The Elements of Islam PDF
Preview The Elements of Islam
THE ELEMENTS OF ISLAM THE ELEMENTS OF ISLAM Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri was born and raised in the ancient Holy City of Karbala, Iraq, and was educated in Europe and the United States. His professional background included the founding of companies in the oil industry as well as in international business. The rediscovery of the full Islamic heritage of his birth and its prophetic perfection came about through an awakening to the inner meanings of its outer teachings and practices. Since the 1970s, Shaykh Haeri has given discourses and taught extensively throughout his travels, both in the East and the West. He currently resides in England and continues to travel and lecture widely, and is the author of many books. The Elements Of is a series designed to present high quality introductions to a broad range of essential subjects. The books are commissioned specifically from experts in their fields. They provide readable and often unique views of the various topics covered, and are therefore of interest both to those who have some knowledge of the subject, as well as those who are approaching it for the first time. Many of these concise yet comprehensive books have practical suggestions and exercises which allow personal experience as well as theoretical understanding, and offer a valuable source of information on many important themes. In the same series The Aborigine Tradition The Greek Tradition Alchemy Herbalism The Arthurian Tradition Human Potential Astrology Meditation The Baha’i Faith Mysticism Buddhism Native American Traditions Celtic Christianity Natural Magic The Celtic Tradition Pendulum Dowsing The Chakras Prophecy Christian Symbolism Psychosynthesis Creation Myth The Qabalah Dreamwork Shamanism The Druid Tradition Sufism Earth Mysteries Tai Chi Feng Shui Taoism The Goddess Visualisation The Grail Tradition Zen es THE ELEMENTS OF ISLAM Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri EE VE NT Shaftesbury, Dorset Rockport, Massachusetts Brisbane, Queensland © Zahra Trust 1993 Published in association with Zahra Publications Published in Great Britain in 1993 by Element Books Limited Longmead, Shaftesbury, Dorset Published in the USA in 1993 by Element, Inc. 42 Broadway, Rockport, MA 01966 Published in Australia in 1993 by Element Books Limited for Jacaranda Wiley Limited 33 Park Road, Milton, Brisbane, 4064 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the Publisher. Cover design by Max Fairbrother Typeset by The Electronic Book Factory, Fife, Scotland Printed and bound in Great Britain by Biddles Ltd, Guildford & King’s Lynn British Library Cataloguing in Publication data available Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication data available ISBN 1—85230-—-382—4 CONTENTS Acknowledgements vi Foreword vii Introduction A. The Rise of Islam 2 . Faith and Path 21 3 . The Fundamentals of Islam 35 4. The History and Development of the Religion 45 5 . The History of the Muslims 71 6 . The Life of Muslims 119 Epilogue 147 Appendix: Outstanding Muslims 149 Glossary 157 Bibliography 161 Index 165 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Zainab Hussain Haeri has been an invaluable help in the wri- ting of this book. Without her discipline, perseverance, loyalty and hard work this book would not have been produced. Special thanks are also due to Muna Bilgrami for her superb editing, and to Dr Ya’qub Zaki for his valuable comments and corrections on the history section. Encouragement and help also came from many friends and well-wishers. I offer my thanks to them all. am FOREWORD Human beings are the veil of God, and Muslims are the veil of Islam. This book tries to lift the veil without prejudice, condemnation or bitterness. Islam — submission — is easy. Witnessing and affirming that there is only One God isa reality accessible to everyone. This truth is encapsulated in the first phrase of the Muslim creed: ‘I witness that there is no god but God.’ The translation of the complementary second half of this testimony of belief, that ‘Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah’, is harder to decode. This is because through time its misapplication has clouded over its transformational dynamism. The reader is strongly urged to read this book more than once and with patience, for not until he or she has imbibed all the tessellating parts touched upon in this brief introduction to the reality of Islam will it be possible to break through the distraction of form to arrive at the transformation of meaning.
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