This work seeks to present a sketch of the earliest, ideal era of Islam; the period of Rasulullah salla Llahu `alayhi wa sallam and his Sahabah; the new mode of thought and feelings Islam had produced; all of which was the result of Rasulullah’s salla Llahu `alayhi wa sallam teachings and guidance. It shows how the guidance provided by Rasulullah salla Llahu `alayhi wa sallam differed and surpassed the endeavours of all previous reformers and founders of religions. The first Islamic society that came to existence solely through the efforts of Rasulullah salla Llahu `alayhi wa sallam has been presented through the light of verifiable facts of history. The book brings out the divine scheme for the protection of the Qur’an against every form of corruption, since it was destined to remain the last revelation from Allah for the guidance of humanity. It also highlights the basic difference in the policy pursued by the harbingers of revolution and founders of empires for perpetuation of dynastic rule, on the one hand, and the prophetic system and disposition, on the other, essential for bringing man to the threshold of Allah. This distinction is also illustrated by the behaviour, character and morals of Rasulullah’s salla Llahu `alayhi wa sallam household. The matters discussed in this connection bring into relief the need as well as the importance of Rasulullah salla Llahu `alayhi wa sallam himself being the ultimate authority in every matter pertaining to creed and law from the inception of the prophetic mission to the end of time — the essentiality of the doctrine of Khatm al-Nubuwwah (finality of nubuwwah).

This doctrine upheld through consensus of the Ahl al-Sunnah wa l-Jama`ah, uniformly and continuously, and the way it has been perceptible throughout the life-time of Rasulullah salla Llahu `alayhi wa sallam and in subsequent ages has been set side by side with the beliefs and deeds of the Ithna `Ashariyyah sect of the Shi`ah (from its first protagonist to `Allamah Khomeini) as presented in the authentic works of their eminent theologians. It has been left to the discretion — common sense, prudence and better judgment—of the readers to form their own opinion as to which of the two portrayals is upheld by the Qur’an as well as accepted by the historians, Muslim and non-Muslim. It has been left to the judgment of the readers to decide which of the two presentations of Islam befits a Nabi who was undoubtedly the most successful nabi of Allah and the greatest guide and reformer the world has ever seen. They can decide which of the two versions is consistent with the claim of a religion to show the path of godliness and virtue to all races and nations in every time and clime, to make man loving and kind-hearted and self-sacrificing, and to raise him to the highest reaches of humanness from the level of animalism.

This is an essential introduction to the great epoch of Muslim civilisation. Readers now have access to 1000 years of missing history, covering medicine, technology, economics, civilisation, the environment and much more.

The Product – The book has 372 pages, with a forward by Sir Roland Jackson, the Chief Executive of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, an introduction by Chief Editor Professor Salim T S Al-Hassani, and endorsement by Adam Hart-Davis, Photographer, Writer and TV Science Presenter of the acclaimed BBC Series ‘What the Ancients Did for Us'.

The book is aimed at an international market. The style is lively, engaging with non-academic language providing information which relates to people's lives, in order to be accessible to the everyday reader. It contains over 350 colourful pages of Muslim heritage filled with brilliant information accessible to all ages.

Written by a team of internationally-renowned experts and authors, the contributions were selected to give the reader reassurance and confidence that the facts presented in the book are from the most reliable and unbiased academic sources