The Heart of Islam: Enduring Values for Humanity eBook : Nasr, Seyyed Hossein: Amazon.com.au: Kindle Store

The Heart of Islam: Enduring Values for Humanity eBook : Nasr, Seyyed Hossein: Amazon.com.au: Kindle Store




The Heart of Islam: Enduring Values for Humanity
by Seyyed Hossein Nasr (Author) Format: Kindle Edition


4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars (95)

As the specter of religious extremism has become a fact of life today, the temptation is great to allow the evil actions and perspectives of a minority to represent an entire tradition. In the case of Islam, there has been much recent confusion in the Western world centered on distorted portrayals of its core values. Born of ignorance, such confusion feeds the very problem at hand.

In The Heart of Islam one of the great intellectual figures in Islamic history offers a timely presentation of the core spiritual and social values of Islam: peace, compassion, social justice, and respect for the other. Seizing this unique moment in history to reflect on the essence of his tradition, Seyyed Hossein Nasr seeks to "open a spiritual and intellectual space for mutual understanding." Exploring Islamic values in scripture, traditional sources, and history, he also shows their clear counterparts in the Jewish and Christian traditions, revealing the common ground of the Abrahamic faiths.

Nasr challenges members of the world's civilizations to stop demonizing others while identifying themselves with pure goodness and to turn instead to a deeper understanding of those shared values that can solve the acute problems facing humanity today. "Muslims must ask themselves what went wrong within their own societies," he writes, "but the West must also pose the same question about itself . . . whether we are Muslims, Jews, Christians, or even secularists, whether we live in the Islamic world or in the West, we are in need of meaning in our lives, of ethical norms to guide our actions, of a vision that would allow us to live at peace with each other and with the rest of God's creation." Such help, he believes, lies at the heart of every religion and can lead the followers of the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) as well as other religious and spiritual traditions to a new future of mutual respect and common global purpose.

The Heart of Islam is a landmark presentation of enduring value that offers hope to humanity, and a compelling portrait of the beauty and appeal of the faith of 1.2 billion people.
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Review


“Concise, clear, and eloquent, it has the crystalline ring of the voice of reason and cuts through layers of ignorance.” - The World & I

“An illuminating new book.” - Christian Science Monitor

“An illuminating new book that explores the spiritual and social values of the faith of one-fifth of humanity.” - Christian Science Monitor

“The most important study of Islam in all its breadth and all its depth available in the English language.” - Gai Eaton, author of Islam and the Destiny of Man

“A first-tier Islamic scholar ... it is hard to imagine a better introduction to the faith.” - Library Journal

“[I]t is hard to imagine a better introduction to the faith.” - Library Journal

“This sensitive, insightful and beautifully written book comes as a ray of sunshine.” - Mark Juergensmeyer, author of Terror in the Mind of God Mark Juergensmeyer, author of Terror in the Mind of God Mark Juergensmeyer, author of Terror in the Mind of God Mark Juergensmeyer, author of Terror in the Mind of God

“Filled with challenge and insight...an indispensable text.” - Rabbi Michael Paley

“A lasting, honest, and intimate tour of Islam’s basic aspects...” - The [New Jersey] Star-Ledger

“This is exactly the right book... to counter the demonizing stereotypes of Islam proliferated by the war on terrorism” - Huston Smith, author of The World's Religions

“Professor Nasr has put the beauty and appeal of Islam into clear and readable English.” - John Shelby Spong, author of A New Christianity for a New World
From the Back Cover


As the specter of religious extremism has become a fact of life today, the temptation is great to allow the evil actions and perspectives of a minority to represent an entire tradition. In the case of Islam, there has been much recent confusion in the Western world centered on distorted portrayals of its core values. Born of ignorance, such confusion feeds the very problem at hand.

In The Heart of Islam one of the great intellectual figures in Islamic history offers a timely presentation of the core spiritual and social values of Islam: peace, compassion, social justice, and respect for the other. Seizing this unique moment in history to reflect on the essence of his tradition, Seyyed Hossein Nasr seeks to "open a spiritual and intellectual space for mutual understanding." Exploring Islamic values in scripture, traditional sources, and history, he also shows their clear counterparts in the Jewish and Christian traditions, revealing the common ground of the Abrahamic faiths.

Nasr challenges members of the world's civilizations to stop demonizing others while identifying themselves with pure goodness and to turn instead to a deeper understanding of those shared values that can solve the acute problems facing humanity today. "Muslims must ask themselves what went wrong within their own societies," he writes, "but the West must also pose the same question about itself . . . whether we are Muslims, Jews, Christians, or even secularists, whether we live in the Islamic world or in the West, we are in need of meaning in our lives, of ethical norms to guide our actions, of a vision that would allow us to live at peace with each other and with the rest of God's creation." Such help, he believes, lies at the heart of every religion and can lead the followers of the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) as well as other religious and spiritual traditions to a new future of mutual respect and common global purpose.

