Umar the Great by Shibli Nomani

In-store location: Shelf 3.20

Translated by Zafar Ali Khan and Muhammad Saleem M.A

Islamic Book Trust, paperback, 535 pages

In the words of Washington Irving, the whole history of ‘Umar shows him to have been a man of great powers of mind, inflexible integrity and rigid justice. He was more than anyone else, the founder of Islamic empire; confirming and carrying out the inspirations of the Prophet; aiding Abu Bakr with his counsels during his brief Caliphate; and establishing wise regulations of the law throughout the rapidly extending bounds of the Muslim conquests. In the simplicity of his habits, his contempt for all pomp and luxury, he emulated the example of the Prophet and Abu Bakr.

The Book: Publication of the original Urdu work, Al-Farooq, in 1898, took the Muslim world by storm as it was considered as a great literary event and it ran into several editions in a very short time. Soon its translations appeared in Turkish and Persian. No less warmer an appreciation was accorded to this English translation by Maulana Zafar Ali Khan when it was first published in  939 and so unceasing was the demand for it until today.