10 Books PAUL WILLIAMS Thinks Everyone Should Read

Paul Williams of @BloggingTheology talks to Muhammad Jalal about his ten most influential books, why he recommends them and the importance of reading.
Titles mentioned in order of rank:
1. The Meaning of the Holy Qur'an by Abdullah Yusuf Ali
2. Islam and the Destiny of Man by Charles Le Gai Eaton
3. The Book of Hadith: Sayings of the Prophet Muhammad from the Mishkat Al Masabih selected by Charles Le Gai Eaton
4. Encountering Mystery: Religious Experience in a Secular Age by Dale C. Allison Jr.
5. Ibn Taymiyya on Reason and Revelation by Carl Sharif El-Tobgui
6. Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Teachings by Martin Lings
7. Misquoting Muhammad by Jonathan A.C. Brown
8. The Oxford Book of English Verse edited by Christopher Ricks
9. Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant
10. The Making of a Salafi Muslim Woman by Anabel Inge
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The Thinking Muslim Podcast Episode 91
00:00 - 01:37 Introduction
01:37 - 04:15 Why is reading still important?
04:15 - 05:25 Is the art of reading dying?
05:25 - 06:13 Fiction vs. Non-fiction
06:13 - 06:54 Audiobooks
06:54 - 08:24 Building a reading habit
08:24 - 08:45 Disclaimer
08:45 - 16:03 Book 10
16:03 - 20:07 Book 9
20:07 - 24:51 Book 8
24:51 - 26:34 Book 7
26:34 - 30:30 Book 6
30:30 - 39:26 Book 5
39:26 - 48:00 Book 4
48:00 - 50:02 Book 3
50:02 - 58:44 Book 2
58:44 - 01:02:52 Book 1
01:02:52 - 01:04:02 Will Paul Williams start a bookclub ?

[@edwardbriones100]

I’m a new American Muslim that is ignorant of so much about Islam, I just discovered this and I feel like I discovered treasure! Thanks Thinking Muslim!

[@TheThinkingMuslim]

Assalam alaikum - thank you very much for your support. Welcome and May Allah keep us all strong and righteous.

[@lonewolfmedia9330]

Alhamdullilah my brother I've been a Muslim for a little over a decade and it's easily the greatest and best decision of my life. Every day I reflect on how blessed I am to have found this beautiful and authentic way of life. It's especially important now with the current satanic agenda attacking us and our children to have a rope to hold onto. If I may suggest focus on your prayer brother, establish the 5 daily prayers, learn the rulings for prayer ablution, ritual aspects, timings etc. Try to pray in your mosque if you have one close. Please feel free to ask me for anything and if I can help in anyway I will. Assalaamu alaykum (peace be upon you 😁)

[@theHamster624]

AS SALAAM ALLAYKUM. ALHUMDULILLAH.

[@rya9320]

Walaikum assalaam... I return the salaam on behalf of my new brother

[@shameemahjahed3701]

Alhamdullilah. Allah guided you Masha Allah.

[@jaisalrw3494]

10. The making of a salafi muslim woman 9. The critique of pure reason 8. The oxford book of English verse 7. Misquoting Muhammad 6. Muhammad: His life based on the earliest sources 5. Ibn Taymiyyah on reason and revelation 4. Encountering mystery: religious experience in a secular age 3. The book of hadith: Sayings of the Prophet Muhammad from the Miskat al Masabih 2. Islam and the destiny of man 1. The meaning of the Holy Quran (i.e Yusuf Ali translation of Quran)

[@alialvi8064]

Have read 1,2,3 (not the English but the original), 6 ( absolute favourite), 8, 9. Should read 5. Don’t know anything about the others.

[@alialvi8064]

Thanks for the list btw

[@kurdistanijunior]

1.The history of najd - with full maps of slaughter places and slavery market by uthman bin bishr alnajdi. 2. The Rantings of ibn taymiyya called the fatawa of Islam's only shaikh alislam ( the One and only shaikh alislam who has no partners). 3. The sermons of Abubakr baghdadi of Daesh - how to chillingly instill fear among your audiences. A best seller 4. How to blow yourself up to Janna by brother Abu himar dimwit albritani 5. The 10 nullifiers of Islam by ibn Abdulwahab - a dummy's guide to easy takfir or how to catch a kafir easily - highly recommended by Daesh as it is easy to implement 6. The obedient wife or satr awrat by maulana sarbazi. Best Taliban explanation on why a women should only go out twice in her lifetime, from father's house to husband's house and from there to her grave. 7. Jihad alnikah - how to satisfy the sexual needs of our salafi jihadis. Best seller among our sisters. Comes with huge deduction as it is sponsored by the great mujahids. 8. Loyalty and disavowal by bin fawzaan - on how to love and hate anyone on a whim. 9. Ibn Abdulwahab the new prophet of Islam who established tawhid more than Muhammad 10. House of Saudi founder and his 300 wifes and concubines.

