This volume, the first of a series, sets out, in the words of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad himself, a summary of his exposition of four outstanding topics, namely, Islam; Allah, the Exalted; the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him; and the Holy Quran. The original compilation, in Urdu, from which these extracts have been translated into English, was collated with great care and diligence by Syed Daud Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him.

This is the third volume of the series bearing the title “The Essence of Islam,” the first volume of which was published in 1979. Like the first volume, it sets out in the words of the Promised Messiah, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian himself, a summary of his exposition of four further topics: • Family and Personal Background • Status of The Promised Messiah(as) • The purpose of the Promised Messiah’s advent • Propagation, establishment of a holy Jama’at, and instructions

"This book is a brief introduction to the five fundamental articles of the Islamic faith."--P. [4] of cover.

What is Islam? How do we grasp a human and historical phenomenon characterized by such variety and contradiction? What is "Islamic" about Islamic philosophy or Islamic art? Should we speak of Islam or of islams? Should we distinguish the Islamic (the religious) from the Islamicate (the cultural)? Or should we abandon "Islamic" altogether as an analytical term? In What Is Islam?, Shahab Ahmed presents a bold new conceptualization of Islam that challenges dominant understandings grounded in the categories of "religion" and "culture" or those that privilege law and scripture. He argues that these modes of thinking obstruct us from understanding Islam, distorting it, diminishing it, and rendering it incoherent. What Is Islam? formulates a new conceptual language for analyzing Islam. It presents a new paradigm of how Muslims have historically understood divine revelation—one that enables us to understand how and why Muslims through history have embraced values such as exploration, ambiguity, aestheticization, polyvalence, and relativism, as well as practices such as figural art, music, and even wine drinking as Islamic. It also puts forward a new understanding of the historical constitution of Islamic law and its relationship to philosophical ethics and political theory. A book that is certain to provoke debate and significantly alter our understanding of Islam, What Is Islam? reveals how Muslims have historically conceived of and lived with Islam as norms and truths that are at once contradictory yet coherent.

"Originally written for the Conference of Great Religions held at Lahore on December 26-29, 1896, the Philosophy of the Teachings of Islam has since served as an introduction to Islam for seekers after the truth and religious knowledge in different parts of the world. The present issue includes several "lost" pages not included in the essay that was read out at Lahore. It deals with the following five broad themes, set by the moderators of the Conference: 1. The physical, moral and spiritual states of man 2. The state of man after death 3. The object of man's life and the means to its attainment 4. The operation of the practical ordinances of the Law in this life and the next 5. Sources of Divine knowledge."--Publisher's description.