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The Pillars of Islam & Iman - And What Every Muslim Must Know About His Religion
Sheikh Muhammad bin Jamil Zeno has discussed in this book, the fundamental constituents of Islam - Salat, Saum, Hajj, Zakat etc., in a lucid and impressive manner. The discussion regarding Faith and Belief in the first part is an added value to the book.
The original text of this book is in the Arabic language. The distinctive feature of this book is its simplicity. Sheikh Muhammad bin Jamil Zeno, while writing, has his direct concern with the common people. To prove any point, first of all he presents the Verses of the Noble Qur'an, then he puts all the related authentic Ahadith before the readers; afterwords, if he finds necessary, cites a few quotations from the early scholars and jurisprudents.
Because of his simple style, Sheikh Muhammad bin Jamil Zeno's books gained popularity in the Islamic world and he holds the honor to have a place in the rank of those authors of present time whose work has been widely accepted. He uses authentic sources while writing the books, that is why his books are appreciated by the scholars. Generally in the Islamic world, the authenticity of a book is judged by its author's name, and his name has acquired such position.
The original text of this book is in the Arabic language. The distinctive feature of this book is its simplicity. Sheikh Muhammad bin Jamil Zeno, while writing, has his direct concern with the common people. To prove any point, first of all he presents the Verses of the Noble Qur'an, then he puts all the related authentic Ahadith before the readers; afterwords, if he finds necessary, cites a few quotations from the early scholars and jurisprudents.
Because of his simple style, Sheikh Muhammad bin Jamil Zeno's books gained popularity in the Islamic world and he holds the honor to have a place in the rank of those authors of present time whose work has been widely accepted. He uses authentic sources while writing the books, that is why his books are appreciated by the scholars. Generally in the Islamic world, the authenticity of a book is judged by its author's name, and his name has acquired such position.
264 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1996
29 people are currently reading
347 people want to read
About the author
Muhammad Bin Jamil Zeno
5 books1 followerShaikh Muhammad bin Jamil Zeno is originally from Syria, but for a long time he has been a teacher in Dar-ul-Hadith AlKhairiyah, Makkah AlMukarramah. Besides being a great scholar, he is also the author and compiler of many books. He holds the honor to have a place in the rank of those authors of present time whose work has been widely accepted.
Because of his simple style, his books gained popularity in the Islamic world. He uses authentic sources while writing the books that is why his books are appreciated by the scholars. Generally in the Islamic world, and especially in the Arab world, the authenticity of a book is judged by its author's name, and his name has acquired such position.
Zeno was born in Aleppo, Syria in 1925 (1344 AH). At the age of 10 he attended a boarding school for 5 years, during which he became a Hafiz.
He then went on to study forensic science at the University of Aleppo, which was part of the Islamic Waqf. He became a Sheikh and joined the House of Teachers in Aleppo where he taught for 29 years before leaving to teach in a madrasah in the Grand Mosque in Mecca. Later he traveled to Jordan to give Dawah where he became an Imam, teacher and influential preacher.
In 1979/1980 (1400 AH) he went onto teach in Dar-ul-Hadith al-khairiyah in Mecca, Saudi Arabia where he was a teacher for many years.
Because of his simple style, his books gained popularity in the Islamic world. He uses authentic sources while writing the books that is why his books are appreciated by the scholars. Generally in the Islamic world, and especially in the Arab world, the authenticity of a book is judged by its author's name, and his name has acquired such position.
Zeno was born in Aleppo, Syria in 1925 (1344 AH). At the age of 10 he attended a boarding school for 5 years, during which he became a Hafiz.
He then went on to study forensic science at the University of Aleppo, which was part of the Islamic Waqf. He became a Sheikh and joined the House of Teachers in Aleppo where he taught for 29 years before leaving to teach in a madrasah in the Grand Mosque in Mecca. Later he traveled to Jordan to give Dawah where he became an Imam, teacher and influential preacher.
In 1979/1980 (1400 AH) he went onto teach in Dar-ul-Hadith al-khairiyah in Mecca, Saudi Arabia where he was a teacher for many years.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 10, 2016
"The Pillars of Islam & Iman" was overall a really good book. The author did an excellent job of putting together the information in a format that is easy to read and easy to look back up later. It goes over in light detail about the five pillars of islam: belief in Allah and His Messenger, salah (prayer), sawm (Fasting Ramadan), hajj, and zakat (charity/tax). The language used is simple so the maximum amount of people will be able to read and understand it, which is great! Most information was really great and free of error...with a few exceptions, and these are just differences of opinion.
