Core Curriculum
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Topic 1.1 - God, Allah and Religion
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Topic 1.2 - What is “Religion” and What’s the Point of it Anyways?
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Topic 1.3 - Introduction to Islam
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Topic 1.4 - A Brief Introduction to the Prophet Muhammad (s), the Prophet of Islam
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Topic 2.1 - Satan, Jinns and Angels: Their Influence in the World
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Topic 2.2 - The Islamic Concept of the Nafs: Battling the Human Ego
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Topic 2.3 - The Sharīʿa: Purpose and Practice
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Topic 2.4 - Nubuwwa: The Purpose of Prophethood in Islam
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Topic 2.5 - Tawhīd: The Unity and Oneness of God in Islam
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Topic 2.6 - The Usūl al-Dīn: The Fundamental Beliefs of Islam
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Topic 2.7 - Adala: Divine Justice in Islam
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Topic 2.8 - Entering Islam: The Shahada
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Topic 2.9 - Maʿād: The Day of Judgment in Islam
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Topic 2.10 - Imāmah or divinely guided leadership in Islam after the Prophet Muhammad.
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Topic 3.1 - Accepting Islam: Putting Faith into Action
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Topic 3.2 - The Furūʿ al-Dīn: The Fundamental Practices of Islam
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Topic 3.3 - Salāt: Obligatory Ritual Prayers in Islam
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Topic 3.4 - Fasting in Islam, its Purpose, Dos and Don’ts
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Topic 3.5 - The Hajj Pilgrimage
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Topic 3.6 - The Purpose of Zakat and Khums in Islamic Law
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Topic 3.7 - Jihād in Islamic Law and Spirituality
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Topic 3.8 - Commanding the Good and Forbidding Evil in Islam
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Topic 3.9 - Tawalla and Tabarra, its Basics and Purpose
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Topic 3.10 - The Five Categories of Islamic Law
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Topic 3.11 - Niyya: Religious Intention as the Foundation of Islamic Practice
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Topic 3.12 - Ritual Purity in Islamic Law: Understanding Tahāra and Najāsa
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Topic 3.13 - Other Obligatory and Forbidden Acts in Islam
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Topic 4.1 - A Brief Biography of the Prophet Muhammad (s): The Prophet’s Childhood (PART I of III)
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Topic 4.2 - Bio: The Prophet Muhammad as a Prophet of God (PART II of III)
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Topic 4.3 - A Brief Biography of the Prophet Muhammad (s): The Prophet’s Character (PART III of III)
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Topic 4.4 - The Prophet Muhammad (s) as Messenger and Teacher
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Topic 4.5 - The Prophet and his Relationships
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Topic 4.6 - The Prophet’s Sunnah and Hadith
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Topic 4.7 - Ghadīr and Arafah: The Two Last Sermons of the Prophet
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Topic 4.8 - Jesus and Mary in Islam
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Topic 5.1 - Islam and Other Religions
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Topic 5.2 - What is the Qur’an? A Short Introduction to Islam’s Holy Book
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Topic 5.3 - The Structure of the Holy Qur’an
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Topic 5.4 - The Quran and Islamic law
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Topic 5.5 - The Qur’an, Allah and Humankind
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Topic 5.6 - Hadith and Sunnah, difference and variations
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Topic 5.7 - The Reliability of Hadiths
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Topic 5.8 - A Reflection on Verses of the Holy Qur’an
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Topic 5.9 - Hadith al-Thaqalayn
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Topic 5.10 - Imam Ali (as) and Nahj al-Balagha.
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Topic 5.11 - Taqlid and Tawḍih Al Masail Genre of Literature
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Topic 6.1 - Guidance According to Islam
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Topic 6.2 - Life and Death in Islam
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Topic 6.3 - Heaven and Hell in Islam
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Topic 6.4 - The Effects of Our Actions in this World
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Topic 6.5 - The Gray Areas of Islamic Law and Morality
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Topic 6.6 - Benefits of Islamic Law in this World
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Topic 6.7 - Good and Bad Deeds: The Spiritual Consequences of our Choices
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Topic 6.8 - The Effect of Culture and Environment in Shaping our Religious Choices
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Topic 6.9 - Fate and the Consequences of our Choices in Islam
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Topic 6.10 - Trivializing the Harām
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Topic 6.11 - Sinning Against Others and their Delayed Punishment
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Topic 6.12 - The Three Kinds of Rights in Islam
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Topic 6.13 - Major Sins in Islam
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Topic 6.14 - Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins in Islam
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Topic 6.15 - Kufr in Islam
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Topic 6.16 - Why Allah Allows People to Sin
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Topic 7.1 - Islam and Knowledge: the Importance of Islamic Education
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Topic 7.2 - The Ahl al-Kisa
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Topic 7.3 - Imamah in the Qur’an
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Topic 7.4 - Fatima al-Zahrah (as)
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Topic 7.5 - A Brief Look at the Lives of the Imams (Imam al-Hasan until Imam Muhammad al-Baqir)
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Topic 7.6 - A Brief Look at the Lives of the Imams (Imam Jafar al-Sadiq until Imam Hasan al-Askari)
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Topic 7.7 - A Brief Look at the Life and Importance of Imam al-Mahdi (aj)
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Topic 7.8 - Salawat and Atonement in Islam
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Topic 7.9 - The Companions (Sahaba) of the Prophet According to the Qur’an
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Topic 7.10 - Clerical Hierarchies in Muslim Communities
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Topic 7.11 - Mosques in Islam
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Topic 7.12 - The Philosophy of Karbala and Majalis
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Topic 7.13 - A Brief Biography of Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (as)
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Topic 7.14 - The Battle of Karbala: A Brief History
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Topic 8.1 - Islam and Rights
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Topic 8.2 - Islam and Religious Conflicts
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Topic 8.3 - Major Sects of Islam
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Topic 8.4 - Sunnism and Shi’ism, beginnings and historical developments.
