Discover Black History Month with the following books
At The Islam Shop Ltd, we recognize the importance of acknowledging and celebrating the true history of Black communities, which has often been overshadowed by Eurocentric narratives. Black History Month is a vital opportunity to confront and dispel the myths that have obscured the rich heritage of Africa and its descendants.
Historically, Africa has been unfairly depicted as lacking a significant history, portrayed through primitive, inferior, and impoverished lenses. Such misrepresentations extend to the descendants of Africa, casting them as incompetent and inconsequential actors in world history. In response to these Eurocentric distortions, Carter G. Woodson proposed Black History Week, a commendable initiative that later evolved into a month-long celebration.
As Muslims, guided by the Quranic imperative to "know each other," we are compelled to challenge and rectify the epistemic racism perpetuated by these false narratives. True understanding and fulfillment of this duty require us to delve into our own Islamic tradition, uncovering and acknowledging the invaluable contributions that Africans have made to Islam throughout the entirety of our faith's history up to the present day. At The Islam Shop, we are committed to fostering awareness, appreciation, and accurate knowledge about the profound impact of Africa and its descendants on the Islamic heritage.
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Islam In Africa Throughout HistoryBrought to us by the Ethiopian scholar Shaykh Muḥammad Amān al-Jāmi, Islām in Africa Throughout History chronicles three significant phases of Islām in Africa which helped shape the world. This classic manuscript begins with the courageous stance of the Abyssinian king an-Najāshi, which shook Heraclius of Rome, defied the tribes of Makkah while influencing the kings of Oman, and even softened the hearts of Prophet Muḥammad’s staunchest adversaries. |
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Bilal al-habashi An Exemplar of Patience and DevotionWhen the Prophet Muhammad arrived in the city of Mecca, he found a city where paganism reigned, slavery was rampant, and hope was dead. Bilal al-Habashi was a resident of the city, a slave who’d never known freedom. But when the Prophet’s message of liberation, faith, and love took root in his heart, Bilal’s soul took flight. He knew what it was to be free. |
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The African CaliphateThe African Caliphate - The LifeWorks & Teachings of Shaykh Usman Dan Fodio (1754 - 1817)This scholarly work focuses on the establishment in 1809 in what is today Northern Nigeria of the celebrated Sokoto caliphate which may well have been the last re-establishment anywhere in the world of Islam in its entirety comprising all its many and varied dimensions. |
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Call to Prayer: The Story of BilalThis is the story of a young and inquisitive boy, Saeed, who engages Bilal, the first Muezzin of Islam, in conversation about his Call to prayer and his days with the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). |
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A Journey Through Islamic History: A Timeline of Key Events (Revised Edition 2015)A Journey through Islamic History tells you all you ever wanted to know about the history of the Muslim world from the Prophet Muhammad to Malcolm X in a short, accessible and lavishly-illustrated format. Suitable for students of all ages. Includes Seven chronological essays covering 1500 years of history. With over 175 pictures, illustrations and maps. A comprehensive timeline with over 500 entries. Text boxes featuring important personalities, key events and major ideas.A must for every library, college, school and home. |
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Illuminating the Darkness: The Virtues of Blacks and AbyssiniansThis is a classical book on the role of black people in Islam. It is reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) delivered a sermon wherein he stated, “O people, indeed your Lord is one and your forefather is one. Indeed, there is no superiority for the Arab over the non-Arab nor the non-Arab over the Arab, and there is no superiority for the white over the black nor the black over the white. Have I conveyed the message?” The people replied, “The Messenger of Allah has conveyed the message.” [Musnad Aḥmad (23489, ṣaḥīḥ)] |
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Defining Legends: An Analysis of Afrocentric Writings Against IslamSince the 1960s there has been a rapid and phenomenal increase of people in the West embracing Islām and the majority of those in the West who are turning to Islām are people of African origin in the UK and the USA. At the same time, Afrocentric ideology has also spread in the West which has, since the 1970s, argued that Islām itself was a religion of Arab conquerors that plundered Africa to the detriment of the African peoples themselves and this (Kemet Afrocentricity, various Hebrew Israelite cults or ‘black Orientalism’) has emerged to counter this growth of people of African origin turning to Islām. |
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PROPHETIC AHADITH IN CONDEMNATION OF RACISMGeneration after generation was destroyed by wars because a man would seek the aid of his tribe, even if he was upon falsehood and the likes of that from trivial causes and despicable motives. So Islam came to erase all of these loathsome outward practices in their lives when it made them equal with regards to the rights, and it made their slogans of allegiance to, al-Islam. And Islam made them excel over one another due to taqwa (righteousness) and obedience to Allah. So there is no excellence for an Arab over a non-Arab, nor is there any excellence for a non-Arab over an Arab, nor for a white person over a black one, nor for a black person over a white one, except due to taqwa. |
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The 'Negro' in Arab Muslim ConsciousnessWhat is the ‘negro’? Who qualifies? What is its Arabic equivalent? And, what did pre-modern writers mean by it? There is a common belief that the ‘negro’ refers to any “black” person of sub-Saharan African heritage. Historians, however, often differentiate between the Moor, the Nubian, the Ethiopian, the Kushite, and the Negro. Why this distinction if all “black” Africans and those of African heritage presumably belong to a common pedigree? |
