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 samiaAre you feeling a little distant this first week of Ramadan? Do you feel as if you have not accomplished much during the blessed month? Without doubt, I can assure you that you are not the only one. Sometimes we have programmed ourselves in the first few days to merely fast and then break it…
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….
By mahaThe Abbasid Caliphate (750 C.E. – 1528 C.E.) is not only known as the third of the Caliphates in the Islamic Empire, but as one of the most influential and educative periods in history. It was a golden time marked by incredible advancements in the sciences and arts, advancements that were probably never deemed possible….
By samanthaMuawiyah bin Sufyan was seen as the most qualified caliph to take power after Ali, which began the Umayyad Era. Muawiyah was a great and capable man who governed of Syria and led the strongest military force in the Muslim world. He was admired for his impeccable self-restraint – he had said, “I apply not…
By zainabThe age of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs was one of the brightest and most heroic times in Islamic history. The four caliphs who took command after the death of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) were Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq, Umar ibn Al-Khattab, Uthman bin Affan, and Ali bin Abi Talib, (RAA) , and under their rule the Islamic Empire…
By reemaThe Prophet’s (SAW) death was a significant point in Islamic history which affected the hearts of many both in his time, and our time. Three months after performing his first and final pilgrimage, the Prophet (SAW) began to experience a severe headache followed by a high fever. This illness began to take its toll on…
By zainabShari’ah, or Islamic law, literally means “a way to the watering place” or “a path to seek felicity and salvation”, and is the laws and regulations meant to govern the lives of every day Muslims as a way to lead a moral and ethical life.1 Since Islam is considered less a religion and more a…
By samanthaThe small Muslim community in Mecca eventually expanded until its members began to clash with the Quraysh tribe–the tribe Muhammad (SAW) and many others had broken off with. Close-knit Arab society was ripped apart by the seams with the arrival of Islam, as many who had once affiliated themselves with family tribes abandoned their social…