He believes it is a weak hadith narrating that laughter invalidates salah so nobody has to follow this rule. I disagree, I believe we should still refrain from laughter during salah. There's a long reasoning behind this that I wouldn't put in a review of the book currently, and I believe it is a smaller detail. It's still something I believe people should be aware of though.
He also believes that a woman should wear the niqab or face veil as an obligatory action...that women can uncover their feet, hands, and face in front of Allah as long as there aren't any men, but if there are men, then one should cover all of these. I believe this idea is false. A woman should be able to wear in front of Allah's Creation what she can wear in front of Allah in prayer. If a woman wants to wear the niqab because she believes it is something beyond the normal requirements and prefers that for herself, that is fine. To insist that this is the only opinion - to cover one's face, hands, and feet, I believe are going just slightly too far past the requirements of hijab. If a woman chooses to uncover her face, hands, and feet, let her not be bothered for she is still within the limits of what Allah has set for us. It's just a difference in opinion, however.
Last but not least, and this is not a criticism towards just this author, but it does apply to him...I have noticed that many Islamic books are written presuming that women are not the target audience. As an example, within the section on salah, there is a part that mentions women can not wear perfume to the mosque. (That's fine, yes.) Then the next chapter says, "You have to go to the mosque to jummah on fridays and you should wear perfume."
Well...obviously, the intended audience is not women at that point because we're neither required to go to jummah nor should we be wearing perfume out to the mosque. Women should not be a section of the book and the rest to men. The entire book should be inclusive towards whoever is reading it, male or female, because there should not be a presumption in a world that is 51% female, that women are less likely to be reading "The Pillars of Islam & Iman".
He believes it is a weak hadith narrating that laughter invalidates salah so nobody has to follow this rule. I disagree, I believe we should still refrain from laughter during salah. There's a long reasoning behind this that I wouldn't put in a review of the book currently, and I believe it is a smaller detail. It's still something I believe people should be aware of though.
He also believes that a woman should wear the niqab or face veil as an obligatory action...that women can uncover their feet, hands, and face in front of Allah as long as there aren't any men, but if there are men, then one should cover all of these. I believe this idea is false. A woman should be able to wear in front of Allah's Creation what she can wear in front of Allah in prayer. If a woman wants to wear the niqab because she believes it is something beyond the normal requirements and prefers that for herself, that is fine. To insist that this is the only opinion - to cover one's face, hands, and feet, I believe are going just slightly too far past the requirements of hijab. If a woman chooses to uncover her face, hands, and feet, let her not be bothered for she is still within the limits of what Allah has set for us. It's just a difference in opinion, however.
Last but not least, and this is not a criticism towards just this author, but it does apply to him...I have noticed that many Islamic books are written presuming that women are not the target audience. As an example, within the section on salah, there is a part that mentions women can not wear perfume to the mosque. (That's fine, yes.) Then the next chapter says, "You have to go to the mosque to jummah on fridays and you should wear perfume."
Well...obviously, the intended audience is not women at that point because we're neither required to go to jummah nor should we be wearing perfume out to the mosque. Women should not be a section of the book and the rest to men. The entire book should be inclusive towards whoever is reading it, male or female, because there should not be a presumption in a world that is 51% female, that women are less likely to be reading "The Pillars of Islam & Iman".
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April 29, 2024such an eye opener.
its very easy for muslims (especially born muslims) to think they have a proper and extensive understanding of the foundations of islam and iman, but in reality our knowledge is frail and limited. This book has condensed such valuable and important information into less than 300 pages, and every chapter has something that is beneficial to know, understand, and even memorize. This book really is an amazing compilation of knowledge that all muslims must have, i’d recommend this to any muslim, revert or not.
its very easy for muslims (especially born muslims) to think they have a proper and extensive understanding of the foundations of islam and iman, but in reality our knowledge is frail and limited. This book has condensed such valuable and important information into less than 300 pages, and every chapter has something that is beneficial to know, understand, and even memorize. This book really is an amazing compilation of knowledge that all muslims must have, i’d recommend this to any muslim, revert or not.
August 28, 2013
A brilliant book to introduce any Muslim into the basic acts of worship. Details have been omitted to make the book cover all the basic acts but should be sufficient for any beginner.
June 21, 2014
nice book to read and to know the bases of the worship
very intersesting one
love it and it's way :-) :-)
very intersesting one
love it and it's way :-) :-)
Want to read
November 9, 2016i think I'll get more information i want
July 14, 2022
A very popular book and a must read among those who seek knowledge in Islam. This book must be read constantly to absorb it’s density.
October 7, 2021
Dangerous stuff if it is read by someone who can’t analyse it.
June 15, 2025
Heel goed
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November 25, 2016iman
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April 28, 2021Found the exact copy I own!!🤩🤩
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews