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Browse the complete collection of 370 articles on Islamic history and civilization
Abadi Bano Begum (Bi Amma): Mother of the Khilafat Movement
Abadi Bano Begum (1852-1924), known affectionately as Bi Amma, was the mother of the Ali Brothers and one of the first Muslim women to enter Indian nationalist politics, mobilizing women for the Khilafat and Non-Cooperation movements while observing purdah.
Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib: The Prophet's Uncle and Patriarch of a Dynasty
Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (c. 566-653 CE) was the Prophet Muhammad's uncle who protected him from within Mecca, facilitated the conquest, and became the ancestor of the Abbasid dynasty that ruled the Islamic world for five centuries.
Abbasid Caliphate
The third major Islamic caliphate (750–1258 CE), centered in Baghdad. It presided over the Islamic Golden Age, with landmark advances in science, philosophy, literature, and the arts, forging a cosmopolitan empire that blended Greek, Persian, Indian, and Arab traditions.
Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghudda
A Syrian Hanafi scholar and editor whose critical editions of works of law and hadith brought many neglected texts into print. He introduced modern South Asian hadith scholarship to Arab readers and held one of the widest networks of hadith transmission of his generation.
Abd al-Rahman I: The Falcon of the Quraysh
Abd al-Rahman I (731-788) was the Umayyad prince who survived the Abbasid destruction of his family, reached Iberia after five years as a fugitive, and in 756 founded the Emirate of Cordoba. Thirty years of near-continuous revolt shaped the state he built.
Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf: The Merchant of Paradise
Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf (c. 580-652 CE) was among the earliest converts to Islam and one of the Ten Promised Paradise. A renowned merchant who built great wealth in Medina and gave lavishly in charity, he served on the council that chose the third caliph, Uthman.
Abd al-Rahman III: The First Caliph of Cordoba
Abd al-Rahman III (891-961) inherited a collapsing emirate in 912, spent twenty years restoring it by force, and in 929 declared himself caliph. His fifty-year reign made Cordoba the strongest state in western Europe and built the palace-city of Madinat al-Zahra.
Abdul Ghaffar Khan: The Frontier Gandhi and Apostle of Non-Violence
Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1890–1988), known as Badshah Khan and the Frontier Gandhi, was a Pashtun independence leader and apostle of non-violence who founded the Khudai Khidmatgar movement. A close ally of Gandhi, he opposed Partition and received the Bharat Ratna in 1987.
Company Quartermaster Havildar Abdul Hamid: Param Vir Chakra
Company Quartermaster Havildar Abdul Hamid (1933-1965) of 4 Grenadiers destroyed several Pakistani Patton tanks with a jeep-mounted recoilless gun at the Battle of Asal Uttar in 1965. Killed in action, he was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest gallantry award.
Abdul Qadir Gilani
Abdul Qadir Gilani (c. 1077-1166 CE) was a Hanbali jurist and preacher of Baghdad whose sermons drew large audiences and whose works combine legal instruction with spiritual counsel. The Qadiriyya order was organised around his memory by his sons after his death.
Abdulhamid II: The Last Sultan to Rule
Abdulhamid II (1842-1918) ruled the Ottoman Empire from 1876 to 1909, the last sultan to exercise real power. He promulgated the empire's first constitution, suspended parliament within two years, governed personally for three decades, and was deposed after the Young Turk Revolution.
Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr: The Counter-Caliph of Mecca
Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr (624–692 CE) was the first child born to the Muhajirun in Medina, grandson of Abu Bakr and son of Zubayr ibn al-Awwam. He declared himself caliph in Mecca against the Umayyads, ruling much of the empire for a decade before his death in 692 CE.