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Topic 8.5 - Misconceptions about Shi’ism
Special Topics
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Topic 9.1 - Muslim Converts – Welcome to Islam!
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Topic 9.2 - Basic Dos and Don’ts of Being a Muslim
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Topic 9.3 - Halal Food and Zabiha
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Topic 9.4 - Modesty in Islam
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Topic 9.5 - Family, Parents and Marriage in Islam
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Topic 9.6 - Marriage in Islam
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Topic 9.7 - Islam and Sex
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Topic 9.8 - Women’s Menstruation in Islam
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Topic 9.9 - Music, Alcohol, Drugs and Pork in Islam
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Topic 9.10 - Islam and Science
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Topic 9.11 - A Reading List of Islamic Knowledge
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Topic 9.12 - Islam and Sufism
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Topic 9.13 - Ritual Prayers and Supplications in Islam
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Topic 9.14 - Death & Burial Rituals in Islam
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Topic 9.15 - The Battle of Armageddon: An Islamic View
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Topic 9.16 - The Muslim Calendar
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Topic 9.17 - Muslims and non-Muslims in the Shariah
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Topic 9.18 - A Timeline of Major Events in Islamic History
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Topic 9.19 - Introducing the Qur’an: Why it is the way it is
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Topic 9.20 - The School of Imam Jafar al-Sadiq
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Topic 9.21 - Major Fields in Islamic Studies
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Topic 9.22 - The Caliphate in Sunni and Shia Islam
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Topic 9.23 - The Spread of Islam: After the Prophet until the Ottoman Empire
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Topic 9.24 - Islam, Racism and Anti-Semitism
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Topic 10.1 - Modern Fallacies about God: where Theists and Atheists Agree
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Topic 10.2 - Tawhīd: The Muslim God according to the Prophet Muhammad and the Ahl al-Bayt (as)
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Topic 10.3 - God’s Existence: The Argument From Being (Wujūd)
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Topic 10.4 - God’s Existence: The Kalam Cosmological Argument
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Topic 10.5 - God’s Existence: The Argument From Design
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Topic 10.6 - The Problem of Evil, Suffering and Pain
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Topic 10.7 - Why did God Create Us? The Purpose of our Creation
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Topic 10.8 - Why Humans Need Religion according to Islam
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Topic 10.9 - Jahl and Spiritual Ignorance in Islam
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Topic 10.10 - Faith in Islam: Belief without Evidence?
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Topic 10.11 - Do Non-Muslims Go to Hell?
A Reading List of Islamic Knowledge
Abstract
The most daunting of tasks is finding out where to start in learning about one’s own religion. Here we list some of the important books that Muslims in the West should read.
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INTRODUCTION
Bismillāhir Rahmānir Rahīm, As-salāmu ʿAlaykum wa rahmatullāhi wa barakātuh. Peace be upon you brothers and sisters.
Welcome back to the Muslim Converts Channel! Converting to a religion is an overwhelming experience. Perhaps the most daunting task of entering a religion for the first time, or wanting to seriously learn about a religion for the first time is the problem of knowledge. Where should we look to learn? What books should we read? What should we start with first?
In this lesson, we’re going to list a few books we think are important and ideal to read when the quest for Islamic knowledge begins. The books will be in chronological order of importance.
BODY OF TEXT
The books we will introduce here, as a reading list, are by no means exhaustive. So let’s start!
The Qur’an
The Qur’an is the most important book of Islam. It is the sacred scripture of the religion. The Qur’an does not contain every bit of information in terms of how you need to lead your religious life.
For example, the Qur’an won’t tell you how many rakats you need to pray.
What the Qur’an does contain are general principles on the most fundamental aspects of Islam.
This begins with tawhid or the oneness and unity of God, prophethood, as well as moral principles of Islam. These points are usually illustrated through stories.