The Heart of Islam is a landmark presentation of enduring value that offers hope to humanity, and a compelling portrait of the beauty and appeal of the faith of 1.2 billion people.

About the Author


Seyyed Hossein Nasr is university professor of Islamic Studies at George Washington University. Author of over fifty books, Professor Nasr is a well-known and highly respected intellectual figure both in the West and in the Islamic world. Born in Tehran, raised from the age of twelve in the United States, and a graduate of MIT and Harvard University, Nasr is well qualified to explain Islam to a Western audience. He appears frequently on Meet the Press, as well as other national news shows.

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From other countries

P. Ndiour

5.0 out of 5 stars so interesting and wise

Reviewed in the United States on 7 October 2009

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This book is so full of wisdom and just written so beautifully. So many people are so ignorant to the teachings of islam and have a totally warped idea of muslims and what I love about this book is that it educates you about the religion without putting the others down. In fact it teaches you how most religions are related to each other. Its the best book for anyone wanting to know the truth about islam.

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kanedaitsuki

3.0 out of 5 stars “All about Islam” by global scholars

Reviewed in Japan on 2 August 2009

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Author Sade Hossein Nasr, born in Tehran and currently teaching at American universities, is an authority in Islam and has published many books on Islam.This book “Islamic Soul: Its Universal Value” opposes the negative image of Islam that amplifies since 9/11 terrorism, and aims to the general public in English speaking countries,Written to provide the right knowledge of Islam.

Some readers will marvel at the diversity of pure monotheistic religion, in addition to doctrine, history, law, politics, social thought, culture, art, etc.

Rebutes about controversial matters such as polygamy, brutality, and jihad would be a challenge that should be further deepened.It may be true that there is a certain bias in Western society, because Nasr's refutation is not always persuasive.

There are already many introductory books to Islam that can be read in Japanese, so it can not be said to be a must-read, but the description of the muslim author's own experience in some places gives valuable suggestionsIt will give me.

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Amazon Customer

5.0 out of 5 stars Esoteric

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 November 2025

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Highly recommend

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shabir

5.0 out of 5 stars Satisfying

Reviewed in India on 17 April 2026

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Wonderful read

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Zainal A. Chowdhury

5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars

Reviewed in Canada on 13 August 2015

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Well researched book.

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Abdullah Polat

5.0 out of 5 stars The best introduction to Islamic culture !

Reviewed in Germany on 9 November 2020

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Best and most impartial book I have ever read about Islam. - A perfect intro for those who want to understand the different tribes and believes as well as why Muslims do certain things.

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reader's digestive

5.0 out of 5 stars Most flowing and lucid writing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 31 May 2006

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This book highlights the indivudual intellectual evolution intended for man and womankind throughout their lives. The writing is most gracious and generic without being patronising. This is not just a book for non-muslims but muslims as well so we can prevent our minds from misinterpreting a universal message constantly under threat of dogma and bias both from within and outside the Muslim community

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JSJKindle

5.0 out of 5 stars Hossein Nasr's Masterpiece

Reviewed in the United States on 31 March 2019

Format: KindleVerified Purchase

Everywhere, this book was rated above 4 stars, can't believe in Amazon is bellow 4.

He bridged common sense with sufism. Love this book, owned it before, now bought the Kindle version for re-reading several chapters.

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Qasim

4.0 out of 5 stars Liked.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 January 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

liked the book

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Essam Qais

5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 May 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I received the book in a good condition.

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Andrew J. Nowak

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Read

Reviewed in the United States on 6 June 2018

Format: KindleVerified Purchase

I enjoyed the Heart of Islam, however, it reads more like an academic textbook with a lot of history and interpretation of historical events.

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theshabakah

3.0 out of 5 stars A fair text

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 March 2018

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

IGCSE reading material. A fair text

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Seth

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!

Reviewed in the United States on 15 March 2012

Format: KindleVerified Purchase

This is a great informative book on Islam for devout Muslims to recent convert, to people just interested learning the truth about Islam and not the misconceptions. I reccommend this book to anyone looking for a in-depth view of what Muslims believe and what the faith of Islam teaches without cultural influences.

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Noorcom

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book

Reviewed in the United States on 1 June 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Good to know that Islam, like christianity, has a lot to offer for humanity. Political events and extreme individuals tend color the 99% silent majority with something different than their true values.

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Paul Williams

5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 September 2015

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

My favorite book on Islam.

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Mr. D. C. Lee

5.0 out of 5 stars Islam - a detailed overview

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 August 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

A very interesting overview of this major religion.

