| As he concludes, "This book is in honour of the khalifate to come; may Allah make it shine as brightly as those which have been | However I would not recommend it as an introductory text |
|---|---|
| Regardless, the selection of material and the quotes provided are superb | As the title suggests, it provides a concise compendium of the biographies of the first five rightly-guided caliphs in Islam, although the level of detail decreases considerably by chapter; the section on Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq is 105 pages, whereas the final chapter on Hasan Ibn Ali consists of only 10 |
This is a proper traditional Islamic tarikh history book by the great scholar Al-Suyuti, may Allah have mercy on him.
16| The book does well to list and reference many hadith relating to the attributes, characteristics and lives of these nobel figures in Islam; however, Jalal ad-Deen as-Suyuti wrote his texts for students of sacred knowledge | For that reason it may be problematic for an introductory work but one could sweep past such statements without requiring the additional information |
|---|---|
| Although it was never intended to be a detailed study of all the caliphs, the brevity is easily noticeable but this is outside the control of Ta-Ha Publishers and Abdassamad Clarke | He makes some very valid points in that the greatness of these men should not trap the Muslims in a helpless idealism resulting in the perception of our current age as an irreversible decline |
Although relatively basic in its level of detail, I would not necessarily recommend this as a starting point to educate oneself on the history of the rightly-guided caliphs.
17