Author: Anna Lembke
Book length: 304 pages
Excerpt: Boredom is good because it forces us to come face-to-face with bigger questions of meaning and purpose, and creates the space necessary for new thoughts.
Abū Hanīfah: His Life, Legal Method & Legacy *
Author: Mohammad Akram Nadwi
Book length: 160 pages
Excerpt: In rites of worship, he gave preference to solitary hadīth over qiyās since these rulings are not dependent on reason; in matters not related to worship, he gave preference to qiyās over solitary hadīth since these rulings are often based on an underlying reason (‘illah).
The Paradox Of Choice: Why More Is Less *
Author: Barry Schwartz
Book length: 282 pages
Excerpt: Counterintuitive as it may appear, what seems to contribute most to happiness restricts us rather than liberates us.
Elephants, Birds of Prey, and Heaps of Pebbles: Farāhī’s Interpretation of Sūrat al-Fīl (Article) *
Author: Mustansir Mir
Excerpt: Reading Surah Fīl in conjunction with Surah Quraysh suggests that the addressee in Surah Fīl are the Quraysh, not the Prophet ﷺ as is stated by many commentators.
Judaism: A Very Short Introduction
Author: Norman Solomon
Book length: 168 pages
Excerpt: ‘Tohar hanesheq’ demands that any fighting force take special risks to avoid harm to non-combatants and to minimize enemy casualties.
Niqab: An Approach Based on the Proofs (Article)
Author: Mateen Khan
Excerpt: All 4 madhāhib mandate the niqāb of a woman in front of a non-mahram man when there is the fear of fitnah (temptation).
Freedom of Religion in Qur’anic Exegesis (Article)
Author: Omaima Abou-Bakr
Excerpt: Al-Rāzī: Since this world is a place of trial and affliction (ibtilāʾ) for humankind, any forceful imposition or oppression for the sake of faith annuls the meaning of this divine test.
The role of Ulama in facing Contemporary Challenges (Article)
Author: Khalid Saifullah Rahmani
Excerpt: Despite all his duties, Nabī ﷺ spent the time to observe one ummatī perform 12 raka‘āt in order to rectify his prayer.
Thomas Jefferson’s Qur’an: Islam and the Founders
Author: Denise Spellberg
Book length: 345 pages
Excerpt: Jefferson: “No historical fact is better established than that the doctrine of one God, pure and uncompounded, was that of the early ages of Christianity.”
Troubling Technology: The Deobandī Debate on the Loudspeaker and Ritual Prayer (Article)
Author: Ali Altaf Mian
Excerpt: In the Hanafī School, prayer becomes invalid if the imām follows the corrections of a non-muqtadī, while the muqtadī’s prayer becomes invalid if the audible instructions of someone other than the imām are followed, excluding mukabbirūn due to their mention in hadīth reports.
Books & Articles 