[@corniel657]

​@@kurdistanijuniorBAHAHAHA 🤡😂

[@kurdistanijunior]

@@corniel657 Can you guess which books is actually real?

[@Naif-wo3iq]

What a great human being brother Paul is

[@LondonFriendsWalks]

My favourite translation is Abdullah Yusuf Ali, I love it because Abdullah is a real old fashioned English gentleman and it comes through in his commentary. I visited his grave in Ramadan and whilst there prayed for dear Gai Eaton as well

[@MohammadAWaly]

A book club with Paul Williams? Sign me up!!

[@Mr_Main-event_Muhammad024]

I'm used to listening to Brother Paul Williams of Blogging Theology on a night of vigil. Thanks, a ton!

[@AashaqHussain-th1vs]

Residing in India-occupied Kashmir?

[@PeterBLaurence]

Ozymandias is also a favourite of the great Hamza Yusuf as outlined in his How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler lecture. He said it gave him goosebumps when he read it as a 13 year old boy. Great idea about starting a book club. I’m in the Zaytuna one which is obviously pretty special with the Sheik involved- but brother Paul, your book club would have its own flavour and I might add, would be pretty special also.

[@BloggingTheology]

❤

[@tashifjilani1732]

that would be really special I agree :)

[@TheThinkingMuslim]

Jazakallah khair to all of you for your kind comments. Please remember to subscribe to this channel and click on the notifications button. And keep us all in your duas in these remaining Ramadan days.

[@tashifjilani1732]

brilliant interview as always brother :)

[@TheThinkingMuslim]

@@tashifjilani1732 Many thanks. May Allah accept from all of us

[@tashifjilani1732]

@@TheThinkingMuslim jazakallah khair brother.May allah reward you in the akhirah inshallah

[@TheThinkingMuslim]

This video on Abdullah Yusuf Ali by his graveside in Brookwood Cemetry gives a concise overview of his life kzbin.info/www/bejne/aXypXoeglNagnpI - the cemetery can be found here brookwoodcemetery.com/plots-and-section/

[@dinarkania7274]

Curiousity and the desire to understand... very true 👍

[@primeminister1040]

Brother Paul is a true treasure

[@edwardstaats4935]

This is wonderful Paul, thank you

[@Sairulamin]

For a long time time I wanted to know about the list. I have asked brother Paul to make a video about it. Thank you guys for bringing this interview. Hope people will be benefited from this.

[@ahmedajmi6936]

Loved this podcast, full of pearls to benefit from. Thank you.

[@sanamt4945]

Thank you for asking Paul Williams about a Book Club; this would be awesome.

[@truthPrevails-hg6dj]

So Good to see brother Paul Williams on your show ... I saw him reading Ahadeeth. I am a fan..

[@yasirmalik11]

Excellent episode. I wish you also do an episode on 'Top 10 books Unavailable in English'. There is a vast corpus of Islamic literature in Arabic, Perisan and Urdu which has to be read for a good understanding ofnthe world and religion, but has not been done yet. Let's see who you invite for this. Maybe some of your listeners could be spurred to take up the neglected task.

[@a4482921]

Our man of culture, the great Paul Williams. Thanks for the recommendations, throwing Critique of Pure Reason in there is a bit of a flex 😂

[@HistoryOfRevolutions]

Great interview. It's clear that Brother Paul Williams is a prolific reader. That was a diverse and comprehensive reading list. Enjoyed!

[@ihafidh]

Wonderful interview! I couldn’t turn away.

[@hebakhalifa5672]

Thank you for this interesting and most insightful discussion

[@truthseeker8273]

Very refreshing conversation. Tabarakallah.

[@wayoflife-zd3wk]

Jazakallahu khair brothers ❤❤ May Allah help everyone on of us to understand Islam and apply it throughout our life, Aaameen

[@mirzabeg2274]

Love this ❣️!!

[@jonjoe3130]

Great list of Books. Book club would be a great idea for Paul to start. The Kant book seems a bit of a tough read so will pass on that.

[@mrsasad1114]

Jazakallah.I have always wanted to buy Gai Eaton's book which I will do Insha'Allah after Ramadan.And yes you should start a book club brother Paul.

