By Sharia AjmalBlack Muslims have been pivotal in the spread of Islam, both in past and present days. Yet, the knowledge of the everyday Muslim regarding Black history and Islam rarely stretches beyond Bilal ibn Rabah (a key figure in the early age of Islam). The following individuals, present during Islam’s earliest days, were key to the…
By breonnahcolonIt has officially been four whole months since I first said my shahadah (declaration of Islamic faith), and while there are times I feel like I’ve been practicing Islam my whole life, there are other times where the reality of my reversion hits full force. As a Puerto Rican, I’ve sometimes been mistaken as a…
By MG StaffIn Islam, Muslims typically greet each other with the phrase “assalamu alaikum” or “salaam” for short, meaning peace be upon you. Civility and kindness are deeply rooted in the religion: “And the servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk upon the earth easily, and when the ignorant address them [harshly], they say [words of]…
By mahaThe Islamic Golden Age may be recognized for its remarkable advancements in science and technology, but that doesn’t mean those were the only fields that prospered during this time. Literature and the arts grew to staggering heights as classic works arose and beautiful innovative designs were produced. The Golden Age began to give Islamic art…
By samiaAmong its many accomplishments, the Islamic Empire was also renowned worldwide for its incredible textile and blacksmith industries. Textiles characterized by rich colors and details, and steel that was notorious for its matchless precision, characterized the quality and marvelousness of Islamic creations that later civilizations aspired to recreate with little success. Byzantine and Sasanian served…
By Shanzay FarzanThe Islamic Empire’s great endeavors and developments in trade proved to be a major benefit to the Muslims, as well as to the rest of the world. International trade increased and maintained expansion of the empire. Materials for manufacturing purposes, luxuries, and food were in great demand and supply among the people. The flow of…
By mayeshaJust as Islam began to gain a formidable reputation in the West in terms of the technological advancements its scholars had produced, the message of Islam was being brought to other parts of the world that knew little about the Prophet (SAW) or Allah (SWT) . One of the first areas introduced to Islam after…
By reemaAfter the death of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) , the Islamic religion was spreading rapidly all across the Middle East and the world. Because of this, there was an increased demand for mosques and spiritual gathering places. The construction of these designated places of worship marked the beginning of the influential architectural creations of the…
By zainabPaper (or in Arabic, waraqa), a material which is used for so many things in our lives, can trace back its origins to over 2000 years ago in China. However, the Islamic Empire was responsible for spreading the use of paper throughout the world and sparked the start of its use in Europe hundreds of…
By SaraThroughout history, Islam has distinguished itself in many areas of science – one of them being optics, the study of the behavior and properties of light. One may assume that optics aren’t nearly as important as, for example, math, but you’d be surprised at what far-reaching advancements the Islamic Empire made – and how such…
By mayeshaWith Islam’s growing contributions to every part of academia, it’s no surprise that Muslim scholars did not leave advancements in medicine for their Western counterparts, either. Even Geoffrey Chaucer, an English writer and diplomat in the 14th century whose life’s work had very little to do with medicine, knew that Muslim medical scholars had influenced…
By samiaHuman bodies have been a mystery to mankind since the earliest of creations. The functions of its parts – from the intricacies of its hands and feet to the mission of the heart – have been in the limelight for centuries and advancement in this field is unyielding. Medical sciences have taken an important part…
By Shanzay FarzanA time of great prosperity, the Islamic Golden Age was an era of innovation at its finest. Not only were advancements in art, architecture, medicine, and mathematics prominent, but entire civilizations were improved by the conquest of lands by the Arabs. Significant areas of study such as engineering and astronomy thrived at the hands of…
By mayeshaAs the Islamic empire flourished, many Muslim intellectuals began to contemplate and eventually advance an indispensable academic field that is now taken for granted: mathematics. The caliph Harun al-Rashid first sparked an interest in mathematics when his reign began in 786 A.D. by encouraging the knowledgeable mathematicians and scientists of the time to relinquish the…
By saarahThe roads wound all over the empire. Foreign goods were abundant in markets. The minds of the people were alive, buzzing with innovations and ideas. While the rest of the world was vanquished by intellectual darkness, the Islamic Empire was alive and teeming with knowledge and discovery, creating one of the greatest eras in history….
