7 books Every Muslim Should Have

This is a list that I have complied after doing some research and sifting through several titles. There are of course hundreds, maybe thousands of books that would benefit every Muslim but my goal was not to list all of them, but to give an idea of some books that would be a great starter for your library or an excellent addition to your existing one. This list does not include The Holy Qur’an, various tafseer of the same or the range of books of Hadith, as these are given essentials for every home. Also, these books are not placed in any particular order.

Riyadh-us Saliheen

This book is an extensive collection of Hadith covering every aspect of Islamic life and livelihood. Compiled by Imam Abu Zakariya Yahya Bin Sharaf An-Nawawi. An excellent English version of this book, as well as several of the other books on this list is available at Zaviabooks.com Contemporary editing under the auspices of His Eminence Sultan Mohyuddin Syed Mubarik Ali Shah Gilani. A must have for every home.

Arba’een Jami

A famous collection of 40 Hadith compiled by Maulana Abdur Rahman Jami that we should all learn and practice. This book has both Arabic script and English translation and commentary by His Eminence Sultan Mohyuddin Syed Mubarik Ali Shah Gilani

Aab-e Kauthar

This book contains a great collection of Darood Shareef and also illustrates the numerous benefits gained from reciting praise upon Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa (s.a.w.s). This book is also prepared under the auspices of His Eminence Sultan Mohyuddin Syed Mubarik Ali Shah Gilani.

Rauza-tus-Safa, Volume 2 (The life of Muhammad (s.a.w.s))

The entire name of this book is Rauza-tus-Safa fi Sirat-ul-Ambia wal Muluk wal Khulafa (The Gardens of Purity concerning the biography of the Prophets and Kings and Caliphs). This excellent book deals with the origins of Islam, early Islamic history and Persian history by Muhammad ibn Khawand Shah ibn Mahmud, an historian also known as Khawand bin Badshah and simply Mirkhond. It was originally published in Persian in seven volumes, having been completed in the year 1497 C.E. (836 A.H.) The work is very scholarly, ibn Khawand used nineteen major Arabic histories and twenty-two major Persian ones as well as others which he occasionally quotes. His work was the basis for many subsequent histories including the works of Haji Khalfa.

Volume 2 (The life of Muhammad) was translated into English in 1983 by Sultan Mohyuddin Syed Mubarik Ali Shah Gilani. (from Wikipedia.org)

Irshad: wisdom of a Sufi Master

This book, written by Hazrat Sheikh Muzaffer Ozak Al-Jerrahi is filled with Interesting discourses and stories that enlighten the heart and make one ponder about their existence. Also contains the meanings of and special purposes of each of the 99 names of Allah. Irshad is a very useful and inspiring text that everyone will benefit from.

The "Mathnavi" of Maulana Jalaludin Rumi

This definative work of Maulana Rumi contains more than 50,000 lines. The book illustrates through stories man's predicament in his search for Allah. Their are many versions available in different languages of the book, however one must be careful in purchasing of this book, as some translations are corrupted (the version by Richard Nicholson for example) and do no justice to the original meaning of the text.

Dalail-ul-Khairat

Last, but by no means least is the Dalail-ul-Khairat, whose name translates roughly as "The Guide to Goodness."This blessed book of Darood was compiled by Imam Suleiman Jazuli of Morocco. Imam Ahmad al-Sawi relates that one day Imam Suleiman Jazuli went to perform his ablutions for the prescribed prayer from a nearby well but could not find any means to draw the water up. While thus perplexed, he was seen by a young girl who called out from high above, "You're the one people praise so much, and you can't even figure out how to get water out of a well?" So she came down and spat into the water, which welled up until it overflowed and spilled across the ground. Jazuli made his ablutions, and then turned to her and said, "I adjure you to tell me how you reached this rank." She said, "By saying the Blessings upon him whom beasts lovingly followed as he walked through the wilds (Allah bless him and give him peace)." Jazuli thereupon vowed to compose the book of Blessings on the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) which came to be known as his Dala'il al-Khayrat