“In those ten years he destroyed idolatry in Arabi a; raised woman from the status of a chattel to complete legal equality with man; effectually stopped the drunkenness and immorality which had till then disgraced the Arabs; made men to live with faith, sincerity and honest dealing; transformed tribes who had been for centuries content with ignorance into a people with the greatest thirst for knowledge; and for the first time in history made universal human brotherhood a fact and principle of common law. And his support and guide in all that work was the Qur’an.” This is how Marmaduke Pickthall described the Medina life of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in his introduction to the first English translation of the Qur’an by an Englishman who was a Muslim. Yet there are some English speaking people who dish the dirt on the Prophet and eviscerate the Qur’an which carried the message of unity of peace under one God. The aim of this book is to present to English readers how Muslims the world over live and work for building “a nation brought forth for mankind, bidding unto good, enjoining what is right and rejecting what is wrong, believing in God.”

Tracking back through the long tape of history every effort has been made to substantiate the truth of the statement made by Marmaduke Pickthall and capture the mood of the Islamic World from 622 AD. to the present day. We remember those days as innocent and full of hope.

This book will help broaden our horizon, strengthen our faith, build positive feelings and illustrate how strongly the Qur’an insists that “there shall be no coercion in matters of faith” and commands the Muslims to respect the beliefs of the Jews and the Christians, whom the Qur’an calls ahl-al-kitab, a phrase usually translated , “People of the Book.”