ISLAM: FAITH AND PRACTICE

ISLAM: FAITH AND PRACTICE Mahmoud Mustafa Ayoub What is Islam? Is it just a set of rituals or does it have a philosophy all its own? Islam and Muslims are often in the news but does the non-Muslim World really understand what Islam stands for? In Islam: Faith and Practice, Mahmoud Ayoub presents the Islamic faith, as Muslims understand it. The book is divided into three parts. The first deals with Islamic faith and its basis. The second part of ‘the book is concerned with Islamic rituals and institutions, their scope and significance for Muslim life and society. The third part 4 devoted to the structures, duties and goals of the Muslim community. This part deals with the Muslim Ummah as a religious, social and economic entity. This is followed by a discussion of the meaning of Jihad or struggle in the way of Allah. The book concludes with a consideration of the ideal and goal of Muslim unity as implied in and necessitated by tawhid or the Oneness of Allah. Dr. Ayoub is the author of a number of books and articles dealing with Islamic subjects and Muslim-Christian relations. His The Qur’an and Its Interpreters, a multi-volume series presents the Qur’an to western and non Arabic speaking Muslims as Muslims have understood it through tafsir or interpretation.