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Islamic Studies Resources at HBKU

This guide is a compilation of Islamic Studies resources at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) Library

ebooks icone-Book Collections about Islamic Studies Topics

The items are listed by type, electronic and print books. For additional items, use the search below, and limit your results to Book/eBook and/or Book Chapter.


e-Book Collections


Print Books at HBKU Library

Faculty Publications:

You may browse here the list of books authored by the faculty members at the College of Islamic Studies.

Narrative Social Structure: anatomy of the Hadith transmission network, 610-1505 by Recep Senturk

Call Number: BP136.3 .S46 2005

In both the social sciences and the humanities, current scholarship typically examines speech and social action as separate entities. But do they truly act in isolation? In Narrative Social Structure, Recep Senturk challenges the prevailing understandings of speech and social action, of actor and organization. Using the example of the hadith transmission network, Senturk demonstrates the synergy between speech and action in producing social reality. Hadith, a brief narrative about the Prophet Muhammad transmitted across generations by a chain of narrators, represents the longest recorded social network presently known to sociologists and historians. This book presents the first attempt by a sociologist to unearth the long hadith transmission network from ancient historical sources and analyze it using the most recent qualitative and quantitative analytical tools. It demonstrates how both synchronic and diachronic analyses uncover the structure of generational and inter-generational discourse networks used in the process of identity and authority formation. The author concludes that these networks of narrative are constantly at work in the world. Even if we are not aware of it, we are always part of them.

Design Criteria for Mosques and Islamic Centers by Akel Kahera; Latif Abdulmalik; Craig Anz

Call Number: NA4670 .K3 2009

The design principles necessary to create functional and dynamic contemporary mosques can be hard to grasp for those unfamiliar with the Islamic faith. 'Design Criteria for Mosques and Islamic Centers' provides an easy-to-use and practical set of guidelines for mosque design, illustrated with 300 line drawings. Case studies of urban mosques in New York, Washington, Boston, and London and Birmingham amongst others, demonstrate how mosques and Islamic centers have evolved to integrate into the urban scenario. The book also compares tenets from Western and Eastern religious and secular philosophies and discusses their relation to architectural creation, place-making, meaning, and identity. The book shows how mosques fulfill multiple faith-based and social roles through their design; it provides a wide-ranging, basic understanding of Islamic liturgical conventions and secular functions to enable architects, designers, and community advocates to work with confidence. 'Design Criteria for Mosques and Islamic Centers' is the first dedicated design guide for mosques and Islamic centers available. * Features case studies from the USA, UK, and Europe * Explains fundamental principles to make it easy to create viable design solutions for these exacting buildings that fulfi ll a range of social and religious roles.

The Struggle over Democracy in the Middle East by Nathan J. Brown (Editor); Emad Shahin (Editor)

Call Number: JQ1850.A91 S77 2010

Many residents of the Middle East - and more recently, Western powers - have placed great hope in democratization in the region. Yet authoritarianism remains the norm and movement towards democracy is both slow and uneven.  The Struggle over Democracy in the Middle East examines democracy and democratization in the light of regional realities rather than the wishful thinking of outsiders. Specialists from the region analyze democratic prospects in the region, while accomplished scholars from the United States and the United Kingdom analyze Western policy, providing a wide-ranging survey of the efforts of individual countries and the effect of external influences. Addressing themes including sectarianism, culture, religion, security and the promotion of democracy, the book examines the experiences of activists, political parties, religious groups and governments and highlights the difficulties involved in bringing democracy to the Middle East. Providing a multifaceted approach to the issue of democratization, this book will be a valuable reference for courses on Middle Eastern politics, political science and democracy.

Islam and the Governing of Muslims in France by Frank Peter

Call Number: DC34.5.M87 P48 2021

Will Islam be able to adapt to France's secularity and its strict separation of public and private spheres? Can France accommodate Muslims? In this book, Frank Peter argues that the debate about "Islam" and "Muslims" is not simply caused by ignorance or Islamophobia. Rather, it is an integral part of how secularism is reasoned. Islam and the Governing of Muslims in France shows that understanding religion as separate from other aspects of life, such as politics, economy, and culture, disregards the ways religion has operated and been managed in "secular" societies such as France. This book uncovers the varying rationalities of the secular that have developed over the past few decades in France to "govern Islam," in order to examine how Muslims engage with the secular regime and contribute to its transformation.This book offers a close analysis of French secularism as it has been debated by Islamic intellectuals and activists from the 1990s until the present. It will influence the study of secularism as well as the study of Islam in the French Republic, and reveal new connections between Islamic traditions and secular rationalities.

