Islam liberated men and women from the shackles of slavery and made them masters of the world. The history of the Mamlukes illustrates this observation. In the 9th and 10th centuries, there was a brisk slave trade down the Volga River, near the Caspian Sea. The Vikings raided Europe with unrelenting ferocity in search of booty and slaves. Eastern Europe, fossilized as it was between...

For a brief moment, towards the end of the 12th century, the Muslim world was politically united under one caliph ruling from Baghdad. This political unity, rare in Islamic history, projected itself on the military plane. In West Asia, the Crusaders were ejected from Palestine, Lebanon and Syria. Salahuddin recaptured Jerusalem in 1187. Four years later, in 1191, Muhammed Ghori of Ghazna...

A giant among giants, Imam Abu Haneefa towers high among the savants who have graced Islamic history. He was like a huge mirror vaulting from horizon to horizon, reflecting the Light of the Prophet. These reflections empowered generation after generation to see the Light and bask in its warmth. A great majority of the 1.7 billion Muslims in the world today (circa 2010 CE) follow the School of...

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, during which Muslims observe a month-long fast from dawn to sunset. Fasting during Ramadan is one of the Five Pillars of Islam that provides numerous spiritual, physical and social benefits.Spiritual BenefitsRamadan is a time for spiritual reflection, worship and drawing closer to Allah. By practicing self-control through abstaining from food,...