Lost Islamic History: Reclaiming Muslim Civilisation from the Past

A brilliant read. Full of beneficial information and written in a way that is easy to understand. I have learnt a lot about Islamic history from this book and would recommend to Muslims and non Muslims wanting to study a little about history.

Contrary to what might be perceived, this is not an encyclopaedia of inventions – it is a summary of Islamic history, covering all of the geographical locations that Islam ruled over, from the time of the seerah to the 20th century.The first two (very short) chapters summarise pre-Islamic Arabia and the seerah of the Prophet (saw) – it is very apparent how powerful the Islamic ideology is, as it alone transformed backward, insignificant desert pagans into the greatest world leaders the world has ever known, in the space of a mere 23 years.Leading on from there, the next chapter focuses on the Khulafaa Rashidun (approx. 30 years): Abu Bakr setting the precedent for the role of the caliph, expansion, the encounters with the Roman, Byzantine and Sassanid empires and religious minorities living under Islam. It then goes into the chaos caused by the Khawaarij.Chapter 4 starts with Muawiyaa/Banu Umayyah, the beginning of ‘hereditary rule’ and the conflict of succession they had with Husayn ibn Abi Talib and Abdullah ibn al Zubayr. It makes a note of further expansion into Spain and into India, making it the world’s largest state after less than 100 years since revelation began. The Abbasids then forcibly took power.Chapter 5, ‘Intellectual Golden Ages’, looks at the vast number of scientific and technological achievements achieved under the Abbasids; hospitals, language, universities, astronomy, mathematics, etc. The establishment of ‘Bayt al Hikmah’ (the House of Wisdom) spurred this, however it also led to many theological issues; the Islamic method of thinking was diluted and many started to adopt Greek logic (mantiq) as a basis for thinking to ‘explain’ theology, leading to the Mutazila, Asharis, etc. The final sub-chapter is on Shi’ism.The following chapter, rightly titled ‘Upheaval’, looks into Ismailism, the Crusaders and the Mongols: the Qarmatians, Pope Urban II, the Ayyubid dynasty, the Mamluks, Genghis Khan and his son Ogedai, and Baghdad being ransacked.The next chapter specifically focuses on al-Andalus, expanding when an Umayyad prince fled there during the massacre of the Abbasids. Points mentioned include: Granada, Cordoba, the Taifa kings, sciences, cultural development and the ‘Moriscos’. The Spanish Inquisition did not stretch to just over a few days or a few weeks – rather, it was over a century-long oppression of Muslims, so much so that they had to hide their Islam to the extent that fataawa were issued that allowed them to pray their 5 prayers all at night and eat pork – hence Islam was kept secretively but it survived in the hearts, which eventually led to the expulsion of everyone descended from Muslims (except children under 4, who were taken away and forcibly converted to Christianity by the state).Chapter 8 explains Islam in West Africa, whose leaders were arguably amongst the richest people who have ever existed. They established Timbuktu as one of the greatest Islamic scholarly centres in the world. East Africa was familiar with Islam due to the Companions travelling there in the time of the seerah and hence both regions had many Muslims. Millions were taken as slaves to the American continent (i.e. North and South) after the European Colonisation. There is also a mention of modern-day ‘African Americans’ and Malcolm X.Islam in China had its beginnings from the time of when Uthman ibn Affan was khaleefah, when he sent ambassadors to the Tang dynasty. Thereafter, Muslims were primarily employed in the administration of the government; special note of Zheng He. Islam in India is revisited, as well as in Southeast Asia.Chapter 9 looks at the origins of the Ottomans, who were originally a warrior state, taking the mantle of the Khilafah. They had rapid expansion and eventually took Constantinople, ushering in another ‘Golden Age’. It also explains the rise of the Safavids and the MughalsThe following chapter, ‘Decline’, assesses the problems with the Ottoman state, such as the liberal/Tanzimaat reforms which caused further decline. Sultan Abdul Hamid II exerted effort to combat the problems but the Young Turks ended his thirty-three year reign.The decline of India, Africa and Asia is then explained, with cultural and physical colonialism accelerating the decline.Chapter 11 looks into Western ideological infiltration, reform, modernism, the establishment of the Zionist entity, the rise of nation states in the Arab and South Asian regions, the abolishment of the Khilafah, lack of leadership, secularism and the abandonment of the idea of Islamic rule.Although they are two completely different books in terms of purpose and angles, I would recommend reading this before ‘The Inevitable Caliphate’ as it will give a chronological overview of the last 1450 years.I learnt a great deal from this book, such as the importance of the khaleefah being the central leader and the significance of political awareness. It was also a heavy re-iteration for me that the wealth of a nation is its ideas and viewpoint towards life; its intellectual wealth.

A book so good I gifted a copy. The breakdown of the book is excellent, giving an insight into pre-Islamic Arabia and then the countless years of Islamic history, broken up into informative and exciting sections. Pictures are present in the centre of the book to consolidate learning and put the content into perspective. The book goes as far as the end of the Ottoman empire, to cover essentially all of the notable historical moments. A must read!

Excellent book. Easy to read providing an overview from the Prophet (saw) to the last empire with a good reading list at the end.

Very rare to find a book that covers the whole sweep of Islamic history so well and from a non-orientalist, non-prejudiced view. It's very well written, covers all major events from a high level but provides enough detail for the reader to understand the material and be engrossed. The real skill though is threading disparate historical events together to provide a narrative, which the author does admirably, keeping the readers' attention and providing structure throughout. I've recommended it to my personal network. The author did a service when he wrote this book.

As someone who had very little knowledge about Islamic history, this book did a perfect job of giving a bit of an overview of everything. It was structured really well and the organisation of the chapters made sense for the most part.However, I do have some recommendations for if this was ever to be rereleased for another revision again: please provide a timeline with the key figures/events (either at the beginning of the book or end of the book). The book covers so much history (over so many years and countries), that readers would highly benefit from more figures and diagrams e.g. a timeline, family tree of dynasties that ruled, etc.

This is a good introduction to the history of Islam, tying the who and when together with many historical figures, places and events.The Kindle version is ideal if you want to learn more about the people, places and events as you go.What the book doesn't give is an in depth look at the aforementioned or the belief system of the many branches of Islam.Enjoyed it from start to finish and is a good place to start before looking into more specific areas of the fascinating world of Islam.

One of the best books I have read for a long time. I would recommend it highly for you to read.