[@odeebob7826]

Thank you brothers for all the valuable information, May Allah bless you all with success

[@ihnew786]

Simply dope for the craving mind, loved every second of it ❤️, Abdullah Yusuf Ali translation is also my favorite.

[@ganeematokhi8174]

Thank you for an amazingly inspiring and uplifting discourse! Paul Williams is a great modern intellectual thinker, blogger and writer. Looking forward to the above mentioned book club.

[@samaramaxutova6777]

Thank you very much, brothers! It was very very interesting! May Allah SWT shower you with His mercy in both worlds! I fully agree with brother Paul, reading takes you to a different world, it is such an exciting journey of mind! Thank you very much for the books you shared. I am happy I have your book #1 :)))) Mashallah!

[@bravostudio491]

Well done Paul. Thnks

[@saliyarabi]

jazakallahou khair paul

[@nextlifethinktwice1030]

Excellent interview

[@kausamsalam8543]

Such an inspirational discussion. Amazing brothers, Alhumdullilah. Eid Mubarak to everyone, In’sha’Allah

[@TheThinkingMuslim]

Eid Mubarak and Jzk

[@truthseeker457]

keep up the good work.

[@thechallenge293]

The interview we didn't knew we needed.

[@nadasamman7590]

Very important episode stemming from this great source of an avid reader.. I already started buying a couple of his recommended titles.. thank you to both for all the efforts

[@TheThinkingMuslim]

Thank you for your supprt.

[@sammu]

How the turntables... Very beneficial talk!

[@salahelhaddad4872]

Beautiful thank you very much

[@husseinf2527]

I love brother paul and his channel

[@Sultan-gr5tk]

Both of these brothers have a soothing voice and are pleasant to listen to.

[@Ell647]

Just downloaded the book by Martin Lings, it’s beautifully written and lovely to hear on audible

[@SALAM-rj8dk]

Marvelous ❤

[@THANA_III]

I enjoyed this, thank you!

[@hb31123]

A book club would be amazing!

[@nadasamman7590]

Yes please start a book club

[@jayantoimam9542]

This video singlehandedly made me want to read books

[@Faqr-e-Ghayoor]

Thanks.....

[@arsalanmirza3411]

👍 Just purchased the book ‘Islam and the Destiny of Man’ by Gai EATON.

[@fatimah9202]

Jazaa kAllahu khairah fid daarain

[@alamgirsiddiqui433]

Love brother Paul, a prudent humble man of patience…..

[@Permanent_Success_Podcast_Raja]

Yes. Reading makes you smarter 👌

[@supersayan7423]

Thanks

[@muhammadalrubah8672]

Mr Williams seems to make everything sounds fun and enthusiastic Such a wonderful thinker he is.

[@CineRanter]

Great discussion!

[@fahadn2002]

I like your warning in your channel description. Are you Muslim?

[@CineRanter]

@@fahadn2002 yes. Alhamdulillah

[@MuhammadAli-hr1bj]

Wow! Bro Paul you are a master story teller, thoroughly enjoy listening to your readings!

[@nayeemhyd]

I have 5 of the books mentioned in the list...Thank you Br. JAMAL for this interview...cheers

[@sarahhajarbalqis]

Thank you both. Book no 10 is an interesting one.

[@galbisabdi5807]

I had a weird out of body experience. There was this day when I prayed fajr and then went back to bed but when I fell back to sleep I was hearing a jet like noise before I slipped out of conciousness and into sleep which was unusual thing to experience in itself. immediately afterwards I started witnessing myself leaving the body and frantically walking on the walls and the cieling before I left the room through the door and went into my mothers room and then I saw my mum approaching from behind, gently tapping me on my shoulder as if telling me to go back to bed. As soon as I returned to bed I wokeup and run into my mothers room where I found her sleep. I tried to replicated this whole thing many times but no luck.

[@axis2312]

Such a keen mind and a playful demeanour. Making reading sound like a whole adventure. May Allah bless you Paul for instilling in us a thirst for knowledge and of course, for giving us the courage to make terrible jokes!

[@HussainFahmy]

*_A brilliant quest._*

[@majidosman9873]

Thank you so much! for this @TheThinkingMuslim

[@DREDD.7356]

Brother Paul is very educated and well spoken.

[@snakejuce]

No, you are.

[@user-go2cq5sw8s]

thank u for the interview!! i've got a question for Paul or anyone really, do you have some kind of a note-taking system to keep track of interesting ideas you find in books? all i do is highlighting stuff on my kindle and that's it :/

[@AbduMad]

ozymandias was my favorite poem too!!

