Zaytuna College Bookstore

"The Venture of Islam" volumes 1, 2, and 3 by Marshall Hodgson are available now in our History Collection.

From the publisher:
"The Venture of Islam" has been honored as a magisterial work of the mind since its publication in early 1975. In this three-volume study, illustrated with charts and maps, Hodgson traces and interprets the historical development of Islamic civilization from before the birth of Muhammad [ﷺ] to the middle of the twentieth century. This work grew out of the famous course on Islamic civilization that Hodgson created and taught for many years at the University of Chicago.

Find this title and others in our History Collection - https://bookstore.zaytuna.edu/collections/history.

"Islam & Modernity - Transformation of an Intellectual Tradition" by Fazlur Rahman.

"As Professor Fazlur Rahman shows in the latest of a series of important contributions to Islamic intellectual history, the characteristic problems of the Muslim modernists—the adaptation to the needs of the contemporary situation of a holy book which draws its specific examples from the conditions of the seventh century and earlier—are by no means new. . . . In Professor Rahman's view the intellectual and therefore the social development of Islam has been impeded and distorted by two interrelated errors. The first was committed by those who, in reading the Koran, failed to recognize the differences between general principles and specific responses to 'concrete and particular historical situations.' . . . This very rigidity gave rise to the second major error, that of the secularists. By teaching and interpreting the Koran in such a way as to admit of no change or development, the dogmatists had created a situation in which Muslim societies, faced with the imperative need to educate their people for life in the modern world, were forced to make a painful and self-defeating choice—either to abandon Koranic Islam, or to turn their backs on the modern world."
- Bernard Lewis, New York Review of Books

The tome "Safwat al-Tafasir" by Shaykh Muhammad ‘Ali Al-Sabuni is highly-respected in Islamic Seminaries worldwide, as well as being an accepted tafsir for beginners. Enjoy selections from this celebrated work, translated by Rashad Jameer.

Browse more in our Quranic Studies collection - https://bookstore.zaytuna.edu/collections/quran-and-quranic-studies.

To Our Supporters:

We would like to share our gratitude for your patronage over the past seven years. Your support has been a catalyst for our ongoing efforts to offer products that speak to both the mind and spirit.

The coming year, God-willing, we plan to expand the Bookstore into a new, larger space on campus. This new area allows us to grow in many exciting ways. We are expanding and broadening our book and gift collections; we will offer more in-person shopping hours, as well as featuring a more expansive floor plan for a more comfortable shopping experience. For our online customers, we also have website updates planned for the coming year. This is an exciting time full of good work that is committed to truth, goodness, and beauty.

Our intention is to connect the world to Zaytuna College through our Bookstore. We hope to share more beauty in 2024, as well as knowledge & wisdom through the books we offer.

Sending you and your family peace and blessings from Berkeley, California.

The Zaytuna College Bookstore Team

Dense and plush velvet prayer rugs, made in Turkey. Available in muted jewel tones, including gray, lilac, teal, and tan.

"The Ninety-Nine Beautiful Names of God" by Imam Al-Ghazali.

From the publisher:
"In this work, here presented in a complete English edition for the first time, the problem of knowing God is confronted in an original and stimulating way. Taking up the Prophet's teaching that 'Ninety-nine Beautiful Names' are truly predicated of God, the author explores the meaning and resonance of each of these divine names, and reveals the functions they perform both in the cosmos and in the soul of the spiritual adept. Although some of the book is rigorously analytical, the author never fails to attract the reader with his profound mystical and ethical insights, which, conveyed in his sincere and straightforward idiom, have made of this book one of the perennial classics of Muslim thought, popular among Muslims to this day."

"Ethics: The Classic Readings", edited by David E. Cooper.

From the publisher:
"This is the second volume in a new series of classic readings in philosophy and collects together the central texts in the history of moral philosophy thus representing many of the most important topics in the field. It will serve as an invaluable resource for students of all levels taking courses in ethics or moral theory.