The Qur’an is the only infallible written text that we have in our hands nowadays. This, therefore, makes it critical for Muslims as it is the one thing we know that we can fall back on that is 100%, completely error and mistake free.
There are plenty of translations of the Qur’an. Although they all have their particular strengths, we would recommend the Ali Quli Qarai translation of the Qur’an. The language is simple and it offers a phrase by phrase translation of the sacred text.
When reading the Qur’an, we recommend that one have access to a commentary as well. There are a number of them available in English today. The following are some good ones:
- Ayatullah Puya Yazdi’s commentary.
- Al-Mizan by Allamah Tabatabai (although the translation of the commentary is not complete as of the date of this recording)
Nahj al-Balagha
Nahj al-Balagha is a compilation of Imam Ali’s (as) sermons, letters and sayings. It was compiled by al-Sharif al-Radi around the late 10th century CE.
The book has much value for Muslims. It outlines the theological outlook of Imam Ali (as) to the world. It speaks of God’s Unity in beautiful poetic language, it encourages and inspires trust in God as well as deep reflection on every day social and political issues.
Tawzih al-Masa’il (also pronounced Tawdīh al-Masā’il)
The tawdih al-Masa’il genre of literature are works produced by Marjas or experts in Islamic law who outline in detail the dos and donts of Islamic law. They talk about ritual purity laws, prayer laws, fasting laws, marriage laws and much more. Few of us can become experts in Islamic law, so these books are very handy to have.
Each marja produces his own book. So once you know who you are doing taqleed of, make sure to obtain his tawdih al-masā’il. Most the tawdīh al-masā’il of the Marjas today have been translated to English. If you have questions that are not present in the book, you can always ask your resident Alim, or email the Marja through his website.
Al-Sahifat al-Sajjadiyya (pronounced al-Sahīfat al-Sajjādīyah)
The Sahifa is a book that contains all the major duas or supplications of our 4th Imam, Imām al-Sajjād (also known as Imam Zayn al-ʿAbidīn). Some have seen these supplications as the Psalms of Islam as it has some similarity to the Psalms of David (as) in terms of style.
The supplications are important for the they act as proper examples in teaching us how to supplicate to Allah in different contexts, whether it is a supplication to God based on fear of debt or poverty, or supplicating to Him and thanking Him for all the good He has given us in our lives.
Jamiʿ al-Saadat (The Collector of Felicities)
This is a work written by Allamah al-Naraqi. The work is about spiritual ethics and the religious moral life. It mostly talks about the spiritual diseases that exist inside of us, such as pride, anger, greed, avarice, miserliness and much more. These spiritual disease are what keep us far from God even when we pray regularly and obey the exoteric rulings of Islam.
This work is about disciplining the inner self, the soul, so that our outward religious actions and duties may gain their fullest merit.
Mizan al-Hikma (Scale of Wisdom)
Mizan al-Hikma or Scale of Wisdom is a modern compilation of hadiths regarding spiritual ethics. It was compiled by a scholar called Ayatullah Rayshahri. It contains thousands of hadiths and they are divided into multiple subjects, such as anger, fear of poverty, hope with God, marriage and other important themes. The translation to English is a very good one and is a useful source of inspiration for all Muslims. It contains a number of hadiths on most issues that we face regularly in our daily lives.
Fundamentals of Islamic Thought by Murtada Muttahari
This work takes Islam’s teachings and juxtaposes it with modern challenges to religious faith, including the relationship between science and faith, the role of reason in Islam, theology and other important subjects. The translation is sound and the ideas in it are life changing.
Faith and Reason by Ayatullah Hadavi
Faith and Reason is a book by Ayatullah Hadavi. This book is particularly useful as answers some of the common but tough questions modern people ask about Islam. It provides real answers from a real scholar. The questions that are dealt with in this book include the status of non-Muslims and hell, or whether animals have souls. This book is a MUST read for all Muslims. It is very simple and to the point and contains short answers as well as long and detailed answers.
Until Next Time, Thank you for watching. As-salāmu ʿAlaykum wa rahmatullāhi wa barakātuh
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Can I read any Tawdih al-Masa’il book?
It is better to read the one produced by your own Marja
How can I make sure that I will understand the Qur’an properly when I’m reading it?
Read it with a credible commentary like al-Mizan by Allamah Tabatabai or Ayatullah Puya Yazdi’s commentary.
Is Nahj al-Balagha written by Imam Ali (as)?
No, it is a compilation of his sermons, letters and sayings by a later scholar called al-Sharif al-Radi who died in the early 11th century C.E
Qur’an
Tawdih al-Masa’il
Tawzih al-Masa’il
Nahj al-Balagha
al-Sahifat al-Sajjadiya
translation of the Qur’an
Jamiʿ al-Saadat
The Collector of Felicities
Mizan al-Hikma Scale of Wisdom
Islamic knowledge
Same list of books outlined in the lecture.