literature; biographical dictionaries, an important genre of Islamic books; the grammatical tradition; women's contribution to calligraphy; scientific manuscripts; the transition from scribal to print culture; publishing in the modern Arab World; and the new electronic media, a non-book vehicle of communication, and its impact on education.

A comprehensive reference work covering all figures of the earliest period of philosophy in the Islamic world. Both major and minor thinkers are covered, with details of biography and doctrine as well as detailed lists and summaries of each author’s works.

In celebration of the many contributions of Claude Gilliot to Islamic studies, an international group of twenty-one friends and colleagues join together to explore books and written culture in the Muslim world. Divided into three sections – authors, genres and traditions – the essays explore themes that have been of central interest and concern to Gilliot himself including the Qurʾān, tafsīr, ḥadīth, poetry, and mysticism. Gilliot’s detailed and extensive work on many authors and texts, literary genres, and specific case-studies on many Muslim traditions renders this volume an apt tribute to him as well as offering Islamic studies’ scholars valuable research insights on these subjects. The authors of these English, French and German essays are all renowned scholars from Europe and North America, each of whom have benefitted substantially from Gilliot’s work and collegiality. With contributions by: Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi, Mehdi Azaiez, Anne-Sylvie Boisliveau, Abdallah Cheikh-Moussa, Jean-Louis Déclais, Denis Gril, Manfred Kropp, Pierre Larcher, Michael Lecker, Jane Dammen McAuliffe, Harald Motzki, Tilman Nagel, Angelika Neuwirth, Emilio Platti, Jan van Reeth, Andrew Rippin, Uri Rubin, Walid Saleh, Roberto Tottoli, Reinhard Weipert, Francesco Zappa