Five Islamic Books

As Muslims, we have to know about our religion, Lord, and Prophet. This is our duty that we must take true information regarding the teachings of our religion, Islam. Therefore, the every Muslim’s home must have five Islamic books that are given below:

The Holy Quran

The Holy Quran is the central religious text of Islam which is a collection of divine revelations. It is widely regarded as the finest work in classical Arabic literature. The holy Quran has 30 Juz (Parah) that include 114 Surahs (Chapters) and each Surah consists of many verses (Ayaat). The word “Quran” literally means “recitation.”

There are many different interpretations of the Quran, but all Muslims believe that it is the literal word of God. The Quran was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) over a period of 23 years according to the need.

There are many translations of the Quran available in English, Urdu, Hindi, and many other languages but Muslims believe only the Arabic original text can be considered truly authoritative.

Sihah Sittah (The Collection of Six Hadith Books)

The Hadith is the record of the Prophet’s (PBUH) sayings and doings, his practices, and his explicit or implicit approval of the words or actions of any other person.

The Hadith is divided into three parts: The sayings of the Prophet ((Qauli Hadith), the accounts of his deeds (F’eli Hadith, Sunnah), and the Takreeri Hadith. The Hadith is further divided into categories, including those that are Sahih (Authentic), Hasan (Good), and Da’if (Weak).

The Hadith is an important source of guidance for Muslims because it shows us how the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) spent his life and dealt with different situations. It also teaches us about his character and personality, which serves as an excellent role model for us to follow.

Sihah Sittah: It is the collection of the six most important and widely acknowledged works of HadIth and individually these all are known by the name of their compilers, such as-

1. Sahih al-Bukhari by Imam Bukhari (194 H-256 H).
2. Sahih al-Muslim by Imam Muslim (206 H – 261 H).
3. Sunan Abi Dawud by Imam abu Dawud (202 H- 275 H).
4. Sunan al-Nasai’ by Imam Nasai` (214 H- 303 H).
5. Sunan al-Tirmidhi by Imam al-Tirmidhi (209 H- 279 H)
6. Sunan ibn Majah by Imam ibn Majah (207 H- 275 H)

Al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah (Sirah of Ibn Hisham)

Al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah written by ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Hisham (d. 213/218 H) is considered among the most authentic and trustworthy Islamic books and the sources of Sirah literature, and ibn Hisham was the first who used the word Sirah as the title of written biography of Prophet Muḥammad (PBUH), and it became popular by Sirah of ibn Hisham (Sirat-e-Ibn Hisham). Actually, it is an abridged version of “al-Maghazi” written by Muhammad Ibn Ishaq (d. ca. 152 H) that Ibn Hisham got through Ziyad bin Muhammad al-Bakkai’ (d. 183 H). Ibn Ishaq followed the same pattern in his writing as there was a general structure to write the biography of Prophet Muḥammad (SAW) before him which was known at that time by the name “Al-Maghazī”. However, Ibn Hisham collected this material and then abridged it and refined it by adding and omitting material in certain places in the biography of Prophet Muḥammad (PBUH) from the book of Ibn Ishaq. There are various explanations, abridgments, and poetical versions have been made of the Sirah of Ibn Hisham.

The biography comprises all the life incidents related to the Prophet in a chronological order that could be classified mainly into five parts; the first part describes the historical background and condition of the Arabs before the emergence of the Prophethood of Muhammad (PBUH); the second part deals with the emergence of Muhammad (PBUH) as a Prophet and Messenger of Allah and his Prophetic Mission in Mecca; the third part pertains to the migration (Hijrah) of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and his followers from Mecca towards Medina. The fourth part is based on the battles and military expeditions that occurred after the emigration toward Medina. The fifth or the last segment of the biography demonstrates the occasion of the Pilgrimage (الحج) and the incident of Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) illness following his death. However, these five parts are further subdivided into various sections.

