The History of Islam: Volume 1

History stands as the most effective and valuable way to put nations on the course of progress and prosperity and to save them from the path of disgrace and degradation.

At a time when there is tough competition among the nations of the world to compete with one another, Muslims, despite having the most glorious history, appear to be detached and careless as regards their history.

This book presents the true Islamic events and their actual causes for English readers. Other books in English on Islamic history were written by authors and compilers who did no justice in presenting the true picture of the Islamic Era; only their prejudice prevented them from doing so.

Publishers Note
We present to you the third volume of the book History of Islam. This book was originally written in the Urdu language in 1922 (1343 AH) by Akbar Shah Khan Najeebabadi. This was about 25 years before the partition of the Indian Subcontinent into Pakistan and India.

For the purpose of brevity, the compiler has presented the authentic events in concise form from the famous histories of Islam written in the Arabic and Persian languages by the great Muslim historians like Tabari, Ibn Athir, Mas'udi, Abul-Fida', Ibn Khaldun and Suyuti, in addition to having benefited from the authentic books of ahadith for the compilation of the part about the biography of the Prophet Muhammad.

Therefore, this compilation is actually extracts of the works of the famous Muslim historians.

In the first volume, starting with the introduction of history as a subject, the country, people, and conditions of Arabia prior to the advent of Islam are discussed, and an account of the life of Prophet Muhammad is presented, including the hardships and opposition he faced while propagating the message of Islam, and the details of the migration and the period after it until his death. After that, the description of the Rightly Guided Caliphate was also discussed in its full perspective.

In this second volume, starting with the Caliphate of Banu Umayyah, the martyrdom of Imam Husain (R), and the Caliphate of the Abbasids, all areas have been covered as far as the expansion of Islam was.

This third volume begins with a description of the conditions of Spain before and after the rule of Muslims and the role played by Umayyad, Abbasid, Almoravid, and Almohad Caliphs there and their encounters with the Christian armies. Then, there is some mention of the conquest of Morocco and North Africa along with details of Idrisia and Aghlabs rule there. After that, detailed accounts of the Ganghisid Mongols, Turks, and Tartar Mongols are provided. After that, the Islamic history of Persia is described, giving the accounts of the Saffariah, Samanid, Delmid, Gharnavid, Seljuk, Ghourid, and Muluk Dynasties with the periods of Khwarizm Shah, Atabeks, and Sistan Kings rule there. Then the Islamic history of Egypt and Syria is covered, describing the Ubaidullah, Ayyubid, and Mamluk Dynasties, and the rule of Atabek and the Abbasid Caliphs.

In the end, something about the Ottoman Dynasty and its empire is discussed, including the description of the conquest of Constantinople. We hope that the readers will find this volume also of great help in the study of Islamic history. The famous scholar Safi-ur-Rahman Mubarakpuri has revised the Urdu edition before its translation to check its authenticity.

The translation was done by the Translation Department of Darussalam, and every care has been taken to reproduce the events and the names of the persons and places as accurately as possible. We thank everyone who contributed. May Allah accept our humble efforts in this regard and send His peace and blessings on our Prophet Muhammad, his Companions, and his followers. Amin!

Volume 1: Includes history from pre-Islamic Arabia until Hasan bin Ali's Caliphate