A History of Muslim Civilization

This is the long awaited work on the history of Muslim civilization, written by the scholars who have an insider's insight into the tradition and culture of Muslim people. This work is a concise introduction to the vast panorama of Muslim Civilization. The first volume (in the series of three) covers the period of Late Antiquity to the collapse of Umayyad rule. Instructors will be able to effortlessly utilize the book's 50+ lessons, taking advantage of complete vocabulary listings as well as review questions supplied at the end of each. Special boxed sections provide informative glimpse at contemporary reports and primary source material. A chronological timeline of Muslim history, genealogical charts of major figures and a glossary of Islamic terms complete this educational work.
The history of any given people is not only a record of its past but also a mirror of its present and a window to its future. Every society must learn from its past and work out a plan for its future. Muslim history, in many ways, is like any other, with its own fair share of villains and champions, its moments of grandeur and tranquility and its moments of failure and disappointments. But in one way it is special to itself for it is the history of the continual opportunities, offered to every man, woman and child, of realizing themselves and of coming closer to their Creator.
The record of Muslim civilization is in fact the history of many different cultures and civilizations that shared one central quality; they kept alive the faith of Islam and kept alive the vision of the perfect society, which existed only once but remained an ideal for all generations. These civilizations kept alive a model of a perfect life, the model of a most generous and spiritual people, a model for each life as it comes and goes. A History of Muslim Civilization is a unique textbook written specially for the younger generations of Western-born Muslims and all those interested in learning about the History of Muslims from a Muslim perspective.
This volume is the first one in the series of three. It deals with a past which can easily be divided into three parts:
1. The world before the mission of Prophet Muhammad.
2. The 1ife and teachings of Prophet Muhammad.
3.Muslim civilization after the demise of Prophet Muhammad until the collapse of the Umayyad. regime.