The Encyclopaedia of Islam, as the name implies, proposes to give its readers full and authoritative information on the entire cycle of Islamic interests, actions and doctrines. What Islam teaches and has taught; what has it done and is still doing for the development of human kind; its methods, past and present; its struggles, the triumphs, and the achievements of its adherents, not only for its own immediate benefit, but for the broadening and deepening of all true science, literature and art-all come within the scope of the Encyclopaedia of Islam. It differs from all previous works as it is not limited to the geographic and historic knowledge of Islam. It records all that Islam has done, not only in the field of religion and philosophy, but for the intellectual and artistic development of mankind. It chronicles what Islamic artists, educators, poets, philosophers, scientists and men of action have achieved in their several areas. No one who is interested in human history, past and present, can ignore Islam, either as an institution which has been the central figure in the civilized world for nearly 1400 years, decisively affecting its destinies, religious, literary, scientific, social and political, or as an existing power whose influence and activity extend to every part of the globe. In the past century Islam has grown extensively and intensively. A relative newcomer, Islam is one of the success stories of the world’s religions. It began in a dusty corner of Arabia a mere 14 centuries ago-which makes it the most modern of the great faiths. Today there are millions of Muslims throughout the world. The religion is dominant in the countries of North Africa, the Middle East, South and Western Asia and Indonesia. The living interests of Islamic people demand that they should have a means of informing themselves, and indeed the adherents of other religions, about their vast institution, which, whether they are Muslims or not, affects their fortunes and their destiny. As for Muslims, their duty as a member of the faith implies them to learn more and more fully its principles, while among non-Muslims the desire for a more intimate and accurate knowledge of things Islamic has increased in proportion to the growth of numbers and importance of Islam. It is felt too often that the inquiries related to the Islamic faith are not fully answered owing to the lack of ready availability of accurate material, at least in the English language. The Encyclopaedia of Islam, therefore, is the most convenient means of doing both, as it does, including the articles by the foremost Islamic scholars in every part of the world, in the condensed form that appeal to the man of action, and with the accuracy that satisfies the scholar. The word "Muslims" is taken in the most comprehensive meaning, as the contents of these volumes will show. The Encyclopaedia contains articles on all possible aspects of the Muslims, be it the religious beliefs and customs, every ethical movement of the Muslims, every philosophical and religious idea, every moral and spiritual practice. All important personages as are famous in the whole spectrum of Islamic philosophical and historical systems have been included, without making the work overly biased towards Islamic biography. The Encyclopaedia thus endevours at embracing the whole range of Muslim theology and philosophy, together with the relevant portions concerning its history, anthropology, psychology, economics, politics and diplomacy, sociology; and its arts, music, architecture etc. It also covers the most interesting, but largely neglected areas including subjects like medicine, alchemy, mathematics, astronomy, astrology etc. The readers will find the entries concerning the Islamic ideas on a vide range of controversial but relevant issues covering feminism, marriage, eating habits, gambling, drugs and drinking, sexuality, abortion, games etc. not to mention subjects like Mosque, language and literature, important Islamic places, pilgrimage, dresses; covering over 1100 articles. The present work is an attempt to meet the need for an Islamic Encyclopaedia, which is reliable and compact, and above all readily available to the general readers and scholars alike.
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