Historical objects such as artefacts, manuscripts and buildings are one of the primary sources in the study of history. Their presence or absence in a society can offer a unique insight in to the past, especially when combined with other sources such as oral narrations. They can offer a more holistic view towards society, and easily dispel the sweeping generalisations we see among those who attempt to distort Islamic history for their own nefarious purposes. If we look to alcohol consumption in Britain, we know it’s a nation of drinkers and has a history of drinking simply from observing the huge number of pubs, bars and off licenses in the country. In 2019, according to the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) there were 47,200 public houses in the UK. Bus stops are named after pubs, and they are the centre of social activity in some places. The Old Ferry Boat Inn in Holywell, England is over 1500 years old! Do we see the same in the ancient Muslim cities? In Istanbul as an example, despite decades of secularization …

The famous Morrocco traveller, explorer and scholar – Ibn Battuta (d.1369) chronicled his travels from 1325-1354 at a time when the Abbasid Caliphs in Cairo (1261-1517) were mere figureheads and the entire Muslim world was split into separate sultanates and emirates. Despite this political fragmentation, Ibn Battuta had no problem travelling throughout the lands of Islam from his home under the Marinid Dynasty in Morrocco, to the Emirate of Granada in Spain, across the Mamluk Sultanate which housed the Abbasid Caliphs in Cairo and on to the Delhi Sultanate in India and the Sultanate of the Maldives. On his return journey to Morrocco, he stopped off in the Mali Sultanate in sub-Saharan Africa. In all the places he visited he was welcomed and honoured as a Muslim scholar despite not being a ‘citizen’ of that particular emirate. In fact, Ibn Battuta was appointed to various posts on his travels including a Qadi, Chief Qadi, teacher, ambassador and government advisor. This shows that as long as the underlying principle upon which the emirates and sultanates are …

This has been reproduced from Dr As-Sallabi’s seerah book The Noble life of the Prophet ﷺ. Scholars have mentioned various reasons that prompted the Prophet’s ﷺ Companions to migrate to Abyssinia. One reason was that they felt it necessary to flee with their religion, fearing that constant torture might tempt them to apostatize. Ibn Ishaaq said, “At that point in time, some Muslims from the Prophet’s ﷺ Companions went to Abyssinia, fearing temptation and fleeing towards Allah M with their religion.”[1]

Historical objects such as artefacts, manuscripts and buildings are one of the primary sources in the study of history. Their presence or absence in a society can offer a unique insight in to the past, especially when combined with other sources such as oral narrations. They can offer a more holistic view towards society, and easily dispel the sweeping generalisations we see among those who attempt to distort Islamic history for their own nefarious purposes.

What follows are some extracts from the highly recommended book, ‘Islam in Victorian Liverpool: An Ottoman Account of Britain’s First Mosque Community by Yusuf Samih Asmay. This book gives an insight in to the Muslims of the 19th century and how they viewed the Ottoman State. One common thread that appears throughout the book is that Muslims, whether in the west or Muslim world, viewed the Ottomans as the official representatives of Islam, since they held the seat of the Caliphate. Any complaints or requests Muslims in the UK or America had, were directed through the Ottoman Consulate in their respective countries. This conforms to the definition of the Caliph who is “the man who represents the Ummah in ruling, authority and in the implementation of the Divine laws (Sharia).” Al-Mawardi mentions, “Imamate is prescribed to succeed prophethood as a means of protecting the deen and of managing the affairs of this world.”[3] 1- Muslims in America In 1894, Muhammad Alexander Russell Webb, a leading American Muslim convert appointed Nafeesa Keep, another convert to Islam …

On 3rd August 1895, Nafeesa Keep based in Liverpool, England wrote a letter to Sultan Abdulhamid II. The contents of the letter can be read in the book ‘Islam in Victorian Liverpool: An Ottoman Account of Britain’s First Mosque Community’ by Yusuf Samih Asmay. What is interesting about this letter is the official path it took, and the various state institutions (ajhizat) it passed through before reaching the Caliph. The letter took approximately three weeks to reach Abdulhamid.

Tipu Sultan, was ruler of Mysore based in South India from 1782 to 1799. In 1784 Tipu Sultan sent Osman Khan to Constantinople to find out whether an embassy to the Ottoman Government would be fruitful. Tipu decided to send an embassy to Constantinople in order to secure confirmation of his title to the throne of Mysore from the Ottoman Caliph. The idea of securing an investiture from the Caliph was no innovation on the part of Tipu. With the exception of the Mughal Emperors who regarded themselves as Caliphs [sic] in their kingdom in their own right, a number of Muslim rulers of India had secured confirmation of their title to the throne from the then ruling Caliph. Thus Iltutmush and Mahmud of Ghazna had obtained their investiture from the Abbasid Caliphs of Baghdad, while Muhammad b. Tughlaq, Firoz Shah Tughlaq and Mahmud of Malwa had secured it from the Abbasid Caliphs of Egypt. Now that the Caliphate had become vested in the Ottoman dynasty, Tipu wanted to obtain his investiture from the Ottoman …

1. Who is Umar bin Abdul-Aziz? Umar bin Abdul-Aziz (May have mercy on him) was a Caliph during the first century of Islam, in the Umayyad period of the Caliphate. He is counted as the sixth rightly guided Caliph after Al-Hasan. When Umar bin Abdul-Aziz was a young man, he went to his father’s stables to see one of the horses when a horse suddenly struck him in the face causing him a head wound. As his father was wiping away the blood, he said to Umar, “If you were to be the one with the scar (ashajj), then you would be the happiest of all the Umayyads.” This is because Umar bin al-Khattab used to say, “There will be among my offspring a man with a scar (ashajj) on his face who will fill the earth with justice, just as it was filled with injustice and oppression.”[1] Term of office start Hijri[2] Friday 15 Safar 99AH Term of office end Hijri[3] Friday 20 Rajab 101AH Term of office start Gregorian Friday 28 September 717CE …

From the first pledge of Al-Aqaba to the first naval expedition, a lifelong leader who Umar said, “is equivalent to 1000 men” وَالسَّابِقُونَ السَّابِقُونَ “And those in front–ahead indeed!”[1] The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: أَصْحَابِي كَالنُّجُومِ بِأَيِّهِمْ اقْتَدَيْتُمْ اهْتَدَيْتُمْ “My companions are like stars, whichever of them you use as a guide, you will be rightly guided.”[2] The sahaba were the best generation and their diverse lives need to be studied so we can take lessons from them. Whichever characteristic we want to emulate we will find it exemplified in the sahaba. They hold qualities of bravery, chivalry, knowledge, sacrifice and leadership because they were trained by the best human being and master of the Prophets, Muhammad ﷺ. Biography of Ubaadah ibn As-Saamit Profile Married to Umm Haram, the Prophet’s ﷺ maternal aunt. A senior sahaba and one of the Naqibs of the Ansar so is included in the words of the Messenger ﷺ, “If the Ansar took their way through a valley or a mountain pass, I would take Ansar’s valley. And but …