Great Books of Islamic Civilization

By Abu al-Faraj ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn Hindu, translated by Aida Tibi and reviewed by Emilie Savage-Smith

As the title indicates, The Key to Medicine and a Guide for Students was an introduction to medicine, intended for students. After extolling the virtues of having a profession in general and of medicine in particular, Ibn Hindu (d. 423/1032) discusses various disciplines that a medical student should be familiar with, including a lengthy digression into philosophy and logic. He then deals with matters specifically medical, devoting separate sections to anatomy, diseases, pulse, and names of medicinal substances.

By Abu 'l-Qasim Al-Qushayri, translated by Alexander D. Knysh

Written in 437/1045, Al-Qushayri's Epistle on Sufism has served as a primary textbook for many generations of Sufi novices down to the present. It gives us an illuminating insight into the everyday lives of Sufi devotees of the eighth to eleventh centuries C.E.

By Al-Jahiz, translated by Professor R. B. Serjeant

Al-Jahiz (AH 160/AD 776 to AH 225/AD 869) was one of the greatest exponents of Arabic prose of all time. His scholarship, the breadth of his interests, and his ability to express his ideas and arguments with vigour and humour were outstanding; The Book of Misers is his comical masterpiece, and one of the earliest works of fiction from the Islamic world.

By Abu Ubayd Al-Qasim ibn Sallam, translated by Imran Ahsan Khan Nyazee

Kitab al-Amwal (The Book of Revenue) is the work of a brilliant legal mind. Abu Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Sallam provides us with an accurate record of legal precedents laid down in the first two centuries of Islam, in particular those pertaining to the sources of revenue and the avenues of public expenditure.

By Ibn Rushd, translated by Professor Imran Ahsan Khan Nyazee

Ibn Rushd’s Bidayat al-Mujtahid (The Distinguished Jurist’s Primer) occupies a unique place among the authoritative manuals of Islamic law. In this manual Ibn Rushd traces most of the issues of Islamic law, describing not only what the law is, but also elaborating the methodology of some of the greatest legal minds in Islam to show how such laws were derived.