Book of the Believers: A Guide to Islamic Spirituality
Written by Shireen Qudosi (HSQ), Book of the Believers takes a critical and original look at Islam and its effects on both Muslims and non-Muslims.
Taking a reflective look into the source of religious doctrine and customs, Book of the Believers barges upon tabooed topics and places truth as the highest priority over tradition and custom. It is, as the work argues, God’s will that trumpets above the will of man. It is the will of man that defiles Allah’s truth, with thousands of years of sand cast upon His Islam – Allah’s Islam.
Dusting, and sometimes kicking aside this unholy residue, Book of the Believers questions the legitimacy and effectiveness of certain Islamic practices and beliefs, and their effects on the Muslim psyche.
Book of the Believers charges forward with a revolutionary approach toward understanding modern day terrorism and the mentality of extremism that carves many of the radical approaches toward a greater number of issues. Above all, it relentlessly impresses upon the responsibility Muslim societies have in the direction the faith is taking, both socially and spiritually.
It emphasizes the importance for politicians and law makers to discard political correctness when human rights are spat upon and excess liberties are taken under a guise of religious protection, and calls upon non-Muslim societies who are affected by Islam to take a more proactive effort in educating themselves about the Muslim mindset.
Reviews
"Shireen Qudosi's Book of the Believers (Kitab Al-Mu'minin) is an important contribution to the debate over the future of Islam. It brings together personal experience, insight, and an attitude of deep questioning, with an essential commitment to the restoration of Islam's intellectual and spiritual achievements. Most important, Shireen Qudosi writes from the heart, the place from which all sincere believers in the monotheistic faiths draw the inspiration needed to contend with the corruption and conformism especially visible among the Muslims today."
Stephen Suleyman Schwartz
Author, The Two Faces of Islam and The Other Islam
"It's honest, thoughtful and interesting. Two criticisms: it's best not to start anew but immerse yourself in those who came before and their thoughts; and blaming Muslims for Islam's ills reminds me of blaming Russians and Cubans for Communism's ills - an avoidance of the elephant in the room."
Daniel Pipes
Author, Political Commentator, and Executive Director of the Middle East Forum.
Author: Rodney Stark, Co-Director of the Institute for Studies of Religion and Professor of Social Sciences at BaylorUniversity
Background:
“It always seems counterintuitive to moderns that warfare and religion can be consistent. Ideally, followers of the prince of peace are to avoid the sword and shield. Clearly, this has not always been the case. Frequently in the crosshairs of critics are the Christian wars against Muslims known as the Crusades, commonly viewed as the birth of European imperialism and the forced spread of Christianity. But what if we've had it all wrong? What if the Crusades were a justifiable response to a strong and determined foe? Stark, a prominent sociologist and author of 27 books on history and religion, has penned a compelling argument that these bloody encounters had less to do with spreading Christianity than with responding to an ever more dangerous enemy—the emerging Islamic empire. There is much to be learned here. Filled with fascinating historical glimpses of monks and Templars, priests and pilgrims, kings and contemplatives, Stark pulls it all together and challenges us to reconsider our view of the Crusades.”
- Source: Reed Business Information
Opinion:
It was Oliver Cromwell who said “Everyone says God’s on their side. I wonder who’s on God’s side.”
When it comes to the relationship between man and God, no truer words were ever said. And with that, a red flag should immediately go up whenever man decides to invoke the name of God as an authority for his actions.
The first crusades started nearly a millennia ago, and despite our advancements in nearly every sector, we’re still considerably shallow-minded when it comes to God.
Here we have a highly credentialed, well-educated author and professor, justifying the crusades. Militarily, on the authority of man, a war of any nature is easily justified. However, the crusades were not just any war. They were the wars between the followers of the crescent and the cross, both of which invoke not just holy figures but God himself.
Christians had a special role here. Believing that Jesus is not just another prophet, but the son of God himself, one would think a heavy consideration would be placed before chanting his name and raising the sword of symbols of the cross. Here is where not only did the men of a millennia fail, but where Stark and all others who justify the crusades fail.
Jesus, a divine man who did not even protect himself or save his own life, but turned the other cheek, maintained humility in the most desperate of times, under torture and imminent death, did not raise a sword, nor hand, nor cite God as retribution.
And yet his followers did, and do – with many others, displaced from battles, writing nonsense glorifying an act that had nothing to do with neither God nor Christ.
However, I will agree with Stark in that neither should Christians apologize for what their forefathers before them did, an act as ridiculous as anyone alive today apologizing for actions that occurred before their time here and their ability to act on them.
Reading the Quran is one of the first steps you should take, whether a Muslim or whether someone interested in the faith. Below are some of the top rated Qurans, with a brief description on each of them. When studying the Quran, it's critical you look at the text itself and not rely too heavily on annotations or other scholarly sources. Use these sources as tools but not as authorities.
RATED FOR BEST TRANSLATION A Sufi Translation by Abdalhaqq Bewley and Aisha Bewley. The translators are world reknown for their brillant translations of such classic Islamic Texts as:
al-Muwatta of Imam Malik, Ash-Shifa of Qadi Iyad, The Four Imams, Handbook on Islam, Iman, and Ihsan, and many more.
SUGGESTED READING Entirely in English and relatively short. Translated by Syed Vickar Ahamed. This version is suggested by the Qudosi Chronicles as a beginner's Quran for those interested in reading the scriptures.
POOR TRANSLATION Widely circulated, this version is highly bias and promotes a Saudi agenda. It's hard to read but offers great insight into the type of language used to mold fundamentalist attitudes. Translated by Abdullay Yusuf Ali, this version is unfortunately a best seller.
Book of the Believers
SUGGESTED READING
POOR TRANSLATION