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Spencer Case

1.0 out of 5 stars The most intellectually dishonest book I have ever read

Reviewed in the United States on 2 October 2012

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I am generally skeptical about one star reviews. Often people who have never read the book being reviewed simply want to register their disapproval for the ideas contained therein. That is certainly not the case here; I have read the book and, having read it, feel obligated to warn the readers about some of the distortions contained in the book, and some of the distortions being made in some of the positive reviews.

First, I turn to the factual distortions. (I apologize for the lack of page numbers, I have the Kindle version.) The book is simply chocked full of falsehoods. Nasr claims, without any qualification whatsoever, that "there has never been an inquisition in Islam." The famous ultra-conservative Islamic legal expert Ibn Hanbal, who suffered at the hands of the inquisition lead by Caliph al-Ma'mun, might have begged to differ. So might have Ibn Rushd, whose books were burned in his lifetime. Other examples could be given. Nasr also claims that Islamic extremism didn't exist before Western colonialism. What about the Kharijites or the hasheesheen, the group of men from whose name we get the English word "assassin?"

Nasr claims that there has been no persecution of Iraqi Christians, while Muslims in the West suffer terribly because of discrimination. He does not quite say, but implies very heavily, that Islam was involved with slavery primarily because it learned that bit of behavior from Westerns. And on, and on, and on. In short, anyone who has studied the Middle East and Islam at any length at all, as I have, will recognize falsehoods and distortions throughout this book. I might write this off as sloppiness if it were from anyone else, but Nasr is a serious scholar who has done some very good work. He knows better, but clearly doesn't want YOU to know better.

Second, I am surprised to see reviewers claiming that this book defends a version of Islam compatible with liberalism and modernism. Did any of these reviewers read the chapter on law, in which Nasr states explicitly his preference for literal Koranic law and punishment? He believes that the Koran and only the Koran can be a source for legitimacy in government. He also, we find out later, favors laws against blaspheme and he has the audacity to style this as "freedom of speech." But Muslim freedom of speech, he cautions, isn't like Western freedom of speech. Damn right it isn't.

"In the Islamic perspective," he writes, "Divine Law is to be implemented to regulate society and the actions of its members rather than society dictating what laws should be... to speak of Shari'ah as being simply the laws of the seventh century fixed in time and not relevant today would be like telling Christians that the injunctions of Christ to love one's neighbor and not commit adultery were simply the laws of the Palestine two thousand years ago and not relevant today, or telling Jews not to keep the Sabbath because this is simply an outmoded practice of three thousand years ago."

There you have it, Islam, in Nasr'c mind, does not, has not, will not cannot change. Nasr's version is therefore no more humane than the 7th century version. This involves the death penalty and punitive amputation for a host of infractions, and Nasr doesn't shy away from that conclusion. His candor here in biting such unsavory bullets may be the one thing that makes the book at least partially worth reading, hence a case can be made for two-stars instead of one.

And again: "Since God is the creator of all things, there is no legitimate domain of life to which His Will or His Laws do not apply."

So where is the room for religious pluralism or the many freedoms we take for granted? It doesn't exist.

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Susan

1.0 out of 5 stars Way off base

Reviewed in the United States on 7 November 2019

Format: KindleVerified Purchase

The author always seems to compare the awful way Islam is practiced by comparing it to the west. I have read the Koran (English translations) by two different translators. The Koran to me is equal to the Bible in importance. It can be a great religion but in many parts of the world it is applied in a horrible way. Female genital mutilation, penalty of death for converting to a different faith, etc. at one point the author calls women going out to work and leaving their children in chid care “is child abuse.” Need I say more.

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Dana

1.0 out of 5 stars This book does nothing to clarify the progress within the ...

Reviewed in the United States on 20 November 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This book does nothing to clarify the progress within the religion, instead, supports the old patriarchy that plagues us today. This is a summation of culture mixed with half truths that create the image of what we have today, and does nothing to expand on the knowledge that we have.

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Bernardo

3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars

Reviewed in the United States on 23 September 2017

Format: KindleVerified Purchase

Too apologetic

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Bakar

5.0 out of 5 stars Heart of Isam

Reviewed in the United States on 27 May 2013

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

What do you want me to write ?

I liked it very much.

I have nothing mo.re to say.

I hope you will like it too

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J. Ollis

5.0 out of 5 stars it is one to help in the understanding of the ...

Reviewed in the United States on 26 December 2014

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

it is one to help in the understanding of the followers of a faith that is find only more questions.

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zach

5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on 26 October 2014

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Presents clear and concise overview of mainstream Muslim beliefs and practices

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Cassandra

5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on 23 March 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Lovely.

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