Dr. Akram Ziya’ al-‘UmarI wrote that Sirah of ibn Hisham is reliable among all the later Sirah writers who wrote about Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and it is very close to the books of Ḥadith that makes it a strong and authentic source for the Sirah writers.

---

Al-Shifa’ bi T‘arif Huquq Al-Mustafa

Kitab Al-Shifa’ bi T‘arīf Huquq al-Mustafa, commonly known as “Al-Shifa’”, is scrupulously compiled by Al-Qadi Abul Fadl ‘Iyad bin Musā (popularly known as Qadi ‘Iyad), in which he demonstrated the holy life, qualities, and miracles of Prophet Muḥammad (PBUH), commandments of Allah, dos and don’ts, and punishments in the light of Quranic Ayaat; Noble Hadith; saying of the Holy Prophet’s Companions, pious predecessors, scholars, and jurists. It is widely acknowledged throughout the Muslim world and has extreme sanctity among the Muslims as it said: “If the book Al-Shifa’ is found in a house, this house will not suffer any harm, and a boat in which it is, will not drown; when a sick person reads it or it is recited for him, Allah will restore his health”. The importance and prominence of the book could be understood through the fact that there are numerous explanations and abridgments which have been written by the pen of various distinguished scholars during the course of time.

Since, along with other sciences, such as a prominent scholar of Hadith (محدّث), memorizer of the Quran (حافِظ), historian, critic, commentator of the Holy Quran (مُفَسِّر), grammarian, linguist, genealogist, poet and orator  (خَطِيب) Qadi ‘Iyad was also the prestigious Scholar of jurisprudence, hence, he compiled the Sirah of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in a juristic style. He extracted or understood the laws of Islamic Jurisprudence from the incidents that occurred during the period of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), in the light of the Quran, Hadith, sayings of Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) Companions and the predecessors, opinions of the Islamic scholars and jurists.

The entire work is divided into four major parts and these parts are further divided into various chapters which are further subdivided into many other sections, respectively. He mentioned in the preface that he chose the title “الشفاء بتعريف حقوق المصطفى صلى الله عليه وسلم” [Healing through defining the rights of Prophet Muḥammad (PBUH)] after completing the whole work by dividing it into chapters, reporting all the sources and explaining all its details. However, the whole book has been classified broadly into four parts.

Al-Rahiq Al-Makhtum (The Sealed Nectar)

Al-Rahiq al-Makhtum (The Sealed Nectar) was written by Safiur Rahman Mubarakpuri who was a distinguished Indian scholar. He has written more than thirty books both in Arabic as well as Urdu languages on various subjects, including, Quranic commentary, noble narration, terminology, Prophet Muḥammad’s biography, and preachings. An illustrious name among them is Al-Rahiq al-Makhtum which is an award-winning, praiseworthy, and widely-acknowledged work on the life of Prophet Muḥammad (PBUH). In today’s Islamic world, it is one of the most famous books that have been written on the Prophet’s (PBUH) biography. It has been translated into more than fifteen languages.

Safiur Rahman Mubarakpuri wrote this book in a chronological manner where different periods of Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) life have been presented, mostly, in the light of basic Islamic sources. He mentioned in the book that he decided to write it in a medium size volume to avoid the boring or tiresome lengthening and ambiguous brevity. But, he found a great difference in the sources of Sīrah regarding the arrangement of the events and their explanations during the perusal of Sīrah books. Therefore, he decided to look into every aspect of the argument wherever he would face this situation and make profound research, then he would draw the conclusion and write it in the original work without mentioning the details of the arguments and reasons of preference just to avoid the extra-lengthening of the volume. Although, he also brought up the reasons in the text wherever he became doubtful that his research would be astonishing and shocking to the readers, or in the case where the common scholars presented an image in describing the incidents that are not correct in his viewpoint.

Conclusion:

The study concluded that to know about the Islamic teachings and the Prophet of Islam every Muslim’s home must have above discussed five Islamic books.