[@razmiihsan8897]

Br Paul looks really good as he aged. MasyaAllah. I hope he will have good health and good long live.

[@candace8186]

Assalaamu Alaykum great show. I didn’t see the link to where the books can be purchased?

[@muhammadshakeelmajeed4884]

@paul Williams Dear Bro Paul, Please do few sessions of Dr Iqbal’s book The reconstruction of religious thought in Islam. It’s quite dense but excellent work by Iqbal.

[@Fivetimesthree]

Ozymandias is in my top 20!!!! I wonder if Shelley was speaking a bit about himself.

[@DREDD.7356]

Alhamdulillah

[@abdullahk8691]

I have the same 2 top ones. I don't think Abdullah yusuf Ali used the word 'Allah' in the main body of translation as he translated it to 'God'. Are you sure that's the original translation or is it the Saudi censored/edited one? I may be wrong.

[@MoFields]

I love him in Allah - how an amazing beautiful man.

[@usafkathrada7845]

When r u going to interview Dr Hani Atachan

[@abdelhakyac7285]

Who baked the baker, who interviewed the interviewer

[@TheMohadam]

PAUL IS TRUE BELIEVER!

[@peaceful_warrior7627]

If I could be even 20% of the reader br. Paul is, then I'll be alright.

[@eg4848]

Its what happens when you dont have or never have had a family. Lots of time to read

[@peaceful_warrior7627]

@@eg4848 This is what happens when one is making excuses for lacking the focus and intellectual vigour to read all the time, lol. Anyone can make the time to read a book an hour or two per day mate.

[@DREDD.7356]

​@@eg4848 Keep crying. Victim mentality. Lol

[@snakejuce]

@@eg4848 muhhh I only have 24 hours wahhhhh 👶 🍼

[@ninaaden8338]

​​@@eg4848 sounds like you're projecting your miserable life onto brother Paul

[@needtoknowbasis5147]

For all the critical thinkers out there, I’d strongly recommend reading the book Islam, Authoritarianism, and Underdevelopment by Ahmet T. Kuru. It’s truly phenomenal and deserving of serious attention.

[@Ghurshah]

Why?

[@samkb6374]

Tell us why.

[@charanko8734]

55:34 can anyone tell me the hadith number please?

[@SALAM-rj8dk]

Walaikumasalam warehmatullahi wabarakatuhu

[@yusufk5298]

Paul, re out of body experiences it occurred to me and reminded me that Muslims believe that when you fall asleep your soul departs the body. So when you are undergoing an operation and put into deep sleep surely your soul departs the body to the extent where it is able to hover above and see whats going on?

[@scottishbanjo]

Reading EncounteringMystery just now

[@abdias8293]

It was Lord Byron, not Shelley, who died in Greece and supported the Greek against the Ottomans.

[@RifatIslamXD]

Stan Shelley!

[@burhanahmad2825]

Part 2 when?

[@torontoyes]

Reading by Nature, forces the reader to constantly exercise the mind in reconstructing the reality the Author is depicting. The medium that we have today is the opposite of that. If the only thing that we can digest needs to be entertaining, then the focus will become the entertainment versus the message. That is the problem with the wrong mediums. If you don't choose the right medium, you will be training yourself to focus on something that will not benefit you, the entertainment factor, and you will be missing the message. With a book it's impossible for that to happen, because the nature of input trains you to comprehend the information and comprehension is the focus not entertainment. Feelijgs of entertainment, shock, intrigue, enlightenment should be the byproduct after comprehending vs the goal. We need to revert back.

[@kyunbhai49]

Khilafat o mulukiyat by Maulana Maududi is a must read. No better book on the political system of Islam, than this.

[@Uchqunbekuz]

I came from twitter

[@bibliophile]

Omg I can't describe how much I appreciate this amazing channel to have my favorite youtuber of all time, may Allah SWT preserve you our dear brother Paul! Maa Shaa Allah, and thank you very much for having him @The Thinking Muslim🤍

[@TheThinkingMuslim]

Jazakallah khair - thats very kind of you

[@azaq00]

Some great Books by Indo-Pak Scholars - 1. Khilafat o Malookiyat By Abul Ala Moududi ( available in English, Urdi) 2. God Arises by Wahiduddin Khan ( available in English and Urdu) 3. Hujjatullahu Alal Baligha by Shah Waliullah Dehlavi ( idk if it's available in English or not) 4. Qadiani Problem by Abul Ala Moududi ( available in English and Urdu) 5. When Life Begins ( fiction) by Abu Yahya ( available in English and Urdu) (audiobook in Urdu also)

[@abdellatifaitbihi1774]

