Muslim Muhammad

Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall and Abdullah Philby were Englishmen of courage and adventure who travelled widely in the Muslim world and came to love and admire what they found. By accompanying them on their life journeys, it is possible to view some of the great dramas of the time through their eyes. This short biographical essay, under our Occasional Paper Series, interleaves two lives spanning a period from the 1890s to the 1940s.

Muhammad Asad (1900-1992), the Jewish convert to Islam who rose to fame with his autobiographical work, The Road to Mecca, and Alija Izerbegovic (1925-2003), the Bosnian leader during the Balkan wars, were men imbued in Islam's spiritualising and moralising force that translated into political activism. Their intellectual journeys will inspire a younger generation of concerned Muslims, who look to religion not just as a private affair or cultural phenomenon, but as a paradigm with its own norms and notions, including the project of an Islamic state.

മനോഹരവും ശുഭാന്തവുമായ ഒരു പ്രേമകഥയാണ് ഇതിലെ കേന്ദ്രകഥാംശം. നര്‍മ്മരസത്തിന് യാതൊരു കുറവുമില്ല. യാഥാസ്ഥിതിക മുസ്‌ലിം സമുദായത്തിലെ ആചാരവഴക്കങ്ങള്‍, വിശ്വാസങ്ങള്‍ എന്നിവയെക്കുറിച്ചുള്ള പ്രതിപാദനങ്ങള്‍ ഒട്ടുവളരെയുണ്ട് ഈ ഗ്രന്ഥത്തില്‍. വര്‍ത്തമാനകാലത്തു ജീവിക്കൂ എന്നതാണ് ഇതിലെ ആഹ്വാനം.

The story of two curious kids; Yusuf & Fatima, who learn about the Concept and History behind the "Qiblah", towards which Muslims bow during Salah. They had been curiously observing their Prayer Mats placed towards a single direction. So, one day after school, they ask their mother the reason for placing it like that. This leads to their discussion with their mother, during which the children learn about the history and significance of Qiblah or the Holy Kaaba, as well as the first Qiblah of Muslims, that is, Masjid al Aqsa or Bayt al Muqdis. This story is a fun and educational way to learn...