A book that motivates readers to study history

In his refined and easy-to-read prose Jamil Yousaf , the author of the book titled Muslimanoun ki Tareekh (The History of Muslims), takes readers from the days of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to the present. The readers who seek a quick but thoughtful introduction to the history of Muslims will want to read Jamil Yousaf’s inspiring contribution on the subject.

He provides a well-kept-up history of Muslims; he looks at the main issues; he talks over everything from political Islam to Muslim leadership, their visions, and fantasies; their successes and failures.

Over the last 1,400 years, a chain of Muslim states and kingdoms stretched out to reach lands and societies stretching from southern France to East Africa and Southeast Asia. Hitherto several of the influences of Muslims including intellectuals, researchers, and scholars, not to mention statesmen and soldiers, have gone unheeded. This book rescues from oblivion the overlooked aspects of the Muslims’ past, chronicling its version from the days of Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to the modern-day nation-states.

From Abbasids and Ottomans to Africans and Mughals, Jamil Yousaf provides details that add to the sketches of key personalities, and historical episodes to display the immense impact of Muslims on whichever society they went.

Presenting 1,400 years of the history of Muslims in a comprehensive, easy-to-follow manner is no small feat. The book is valuable not only for its insights into lesser-known aspects of the Muslim history, but also as a general introduction to the subject.

Here in all their rapacious magnificence are historical events and characters whose portraits have not received the prominence that is their due within the history of Muslims. Each episode and sketch is pictured with a definite conscious effort to avoid polemics as much as possible. The outcome is a forthright history-in-depictions.

Each chapter explores the period of Muslim history during a given subject’s era and topographical setting. Some of the stories are fascinating, and most make for meaningful reading.

Jamil Yousaf thinks a more refined understanding of Muslim history is certainly needed and this book contributes to that viewpoint. His write-up is an effort through discussion and unearthing to discover and back a common subject of a sequence of events validated by various sources.

This is not to say that historical accounts debated in the academic spheres inescapably echo the reality. Neither does it suggest that what one might hold as a set of genuine records certainly mirrors a real historical fact. Seemingly, no one can claim that he indeed knows.

Nevertheless, through argument, reading and input maybe we can separate truth from half-truths and even thorough lies. This is exactly what this book is trying to do, it motivates readers to study history and find the truth.