Islam and Sufism an introduction

The Silk Road route goes through  a beautiful part of Pakistan. I took this picture at dusk during our travels of the mountainous regions of Pakistan. The silk road brought prosperity to Muslim regions and China in the golden age of Islamic period . The silk road route existed long before the Islamic era began.

A link to a lecture on the origin and history of Islamic Studies in America by professor Sayyed Hasan Nasrof George Washington University. He hols an undergraduate degree in Physics and Mathematics from MIT.  A masters from Hayward in earth sciences (geology and geophysics) and also from Harvard a PhD in history of science and philosophy in1958. He has published about 50 books and several hundred articles. https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=zEjf70Q8eBc&t=596s

Gur e Amir, tomb of Tamerlane(1336-1405) in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.  I took the pictures in 1968 long before the restoration began. This and other pictures shows the result of an earthquake in 1966 and neglect on the buildings. One can see the restored version available om You Tube. Khaliq

Presence of the Quran. A link to a lecture by professor Timothy Winters(Abdullah Hakim Murad) of Cambridge University. https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=OzDeysoEIhA&t=38s

A lecture, Finding God in your working life.  by professor Timothy Winters ( Abdullah Hakim Murad) of Cambridge University. https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=U9yfcy6cePg

Delicate workmanship in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.  I took the pictures in 1968 long before the restoration began. This and other pictures show  the result of  neglect on buildings. An earthquake in 1966 also caused  considerable damage to historical buildings as well as residential and commercial areas of Samarkand, Tashkent and Bokhara. Khaliq

Culture as an extension of Sunnah by professor  Canor Digli https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nx0v6kvhTQw&t=291s

The treatment of slaves in the western world and in the Muslim world was very different. . In the Muslim world slaves  held high positions in military and civil administrations. ​They were advisers to the kings and also formed ruling dynasties in Egypt and in India (also known as Mamalukes).  Bilal, one of the trusted companion of the prophet Mohammed(pboh) ​ and the first Muazzin (One who calls for prayers) was a former slave. ​ One of the early scholar of Islam Rabia Al Adawiyah (717-810) was also a former slave. Her tomb (Mazar) is in Basra, Iraq. She is also known as Rabia al Basr ​i (see blog post 32 in this blog​ )  ​The slave of Mahmood Ghazni (971-1039) Malik Ayyaz also became a ruler.​ Slaves dynesty ​y​ (mamalukes) ruled India ​rom 1206 ​o to 1292. Qutub Uddin Aibak (1158-1210) was the first ruler ​ and he started the construction of Qutub Minar in Delhi.​ In Egypt the rule of slave dynesty ( Mamalukes) started in 1250 and ended in 1517 when Ottoman Empi...

Al Ghazali (Abu Hamid  Mohammed Ibn Mohammed) was born in Tus , Iran in 1058 and died in 1111 about one hundred year before Rumi was born in 1207. He was a philosopher and a great scholar of Islam. He wrote about 18 scholarly books in Arabic on philosophy and Islam. He had a great influence on Rumi and other scholars of Islam.  A recent book on Al Ghazali by professor Frank Griffel of Yale is worth looking into. An interview that gives the gist of the book on Mac Millan report is provided in a link below the Quote. This link is also available in post 59 of this blog. The work of professor Timothy Winters of Cambridge University on Al Ghazali is available in videos, prints and books. In addition to these relatively recent works in English, there are numerous publications in many language are available on Al Ghazali and so is the translation of his books. Khaliq  Here is a short quote from Al Ghazali. Those who look for seashell will find seashells; those who open them ...