There are about 80,000 words in the Quran but the actual words are only around 2000!!! This could also be termed as one of the many miracles of the Quran. Accordingly, if a reader decides to learn only 10 new words every day, he can understand the basic message of the Quran within a period of seven months! So it is indeed very easy to understand the Quran, provided one is willing to learn it. This word-for-word translation may not be considered as an addition to the existing translations, but an attempt to equip the reader to understand the revelation directly from the Arabic text; thus it will Insha-Allah be a very useful tool for those who are willing to study the Quran and try to understand it. A beginner can bear in mind the meanings of each Arabic word provided right below it. Since many words are repeated in the Quran, the student will find for himself that within a few months of regular study, he is indeed able to understand the Quran through the text itself. It may also be pointed out that a beginner does not have to, in the start itself, be worried about learning extensive grammar or how to speak the Arabic language. In fact, one has to develop vocabulary before learning grammar for the following reasons: * A child first learns words and then starts linking them together. We speak our mother tongue fluently without ever learning the grammatical rules. That is to say, we learn it by repeatedly listening to the words. * Learning extensive grammar before improving vocabulary is like putting the cart before the horse. Or it is like learning different styles of swimming by moving hands in the air inside a swimming pool without water. One has to fill the swimming pool with water (i.e., increase vocabulary) and then learn to swim (i.e., to connect the words with grammatical rules).

Honored by Muslims as the epitome of the just ruler, 'Umar, or Omar--the second caliph--is one of the greatest figures in early Islamic history. His rule (634-44 CE) laid the foundations of an empire that has since defined, both culturally and geographica

"The Muslim Heritage of Bengal is a multidimensional work. . . . I am sure this book will add to the vista of knowledge in the field of Muslim history and heritage of Bengal. I recommend this work."—A. K. M. Yaqub Ali, PhD, professor emeritus, Islamic history and culture, University of Rajshahi "Khan's book provides invaluable information which will inspire present and future generations."—M. Abdul Jabbar Beg, PhD, former professor of Islamic history and civilization, National University of Malaysia A popular history that covers eight hundred years of the history of Islam in Bengal through the example of forty-two inspirational men and women up until the twentieth century. Written by the author of the best-selling The Muslim 100. Included are the prominent figures Shah Jalal, Nawab Abdul Latif, Rt. Hon. Syed Ameer Ali, Sir Salimullah Khan Bahadur, and Begum Rokeya. Muhammad Mojlum Khan was born in 1973 in Habiganj, Bangladesh, and was educated in England. He is a teacher, author, literary critic, and research scholar, and has published more than 150 essays and articles worldwide. He is the author of The Muslim 100 (2008). He is a fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and director of the Bengal Muslim Research Institute, United Kindgom. He lives in England with his family.

Estimated to date back to the very early Jesus movement, the lost Gospel known as Q offers a distinct and remarkable picture of Jesus and his significance--and one that differs markedly from that offered by its contemporary, the apostle Paul. Q presents Jesus as a prophetic critic of unbelief and a sage with the wisdom that can transform. In Q, the true meaning of the "kingdom of God" is the fulfillment of a just society through the transformation of the human relationships within it. Though this document has never been found, John Kloppenborg offers a succinct account of why scholars maintain it existed in the first place and demonstrates how they have been able to reconstruct its contents and wording from the two later Gospels that used it as a source: Matthew and Luke. Presented here in its entirety, as developed by the International Q Project, this Gospel reveals a very different portrait of Jesus than in much of the later canonical writings, challenging the way we think of Christian origins and the very nature and mission of Jesus Christ.

The important role of the Prophet Muhammad in the everyday lives of Muslims is usually overlooked by Western scholars and has consequently never been understood by the Western world. Using original sources in the various Islamic languages, Annemarie Schimmel explains the central place of Muhammad in Muslim life, mystical thought, and poetry. She sees the veneration of Muhammad as having many parallels in other major religions. In order to understand Muslim piety it is necessary to take into account the long history of the veneration of Muhammad. Schimmel discusses aspects of his life, birth, marriage, miracles, and heavenly journey, all of which became subjects for religious devotions. By using poetic texts and artistic expressions and by examining daily Muslim religious practices, Schimmel shows us the gentler side of Islamic religious culture, providing a much-needed understanding of religion as it is experienced and practiced in the Islamic world. This is the first book in English to deal with all aspects of the veneration of the Prophet Muhammad. It is an expanded version of Schimmel's Und Muhammad Ist Sein Prophet, originally published in German in 1981.

Since its inception, Islam and its civilization have been in continuous relationships with other religions, cultures, and civilizations, including not only different forms of Christianity and Judaism inside and outside the Middle East, Zoroastrianism and Manicheism, Hinduism and even Buddhism, but also tribal religions in West and East Africa, in South Russia and in Central Asia, including Tibet. The essays collected here examine the many texts that have come down to us about these cultures and their religions, from Muslim theologians and jurists, travelers and historians, and men of letters and of culture.