The texts selected range from Plato to Stevenson, and include the classics of western moral philosophy such as Aristotle's remarks on man's proper "function", Kant's discussion of "the good will" and Nietzsche's notorious "genealogy" of our moral concepts. The volume also includes some classics from other traditions such as the debate between the two Confucians, Mencius and Hsun Tzu, and the early chapters from The Bhagavad Gita.

The editor provides guidance to both the field and to each reading by including a substantial general introduction on the nature and history of philosophical ethics. There are also informative short introductions to the individual texts."

Products that caught our eyes today...

• 100% pure raw wool prayer rug in "The Dawn" and "The Night" designs, spun and woven by North African artisans.

• "The Romance of Red Stone: An Appreciation of Ornament on Islamic Architecture in India" by Yashwant Pitkar

• Hand-carved teak mubkhar.

Available now in the shop or at the link in bio.

Our prayer rug collection includes beautiful selections from Afghanistan, Morocco, Tunisia, and Turkey. We have rugs available in a variety of textures, weights, and a lovely array of colors and patterns. Browse the collection to find the perfect gift or a new rug for your own prayer times - https://bookstore.zaytuna.edu/collections/prayer-rugs.

We have been gathering the Bachelor of Arts Program books for the 2024 Spring Semester and the students are receiving their books.

Many thanks to Aisha Ibrahim (Bookstore), Feraidoon Mojadedij, and Irshad Zakaria (Events Team) for all of your hard work.

Functionally beautiful scarves and shawls now available for men and women in a variety of colors, textures, and weights. Shop the collection here - https://bookstore.zaytuna.edu/collections/scarves-shawls-and-wraps.

“The Caliphate of Man: Popular Sovereignty in Modern Islamic Thought” by Andrew F. March.

From the publisher:

“A political theorist teases out the century-old ideological transformation at the heart of contemporary discourse in Muslim nations undergoing political change.”

“The Marvels of the Heart” and “Love, Longing, and Contentment” are just two titles in The Revival of the Religious Sciences series by Islamic writer, scholar, and thinker, Imam Al-Ghazali.

Find the full collection in our shop - https://bookstore.zaytuna.edu/collections/imam-al-ghazali

“Gifts for the Seeker” and “The Book of Assurance”, by Imam ’Abdallah Ibn ‘Alawi Al-Haddad. Two practical travel guides for those seeking inward illumination along the Sufi Path.

The Daily Wisdom series presents the reader with a year's worth of selections to encourage moments of daily reflection. Editions of this series include: "Sayings of the Prophet Muhammad" ﷺ, "Selections from the Holy Qur'an", "Sayings of the Companions of the Prophet", and "Islamic Prayers and Supplications".

The Faith & Focus - Morning & Evening Journal from Towards Faith is an exceptional tool for Muslims desiring to cultivate more mindfulness in their lives.

"Faith & Focus is a 90-day morning and evening guided journal to bring spirituality, success, and structure to your everyday life. It’s designed to help you consciously connect to Allah and your goals and overcome overwhelm, distractions, and feeling spiritually incomplete. Inspired by timeless wisdom in the Qur’an. Backed by modern psychology. Built for beginners."

We’ve assembled this collection of titles to bolster your spirit, strengthen your deen, and enhance your home library. Also included are an assortment of writing journals, both with and without prompts, for all of your note-taking needs.

Enjoy free shipping on U.S. domestic book only orders $50+ throughout the month of December. Shop at https://bookstore.zaytuna.edu/collections/books.

"Islam: The View from the Edge" by Richard W. Bulliet.

From the publisher:

"Bulliet abandons the historian's habit of viewing Islamic history "from the center," that is, focusing on the rise and fall of imperial dynasties. Instead, he derives an understanding of how and why Islam became―and continues to be―so rooted in the social structure of the vast majority of people who lived far from the political locus and did not see the caliphate as essential in their lives."

Shop this title in our History Collection - https://bookstore.zaytuna.edu/collections/history.

Another from our History Collection, "A History of Islam in America" by Kambiz GhaneaBassiri.

