New book release, translation, commentary and notes by Imam Zaid Shakir!

The translation, notes, and commentary of Imam al-Harith al-Muhasibi’s Risala al-Mustarshidin (Treatise For The Seekers Of Guidance) by Imam Zaid Shakir is intended to serve as a layman’s guide to Islamic spirituality. Al - Muhasibi presents most of the major ideas that would both serve as the basis for a full program of spiritual development and comprise an insightful overview of a system of Islamic moral psychology. He examines in great depth and penetrating insight the psychological motivations and justifications for moral thought and action and correspondingly the associated bases of immorality. In so doing, he has provided a road map that any person can follow to overcome the guiles of his fundamental enemies: the world, the ego, the whims of the soul, and Satan.

Reviews
"There is no way to know how much of traditional Islamic scholarship has been lost forever in libraries that have been burned, looted or destroyed. Other manuscripts lay forgotten in dusty archives, unread and untranslated. New literary works such as "A Treatise for the Seekers of Guidance" seek to preserve a part of Islamic heritage and are astoundingly relevant to our homes and society today. –Dr. Noreen Kassem, July 25, 2008

Powerful and magnetic … it is difficult to put this book down. An essential primer for self-rectification and drawing closer to the divine, this is a highly accessible translation of a classical Islamic text that provides ample guidance and advice for souls longing for spiritual nourishment and refinement amid the prevailing state of social and moral disintegration. This book not only offers definitive counsels on rectifying the self and becoming responsible and dignified human beings, but it also showcases the moral and ethical standards which Islam calls to. Imam Zaid Shakir has done a tremendous service in rendering this crucial text into the English language. –Aftab Ahmad Malik, Visiting Fellow - DEPARTMENT OF CULTURE & ETHNICITY, UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM

About the Author
Imam Abu Abdullah al-Harith bin Asad al-Muhasibi was born in the important Iraqi port city of Basra. No one has ascertained the date of Imam al-Muhasibi s birth with certainty. It is considered to be between 165/781 and 170/786. Scholars are more certain concerning his death, agreeing that he passed away in 243/857 at Baghdad. At the time of his birth, Basra was a city whose bustling port and vibrant intellectual life rendered it a major cosmopolitan center of great significance. However, it is unlikely that Imam al-Muhasibi benefited from the intellectual life of the city for he appears to have moved to Baghdad at an early age. There he received a very thorough education. His writings not only reveal his mastery of Islamic orthodox scholarship and traditions, but also a deep knowledge of the philosophical and rational thought of both the heretical Muslim sects as well as a credible knowledge of Jewish and Christian theology. He would spend his career in Baghdad and be a full participant its tumultuous intellectual activity.

Cover design by IslamCrunch’s Creative Director: Su Pittam

Kitaba is a new website promoting the needs of visually impaired Muslims in their search of sacred knowledge. IslamCrunch is a big supporter of sacred knowledge and we would like to highlight the efforts of Kitaba. Check out their mission statement:

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Imam Zaid Shakir discusses the latest New Islamic Directions publication: Dear Self. This engaging book is written by Imam Zaid’s mother, Richelene Mitchell, with an introduction by Imam Zaid. Here is a video where Imam Zaid discusses the values, ideas and benefits of the book:

http://tv.muxlim.com/video/04wsGUm6iZe

Here is a description of the book:

Dear Self is the penetrating journal of Richelene Mitchell, a young African American mother of seven struggling to raise her children while wrestling with the burden of poverty, callous public policy, and both overt and subtle manifestations of entrenched, institutionalized racism America. Mitchell was born in the rural south, the daughter of an African American sharecropper. She would venture to the northern ghetto of Philadelphia to enhance her educational opportunities. Hence, her early life was shaped by the twin forces defining African America life in the twentieth century: the rural south and the urban north. Mitchell’s promising academic career was curtailed by an eventually failed marriage that rendered her a single mother of seven children living in a sprawling public housing project. Forced to deal with the humiliation of public assistance, she chronicled a year of her life, 1973, in this penetrating journal. Though written over twenty years ago, her intimate experience with and intricate insights into the informing and penetrating light on race reality faced by an expanding American underclass are as relevant today as they were then. She sheds light on poverty, mothering, gender relations and many other pertinent issues. This book is a valuable resource for all of those seeking to understand the reality faced by millions of Americans whose plight rarely finds an informed and articulate voice.

Read more about the book on Imam Zaid’s blog post: Dear Self - A Year in the Life of a Welfare Mother

Dear Self: A Year in the Life of a Welfare Mother has been selected as a Bronze winner for the Foreword Magazine Book of the Year Award. See the Family and Relationship category at: Foreword Magazine Book of the Year

And, 2008 Next Generation Indie Book Awards winner: Parenting/Family

IslamCrunch is honored that NID commissioned our own Su Pittam to design the cover.

You can purchase a copy here: Dear Self: A Year In The Life Of A Welfare Mother

You can view the Youtube version here: Imam Zaid Presents Dear Self