THE AIM of this book, presented here for the first time as a fully revised and updated paperback, is to explore what it means to be a Muslim-a member of a community which embraces a quarter of the world s population and to describe the forces which have shaped their hearts and minds. In this wide ranging study the author is concerned not simply with Islam in isolation, but with the very nature of religious faith, its spiritual and intellectual foundations and the light it casts upon the mysteries and paradoxes of the human condition.
SOME REVIEWS: This is a beautifully written book. It offers a taste of theology, of history, of aesthetics and of eschatology blended in such a way as to provide a whole and balanced image, a vision of life that is both comprehensive and thoroughly Islamic. (Parabola) The most remarkable accomplishment of this book is not that it leaves the reader with a basic understanding of Muhammad, the Qur an and the daily practices of Muslims everywhere, although it certainly does these things. Nor does it lie merely in the clear, open, loving approach the author brings to his subject, though this is striking. Rather his main contribution lies in building bridges of understanding in showing the Christian s and the Jew s essential oneness with the Muslim. (Joseph K. Blackman) One of the most important works on Islam to appear in the English language. It should be read by all Westerners interested in an understanding of Islamic tradition and also by those Muslims who have become cut off from the authentic message of their own religion. (S. H. Nasr) This is a book dealing with the most vital and crucial questions now agitating our lives, (Muslim World Book Review) Deserves to be read over and over again. (Muslim Education Quarterly)

About the Author

CHARLES LE GAI EATON was born in Switzerland and educated at Charter house and King s College, Cambridge. He worked for many years as a teacher and journalist in Jamaica and Egypt (where he embraced Islam in 1951) before joining the British Diplomatic Service. He later served as a consultant to the Islamic Cultural Centre in London. Among his other titles are King of the Castle and Remembering God.