From the publisher:

"Muslims began arriving in the New World long before the rise of the Atlantic slave trade. The first arrivals date to the turn of the sixteenth century when European explorers and colonists crossed the Atlantic in search of new horizons and trading routes. Kambiz GhaneaBassiri's fascinating book traces the history of Muslims in the United States and their different waves of immigration and conversion across five centuries, through colonial and antebellum America, through world wars and civil rights struggles, to the contemporary era. The book tells the often deeply moving stories of individual Muslims and their lives as immigrants and citizens within the broad context of the American religious experience, showing how that experience has been integral to the evolution of American Muslim institutions and practices. This is a unique and intelligent portrayal of a diverse religious community and its relationship with America. It will serve as a strong antidote to the current politicized dichotomy between Islam and the West, which has come to dominate the study of Muslims in America and further afield."

Shop history titles - https://bookstore.zaytuna.edu/collections/history.

Peruse our children's books for unique and enriching titles like Zimarina Sarwar's "Letters from a Prophet".

From the publisher:

"Many years ago, across distant lands and faraway empires, a series of letters were sent to some of the most powerful men on earth. These were no ordinary letters, however- they were from none other than the Last Prophet of God and the message they contained was one for all time."

This timeless book takes young readers on an exploration of these historic letters, the journeys they made, and the impacts they had.

Find "Letters from a Prophet" and other beautiful books to share with your young people in our Children's Book collection - https://bookstore.zaytuna.edu/collections/childrens-books

Get your copy of December's First Command Book Club selection, "Crime and Punishment", by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

From the publisher:

Raskolnikov, an impoverished student living in the St. Petersburg of the tsars, is determined to overreach his humanity and assert his untrammeled individual will. When he commits an act of murder and theft, he sets into motion a story that, for its excruciating suspense, its atmospheric vividness, and its depth of characterization and vision is almost unequaled in the literature of the world. The best known of Dostoevsky’s masterpieces, "Crime and Punishment" can bear any amount of rereading without losing a drop of its power over our imaginations.

Dostoevsky’s drama of sin, guilt, and redemption transforms the sordid story of an old woman’s murder into the nineteenth century’s and most profound and compelling philosophical novel.

Shop these and all other First Command Book Club titles in the collection - https://bookstore.zaytuna.edu/collections/first-command-book-club.

"Kitab al-Tafakkur (The Book of Contemplation" by Imam al-Ghazali and translated by Muhammad Isa Waley.

From the publisher:

"The Book of Contemplation is the thirty-ninth of the forty Books of The Revival of the Religious Sciences (Ihya’ ‘ulum al-din) – and is the very last to appear in English translation. Abu Hamid al-Ghazali’s purpose in this book is to explain the nature and importance of contemplation, or reflection, as an act that enriches the thinking person with increased knowledge of, and wonder at, the Creator and His creation."

Browse the full Imam al-Ghazali collection - https://bookstore.zaytuna.edu/collections/imam-al-ghazali.

"The Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History" by Ibn Khaldun and translated by Franz Rosenthal.

From the publisher:

"The Muqaddimah, often translated as 'Introduction' or 'Prolegomenon', is the most important Islamic history of the premodern world. Written by the great fourteenth-century Arab scholar Ibn Khaldûn (d. 1406), this monumental work established the foundations of several fields of knowledge, including the philosophy of history, sociology, ethnography, and economics. The first complete English translation, by the eminent Islamicist and interpreter of Arabic literature Franz Rosenthal, was published in three volumes in 1958 as part of the Bollingen Series and received immediate acclaim in the United States and abroad. A one-volume abridged version of Rosenthal's masterful translation first appeared in 1969."

"Longing for the Lost Caliphate: A Transregional History" by Mona Hassan.