Islam, Fundamentalism, and the Betrayal of Tradition by Joseph E. B. Lumbard

Call Number: BP60 .I7848 2009

How has fundamentalism betrayed the true spirit of Islam? This fully revised and expanded edition of the critically acclaimed book provides answers to this question and contains: a new essay on the role of women in Islam; an updated chapter containing insights into the true nature of the jih three fully revised chapters that bring the discussion up-to-date with the current global situation; a revised introduction. Book jacket.

The Foundation of Knowledge by Louay Safi

Call Number: BD161 .S245 2014

The Foundation of Knowledge's most fundamental concern is to trace the evolution of scientific methodology and to highlight Islamic scholarship s everlasting contribution to grounding scientific research in social experience while bringing transcendental knowledge to bear on normative frameworks. In addition, the book emphasizes the need to remain open-minded to a variety of scientific approaches to social phenomena. The book is of particular interest to the students of methodology and scientific methods, as it catalogs the various approaches to systematic investigation and sheds light on the profound role early Muslim scholars played in laying the foundation of scientific knowledge.

Islam and Disability: perspectives in theology and jurisprudence by Mohammed Ghaly

Call Number: HV1552 .G43 2010

This book explores the position of Islamic theology and jurisprudence towards people with disabilities. It investigates how early and modern Muslim scholars tried to reconcile their existence with the concept of a merciful God, and also looks at how people with disabilities might live a dignified and productive life within an Islamic context. In his analysis of Islamic Theology, Ghaly pays attention to how theologians, philosophers and Sufis reflected on the purposes behind the existence of this phenomenon, and how to reconcile the existence of disability with specific divine attributes and an All-Merciful God. Simultaneously exploring the perspective of Muslim jurists, the book focuses on how people with disabilities can lead a dignified life in the financial and non-financial sense, in an extensive analysis of topics such as the human dignity of people with disabilities and the role of Greek physiognomy, their employability, medical treatment, social life with main focus on marriage-related issues, financial life and means of living. Investigating the topic of disability from early and modern Islamic perspectives, the author provides an analysis of Muslim discussions on various bioethical questions. As such, this book will be of great relevance to current heated debates on human rights of people with disabilities, as well as providing a valuable resource for courses on Multicultural bioethics, Islamic theology, Islamic law and medical anthropology.

Ibn Tulun: his lost city and great mosque by Tarek Swelim

Call Number: NA6083.I2 S94 2015

Ahmad ibn Tulun (835-84), the son of a Turkic slave in the Abbasid court of Baghdad, became the founder of the first independent state in Egypt since antiquity, and builder of Egypt's short-lived third capital of the Islamic era, al-Qata'i' and its great congregational mosque. After recounting the story of Ibn Tulun and his successors, architectural historian Tarek Swelim presents a topographic survey of al-Qata'i', a city lost since its complete destruction in 905. He then provides a detailed architectural analysis of the Mosque of Ibn Tulun, which was spared the destruction and is now the oldest surviving mosque in Egypt and Africa, from the time of its completion until today. Rare archival illustrations and early photographs document the changing appearance and uses of the mosque in modern times, while extraordinary 3D computer renderings take us back in time to recreate its architectural development through its early centuries. Plans, drawings, and maps complement the history, while striking modern color photographs showcase the elegant simplicity of the building's architecture and decoration. This definitive and generously illustrated book will appeal to scholars and students of Islamic art history, as well as to anyone interested in or inspired by the beauty of early mosque architecture.

Spiritual Purification in Islam: the life and works of al-Muḥāsibī by Gavin Picken

Call Number: BP80.M83 P53 2011

Purification of the soul is a principle that is central to understanding Islamic spirituality but despite this, relatively little has been written explicitly in the Islamic tradition regarding this discrete method of spiritual purification. This book examines the work of a scholar of this discipline, al-Hārith al-Muhāsibī, who lived and worked during the classical Islamic period under the Abbāsids. Although al-Muhāsibī was well known for his skills in many disciplines, including the Qur'ān, Prophetic narration and scholastic theology, it is his mastery in the field of Islamic spirituality and moral psychology for which he is best remembered. Assessing the extent to which the political, social and economic factors played a part in his life and work, Gavin Picken provides a comprehensive overview of his work and its great significance in the development of Islamic spirituality. Reconstructing his life in chronological order and providing the most comprehensive appraisal of his works to date, it explores a facet of al-Muhāsibī's teaching which as yet has not been studied, namely his understanding, concept and methodology regarding the purification of the soul within the Islamic paradigm. As such, it will be of great interest not only to researchers and students of Sufism but also to scholars of comparative spirituality and mysticism.

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