There are a number announcements that we would like to share with you.

Author Evening with Shahd Alshammari – Head Above Water

Head Above Water takes us into a space of intimate conversations on illness and society’s stigmatization of disabled bodies. We are invited in to ask the big questions about life, loss, and the place of the other. The narrative builds a bridge that reminds us of our common humanity and weaves the threads that tie us all together. Through conversations about women’s identities, bodies, and our journeys through life, we arrive at a politics of love, survival, and hope.

Ramadan Prisoner Packs

“And feed with food the needy, the orphan and the prisoner, for love of Him.” Quran 76:8 

The Prophet (SM) said, “Free the captives, feed the hungry and pay a visit to the sick.”

IHRC will be distributing its annual prisoner packs this coming Ramadan.

Muslims account for 18 per cent of Britain’s prisoners, that’s more than a 50 per cent increase since ten years ago, this is despite Muslims are under 5 per cent of its population. In London, the figure is an “astonishing” 27 per cent, which is more than double the 12 per cent of the capital’s population who are Muslim. In two prisons, Feltham and Isis, a third of the inmates were Muslim. Half of the top 10 prisons with the highest Muslim populations are in London, including Belmarsh, where the percentage has risen since 2010 from 19 to 29 per cent, Brixton (24 per cent), Pentonville (28 per cent), Thameside (25 per cent) and Wormwood Scrubs (27 per cent).

Muslim prisoners have a difficult time practising their faith in prison.  Lack of halal food, inadequate prayer facilities, difficulty in managing fasting as well as discrimination from other prisoners are just some of the issues faced by Muslim prisoners. Prisoners face various levels of racism/Islamophobia and often find themselves being abused. This is made worse by the sense of isolation from the Muslim community and their friends and family.
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Zaytoun’s Palestinian Medjoul Dates are back in stock! 

Essential Palestinian Medjoul Dates, with a succulent caramel taste.

Zaytoun Medjoul dates are sourced from sun-drenched Palestinian farms around the ancient city of Jericho, an occupied area where vast tracts of land have been illegally confiscated by the Israeli government.

When you choose Zaytoun Medjoul dates, you are helping Palestinian families to make a sustainable living and to grow trade opportunities so they can retain their own land in the Jordan Valley. The Palestinian farmers in Jericho face daily struggles of living under military occupation and the threat of expanding Israeli settlements, as well as receiving no state subsidies and restrictions to things such as movement, resources and access to water.

These are guaranteed to be ethically sourced and fairly traded to benefit Palestinian farmers.

Find out more at www.zaytoun.org.

Watch: Author Evening with Mustafa Briggs – Beyond Bilal 

Last week, IHRC hosted Mustafa Briggs for an author evening where he discussed his latest publication, Beyond Bilal: Black History in Islam. Click on the video below to view the recording of the event. In order to purchase the book, click here.

Mustafa Briggs is a graduate of Arabic and International Relations from the University of Westminster whose dissertation focused on Arabic Literature and Literacy in West Africa. Mustafa started an MA in Translation at SOAS, University of London with a specialization in Arabic and Islamic Texts, before going onto al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt to complete another degree in Islamic Studies and Arabic Language.

Below are books that are currently in stock. For more books click here.

Al-Wafi: A Thorough Commentary on the Forty Nawawiyyah – Shaykh Mustafa Dib al-Bugha & Shaykh Muhyi ad-Din Mistu

Al-Wafi is a well-known Arabic book on the commentary of forty hadiths compiled by the great jurist and hadith scholar Imam Abu Zakariyya Yahya ibn Sharaf al-Nawawi, commonly known as al-Nawawi or Imam Nawawi (d. 676 AH). The book is widely used in schools and religious classes. It has been translated into several languages and this work is the first in English.

This book is ideal for those who wish to read for personal edification as well as those who would like to conduct classes. Every hadith is followed by a detailed explanation of its importance, its vocabulary, followed by its fiqh rulings, along with other insights that can be gleaned from it.

It is hoped that as the reader reads through the text, his understanding and appreciation of the Prophet’s words ﷺ will deepen, and he will also come to see the immense wisdom in Imam an-Nawawi’s choices. If Allah so wills, the reader will emerge with a broader and more thorough understanding of Islam.

The Ascendant Qur’an: An Advanced English Translation of the Meanings of the Qur’an – Muhammad H. Al-Asi

A new transliteration of the Holy Qur’an by scholar and Imam, Muhammad al-Asi. Author of the remarkable multi-volume Tafsir series ‘The Ascendant Qur’an’. This new translation serves as a great companion piece to that work, as well as an informative and lively translation suitable for first time or familiar readers.

Hardcover with beautiful golden foil edged pages.

Ilyas & Duck: Ramadan Joy – Omar S. Khawaja

Fasting, Good Deeds, Empathy, Oh Boy! It’s a story about discovery and of Ramadan joy! The month of Ramadan is here! It’s a special time of year. But, when on the morning of the first day of Ramadan Duck learns he cannot eat or drink until sunset, he gets a little concerned.

Join Ilyas & Duck in this rhyming adventure as they learn about the joys of Ramadan and all the blessings they bring. There’s a surprise at every turn!

Rami the Ramadan Cat – Robyn Thomas

The spirit of Ramadan is rooted in generosity to family, friends, and neighbours! Saleem has just moved to a new city. On the first night of Ramadan, he finds a scruffy kitten clinging to his backyard fence.

Even though Saleem and his family make “lost cat” posters to hang up around their neighbourhood, he secretly hopes they never find the cat’s owner! After all, Rami is Saleem’s only friend in this new place.

The Prophet’s Night Journey & Heavenly Ascent – Sayyid Muhammad ibn Alawi al Maliki

Praise be to Allah Who chose His praiseworth servant Muhammad (saw) for the Message, distinguished him with the night journey on the lightening-mount Buraq, and caused him to ascend the ladders of perfection to the high heavens to show him of the greatest signs of his Lord. He raised him until he reached the Lote-tree of the Farthest Boundary where ends the science of every Messenger-Prophet and every Angel Brought Near, where lies the Garden of Retreat, to the point that he heard the sound of the pens that write what has befallen and what is to befall.