From the publisher:

"In the United States and Europe, the word "caliphate" has conjured historically romantic and increasingly pernicious associations. Yet the caliphate's significance in Islamic history and Muslim culture remains poorly understood. This book explores the myriad meanings of the caliphate for Muslims around the world through the analytical lens of two key moments of loss in the thirteenth and twentieth centuries. Through extensive primary-source research, Mona Hassan explores the rich constellation of interpretations created by religious scholars, historians, musicians, statesmen, poets, and intellectuals."

Available in our History collection - https://bookstore.zaytuna.edu/collections/history.

Knowledge of the past leads to understanding the present. Dive into our history collection to gain much needed insight for today’s challenges. Explore scholarly perspectives on the history of the Islamic world and discover the myriad ways Muslim cultures and civilization have influenced and shaped our world.

Explore the collection at https://bookstore.zaytuna.edu.

"The Cambridge Companion to Classical Islamic Theology" by Tim Winter.

From the publisher:

"This series of critical reflections on the evolution and major themes of pre-modern Muslim theology begins with the revelation of the Koran and extends to the beginnings of modernity in the eighteenth century. The significance of Islamic theology reflects the immense importance of Islam in the history of monotheism, to which it has brought a unique approach and style, and a range of solutions that are of abiding interest. Devoting especial attention to questions of rationality, scriptural fidelity, and the construction of 'orthodoxy', this volume introduces key Muslim theories of revelation, creation, ethics, scriptural interpretation, law, mysticism, and eschatology. Throughout the treatment is firmly set in the historical, social, and political context in which Islam's distinctive understanding of God evolved. Despite its importance, Islamic theology has been neglected in recent scholarship, and this book provides a unique, scholarly but accessible introduction."

"The House of Wisdom: How the Arabs Transformed Western Civilization" by Jonathan Lyons.

From the publisher:

"For centuries following the fall of Rome, Western Europe was a benighted backwater, a world of subsistence farming, minimal literacy, and violent conflict. Meanwhile, Arab culture was thriving, dazzling those Europeans fortunate enough to visit cities like Baghdad or Antioch. There, philosophers, mathematicians, and astronomers were steadily advancing the frontiers of knowledge, as well as keeping alive the works of Plato and Aristotle. When the best libraries in Europe held several dozen books, Baghdad's great library, The House of Wisdom, housed four hundred thousand. Jonathan Lyons shows just how much "Western" ideas owe to the Golden Age of Arab civilization. Even while their countrymen waged bloody Crusades against Muslims, a handful of intrepid Christian scholars, hungry for knowledge, traveled East and returned with priceless jewels of science, medicine, and philosophy that laid the foundation for the Renaissance. In this brilliant, evocative book Jonathan Lyons reveals the story of how Europe drank from the well of Muslim learning."

“Erasing the Human: Collapse of the Post-Colonial World and the Refugee Immigration Crisis” by Hatem Bazian.

From the publisher:

“The collapse of the post-colonial world has given rise to overwhelming injustices in many nations across the world, none more so than in Palestine. Borders and boundaries are creating a refugee-immigration crisis on a mass scale leading to the slow ‘erasure’ of the human through systematic oppression and the ongoing struggle for liberation.

Navigating to unmask the structural racism, violence, and multiple genocides, this book delves deep into Dr. Bazian’s own experiences as a Palestinian living in the diaspora away from his homeland, to critically analyze the history and origins of the immigration-refugee crisis.”
 

“Lost Islamic History: Reclaiming Muslim Civilization from the Past” by Firas Alkhateeb.

From the publisher:

“Islam has been one of the most powerful religious, social, and political forces in history. Over the last 1400 years, from origins in Arabia, a succession of Muslim polities and later empires expanded to control territories and peoples that ultimately stretched from southern France, to East Africa to South East Asia.

Yet many of the contributions of Muslim thinkers, scientists, and theologians, not to mention rulers, statesmen and soldiers, have been occluded. This book rescues from oblivion and neglect some of these personalities and institutions while offering the reader a new narrative of this lost Islamic history.”

“The history of Islam and of the world's Muslims brings together diverse peoples, geographies, and states, all interwoven into one narrative that begins with Muhammad and continues to this day.”