Shia's Islam and Sunni's Islam are different religions following 2 different ways. the 2nd islam believes that the prophet's companions, including his familly, are trustworthy so they fellow their authentic narrations. the 1st islam does not believ in the transmission by the companions. they instead assume that only the imams of Ali's familly can directly explain the religion of Mohammed to shias. of course now, giving the absence of the imam number 12 who is 1200 years old somewhere, the religion can still be taken temporary from the 8 shia hadith books containing the teaching of the 11 imams and from the shia schoolars as well. the countries where the 2 faiths co-exist are having very hard time today in terms of social peace like in irak, syria, lebanon, Bahrain ... and in iran. Because both sides do not realise that they have 2 different religions that each one has to respect and continue to interfere in each other's business. Such struggle does not exist for instance between the sunnies and christians in Egypt or between the jews and the shias in Asfahan-iran.

[@MrSongib]

37:30 This is what people need to know when they seen certain madhab, sufy, sunni or anything else. The Sharia is the boundary that each individual not to cross.

[@mogbaba]

12:00 If they are coerced to wear extreme hijab, så, they gave some obsession you should look at. 17:50 Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem is copy-pasted directly from Torah Critique of the Pure Reason is not the best choice as one of the 10 books to recommend to the general audience. Because reading and comprehending that book craves a great deal of knowledge in philosophy. So, for one without that knowledge, it's like to say go and study philosophy.

[@torontoyes]

The first question that the speaker asks about reading can be addressed by observing the era of the Prophet peace be upon him. Everything about the prophet peace be upon Him, including the mode and medium of transmission, preservation and transference of knowledge is of the most benefit. In light of the question, the medium and mode of preservation of the Koran is an indication of why reading is so incredibly important in book format. Books provide something that our current mediums lack today, context. A world without context is shallow and is the opposite of critical thinking. If we are not critical thinkers, it will be difficult for us to determine the truth. When we😊 receive information in short format, without context, this works against the paradigm of having the attention span to digest enough information to make a educated decisions. Our attention is destroyed. Our minds adjust to the medium by which we receive information. We need to return to reading books so that we can enable our future Generations to be critical thinkers vs allowing today's mediums creating the adverse effect.

[@fawadmalik5904]

brandeis isnt an ivy i dont even think close

[@murattasova7598]

Why is reading important?! Answer why is eating or breading important?

[@BismaFarooq-gt9ic]

The audio is feeble,it should be louder , please do take care afterwards

[@tashifjilani1732]

13:05 hahaha

[@madinaman]

Dear Bro Paul, The Quran is actually explains everything (QS 12:111, 16:89). So, the primary book that humans need to read is the Quran.

[@abdellatifaitbihi1774]

Shia's Islam and Sunni's Islam are different religions following 2 different ways. the 2nd islam believes that the prophet's companions, including his familly, are trustworthy so they fellow their authentic narrations. the 1st islam does not believ in the transmission by the companions. they instead assume that only the imams of Ali's familly can directly explain the religion of Mohammed to shias. of course now, giving the absence of the imam number 12 who is 1200 years old somewhere, the religion can still be taken temporary from the 8 shia hadith books containing the teaching of the 11 imams and from the shia schoolars as well. the countries where the 2 faiths co-exist are having very hard time today in terms of social peace like in irak, syria, lebanon, Bahrain ... and in iran. Because both sides do not realise that they have 2 different religions that each one has to respect and continue to interfere in each other's business. Such struggle does not exist for instance between the sunnies and christians in Egypt or between the jews and the shias in Asfahan-iran.

[@tranium67]

17:33

[@karimb972]

Great list. I found Hegel even more impenetrable than Immanuel Kant. I loved Hasan Spiker's critique of Kant. The man was a genius but his legacy is not so great.

[@emaykay]

I like what they discussed at the 52 min mark

[@aiztarxxx]

Some great books here. I would the following: 1. Bible, Quran and Science by Maurice Buccaille 2. The Road to Makkah by Muhammad Asad 3. Milestones by Syed Qutb 4. Blood on The Cross by Ahmed Thomson 5.The Preaching of Islam by Arnold

[@aiztarxxx]

6. Revivers of The Islamic Spirit by Syed Abul Hasan Nadwi 7. Islamic Renaissance The Real Task Ahead by Dr Israr

[@abdellatifaitbihi1774]

Please avoid Syed Qutb. he is an extreme Rifai Soufi. unless if u r interested only in the political aspects

[@abdellatifaitbihi1774]

Please avoid Syed Qutb. he is an extreme Rifai Soufi. unless if u r interested only in the political aspects